The rain was relentless, washing over the crowded streets of the capital. In the shadows of an alley, a beggar whispered secrets to a hooded stranger for a handful of coins. But the rest of the world wasn't looking at the streets—they were looking at the screens.
Live-streamed across every corner of the globe was the event of the century: The Trial of the Star.
Inside the World Constellation Association's grand hall, the air was thick with tension. Various "Big Shots"—guild masters, politicians, and high-ranking warriors—sat in judgment. At the center of it all stood a young man.
His pitch-black hair was matted with blood, and his emerald-green eyes looked sharply at the council. His hands were bound in mana-suppressing chains.
This was Leon Carlton.
"I saved you," Leon's voice rang out, cold and rasping. "I bled for humanity while you hid behind your walls. And this is my reward? You check my loyalty while you lick the boots of false gods?"
You fools, Leon thought, his gaze sweeping over the 'Peoples' in the front row. You worship the Chaos Gods as saviors, but they are the very parasites eating this world alive.
"How dare you slander the Divine!" a voice roared from the stands. "You murdered a precious Apostle! Only your sacrifice can appease their wrath!"
The Association President released a terrifying aura, the weight of it cracking the floor tiles. "Silence," he commanded, before turning to Leon. "Leon Carlton, you have been weighed and found wanting."
Before the sentence could be passed, the air tore open. An Oracle stepped through a shimmering rift. "The Chaos Gods demand his presence," she announced with a mocking smile. "They wish to deliver the sinner's judgment personally."
The President had no choice. He turned to the side of the hall where a group of elite warriors stood. "Patriarch Carlton, do you have anything to say for your grandson?"
The Patriarch of the Carlton family stood up, his face like stone. "The moment he endangered humanity, he ceased to be a Carlton. He is no longer my blood. Do with him as you please."
He turned and walked out without looking back.
Leon didn't flinch. He expected nothing less. As the Holy Knights dragged him toward the portal, Leon leaned in and whispered a single sentence into the President's ear.
The President's face twisted in a mask of pure, unadulterated rage.
The Mansion of Chaos
Leon was thrown onto the marble floor of a Roman-style hall that floated above the clouds. The Chaos Gods sat upon towering thrones.
Argos, the God of War, descended from his seat. "You foiled my plans for the last time, kid."
With a brutal strike, Argos punched Leon in the gut. The impact shattered Leon's mana core and sent him flying through a stone pillar. Leon coughed up mouth full of blood, his consciousness flickering like a dying candle.
"Kill him now," Argos growled.
"Enough, Argos," interrupted Kamirrel, the God of Thunder, his body sparking with white lightning. "The God of Punishment will handle the execution. Let's get this over with."
The God of Punishment stepped forward, his face hidden by a black sack, a giant executioner's blade strapped to his back. He released a dark red aura that made the very air smell like blood.
"Any last words?" the executioner asked.
Leon looked up, blood dripping from his chin, and smiled. It was the smile of a man who had already seen the end. "I will come back. I will personally kill every one of you. I will avenge my comrades, and I will tear down your temples until not one stone is left upon another."
The executioner's blade fell. Everything went black.
The Great Abyss
Leon's soul floated in a void of absolute darkness. He felt the weight of his failures, the sting of the betrayal by his family and his people.
I was a fool, he thought. The world doesn't deserve goodness. It deserves a monster.
"Hahahaha! Such delicious agony!"
Two massive, cosmic eyes opened in the dark. A presence older than the stars loomed over Leon's soul.
"I am Arrax Bahamut," the voice boomed. "I have been imprisoned in this Abyss for five hundred thousand years, waiting for a soul as dark and broken as yours. You want revenge? I will give you the power to devour the very gods who killed you."
"I accept," Leon said instantly. There was no hesitation.
"Then we are bound," Arrax declared. "I will give you a new form. A body forged from my own ancient bones."
A violent ritual began. Darkness swirled, forcibly compressing the ground-up remains of the Dragon God into a new shape. When the light faded, Leon stood as a formidable skeleton, his bones a polished cosmic black.
"Listen well, Leon," Arrax's voice echoed in his mind. "I must now enter a deep slumber to restore my soul. I have granted you a 'System' to track your progress. Reach level 50, and I shall grant you my true Authorities slowly."
A cold, blue light flickered in Leon's vision.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZED]
Host: Leon Carlton
Race: Abyss Skeleton (Tier: 1) Level: 1.
[QUEST: THE FIRST STEP OF REVENGE]
Current Objective: Reach Level 10.
Task: Clear the Blood Orcs in the immediate vicinity.
Reward: Skill Unlock — [Dark Swordsmanship: Enhance, Attribute Change: Absolute Darkness]
Leon looked at his skeletal hands and felt the shadow magic pulsing within. "Blood Orcs? The creatures that take an S-rank party to kill?"
"In this place, they are the bottom of the food chain," Arrax chuckled before his voice faded into the back of Leon's mind. "Don't die too quickly, kid."
Leon turned toward the towering gate of the Upper Abyss. The hero was dead. The monster had just been born.