Five years later…
On the outskirts of the Kingdom of the Gods, where divine glory rotted at the edges, there existed a place the immortals preferred to ignore: the putrid slums.
In a narrow, filthy alleyway, between walls covered in black mold and stagnant puddles that reeked of decay, a young man sat on the dirty ground.
His back rested against the cold, damp stone.
He was emaciated, almost skeletal. His black hair fell messily over a pale, hollow-eyed face. His gaze—empty and soulless—lost itself on some undefined point on the ground."I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" he murmured over and over in a hoarse, broken voice.
His lips barely moved.
"I'm sorry, Chad…""I'm sorry, Paulin…"
The words came out like a tired mantra, repeated thousands of times over the years.
Head bowed, shoulders slumped, it seemed as if the weight of those five years had crushed him into a shadow of the young man he once was.Jay Sullivan was no longer the same.
All that remained was an empty shell, consumed by guilt and hatred he had never been able to bury.Suddenly, the shadow Jay cast on the filthy ground began to distort.
It stretched and twisted as if it had a life of its own, until its silhouette slowly rose, separating from the young man's body. The darkness took form.
A tall, ethereal entity composed of black, writhing shadows materialized before him. Two glowing red eyes, like burning embers, opened on what appeared to be its face.
The entity began to speak in hundreds of unknown tongues at once: guttural whispers, ancient screams, forbidden chants, and childlike voices overlapping in a chaotic, disturbing chorus. The air in the alley grew colder and heavier.
Until suddenly, all the voices merged into one—deep and mocking:"Why don't you just kill yourself?" the shadowy entity said, its tone almost compassionate, yet laced with cruelty.
"Wouldn't it be easier to end your suffering? Haven't you suffered enough in this miserable world…?
Aren't you tired of being a mere 'Awakened' with a single blocked skill? Can't you see how pathetic your situation is, Jay?"
Jay remained with his head lowered, gaze lost on the dirty ground. He didn't even raise his eyes.
His lips continued moving in the same monotonous, exhausted murmur:"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
The entity's words seemed to slide off him like rain on stone. There was no surprise, no fear, no anger. Only the same emptiness as always.
"If you want, I can do it for you," the entity continued, its voice soft, almost seductive. "It'll be quick. You won't feel any pain.
"The shadow insisted for a long time, repeating its words again and again like a poisonous whisper seeping into Jay's mind.
"Haaah!"
The entity let out a deep, exasperated sigh."Fine… You leave me no choice. I wanted to convince you the nice way…"
Suddenly, Jay's shadow distorted violently. It twisted in on itself, forming a black vortex that swallowed what little light existed in the alley. In seconds, the darkness solidified into a tall, menacing humanoid figure with a goat's head and prominent red eyes that gleamed with pure malice.
The creature extended a hand made of shadows and seized Jay by the neck with brutal strength. It lifted him several centimeters off the ground and slammed him against the filthy wall. Its ethereal fingers began to squeeze mercilessly.
"But I guess a pathetic bastard like you still believes he has a reason to live," the entity growled, its voice now hoarse and full of contempt.
"Come on… accept your fate and die.
"The goat-headed figure smashed Jay's body against the wall again and again with savage violence.
Each impact echoed with a dull, nauseating thud.
"Die! Die! Die!"
It repeated the word thousands of times like a mantra of destruction, while continuing to slam the young man against the stone over and over.
Boom!
A small but violent explosion rang out in the narrow alley.
Thick, black entrails from the dark entity burst in all directions, splattering the filthy walls and dyeing the ground with intense, viscous red."You know… you're fucking annoying," Jay said in a low, cold voice.
He made a small grimace of irritation as he looked at the creature with an icy gaze, completely devoid of the apathy from before.
The entity, still partially formed, staggered in confusion.
"What…?"It couldn't understand what had just happened.
Snap!
Jay snapped the fingers of his single arm.
A pure, blinding white light illuminated the entire alley in an instant. The flash was so intense that the creature screamed in pain and instinctively recoiled, covering its face with six newly materialized arms.
When the light faded, Jay's appearance had completely changed.
He was no longer the emaciated, broken young man dragging himself through the slums.
In his place stood a tall man with broad shoulders and a powerful build. His body emanated an oppressive and dangerous presence.
The scar on his left cheek stood out under the dim light, and the stump of his left arm looked almost like a war medal.
Jay's eyes were no longer empty.
They now burned with cold, calculated hatred."Impossible!"
roared the entity, its voice distorted by disbelief.
"I heard you were just a pathetic level 5 bastard! How the hell did you get this strong?!"Jay looked at it with a mocking, almost amused smile as he raised his right metallic arm.
The prosthetic limb gleamed with a dark silver tone, covered in intricate ancient runes that emitted a faint blue glow.
"You know… arcane magic is rather complicated," he replied in an arrogant, carefree tone. "That's why you always have to learn how to read the ancient runes.
"He pointed with two fingers at the inscriptions running along his metallic arm, as if explaining something obvious to a child.
The entity, furious, lunged at him again. Its six arms transformed into a whirlwind of savage blows, attacking thousands of times in mere seconds.
Each punch sliced through the air with a deadly whistle.
But Jay dodged every attack with insulting ease, moving as if he were playing. His body leaned, spun, and retreated with surgical precision.
Not once did he falter.
In his eyes there was only coldness.