Then light.
Kai Ren found himself standing in a small, sunlit apartment he had not seen in years.
The smell of his mother's cooking — simple omelette cury and fried rice with a little extra ghee — filled the air.
His father was laughing loudly at the dining table, newspaper in one hand, glasses slipping down his nose.
His little sister, only eight years old, was tugging at Kai Ren's shirt with both hands.
"Brother! Come play with me! You promised!"
Kai Ren — younger, softer, no scars on his knuckles yet — smiled and let her drag him to the tiny balcony.
The evening sun painted everything golden.
They played with a cheap plastic ball, laughing every time it bounced off the railing.
His mother called from the kitchen, voice warm and teasing.
"Kai ren! Dinner in ten minutes! Don't make your sister cry again!"
His father looked up from the newspaper, eyes full of quiet pride.
"Our boy is going to be an engineer one day. Build bridges that touch the sky."
The scene was perfect.
Too perfect.
Then the sound of screeching tires shattered everything.
A truck horn blared.
Glass exploded.
The world tilted violently.
Kai Ren saw his parents' car flip on the street below the balcony — once, twice — metal screaming, flames licking the wreckage. His little sister's scream cut through the chaos.
"Brother—!"
He reached for her, but his hands passed through empty air.
The balcony crumbled.
The sun turned blood-red. Everything burned.
Kai Ren woke up gasping.
His chest heaved like he had run a marathon through fire.
Sweat mixed with dried blood on his face.
His heart hammered so hard it felt like it would crack his already broken ribs.
For several long seconds he could only breathe — ragged, desperate gulps of air — while the dream clung to him like wet cement.
Mom… Dad… Little sister…
He hadn't dreamed of them in years.
Not since the accident that took them all when he was sixteen.
Kai Ren pressed a trembling hand to his face, trying to steady himself.
Only then did he notice the weight in his palm.
The Forbidden Monarch's Evil Stone rested there, pulsing with a soft, evil orange glow.
It felt alive.
Warm.
Hungry.
Before he could process it, the system messages bloomed in front of his eyes, glowing blood-red against the darkness of the void.
[FORBIDDEN MONARCH EVIL STONE – FULL ANALYSIS]
Detail: This is the strongest power fragment among all the Forbidden Monarch's relics.
Abilities Unlocked: • You may turn any dead creature's soul into part of your personal Evil Army.
• You can manipulate any physical object from a distance within a 500-meter radius — lift it into the air, bury it underground, or throw it with lethal force.
• No darkness-aligned beast, evil creature, or shadow entity will ever attack you.
• All your summons receive a permanent 50% power buff.
• You can now maintain active summons for an entire day without mana drain.
The messages continued without pause.
[SYSTEM QUERY]
Do you wish to claim the Forbidden Monarch's full inheritance?
YES / NO
Kai Ren's grey eyes sharpened instantly.
No hesitation.
His engineer mind had already weighed every variable during the trial.
He mentally selected YES.
[CONFIRMED]
Inheritance claim accepted.
[SYSTEM QUERY – CRITICAL]
Do you wish to absorb the Forbidden Monarch's Evil Stone?
YES / NO
Warning: Absorption will cause extreme, prolonged pain.
Your body may feel like it is being torn apart and rebuilt at the cellular level.
Survival is not guaranteed.
Kai Ren stared at the floating stone for half a second, then selected YES without blinking.
The pain hit like a freight train.
The Evil Stone shattered into liquid black-orange light and surged into his chest.
It felt as if every vein, every nerve, every bone was being melted and reforged in acid.
Kai Ren's back arched.
A raw, guttural sound tore from his throat — not a scream, but a choked growl.
His vision went white.
Muscles convulsed.
Blood vessels burst under his skin and healed instantly only to burst again.
[WARNING!]
Your body is reaching critical overload.
[WARNING!] Your body will be exploded if absorption continues.
[WARNING!] Pain threshold exceeded. Soul stability dropping.
The messages flashed red, faster and faster.
Kai Ren's entire body jerked violently in the void, floating like a broken puppet.
He bit down so hard his lip split.
Blood floated in tiny spheres around him.
Minutes felt like hours.
The agony was beyond anything he had suffered in the trial.
Then, suddenly, it stopped.
The stone's power settled inside his chest like a second, darker heart.
[ABSORPTION COMPLETE]
You can now use 1% of the Forbidden Monarch Evil Stone's full power.
To unlock 100% power, reach Level 1000.
Current Abilities: • You may convert up to 10 dead souls into permanent Evil Slaves.
• All previous stone abilities are now active at 1% efficiency.
The system voice turned almost respectful.
[COMMAND PROMPT]
What command do you wish to give the newly available Evil Souls?
Kai Ren's voice was hoarse but steady.
"Wake up."
The system corrected gently.
[COMMAND PROMPT – EVIL SOULS]
What command do you wish to give the Evil Souls?
Kai Ren exhaled slowly.
"Awaken."
The void trembled.
All around him, the corpses of the five Kings he had just slain began to rise.
Their broken bodies knit themselves back together with black-orange energy.
Eyes that had been empty now glowed with the same evil light as the stone in his chest.
They knelt in the darkness — five absolute monsters now bound to his will.
Kai Ren floated there, covered in his own dried blood, and smiled. It was a cold, dangerous, satisfied smile.
"Time to use the Evil Power."
He turned slowly.
Every monster he had killed inside the dungeon — the ogres, the giants, the spider queen, the greater demon, even the lesser creatures — was reviving.
The entire ruin was coming back to life, stronger, darker, and completely under his control.
Kai Ren raised his hand.
One by one, the most powerful monsters knelt before him and became his first true Evil Army.
When the last creature submitted, he finally turned toward the exit.
The archway reappeared.
The void faded.
Kai Ren stepped out of the secret ruin and back into the Eternal Grove.
The moment his foot touched the mossy ground, a silver-haired figure crashed into him.
Elyra — the high elf — threw her arms around him in a desperate, tight hug.
Her body trembled.
Tears soaked into his torn cloak.
"You're alive…"
she whispered, voice breaking.
"I thought… I thought the ruin had taken you. I waited… I waited so long."
Kai Ren stood still for a moment, surprised by the warmth.
Then, slowly, one bloodied hand came up and rested lightly on her back — not soft, but steady.
The rare gesture of quiet friendship he allowed only to those who had earned it.
"I'm back," he said, voice low and grave.
"And I'm not empty-handed."
Behind him, inside the now-silent ruin, ten powerful Evil Slaves waited in perfect obedience.
The real game had only just begun.