Blood.
That was the first thing Kael Valen tasted as he lay broken beneath the shattered throne of the world's last tyrant.
His blade—once hailed as the "Dawnpiercer"—was shattered at his side, just like the comrades who had fought beside him. The air reeked of ash and scorched steel. The skies above the ruined capital burned red, lit by the unnatural firestorm summoned by the Mad Tyrant himself.
"Pathetic… even in death, you refuse to kneel."
A heavy boot crushed Kael's chest, snapping ribs already half-broken. Standing above him, draped in crimson robes stitched with black lightning, was Lord Aserion Voss—the man the world called the Endbringer.
Kael coughed blood, his vision failing, the weight of defeat more suffocating than the pain. "You... you destroyed everything... Your empire will fall. The world won't forget."
Aserion merely laughed. "The world doesn't need to remember. It only needs to obey."
And then, the world went dark.
---
He thought it was death.
He hoped it was peace.
But what came next... was neither.
---
Kael opened his eyes to shadows.
Cold. Silent. Not the cold of death—but of the underground. Damp stone pressed against his cheek. Voices echoed faintly through a corridor beyond a steel door.
His fingers twitched.
Then a burning pain seared into his mind.
> [Shadow System Activated]
Host identified: Former Hero Kael Valen
Current form: Unnamed Shadow Servant, Class D
Status: Bound to Lord Aserion Voss
Objective: Alter Fate, Influence the Tyrant
Quest Initiated: Prevent World Annihilation – 0.00% Progress
Warning: Memory Collapse Imminent. Stabilizing...
You have been given a second life. Do not waste it.
Kael gasped, crawling backward into the corner of the cell-like room. The walls were unfamiliar—dark brick, lined with shadowy sigils pulsing faintly in violet. He looked down.
This body... wasn't his.
He was thinner. Smaller. Paler. Dressed in the dull black garb of a servant. His hands—once calloused and calligraphed with sword scars—were smooth. Weak.
"What is this…?" he whispered.
But even as panic welled up in him, a rush of memories flooded in—not his own.
This body had once belonged to a nameless shadow attendant, one of the many servants Aserion Voss kept around him like ornaments. Obedient. Disposable. Invisible.
But somehow, Kael had become this shadow.
> [System Reminder: First Shadow Task Generated]
Task: Observe Aserion's state without detection
Reward: +50 Shadow Points
Failure: Host identity may be exposed
A surge of adrenaline drowned out Kael's confusion. His hands moved instinctively, pressing against the hidden latch in the wall. A peephole opened, revealing the throne room beyond.
And there—just meters away—stood Aserion Voss.
Alive. Younger. Not yet corrupted beyond repair.
The villain who had once ended the world… still had time.
Kael clenched his fist.
So this was his second chance. Not to be the hero again.
But to stop the monster… from the shadows.
> [Hidden Fate Thread Detected: "Reversal of Tyranny"]
New Passive Unlocked: Veil of Presence – Host is harder to notice unless chosen
Welcome, Shadowwalker. Let the rewriting of fate begin.
Kael's lips curved into a bitter, quiet smile.
"Then let's see how much fate I can break… before it breaks me."
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