The earth trembled. The sky dimmed, not from clouds, but from something more… unnatural.

  Kazuki stood alone before the cracked field just outside the Duke’s outer borders. His soldiers—cloaked in cursed armor and glowing faintly with eerie blue eyes—lined up behind him in perfect silence. Hundreds of them.

  Then—

  They came.

  Monsters that looked like they were never meant to exist poured from the horizon.

  Some floated with twisted wings. Others crawled with limbs that bent the wrong way. Some had no faces, others had too many. Their bodies were built from void-like matter, constantly shifting.

  At the center stood the Herald of the Abyss, the same red-eyed creature in a shredded royal robe. Its voice echoed without moving its mouth.

  > “You were not supposed to be born in this time.”

  Kazuki said nothing.

  > “A human… no, a soul fragmented by tragedy, reborn by defiance… you are the anomaly.”

  Still, Kazuki didn’t respond. But in his mind, questions spun.

  > What are you?

  > What is this prophecy?

  The Herald stepped forward, grinning.

  > “We are the Abyss-born—creatures born from the void between dimensions. Born from collapsed timelines and failed worlds. We are entropy given form.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  > “The prophecy… was never meant for the people of this world.”

  Kazuki’s eye narrowed slightly. The creature continued:

  > “Long ago, a being of immeasurable intellect—known only as the Archweaver—predicted a fracture. A soul shattered across time, reborn again and again into tragic worlds, cursed to feel everything… and lose everything.”

  > “That soul… was you.”

  The Herald opened its arms.

  > “You are the Child of the Prophecy—the one who will bring balance… or tip the scale into chaos.”

  > “And we… were created to ensure you choose the latter.”

  Kazuki’s aura began to swell.

  “Then you’ve failed.”

  > “Hmph?”

  “I may have lost my past… my world… but I won’t lose the people here.”

  He raised his hand high. His dark army responded—raising weapons and claws.

  “Necromancer’s Command: Wage war upon the void.”

  The undead charged.

  Clashes erupted instantly. Blackened steel met shapeless horrors. Energy blasts cracked the sky. Twisted spells collided. Bodies fell. Shadows screamed.

  Kazuki didn’t move yet. He stood back, his eyes calculating everything.

  > [Analysis Active: Weak Points Detected]

  [Skill Sync: Elemental Fusion Ready]

  He lifted his dagger. With barely a whisper, his body glowed with blinding light before vanishing.

  In a blink, he reappeared at the heart of the enemy formation, slicing through three Abyss-born with a soundless strike.

  > [Skill Activated: Silent Death]

  [Skill Chain: Phantom Step → Elemental Cleave → Soul Banishment]

  His blade burst with fire, ice, wind, and lightning. Every swing banished the Abyss-born into nothingness.

  The Herald screeched, finally stepping into the fray.

  > “You reject your fate. So be it. Let’s test your will!”

  They clashed.

  Herald vs Kazuki.

  Black void against element-fused steel.

  Each strike they exchanged cracked the very ground. The air screamed around them. Kazuki’s face remained emotionless—but inside, something stirred.

  A fire.

  A will.

  A choice.

  The Herald tried to consume him with a dark spiral, but Kazuki shattered it with a single palm.

  > [Skill Activated: Dimensional Collapse]

  > [Cooldown: 8 Minutes]

  The Herald reeled—injured, furious.

  > “You… were not supposed to be this powerful yet.”

  Kazuki finally replied:

  “I’ve always been ahead of schedule.”

  And then—he unleashed his trump card.

  > [Spell: Elemental Fury – Forbidden Variant: Soul Execution]

  [Combined with Necromancy: Soul Harvest Mode]

  A storm of every element formed around him—then focused into a single point and fired.

  The Herald screamed as it was engulfed in the blast.

  And when the smoke cleared—

  It was gone.

  The battlefield went silent.

  The remaining Abyss-born began retreating, but Kazuki raised his hand.

  “You entered my domain uninvited.”

  Chains of darkness shot from the earth, dragging the remaining monsters down into a swirling vortex. Gone.

  His army stood victorious.

  Kazuki, still silent, turned his back and began walking.

  > [Status Update: Title Gained – “One Who Commands Death”]

  [Intelligence: 180]

  [New Skill Unlocked: Soul Archive]

  – View memories of slain intelligent monsters

  – Uncover truths hidden in death

  But Kazuki didn’t smile.

  He didn’t react.

  He simply whispered:

  > “If the Archweaver created

  this prophecy… then I’ll rewrite the ending myself.”