( This is an author's note. This is my first book, so take it easy with me. In the comments section, constructive criticism is more than welcome)
Prologue
The rain pounded against the glass like an unrelenting war drum.
Alexander Noir sat alone in his penthouse apartment, the neon skyline of New Chicago flickering beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. Holographic screens floated around him — stock data, military reports, classified AI algorithms, all processed at lightning speed in his mind. To most, this was madness. To him, it was Tuesday.
He leaned back, eyes like dying embers glowing faintly red in the artificial light. His reflection in the glass was ghostly — sharp features, jet-black hair falling over one eye. He looked twenty, maybe. In reality, he'd stopped counting after sixteen. IQ 320. Perfect memory. Alone.
The world had long since passed the edge of reason. In 2096, humanity stood among stars, yet choked on its own corruption. Corporations ruled governments. Artificial gods whispered in databanks. And Alexander… was a ghost within the machine, a mind too dangerous to live freely.
The knock on his door was soft. Too soft.
He didn't turn around. "You're early."
A pause. Then came the sound of a silenced pistol.
One shot. Perfectly placed.
Alexander's body collapsed to the ground with a thud. Blood spread like ink across polished marble.
But he didn't feel pain.
He floated.
Darkness welcomed him like an old friend.
> [REINCARNATOR SYSTEM INITIALIZING...]
[Welcome, Alexander Noir.]
[Death Confirmed. Transfer to Candidate World #0713 in Progress...]
A voice — synthetic, genderless, ancient — echoed in his mind. His vision was filled with golden lights, shifting patterns, languages unknown yet understood. The void trembled.
> [You have been selected. You are not the first. You will not be the last.]
[System Class: Evolution system.]
[Main Trait: INFINITE POTENTIAL]
[ Mainclass: Necromancer.]
[Subclass: Monarch of the dead.]
"What... is this?"
> [A new beginning.]
A world formed before him.
Black skies. Moons that bled silver. Cities surrounded by walls of bone and stone. Massive beasts flying in the distance. Sword-wielding soldiers in futuristic armor. And magic — the air was drenched in it.
He took a breath. Cold. Real.
And he opened his eyes in a new body — older, stronger, and standing in the center of a ruined battlefield... surrounded by the dead.