"Bro, wake up!"
A rough hand shook his shoulder.
"The Twilight of the Gods servers go live at nine sharp. You sleep through this, and you'll miss launch day."
Servers?Twilight of the Gods?
Liam Lin's eyes snapped open.
The ceiling above him was familiar—cracked plaster, cheap LED strips, posters peeling at the edges—yet something felt off.
"…The Dream Chasers Club?"
His heart skipped.
"Wait—no. That's impossible."
Hadn't he been set up? Betrayed and killed in the God's Ruins by that snake Wu Xiaodao during an endgame expedition?
So why—
Liam grabbed his phone.
May 20, 2032.
His breath caught.
"…I've been reborn."
Ten years earlier.
Back to the day Twilight of the Gods launched.
Before everything went wrong.
Before the war.
Before the end of the world.
"I'm back," he whispered.
Seeing the shock on his face, the tall red-haired guy standing over him—Macfarlene, his guildmate and roommate—quickly softened his tone.
"Hey, easy. Don't stress yourself out. We'll figure it out together. We'll raise the money."
"…Your sister will be fine."
The words hit like a hammer.
Memory surged back in full color.
At this point in his previous life, his younger sister had been struck by a hit-and-run driver. A blood clot in her brain. Emergency surgery.
$300,000.
The driver vanished. No cameras. No witnesses.
The police found nothing.
Liam had begged.
Knelt in the hospital hallway.
His friends scraped together $260,000, loans included.
But the hospital refused to operate over the remaining $40,000.
She died that night.
Cold.
Silent.
Alone.
Liam's fists clenched until his nails dug into his palms.
This time… no.
"Sis," he muttered, eyes burning, "I won't let you go. Not again."
He exhaled slowly, then looked up at Macfarlene and smiled—calm, resolute.
"Kratos," he said, using his friend's in-game name,"let's log in."
"This time, we write our own fate."
Macfarlene studied him for a moment, then grinned."That's the Liam I know. Go get it, bro."
Twilight of the Gods
Liam lay back into the game pod, neural links locking into place.
To the world, Twilight of the Gods was marketed as the first true global VR MMO, jointly developed by over a hundred nations.
A second Earth.
A shared future.
But Liam knew the truth.
This game wasn't built by governments.
It was a God-Creation Project—designed by the Galactic Overseer, powered by remnants of Earth's ancient gods.
Its purpose?
Preparation.
Five years from now, the Arlette Star System would invade.
Civilization would collapse.
Only those strong enough—ascended through the game—would survive.
"I wasted my first life," Liam murmured.
"I didn't awaken my talent until the moment I died."
This time…
"I want to see what I truly am."
Character Creation
Light flooded his vision.
A cinematic began to play—vast celestial wars, fallen pantheons, collapsing worlds.
Duration: 8 hours.Fast-forward: Disabled.Option: Skip.
In his past life, almost everyone skipped it.
No one had eight hours to waste on launch day.
But Liam stayed.
Because he knew the secret.
The first player to watch the entire promotional film…
…received a God-Tier Talent Awakening Stone.
Talents were everything in Twilight of the Gods.
They defined growth limits.
Defined destiny.
Ranks were divided into:
Yellow
Profound
Earth
Heaven
Saint
God
In his past life, every God-Tier talent holder became a legend.
This time?
One of them would be him.
Eight hours passed.
Finally—
Ding!
Congratulations!You are the first player to complete the Twilight of the Gods promotional experience.
Reward Obtained:God-Tier Talent Awakening Stone ×1
Liam smiled.
"Just as I remembered."
Birth of the Snow Emperor
Character Creation Hall.
"Class?" the system asked.
"Archer."
"Nickname?"
"Snow Emperor."
No hesitation.
No second guessing.
Class confirmed.Entering Novice Village #10086…
Light twisted.
The world solidified.
Players were everywhere—ten thousand per village, meaning well over a hundred million players online already.
The game was a global phenomenon.
Liam moved quietly to an empty corner, pulled out the radiant stone, and activated it.
"Awaken."
Ding!
Warning: Talent level exceeds Awakening Stone capacity.Only partial awakening possible.
Liam froze.
"…What?"
Ding!
Talent awakened:Hand of Divine Judgment
He immediately opened the talent panel.
Talent: Hand of Divine Judgment
Rank: Transcendent God-TierStars: ★☆☆☆☆ (1 Star)
Effect 1:Each basic attack deals 1% of your Max HP as true damage.
Effect 2:Each basic attack permanently increases Max HP by +1.
Proficiency: 0 / 1000(Only damage dealt to living beings counts.)
Liam stared.
Transcendent… God-Tier?
In ten years of gameplay, he had never heard of such a rank.
And this effect—
Permanent health growth?
This wasn't strong.
It was absurd.
He opened his stats.
Player: Snow EmperorLevel: 1Class: Archer
HP: 100 / 100
MP: 50 / 50
Attack: 9
Magic Power: 5
Armor: 3
Magic Resistance: 1
Attack Speed: 0.63
Movement Speed: 3.1
Talent: Hand of Divine JudgmentSkill: Rapid Shot (★☆☆☆☆)Equipment: Novice Longbow
Without the talent, he'd be average.
With it?
He was a monster waiting to be born.
"No more delays."
"Time to grind."
First Blood
Outside the village, fields stretched endlessly.
Red eyes gleamed in the grass.
Red-Eyed Rabbit (Common)Level: 1HP: 90
Easy prey.
Thwip!
An arrow flew.
–8
At the same moment—
His max HP ticked upward.
101.
Liam laughed under his breath.
"With this… I'm unstoppable."
He kept firing.
Slow attack speed—painfully slow compared to his past life—but every shot made him stronger.
Ding!
Red-Eyed Rabbit slain.EXP +1.
Liam drew his next arrow, eyes cold and focused.
"This time…"
"…I climb to the very top."