Zane's world had always been one of magic and power—a world where the strong ruled, and the weak were swept away in the currents of conflict. But today, the battle between the kingdoms had left everything in ruins.
He stood at the edge of a once-beautiful city, now nothing more than a battlefield. Towering spires had crumbled, and the streets were littered with the remnants of war—charred corpses, twisted steel, and the smell of burning magic that clung to the air.
The war between the kingdoms of Aeloria and Alverath had been waged for decades, each side harnessing devastating powers in their quest for dominance. And now, the price had been paid. The kingdoms' armies had clashed here, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake.
Zane, a survivor of the chaos, wandered through the wreckage, numb to the world around him. The war had taken everything from him. His parents—powerful mages in their own right—had been caught in the crossfire, their lives snuffed out by a deadly spell. No relatives, no allies. Just him. Alone.
Among the ashes, Zane's eyes fell on a familiar object—his parents' old journal. It had been handed down to him when he was a child, a symbol of their love, their legacy, and their magic. The pages were worn, faded with time, but the book had always felt... special. He didn't fully understand its significance, but his parents had told him to never let it go.
He picked it up, dusting off the dirt and debris. The leather was soft beneath his fingers, and the intricate symbols etched into the cover hummed faintly with energy. Zane opened it carefully, but as his thumb brushed over the pages, something strange happened. A drop of blood, unnoticed from a small cut on his hand, splashed onto the book's surface.
In that instant, the air around him seemed to freeze. The ground beneath him trembled. His body tensed, and a sharp pain shot through his chest, as if something was awakening deep inside him.
> [You have been chosen.]
Zane's heart skipped a beat. The words appeared, shimmering in his vision. He looked down at the book in his hands, now glowing with a strange, otherworldly light. Panic surged through him, but before he could react, another message flashed in his mind:
> [System: The Void's Chosen has been activated.]
The book trembled, and the world around him seemed to distort. The air grew thick with an unfamiliar energy, and Zane felt something surge through him—a power he had never known. It coiled through his veins, a force that thrummed with ancient magic and boundless potential.
> [Quest: Survive the Trial of the Void.]
Zane staggered back, his head spinning. He felt as though the very fabric of reality was warping around him. But before he could process what was happening, the ground cracked open before him, and a monstrous figure emerged from the rift. Its glowing eyes locked onto him, and an oppressive presence filled the air.
Fear gripped him. He had no weapons. No magic. Just the remnants of his old life—and now this.
But something deep inside him stirred, a strange burning desire to fight, to survive. He wasn't just Zane anymore. He was something different.
The trial had begun