Long Tian, a professor of ancient Chinese culture at Beijing University, never imagined that his obsession with imperial tombs would lead him to the edge of the unknown. For years, he had researched forgotten legends, ancient maps, and manuscripts that spoke of an unnamed emperor, feared even by the gods.
Now, in front of a dusty entrance to a sealed cave beneath a mountain in southwestern China, his heart beat with a mixture of excitement and fear. He was accompanied by five graduate students, all armed with lanterns, cameras, and notebooks.
Professor Long, are you sure we should open it? asked Mei, his closest assistant, eyeing the stone slab with inscriptions nearly erased by time.
Long Tian didn't answer immediately. He ran his fingers over the ancient characters, recognizing words that no modern archaeologist would understand. "King beyond death," "Seal of Hell," "Never open."
This is the most important discovery of our lives he finally said. And we cannot ignore it out of fear.
With the help of his students, they removed the slab. Inside, a funeral chamber adorned with tarnished gold, demonic statues, and a spiritual pressure that made it hard to breathe. At the back, the coffin. Black, elegant, covered with carvings of dragons, cranes, and a strange symbol: a crown wrapped in flames.
Let's document everything ordered Long Tian as he approached the coffin.
He placed both hands on the lid and pushed carefully. A creak echoed through the room. Suddenly, dark mist erupted from the coffin. In the blink of an eye, the room shook, the torches went out, and time seemed to stop.
Professor?! shouted one of the students. But it was too late.
Long Tian was sucked into the darkness. He felt his body disintegrating, floating in a void with no light or sound. He tried to scream, but he had no voice.
Until...
TONG!
The sound of an ancient gong resonated in his mind. He opened his eyes sharply and found himself inside the coffin. It was no longer the funeral chamber. It was another reality. Cold. Silent. No trace of his students.
In front of him, a red circle floated with glowing runes and an eye in its center.
[Hell King System activated...]
[Evaluating host body... compatibility 93%... System linked successfully.]
A neutral voice, neither masculine nor feminine, spoke directly into his mind.
W-What… is this? Long Tian asked.
[You have been chosen as the new bearer of the Hell King System.]
[You are the heir to a forgotten legacy... and the builder of a new hell.]
Long Tian looked at his hands, which now seemed slightly more ethereal. A transparent interface appeared in front of him with data he didn't fully understand.
[Available missions: Explore your surroundings. Find an energy source. Survive.]
What kind of curse is this…? he whispered.
But deep within his soul, something was awakening. Something that had slept for centuries… and was now being reborn.
The tomb reeked of damp stone and ancient dust. Long Tian moved cautiously, each shadow seeming like a lurking danger. He searched for his students, but there was no trace of them—only ruins, stone, and an unsettling silence.
Then, he reached a wider chamber, dimly lit by a soft glow. In the center of the room, atop a pedestal covered in archaic symbols, floated a crystal the size of a fist: brilliant, pure, and radiating a warm energy.
[Side Mission: Acquire the energy source.]
[Warning: Two hostile entities detected.]
Long Tian barely had time to turn around before he saw them: two human-like corpses, their clothes rotted with time and their skin ashen. They moved slowly, clumsily, but with clear purpose: eternal sentinels guarding the crystal.
He stepped back instinctively. With his normal human body, no enhanced strength or powers, he couldn't possibly fight two zombies and survive.
"Damn it..." he whispered, crouching behind a column. His breathing quickened as he desperately searched for a solution.
Think. Observe. Wait. Each step of the zombies marked a pattern he could memorize. If he could throw something to distract them, he might earn a few seconds.
He looked around and saw a small rock. Grabbing it carefully, he threw it toward the farthest corner of the room.
Clack!
The sharp sound made both corpses turn instantly, walking toward the noise and leaving the pedestal unguarded.
Long Tian didn't hesitate. He sprinted silently to the crystal and placed his hand on it.
[Spirit stone detected. Absorb as energy source for the system?]
"Yes, do it now!" he whispered urgently.
The crystal shone brightly. The pedestal trembled and the spirit stone was absorbed into the system in a flash of white light.
[Absorbing spiritual energy: 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0]
[Energy source acquired. System access level increased.]
But the glow had drawn the zombies back. Both corpses growled deeply and charged at him, moving faster and more aggressively than before.
Long Tian ran for his life. The system marked a secondary exit on his interface, and he didn't hesitate. He turned, leapt over a rock, rolled across the floor, and darted through a narrow passage as the zombies' growls grew louder behind him.
One zombie managed to scratch his arm, tearing his sleeve and leaving a red mark. But he didn't stop. With one last effort, he dove through a broken opening in the wall and fell onto a sloped floor covered in dust.
The air was cleaner there. He was out of the chamber. The zombies couldn't follow.
[Mission complete. Reward: System activated with minimal energy.]
Lying on the ground, panting and trembling, Long Tian clenched his teeth.
"What… the hell is this place?"
No answer came from the system. Only silence... and a new notification glowing before his eyes.