Chapter 2 – The First Dead
[Henrique's Perspective]
Kiala's hand was warm.
But not warm like human skin.
It felt like touching a furious star.
Henrique didn't understand how she was holding him, or why he trusted her so much.
But when the ceiling began to crumble and the distorted eyes of a monster appeared through the cracked window, he didn't hesitate.
He clutched his children with one arm and held onto her with the other.
> "Sónia, Leandro, Miro—come with me!" he shouted, voice laced with panic.
The floor cracked open. From the fissure, a creature with spindly legs and hollow eyes emerged.
It had a mouth on its abdomen, filled with too many teeth, and its flesh pulsed like living muscle.
> "It's a Flesh Crawler," Kiala murmured, her golden eyes narrowing. "Level 7, Minor class. Weak. But fast. And starving."
Henrique stared at her, desperate.
> "What do you mean 'level'? 'Class'? What… what is all of this?"
> "The end of the world."
"And the beginning of yours."
She released his hand, raised her leg—and with a single kick, shattered the creature's skull in four directions.
A psychic scream echoed in Henrique's mind:
[You have defeated: Flesh Crawler – Level 7]
[+150 EXP]
[Drop: Minor Skill Crystal (Active) – "Muscle Slash"]
[Alert: You do not yet possess a core. Drop stored in the void.]
Henrique dropped to his knees.
> "What was that...? A voice... inside my head…"
> "It's the System," Kiala replied. "The new reality replacing the old."
"The world is now a survival field. Levels, monsters, skills."
"Those who fall, die. Those who rise… become gods."
Henrique trembled.
But a part of him… was more alive than he had felt in years.
> "What the hell is this... Why is it happening now?"
Kiala stared deeply into him.
> "Because your soul has awakened."
"You are a Candidate."
"One of the few allowed to... evolve."
They fled through the city.
The streets were covered in fire and broken glass. Screams, sirens, crashed cars.
People ran like panicked insects—but not everyone made it.
In front of the Chinese store, Henrique saw a man being devoured from behind by a creature that looked like a concrete octopus. His legs buckled.
> "We… we can't help him…" he choked.
> "You must not help," Kiala said flatly. "You are still weak."
"You must only kill."
Henrique clenched his jaw and ran with his children through alleys, avoiding the main roads.
Leandro whimpered but endured. Sónia carried her youngest brother, walking like an adult.
Henrique looked at them and felt the sting of failure—but also, a spark.
> "I won't let this world take them too."
---
[Lívia's Perspective]
She awoke naked on the marble floor.
The mirror on the balcony was cracked.
Beyond the shattered glass, the city burned—and in the reflection, her eyes were… different.
Red. Like living rubies.
> "What's… happening to me?"
She stood up, trembling.
On the wall, an ancient rune emerged by itself.
A symbol she didn't recognize—but somehow felt had always been part of her.
A deep, elegant female voice echoed in her mind:
[Awakening complete: Reincarnation detected]
[Profile: Lívia, Heir to the Crimson Throne]
[Dormant Class: Empress of Stellar Blood]
[Soul Synchronization: 11%]
[First inherited skill: "Crimson Command"]
> "Crimson Throne…? Was I someone else before?"
Images flooded her mind—not memories, but echoes.
— Armies kneeling.
— A universe in flames.
— A man in a golden cloak shouting her name… before dying.
And at the center… a throne made from the bones of ancient kings.
Lívia staggered to the bathroom.
She splashed water on her face.
But when she looked in the mirror… she didn't see herself.
She saw another woman.
Taller. Stronger. Wearing a crown of blood on her brow.
> "I have returned… to finish what I began."
---
[Henrique's Perspective]
After hours of fleeing, they found shelter in a half-ruined building—an old elementary school.
The windows were shattered, but there were doors, locks, and silence.
Kiala searched every room, every corner.
> "We can stay here for now," she said. "This zone is unstable. The monsters haven't claimed their territories yet."
Henrique sat his children in a classroom, where chalkboards were still scribbled with letters and drawings.
Miro slept. Leandro leaned against the wall. Sónia held her father's hand.
> "Dad… what kind of world is this?" she asked.
Henrique had no answer.
But something burned in his chest.
It felt like his soul was being pulled out, twisted, forged.
Kiala approached.
> "Your body is still weak. But your spirit… is forming."
She raised her hand.
A small silver sphere appeared.
> "This is your Core."
"With it, you can absorb crystals. And become more than human."
Henrique swallowed hard.
> "And if I refuse?"
> "Then your children will die."
"And you'll be just another forgotten corpse in a heap of the hungry."
Without thinking further, he accepted.
The sphere entered his chest like fire.
Henrique screamed.
[Core successfully implanted]
[Class: Undefined]
[Level 1]
[Stored Drop Detected: Skill Crystal "Muscle Slash"]
[Would you like to absorb it?]
> "Yes… YES!"
The pain was unbearable.
Like his skin was being slashed from the inside.
[Skill successfully acquired]
[Muscle Slash – Active (Level 1)]
A swift strike with the hands that slices through flesh with ease. Multiplies physical damage by 120%.
Henrique collapsed to his knees.
But when he looked at his hands… they glowed.
He was no longer a failure.
No longer an ordinary man.
He was… something new.
And far away, atop a tower, a woman smiled.
Lívia.
> "So… you've started to change, Henrique…"
She raised her hand.
And her first servant knelt at her feet.
A creature with four eyes, crooked knees, and a voice that called her…
> "My Queen."