Darkness.
That was the first thing he felt. Not cold. Not pain. Just an endless void, swallowing time, memory, and self.
Then… the whisper came.
> "Initializing soul reconstruction…"
> "Anomaly detected."
A sharp breath clawed its way into his lungs as he opened his eyes.
He was lying in mud. Filthy, cold, stinking mud that clung to his skin like chains. Rats scurried nearby. A shattered bottle sparkled under the dim glow of a flickering streetlamp.
A child's voice laughed nearby.
> "Another trashspawn dropped dead. Ugh, gross."
Footsteps faded into the slums.
He remained still, staring at the gray sky above. Breathing. Thinking. Remembering.
> "They betrayed me... didn't they?"
Bits and pieces came flooding back — a blade through his back, glowing sigils, voices chanting, a woman screaming his name… and the cold eyes of those he once trusted.
He had died. But not for the first time.
---
> Status Interface Detected
> Name: Unknown
Level: Unregistered
Class: Undiscovered
Fate Mark: Suppressed
Unique Skill: ∞ Oblivion Mirage (SSS-Rank – Hidden)
Note: You do not belong. You are not part of the summoned cycle.
---
He chuckled, voice hoarse.
> "So I wasn't summoned like the others… I was dragged here."
His fingers curled into fists.
He remembered flashes of power. A circle of heroes. A throne that rejected him. And the loop. Every time he tried to save her — a young girl in a burning alley — he failed. Died. Rewound. Again and again.
But this time…
He let her die.
And the loop stopped.
> "...So that's how you work."
The world thought he was weak. That was good. Let them believe it.
He would wear the mask of a fool.
> "You want me to play your game, Fate?"
"Fine. But I'll play it my way."
---
[Name Assigned: Riven Morgrave]
[Status: Masked Pretender]
From the filth of the slums, a shadow rose. One that would one day bring empires to their knees, gods to silence, and fate itself to ruin.
But for now?
He smiled softly and limped away, pretending to be no one.
The strongest were always the ones you never noticed.