"Then the time has come. Hasn't it?" a man asked, smiling at another man who had just arrived.
"Everyone is really excited, aren't they? I can hear their screams from here."
"Yes, open the door. He'll have his last meal before heading to the execution in five minutes." The man who had arrived had his head covered with a mask, showing only his eyes.
In his right hand was a large iron axe. While in his left was half a moldy loaf of bread.
The man in front of the door nodded as he picked the right key and then opened the rusty iron door behind him.
A stench immediately filled the air. But the men didn't care, they were already used to it.
"Cairen Veyrith, today is the day of your execution. You should be happy. You'll have your last meal and then finally head to a worse place." The man who opened the door laughed as he looked at the only being chained with shackles at the back of the dark cell.
The person in the cell didn't reply. Didn't even move.
"Don't waste time with useless chatter," the executioner said as he approached the boy in the cell. He unfastened the chains from the massive nails that restricted the boy's movements and approached Cairen with the moldy bread.
But the boy didn't react, only looked at the bread with the same empty gaze as always.
"I at least tried to be a little kind. But if you don't want it, then fine." The executioner said as he dropped the bread on the ground and stepped on it.
"Stand up. It's your time." The executioner said as he left the cell without concern. And just as he expected, Cairen, the fallen boy, stood up and began to follow behind him. His throat and arms remained bound by heavy chains.
The two walked down an underground corridor where the only light came from small holes in the ceiling. At that moment, the ground above their heads was vibrating.
"Do you hear that? Boy? The footsteps, the voices, the cries of excitement. They don't hate you, no. They feel something worse than satisfaction. At finally seeing your end come. Isn't that impressive?" The executioner said with a smile.
But the boy still just followed behind him, as if already dead.
At the end of the corridor, the door swung open with a bang. The raw sunlight pierced into their eyes. The executioner didn't mind. But Cairen felt his eyes burn after so long in the darkness. He paused for a moment, shielding his eyes with his hands.
But the executioner didn't like his pause and kicked his leg, making him fall onto the dirt ground. And without any pity, the executioner grabbed the chain around his neck and dragged him.
His body was dragged to the center of a massive coliseum. In the stands, thousands upon thousands of people shouted at the sight of Cairen. Some spat, others smiled. Children pointed fingers. Every gaze sealing his fate completely.
He was placed on his knees. No words were spoken. No defense was allowed.
Cairen Veyrith. Accused of genocide. Called a monster. Words he no longer bothered to contest.
The executioner approached. The axe was raised high. Positioned above the boy's head. The blade reflected the sunlight.
On the ground, Cairen didn't think of screaming or running. He simply let it happen. Hopelessness and abandonment made him think the only thing left was…
Death.
It was at that moment, suddenly… a voice arose.
'Ding!'
[You have been abandoned by the human race and have become a Fallen.]
[The Fallen System has been awakened.]
At that moment, the blade finally came down.
But pain, or anything at all, never came.
Instead, Cairen found himself in total darkness. It was thick. It felt like liquid and solid at the same time. An endless sea of darkness.
An unknown amount of time passed. Cairen felt as if he were in an eternal dream. Memories of his life flashed through his mind, and of how he ended up being executed. That voice, the one he didn't know the origin of, had been right.
He had been abandoned. By his own family, friends, enemies, strangers, and his race.
The humans had abandoned him…
…
A faint sound suddenly invaded Cairen's ears. A constant echo of dripping water. Slowly, his consciousness returned, and he seemed to wake up.
His eyes opened slowly. There were no more screams, no voices, no clank of chains. The only thing he felt was that the air was damp, and the stench was even worse than his cell. He felt like he was in something like a dark cave, with no light anywhere.
But at least now, he could move. Unlike the darkness from before, which had seemed like an eternity while also passing in an instant.
But before he could process what was happening, the voice he had heard before his execution returned. It was cold, echoing deep in his mind. It didn't seem to have a gender, nor sound like a child or an adult. It was truly strange.
[Transfer completed successfully!]
[Locating host…]
[Lower cultivation plane detected.]
[Adjusting to recognized plane.]
[Success!]
"… What the hell?…" Cairen's voice sounded hoarse, like a whisper in the darkness.
'Ding!'
[The Fallen System has been initiated. Say "Status," host.]
Cairen frowned, thinking it didn't make sense. But he felt that it didn't mean him harm. The only reason he was still alive, he judged, was this voice.
"Status…"
Suddenly, a translucent panel appeared before Cairen's eyes. Even in the darkness of the place, he could see the panel perfectly well.
He looked curiously at it, noticing the countless strange symbols. For some reason, he could understand them perfectly — even though he had never seen this language before.
----------------------------------------
[Fallen System]
Name: Cairen Veyrith.
Age: 16.
Bloodline: Fallen Human (No grade)
Titles: *** ******** ***
Cultivation: None.
Passive Abilities: None.
Active Abilities: None.
Fallen Abilities: None.
[Missions] {+}
---------------------------------------
Cairen observed the information, the first two were obvious, but the rest he didn't fully understand. The only thing that truly caught his attention was the last option. It was blinking and was the only thing moving on the panel.
In his mind, he wanted to see what it was, and, as if it were an order, the mission function opened.
[Main Missions (01/10)]
{First mission: Show the strength of the Fallen}
{Reward: **********}
[Secondary Missions]
{Survive and eliminate the lurking being.}
{Reward: Random Fallen Bloodline of Grade 3.}
As soon as Cairen read the last mission, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. A sense of death was something he remembered. It was the same feeling he had before the axe struck his neck.
But this time, Cairen, for some reason, didn't want to let himself be killed. No, his body instinctively moved to the side. He couldn't see, but he heard something scrape just past the back of his head.
He stood up, putting a hand to his neck, looking carefully around. The panel had disappeared at that moment. The darkness didn't allow him to see anything around him, and anxiety gripped Cairen.
Something was there. He didn't know what it was, from where it would attack, or how it would attack. He had nothing to defend himself with. How would he survive?
His breathing quickened as he focused. His mind was completely locked on the invisible enemy.
Silence. The only sound was the dripping of water in the distance. Cairen closed his eyes, focusing entirely on his other senses, smell and hearing.
His breathing calmed…
When suddenly, he felt the same sensation as before. Whatever it was, it was attacking again. He heard something slither and leap toward him. But it was too fast to dodge.
Cairen put his arms in front of his neck, where he thought it would strike, and then terrible pain erupted. Something had bitten and coiled around his arm.
Cairen immediately felt his body heat up as his arm went completely numb. The pain was so intense he thought he might faint. And he instantly knew what it was.
It was a serpent. Definitely, and a truly venomous one.
'Shit. Am I really going to die? Again? Am I really this useless?'
Cairen suddenly felt like screaming the despair, the rage, the hatred, and the lack of will he thought he had forgotten came rushing back. Along with an immense desire.
'NO, I DON'T WANT TO DIE AGAIN. I'VE ALREADY BEEN ABANDONED, EVEN BY MYSELF. I REFUSE TO LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!'
Cairen screamed in his mind as a momentary clarity surged. Without hesitation, Cairen thought of the only way to kill the serpent.
And then his body acted instinctively. His mouth opened as wide as possible, showing his teeth and his fangs. They sank directly into the serpent's body, which was coiled around his arm.
His teeth sank deep into the serpent's flesh, making its foul blood enter his mouth. At that moment, Cairen felt his body weaken even more. The serpent didn't release him, if anything, more and more venom seemed to be flowing into him.
He felt he truly would die soon. As a last hope, he opened his mouth again, his head and blood-filled mouth tilting back, and then, with all his strength, lunging forward.
This time, his bite wasn't on the body but directly on the serpent's head. The bite was so strong that it completely crushed the head. Half of the snake's head entered Cairen's mouth, and he swallowed it without care. He was about to bite again but realized his body no longer moved, no matter how much he tried.
Cairen fell to the ground with a thud. His whole body burned from the inside, but he felt at least that he had killed the serpent, he no longer felt its grip on his arm or its fangs embedded in him.
"Did I do it? I killed it, didn't I? Haha… for some reason, I'm actually happy. But it seems this is my end anyway…"
"This second life… was short, but it was already a little better than the first—"
His voice was cut off when, suddenly, a sound rang out.
'Ding!'
{Secondary Mission Completed!}
{Reward: Fallen Narakai Bloodline (Grade 3)}
Before Cairen could even think of anything, his vision went completely dark, as if he had been sent to another dimension.
And when he opened his eyes again…