"Yes, I am ready to dive into the world of Eternal God Slayer," Alavrio replied instantly.
As soon as he spoke, the world around him went blank.
The sounds of the real world faded. For a split second, there was nothing—just a void where he could feel his heart beating and his breath echoing.
Then, out of nowhere, a half-naked girl appeared in front of him, floating endlessly.
"Welcome to the world of Eternal God Slayer. Please choose one from the following blessings:
1. Zephyrion's Blessing
2. Nyxara's Shadow Blessings
3. Solara's Ascendancy"
Alvario scanned the girl with white hair and eyes, floating in front of him endlessly.
He carefully read the blessings one by one.
"Zephyrion's Blessing: Bestows the power to rule and command over wind up to advanced tier without any training. Also allows the user to use other techniques exclusive to Goddess Zephyrion."
Hmmm… I will not decide yet.
"Solara's Ascendancy: A divine favor from the Sun Goddess. Allows absolute control over the light element up to advanced tier without any training or experience. Also grants access to other techniques exclusive to Solara."
"Nyxara's Shadow Blessings: A blessing from the deity of night and shadow. Allows control over the shadow and dark elements up to advanced tier without any experience."
Alvario closed his eyes and pondered for what seemed like ten minutes.
Finally, he decided to choose a blessing, but just as he was about to select, a feminine voice resonated in his ears.
"Due to host's inability to select a specific blessing, the system will automatically select the default set of blessings.
Solara's Ascendancy selected. Tap to proceed further."
Upon the automatic selection, Alvario's mouth fell slightly agape, but he quickly composed himself, consoling the fact that he had been planning to select that blessing anyway.
I wanted Nyxara's Blessings… but forget it, what's done is done.
Not letting regret overwhelm him, he pressed the continue button to proceed.
"User will be reincarnated in the body of Cyrus Arcane, one of the heirs of the Arcane Nexus Clan, one of the most powerful clans in the country of Kithsha.
We hope you enjoy your fantastic time exploring and enjoying the game."
The scene distorted as if glass were shattering, erasing itself from existence.
•••
In a dimly lit room, Alvario opened his blurry eyes. The world around him slowly adjusted, turning into distinct colors.
His eyes darted around the surroundings to check if the game had started, but to his surprise, he found himself crying.
He couldn't stop, even though it was definitely a cutscene. Yet he could still move his body freely.
Thankfully, he was in a room. The walls were paneled with dark, rich wood, and the floor was covered with thick, luxurious rugs.
The furniture was robust: a large oak table with intricate carvings and a high-backed chair covered in fabric.
Tall windows with heavy drapes allowed natural light to filter in, framing the view.
Before he could think further, he felt himself being lifted by a midwife and handed to a woman lying on the bed.
Alvario felt truly amazed, as if he were really there.
He felt touches, temperature, and the ability to move his body, though limited to an infant's capabilities.
Then he studied the woman holding him, who he knew was his mother.
She had rich amethyst eyes glowing with enigmatic light, deep violet hair with a streak of lavender reaching past her waist, a refined nose, and lush, inviting lips.
Locking her eyes with him, she smiled brightly. "Cyrus. His name is Cyrus Arcane."
Then she leaned forward to kiss Alvario, who was still mesmerized by her beauty.
He instinctively brought his little chubby hands forward to stop her, but she didn't falter and planted a gentle kiss on his lips.
He thought to himself that in the real world, his 'thing' must have hardened.
•••
For what seemed like hours, Alvario continued playing the game and made significant progress.
He completed several simple quests, like using Soul Essence for the first time—which wasn't explained properly. After a few failed attempts, he automatically learned it. He also trained with elders, among other tasks.
When he wandered around the clan—which was as large as a city, with grim, imposing buildings and dark twisted designs—he saw many demon hunters patrolling, training, or visiting the clan market with their families.
Whenever anyone passed by him, they greeted him with solemn respect, which made him feel better.
Even though he knew they were just NPCs.
He felt like a king. He only needed to issue orders, and items were provided within seconds.
Although he wasn't allowed to leave the family's residential area—the heart of the clan—whenever he went out, he felt several girls his age stealing glances at him.
After all, he was considerably handsome, having inherited his mother's features.
He had amethyst eyes, purple hair, and a well-defined facial structure.
Even though his siblings were NPCs, he couldn't ignore the fact that they weren't given the same facilities he had.
They were only allowed to see their mother occasionally, while Cyrus could go to her whenever he wanted.
He came to understand that in this clan, the most valuable trait was talent.
And talent was etched in every vein of his body—an advantage of being one of the main characters.
After a major time skip of eight years, he had gathered knowledge about the world, though only on the surface, as the power system and history weren't well explained.
Now capable of fighting several low-ranked demons alone, he was sent to the demon zone with his siblings and other experienced hunters to subjugate the demons lurking there.
Alvario fought easily and slew many low-ranked demons with swift, precise movements, thanks to the neural interface and haptic feedback.
"Kiaaakhhh!"
Killing another demon with his sword, his eyes darted around the vast expanse of the forest.
The forest was dark and twisted, with gnarled, blackened trees looming over toxic, mist-filled air. It was home to many low-ranking demons.
That was when his eyes fixated on an unnatural creature—something he had never seen in the game nor read or heard about.
A sudden chill ran down his spine as the creature stared back at him, motionless.
It appeared like a sleek, shadowy figure with a featureless face, except for glowing red eyes. Its body was black and thin, almost geometric, with sharp angular limbs and a weightless form.
What the heck…
His legs recoiled as he instinctively took a defensive stance, but seeing the existence unmoving, he braced himself for action.
Whoosh.
Using one of his skills, he vanished in a blur and reappeared in front of the creature.
But still, it didn't move.
He lunged forward, his blade cutting through the air with precision as he slashed at the dark, shadowy figure.
The sword made contact with its shoulder, but instead of the satisfying resistance of flesh and bone, there was an unnatural stillness.
His body froze, paralyzed as the creature's cold, dark energy gripped him in place.
Suddenly, his sword began to blacken and warp where it touched the creature. The metal corroded and twisted.
Black tendrils of corruption spread from the point of impact, creeping along the blade.
His eyes widened in horror as the darkness reached his hands, slithering up his arm.
It was cold, relentless, seeping into his veins and crawling under his skin until it overtook his entire body, leaving him unable to move.
Unexpectedly, his first-person view abruptly shifted.
The immersive close-up view of his character's hands and surroundings pulled back smoothly, expanding to reveal his character's entire form within the environment.
Now he observed his body in third-person view.
The once solid form began to crumble away as if made of ash.
The corrupted substance, now dark and ethereal, fragmented into tiny particles.
Those particles swirled and dissipated into the air, scattering like fine dust.
At the top left corner, he saw the notification:
[Cyrus Arcane was slain by Entity 2 ???]
Before he could react, his vision darkened. But there was one problem.
The third-person view feature never existed in the game.