Kael's finger hovered above the glowing button, trembling like it had a will of its own.
The apartment was silent except for his ragged breathing. His throat was dry, his chest rising and falling like a man cornered. Sweat trickled down his temple.
His eyes wouldn't leave the screen.
Click here to claim your reward.
His lips twisted. "This is insane… It's a scam. It has to be."
And yet, the pulsing glow dragged at him. It wasn't just light—it was alive. It called to him.
The same way Dominion of Desire had called to him when the world outside drowned him in rules.
He clenched his teeth, nails digging into his palm. "Fuck it."
His finger dropped.
The button pulsed once—then exploded.
BOOM.
Light consumed him. Not light from a screen. Not the dull glow of pixels. This was blinding, raw, pure, burning through his eyes and into his brain. His muscles locked. His lungs froze.
It felt like his soul had been ripped out of his body and slammed into an electric storm.
The walls of his tiny apartment peeled away like paper. The stink of old noodles, the hum of his fan, the neon glow outside—all of it was shredded into sparks and dragged into the light.
Kael fell.
Not down. Not up. Just… fell. His body tumbled in a void without direction.
"W-what the fuck?!" His voice tore out raw, ragged, but vanished instantly, devoured by the black.
Then—
[Reward Claimed.]
The voice didn't come from his phone. It didn't come from outside. It came from everywhere—inside his skull, vibrating through his bones.
[Initializing System Transfer.]
[Dominion Protocol Engaged.]
Kael's thoughts stumbled. His heart jackhammered against his ribs.
"S-System?!" he gasped, but his words meant nothing here.
The voice drowned him out.
[From this moment, you are bound to the Dominion System.]
[Survive. Conquer. Rule.]
The void convulsed.
Colors ripped through the black—red lightning, seas boiling to steam, mountains shattering, cities rising only to collapse. Every fragment twisted, folding inward like broken glass, until it all exploded outward.
And Kael slammed into the ground.
"GAHHH!"
Pain tore through his body. His arms scraped raw against stone and dirt. His lungs seized, coughing on air that tasted sharp, metallic, wrong.
Pain. Not the dull ache of bad posture. Not the stiffness of an office chair. Real, sharp, blistering pain.
He gasped, chest heaving. Air scoured his throat, burning, alive.
He opened his eyes.
And froze.
The sky above was crimson, clouds swirling like rivers of blood. Jagged black mountains stabbed at the horizon, their peaks dusted with ash. The wind whipped cold against his skin, carrying the stench of sulfur and damp earth.
Kael sat up on trembling arms, heart pounding. He looked down at himself—
Gone were his wrinkled shirt and cheap slacks. In their place, a dark leather tunic reinforced with iron studs. Heavy boots strapped to his legs. Gloves cut at the fingers. A cloak of black trimmed with crimson snapped in the wind behind him.
His avatar's starting gear.
"This… can't be…" His whisper cracked.
But the dirt under his palms was rough. The wind was icy. The smell of ash and rot burned his nose.
No VR headset. No glowing keyboard. No respawn button.
This was real.
Kael's laugh burst out, broken and hollow. "I'm inside the game."
DING!
Golden text materialized in the air before him, glowing faintly, translucent like a hologram.
[Welcome, Player Kael Draven.]
[You are the First Sovereign of the Dominion System.]
[Primary Objective: Establish Dominion.]
[Secondary Objective: Complete assigned tasks to gain System Points.]
[Points may be spent to unlock upgrades, summon resources, and enhance abilities.]
Kael's mouth went dry. His pulse thundered in his ears.
The messages blinked away. New ones flared.
[Tutorial Initialized.]
[Accessing Sovereign Status…]
Name: Kael Draven
Age: 25
Title: Sovereign Candidate
System: Dominion of Desire
Points: 0
Abilities: None
Inventory: Basic Sovereign Gear (equipped)
Another DING.
[System Functions Locked. Unlock with Points.]
[How to gain Points?]
– Complete System-assigned Tasks
– Acquire and bond with women (gain shared bloodlines, classes, and abilities)
– Conquer territories
– Rule subjects effectively
– Achieve milestones of growth
Kael's hands trembled. His eyes devoured every word.
Tasks. Women. Conquest. Territory. Rule.
Not just women. Not just lust. This was bigger.
He could build everything. Unlock everything. Rule everything.
A laugh clawed its way up his throat—low, sharp, disbelieving. "Holy… shit. It's real."
The system pulsed again. Another notification blinked into view.
[Task Assigned: Survive the First Night.]
Reward: 10 System Points + Basic Survival Kit
Failure: Death]
Kael's blood iced over.
"First night…?" He snapped his head up, scanning the land.
To the west, jagged mountains loomed, black and cracked. To the north, a twisted forest stretched, its leafless branches like claws reaching for the crimson sky. The wind shifted, carrying faint howls that didn't sound human.
And in the far distance—thin gray smoke rising, curling against the bloody sky.
Civilization. Or something close to it.
Kael's jaw clenched.
His instincts screamed danger. This world wasn't forgiving. It wasn't some sandbox he could pause whenever he wanted.
But for the first time in his life, he wasn't chained by anyone else's rules.
This world was his to take.
The Dominion System's words echoed through his mind, cold and absolute:
Survive. Conquer. Rule.
Kael rose to his feet. His cloak whipped around him in the wind. His eyes locked on the trail of smoke.
"Fine," he muttered, his lips curling into a dark grin. "If this world wants me dead… it better be ready to kneel first."
And Kael Draven—slave of Earth, Sovereign of Desire—took his first step into Nytherra.