Darkness.
Endless. Silent. Infinite.
Hayate drifted within it, weightless and broken — like ash scattered through the void.
There was no pain, only memory. No breath, only echoes.
He saw flashes — faces that had once smiled at him, then twisted into betrayal. Aurelia's voice calling his name. The whisper of the System. The laughter of gods turning to screams. And through it all, one thought pulsed, steady as a heartbeat:
Was this victory… or punishment?
A faint chime broke the silence.
[System rebooting… 2% complete.]
[Soul fragments stabilizing…]
[Host consciousness detected.]
His eyelids fluttered, though he had no body. The world around him began to shift — the darkness folding into itself, replaced by a faint, golden ocean. Waves of light lapped gently against an invisible shore. He stood upon it, or something like standing, though his feet touched nothing.
"Where… am I?" Hayate murmured.
His voice echoed endlessly, as though the universe itself were listening.
Then came the reply — soft, melodic, and unearthly.
"Between worlds. Between life and death. You stand in the Sea of Origins, where all souls return when their fates are rewritten."
Hayate turned.
Floating before him was a woman — or something shaped like one. Her hair shimmered like flowing code, her eyes galaxies of light and shadow. Her voice carried both kindness and judgment.
"Who are you?" he asked.
She smiled faintly.
"You already know. I am the one you've been speaking to since the dungeon. The one who guided your rage, measured your pain, and recorded your defiance.""I am the System — or rather, the will behind it."
Hayate's heartbeat — or what felt like one — quickened. "You… you have a voice."
"I always did," she said, stepping closer, her form rippling between goddess and machine. "But until now, you were not ready to hear it."
The golden sea rippled as fragments of memory floated around them — visions of his journey: his summoning, his humiliation, his endless climb through betrayal, power, and divine wrath. Every victory felt distant now, swallowed by the vast silence.
Hayate looked down at his reflection — it flickered between his old, human self and his Divine Vessel form. "So this is it? I'm dead?"
The System Spirit tilted her head.
"Death is a mortal concept. You've surpassed mortality, but not without cost."
She waved her hand, and from the ocean rose an enormous mirror of light. Within it, Hayate saw the aftermath — the Whispering City reduced to dust, Aurelia clutching his body, crying his name under a bleeding sky.
Hayate stepped forward, trembling. "Aurelia…" His voice cracked. "She's still there."
"She mourns you," the spirit said softly. "But you are not lost. Not yet."
"Then send me back," he said instantly. "I can't— I won't leave them again."
The spirit's expression shifted — sorrowful, almost human.
"You misunderstand. Returning has a price."
"Name it," he said coldly.
"Your humanity."
The words hit like thunder.
The ocean around him grew violent, waves of gold turning red, black lightning coursing through the sky.
"My humanity?" he echoed.
She nodded. "The moment you unleashed Wrath of the Fallen, your soul began to merge with divine essence. You are no longer just Rengoku Hayate — you are a conduit between realms, both mortal and divine. If you return… you will no longer be entirely human."
He clenched his fists. "I don't care. I didn't fight gods to die halfway."
"Then understand this," she said, eyes glowing brighter. "If you walk that path, your emotions will fade. Your love, your compassion — even your rage. All will be replaced by divine neutrality. You will win... but lose everything that made you who you are."
For the first time, silence filled the sea again.
Hayate's reflection wavered — half god, half man.
He thought of Aurelia. Of the friends he'd buried. Of the enemies still alive.
He whispered, "Then I'll carry both — divinity and humanity. Even if it tears me apart."
The spirit's expression softened. For the first time, she looked at him not as a subject… but as something else.
"Then you have truly earned your title — The Otherworldly Revenant."
She raised her hand, and light surged around them.
[System Update: Soul Synchronization 100% Complete.]
[Unlocking Core Protocol — 'Genesis Overdrive'.]
[Warning: This form will rewrite fate itself.]
The light wrapped around Hayate, threads of code and divine energy binding him together. His form solidified — his wounds gone, his body reborn in a radiance both mortal and celestial.
"System…" he said softly, looking up at her. "Why me? Out of everyone summoned, why was I the one chosen?"
The spirit smiled faintly, her body dissolving into motes of light.
"Because only those who've been broken beyond repair can reshape the world."
Her final words echoed as the light swallowed everything.
A new voice called from the darkness — softer, unfamiliar.
"...Hey… can you hear me?"
Hayate's eyes opened.
He was lying on grass — warm, alive. The scent of rain filled his lungs. Above him stretched a twilight sky painted in violet and gold.
And beside him knelt a girl — young, with hair like silver flame, eyes like stormlight. She looked at him with a mix of awe and fear.
"You fell from the sky," she said, trembling. "Who… what are you?"
Hayate blinked slowly. The System's voice hummed faintly in his ear, clearer now, almost proud.
[Welcome back, Host.]
[New World Detected: Realm of Forgotten Divinity.]
He looked at the girl, then at his hand — the divine mark had changed. It now pulsed in rhythm with the world itself.
"I'm…" he paused, then smiled faintly, though his voice carried an ancient weight."Just someone who refuses to stay dead."
The wind carried his words across the horizon as the last traces of divine light faded. Somewhere in the distance, bells tolled — deep, ominous, and familiar.
[Quest Updated: Survive the Realm of Forgotten Divinity.]
[Optional Quest Added: Learn the True Name of the System Spirit.]
Hayate stood, gazing into the violet horizon. "Looks like the gods aren't done with me yet."
The silver-haired girl tilted her head. "Then where will you go?"
He smiled faintly, resting his sword against his shoulder. "Wherever the next betrayal hides."
And with that, he walked toward the edge of the unknown, divine light flickering in his wake.