Chapter 1 — Chosen After Death
"You have died."
Kael didn't remember how.
Only the feeling remained—cold, distant… final.
When he opened his eyes, he wasn't alone.
Endless white stretched in all directions, filled with people. Thousands of them. Some shouting. Some crying. Some frozen in silence.
He said nothing.
He just listened.
"Selected souls will be granted another chance."
The voice came from everywhere—and nowhere.
"Become Dungeon Masters."
A pause.
"Win… and return to life."
The crowd erupted.
Hope. Fear. Desperation.
Then the light came.
Beams descended from above, striking people at random. Power flooded into them—some screamed, some laughed, some collapsed.
Kael watched.
Waiting.
Nothing came.
For a moment… he thought he wasn't chosen.
Then—
Something moved inside him.
Not light.
Not power.
A feeling.
Warm.
Quiet.
Watching.
A whisper brushed against his thoughts.
"Found you."
Darkness swallowed everything.
When Kael opened his eyes again, he sat on a throne.
A single core floated before him—crimson, beating like a heart.
"Authority granted: Dominion."
Power settled into his body. Control. Order. Command.
It felt… stable.
Then it broke.
The core flickered.
The air twisted.
And something else slipped in.
Not cold like the voice.
Not distant like the system.
Close.
Too close.
A presence formed before him.
A woman stepped out of shadow, her eyes locking onto his like she had always known him.
She smiled.
"You're not like the others."
Kael's voice was steady.
"…Who are you?"
She tilted her head slightly, amused.
"Something you weren't supposed to have."
She stepped closer.
"Call me Nysera."
The dungeon pulsed.
Once.
And somewhere far beyond—
The game began.
But Kael already knew one thing.
Something had gone wrong.
And it had chosen him.