Wake.
You.
You.
Hmm. Isolated.
The voice was a whisper in the void. Distant, and cold. It was like death itself speaking from the other side of existence.
I choose you.
And only you.
Wake.
Naoya's eyes snapped open.
He gasped, sitting up so fast he nearly vomited. His hands clutched at fabric beneath him, and when his vision cleared, panic flooded his system.
He was lying on a bed.
A bed suspended in space.
Not space like outer space with stars and planets. The void around him was a deep, endless blue-black, swirling with what looked like smoke or mist. There was no ground. No walls. No ceiling. The bed was just floating in an infinite expanse of nothing.
"What the—" Naoya scrambled to his feet on the mattress, nearly losing his balance. "Hello? HELLO?"
His voice echoed, but there was no response.
Okay. Okay, think. This had to be a dream. The dragon, the gods, all of it, it was just a really vivid, really fucked up dream. Maybe he had hit his head on something else. Maybe he was in a coma right now, and this was just his brain trying to make sense of the trauma.
Yeah. That made sense.
"Just a dream," he muttered, patting his pockets for his phone. "Just a really weird dream about dragons and—"
But his phone wasn't there.
His jacket was gone too. He was wearing the same clothes from earlier, jeans and a black t-shirt, but everything else was missing.
"Okay, not a dream. Not a dream." He pressed his palms against his eyes. "You're awake. You watched the dragon. You saw the god guy. This is real. This is—"
"Finally awake, are we?"
Naoya twisted immediately and nearly fell off the bed because of his speed.
A figure stood at the edge of the void, and at first, all Naoya could see was the skeleton.
Hollow eye sockets. Bone-white fingers. A jaw that clicked when it moved.
But then the figure shifted, and the skeleton dissolved like smoke.
What emerged made Naoya forget how to breathe.
It was a man. Young, maybe mid-twenties in appearance. Handsome in a way that didn't seem natural. Sharp features, high cheekbones, a jawline. But it was his hair that drew the eye first, pure white, with tips that burned with blue energy.
His eyes were the same. He had no pupils, nor irises. It was just a blazing blue energy where eyes should be, staring directly at Naoya with an intensity that made him want to enter a hole.
He wore what looked like ancient robes, black as the void around them, with blue symbols etched into the fabric.
"Wh-who—" Naoya's voice cracked.
The man smiled. It wasn't a kind smile.
"Morthanis," he said simply. "God of Necromancy. Though you may call me your patron. Or master. I'm not particular."
God.
God.
"No." Naoya shook his head, backing up on the bed. "No, no, no. I don't want this. I don't want any of this. I just want to go back to studying Mechanical Engineering and texting Sophia and—"
Something invisible struck his face.
Hard.
Naoya yelped, stumbling backward, hand flying to his stinging cheek. There was nothing there. No hand. No weapon.
"Focus, you fool."
Morthanis hadn't moved. His expression remained neutral, but his voice was filled with a terrifying authority. The kind of tone that said I am a god and you are an insect.
Naoya's fear spiked. "I—I can't—I'm just a kid—"
"You're twenty-two."
"I'm a college student—"
"You're a survivor." Morthanis floated closer, and the temperature dropped with each inch. "You fought back today. Three against one. You could have run, but you didn't. You bit. You punched. You drew blood."
How did he know that?
"You have rage in you," Morthanis continued, circling the bed. "Rage at being different. At never belonging. At always being other." His smile widened. "That's why I chose you."
"Chose me for what?"
"To be my representative." Morthanis stopped directly in front of him. "Earth received five gods. Fifteen systems. I chose you. And only you. You will fight in the Celestial Arena. You will win. Or you will die, and your world will be erased."
"No." Naoya shook his head frantically. "No, I can't—I can't fight warriors and mages and—and dragons—"
"Why?"
"Because I'm just—I'm nobody! I'm just some half-Japanese kid who doesn't even know where he belongs! I can't save earth! This is all so fucked up! Gods? I can't—"
"Is that so?"
Before Naoya could react, Morthanis reached out and placed his hand on top of Naoya's head.
And the world exploded.
Pain.
Unimaginable pain.
It felt like every nerve in his body was being ripped apart and rebuilt simultaneously. Like his blood had turned to acid. Like his bones were shattering and reforming over and over and over.
Naoya screamed.
His vision went white, then blue, then black. Power flooded through him, forcing itself into every cell. His body convulsed. His muscles spasmed. He tried to pull away but Morthanis's grip was iron.
Energy crackled around them. Blue lightning. Blue fire. Blue death.
SOVEREIGN OF DEATH SYSTEM ACTIVATED.
The words appeared in his mind, burned into his consciousness like a brand.
Host: Naoya Sato
Status: Awakened
His hair, he could feel it changing. The color draining from the roots, turning white, pure white, before the tips ignited with the same blue energy as Morthanis's eyes.
And the power….
It was like nothing he had ever felt. It was like he could tear the world apart with his bare hands. Like he could reach out and touch death itself.
Morthanis removed his hand.
Naoya collapsed onto the bed, gasping, shaking, every muscle screaming. His vision spun. When he managed to look up, he caught his reflection in something. The void? A mirror? He didn't know.
But he saw himself.
White hair with blue tips.
Eyes that glowed faintly with that same blue energy.
He looked.…different.
"What—what did you—"
"I gave you a gift," Morthanis said simply, admiring his work. "The Sovereign of Death System. A power meant for gods, not mortals. But you'll manage."
"I don't want it."
"Too late." Morthanis turned away, waving a hand dismissively. "You will fight. You will represent Earth. You will win. Or you will die."
"Wait." Naoya tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't work. "I can't—I don't even know how to—"
"You'll figure it out." Morthanis glanced back, that cruel smile returning. "After all, you're my champion now. Try not to disappoint me."
"No, wait, please!"
The floor beneath the bed vanished. Naoya barely had time to scream before he was falling, tumbling through the blue-black void, the bed disappearing above him, Morthanis's laughter echoing in his ears.
"Good luck, Sovereign of Death!"
Down.
Down.
Down.