Rain hammered against the iron sheets of my small room, but I barely noticed. I sat on my old mattress, legs crossed, eyes glued to the dim glow of my cracked phone screen as the movie played. It was the same routine every night — a jobless orphan, alone, drifting through life like a ghost.
Nothing to lose. Nothing to expect. Nothing to hope for.
I laughed bitterly at the villain on screen.
"At least he has purpose," I murmured.
The screen flickered.
Then… my vision dimmed.
A cold wave shot through my skull — sharp, piercing. My body collapsed on the bed, and darkness swallowed me whole.
No sound. No light. No warmth.
Just a strange… pull, as if something was dragging my soul across a vast abyss.
I opened my eyes.
Not to the ceiling of my cramped room — but to a sky of swirling crimson clouds. The ground beneath me was cold stone, cracked with veins of pulsing red energy. Dark trees circled me, their twisted branches whispering like ghosts.
My breathing froze.
"Where… am I?"
A voice echoed in my mind — deep, ancient, resonant.
— Awakening complete. Lord Novus Chronus has returned.
My heart slammed in my chest.
"What?"
Then I felt it.
Power.
Raw, terrifying, boundless power flowing through my veins like liquid fire. Magic so dense it bent the air. A crushing aura that made the entire forest tremble.
Memories that were not mine suddenly pierced my mind — memories of a tyrant, a conqueror, a being feared by every kingdom.
The Demon Lord.
The sovereign of the Dark Forest.
The ruler of the Demon Lord Domain.
A throne of bones. Armies kneeling in darkness. Worlds burning.
And all of it… mine.
I didn't reincarnate as a hero. Not a prince. Not some chosen one.
I woke up as the greatest villain this world has ever known.
I rose slowly, and the ground cracked at my feet. My voice came out deeper, colder, dripping with dominance.
"…Novus Chronus."
The name tasted like power.
As if summoned by my awakening, shadows gathered around me. Figures knelt — creatures with horns, fangs, wings; generals with cloaks of darkness; beasts radiating killing intent.
"My Lord," one of them whispered with trembling reverence. "You have returned to us."
I looked at them — my subordinates. An army waiting for my command.
A wicked smile curled onto my lips.
So this is what true power feels like.
I raised my hand, and magic spiraled into the sky, ripping through the clouds and turning the forest silent.
"I am Novus Chronus," I declared, my voice echoing like thunder.
"The world abandoned me once. But here… here I will build a nation that will kneel the world itself."
The soldiers bowed deeper.
"Anyone," I continued, my eyes glowing crimson, "who dares stand in my way… will be erased."
The forest shook violently — as if the world itself feared me.
This world wasn't ready.
And I was only beginning.