The first thing Kael felt was pain.
Sharp, everywhere, like someone had used his ribs as a drum.
He opened his eyes to a cracked marble ceiling stained with blood.
The air smelled of expensive whiskey, gunpowder, and fear.
He lay on the cold floor of a ruined penthouse, ninety-nine floors above the streets of Eos-7.
A half-empty bottle rolled against his fingers.
His silk shirt was torn and soaked red.
Three days ago, on a different world, his wife had poisoned him on a moonlit beach.
He had died watching the stars fade.
Now he was breathing again, inside someone else's body.
A calm, silky female voice spoke inside his skull.
<< Soul transfer complete.
Abyss Forge System binding… 100%.
Welcome home, my Eternal Night. >>
Black letters burned across his vision.
ABYSS FORGE SYSTEM
Host: Kael
Current Body Age: 24
Planet: Eos-7 (F-rank hunter world)
Level: 1
Teck Point: 0
All Stats: F-
Hidden Counter: 9,999,997 (flashed once and vanished)
Before he could speak, the black ring on his right hand exploded with heat.
Liquid obsidian metal poured out, covering his body in two seconds flat.
Eclipse Genesis Suit – SSS-rank (Living Armor)
Status: Active – Low-Power Mode
Current Appearance: Simple black suit + gloves
Hidden Features: 12 Shadow Wings (folded), Self-Repair, 500-ton storage space
The pain vanished.
The suit drank it like wine.
Kael stood slowly.
He walked to the only unbroken mirror.
The reflection showed a tall young man, devastatingly handsome, black hair, crimson-gold eyes, face cold enough to freeze fire.
The original owner of this body had been a spoiled, powerless rich kid everyone hated.
Tonight three B-rank hunters had beaten him nearly to death and left him here.
They made one mistake.
They didn't finish the job.
Kael looked at the city through broken windows.
Two red moons hung low.
Sirens and beast roars echoed from the outer zones.
He spoke for the first time in his life.
"Status."
<< Liquid Credits: 9.2 million (87 million frozen – banks think host is dead)
Tech Points: 0
Weapons: Eclipse Genesis Suit (SSS), Void Whisper Pistol (locked until first kill)
Immediate Threats: 3 B-rank hunters returning in 11 minutes to confirm kill. >>
Kael smiled.
Small, sharp, and completely without warmth.
"Perfect."
He walked to the wardrobe, picked normal clothes (black shirt, black trousers, simple coat).
The living suit shrank into gloves and the ring, invisible to everyone.
He took the private elevator down.
The three hunters were already in the lobby, laughing, drunk, carrying cheap beers.
They saw the "dead" young master walk out alive and dropped their bottles.
Kael didn't give them time to scream.
The first hunter reached for a fire skill.
Kael stepped forward once.
The Eclipse Genesis Suit flashed.
One shadow wing unfolded (black, silent, longer than a man).
It cut the hunter from neck to waist before the fire even formed.
The second hunter pulled a gun.
Kael pointed one finger.
Void Whisper Pistol materialised.
He pulled the trigger.
No sound.
The man and the wall behind him simply stopped existing.
A clean hole straight through the building.
The third hunter turned to run.
Kael spoke, voice calm.
"Who paid you?"
The man fell to his knees, crying.
"Crimson Fang Guild… Vice-leader Riven… two million credits… please!"
Kael nodded.
"Thank you."
The shadow wing moved again.
Three bodies, zero noise.
<< First blood achieved >>
<< +1,500 Teck Point >>
<< Void Whisper Pistol fully unlocked >>
<< Hidden reward: +5,000 TP >>
Total TP: 6,500
Kael stepped over the bodies and walked into the night.
Behind him, a giant mutant beast king (the guild's illegal pet) broke its chains in the basement and roared.
Kael turned back once.
Seven minutes later the beast was gone.
Only black blood that sank into the floor.
<< Mutant Beast King devoured >>
<< +25,000 Tech Points >>
<< Blueprint unlocked: Living Abyss Battleform Stage 1 >>
<< Body evolution started >>
Total TP: 31,500
Kael stood in the empty lobby, breathing slow.
The suit folded its wings and became normal clothes again.
He looked at the red moons.
"I was killed once," he whispered.
"Never again."
The black ring on his finger felt warm for the first time.
Far away, in the richest tower of the city, a silver-haired woman woke from a dream of ancient wars and a man who once promised to burn the universe for her.
She touched her lips, confused, tasting night flowers and blood.
She did not know his name yet.
But tomorrow she will.
Kael walked into the dark streets.
Money, power, and the only woman he would ever love were all waiting.
He had 31,500 Tech Points, 9.2 million credits, and one night to start building an empire.
The city did not know it yet, but its future king had just taken his first breath.