The first thing Kevin Kaslana felt was cold.
Not the biting, artificial cold of cryo-sleep. Not the numbing emptiness of the Sea of Quanta. This was... natural. The cold of earth and stone, of morning dew and shadow.
His eyes opened.
Gray sky filtered through a canopy of enormous trees. Leaves rustled in wind that carried unfamiliar scents moss, wild flowers, something animal and musk-laden. Kevin lay on his back in a small clearing, surrounded by vegetation he didn't recognize.
Where...?
He sat up slowly. His body felt... normal. Or what passed for normal after 50,000 years as something more and less than human. The Stigmata marks were still there, faint lines of power etched into his skin. His white hair fell into his eyes as he looked down at his hands.
Hands that had wielded Shamash. Hands that had torn through Honkai beasts by the thousands. Hands that had, in the end, failed to save anyone who mattered.
I died.
The memory came back in fragments. The final battle in the Cocoon of Finality. Kiana Kaslana his descendant, the true Herrscher of Finality standing against him. The duel of souls. The moment his existence shattered like ice under a hammer.
And then... peace.
He'd seen them. All of them. Elysia's smile. Su's knowing nod. Kalpas's fierce grin. Aponia's serene acceptance. And MEI.
Dr. MEI, who had waited 50,000 years in death for him to finally join her.
"You did well, Kevin. Rest now."
Her voice had been so warm. For the first time in millennia, he'd felt... complete.
So why was he here?
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
The text appeared directly in his vision, glowing soft gold against the backdrop of forest.
Kevin didn't flinch. After 50,000 years of fighting herrschers and honkai beast, a mysterious text box was hardly alarming.
[WELCOME, KEVIN KASLANA]
[WORLD: CARDINAL WORLD - PLANET: UNNAMED - LOCAL DESIGNATION: "TENSURA"]
[LOCATION: GREAT JURA FOREST - MONSTER TERRITORY]
[DOWNLOADING BASIC WORLD INFORMATION...]
Knowledge flooded his mind. Not overwhelming, but methodical like accessing a database. Within seconds, Kevin understood:
This world operated on different principles than his own. Magic existed here, tangible and quantifiable. Monsters weren't mindless beasts but sapient beings capable of growth and evolution. Demon Lords ruled territories with power that could reshape nations. And at the center of it all was something called "magicules" the fundamental energy of this reality.
Skills. Unique Skills. Ultimate Skills.
A hierarchy of power that reminded him disturbingly of Herrscher Authorities.
[ANALYSIS COMPLETE]
[YOUR ABILITIES HAVE BEEN TRANSLATED TO THIS WORLD'S SYSTEM]
[ACCESSING...]
A longer list appeared:
[UNIQUE SKILL: KASLANA STIGMATA]
Superhuman physical capabilities Extreme temperature resistance Regeneration MANTIS gene integration (Parvati-class enhancement)
[ULTIMATE SKILL (SEALED): FINALITY KING – ESCHATON]
AUTHORITY TYPE: END / CONCLUSION / TERMINATION
• Conceptual End Enforcement
• Law Override (Conditional)
• Causality Termination
• Authority Supremacy (Against Lower Skills)
• Final-State Imposition
[ACCESS LEVEL: RESTRICTED]
[SEAL CONDITIONS: USER PSYCHOLOGICAL STABILITY, REUNION PROGRESS]
[EQUIPMENT: SHAMASH]
TYPE: DIVINE KEY
STATUS: SEALED
CLASS: WORLD-PIERCING ARTIFACT
• Heat–Entropy Conversion
• Conceptual Severance
• Anti-Divinity Function
[MAGICULE CAPACITY: UNMEASURABLE]
NOTE: OUTPUT REQUIRES ACTIVE SUPPRESSION
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: DISASTER-CLASS (MINIMUM)]
WARNING: CLASSIFICATION INSUFFICIENT — SUBJECT EXCEEDS SCALE
Kevin closed the interface with a thought. The knowledge remained, but he didn't need constant reminders of what he could do.
He'd spent 50,000 years as a weapon. He knew exactly what he was capable of.
The question was: why was he here?
As if answering his thought, new text appeared:
[REUNION SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[OBJECTIVE: BUILD A NATION]
[REWARD: REUNITE WITH THOSE YOU LOST]
Kevin's breath caught.
Images flashed across the display. Elysia. Su. Sakura. Kosma. Mobius. Kalpas. All thirteen Flame-Chasers who had fought beside him. Who had died, one by one, across 50,000 years of desperate struggle.
And at the end of the list, highlighted in gold:
[DR. MEI]
His hand trembled.
[DO YOU ACCEPT THIS QUEST?]
For the first time since awakening in this strange forest, Kevin felt something other than confusion.
Hope.
Dangerous, painful hope.
"I can see them again?"
[AFFIRMATIVE]
[PROGRESSION SYSTEM ESTABLISHED]
[MILESTONES MUST BE REACHED]
[FIRST REUNION AVAILABLE AT: 10,000 REUNION POINTS]
[BUILD A NATION WORTHY OF THOSE YOU LOST]
Kevin looked down at his hands again. These hands that had destroyed so much. That had sacrificed everything for a future he never lived to see.
Could these same hands... build something?
"MEI..."
The memory of her final words echoed in his mind.
"You did well, Kevin. Rest now."
But he couldn't rest. Not yet. Not if there was even the smallest chance he could see her again. See all of them again.
Kevin stood, his decision made.
"I accept."
[QUEST ACCEPTED]
[WELCOME TO YOUR SECOND CHANCE, KEVIN KASLANA]
[CURRENT REUNION POINTS: 0]
[CURRENT POPULATION UNDER YOUR RULE: 0]
[BEGINNING TUTORIAL QUEST...]
[QUEST: RECRUIT YOUR FIRST FOLLOWERS]
[LOCATION MARKER UPDATED - ORKISH SETTLEMENT DETECTED 2.3 KM NORTHEAST]
[GOOD LUCK, HERO]
Kevin looked northeast, toward where the system indicated life.
"I'm no hero," he muttered to the empty forest. "Never was."
But he started walking anyway.
For MEI. For the Flame-Chasers. For one more chance at the future they'd all died trying to create.
The Great Jura Forest stretched endlessly around him, ancient and primordial. Somewhere in the distance, a monster roared.
Kevin Kaslana, the man who had fought for 50,000 years, who had wielded the power of Finality itself, who had lost everything and everyone he loved...
...took his first steps toward building a nation in a world he didn't understand.
The cold wind followed him through the trees, and for just a moment, it felt almost like a benediction.
Two Days Later
Kevin had spent the time observing.
The Great Jura Forest was massive easily the size of a small continent from his world. It teemed with life, most of it hostile. He'd encountered various monsters: giant serpents, armored boars the size of trucks, packs of direwolves with intelligence glinting in their eyes.
None had been a threat.
A gesture, a flicker of power, and they either fled or died. Kevin tried not to kill unnecessarily. These weren't Honkai beasts they were living creatures, part of this world's ecosystem.
But he wouldn't hesitate if threatened.
The system had guided him northeast, and now, as afternoon sun filtered through the canopy, Kevin crouched on a hillside overlooking a crude settlement.
Orcs.
Twenty... no, thirty-five of them. Large, powerfully built humanoids with green-gray skin, prominent tusks, and rough hide clothing. They'd established a camp in a natural clearing crude huts made of branches and mud, a central fire pit, and what looked like a food storage area.
Kevin watched them go about their day. Hunting parties returned with kills. Females (he assumed, based on size and build differences) prepared food. Younger ones—children—played roughly near the fire.
Sapient. Organized. A society, however primitive.
But more importantly—they were starving.
Kevin could see it in the way their ribs showed through their skin, in the meager portions of food being distributed, in the listless movements of the children. The hunting parties had returned with barely enough to feed half the tribe.
They're dying slowly.
The system wanted him to recruit them.
Kevin had led armies before. Commanded the greatest warriors of his era. Built organizations that had persisted for millennia after his time.
But he'd never started from scratch like this.
How do I even approach--
A roar interrupted his thoughts.
From the opposite side of the orc camp, something massive crashed through the trees. Kevin's eyes narrowed as the creature emerged into the clearing.
An Armorsaurus that's what the system had labeled similar creatures. Fifteen feet tall, covered in thick scales, with a jaw that could bite through steel. A true apex predator of the forest.
The orcs scrambled. Warriors grabbed crude weapons stone axes, wooden spears. They formed a defensive line in front of the females and children.
Brave. Organized despite the panic.
The Armorsaurus charged.
Kevin made his decision.
He moved.
To the orcs, it must have looked like a ghost materialized in their camp.
One moment, the Armorsaurus was charging, jaws wide. The next, a figure in white appeared directly in its path.
The creature's charge... stopped.
Not slowed. Not deflected. Just... stopped. As if it had run into an invisible wall.
The Armorsaurus thrashed, confused and enraged. Its massive claws swiped at the white-haired figure.
Kevin raised one hand.
Ice exploded from the ground not the slow creep of winter frost, but instantaneous crystallization. In less than a second, the Armorsaurus was encased in a prison of glacial ice so thick and dense it looked like diamond.
The monster's roar cut off mid-sound, frozen in time.
Silence fell over the clearing.
Kevin lowered his hand, turning to face the orcs. He hadn't meant to use quite that much power, but—
The sensation hit him like a physical blow.
What is this?
Pressure radiated from his body. Invisible, but unmistakable. The very air seemed to grow heavy, and Kevin saw the orcs stagger as if pushed by a tremendous wind.
[WARNING: MAGICULE AURA UNCONTROLLED]
[YOUR POWER LEVEL IS CAUSING ENVIRONMENTAL DISTORTION]
[RECOMMENDATION: SUPPRESS OUTPUT]
Magicule aura?
Kevin focused, pulling his power back, trying to contain whatever he was inadvertently releasing. It was like trying to squeeze an ocean into a bottle his reserves in this world were apparently astronomical, and simply existing was causing them to leak out.
Slowly, with conscious effort, the pressure decreased.
But the damage was done.
Every single orc had fallen to their knees. Not in supplication in sheer physical inability to stand. The weaker ones had collapsed entirely, breathing hard. The warriors' weapons shook in their grips.
Kevin's eyes widened slightly as he understood.
I'm terrifying them just by existing.
An orc larger than the others, with ritual scars across his chest and a bone necklace that marked him as some kind of leader forced himself to look up. His yellow eyes were wide with fear, but also... something else.
Recognition. Awe.
"You..." The orc's voice was strained but clear, articulate. "You're the strongest being I've ever felt. That power... it's overwhelming."
Kevin stood there, surrounded by ice and kneeling orcs, and realized that his first impression in this world might have been slightly more dramatic than intended.
This is going to be complicated, he thought.
Then the system chimed:
[QUEST PROGRESS: POTENTIAL FOLLOWERS DETECTED]
[STATUS: OVERWHELMED BY YOUR POWER]
[RECOMMENDATION: COMMUNICATE INTENT]
Very helpful, Kevin thought sarcastically.
But he took a breath, pulled his aura back even further, and spoke.
"Stand up."
His voice was calm, level. But it carried across the clearing with unnatural clarity.
The orcs didn't move immediately. They looked at each other, at their leader, uncertain.
Kevin tried again. "I'm not here to harm you. Stand."
Slowly, shakily, the orcs began to rise. The leader was first, using his spear for support. Others followed his example.
Kevin gestured at the frozen Armorsaurus. "This creature was about to attack. I stopped it. That's all."
"You saved us," the orc leader said, his voice steadier now. "That thing would have killed at least a dozen of us before we brought it down. If we could bring it down at all."
At least they can speak properly, Kevin noted. That makes this easier.
Kevin studied the orcs more carefully. The malnourishment was even more obvious up close—he could count ribs, see the hollow cheeks, notice how thin the children's arms were. The camp was desperate, barely surviving.
They were dying out here. Slowly.
The system had led him to them for a reason.
Followers, he thought. I need people to lead. To build with.
These orcs are desperate enough to follow anyone who can protect them.
It felt manipulative. Using their desperation.
But Kevin had spent 50,000 years making hard choices. This was just one more.
Kevin's eyes fell on the frozen Armorsaurus. Massive. Easily several tons of meat. He looked back at the starving orcs.
First things first.
"How long since you've had a proper meal?" Kevin asked.
The orc leader's expression tightened. "Five days since our last successful hunt. We've been living on scraps and what little we can forage. The forest has been getting more dangerous. Stronger monsters are pushing into our territory."
Kevin walked over to the ice sculpture he'd created. With a gesture, cracks appeared in the crystalline prison. The ice shattered into harmless fragments, revealing the perfectly preserved corpse of the Armorsaurus beneath.
"Eat," Kevin said simply.
The orcs stared.
"You're... giving this to us?" The leader's voice was filled with disbelief. "This kill is yours by right. You "
"You're starving. I'm not." Kevin's tone was matter-of-fact. "Before we go anywhere or discuss anything, you need food. All of you. Eat until you're full."
For a moment, no one moved. Then a young orc barely more than a child let out a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh. The leader nodded sharply, and the tribe erupted into action.
Orcs descended on the Armorsaurus with crude knives and stone tools, efficiently butchering the massive creature. Fires were stoked higher. The smell of roasting meat began to fill the clearing.
Kevin stood aside, watching. The transformation was immediate hope replacing despair, energy replacing listlessness. Children who'd been too weak to play were now helping their parents. Warriors who'd looked ready to collapse were working with renewed strength.
Just food, Kevin thought. Something so simple.
But he knew better. He'd seen this before, in the dark days of the Previous Era. Sometimes the smallest acts of kindness meant everything to people at the edge of survival.
The orc leader approached, carrying a large piece of cooked meat on a flat stone. He offered it to Kevin with both hands, bowing deeply.
"You must eat as well. Please, share in the meal you provided."
Kevin shook his head. "I don't need much. Give it to your people."
"But—"
"That's an order," Kevin said, his voice firm but not harsh. "Feed your tribe first. Especially the young ones."
The leader hesitated, then bowed again, this time with something like reverence in his eyes. "You're... kind. Kinder than any strong being I've ever encountered. Our tribe thanks you."
Kind. Kevin almost laughed at that. No one had called him kind in millennia.
Over the next hour, Kevin watched the orcs eat. Really eat, for what was probably the first time in weeks. The change was remarkable—color returned to their cheeks, strength to their limbs. By the time the meal was finished, they looked like a completely different group.
The leader approached again, this time with the full support of his tribe behind him. All thirty-five orcs knelt before Kevin.
"You saved us from that monster. You fed us when we were starving. We are in your debt." The leader's voice was steady, formal. "Our tribe wishes to follow you. To serve under your leadership. If you'll have us."
[QUEST COMPLETE: RECRUIT YOUR FIRST FOLLOWERS]
[REWARD: +500 REUNION POINTS]
[POPULATION: 35 ORCS]
[NEW QUEST AVAILABLE: NAME YOUR FOLLOWERS]
Kevin looked at the kneeling orcs, at the desperate hope beginning to show in their eyes, and felt the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders once again.
Here we go again, he thought.
"What's your name?" he asked the leader.
The orc looked up, surprised. "We don't have names. Names are... they're powerful things in this world. Only the strongest receive them. Only those deemed worthy by someone with great power."
Kevin had expected that answer. The system had explained it names in this world were sources of power, not freely given.
"Then I'll give you a name," Kevin said. "All of you."
Gasps rippled through the tribe.
"All of us?" The leader's voice shook. "You would name the entire tribe?"
"All of you," Kevin confirmed. "You're going to follow me. You're going to help me build something. If we're doing this, I need to know you're truly with me. And names create that bond."
The leader trembled. His hands clenched into fists, not from anger but from overwhelming emotion. "We... we would be honored beyond measure. We will serve you with everything we have. I swear it."
Kevin stepped forward, placing his hand on the leader's shoulder. The orc flinched slightly, not from fear, but from the sheer cold radiating from Kevin's body.
"Your name is Garmr. Lead your people well."
The moment the name left his lips, something changed.
Energy flowed from Kevin not his magicules directly, but something deeper. Something that connected souls. Garmr gasped as power flooded into him. His body began to glow with soft golden light.
Evolution.
Garmr grew taller, more muscular. His features became more refined, more intelligent. His crude hide clothing shifted and reformed into something resembling proper armor. His eyes, once yellow and fierce, gained a keener awareness, a deeper understanding. When the light faded, he looked less like a desperate survivor and more like a warrior-chief.
And for just a moment so brief the other orcs might have missed it—they felt something unexpected through the connection forming between Garmr and Kevin.
Warmth.
Not physical warmth, but something deeper. Like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. A genuine care, quickly suppressed behind Kevin's cold exterior.
Garmr felt it most strongly. His eyes widened in shock as he experienced the strange contradiction Kevin's icy presence, his stern demeanor... and underneath, barely perceptible, something almost gentle.
He... cares?
But the feeling vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by Kevin's usual controlled coldness.
[SUBORDINATE NAMED: GARMR]
[SPECIES: ORC → HIGH ORC]
[LOYALTY: ABSOLUTE]
[REUNION POINTS: +200]
Garmr looked at his hands, flexing fingers that now had proper dexterity. He clenched his fist, feeling power coursing through him that he'd never imagined possible. His senses were sharper, his thoughts clearer, his body stronger. He felt... evolved. Reborn.
"This power!" Garmr's voice was stronger, more refined. "I can feel it coursing through every part of me! My lord, this is incredible! I'm stronger than I ever dreamed possible!"
He dropped to one knee, his movements now graceful despite his size. "I, Garmr, swear absolute loyalty to you. I will lead this tribe no, your tribe with all the strength you've given me. I won't let you down!"
His excitement was palpable, infectious. The other orcs murmured in awe, looking at their transformed leader with wonder.
"Good," Kevin said simply. "Now, the others."
He moved through the tribe methodically, one by one.
An older female who'd been organizing the food distribution: "Your name is Ruguna."
[SUBORDINATE NAMED: RUGUNA][SPECIES: ORC → HIGH ORC]
Golden light enveloped her, and when it faded, she stood taller, her features noble and wise.
"My lord, thank you. I'll ensure our people are cared for properly."
A massive warrior who'd stood at the front line against the Armorsaurus: "Your name is Durgash."
[SUBORDINATE NAMED: DURGASH][SPECIES: ORC → HIGH ORC]
The warrior evolved, his muscles becoming more defined, his stance more disciplined.
"I'll be your shield, my lord. No enemy will reach you while I draw breath."
A clever young orc who'd efficiently directed the butchering: "Your name is Mokra."
[SUBORDINATE NAMED: MOKRA][SPECIES: ORC → HIGH ORC]
The young orc's eyes gleamed with new intelligence after the transformation.
"My lord, I'll serve as your scout and strategist. This gift... I'll use it wisely."
One after another, Kevin named them. With each naming, golden light flared. Orcs evolved into High Orcs—taller, stronger, more intelligent, more refined. And with each naming, that strange warmth flickered through the soul connection, brief and quickly suppressed.
The tribe began to notice.
"Did you feel that?" Ruguna whispered to Durgash after receiving her name.
"Like sunlight on your face after a long winter," Durgash rumbled, confused. "But our lord seems so cold and distant..."
"He cares," Mokra said quietly, wonder in his voice. "He pretends not to. Keeps his distance. But deep down, there's warmth. Genuine care."
None of them understood why they felt this way. They didn't know Kevin's history, his 50,000 years of fighting, his losses. They just knew that beneath the overwhelming power and stern demeanor, there was something unexpectedly warm.
By the time Kevin finished naming all thirty-five orcs, he was breathing slightly harder. The energy drain wasn't physical it was something else. Something that came from deep within his existence this must be the magicule.
[NAMING COMPLETE]
[POPULATION: 35 HIGH ORCS (ALL NAMED)]
[REUNION POINTS: 7,500/10,000]
[WARNING: SUBSTANTIAL ENERGY EXPENDITURE DETECTED]
[RECOMMENDATION: REST]
Kevin dismissed the warning. He'd operated on far less for far longer.
The thirty-five High Orcs knelt before him again, but this time it felt different. Not just fear and awe, but genuine loyalty. Affection, even.
Garmr stood and approached, his new form imposing but his expression one of absolute devotion.
"My lord, you've given us everything. Names. Power. Food. Purpose." His voice was thick with emotion. "We were dying slowly, forgotten by the world. You not only saved us you made us into something greater."
He placed his fist over his heart in a formal salute. "Garmr's clan serves you with everything we have. We are yours. In this life and beyond."
The other High Orcs echoed his sentiment, their voices forming a chorus of loyalty.
Kevin looked at them these thirty-five souls now bound to him, no longer starving or desperate, but strong and hopeful and felt something uncomfortable twist in his chest.
I told myself I was doing this for the system. For MEI. For the Flame-Chasers.
But these people...
He pushed the thought away.
"Good," Kevin said, his voice level. "Then gather what you can carry. We're moving."
"Where are you taking us, my lord?" Garmr asked.
Kevin closed his eyes, accessing the system. A map appeared in his mind, and the system helpfully highlighted a location—west, toward the forest's edge. A clearing near a river, defensible terrain, good resources.
The place where he would build Europa Federation.
Though he didn't know that name yet.
"Somewhere better," Kevin told them. "Somewhere we can build something that lasts."
He looked at the transformed High Orcs, then at the remains of the Armorsaurus they'd feasted on.
"We leave at dawn. Rest tonight. You'll need your strength for the journey."
As the newly-named High Orcs moved to prepare, talking excitedly among themselves about their transformations and their new future, Garmr remained beside Kevin.
"My lord," he said quietly. "Thank you. Truly."
Kevin glanced at him. "I need followers to build a nation. You needed a leader to survive. It's a simple arrangement."
Garmr smiled—a surprisingly warm expression for his orcish features. "You say that, but I felt it. When you named us. That warmth beneath the cold exterior."
Kevin's expression didn't change. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Perhaps you don't," Garmr agreed. "But we all felt it. You care about us, my lord. You try to hide it, but the soul bond doesn't lie."
He bowed deeply. "We won't disappoint you. That's a promise."
The High Orc walked away to help organize the camp, leaving Kevin alone with his thoughts.
They felt it? The naming created that deep a connection?
He hadn't realized the soul bond would be so... revealing.
Kevin looked at his hand the hand that had just given thirty-five nameless orcs both identity and power. The hand that, according to them, had briefly shown warmth he thought he'd lost 50,000 years ago.
I'm building this for MEI, he reminded himself. For the Flame-Chasers. That's all.
But as he watched the High Orcs prepare their camp talking, laughing, planning for a future they now believed in Kevin couldn't quite convince himself that was the only reason anymore.
The cold wind rustled through the Great Jura Forest, and Kevin Kaslana stood at the beginning of his second chance.
With thirty-five loyal followers who somehow saw warmth in a man made of ice.
This is going to be more complicated than I thought, Kevin realized.
But he'd made his choice.
One step at a time.
Just like the last 50,000 years.
[END CHAPTER 1]
[CURRENT STATUS]
Reunion Points: 7,500/10,000 Population: 35 High Orcs (All Named) Named Leaders: Garmr (Chief), Ruguna (Elder), Durgash (Warrior), Mokra (Scout), +31 others Location: Great Jura Forest (Orc Camp) Next Milestone: Establish permanent settlement Next Reunion: Elysia (2,500 points remaining)