The dagger pressed against Kaelen's throat tasted of rust and old blood.
"Any last words, scaffold rat?" the guard captain sneered, his breath hot with the stench of cheap wine.
Around them, the gallows square of Valdoria buzzed with the eager hum of a crowd come to watch a thief die.
Kaelen Thane—seventeen, starving, and sentenced to hang for stealing a loaf of bread—stared past the
blade at the gray sky. He should have been afraid. He was afraid, actually, but it was a distant thing, drowned out
by the hollow ache in his stomach and the bitter certainty that this world was never meant for people like him.
Pathetic, he thought. To die for bread.
Then the world stopped.
[Initializing...]
The text hung in the air, burning with golden light that only Kaelen could see. The guard captain froze
mid-sneer, a fly suspended in amber. The shouting crowd became a silent painting.
[User detected: Kaelen Thane]
[Status: Dying (Imminent)]
[Potential: EX (Locked)]
[Activating Emergency Protocol...]
[System: The Path of the Sovereign - Online]
"What...
" Kaelen's voice cracked. He tried to move, but his body remained frozen, the dagger still cold
against his skin.
[Welcome, User. You have been selected as a Candidate for Ascension.]
3The Awakening
[Current World: Aethelgard (High Magic Density)]
[Starting Package Available]
[Would you like to open your starting package? Y/N]
Kaelen's mind raced. Hallucination? Death throes? Or...
Yes, he thought desperately.
[Opening...]
[Congratulations! You have received:]
[1. Unique Class: Void Archon (Mythic)]
[2. Skill: Infinite Regression (EX) - Upon death, return to last 'Save
Point' with all memories and skills intact]
[3. Skill: Analysis (Eyes of the Sovereign) - See through all falsehoods,
identify weaknesses, analyze skills]
[4. Attribute Points: 100 (Standard starting amount: 5)]
The golden text flickered, and suddenly time resumed its flow.
The dagger bit into his skin—
—and Kaelen moved.
It wasn't conscious thought. His body, previously weak from weeks of malnutrition, flooded with alien
energy. The [Eyes of the Sovereign] activated, painting the world in layers of translucent blue data. He saw the
guard's stance—weight too far forward, left knee unstable from an old injury. He saw the trajectory of the
blade, calculated three escape vectors, and identified seventeen pressure points that would incapacitate the
man.
Kaelen twisted.
The dagger sliced air instead of flesh. His palm, guided by instinct he shouldn't possess, struck the guard's
elbow with surgical precision. There was a sickening crack. The captain screamed, dropping the weapon.
[Combat initiated!]
[Opponent: Guard Captain (Level 12)]
[Your Level: 1]
[Threat Assessment: Trivial]
4The Awakening
"Impossible!" someone shouted from the crowd.
Kaelen didn't pause to wonder. He snatched the falling dagger, spun, and slammed the pommel into the
captain's temple. The man crumpled like wet parchment.
Silence fell over the square.
Kaelen stood there, chest heaving, staring at his hands. They weren't shaking. They were steady, humming
with power. He blinked, and his vision filled with status windows.
Name: Kaelen Thane
Class: Void Archon (Unique)
Level: 1 (0/100)
HP: 150/150
MP: 500/500
STR: 15 (Base: 3 + 12 from points)
AGI: 20 (Base: 4 + 16 from points)
VIT: 10 (Base: 2 + 8 from points)
INT: 35 (Base: 5 + 30 from points)
WIS: 20 (Base: 3 + 17 from points)
[Notice: As a Void Archon, you possess affinity for Void Magic (Forbidden),
Spatial Manipulation, and Absolute Analysis.]
"Seize him!" The shout came from the high platform where Duke Malachar sat, his face purple with rage.
"Kill the wretch!"
Twenty guards rushed forward, swords drawn.
Kaelen should have run. Any sane person would run. But something cold and vast opened behind his eyes
—a connection to an endless abyss that whispered of power and dominion.
He raised his hand.
"V oid Pulse.
"
The air screamed.
A sphere of absolute blackness erupted from his palm, expanding outward in a ring. It passed through the
charging guards without resistance, leaving behind statues of perfect stillness. Their eyes were wide, mouths
open, but they were frozen in time, suspended in pockets of distorted space.
5The Awakening
[Skill activated: Void Pulse (Level 1)]
[MP Consumed: 100]
[Enemies neutralized: 20]
Kaelen stared at the frozen soldiers, then at his hand.
"What... what am I?"
[You are a Sovereign,] the system replied, its voice devoid of emotion. [And
this world is your chessboard.]