Lucien Alaric Nightshade died at seventeen.
Born of the Nightshade Clan, he was a prodigy in both magic and swordfighting. Men spoke in awe of his abilities. Some dubbed him the next generation of the clan. Others claimed he was too strong for his age.
But it was all irrelevant now.
He was dead.
And it had all begun with betrayal.
That evening had been chilly. Rain trickled from the roof's edges as Lucien came back from a monster hunt. His cloak was wet, monster blood smeared on his clothes.
The clan hall was abnormally quiet.
He entered, assuming perhaps everyone had retired.
"Lucien."
He turned.
"Darren?" he asked, surprised. "Why are you awake?"
His best friend stood in the shadows, eyes difficult to read.
"I waited for you," Darren said. "I knew you'd make it back."
Lucien grinned. "Of course I did. You should've seen the beast I took down. I've got its core right here—"
SHINK.
Lucien's words ceased.
He blinked in confusion as a stinging pain coursed through his back. The chill steel of a sword pierced his chest.
Blood streamed from the wound. His legs trembled.
He slowly rotated his head.
".Darren…?"
Darren's face didn't change.
"You stole everything from me," he whispered. "I was to be the next heir. But they chose you."
Lucien's knees buckled to the ground. His breathing shortened and grew shallow.
"I didn't want to replace you," he wheezed.
"But you did," Darren said. "And now… it's over."
Lucien's body crashed face-first onto the ground. Rain thudded against the windows. All went black.
Darkness.
Silence.
No hurt. No heat.
Just nothing.
Lucien believed this was death.
Perhaps it was.
But then—something odd occurred.
A cold light emerged.
He sensed something tug at his soul. A deep voice resonated in the emptiness.
[● SYSTEM MESSAGE ●]
Soul Found: Lucien Alaric Nightshade
Death Confirmed
Time Since Death: 1 year
Soul Anchor Stable
Body Reconstruction Complete
Lucien opened his eyes.
He lay on cold, cracked stone.
A strange mist hung in the air. The sky above was dark—no sun, no moon, just drifting gray clouds.
He slowly sat up, dazed and confused.
His hands appeared. wrong.
Too thin. Too white.
He peered closer.
Bones.
His hands were bones.
He sprang to his feet and glared down.
His entire body was a skeleton.
"No. no, this isn't real…"
He stumbled to a shattered mirror nearby, bracing himself on a stone pillar. The face that gazed back was not his. It was a skull, pulsing faint blue around the eyes.
He patted his face in shock.
"What happened to me…?"
Then, more messages appeared in glowing letters.
[● STATUS ●]
• Name: Lucien Alaric Nightshade
• Race: Undead (Skeleton)
• Class: Grim Reaper's Vessel
• Rank: Beginner
• Soul Energy: 0
• Time Dead: 1 Year
[● MAIN QUEST ●]
Objective: Kill Darren Vane
Reason: Betrayal. Soul Link. Justice.
Lucien's hands balled into fists. Rage burned in his chest, even without a heart.
"One year… I've been dead for a whole year…?"
He could barely believe it.
His clan would have thought he was dead for good. Buried. Forgotten. Perhaps they had believed Darren's lies.
"I was their pride… their future. And now I'm just…"
He gazed at his skeletal body.
"This."
The system beeped once more.
[● WARNING ●]
You are no longer able to go back to your clan.
You are undead. Your presence = enemy.
Lucien crashed to his knees. Cold wind swept through the ruins surrounding him.
"No… I wanted to go home…"
He recalled the faces of the ones he loved. His younger sister. His mother. Even the elders who used to compliment him.
Now, he could never lay eyes on them anymore.
He was a monster to them.
But one thing made him have direction.
The name.
Darren.
His so-called best friend. The one who smiled in his face and stabbed him behind it.
Lucien's radiating blue eyes blazed even brighter.
"If I can't go back… then I'll move on."
He stood upright. Shadow energy swirled around him. A soft blue flame ignited in his ribcage.
"I don't know what this 'system' is. I don't know where I am… or why I'm like this…"
His hand extended as a dark scythe materialized in the mist.
"But I know who I need to kill."
[● YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN ●]
•You are Death's Hand.
•No soul shall escape.
Lucien gazed out into the never-ending fog, his cloak of darkness unfolding around his skeleton.
He had passed away once.
But this time, he would come back not as a hero…
…but as the Reaper.