Lucian's footsteps stumbled through the swirling purple mist that coiled like poisonous smoke. His breath was heavy, his knees trembling. It had been two days since he had been cast into the Netherdeep—the land the heroes called "the limbo of rotting souls."
His body was marked with scratches from shadow monsters that appeared and vanished without a sound. The only thing that had kept him alive was a rusty metal fragment he had found and fashioned into a knife.
But even now, he knew the end was near.
"Lucian Gray," he muttered to himself, bitterly laughing. "The unchosen child, discarded like garbage. Is this the end?"
The sky of the Netherdeep never changed. Black. Blood-red. With soft lightning rolling silently. No stars. No moon. Only the void that whispered in a haunting murmur.
Suddenly, the mist parted as if retreating from something.
An ancient structure, half-buried in the ground, emerged from the darkness. Cracked crystal pillars rose like giant bones. In the center of the ruin, a black throne stood—majestic yet desolate. And on it, a woman.
Her silver hair cascaded to the floor like strands of moonlight torn apart. Her eyes were covered by black cloth, but Lucian could feel her piercing gaze tearing into his soul.
She stood still. Unmoving. But the Netherdeep itself seemed... to bow to her.
Lucian didn't realize his knees were shaking.
"You've come at last," her voice echoed in his mind, though her lips didn't move. "The unchosen, the discarded."
Lucian swallowed. "Who... are you?"
The woman smiled faintly. But the smile was neither warm nor malicious. It was... empty.
"Eloria. The castaway. The betrayed. Bound by divine chains and cursed to sleep among the ruins of pain," she said slowly, floating down from the throne. Her steps didn't touch the ground, as if this world didn't have the right to hold her.
Lucian gripped his rusty knife, but his fingers trembled. "If you want to kill me, then do it quickly. I won't beg like those pathetic heroes."
Eloria chuckled softly. "Ah... so that is how a soul of vengeance speaks. You are no weakling, begging for forgiveness. You—are broken. And from that break... comes strength."
She raised her hand, and from her palm appeared a symbol—a dark rune pulsing like a bleeding heart.
Lucian stared at it, silent.
"Do you know," Eloria continued, "why you were cast away?"
Lucian clenched his jaw. "Because I wasn't 'shiny enough' for their oracle. I don't have magic, status, or a hero's background."
"No. Wrong." Eloria's gaze sharpened. "You were cast away... because they fear you."
Lucian furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"
"This world is controlled by false gods who created 'choices.' They mark who can be the savior. And who must be discarded to keep the world stable."
She lifted the rune toward Lucian. "But you... cannot be controlled."
The rune exploded in a dark purple light, and suddenly, a cold like ice mixed with fury exploded in Lucian's head.
Shadows of the past—betrayal from his classmates, the satisfied gaze of the king, the mockery of the oracle—all flashed before him, burning his senses. But alongside it... came strength. A sense of power. A sense of... freedom.
"Argh...!" Lucian fell to his knees, but his black eyes shimmered purple for a moment.
"Welcome to your new law, Lucian Gray," Eloria spoke softly. "Voidcraft. Power born from broken souls. Not magic, not curses. But a system that grows from wounds that cannot heal."
Lucian slowly stood up. His hands began to emit black mist, and the rune symbol appeared on his back.
"What do you want from me?" he asked, breath heavy but steady.
"Not from me. This world will kneel before you."
Lucian stared at Eloria, and for the first time... he didn't see an enemy, nor a god. He saw an ally who knew what it felt like to be discarded.
A small smile curled at the corner of his lips.
"If that's the case, let's begin our revenge."
---
In the distance, shadowy figures began to move. The Netherdeep monsters, usually wild and uncontrollable... now bowed their heads as Lucian passed.
And from the ruins, Seraphine—the quiet girl who had secretly entered the Netherdeep without anyone knowing—watched with tearful eyes. In silence, she clutched the pendant Lucian had given her before the summoning.
"You truly came back to destroy that world, didn't you... Lucian?"
And in her heart, Seraphine knew—her love, hidden all this time, had been reignited, along with the burning flames of vengeance.
---
> [VOIDCRAFT UNLOCKED]
Welcome, Lucian Gray.
Status: Rejected Soul
New Skill: [Exile Sigil] Acquired.
— Burn the chains. Rewrite the law.