Chapter 2: The new beginning

[ System ]

Quest completed : First Blood Description : Kill a person whilst in possession of the system

[ You have completed a quest, and you will now receive a reward ]

Reward : +1 black card +1 lowest grade elixir

As the voice rung inside Silas’s head, he instinctively knew how it worked as if he had been born with it. The cold monotony in the expressions seemed almost like family to him-a missing piece he didnt know he needed. He began to look at the cultists, who were still laughing hysterically, considering murdering them as well, until a muscular cultist with a red armband came forth, and began to speak: “Well done. You have shown great precision and speed when killing at a disadvantage. You are now eligible to use a training room.”

Silas gritted his teeth whilst he heard the man speak. He didn’t need a cultists approval, in fact he wanted the opposite.

Nevertheless, Silas hid his emotions, and walked into a training room.

Now, Silas would reap what he had sown. “Open system “

[ Would you like to claim your reward?] [ yes / no ]

“Yes”

Before the word even left his mouth, the room began to shake. The entire world lost colour, and time seemed to have stopped right then, but this, although terrifying in its own right, wasn't what struck fear into Silas’s heart. He had seen gross ignorance of the laws of nature many times before, in fact he did one not too long ago. What struck fear into him was a sort of pressure. Something was watching. And this something was beyond him. Every cell in his body, every fiber of his being screamed at him to yield, to kneel, to submit to the presence that dwarfed comprehension. Silas asked himself a question: If it was me before the regression, would I have been able to match this pressure? Could I even survive it? Probably not.

Right then, a dark rectangle appeared, about a meter away from his face. He didn't know for sure beforehand, but now the source of the energy had shown itself, he could tell. He could tell that an energy comparable to that of rampage existed, and it existed within that card. He stared at it, and without the chance to fully understand, the world dissolved into nothing. From all directions, he heard a voice.

“Heretic”

One word was enough for silas to feel weak in the knees, but he had to stay strong. After all, what kind of assassin shows their weakness?

“Heretic? Well the target of my revenge is a god… yes, you are right. I am a heretic. Will you help this heretic, or will you die?”

“A funny heretic. Amusing…”

The mysterious being disappeared, and in his place a system window popped up.

But before reading it, Silas fell. His body had broken from a simple sentence from that. Silas clawed at his chest to keep breathing, his entire body fighting for life. He refused to die. His regrets tied him. Cairis’s last words repeated over and over in his head. “Avenge us” Before Silas blacked out, he managed to swallow the other reward, the lowest grade elixir, when he then fell unconscious.

“You wont be able to do anything. Rampage is too strong. Can you even get to your old peak? The one that couldn’t do anything to him? Can you even get close? You were lucky then, but will you be now? You won’t even escape the cult. I bet you won’t even last a day”

Silas knew this voice. It was similar to rampages, in the way that it seemed to come from inside his own head, but he knew it wasn’t rampages voice. He knew it was his own.

The pain was relentless.

Every breath and heartbeat crashed through his body-each a cruel reminder that he was alive. He clawed weakly at the cold heartless ground until his fingers bled- He couldn't change anything about it.

Every simple movement was pure anguish to him, to the point where parts of himself wanted to end all the pain and suffering. To intentionally die. He considered it deeply.

But silas simply couldn't die. Every time he tried, he remembered the voices of the people from the future: Kaisel, Cairis , they were different in so many ways, but in the end they were the same in one thing:

That they trusted Silas Vane, the shadow.

So despite the pain. Despite the anguish. Despite the destruction. Silas had to get up. He had to honour the lives that had brought him this high, when he began deep below in the scummiest place in the world. He had to fight for them.

Silas woke up. He arose not because his legs allowed him, but because something greater within him willed it. An anchor of regret pulling him foward, a chain forged from the lives of those who trusted him, unbroken through rebirth.

His body may have been in shambles, but his mind was finally whole. He had finally found peace.

He looked back up at the system window he left behind when he fell unconscious. He couldn’t quite place it, but the window seemed brighter than usual.

[Gained Skill: Death Kings Reverence] [The aura of a monarch who rules through death, commanding fear and submission from all]

[Power - Imitation Level]

“Death king, huh?” He mumbled, his voice hoarse. “Fitting.”

Silas had taken his first step forward to killing the outer god.