Humans Kill Faster
Civilization didn't save him.
People found him first.
A group of armed survivors dragged a kneeling man toward a fire pit. The man begged. Cried. Promised anything.
They killed him anyway.
"Hollowborn are waste," their leader said calmly.
Kael stepped forward before he could stop himself.
They killed him too.
A sword through the chest.
Darkness.
Then—
He stood back up.
The leader screamed as Death Echo tore through his mind, forcing him to experience Kael's death in full.
Fear replaced cruelty instantly.
"Monster," someone whispered.
Kael didn't deny it.
CHAPTER 4
Blood Is a Decision
The fight was messy.
Ugly.
Human.
Kael died twice more before it ended.
Each death hurt worse than the last.
Each resurrection chipped away something fragile inside him.
When it was over, he stood alone among the dead.
[Soul Weight: Sufficient]
[Evolution Available]
Three paths appeared.
None led back to being human.
Kael stared at the burning corpses.
At the world that had already decided he was expendable.
"…I won't crawl anymore," he said.
CHAPTER 5
The Hollow Crown
[Evolution Chosen: Hollow King]
The crown formed invisibly—etched not on his head, but on his soul.
Broken voices flooded his mind.
Hollowborn.
Failures.
Souls that had died unnoticed.
They answered him.
[Authority Established]
The sky reacted violently.
A god noticed.
"ANOMALY CONFIRMED."
Kael looked up at the heavens that had tried to erase him.
"You wanted me to feed your system," he said calmly.
Dark power gathered around him like a throne.
"Congratulations."
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
"I learned how."
/THE END OF OPENING ORC/