"Takumi, the Savior... Vital signs have vanished... Mission failure confirmed."
The last voice he heard lingered intermittently as a heavy darkness enveloped Takumi's five senses. It felt as though he were falling endlessly. Where was this path leading him?
His consciousness gradually dissipated. In those final moments, Takumi saw his past self—the legendary revolving lantern of memories.
Takumi had just turned 20 when he lost his life in an accident. Upon waking, he found himself in a mysterious place called the Salvation Space. Selected by this realm, he was granted life once more to become a Savior.
The role of a Savior is to abide by the rules of the Salvation Space, traveling to different timelines and dimensional worlds. Guided by the space, Saviors complete assigned tasks with the ultimate goal of saving those dimensions.
Having accepted this arrangement, Takumi stayed in the Salvation Space for six months, eventually reaching 6-star strength. Every Savior who enters this space receives a talent—perhaps a superpower, a bloodline, or a martial skill. Naturally, the possibilities are as vast as any fantasy.
Takumi's talent was the Blood of the Fallen Angel. Fallen Angels are the natural kings of darkness, capable of controlling powerful dark elements with high adaptability to dark attributes. Through constant battle, he had developed several skills, even gaining the ability to temporarily transform into a destructive 12-wing Fallen Angel. Despite such power, his mission had failed. In this place, failure typically meant that the weak must die so the strong may survive.
Looking back at the moment of death, he felt an extreme weariness. After the visions of the revolving lantern faded, Takumi actually felt a sense of relief. It was fine this way. He was a person who never truly knew his own direction or what he was pursuing. He hadn't asked to be a hero; he had only lived for mediocrity. Being a Savior was for those who yearned for heroism. Tired, his consciousness finally blurred into nothingness.
Darkness swept over him, pulling him into the abyss. His chaotic mind lost all track of time as he fell through the void.
After an unknown duration, he felt his consciousness slowly clearing. Me? Not dead yet?
The moment he opened his eyes, his hands touched a cold, mechanical floor. A vast tranquility filled the empty space, which was shrouded in pure black, save for a huge white ball of light hanging in the center. A beautiful goddess was vaguely visible within the sphere. This was the inviolable Goddess of Salvation. Her holiness and majesty, paired with her incredible beauty, were overwhelming.
The Salvation Space? Still reeling from the fear of death, Takumi stood up and looked around. He immediately pressed his hand to his chest, looking down at his body nervously. It was intact. His heart was still beating; the rhythmic thumping was clearly felt against his palm.
He was still alive. Calmer than he imagined, Takumi yawned and looked up at the immutable Goddess within the light.
"Savior Takumi, welcome back to the Salvation Space. Please continue to work hard in the future and fight for the balance of the multiple dimensional worlds." Although the voice was sweet, the tone was as mechanical as ever.
Perhaps only the Goddess knew the reason for his resurrection.
"Goddess of Salvation, please explain the current situation."
"Savior Takumi, you carry unidentified prop fragments. The power of these fragments has resurrected you."
Fragments?
Takumi thought for a moment and immediately checked his status in his mind:
Savior: Takumi
Reward Points: 0
Life Energy: 2 stars
Talent Bloodline: Fallen Angel (Currently C-level). King of Darkness: Uses dark skills to gain a small power increase; resistance to dark attacks is 15%.
Strengthening Ability:
Ghost Slash: Mobilizes dark power to deliver a powerful blow.
Backstep: A talent from the Ghost Slayer, enabling dodge actions that defy common sense.
(Evaluation Grade C: Derived from Dungeon & Fighter)
Dark Element Control: Operation of dark elements is more efficient, and the contract with dark attributes is greatly increased.
Personal Skills: Black Whirlwind, Black Feather Tornado, Binding, Swallow, Destruction, Dark Element Resonance.
Dimensional Space: Sword of Nothingness (Fragment). Quality: ??? Ability: ??? Cannot query.
The Sword of Nothingness? With a thought, a jet-black longsword appeared in Takumi's hands. It looked ordinary, yet it resonated perfectly with the dark power of his talent.
The Goddess could not lie. Was it really this fragment? He remembered obtaining it after defeating a World Destroyer, never expecting it to become the key to his resurrection.
However, the cost of returning was high. Takumi confirmed he had dropped from a 6-star powerhouse to 2 stars. All his equipment, props, and reward points had been cleared.
In this space, stars 1–3 are Transcendents, and stars 4–6 are Semi-Holy. Stars 7–9 are Saints, 10 stars are Demigods, and beyond that are the Legendary Gods—five realms in total.
The more stars one possesses, the greater the strength. While a 1-star might occasionally defeat a 6-star through skill, it is nearly impossible to overcome a 7-star Saint without a miracle. This is the absolute difference in realms.
He had worked so hard to reach 6 stars, nearly touching the realm of a Saint, only to be sent back to his original form. Yet, Takumi felt relieved; one cannot be too greedy. He was lucky to be alive and still possess 2-star strength.
"Savior Takumi, because your last mission failed, you will restart with a new mission. Please prepare; you will be teleported to another world in two minutes." The mechanical voice was clear and cold.
Winners continue; losers are eliminated. Anything outside the rules was simply a chance to retake the exam.
"Detecting special abilities in Savior Takumi. The difficulty of the destination dimensional world has been increased."
Increased difficulty? Even though he had dropped to 2 stars, his accumulated experience was not that of a novice. Clearly, the Goddess of Salvation would not allow him an easy path to earn points.
Two minutes later, a beam of light fell from the sky, covering Takumi. His figure vanished without a trace.