Before Armageddon, Terra was known as the haven of gods.
From their radiant thrones, the divine bestowed Blessings upon humanity—gifts meant to elevate mortals beyond the limits of flesh. They granted power, protection, and understanding to those who worshiped them faithfully.
Among these gifts was the System, a divine framework that allowed mortals to perceive the details of their souls.
Through the system, humanity could measure their growth—transforming blind ambition into guided evolution. Warriors tempered their bodies, sorcerers expanded their minds, and entire kingdoms thrived under divine favor.
But when Armageddon came, and the gods vanished, their gifts remained. The Blessings, the System, their artifacts and even their temples—all remained as the remnants of the gods of a dying world.
[You have acquired the title <[Host of the Soul God]>]
[You have acquired the
[You have acquired the unique skill <[Soul Predator]>
[You have acquired the unique skill <[Blood manipulation]>
[...]
[...]
The world around him was on fire, even his lungs screamed for oxygen, his head throbbed with immense pain that coursed through his entire being. But amidst is all that, a single thought drove resounded in his mind.
'Mira....'
His sister lay in a pool of her own blood, lifeless, only inches away. Everyone else was dead—the village almost reduced to ash. the culprit, a lone demon clad in a shadowy armor or perhaps a god? He wasn't sure anymore as the continued to flash messages in his head.
Eventually the screaming pain subsided as he collapsed to the ground, too weak to move a muscle. But he fought through it.
'Mira...'
He crawled his way to his sister, the gaping hole in her chest coming into view the closer he got to her. The heat was intense but that didn't matter. Where did the demon go? That didn't matter either. Even as his fingers began to bleed, he didn't care because only thing on his mind was his to.
"Hey Mira, it's me... Kael..." He muttered when he finally reached her, cupping her cheeks as he said so.
"Come on, Say something..." He pleaded, forcing a smile that died as soon as it formed. "Please..."
A silence hung between them—broken only by the crackle of distant flames.
Then, faintly, she finally spoke up, albeit weakly.
"You dumb little brother" she smiled. "You just can't let me be can you."
But Kael didn't reply, neither was he filled with his cheery attitude like before, instead he thinned his lips as he tried to hold back the tears within him. Even at that he was still a mess as they continued to stream down his face.
"Hey... don't cry..." She consoled weakly and placed a hand on his head, ruffling it gently while he rested on her shoulder, unable to restrain his tears. "You'll make me feel bad, you know…"
"But this isn't fair..." He finally whispered a midst the tears. "I was supposed to protect you, this wasn't supposed to happen... I- I couldn't even do anything."
"Kael..." Mira listened as a smile traced her lips. "None of that matters..."
"But—"
"Even when you saw the demon you didn't run away right? You stood your ground... Just for me, I'm glad." Her voice faltered, trembling with fading warmth as she continued. "Now, what would Mom say in times like these…" she pondered. "Ah yes, that's right…"
She paused with a sigh, listening to the silent cackle of flames around them. Her lips quivered then a faint melody left them. Soft and trembling, but pure as she began.
"Dark shadows move beyond our doors,"
"We fear the silence, we fear the wars."
"Still we wait as embers burn,"
'Her voice is still sweet as always,' he thought.
"And through the darkness, he'll break every wall."
"His cape will rise, his hands will mend,"
"We'll pray — the world will live again~"
'She's still warm,'
"Let Terra rejoice, their hero has won."
"Those words will reign, that fateful day,"
"The day our hero returns~ "
"You can't leave me... Please." he whispered as tears began to fall down his cheeks.
"Be the hero and save everyone..." she smiled. "Make us proud... Alright?"
"Yeah..." He replied with a sniff as he felt her hand run cold, "...Mira?"
[Soul Extraction is possible]
[Would you like to extract this soul?
"Mira!" Kyle called out as more tears streaked down his cheeks.
[Soul extraction has been initiated...]
[Soul extraction has been completed...]
[You have gained enlightenment...]
"What?... I didn't—" he immediately felt something wash over his body. It changed something within him but he didn't know what. Instead of worrying about it he faced his sister as her voice drifted through his mind.
"I love you... Kyle."
*****
The world was quiet. Only the faint howl of the wind remained now that the cackle of flames had long since died out.
From from distance Kael could still spot the trail of smoke rising from the remains of the town. A reminder of the storm that had passed just the night before. He had already planned to hold a funeral for everyone in town, but for some reason the corpses had vanished, faded into particles that vanished into thin air. He had a hunch it was because of the demon but he couldn't be a sure as Mira's corpse was the only one remaining in the town.
He had already lost his parents back when he was younger and now the only support he had was gone. It felt as if the world itself was against him.
He glanced back the the gravestones before him, but now there was a third, though instead of a stone slab it was just two crossed sticks pinned to the earth.
He was pleased that at least his sister could rest in peace, free from the burden her frail body put her through every single day.
He didn't breakdown as he looked at them, not anymore at least. Afterall he had already spent the night in tears. He wasn't about to start another breakdown again. Instead he just watched in silence before shifting to face the graves.
Kael knelt in front of the graves, lowering his pack beside him. It was light — too light. The fire had taken almost everything. What remained was what just the necessities he could fit into an old cloth bag. He also took the sword of one of the fallen adventurers. It was worn a nicked in various places, but it would have to do.
He stayed there a moment longer, tracing his fingers across the cold dirt. The wind stirred again, brushing through his hair, and for a moment it almost felt like they just right before him, like the good ol' days.
He smiled faintly, "Ok you guys, I'm all packed up and ready to go. I'll be heading out to the city soon. Nothing good will come from staying out here. the town's been thrashed beyond repair and everyone else is dead..." His voice faded at the end but he quickly brightened up.
"But you don't need to worry about me," he whispered in a faint voice. "I'll be fine. Afterall I had my beautiful sister teach me how to survive out there, I won't be dying anytime soon." He joked.
Finally, his gaze drifted to the small, well made cross at the center. "And you Mira… sleep well alright? You've earned it... Thanks for taking care of me all this time."
He rose slowly, slinging the cloth bag over his shoulder, staring at the horizon far past the smoke and into the distance then whispered to himself.
"I'm gonna get through this, I'll survive this all, so please... Mom... Dad... Mira... Watch over me 'kay..."
And with that he took one last look at the graves and finally had took his first steps towards the horizon, out towards the unknown before him.
*****
Although he hadn't left the town before, he'd heard from some merchants that the nearest settlement was just a day's walk to the south of town, but it was still a rather uneventful trek for the young lad.
Out in the middle of nowhere, Kael continued walking as he made his way through an open grassland with fewer trees.
Now left with nothing to do, he finally remembered the messages that appeared the night before and willed them to appear once more.
[You have acquired the title
[You have acquired the
[You have acquired the unique skill <[Soul magic
[You have acquired the unique skill <[Blood manipulation]>
[You have acquired
[....]
The screens flickered into view and Kael immediately stopped walking as he read the first message, unable to register the the gravity of the words 'host of the soul god' before it finally clicked.
"The hell?..." Kael murmured in shock, afterall, he had just realized that whatever had slaughtered the town was in fact a god.
"And not just any god either..." he whispered seriously, glancing at the screen once more. "It was the Soul god..."
Although Kael didn't have much knowledge on gods, he still felt like a god of souls had to be a big shot among their ranks.
'But why attack a town? Heck why would a god even come back to Terra after abandoning us?' he thought angrily. "Come to think of it where'd did he go anyways?"
He then remembered his new title 'host of the soul god.'
"Did that thing... No, that can't be right... he wanted to possess me?" A bead of sweat ran down his cheeks as his mind flashed to all the possible reasons why and why it even failed, only to come up empty.
Kael sighed weakly, he couldn't think of any reason why a god would want to take his body so he moved on, keeping a mental note to ask around for answers once he reached the new town.
"I should probably check if anything changed too... Status open," Kael murmured as a translucent screen appeared before him, giving him a rundown of his stats in general.
——————
Name: Kael
Class: Warrior [Lv. 1]
HP: 150/ 150 -> 300/300
MP: 100/100 -> 500/500
Strength: 15 ->20
Intelligence: 11 ->25
Agility: 14 -> 20
Endurance: 13 -> 20
Dexterity: 11 -> 20
Stamina: 14 -> 20
Vitality: 11 -> 10
——————
He immediately noticed minor increases here and there, but just as he was about closing his screen, he properly eyed it again as another scream escaped his mouth.
"What on earth did that tin can do to me!"
Normally, a person gained only gained stats through training or from a level up. Points were to distributed as follows; 1 point to class related stats and 0.5 to everything else other than vitality. Meaning that he almost received the equivalent of 5 levels.
Whatever that god had done, it had noticeable made him stronger, something that brought mixed feelings when he considered the damage it had done to his life as a whole.
"Whatever." he waved the thoughts off with a sigh. 'I don't care what it did, but as long as I get stronger for it then I guess... we're even."