The field outside Solmere was silent.
Not peaceful—waiting.
A hundred soldiers stood in formation across the frost-bitten grass, steel armor dull beneath an overcast sky. Spears bristled forward like a living wall. Swords rested in disciplined hands. Banners bearing the sigil of the Human Kingdom snapped sharply in the wind.
At their center sat a man on horseback.
Broad-shouldered. Decorated. Calm. A scar ran down his right eye, stark in the daylight.
The General surveyed the lone figure standing several dozen meters away, utterly unarmored by comparison.
One man. No shield. No visible weapon.
The murmurs behind him were barely restrained.
"He's really alone?"
"No backup?"
"Is this some kind of trick?"
The General raised a gloved hand. Silence fell instantly.
His gaze never left Jax Darquebane.
"You were given a chance," the General said, his voice carrying easily across the field. "Submit your weapons. Hand over the weapons and armor being made in Solmere. Pay the kingdom's due."
Jax didn't move.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't even shift his weight.
The General exhaled slowly, disappointed. "Instead, you chose to stand in our path."
A pause.
"And you think you can face all of us…" His eyes narrowed…"alone?"
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then—
Jax smiled.
Not wide. Not mocking.
Just… calm.
Things sure have changed a lot since I first arrived in this world.
The wind tugged at his coat. Somewhere behind him, the walls of Solmere stood quiet—townsfolk watching from windows, breath held, unaware of just how close they were to annihilation.
A hundred soldiers tightened their grips.
None of them noticed the shadows widen around the man facing them.
None of them noticed the silence stretching just a little too long.
And then—
The world shifted.
Months Earlier
There was no pain.
No memories.
Just a sudden, violent absence—as if reality itself had been peeled away.
Jax became aware of light before he became aware of himself.
Endless. White. Structured.
Not heaven.
A space designed for function.
Floating before him, symbols formed—precise, impersonal, indifferent.
Summoning Sequence Complete
Subject: Jax Darquebane
Origin: External World
Status: Compatible
Jax tried to move.
Nothing happened.
He tried to speak.
The space ignored him.
So this is happening, he thought, distantly. No dreams. No judgment. Just… processing.
Another presence pressed down on the space—not physical, but absolute. Something ancient. Something accustomed to obedience.
The light flickered.
The symbols distorted.
ERROR
ERROR
Memory Data Unavailable
Divine Gift Allocation Forced
Something deep within the system shifted—not smoothly, not cleanly.
Like a lock snapping under pressure.
The temperature dropped.
Shadows bled into the white.
Alternate System Detected
Designation: SHADOW SYSTEM
Authorization… Unverified
Override… Accepted
Jax felt it then.
Not power.
Not pain.
But capacity.
Like something vast had been hollowed out inside him—waiting to be filled.
Initialization Complete.
User Identified.
Death is no longer an end.
It is a resource.
The light collapsed.
The world rushed in.
Cold air burned his lungs.
Stone scraped against his palms.
And as Jax opened his eyes for the first time in this world—
Somewhere far above, something divine paused.
And quietly, uneasily…
took notice.