The Heavenly Archives burned!
After beheading Lucia Arcane—infamously known as "the Living Grimoire"—the Demon army, led by Renard, set the Heavenly Archives ablaze.
The once ancient citadel of knowledge, humanity's most sacred treasury of wisdom, all crumbled before their might. Countless tomes and scrolls that had been carrying centuries of accumulated knowledge turned to ash under his watch.
As the Seventh Commander of the demon forces, Renard had the honor of witnessing such a spectacle from the front lines.
The once-impenetrable walls that had protected the empire's most precious secrets for generations now collapsed, stone by stone. The Heavenly Archives, which had kept the entire history of the Astralis Continent recorded and the so-called 'cherished heritage' of the Seven Houses, went up in flames—reduced to nothing but smoke and ruin.
Renard watched with cold satisfaction as fire consumed shelf after shelf, hall after hall. It was one of the rarest occasions when the corner of his lips curled into a smile.
Yet, amidst the destruction, Renard discovered something extraordinary.
Within those burning walls lay proof that Seven Houses weren't the only that as they claimed. There hadn't been just seven, nor even eight if one counted his fallen House Grim. There was evidence of a ninth—the House of Weaver.
The revelation had shaken him to his core. His house hadn't been the first to fall victim to the schemes of great houses. Another family had already been buried in the depths of history, erased from existence.
After learning this, Renard was determined to uncover more of the truth, he frantically searched for any surviving trace of the Weaver's bloodline, only to find Klean, a man who had already become the loyal dog of the very house that destroyed his own. The bitter irony was undeniable—the so-called hero of humanity unknowingly defended those who had wiped out his own legacy.
But the Archives held one more secret.
Deep within the heart of the chamber stood a stone slab, engraved with words in Aethrion—the oldest known language of Astralis, often called the God's Tongue.
kulīnabhūmau viśvāsaghāto
yadā vikāsyati raktadhārā |
navāṅgabhinnaṃ saṃyojayanti
prācīnatṛṣṇā raktavāhinīṣu ||
punarutthāsyati sarvabhakṣaḥ
mṛtyoḥ paścāt kālaviparyayeṇa |
rājanyapāpaṃ bhakṣayiṣyati
yāvat sarvaṃ ṛṇamocanaṃ syāt ||
Few could still read these ancient runes, and even attempting a translation had proved extremely challenging. Yet something about those words had drawn him in, compelling him to decipher their meaning.
After trying his best, all Renard could translate was one word from the whole scripture.
Sarvabhakṣaḥ
Which meant All-Devourer!
That had been his first and last encounter with the entity known as the Devourer. After that, Renard had scoured every resource that he came across and searched every record, but no matter where he looked or which sources he consulted, he found nothing more. It was as if every trace of information about the Devourer had been purposefully erased from history.
The mystery had troubled him for years, but he had other things to worry about. Leading the demon army against the Seven Houses had consumed all his attention, and eventually, thoughts of the Devourer had faded… until now.
Until he saw those same words once again!
[Initiating the Devourer's Legacy]
The words appeared before him in burning blue flames, calling upon the same entity he'd once discovered in the ruins of the Archives long ago.
'Devourer…!!'
He was about to speak when his sister's voice pulled his thoughts back to the present.
"Are you okay, brother? Did something happen?"
Aria's voice carried genuine concern as she gently backed off and looked at his face with worry.
Renard's thoughts stopped as he looked at his sister's worried face.
There was so much he wanted to tell her. So much he needed to unravel.
But his mind was in disarray, thoughts spinning like leaves in a storm. He needed time to sort through everything and plan his next move carefully.
"It seems I am tired," he managed to say at last, forcing himself to look away from her concerned gaze.
"Let's camp here for today."
_____
"Stop the carriage."
Renard called out, his voice loud enough and carrying the authority. Even though he was just fourteen years old, as one of the heirs to the House Grim and the young lord of Taira Castle, his words carried enough authority to command them.
Sure enough, the driver pulled on the reins, bringing the carriage to a gentle halt. But Renard could also see the flicker of confusion on the faces of their escorts.
"Young Master Renard?" One of the knights approached, concern evident in his voice. "Is everything alright?"
"We'll camp here for today," Renard declared, offering no more explanation.
With that, he opened the carriage door and helped Aria step down from it. As he did, his gaze swept over their escorts, studying each face carefully.
There were a total of nine individuals in the group, including himself and Aria. There were two maids who attended them, four knights on horseback who were in charge of ensuring their security, and the carriage driver himself.
'Who..?'
Among these familiar faces, someone had betrayed them in his past life. Someone had sold them out to their enemies, leading to that fatal ambush.
But who?
Renard was certain that the attack wasn't a coincidence because this was supposed to be a personal travel journey that wasn't known to everyone. Only those in the escort and a few family members were aware of this, as this was a trip to their maternal grandfather's birthday celebration.
Renard watched as the two maids immediately began fussing over Aria, helping her smooth her dress and offering her water. The knights exchanged glances but began setting up a temporary camp without any questions. The driver also busied himself to secure the horses.
Everything seemed normal.
Too normal. Just like last time.
"Brother, are you sure you're okay?" Aria whispered, tugging at his sleeve. "You're acting strange."
Renard looked at her and forced a smile on his face. "Just tired from the journey, that's all."
He patted her head gently. "Why don't you help the maids set up? I need a moment alone."
As Aria skipped off to help the maids, Renard stepped away and moved to a secluded spot behind the trees where no one could observe him. His heart was racing—not from fear, but from anticipation. He needed to understand.
What was happening… and what was this Devourer's Legacy?
Looking around one final time to make sure that he was alone, Renard whispered to the empty air.
"Show me," he whispered. "Show me what you are, Devourer's Legacy."
As if waiting for his command, the response was immediate. Words materialized before his eyes, but this time, they revealed something different.
[Initiating the Devourer's Legacy]
And it didn't stop there this time.
[You have been chosen as the Devourer's Heir]
[You have acquired the Fragment of Time]
[The Fragment of Time has been Consumed]
[You have regressed to the Point of Regret]
"The Point of Regret...?" Renard muttered, reading the words floating in front of him.
It was a fancy way to describe a phase, but as he thought about it, it made perfect sense. This truly was the point where his regrets had begun.
At this time, Renard had everything one could dream of—a loving mother, a whole castle as his home, his adorable little sister and enough wealth for him to live the rest of his life in comfort.
Yet, from this point forward, he would begin to lose everything. One by one, piece by piece, every precious thing of his life would be snatched from him, and it would start with the death of his sister.
His fists clenched.
'Not this time.'
Now that he knew what lay ahead, things would be different.
Nonetheless, the strange messages weren't finished with their revelations yet.
[Some of the Devourer's Powers have been Inherited]
[You have awakened Primordial Blood Crest - Eternal Hunger]
Renard's eyes widened upon seeing those words.
"A Blood Crest?" he whispered in confusion. "…and what do you mean by Primordial?"
Of course, Renard knew what Blood Crest was. Upon reaching fifteen, every individual was fed the Essence of Providence, which would trigger an awakening and unblocking of the latent power within.
The people called it the Blood Crest, and based on that crest, an individual would obtain abilities as they continued to get stronger.
It wasn't limited to Humans - Beast, Demons and every living being under the heavens had the potential to awaken their Blood Crest. The strength of the Crest just varied depending on their bloodline and potential.
But what Renard didn't understand was the part of 'Primordial.'
There were different types of Blood crests. They ranged from common to Royal, and their classification was based on their usage and importance, but this was the first time Renard had even heard about the Primordial Crest.
The words didn't offer anything else other than just that, and it seemed like Renard's question wasn't going to be answered that easily.
Anyway, there was also another question in his mind that was continuously bothering him.
'How?'
To awaken a Blood Crest, one had to meet two conditions.
The first was to be at the age of fifteen or higher.
The second was the catalyst - for awakening the Essence of Providence, as the people called it, had to be present.
Renard still had two months left before his fifteenth birthday, and he hadn't even received any catalyst.
Then, how did he awaken?
'Wait a minute…'
The message spoke about something called the Fragment of Time. When Renard thought about 'time,' there was only one thing that came to his mind - Durandal, the indestructible sword of the Hero Klean. A sword that was said to have the power to sever the time itself.
'Don't tell me… I regressed because of it?'
Had he been sent back in time because he was pierced by Durandal?
A dry chuckle escaped Renard's lips as he thought about it. The irony—the exact thing that killed him has triggered a fortuitous encounter for him. How would the Seven Houses react if they were to know about this?
Though Renard wasn't exactly sure if that was indeed what had happened, the sword definitely seemed to have some connection to this mystery. For now, Renard decided to set the matter aside as a more important thing was at hand.
"Providence State"
Renard muttered, and in response, runes of providence appeared in front of him.
[Providence State]
[Name: Renard Grim]
[Age: 14 ]
[Gender: Male]
[Zone: Awakened Zone]
[Title: Devourer's Heir]
[Blood Crest: Eternal Hunger]
[Crest-Rank: Primordial]
[Crest Abilities: Devour(F) | Prajna (F)]
"It really works…"
Renard muttered, staring at the words in disbelief.
Providence State was a kind of support system which helped the individual to know about themselves. Some claimed that Providence was a diving gift from the Gods, but no one knew how much truth that held, Renard himself never believed in gods, so its origins were a mystery even for him.
Anyway, Renard looked at his Providence State. After scanning it, he noticed that despite being close to 15, his age was still shown as 14, which meant that the status only counted the lower limit.
Then, there was another detail that caught his eye—his Zone, which showed him to be in the Awakened Zone. This was new compared to his previous life since he hadn't awakened during this period…!
There was also a title which said - Devourer's Heir.
He tried to concentrate on it, but nothing happened. So, he decided to leave it for now before moving his gaze to the most important part.
His blood crest - it was right there.
"Eternal Hunger!"
The name in itself sounded amazing.
In his past life, Renard had awakened a crest called 'Wild Heart,' inherited from the bloodline of House Grim. It had granted him the ability to tame beasts and other miraculous abilities.
When Renard awakened, his bloodline was ranked Legendary—one tier below the Grim family's Royal bloodline, which granted them the powerful Beast Commander crest.
Through sheer determination, Renard had managed to evolve his blood crest, Wild Heart, to the Royal rank, transforming it into the Beast Sovereign.
That power had served him well on his path to vengeance.
Yet, even with a Royal-ranked crest, he has ultimately failed to achieve his goals. Now, however, seeing something entirely unexpected before him, hope flared up in Renard's heart.
He concentrated on the part, and a detailed description popped up.
[Blood Crest: Eternal Hunger]
[A power so deep that neither light nor darkness, essence nor soul can escape its grasp, for its appetite is endless and absolute.]
Ominous!
That was the only word that came to Renard's mind after reading the crest description. But it didn't help, so he moved on to the abilities, hoping to see something.
[Devour]
[Rank: F]
[The Forbidden Art of Devouring - a power that transforms theft into transcendence. It does not simply take; it makes what it steals eternally its own.]
'Huh?'
Renard stared at the description, stunned. There were two words that stood out the most and also made him shudder.
'Forbidden' and 'Transcendence'
With the extensive knowledge he had accumulated in his past life, Renard realized that this ability was far more amazing than it seemed. And that wasn't the end either; there was a single line that hovered beneath.
[Current Slot: 0/1]
What did the slots mean? Renard had no idea what they meant, but he would find out soon enough.
His attention then moved to the next ability.
[Prajna]
[Rank: F]
Just as he was about to read the description of the skill, it happened….
"Arhhhh....!"
A scream tore through the calm and silent air of the forest.
Aria's cry came from the campsite!
一一✽✽✽一一