Pain.
It consumed Ezekiel like fire, searing through his flesh, his bones, his very soul. He couldn't breathe. His vision blurred between reality and something else—a vast, endless abyss stretching into infinity, filled with floating symbols that twisted and shifted beyond comprehension.
Whispers echoed in his mind.
"You are the last of us."
The words repeated, layered over themselves like a chorus of unseen voices, each one speaking with a different cadence, a different age, a different sorrow. They resonated deep within him, digging into the parts of his mind that had never been touched before.
And then—
A new system has been integrated.
A notification appeared before his eyes, hovering in the darkness.
---
[ Sovereign's Paradox – Root Authority Detected ]
Initializing core functions…
[ WARNING: System is incomplete. Integrating foreign elements… ]
[ ERROR: Unknown variables detected. Compensating… ]
---
A rush of knowledge slammed into his brain, like a dam breaking and flooding his consciousness. Ezekiel gasped, arching his back as the pain turned into something else—power, pure and unfiltered, filling the void where his system should have been.
And then, just as suddenly as it began, the agony stopped.
Silence.
Ezekiel lay on the cold stone floor, panting, his body trembling from the aftershock. His hands were free. The iron restraints that had bound him were gone, reduced to rusted fragments on the ground beside him.
Slowly, he pushed himself up, his muscles screaming in protest. His body still ached, but something was… different. Stronger. More aware.
A second notification appeared before his eyes.
---
[ System Status: Active ]
Designation: Sovereign's Paradox
Core Function: Authority Over Systems
---
His heart pounded.
He had a system.
But this wasn't a normal system.
Ezekiel exhaled shakily, focusing on the new presence in his mind. Unlike traditional systems, which provided direct skills or abilities, his felt like an unfinished puzzle—fragments of information, incomplete pathways, and a deep, yawning hunger.
His fingers twitched involuntarily. The air around him seemed heavier, charged with an unseen force. He could feel something—an invisible thread running through reality itself, waiting to be pulled.
What… am I?
He looked down at his arms. The glowing symbols from before had vanished, but the sensation lingered beneath his skin, like an ember smoldering just beneath the surface.
His surroundings came into focus.
The chamber was larger than he had initially thought, its walls covered in faded carvings that depicted strange, inhuman figures—some kneeling, others reaching toward a darkened sky. A massive stone door stood at the far end, half-buried in rubble, ancient chains wrapped around its frame.
He wasn't alone here.
Something had left this place locked for a reason.
A shiver ran down his spine.
The voice that had spoken to him earlier—the one that had called him "the last of us"—was silent now, but its presence still lingered, as if watching from the shadows.
Ezekiel exhaled, steadying himself. He needed to understand what had just happened to him.
First, he needed to test his system.
---
Experimenting with Power.
A system user's status could be accessed mentally, and while he had never experienced it himself, he had seen others do it. He focused inward, reaching for the unseen presence within him.
System, open status.
A screen materialized before his eyes.
---
[ System Status ]
Name: Ezekiel Vance
System: Sovereign's Paradox
Core Ability: ???
Authority Level: 0
Available Skills: None
[ System Expansion Required ]
---
Ezekiel frowned. No skills? No level? He had assumed that since he had a system now, it would function like everyone else's. But this… this was different.
Core Ability: ???
Even his main ability was locked. Whatever Sovereign's Paradox was, it wasn't complete yet.
Frustration gnawed at him, but he forced himself to stay calm. He had spent his entire life with nothing. Even an incomplete system was more than he had ever dreamed of.
And it was his.
He closed the window and looked around. He needed to leave this tomb and find food, water—anything to keep himself alive.
He turned toward the exit—
And stopped.
A shadow moved.
Not a trick of the light. Something was there.
Slowly, Ezekiel turned his head.
Near the far end of the chamber, past the massive stone door, a figure stood in the darkness.
It was tall. Too tall. Its body was wrapped in tattered cloth, its elongated limbs shifting unnaturally as it took a step forward. Its face was obscured by a crude, featureless mask.
Ezekiel's breath hitched. His body screamed at him to run, but his feet remained frozen.
The creature tilted its head.
Then—
It moved.
Faster than humanly possible.
Ezekiel barely reacted in time, throwing himself to the side as a clawed hand slashed through the air where he had been standing. The force of the swing sent dust and debris scattering across the chamber.
Shit.
His instincts kicked in. He scrambled backward, his mind racing. He had no weapons. No skills. No system functions that could help him.
The creature straightened, its masked face turning toward him once more.
Then it spoke.
Not in words. Not in a language.
Directly into his mind.
"You bear the Paradox."
Ezekiel's blood ran cold.
The thing knew what he was.
And it was hunting him.
The creature lunged again. This time, he wasn't fast enough.
A clawed hand wrapped around his throat, lifting him off the ground. A crushing force closed in, cutting off his air.
He struggled, kicked, clawed at the grip, but it was like trying to fight iron. Dark spots swam in his vision. His lungs burned.
Then—
Something clicked inside him.
A pulse of energy exploded from his core. The symbols on his skin flared to life, and suddenly—
The creature froze.
For the briefest moment, it staggered, its body locking in place as if something had interfered with its very existence.
Ezekiel didn't hesitate.
He twisted, using every ounce of strength to break free from its grasp. He hit the ground hard, gasping for breath. His vision swam, but his mind was sharp.
It reacted to my system.
He didn't understand why. Didn't understand how.
But he had a way to fight back.
Ezekiel's eyes flicked to the creature. It had recovered, its masked face unreadable. But for the first time… it hesitated.
He clenched his fists.
He had been powerless his entire life. No system. No skills. No future.
But now?
Now, he had something new.
Something dangerous.
And for the first time, his enemies had a reason to fear him.