Darkness.
It stretched endlessly, a void without sound or sensation.
Lucien Evandor had existed here for what felt like an eternity. No time. No form. No power. Just the remnants of
a soul that had once stood above all.
He had ruled the heavens, feared as the Dragon God of Annihilation, before he made one fatal mistake-pushing his cultivation beyond the limits of existence itself. His final
breakthrough had torn apart his body, his power, and his very soul.
But he did not die.
A whisper echoed through the abyss.
Return.
A searing pain ripped through his consciousness. Then-light.
Lucien's eyes snapped open.
He awoke to cold, stagnant air and the distant sound of howling creatures. His body ached, but it was his body. Flesh, bone, blood. Alive.
His mind reeled, fragments of two lifetimes crashing together-his past as the Dragon God, and this new existence.
Lucien Evandor.
A young man. A son. A brother.
He inhaled sharply. His mother. His sister.
A flood of memories rushed in.
A world consumed by the apocalypse. Civilization had fallen.
Monstrous hordes roamed freely. The
strong preyed on the weak. And worst of all... his family was suffering.
Selene Evandor, his mother-once a noble beauty, now sickly and fragile. A woman who had given everything to keep him and his sister alive.
Valeria Evandor, his older sister-a fallen warrior, crippled and cursed. Once an adventurer feared across the land, now bound to a wheelchair, her legs lost to a demonic horde.
Lucien clenched his fists. His mother and sister had sacrificed everything for him.
And what had he been before regaining his past? Weak. Helpless. A burden.
That ended now.
A low growl echoed in the ruined building.
Lucien turned his head slowly.
A ghoul.
Its flesh was half-rotted, bones exposed, but its glowing red eyes locked onto him with primal hunger.
A week ago, he would have frozen. But now?
Lucien smiled.
The ghoul lunged.
His body reacted before thought. His movements unnatural, fluid .instincts sharpened from an eternity of battle..
He dodged, pivoted, and struck with his bare hand.
CRACK!
His fingers pierced through rotting flesh, crushing the ghoul's skull in an
instant. It dropped, twitching, before going still.
Lucien exhaled.
'Weak'
But his body was still adjusting. His power had not fully returned.
He flexed his fingers, feeling the faint stirrings of his former strength. A mere fraction... but enough.
Enough to begin.
He moved quickly, knowing where he had to go.
It wasn't far. A crumbling apartment, reinforced as best as it could be. The remnants of a home.
He arrived at the doorway, heart pounding. He felt them inside.
He knocked once.
Silence. Then, a soft, cautious voice.
"...Lucien?"
His breath hitched. "It's me."
The door unlocked, creaking open slightly.
And then he saw her.
Selene Evandor.
His mother.
Her once-silken hair had lost its luster. Her skin, once flawless, was now pale and sickly. Dark circles clung beneath her eyes, yet... she was still beautiful. A beauty that time and suffering could not erase.
And behind her...
Valeria Evandor.
His sister.
Once, she had been a warrior standing atop the world. Now, she sat in a wheelchair, wrapped in blankets, her violet eyes sharp despite the pain hidden within them.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Selene threw herself into his arms.
"Lucien-!"
He caught her easily, arms wrapping around her frail frame. She was trembling.
"You're late," Valeria muttered, arms crossed. But her voice wavered.
Lucien looked at them both.
His mother, broken but unyielding.
His sister, wounded but defiant.
His family.
Something inside him snapped.
Never again.
Lucien would burn this world down before he let them suffer another second.
The Apocalypse had taken everything from them.
Now, he would take everything from it.
And this time-
He would reign.