Darkness.
Cold, suffocating, absolute.
Cain Voss drifted on the edge of consciousness, his body broken, his mind teetering between pain and numbness. The stench of blood and rotting flesh filled his lungs, mingling with the acrid smoke from the burning city in the distance. Somewhere above, the sky was no longer the dull blue he had known—it was a twisted shade of crimson, choked by writhing clouds of black.
The world was ending.
And he was already dead.
Or at least, that was what his former "friends" had intended.
Memories crashed into his skull like shattered glass. The desperate escape from the city. The raid on the military outpost for supplies. The moment his so-called allies—men and women he had fought beside—turned on him.
"You understand, right, Cain?"
That was what Jonah, the bastard he had once called his closest friend, had said before putting a bullet in his leg and shoving him into a pit of writhing, flesh-hungry creatures.
"We need to lighten the load. And you're just... too much of a problem."
Then they had left him there to be devoured.
Cain's fingers twitched, brushing against the wet dirt beneath him. He wasn't sure how long he'd been lying here. Hours? A day? He should be dead—his wounds were deep, his body weak from blood loss.
Yet, he was still breathing.
And then, it happened.
A whisper. Cold, ancient, and inside his skull.
---
> [System Awakening Detected.]
Initializing…
---
A sudden searing pain burned through his body, like molten fire replacing his blood. He gasped, eyes snapping open, his vision swimming with jagged red symbols.
---
> [Welcome, Host.]
You have been selected by the Dread Tyrant System.
Survival Parameters: Ruthlessness. Conquest. Power.
Objective: Ascend beyond mortality.
---
Cain's ragged breath hitched. A system? Like something out of a video game?
Before he could question it, more words flashed before him.
---
> [Initiating First Phase: Rebirth.]
Suffering has been endured. Compensation granted.
Would you like to devour the corpses around you?
(Y/N)
---
Cain's eyes widened. That pit. The writhing creatures. The bodies—some of them were still moving, groaning in mindless hunger.
And this thing wanted him to consume them?
Something primal in him recoiled at the thought. But then he remembered Jonah's face. The betrayal. The bullet. The fear of dying powerless.
Cain clenched his jaw.
"...Yes."
The moment he accepted, an inhuman rush of hunger overtook him.
Black tendrils erupted from his body, slithering out like living shadows. They pierced into the decayed corpses, sinking deep into their flesh. A grotesque squelching noise filled the air as the bodies withered, their very essence drained and pulled into him.
---
> [Devour Skill Acquired.]
Vitality Restored. Strength +2. Agility +1. Passive Regeneration Activated.
---
Cain gasped as warmth flooded his limbs, his wounds sealing shut like they had never existed. His vision sharpened. His senses expanded. He felt… alive.
No, not just alive.
Stronger.
Better.
As he stood, rolling his shoulders, a cold smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
They had left him to die.
Now, he would show them what true monsters looked like.