Kieran Reese squinted against the glaring neon lights overhead as he slumped against the damp, cracked wall of the underground tunnel. His breath came in short, sharp bursts, the metallic taste of blood clinging to his tongue. The gash across his ribs burned with every ragged inhale. His jacket was torn, smeared with grime, and his knuckles were raw from striking stone-hard faces just moments ago.
"Bastards…" he muttered, forcing himself to his feet. His legs shook, but he pressed his hand against the cold stone wall for support.
The footsteps behind him were closing in. Heavy boots slamming against concrete. The distorted, mechanical voices of enforcers echoed down the corridor. **Planet Caldris** was supposed to be his fresh start—a place to escape the debts and betrayals of Earth. But now, it was just another pit of desperation.
Kieran's mind raced. **No way out.**
The tunnel forked into two. Without thinking, he took the left path, his worn boots splashing into puddles of filthy water. His breathing quickened as he glanced back. The shadows were moving fast. **Too fast.**
"Hey! Stop right there!" a voice barked.
**Shit.**
He didn't stop. His legs pumped forward with every ounce of energy he could muster. A door flashed by his peripheral vision—a heavy, rusted slab with faint glowing runes etched into its frame. He didn't think. He just acted. His fingers gripped the iron latch and wrenched it open.
The room beyond was **ancient**. A crumbling chamber lit by a faint amber glow, as if the stones themselves were breathing with light. The air smelled different—crisp and charged, almost electric. The enforcers were closing in, but Kieran was already moving. He sprinted toward the center of the chamber where a **pedestal of polished obsidian** stood, engraved with symbols he couldn't read.
A voice—a low, disembodied hum—reverberated through his skull. It wasn't external. It was inside him.
**"One chance. Touch the seal and ascend… or fall."**
Kieran's fingers brushed the obsidian slab. The world **fractured**.
The entire room exploded with light, and for a moment, he was weightless—torn from reality. His body disintegrated into shards of light, and in the span of a heartbeat, he was nowhere and everywhere.
---
**When he opened his eyes**, he wasn't in the underground tunnel anymore. He wasn't even on Caldris. He was somewhere… else.
Kieran stood in the middle of a **vast stone platform** suspended in a sea of shimmering mist. Above him, a storm of **fractured stars** swirled, orbiting around a central sun-like core that pulsed with violet light. The horizon didn't exist—only infinite nothingness stretching out in all directions.
He looked down at himself. His clothes were the same—a torn jacket and blood-smeared jeans. But his wounds were gone. His skin was whole, his energy restored.
"Where the hell am I?" he muttered.
As if answering him, a golden screen appeared in front of his eyes—a **system interface** made of flowing, digital script.
---
**[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]**
**Welcome, Sovereign Candidate.**
**You have been granted a Dominion Seed.**
**Prepare for Ascension.**
---
Kieran blinked. The letters shimmered in midair. He reached out to touch them, but his hand passed through as though it were made of mist.
A sharp *ding* rang in his ears. The screen changed.
---
**Name:** Kieran Reese
**Dominion Rank:** Unranked
**Talent:** Unawakened
**Dominion Points:** 0
**Territory:** None
---
"Dominion Rank? Territory?" he muttered. It didn't make sense.
Another prompt appeared.
---
**[INITIATING TERRITORY SELECTION]**
**Choose your starting terrain:**
- **Forest Realm:** Rich in wood and basic resources. Moderate monster threat.
- **Iron Wastes:** Scarce natural resources but abundant metal deposits. High monster threat.
- **Crystal Vale:** Rare magical ores and ethereal flora. Low physical resources.
- **Oblivion Expanse:** Forbidden territory. Unknown conditions. (Recommended for High-Risk Candidates)
---
Kieran's eyes narrowed. The **Oblivion Expanse** pulsed faintly. It was marked with a **red glyph**, and at the bottom was a warning:
**"Unexplored. Fatality Rate: 99.8%."**
He should have picked the Forest Realm. Or the Iron Wastes. Something practical. But his gut told him otherwise. His hand hovered for a brief moment before he pressed his palm into the glyph.
The system buzzed.
---
**[Territory Selected: Oblivion Expanse]**
**Warning: You are the first Sovereign to claim this domain.**
**Unmapped. Unknown variables detected. Proceed with caution.**
---
Before he could second-guess himself, the world shifted again.
A **pillar of violet energy** erupted from the platform, engulfing Kieran in light. He felt himself falling—his stomach twisting with the sudden drop. The mist turned black, and the stars blurred into streaks of light.
When he landed, he hit the ground hard, knees buckling. The terrain was **hostile**. Jagged black stone stretched into the distance, sharp and uneven, forming crags and broken earth. The sky was a swirling mass of black clouds with faint streaks of crimson lightning flashing behind them.
In the distance, he saw **massive ruins** jutting from the earth—towering stone monoliths covered in black ivy. Ancient spires with jagged edges, bent and broken, pierced the sky. It was a place long forgotten.
His **system interface** flickered again.
---
**[Dominion Seed Activated]**
**Territory Core Established.**
**Name Your Dominion.**
---
Kieran stared at the screen. A name. It was his world now—a blank slate. He smirked slightly and typed:
**"Erevar."**
---
The screen flickered again. The **Core** manifested before him—an enormous, hovering crystal of obsidian and violet light. It crackled with power, sending faint arcs of energy into the surrounding stone. From its base, dark veins spread outward, claiming the nearby terrain.
The system displayed a new message.
---
**[Territory Established: Erevar]**
**Core Level: 1**
**Available Troops: 0**
**Summoning Power: Locked**
**Resource Reserves: 0**
---
Kieran exhaled sharply. **No troops. No resources. No protection.** He was in the middle of a ruined wasteland with nothing but a name and a glowing crystal.
"Great. I really outdid myself this time."
As if the universe wanted to mock him, he heard the faint **snarling** of creatures in the distance.
**Too soon.**
He whirled around, spotting **black-furred beasts** with glowing red eyes creeping out of the darkness. Their forms were sleek and gaunt, like wolves stripped of flesh and left with sinew and bone. Their eyes were rabid, glowing with unnatural hunger.
The system flashed again.
---
**[Survival Event Triggered: First Night]**
**Defend Your Territory.**
**Failure will result in Dominion Collapse.**
---
Kieran's fingers curled into fists. **No troops. No weapons. Just me.**
He could feel the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins. His Dominion had barely begun, and he was already fighting for it.
He cracked his knuckles.
"Fine," he muttered. "You want a fight? Come get it."
---
*To be continued…*