Elmi_barsorcere

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In a world where the remnants of an ancient, catastrophic war lie buried beneath the ash of a broken society, Kael Riven is an outcast, thrust into a brutal system that governs those with power. Born with a dark past and an even darker destiny, Kael discovers he is the heir to the Rampage Monarch, a being of destruction whose legacy is tied to the ruin of countless realms.

As Kael navigates the crumbling cities and forgotten ruins, he must come to terms with the chaos that comes with his newfound abilities, which grant him unimaginable power at the cost of his humanity. Along the way, he faces enemies who would use his power for their own gain, while a mysterious organization—The Ashen Order—seeks to control or destroy him. Torn between redemption and destruction, Kael’s path to ascension is fraught with betrayal, death, and the constant reminder of the terrible legacy he must inherit.

With each step toward his destiny, Kael grapples with his humanity, fighting to break free from the blood-soaked chains of his past, even as the ashes of those who came before him threaten to consume everything he has left. The only question that remains: can Kael rise above the ashes of his legacy, or will he become the very monster he's meant to defeat?


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Ashes of Ascension

The memory shard pulsed in Kaien's hand like a second heartbeat—wild, chaotic, hungry.

> "Hello, Kaien. Or… should I say, Architect Zero."

Suddenly, Kaien wasn't in the indoctrination room anymore.

He was in a void—an endless black canvas of floating code, fractured memories, and broken stars.

"Recognize me?" the reflection said. "You should. I'm the part of you that remembers what they tried to erase."

> [SHARD OF ORIGIN – MEMORY UNSEALED]

> "Project VOIDHEART wasn't made to destroy the system," the reflection said. "It was built to replace it."

And then the truth hit him like a data-bomb.

He didn't just level up because of a glitch.

The ceilings that kept others from growing.

The reason no one else could grow stronger?

"Oh, but yes. You wrote the God Code. You locked away divinity. You made yourself the only player who could win."

Images flickered around him—countless worlds, people praying for strength, locked out of their potential because of his system.

Back when he was still the Architect.

The voice of the Prophet echoed from the real world:

> "He's remembering too fast. Shut it down—NOW!"

But Kaien was done being controlled.

He grabbed the shard—and crushed it.

Kaien rose to his feet in the indoctrination room, eyes glowing white-hot.

Solis's voice screamed in his earpiece, "Kaien?! What the hell did you just do? Your level is skyrocketing—no one's ever—"

His body surged with code-fire. The Prophet staggered back. Even Natsumi—no, the parasite—hesitated.

"…they just couldn't handle me waking up."

[TRUE RESET – ERA REWRITE PROTOCOL]

> Cost: 999,999,999 soul fragments

Warning: May erase reality as currently known.

CHAPTER 16: THE MAN WHO BUILT THE GAME