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

Kaien wiped the blood with the back of his hand, but it wouldn't stop. His system UI flickered—glitching between languages, between timelines. Riven stepped back, eyes wide.

The pavement cracked under him—not from force. From something beneath it.

[UNLOCKED: FILE 001 — "THE ORIGINAL SIN"]

[WARNING: BLOOD AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED]

He coughed, spat red data, and whispered:

And suddenly—Kaien stood in a room that should not exist.

Black walls. Floating glyphs. A single table with a file folder on it.

> "THE BLOODLOCK PROJECT – SUBJECT ZERO: KAIEN VALE"

Strapped to a chair. Wires drilled into his spine. His screams written in jagged red text across the page margins. Footnotes in cold, clinical fonts:

Subject appears to retain consciousness through multiple resets.

Emotional suppression chip rejected.

Bloodline link detected—UNKNOWN DIVINE CODE.

Kill-switch ineffective. Subject reboots upon death. Recommend Observation.

And in the bottom corner of the final page:

"PROJECTED THREAT LEVEL: MONARCH-CLASS."

Kaien's hands trembled. He felt like vomiting. But there was more.

Attached to the file—an image. Blurry. Digitally decayed.

A scientist. One of the leads on the project.

Kaien backed away from the folder.

Older. Scarred. A void in his eyes.

"Welcome to the archive," the older Kaien said. "I'm what you become if you remember everything."

> [SYSTEM ERROR: MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF CORE ID DETECTED]

But Kaien stood frozen, staring at himself.

"I'm Loop-17. You're Loop-18. I've killed Solari. I've broken the Architects. And I still lost."

"To stop you from making the same mistake."

He reached forward—and grabbed Kaien's wrist.

> [NEW SKILL UNLOCKED – "PARALLEL SOUL"]

You may now inherit fragments from past versions of yourself.

First Fragment: "Bulletstorm Edge."

+50% Reaction Speed. Slash frequency increased exponentially in burst windows.

Warning: Side-effects include memory bleeding and timeline instability.

"You're not the weapon. You're the virus."

Back in the alley. Back in the now.

Riven knelt beside him. "You okay?! What happened?!"

He looked at the skyline again. The Glass Tower gleamed like a needle waiting to draw blood.

CHAPTER 21: THE BLOOD-LOCKED FILE