DBLACKTHORN

In a world where monsters pour through dimensional rifts and hunters are humanity’s last hope, Kael was just another weak scavenger—until the dungeon that should’ve killed him... gave him power.

Left for dead. Betrayed by his own guild. Revived by a System born from the shadows.

Now, Kael doesn’t hunt monsters. He controls them.

With undead guardians at his command and a growing army of souls, Kael will climb through the ranks, infiltrate the corrupt guilds, and face the secret overlords ruling the portals—those known only as the System Lords.

They thought he was dead.
They were right… but something else came back.

The Last Hunter's Rise

📍 Lower District – Hidden Archives Beneath Juren

Myrla's boots echoed against old stone as she descended into the under-vaults of the ruined Academy.

Once a research hub for mana taxonomy, it had been sealed after the Fall. But Myrla had found the sigils—Kael's old family name had been etched here long ago.

She brushed aside dust, revealing an ancient mural beneath crumbling plaster: a tree of veins, roots stretching into shadow, branches bleeding light.

> "Power through inheritance. Corruption through contact."

A passage beneath the image glowed faintly.

She stepped closer and muttered: "This wasn't just bloodline affinity… it was genetic design."

📍 Shadow Flame Stronghold – Interior Quarters

Kael sat on a cracked bench, head down, shirt off.

Scars lined his arms now. Some were physical. Others… less so.

> [System Update: Core Fluctuation Stabilizing]

[Shadow Corruption: Contained – 32% Threshold]

[Note: Further growth may unlock deeper classifications]

"You ever stop to wonder," she said, tossing him a canteen, "what exactly you're turning into?"

Syl smirked, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"There's talk in the lower ranks. Some of your shadows are… whispering. Evolving on their own."

"Well," she shrugged, "neither are you."

📍 City of Juren – Guild Dragoon Internal Chambers

Draped in red silk, the council chamber pulsed with ambient mana.

A new figure stood before the council: a younger woman, eyes pale blue, lips painted black.

Her name was Ezrien, and she spoke softly.

"There's no need for brute force," she said. "Kael's strength lies in fear and influence. So we counter not with blades… but with faith."

"Let the people think he is something unnatural. Something cursed. Let them whisper that he's not a liberator…"

📍 Nara – Refugee District Clinic

Some from battles. Others… from unexplained bursts of shadow magic deep underground. Rumors of rogue shadow beasts growing out of control were spreading.

"Miss Nara… is it true? That the dark man eats souls?"

"But someone said he has monsters in his blood."

Her eyes met the glass window. In the distance, Kael trained, alone—his silhouette surrounded by living shadow.

She whispered, unsure if to herself or the child:

📍 Unknown Location – Monitoring Chamber

A wall of scrying mirrors flickered.

One by one, each showed a different scene:

A symbol being painted again in another sector.

"The chain stirs," the new voice said. "The pieces align."

Only turned to a final mirror—completely black.

> "Soon, Kael. Not yet… but soon."

📍 Final Scene – Forgotten Depths Below Portal Ruin

He had followed a trace of mana—one that matched none of the dungeon patterns, none of the portals. Something older. Primal.

> "Who do you think gave you the right… to command what you do not understand?"

> [System Pulse: Interference Detected]

Warning: Shadow Network Overlap – Foreign Signal Infiltration Detected

And the chapter ended… not with silence.

But with a second voice, deeper than the first:

> "Let him grow. The fall is more beautiful from higher places."

📌 *Next: Chapter 18 – Scars of Allegiance

Bloodlines and Blasphemy