The sky had forgotten his color.
Kael blinked against the searing orange glow, his vision swimming as the scent of burning stone and charred flesh filled his lungs. The air itself tasted metallic, thick with the promise of death. He lay sprawled across cracked cobblestones, his body aching as if he'd been thrown from a moving vehicle. The last thing he remembered was the fluorescent glare of his office, the hum of his computer, the mind-numbing spreadsheet he'd been reviewing before—
Before the world tore open.
He forced himself upright, muscles protesting, and took in the devastation. The city around him had become a ruin of shattered spires and collapsed buildings, their once-grand facades had been reduced to jagged teeth biting at the bleeding heavens. The streets were littered with corpses—some armored, some robed, all torn apart by something monstrous. Distant screams echoed through the smoke, punctuated by the guttural snarls of unseen beasts.
'This isn't Earth.'
The realization settled over him with cold clarity. He wasn't panicking. Panic was for people who had the luxury of time. Instead, he cataloged the details: the unfamiliar architecture, the too-vivid constellations above, the way his body felt—different. Stronger. His veins thrummed with an unfamiliar heat, a coiled energy just beneath his skin.
[Supreme Conquest System Initialized.]
A translucent screen flickered into existence before him, its edges shimmering like molten gold.
[Starter Gift Pack Activated.]
[Reward Granted.]
[Domination Core Initialized.]
[User Designation: Kael]
[Origin: Earth (Translocated)]
[Status: Awakened (Mana Body Active)]
[Bloodlines Acquired: None]
[Current Rank: B]
[Current Objectives: Establish Dominion. Secure Assets.]
Kael exhaled sharply. 'A System… So this world really operates by different rules..'
His fingers flexed, and he marveled at the raw power humming through them. The Beginner Mana Body had already reshaped him—his muscles denser, his reflexes sharper, his senses dialed to an almost painful intensity. He could hear the scrape of claws against stone three alleys over. Smell the rot creeping through the air.
His lips curved into a faint smile.
'This world is dying. And I'm going to take it for myself.'
He moved, his steps silent despite the rubble. The System had offered him a path. Whether he conquered the world depended entirely on him, and he'd walk it without hesitation. Power through conquest. Dominion through strength. And if the notifications were to be believed, the key to both lay in the women of this world—those with bloodlines worth claiming.
A guttural roar split the night.
Kael froze, pressing himself against the remnants of a collapsed wall. Ahead, in a ruined plaza, something massive prowled—a hulking monstrosity, Its spine was lined with jagged obsidian spikes, and black saliva hissed wherever it struck the stone. An Abyssal Hound. The name came to him unbidden, as if the System had whispered it into his mind.
But it wasn't the beast that held his attention.
It was the woman fighting it.
She moved like a storm given form, her silver-blade flashing in the hellish light. Tall, lethal, her armor scored and bloodied but her stance unbroken. Even from this distance, Kael could see the way her muscles coiled with precision, the way her ice-blue eyes burned with defiance.
[Target Identified: Lyra Vance]
[Rank: S-Class Knight Commander]
[Bloodline: Frost Maiden (Dormant)]
[Status: Critical (Abyssal Rot Infection at 87%)]
[Compatibility: 94% (Exceptional Compatibility)]
Kael's pulse spiked.
The Abyssal Hound lunged, and Lyra met it with a slash that sent frost spiderwebbing across its hide. But she was slowing. Stumbling. The black veins creeping up her neck told him why.
'She's dying.'
And yet, she fought.
Kael's fingers curled into fists. The System hummed in approval.
He stepped forward.
Kael moved before thought fully formed. The Abyssal Hound's maw gaped wide, black saliva sizzling where it dripped onto the cracked stone. Lyra's blade flashed again, but her swing was slow—too slow. The rot was eating her alive.
He didn't shout. Didn't announce himself.
He struck.
His fist crashed into the beast's ribs with a wet crack, the impact reverberating up his arm. The hound howled, its grotesque body twisting mid-air to face him. Kael barely registered the notification flashing in his vision.
[Combat Engaged: Abyssal Hound (Alpha Variant)]
[Weakness: Yang-Infused Strikes to Core Node (Throat/Spine Junction)]
The beast lunged. Kael sidestepped, his body moving with eerie precision, and drove his elbow into its exposed throat. Flesh split beneath the force, black ichor spraying across his face. The stench was rancid, thick enough to coat his tongue.
Lyra staggered back, her breath ragged. "Who—?"
No time. The hound recovered faster than he expected, its claws raking toward his chest. Kael twisted, but not fast enough—the tips grazed his ribs, drawing blood. Heat flared through the wound, his Beginner Mana Body already knitting flesh back together.
'Pathetic.'
He grinned.
The next exchange was brutal. Kael feinted left, then pivoted, driving his knee into the beast's spine. It buckled, snarling, and he seized the opening. His fingers locked around its throat, Yang energy surging through his grip. The hound's flesh sizzled, smoke curling from where his skin met corrupted hide.
One sharp twist.
A wet snap echoed through the plaza.
[Target Eliminated: Abyssal Hound (Alpha Variant)]
[Reward: +50 Dominion Points]
The corpse slumped, twitching, before dissolving into foul-smelling sludge. Kael turned—just in time to catch Lyra as her legs gave out.
Her body was furnace-hot against his, her breath shallow. Up close, the rot was worse than he'd thought. Black veins spiderwebbed up her neck, creeping toward her jaw. Her pulse fluttered like a trapped bird beneath his fingertips.
"You're dying."
Her blue eyes burned with defiance, but even that was fading. "I don't... need your pity."
"Not pity." He adjusted his grip, hauling her upright. "A deal."
She stiffened. "What?"
"The rot's in your blood. Your Frost Maiden lineage is fighting it, but losing." His thumb brushed the blackened veins at her throat, and she shuddered. "I can purge it. But it's not a gentle process."
Her gaze flickered—pride warring with survival instinct. "How?"
"My Yang mana must merge with your core." He let the implication hang, watching her face.
Her lips parted. Then her jaw clenched. "You expect me to believe—"
"I don't care what you believe." His voice dropped, dominance threading through every syllable. "Ten minutes."
"…"
"After that, you're dead."
A tremor ran through her. He could see it—the exact moment her body betrayed her, the Frost Maiden bloodline recognizing the Apex Yang energy in him, craving it. Her breath hitched.
"Where?" she gritted out.
Kael glanced at the ruins around them. The plaza was too exposed. The hound's death would draw more.
"Somewhere secure." He shifted her weight, already moving. "And you'll follow my lead. No arguments."
Lyra's fingers dug into his arm, her pride still clinging, but her body was already yielding. "Bastard."
He smirked. "You'll get used to it."