The monster raised one of its arms, mana gathering around its claws, and Raphael instantly knew what was coming, but he couldn’t run, couldn’t fight, and he couldn’t even scream.
The attack came.
A black flash tore through the street, and he felt something strike in his chest. Then nothing. There was no pain, no sound, no fear- just darkness.
[.....]
[.....]
[.... activity: 0.]
[Heart rate: 0.]
[Mana circulation: 0.]
[Soul integrity: 12%.]
[Host has died.]
[Searching for compatible authority...]
[Searching...]
[Searching...]
[Authority found.]
[Beginning emergency soul synchronization.]
[3%...]
[7%...]
[19%...]
[34%...]
[67%...]
[99%...]
[Soul synchronization complete.]
...
Raphael opened his eyes, and the first thing he felt was cold, the second was pain, and the third was confusion. Slowly, he sat up.
"What? What happened?" He said, looking around. The street was gone; the buildings were gone, and the monster was gone. The only thing surrounding him was darkness- complete and absolute darkness.
He touched his chest, feeling for the wound, but there was no wound, no blood. Nothing.
"Am I... dead?"
A translucent screen appeared in front of him. For several seconds, he couldn’t even breathe, but could only stare at it.
Then a message appeared.
[THRONE OF KNIGHTS SYSTEM INITIALIZING...]
"What the hell?" He exclaimed, his eyes widening.
The screen flickered.
[Soul synchronization: 3%...]
He watched in stunned silence.
[Soul synchronization: 67%...]
His heart began beating faster.
[Soul synchronization complete.]
[Host identified.]
[Welcome, Chosen Sovereign.]
"Sovereign?" Raphael repeated it, confused and shocked.
Another message appeared.
[Your throne awaits.]
He almost laughed. Was this some kind of hallucination? Had he died and gone insane? Was that even possible? Did some S-Tier sorcerer mess with his soul?
Before Raphael could process anything else, another series of messages appeared.
[The world has entered an age of monsters, magic, and war.]
[Humanity requires heroes.]
[You have been granted the authority to summon them.]
He swallowed. "Summon... heroes?"
The screen changed.
[You have been granted the authority to summon HER.]
"Her?"
The next message appeared.
[Female Knight Summoning Function unlocked.]
[You can only summon Female Knights.]
For some reason, his heart skipped a beat. Maybe it was because of the knight thing or the female specification. Then the screen suddenly flashed.
[SUMMONING...]
[Target acquired.]
His eyes widened as information began appearing before him.
[Name: Vanessa Fencer]
[Race: High Human]
[Class: Saintess]
[Rank: A]
[Potential: SS]
[Unique Ability: ###]
[Loyalty: 0]
He muttered, staring at the final line. "Loyalty... zero?"
Before he could ask what that meant, one final message appeared.
[Would you like to summon this knight?]
[YES] [NO]
He stared at the two options- then he looked at his hands. A few moments ago, he’d been dead. Now he was standing in an unknown darkness with a mysterious system offering him the chance to summon a female knight.
He slowly smiled. For the first time in his life, he wasn’t powerless anymore. He reached toward the glowing option.
[YES]
...
Present...
Raphael’s finger hovered over the glowing [YES]. For some reason, he felt nervous. It was ridiculous. He’d already died. What was he supposed to be afraid of?
He took a deep breath.
"Yes."
The moment he selected it, nothing happened, causing him to blink in confusion.
"That’s it?"
No light, no explosion, no beautiful knight descending from the heavens?! Not even a dramatic gust of wind?
He stared at the system panel as another message appeared.
[Summoning request accepted.]
[Processing...]
[Please note: The host is currently in an unstable state.]
Raphael’s expression changed.
"Unstable?"
[Physical body: Critical.]
[Soul integrity: 12%.]
[Mana capacity: Insufficient.]
[System integration: Incomplete.]
[Current environment: Unsuitable for summoning.]
He frowned. "So... I can’t summon her?"
[Correction. You can summon her.]
[However, the summoned Knight cannot currently manifest within the host’s physical realm.]
"Then where is she?"
[Stored within the Throne.]
"The Throne?"
[The Throne is currently sealed.]
[Reason: Host has not completed the Awakening Process.]
Raphael rubbed his forehead. This was becoming more confusing by the second.
"So what am I supposed to do?"
The system didn’t immediately answer. Instead, several new windows appeared.
[NEW INFORMATION ACQUIRED.]
[System Integration: 1%.]
[System Functions currently available:]
[1. Knight Summoning]
[2. Knight Archive]
[3. Sovereign Status]
[4. Throne - Locked]
[5. Kingdom - Locked]
[6. Shop - Locked]
[7. Quest System - Locked]
"That’s a lot of locked stuff," He said, staring at the screen.
[Host must meet the required conditions to unlock additional functions.]
"Of course."
He sighed. Nothing in life was ever free- not even resurrection. Another panel appeared.
[IMPORTANT NOTICE!]
[The host’s soul has successfully synchronized with the Throne of Knights System.]
[The host’s body remains severely damaged.]
[Emergency recovery protocol initiated.]
He looked down at himself. His body looked perfectly fine. There wasn’t even a scratch on him, but according to the system, he was apparently one strong breeze away from falling apart. Then another message appeared.
[System integration will continue during physical recovery.]
[The host will awaken soon.]
"Awaken?"
[Yes.]
[Your consciousness is currently located within the boundary between life and death.]
[The system has stabilized your soul.]
[Your physical body has not yet recovered.]
[Please remain unconscious until recovery is complete.]
"So I’m going back?"
[Affirmative.]
"What about Vanessa?"
[Vanessa Fencer has been successfully registered as the host’s First Knight.]
[Knight Contract established.]
[Knight Archive updated.]
[First Knight Slot: 1/1]
[Summoning requirement fulfilled.]
A strange feeling spread through Raphael’s chest. He couldn’t explain it. He hadn’t even met her, but somehow, he knew she was there, waiting.
[When the host awakens, the First Knight will remain within the Throne until a suitable summoning location is established.]
"Vanessa..." he whispered, smiling faintly.
The darkness around him began swallowing everything, causing his vision to blur. The system’s final messages appeared, the only source of light in this physical darkness.
[Physical recovery: 23%...]
[47%...]
[71%...]
[96%...]
[Recovery complete.]
[Preparing host consciousness transfer.]
He felt something pulling me away.
"Wait..." His voice became weaker. "System..."
[Yes, Chosen Sovereign?]
For the first time, he noticed something strange. The system had responded to him directly.
"Can I summon her when I wake up?"
There was a brief pause.
[Of course. Your throne awaits.]
Darkness consumed him.