Dawn in the Second Circle brought a cold, bluish calm.
The magical lights of the Ivory Citadel dimmed starting at three in the morning, and the silvery mist descending from the mountains wrapped the marble towers in an almost sacred silence.
Diana was sitting in the armchair on the duplex apartment balcony, wrapped in a thick blanket of fine linen, holding a cup of tea that had already gone cold.
Beside her floated the System's golden interface, illuminating her face amid the night's gloom.
[OFFICIAL FACTION / GUILD CREATION PANEL]
- Second Circle Registration Requirements:
1. Official Leader Level 10+ (Completed: Diana - Level 10).
2. Minimum of 2 Official Members (Completed: Diana + Rhea).
3. Citadel Town Hall Registration Fee: 10 Silver Coins.
- Official Faction Benefits:
- Shared Soul Vault (Secure storage space).
- Expedition Aura (+10% Damage Resistance in Dungeons).
- Access to Exclusive Rank A and S Guild Quests.
Diana skimmed over the guild creation details.
Ten silver coins to register an official faction. With her current balance of 15 Silver Coins and 80 Bronze Coins, she could pay that fee tomorrow without breaking a sweat.
She opened her System log journal window, looking at the days counted since her arrival in that world.
[TIME LOG IN HELL: 18 DAYS]
Eighteen days.
Diana blinked, feeling the weight of that number. Over two weeks had passed since the afternoon when a free-falling iron beam ended her life on Earth.
Eighteen days that had passed in the blink of an eye, swallowed by the insane rhythm of fighting for survival, bleeding in filthy alleys, bargaining for bronze coins, killing crystal monsters, and leveling up.
She rested her head against the armchair's plush upholstery, her dark eyes fixed on the distant city lights.
Eighteen days… and I seem like another person.
Diana's mind, for the first time in weeks, allowed itself to travel back in time. Beyond death. Beyond Hell. To the life she had left behind in the living world.
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On Earth, Diana was a lonely girl.
Her family belonged to the lower-middle class of a gray industrial town. Her parents were exhausted workers putting in double shifts of twelve to fourteen hours a day at low-paying manual jobs, just to keep the rent on their small two-bedroom apartment current.
They weren't monsters. They weren't cruel. But they were people broken by the exhaustion of the real world.
When they finally arrived home at night, worn out, wrecked by the work routine, Diana's parents used the little time and emotional energy they had left to seek comfort in each other. They talked about bills, hugged on the couch, and tried to forget the misery outside.
And Diana… Diana had become a sort of ghost inside her own house.
She saw her exhausted parents and had realized, from a very young age, that there was no room in that apartment for her needs, her doubts, or her fears. If she asked for attention, her parents sighed in weariness. If she cried, they got stressed because their day had already been too hard.
So, little Diana made an unconscious choice to protect herself from silent abandonment: she shut down completely.
If no one has time for me… Diana remembered the thought that had shaped her childhood. …then I don't need anyone.
She started avoiding people as much as possible. At school, she refused group projects, made no friends, and pushed away any classmate who tried to get close with a cold, arrogant tone.
Her parents didn't have time to praise her? Then she would force the whole world to recognize her by being number one in the class. She scored top marks on every test, accumulated academic award medals, and hoarded every compliment from teachers like gold coins proving she wasn't invisible.
Diana's greed was born right there.
She believed, from the bottom of her hurt child's heart, that the only way to never be ignored again, never be discarded, and never be fragile was to possess everything. To have the top performance, maximum control, the greatest amount of resources, and the unreachable spot at the top of the pyramid.
"People leave." Diana repeated to herself throughout her school years. "People exhaust you. But top grades, money, and absolute power never abandon you."
She had died at seventeen convinced of that cold philosophy.
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Diana slowly turned her head on the balcony, looking toward the half-open door of the guest bedroom in the duplex apartment.
Through the crack in the door, she could see Rhea sleeping on the soft bed. The wolf-eared hybrid girl was curled up in the clean blanket, a calm smile on her face, breathing in a gentle rhythm.
Diana looked at her own tea cup.
And now… I share my life with her.
The realization hit Diana with overwhelming clarity.
For the first time in her entire existence, dead or alive, Diana was not alone. She wasn't pushing people away. She wasn't treating Rhea like a ghost or an obstacle.
She had bought clothes for Rhea. She had cared about whether the girl was fed. She had listened to her brother's painful story and promised, from the depths of her chest, that the two of them would rescue him in the Third Circle.
Rhea wasn't at her side because of a mind control spell or an iron chain. Rhea was there because she trusted Diana. Because Rhea saw in the arrogant human girl a leader, a protector, and a true friend.
And the most frightening thing for Diana's analytical mind was realizing that she… she liked it.
She liked hearing Rhea's laughter when they ate together. She liked the pride she felt seeing the wolf girl grow and slice monsters with Agility 25. She liked knowing that, in the middle of a cruel, disgusting Hell, there was someone covering her back in every battle without a second's hesitation.
I've changed… Diana thought, touching the Dark Crystal Chestplate she wore. The greed is still inside here. I still want the top. I still want all the money and all the power in this world… but I don't want to be up there alone anymore.
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—Quite a profound thought for four in the morning.
The System's voice echoed in her head.
This time, there was no mockery. The golden interface floated beside Diana on the balcony, emitting a soft, almost welcoming light.
—Most souls arriving in this world become crueler, more selfish, and more isolated as they level up.
The System said, its ancestral voice sounding calm.
—But you, Diana… you found something you never had in your old life.
Diana looked at the System screen. "A reason to build a real faction."
—Not just a faction.
The System corrected in a gentle tone.
—A home. And an army to protect your home.
Diana let out a short laugh, a calm, clean laugh loaded with unshakeable determination.
She rose from the balcony armchair, leaving the linen blanket on the chair, and approached the class selection window.
Her fingers touched the option [Commander of Arcane Greed].
[OFFICIAL CLASS SELECTION CONFIRMATION]
- Selected Class: [Commander of Arcane Greed]
- Class Attribute Bonus: +3 Intelligence, +2 Perception, +1 Wisdom per Level!
- Class Skill Unlocked:
- [Aura of Arcane Domain - Level 1]: Active/Passive. Emits a magic aura with a 15-meter radius. Grants +15% Magic Damage to Diana and +20% Movement Speed to all allies within aura radius. (Maintenance Cost: 2 MP per minute).
Diana pressed the confirmation button.
A deep golden light, laced with threads of bluish arcane energy, emerged from the screen and completely enveloped Diana's body.
The feeling of transformation was overwhelming. Her MP pool expanded instantly, her magical perception of the surrounding environment grew ten times sharper, and her anomalous soul's energy adjusted perfectly to the title of Commander.
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[CLASS EVOLUTION SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED!]
[Diana is now officially a [Commander of Arcane Greed - Level 10]!]
The light slowly dissipated.
Diana looked down at her hands, feeling the energy of Aura of Arcane Domain pulse gently beneath her skin.
The first ray of silvery morning mist began slicing through the Second Circle's purple sky, illuminating the towers of the Ivory Citadel.
Diana turned back inside the duplex apartment.
With 15 Silver Coins and 80 Bronze Coins in her pocket, her First Official Class claimed, the Faction system unlocked, and her unbreakable friendship with Rhea by her side, Diana smiled.
The lonely girl from the living world was left behind in the past.
The Commander of Arcane Greed was ready to build her empire in the Second Circle of Hell.
Final Notes:
Diana's past showing up already, huh? Maybe a bit early, but I think it's a good moment for it. Anyway, goodnight everyone! I'm about to pass out from sleep now-