SWNOVELXO Chapter 1: PROLOGUE: THE DEATH OF WILLIAM
They say the world is ruled by bloodlines and gods. That the strong must kneel just low enough not to attract the gaze of the "Order" those self-righteous Rulers who dance on the strings of divine boredom. But William knew none of this. Not until the blade pierced his heart.
He was the son of Duke Toren a noble house with a lineage soaked in prestige and ancient blood. A calm boy. Gentle. The kind who would rather walk barefoot on thorns than see his sister cry. He was a golden child, one destined to inherit power.
When the day of Awakening came, a week after his birthday, the household prepared a grand banquet. His father, proud and expectant, assumed the boy would awaken to an S-Rank bloodline. The duke's own veins throbbed with such might how could his son be less?
But the world cracked that day.
William awakened to an X-Rank bloodline.
A myth. A forbidden tier of power ranked above all, spoken of in hushed whispers among races. The kind of power that breaks realms.
He smiled. He thought his father would rejoice.
He was wrong.
They met in the training hall. An ancient room, where stone pillars bore runes of old wars and shattered vows.
"William," the duke called calmly. "What do you understand about life?"
The boy blinked. "I... I know nothing of it, sir."
Duke Toren smiled, a cruel curve of lips. "Life is a cruel blade, my son. The strong rule the weak. But the strongest? They must hide, lest the Order deem them dangerous. Good and evil? They are balance, forged by sacrifice. Those who tip that balance are... removed."
William's heart tightened.
"Why are you telling me this?"
The duke looked at him his own blood and smiled like a beast.
"Because a dead man can't return. And your bloodline, my son, has been... frowned upon."
Before William could speak again, the blade sank deep into his chest.
Putchi.
A perfect puncture straight through the heart.
The pain wasn't what broke him. It was the eyes of his father. Calm. Empty.
Blood spilled from his lips. His knees gave way. And with his last breath, William whispered:
"You shall regret this, Duke Toren... or should I say, father."
Darkness took him.
He floated. A soul among the air, watching his own corpse dumped like trash.
He saw his sister cry until she met their father's gaze. Whatever the duke said, it drained the light from her eyes. She turned and walked away. No tears. Only silence.
Weeks passed in this ethereal torment.
Then a portal appeared beside him.
A titan stepped through. Twelve wings. No face. A grotesque marvel of divine horror. Its body was made of twisting shadows and cracked gold. It sniffed the air like a starving beast.
"So much despair. Pain. Hate. Delicious," the being shivered. "You. Come with me now."
William hesitated.
He was thrown through like a rag doll.
He landed face-first onto a glowing marble path suspended in mid-air. Before him, a round table. Teacups. Empty chairs. A sick parody of peace.
The being appeared.
"Call me Void. A God. A Stray God. I do not dance for the Order. I entertain myself with anomalies like you. If I hadn't appeared on time with your level of hate the order would have turned you into an imp."
William said nothing.
"Your emotions are perfect. The best I've tasted in a century. Fear, rage, despair all of it seasoned beautifully with betrayal. You get special treatment."
Void clapped.
Cubes materialized. Thousands. Inside them, bodies. Mangled, half-consumed, twitching. Limbs. Eyes. Bits of soul.
"You can choose one. Rebirth. Keep your emotions, and your X-Rank bloodline. But... if you give me your emotions you'll get something better."
"Why would I trust you?" William asked.
"Because you are at my mercy and you don't want to leave your sister in the hands of your killer."
Void grinned.
"Complete my obstacle course, and you gain more: Dual Affinity Darkness and Dark Flare. Five initial skills. Hidden buffs. And power... to challenge the gods themselves."
William stared. Then he pointed to a strange cube seven skin-colored parts within it.
"That one. Why is it different?"
Void shivered in delight.
"Ahhh... that cube holds seven brothers. Gods, once like me. Betrayed. Killed. Ripped apart before they understood why. They were powerful enough to rival the Order. You want it? Take it."
William nodded. "I want revenge. And I want freedom."
Void laughed. "Perfect."
Whip!
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
The lash tore flesh from William's back, each stroke flaying layers of skin as if peeling bark from a tree.
Blood sprayed across the marble floor.
Whip!
"Ahhhhhhhh! Why is this world so cruel!" he screamed through tears.
Whip!
"Ahhhhhh! I must stay strong... I must stay strong for Elena... she must be saddened by now!"
Whip!
Muscle split. Nerves ignited. The screams echoed like songs of torment.
Around him, shadows whispered:
> Die. Quit. You are weak.
But William didn't die.
He endured. Eyes burning with madness. He gritted his teeth with each lash, nails digging into the ground, leaving streaks of blood.
Void watched, fascinated.
By the 78th whip, William collapsed.
His back was nothing but a raw, shredded mass of meat and bone. Strips of skin hung like ribbons, twitching.
Void sighed in satisfaction.
"You're worthy."
He lifted William's broken body and placed him into a pool of golden mist. Flesh reknit. Bones realigned. Pain faded into a cold numbness.
The cube opened.
Void fed the flesh each divine chunk into William's soul. It burned. Screamed. Reconstructed.
Magic surged through his soul. Divine essence fused with his broken spirit, healing the damage.
Then Void roared, "BEGIN AGAIN!"
He hurled William into the material realm.
---
In the middle of a cursed forest, a light exploded.
It was blinding monsters fled, howling into the black.
When it faded, a boy stood naked in the soil.
White hair glowing with a thick air around him. Golden eyes devoid of any emotion. A body sculpted like a divine weapon athletic, tall, towering at 6ft.
He took one step forward... and collapsed.
While he lay unconscious, his body began to emanate a dark, simmering smoke thick and cold like shadow made flesh. It coiled around him in a slow, pulsing wave, spreading no more than a meter outward. But within that boundary, death reigned. Any creature that dared to step within it shrieked in agony before collapsing, their bodies withering as if drained by the void itself.
Death's favourite mistake