“They said I was too weak to survive. So they left me to die.”

In a world scarred by dimensional rifts, humanity’s only hope lies in Veilwalkers—elite hunters gifted with power by ancient relics. But not everyone is chosen.
Kael Verin wasn’t.

Labeled a failure. Mocked. Dragged through every dungeon as nothing more than bait.

Until one day, his own team—people he trusted—left him bleeding on the floor of a cursed ruin.

That should have been the end.

But something buried deep in the darkness heard him. And it offered a choice.

Not salvation.

Rebirth.

Now bound to an ancient and forbidden relic, Kael rises—not as a hero, not as a savior—but as the first Shadow Ranker, walking a path carved by pain, vengeance, and a power no human was ever meant to wield.

They took everything from him.

Now, he’ll take everything back.

Even if he becomes the monster they always feared he would.

The Thorn Crown Guild was not just a guild.


Built from the bones of fallen Class Gods and reinforced by centuries of forbidden techniques, it stood at the heart of Velhara like a golden shrine—worshipped, feared, untouchable.


> "You're sure about this?" Roan whispered as they crouched on a rooftop across from the guild's rear annex.


> "My brother's at the core of this. If I'm going to stop him—or save him—I need to know what they turned us into."


They slipped past the outer guards using shadow-veils Roan crafted from smoke mana.


Inside the western wing, deep beneath the lavish halls where Guild Elites drank wine and lied to the world, was a sealed door covered in cursed runes.


> The Codex in his body responded. One of the runes blinked red, then faded.


> Access Granted: Shadowblood Signature Verified.


Roan blinked. "What the hell kind of key are you?"


Kael didn't answer. He was asking himself the same thing.


Rows of glowing stone tablets, mana-sealed books, and torn parchments floated midair like they refused to rest.


And there—on a pedestal—was a file with his name burned into it.


Kael Ardyn — Project Eclipse (Class Suppression Subject #3).


What he read ripped the ground out from under him.


He was born with a hybrid class: Abyssal Monarch + Dawnbringer.


A forbidden combination. One that was said to shatter balance, capable of either ending the world or rewriting its fate.


> "The boy survived fusion. But cannot be allowed to awaken. Codex sealed within body."


"If the seal fails, eliminate immediately."


> "They erased your class… because you were too strong."


> "They erased me," Kael said bitterly, "because they were afraid I'd choose not to serve them."


Project Overseer: Subject L-01 – Lior Ardyn


> "Lior wasn't just involved," Kael whispered. "He was the one who signed off on my sealing."


> "Your brother locked your powers away?" Roan asked, stunned.


Kael closed the file, his breath sharp and cold.


> "He locked them away… so I could survive."


Screams echoed down the corridor. Shadow soldiers burst into the archive room—but not Guild guards.


Roan pulled her daggers. "Looks like big brother knew we'd be here."


Kael's Codex blazed with black and gold fire.


> "Then let's show him what happens when the sealed class wakes up."


Chapter 11 - The Thorn Crown Lies