The alley was soaked in blood.
Not rain. Not mud. Blood.
Rayne could barely see, his vision fading as he lay face-down in the filth between two crumbling buildings in the lower sector of Blackreach. His body twitched once. Then again. And then—
Nothing.
Three gunshots echoed off the alley walls. One in the back. One in the side. The last through his chest, straight into the heart. No hesitation. Just business.
"Target confirmed. He's not getting up." A man's voice. Cold. Mechanical.
Rayne could hear them. He could hear them laughing as they walked away.
"Poor bastard. Thought he could escape with the prototype."
Another voice—one he recognized. Rell.
Rayne's eyes widened a fraction.
You…
Rell had been his partner. His only ally in the Syndicate's underground facility. The only one who'd told him to run after they learned he was… incompatible with Project Ascendancy.
You lied.
He'd trusted Rell. He thought they'd both wanted out. But Rayne was just a test subject. A disposable one.
That realization should've hurt more than the bullets.
But it didn't. Because now, all Rayne could feel was cold.
His blood pooled beneath him, the metallic scent drowning his senses. His limbs refused to move. His mind began to flicker. This was it. No dramatic last words. No vengeance. Just death.
Except—
The world stopped.
Literally.
The sound of the city—the sirens, the traffic, even the rats—vanished.
A faint chime echoed inside his head. Soft, like the start of a melody no one else could hear.
> [System Detected: Compatible Host Found.]
His eyes snapped open. A screen hovered before him in the air—transparent, glowing gold, outlined in fine celestial markings that pulsed like circuitry.
> [Initializing…]
[Installing: GOD-TIER SYSTEM]
[Checking Host Viability…]
[Vital Signs: Critical. Initiating emergency override.]
The screen flashed. Rayne's body convulsed, the pain returning tenfold—but alongside it came a burning heat, like liquid fire flooding his veins.
Then came the voice.
Not male. Not female. Not human.
Just... commanding.
> "Do you wish to live, Rayne?"
Rayne couldn't speak. He couldn't think. But something deep in his soul screamed.
YES.
> [Emergency Resurrection Protocol: Accepted.]
[God-Tier System Now Active.]
The world shifted.
The alley dissolved into golden light. The buildings faded. The sky peeled away like glass.
And Rayne stood.
Whole. Alive.
But not… human. Not completely.
He looked down at his hands—unchained from injury, stronger, pulsing with threads of glowing symbols beneath the skin. A single line of gold light snaked up his spine and settled at the base of his neck like a brand.
He wasn't healed.
He was reborn.
> [Welcome, Chosen Host.]
[You are now bound to the God-Tier System.]
> — [Skill Unlocked: Adaptive Recovery Lv.1]
— [Skill Unlocked: Combat Scan Lv.1]
— [Skill Unlocked: Devour Lv.1]
— [New Trait: God Core (Dormant)]
— [New Function: Evolution Tree Unlocked]
Rayne blinked. The text faded as fast as it came. But the knowledge remained—burned into his mind as if he'd known these abilities all along.
And then the pain returned—not from injury, but memory.
Rell.
That bastard shot him. Stole the data core. Left him to rot.
Rayne's jaw clenched.
> [Quest Accepted: First Judgment]
— Objective: Terminate Rell before he transfers stolen Ascendancy Core
— Time Limit: 2 Hours
— Reward: System Synchronization Unlocked
Rayne's lips curled into a grim smile.
"Let's see how the traitor likes surprises."
He stepped forward—and launched.
His body moved faster than it ever had. A single step propelled him across the alley in a blur. The wall beside him cracked as he pushed off it. His balance recalibrated mid-air. The system adapted, correcting his landing.
A map appeared in his vision, tracking Rell's location. A red icon pulsed at a checkpoint across the upper wall district.
> [Warning: Area Security Rating – A-Rank]
[Threat Level: High]
Didn't matter.
He had two hours. And he wasn't the same man they shot in the back.
---
Upper Wall District – 14 Minutes Later
Rell leaned on the side of a black armored vehicle, typing rapidly on a holographic keyboard.
"Come on… transfer the file… Project Ascendancy won't wait forever…"
He didn't hear the footsteps.
But the guards did.
"Who the hell—!?"
Too late.
Rayne moved like a shadow—one second empty air, the next a fist crashing into the first guard's ribs. Bone snapped. Another slash—he used the man's own baton to paralyze the second.
Rell turned, pale as death. "Rayne?!"
Rayne stepped through the mist of falling rain, his eyes glowing faintly.
"No hard feelings, right?" he said flatly.
"You were dead! I—I saw you—!"
> [Skill: Devour – Activated]
A vortex of golden light surged from Rayne's palm. The stunned guard twitched—and his body shattered into dust. No blood. No scream. Only data… absorbed.
> — [Devour Success: Skill Fragment Extracted – Muscle Lock Lv.1]
Rell dropped the drive. "What… are you?!"
Rayne stepped closer.
"Not human anymore."
> [Quest: First Judgment – COMPLETE]
— Reward Unlocked: System Synchronization Initiated
Rell turned to run.
Rayne raised a hand—and whispered:
"Stop."
> [Muscle Lock – Activated]
Rell's body froze mid-step, muscles locking tight. He collapsed to his knees, breath ragged.
"You sold me out," Rayne said. "Now you get to watch what you created."
> [Devour – Target: Rell]
"No—wait—Rayne—please—!"
Golden light surged.
Rell screamed as the system disassembled him—converting every cell, every scrap of knowledge, every last skill—into pure experience and energy.
And then he was gone.
Just like that.
---
Rayne stood alone in the rain, silent.
The screen appeared again.
> [God-Tier System Synced: 5%]
— Hidden Branches Unlocked
— World Tier Awareness Unlocked
— You are now a "Variable."
Rayne frowned. "Variable?"
> [A being unbound by fate.]
[The world will now adapt to your existence.]
[Prepare.]
The screen vanished.
In the distance, the sky cracked. Just a line. A sliver.
But it wasn't thunder.
It was the first sign that something had noticed him.
Something watching.
And it wasn't human.