And Callum stepped into the bunker.
The leader's mind broke just looking at him, just looking at his site.
Every inch of him was covered in blood. His white hair had turned crimson, matted and clinging to his face.
The leader crawled backward on his hands and knees, leaving a trail of urine behind him.
“P-please…” his voice was barely human anymore “I can help you. I’ll do anything. I’ll be your slave, no, your dog. Just……just don’t…”
But Callum only walked forward.
Step.
The leader scrambled to his feet, only to trip and fall again.
Step.
Callum stopped in front of him and looked down.Those empty dark eyes studied the leader in a way a scientist might study an insect.
“You wanted control, Keke, so why not now.” Callum finally said and the insanity again flashed across his face.
The leader shook his head violently. “No….no, I was wrong.”
Callum's hand shot out and grabbed the leader by collar lifting him off the ground like a child lifting a doll. The man’s legs kicked uselessly in the air.
SLAM.
He threw the leader against the wall.
Bones cracked.
SLAM.
( Again)
But Callum didn't kill him instantly. Not yet.
He let the leader collapse to the floor in a broken heap. Let him try to crawl away with shattered legs. Let hope flicker in his eyes for just a moment—
Then dragged him back.
The torture continued. How long, the leader couldn't say. Time lost meaning. There was only pain. And the sound of his own screaming. And those empty eyes watching him break.
And finally.
The dagger pierced his heart, his eyes went wide. Then glassy. Then empty.
The bunker fell silent.
Callum stood up, wiped the dagger clean on the man’s clothes, and turned away.
……….
[PING.]
[SOULS COLLECTED: 8,035,894,201 / 8,035,894,201]
[CONDITION MET.]
[DIVINE TRANSFERENCE SHARD: ACTIVATING]
[COMPATIBLE VESSEL SELECTED]
[INITIATING SOUL TRANSFER...]
[WARNING! : SEER ENTITY DETECTED]
[UNAUTHORIZED SYSTEM ACCESS ATTEMPT]
…..
Callum's eyes narrowed at the last message.
"They finally noticed. But this will end here and right now."
……
[PING.]
[DIVINE TRANSFERENCE SHARD: READY]
[WARNING: COMPATIBLE SOUL DETECTED]
[FUSION PROCESS: INITIATED]
[PING.]
[UNIQUE SYSTEM DETECTED]
[FORCED INTEGRATION IN PROGRESS...]
[WARNING: ACCEPTANCE MANDATORY]
[FINAL NOTICE: UPON COMPLETION, ORIGINAL SYSTEM AND PLAYER DESIGNATION WILL CEASE TO EXIST]
…….
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Callum stared at these warning messages without reacting. He had known this would happen.
The Developer had warned him—using the Transference Shard meant complete dissolution of his current existence. System, body, everything.
But that was the point. He dismissed the warnings and opened his inventory.
[Weapon Section].
Now that he used the Transference Shard, which had fused with his soul. The unique system was finally complete.
For the next step, he needed to transfer his belongings…his weapons and items…from the old system into his new unique system.
And when he did. Thousands of items materialized on the screen before him.
The daggers he had obtained while wandering alone. The blades, Artifacts he had stolen from fallen champions. And also those weapons which were granted by the celestials to him— for being an obedient one.
One by one, he selected them and each weapon emerged as a speak of golden light, entering his body.
[TRANSFER COMPLETE: 2,847 ITEMS]
[TRANSFER COMPLETE: 486 ARTIFACTS]
[TRANSFER COMPLETE: 94 UNIQUE-CLASS EQUIPMENT]
When he was finished with his belongings. Callum closed the inventory.
He turned one last time toward Earth, breathing the air deeply.
What remained of it, anyway. The planet was silent now. No humans. No lights. No voices.
Just a ball of graveyard floating in space.
For a moment, he simply looked. And a feeling surfaced in his heart.
“Nostalgia.”
Strange. He hadn't felt anything in so long, he'd almost forgotten what it was like.
“This is the place where I was born and today this will be the same place where I die.”
Then he spoke, softly.
“Accept.”
The next second—Darkness exploded.
A dense, black aura wrapped around his body, swallowing him whole. It moved like living smoke, crawling over his skin, tightening, compressing.
The system screamed. Warning messages flooded his vision.
………
ERROR!
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
SYSTEM INSTABILITY!
SOUL COLLAPSE IMMINENT!
……….
Callum's eyes were still locked at the system.
And the next he laughed.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA.”
His voice echoed across the dead planet, if madness had a face, this was it.
“This pain, this suffering, I will return it back a thousand times….”
Woosshhh—
The darkness intensified. Slowly his body began to break apart in this torrent of the dark aura.
First his fingers—crumbling into black ash, carried away by the aura.
Then his hands. His arms. His legs.
And finally Callum's whole body disintegrated and vanished. This was the end of Callum, the last human being of the earth.
……
Beyond unknown space.
Inside a colossal structure resembling a god’s hall, supported by vast pillars and endless light–
At the centre a being sat upon a throne.
Its form was indescribable as countless eyes covered its body, each one moving independently.
Suddenly—
One of its eyes burst and liquid light spilled down its face. The being didn't flinch at this but a displeasure could be seen.
With a simple gesture the space folded and an angel appeared, kneeling instantly.
“The slave who won the tournament,” the being spoke.“He has died.” It paused. “With all humanity.”
The angel stiffened after hearing this.
“Go,” the being continued.
“Confirm what had happened there and collect the body of that slave.”
The angel bowed deeper. "As you command, Overseer.” and vanished.
Left alone, the creature remained seated and
Its remaining eyes began to move faster now.
It could sense that something was wrong.
The silence of the godly hall felt heavier now.
……
Far away. A different world.
In a luxurious room, a boy lay sleeping deeply on a soft bed. But suddenly, his eyes snapped open. They widened as he jolted upright, breathing hard, instinctively jumping off the bed.
His eyes moved fast, scanning every corner of the room.
Curtains, Furniture, Walls, and when he found there was no one—
He sighed in relief.“haah…Good.”
Only then did his tense body relax a little.
“System,” the boy called.
And instantly, a purple, transparent screen unfolded in front of his eyes. With a welcoming message.
……
[WELCOME, PLAYER: CALLUM]
[PING.]
[PLEASE ACCEPT THE MEMORIES OF YOUR CURRENT VESSEL]
……
It was Callum who had now taken over this body.
Without hesitation, Callum accepted the memories. And immediately a thin streak of light shot into his eyes.
Memories flooded in and scenes began to play out rapidly—childhood moments, unfamiliar faces, voices, places. Alongside them, the system explained.
…
[VESSEL IDENTITY: CALUM WARDEN]
[THIRD SON OF PATRIARCH LIAM WARDEN]
[MOTHER: ALIA WARDEN (SECOND WIFE)]
[FATHER: LIAM WARDEN (PEAK FOURTH CIRCLE MAGE)]
…..
Afterwards the memories shifted, and the system continued that.
This world was called the World of Sorcery.
A world, where elves, dwarves, giants, and other races exist alongside humans.
Power here was determined by magic circles and the more circles one possesses, the stronger they become.
After this piece of information the system went on to explain the history of this world.
Throughout history, only nineteen people had ever reached the Eighth Circle.
And among them—Only eight had reached the Ninth Circle. However, before the system could continue, Calum interrupted.
“…Is the Ninth Circle the end?”
The system paused briefly before replying.
[INSUFFICIENT DATA. INFORMATION BEYOND NINTH CIRCLE: UNAVAILABLE]
Then it continued until every knowledge was provided to Calum, after which the screen shifted and the information about calum materialized on it.
……
[NAME: CALUM WARDEN]
[AGE: 11]
[LEVEL: 0]
[MAGIC CIRCLE: ONE CIRCLE MAGE (INITIAL STAGE)]
[SOUL CHARACTERISTIC: HIDDEN FROM SEER]
[PLAYER IS NOT BOUND BY LEVEL RESTRICTIONS]
……
Calum studied the screen quietly and nodded in satisfaction.
This system had been created by the Developer— a being who could interfere with the souls and could awaken their power.
But the blueprints? The design? The functions?
Those were his.
So the system belonged to him alone and only he could control it. No higher beings could interfere with it now.
Calum let out a slow breath and opened the inventory section of the system.
Just as he had expected, everything was there, the weapons, the artifacts, the items he had carefully chosen before his death.
—but all of them were locked!
For a moment, he paused. Then Callum smiled faintly.
Of course they were locked. He'd designed it that way.
Each weapon and item, from the lowest to the highest grade, had its own seal. They could only be unlocked after meeting specific conditions— level, strength, mastery.
It was like his safeguard against complacency. And Calum knew better than anyone else that relying on overwhelming power too early would stagnate his growth.
.
.
After confirming the system had no problems he closed it and turned toward the mirror as he examined his reflection.
A young boy stared back at him.
Black hair fell neatly over his forehead, and sharp facial features–clearly inherited from his parents–gave him a calm and noble look.
His body was not thin but a bit bulky. There was a healthy fullness to him, the kind that came from good food and proper care, making him look strong rather than weak.
He looked… alive. Strange feeling.
Knock knock
Just then, a knock sounded on the door from where a male voice came.
“Young master, may I come in?”
Calum, still standing before the mirror, replied casually.
“Yes.”
The door opened, and a man stepped inside. He was dressed like a butler and his posture was straight, respectful. From his manner, it was clear he was Calum’s caretaker.
He bowed. “Young master, I apologize for disturbing your sleep, but this is important. The patriarch–is returning today.”
Calum listened quietly, his expression unchanged.
“I understand, Prepare my clothes.”
The butler nodded and ordered the maids behind him.
Soon, he arrived at a hall, dressed in formal attire.
The hall was vast, spacious and grand. Every detail showed the wealth and power.
His family members were already present, seated far apart from each other.
No one spoke or looked at anyone else.
Calum took his place as well, sitting alone.
Moments later, noise rose from outside the hall.
And the doors opened from where a tall man entered, his presence alone was enough to make the people respect him.
Liam Warden the patriarch of the warden family. Instantly all the family members stood up from their seats to greet the patriarch.
The first wife, Lady Ramia Warden, stood with dignity. Beside her were her two children. The eldest son, Edrin Warden and the daughter Selene Warden, both older than Calum.
Next, the second wife, Lady Alia Warden, Calum’s mother.
And then the third wife, Lady Martha Warden, followed by her children, the son Darian Warden and the daughter Lyra Warden who were younger than Calum.
One by one, the children stood and walked towards their father.
“Father.”
“Father.”
Everyone greeted him with respect. Even Calum rose and bowed. Liam
Warden gave a brief nod to all of them.
Then he spoke with his strict and cold voice.
“Prove to me… that you are my children or get out.”
These were his first and last words.
Nothing more.
With that, he turned and walked away and the wives followed him in silence, leaving the hall with the children alone.
