Chapter 0 : Prologue

The cold wind howled through the ruined temple as Kael took his first breath in this new world. His body ached from the transition, his cultivation reset once again. It had happened ninety-nine times before. The cycle of travel, learning, and losing his strength had become routine—but this time, something was different.

A distant memory flashed in his mind. A name. Raius.

Kael clenched his fist, recalling the moment he had seen it appear on the Stone of Souls. His childhood friend, the one who had promised to journey across worlds with him, was dead. But the way he had died… encountering the Demon God… it didn’t sit right.

He looked around. The temple ruins were silent, but the air pulsed with unseen energy. He wasn’t alone.

A figure stepped into the moonlight, clad in black robes embroidered with blood-red runes. His presence was suffocating, the aura of an Immortal 5-Star cultivator. Kael’s instincts screamed at him to flee—he was powerless against such an opponent. But his mind, sharpened by a hundred lifetimes of experience, forced him to stay calm.

The man’s silver hair shimmered in the darkness. His once-kind eyes were now empty, filled with an unnatural glow.

"Kael," the man said, his voice a hollow echo of the friend he once was.

Kael’s breath caught. It’s him.

“Raius…” His voice wavered.

But the thing before him wasn’t Raius. Kael could see it now—the taint of the Demon God, the influence of the Ten Saints who sought to control this world. His friend’s soul was gone, buried beneath their corruption.

Or was it?

Kael’s eyes darted to his inventory, hidden within his system interface. He still had the knowledge, the techniques, and most importantly—the fragments of a catcher he had spent lifetimes perfecting. If he could repair it, he might be able to pull Raius back.

But first, he had to survive.

Raius lifted his hand, and a storm of black chains erupted from the ground. Kael barely dodged, rolling behind a broken pillar. He had no cultivation, no energy reserves. But he had something better.

His mind.

From his inventory, he summoned a binding talisman—one of the few items that didn’t require cultivation to activate. He pressed it to the ground, and glowing runes spread in a circle beneath Raius. The chains stopped mid-air.

For the first time, Raius hesitated.

Kael seized the moment. He pulled out a dagger, its blade shimmering with ancient inscriptions. “You’re still in there,” he muttered. “I’ll find a way to free you.”

But Raius only smirked, his voice twisted by the dark forces within. "You’re too late, Kael. The Demon God already owns this world."

The temple trembled, and from the shadows, whispers filled the air. The Ten Saints were watching.

Kael’s heart pounded. This wasn’t just about Raius anymore. If he was going to stop the Demon God, he would have to do more than survive.

He would have to break the cycle.

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