---
Void Realm – Between Lives
Pain was supposed to end after death.
But for Aeron Valespire, death was only the beginning.
His consciousness drifted through a place without shape or substance. No ground beneath him, no stars above. Only infinite silence—a quiet so profound it threatened to erase thought itself. This was no afterlife. It was something far worse.
A place where forgotten souls vanished without names.
But his name remained.
His pain remained.
So did the memory of betrayal.
He hadn't died on a battlefield, sword in hand. Nor did he fall to illness or time. No—he had been murdered.
By Liraine, his own disciple. The girl he'd raised from her orphaned youth. The one he had trained, believed in, trusted above all others. The one who called him Master... before driving a blade between his ribs.
"You've become too powerful. The world doesn't need a god."
That was her parting gift—a whisper of justification before darkness claimed him.
His body had fallen… but his soul refused to scatter.
Because Aeron Valespire wasn't born in that world.
Once, long ago, he had walked Earth. A man of mundane days and fantastical dreams. A reader. A writer. A nobody lost in stories of magic, kingdoms, and systems that filled lonely nights with wonder.
Then came death. Sudden. Forgettable.
And then came Siaros—a world of mana, monsters, and myths. A second chance. A realm where he had risen. Learned. Loved. Fought. Conquered.
He became a legend.
Until betrayal found him again.
Twice cursed by the hands he once held close.
Now, his soul drifted—broken yet burning. Dim, but defiant. Until...
Crack.
The silence splintered—like ice shattering beneath weight.
A voice rose, not from above or around, but within the darkness. Deep. Ancient. It didn't echo. It carved.
"You are abandoned like me, Aeron Valespire."
It wasn't divine. It was something older than gods. The kind of voice whispered between stars.
"Twice wronged. First by blood… then by love."
Aeron's essence stirred. The void trembled faintly.
"The world cast you aside. But the Void does not forget."
"You shall not return as Valespire. That soul is shattered. But another awaits."
And with it… a name.
"Aeron Blackthorn."
It bloomed in his mind like a seal unlocking.
"You may rise again. With the Void System—Me—bound to your soul."
No hesitation.
Aeron Valespire had died a legend.
Aeron Blackthorn would rise as something greater.
"I accept."
---
Vexin City – Blackthorn Estate
A breath.
Ragged. Shaky. Real.
Aeron's eyes snapped open.
Air flooded his lungs like a tidal wave crashing into forgotten shores. His chest heaved, each breath cutting through the quiet like blades. Sweat clung to his skin. His heart thundered, fast and frantic, like it didn't yet believe it had been given a second chance.
He sat upright, slowly, in a bed that smelled of dust and decay. The room was unfamiliar yet intimately known—walls cracked from time, curtains faded by neglect. A home abandoned by hope.
His head throbbed. His body trembled. But it was pain he welcomed. Proof that he existed.
He glanced down at his hands. Pale. Thin. Callous-free.
These were not the hands of Aeron Valespire… and yet, somehow, they didn't feel foreign.
And then it came—memories. Not his, but seared into him nonetheless.
Aeron Blackthorn. Eighteen years old. Last living heir of House Blackthorn—a noble line reduced to whispers and pity. Declared magic-less at ten. Father: killed at the Northern front. Mother: taken by mana fever. Grandfather: perished in a fire... one the nobles whispered wasn't accidental.
And most cruel of all? The final wound came not from battle, but a letter.
Selene Rindell.
A princess.
His betrothed.
The one who promised to stay, who once looked at him like he was her world.
Until the crown decided otherwise.
"Because you were weak. Magic-less. Unworthy."
Not spoken aloud—but in silence. And sealed in ink.
Aeron turned his gaze toward the decaying desk in the corner. There, atop it, lay a scroll—unfurled just enough to show the broken golden seal of the Rindell royal family.
He reached for it, fingers trembling slightly.
---
Royal Engagement Annulment Notice
From: Her Highness, Princess Selene Rindell
To: Aeron Blackthorn of House Blackthorn
– In accordance with current magical assessments and political reforms,
the engagement between the Rindell Royal Family and House Blackthorn is hereby annulled.
No further correspondence is necessary.
---
No name. No signature. Not even a proper farewell.
She had erased him like a forgotten draft.
Aeron Valespire—now Blackthorn—exhaled slowly, setting the scroll down.
So this is how Selene valued him... the previous one.
Even after everything.
The boy whose body he now occupied had died clutching this notice, heart shattered.
But he—the man reborn—smiled.
"You chose to cast me aside, Selene," he murmured. "But I've returned with more than magic."
Then, like destiny itself answering his vow, it came.
A soft chime echoed in his mind—clear as crystal striking steel.
A glowing screen unfolded before him in the air.
---
[ VOID SYSTEM INITIALIZED ]
Welcome, Aeron.
Void Sovereign Integration: Phase 1
Soul Binding: Complete
Host Body Compatibility: 99%
Magic Core: Reconstructed
---
A second panel appeared, rippling into focus:
---
[ Host: Aeron Blackthorn ]
Race: Human
Age: 18
Magic Circle: 1st
Affinities:
– Fire (Minor – Inherited)
– Darkness (Locked)
– Void (Sealed – Awaiting Awakening)
Titles:
– [Disgraced Heir]
– [Betrayed Twice]
– [Marked by the Void]
Reputation:
– Vexin Region: Pity, Rumor, Forgotten
System Access:
– Basic Menu
– Inventory
– Quest Log
---
A system... it's real.
Just like the novels I used to read. But this isn't fantasy. Not anymore.
His eyes scanned the interface. "Hmm... quite the titles," he muttered, a flicker of amusement curling at the edge of his lips.
Another screen shimmered into view:
---
[ New Quest Available – "Face the Crown" ]
Objective: Attend the Royal Summons
Condition: Do not kneel
Reward: System Upgrade – Phase 1, +100 EXP, Void Affinity +1%
Optional: Maintain composure
---
Aeron's gaze sharpened.
So… they wanted to see him. Officially. To finalize the burial of the engagement. To parade his failure before nobles and dignitaries. To make him kneel.
To prove that Selene made the right choice.
But he would not give them the satisfaction.
He swung his legs over the bed and stood. His footing wavered—but only briefly. His body may have been weak, but his spirit? Unbreakable.
He moved toward the window. Outside, the Blackthorn crest—black thorns coiled around a crimson flame—still fluttered above the courtyard gate.
Faded. Weather-worn. Torn down the middle.
But it still hung.
"Even after everything… it still stands."
He let the scroll slip from his fingers, landing silently on the desk.
The air shifted. Something ancient stirred, brushing against the edge of reality.
Another chime echoed—quieter, deeper.
---
[ Void Progression Unlocked ]
Path of the Void Sovereign – Step 1 Accepted
Let the world test your will.
The Void Remembers.
---
Aeron's violet eyes shimmered—flecks of deep indigo and black swirling faintly within.
Not with rage.
Not with sorrow.
But with conviction.
"Let's not repeat the mistakes from before..."
He reached out, fingers brushing the old Blackthorn crest.
"Let me repay you, old name… with a rise above them all."
From legend, to ruin, to rebirth.
Now, it begins again.
.
.