The world burned beneath a blackened sky.
Storms of mana spiraled in the distance, ripping mountains from their roots. And at the center of the chaos, amidst ash and ruin, stood the last sanctuary of the Monarchs—a throne of gods built on the bones of all who defied them.
Seven of them stood in a circle. Their auras twisted the air, reality bending around their presence.
The Monarch of Constructs towered with plates of living alloy grinding over sinew.
The Monarch of Flames burned with the heat of collapsing stars.
The Monarch of Insects buzzed behind a veil of writhing wings.
The Monarch of Bone whispered from beneath a mask of teeth and antlers.
The Monarch of Storms floated, his eyes glowing with eternal lightning.
The Monarch of Chains dragged entire worlds behind him.
The Monarch of Ruin stood still, his body a shell of void matter, lightless and cold.
And then—
One man walked in.
No army.
No warning.
No fear.
Son Hojin.
A black coat fluttering behind him. A sword dragging in the dirt. Blood already staining his boots—not his own.
The Monarch of Chains stepped forward first. "A Player should not be here."
The Monarch of Storms narrowed his gaze. "He hasn't become the True Player. He's killable."
"Then kill him," growled the Monarch of Bone. "Before he tears down another throne."
They moved.
Hojin didn't speak.
He vanished.
CRACK—
Chains split mid-air, a blur of silver cutting through them like ribbon.
The Monarch of Chains staggered, confused. His arm—gone.
Before he could scream, Hojin reappeared inside his shadow.
Steel rose.
SLASH.
A clean decapitation.
No pause.
No mercy.
System Notification:
You have slain the Monarch of Chains.
The Monarch of Storms roared, lightning flooding the skies. Bolts a mile long struck down, splitting mountains.
Hojin dashed through them.
Too fast.
He launched upward, flipped mid-air, drove his blade downward like a divine guillotine.
The Monarch raised both arms to defend.
Didn't matter.
SHHHHRK—
Sword went through everything—bone, lightning, soul.
System Notification:
You have slain the Monarch of Storms.
"HOW?" the Monarch of Constructs bellowed. "He is only a Player!"
"He was made by the Architect!" the Monarch of Bone screamed. "He is nothing but code!"
The Monarch of Insects hissed, retreating into her swarm. "He hasn't become the True Player yet. He is mortal!"
Wrong.
Hojin was killing gods.
The swarm surged toward him—an ocean of teeth, wings, and venom.
He stabbed the ground.
BOOM.
Energy pulsed outward, vaporizing the swarm in a perfect dome.
From the smoke, he launched forward—feet barely touching the earth.
He gripped her by the throat mid-flight, spun, and ripped her in half midair.
System Notification:
You have slain the Monarch of Insects.
"Stop him!" screamed the Monarch of Flames, who now trembled. "We must erase him before he reaches—"
Too late.
Hojin was already behind the Monarch of Bone.
One hand on the mask.
CRACK.
He crushed it in his fist.
System Notification:
You have slain the Monarch of Bone.
The Monarch of Constructs charged, his body turning into a war-machine. Spinning saws, cannons, drills—his entire frame transformed into apocalypse.
He fired.
Hojin didn't dodge.
He raised his blade.
It caught the blast—and fed on it.
The steel ignited with stolen flame, borrowed lightning, and echoing power.
One step.
Two.
He leapt.
Spun.
Brought it down like judgment.
The entire upper torso of the Construct Monarch was gone in one hit.
System Notification:
You have slain the Monarch of Constructs.
Only two remained.
The Monarch of Ruin.
The Monarch of Flames.
The former spoke first, a hollow whisper: "He is ascending. He's becoming what the Architect feared."
The latter was shaking now, fire crackling wild.
"He isn't a True Player yet. We can still stop him—!"
Hojin didn't wait.
He blinked.
Suddenly—he was above them both, descending like a meteor.
Sword first.
He slammed into the Monarch of Flames with such force the ground cratered for miles. Fire exploded in every direction, consuming even light itself.
Silence.
Then a sound—clink.
A molten skull rolled to a stop.
System Notification:
You have slain the Monarch of Flames.
The last Monarch stood, silent.
The Monarch of Ruin.
A being who'd forgotten what fear felt like—until now.
"You're not the Player," he said. "You're the end of everything."
He opened his arms.
Reality shattered around him, pulling matter into void. A black hole expanded from his chest.
And Son Hojin walked straight into it.
Every god. Every monster. Every world the Monarch of Ruin had devoured—
Was behind that power.
And Hojin cut straight through it.
One swing.
The void cracked.
And then—
So did the Monarch.
System Notification:
You have slain the Monarch of Ruin.
The air crackled.
Not with heat.
Not with mana.
With presence.
Hojin stood, blood-soaked, surrounded by the corpses of gods. The system still blinked before.
System Notification:
You have slain all seven Monarchs.
WARNING: Player has exceeded thresholds for natural evolution.
Class evolution imminent: [The True Player].
Do you accept the awakening?
He reached forward—
And froze.
The ground beneath him trembled. The sky, already broken, shattered.
From above descended something ancient.
Something furious.
A man in black armor walked from the sky.
Crimson cape torn by countless battles. A glaive in one hand. A sword sheathed on his back. Dozens of scars across his face. Eyes burning with timeless fire.
He stopped ten steps away from Hojin.
No theatrics. No grand speech.
Just a name.
"The Monarch of War."
Hojin felt it immediately.
This one was different.
The others postured.
This one breathed battle.
The Monarch of War looked at the corpses surrounding them and smiled faintly. "You've killed them all."
Hojin didn't respond.
The Monarch nodded. "They were gods. But not warriors."
Then, in a blink—
He was gone.
CLANG!
Steel clashed with steel. Sparks exploded. The shockwave blew craters into the ground.
Hojin slid back ten meters. The Monarch of War didn't move an inch.
Faster than all the others.
Hojin flipped a dagger into his hand and threw it.
The Monarch caught it mid-air.
Snapped it.
Charged.
Their weapons met again—blade to blade. Hojin ducked, pivoted, slashed up with a hidden short-sword.
Blocked.
He threw a spear mid-spin, retrieved it telepathically, and used it as a pivot.
An axe came next, then a chain, then a warhammer.
Every weapon summoned, every strike flowing like music. An entire armory danced in Hojin's hands.
But the Monarch matched him.
Every. Single. Time.
Sword against hammer.
Fist against spear.
Knee to ribs.
Elbow to throat.
The Monarch laughed as they fought. "You are the first worthy opponent in a thousand years."
Hojin didn't smile.
He didn't even blink.
He pressed.
He activated Annihilation Arc, chaining five strikes from five different weapons.
The Monarch of War spun, dodged four, caught the fifth with his bare hand, and punched the blade deep into Hojin's shoulder.
Blood flew.
The Monarch kicked him across the battlefield.
Hojin tumbled, stopped, breathed once—and rose.
Another weapon.
A glaive.
He twirled it, spun, and launched himself.
He came down like a meteor.
The impact blasted half the landscape into dust.
The Monarch wasn't there.
He was already behind Hojin.
Slash.
A deep wound opened in Hojin's back.
He didn't cry out.
Behind.
Above.
Below.
Strike.
Parry.
Strike.
The entire fight became a rhythm, an orchestra of death.
A tornado of weapons swirled around Hojin. Swords. Chains. Blades.
He leapt and summoned a halberd in one hand, a dagger in the other. Both aimed for the Monarch's chest.
The Monarch caught both.
Shoved them into his own body.
Hojin froze.
"What—"
The Monarch grabbed his wrist.
And whispered, "This is war."
Then—he stabbed Hojin.
With Hojin's own dagger.
Through his armor.
Through his heart.
Or… what should have been his heart.
Hojin staggered back.
Blood poured from his mouth.
He looked down.
A hole.
A clean, perfect hole in his chest.
Where his heart should have been.
Gone.
Missing.
He stumbled.
Fell to one knee.
The Monarch stepped back.
And opened his palm.
In it—Hojin's still-beating heart.
"Before we began," the Monarch said quietly, "I removed it."
Flashback—
Just before the battle started.
The Monarch had vanished, not to attack, but to move faster than time, to strike before the first blow.
A single, surgical cut through space and matter.
He had taken Hojin's heart without Hojin realizing.
Time caught up.
Now, it was too late.
"You were better," the Monarch said. "But war is not about better. It's about the first strike."
Hojin tried to stand.
Failed.
His weapons dropped, one by one.
System messages flickered faintly.