[Prologue] [Chapter-1 of Volume-1] THE SMILE THAT DEFIED FATE

The rain fell in heavy, rhythmic sheets, masking the sounds of a festival buzzing just blocks away. At eight o’clock on this dark night, the sky seemed to swallow the city's light, leaving only the flickering neon of a convenience store to cut through the gloom.

Shin Shintaro adjusted his grip on his umbrella, his black T-shirt clinging to his skin. He walked with a heavy heart; his eyes fixed on a specific spot in the parking lot—the place where the pavement still felt stained by a memory he couldn't erase.

He reached into his pocket, his fingers brushing against a small, faded star-charm. It was a handmade gift, once vibrant, but now half of its surface was permanently darkened by a deep, brownish stain. It was her blood. She had spent weeks crafting it for him, smiling that radiant, stubborn smile even as her hands cramped. It was the last thing he had left of the only person who had ever looked at him with love instead of fear.

“I shouldn't have come here,” he thought, his thumb tracing the dried blood on the charm. “Not tonight. Not on the anniversary of her death.”

Two years ago, in this exact spot, the universe had swerved. He remembered the screech of tires and the sight of her lying still on the cold ground. It hadn't been a mere accident; to Shin, it felt as if the world itself had conspired to strike the person standing closest to him. Since that day, he had been a walking ghost. The neighbourhood called him the "Spectre of Death"—the boy who survived while everyone he dared to care for was buried.

Suddenly, screams erupted from inside the store.

Panic spilled onto the pavement as two high school girls in yukatas stumbled out in terror. One girl tripped over a parking divider, falling hard. Her friend frantically tried to pull her up, but they were trapped. Following them was a robber, his face twisted in a murderous snarl as he brandished a jagged knife.

"You girls are dead now!" he roared.

The screams didn't startle Shin. They felt like a familiar invitation. Death had always found a seat at his table, and tonight, it had come for these strangers. But as the robber raised the blade, the rain seemed to freeze. In his mind’s eye, the girls were replaced by the image of her last reaching hand.

“Not again,” Shin’s heart thundered. “I won’t let the shadow take them too!”

He didn't just run; he launched himself. He tackled the robber, his body acting as a human shield. In the struggle, a cold, sharp bloom of fire ignited in his side. The knife had found its mark, sinking deep into his liver.

Shin tasted copper. Blood spilled over his lips, mingling with the rain. The girls were safe; bystanders had rushed forward to pin the robber down. As he slumped against the pavement, his vision began to tunnel.

“I finally did it... I saved them...” He looked toward the dark sky and smiled. It was a "Great Smile"—a final act of defiance against the tragedy that had defined him. He felt a light, airy relief. For the first time in his life, the Spectre of Death had given life back.

"Thank you... for letting me... finally save someone," he whispered. His eyes closed.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

[Individual ‘Shin Shintaro’ status: DECEASED]

[ERROR: UNEXPECTED VARIABLE DETECTED]

[Anomaly: ‘Great Smile’ has nullified the Curse of Despair]

[NOTICE: COMMENCING SUDDEN CHANGE PROTOCOL]

[GLITCH DETECTED...]

“I was waiting…” [NOTICE: SYSTEM GLITCH HAS BEEN RESOLVED]

[NOTICE: SOUL TRANSFER TO WORLD-RANK: YGGDRASILL INITIATED]

[REBIRTH COMMENCING: CAELUM VON SILFORD]

Deep within the ancient, gnarled roots of the World Tree, the air grew thick with a foul, suffocating pressure. Three adventurers stood before a pulsing black sphere, prying it from the wood.

"The mana is overflowing!" the leader laughed.

"Wait," the second adventurer gasped, his appraisal skill flaring a bloody red. "This isn't an item... it's a prison! Get back!"

"Shut up!" the woman snapped, her greed blinding her. She pried the sphere free with a sickening crack.

As the seal moved, a voice that sounded like a symphony of a thousand dying screams echoed through the cavern.

“My puppets have done their task.”

A violent blast of void energy erupted. It wasn't an explosion of fire, but a total erasure of existence. The three adventurers dissolved into ash, their very souls consumed to fuel the release.

The Nameless One—the Eighth Pillar of Void—manifested in the darkness. He was a being of pure, villainous malice, his eyes burning with the desire to unmake all of creation. But as he reached for his full power, a failsafe left by the First Hero triggered. The sphere shattered into countless dark fragments that streaked through the sky like black meteors, scattering to the far reaches of Yggdrasill.

The Nameless One let out a roar of pure hatred that shook the roots of the world.

"You think scattering me will save them, Hero? I will rot this world from the inside out. I will find a vessel... and I will turn your 'precious' Yggdrasill into a wasteland of ash!"

Silford Margrave Estate, Kingdom of Esfort

Inside a luxurious master bedroom, Sophia Von Silford held her newborn child. Her husband, Gram, watched with tears of pride.

The baby opened his eyes. They were deep, intelligent pools of blue.

“I’m alive?” Caelum thought, looking at the strangers who held him with such unconditional love. “And that voice... 'I was waiting'?”

Suddenly, a cold, mechanical voice resonated in his mind.

<Notice. Individual 'Caelum Von Silford' initialized.>

<Assistant Skill 'Aethel' is now active.>

<Warning: Your soul carries the weight of your past. 'Soul-Ache' is imminent if power is misused.>

Caelum looked at his small infant hands. The "Spectre of Death" had followed him to this new world, and the weight of the blood on that star-charm was now etched into his very soul. As the dark meteors of the Nameless One landed in distant lands, the journey to become a God had officially begun.

(Prologue) Chapter 1 of Volume 1 {Finished}