The Rise of Phoenixes - Chapter 44: Chpater 44

He fell, but he did not die.At least, not in the way he expected.The world he hated spat him out into another, a place where the sky bleeds, where gods are fractured, and where names weigh heavier than lives.Here, he is someone else.Someone cursed.Someone forgotten.Yet in the ruins of memory and the echo of laughter that was never his, a strange truth coils:that death is not an ending,but a beginning far crueler.A book without pages.A family without love.A body that doesn’t belong to him,and a voice in the dark that whispers of eternity.

220 years ago, in the legendary Dragon Demon War, Hero Azell ended the war by killing the evil Dragon Demon race’s King Atein. He was able to save the population, but as a consequence, he was cursed. While he was dying, the high magician suggested a gamble that might save his life.

The Apocalypse is in full swing. Defiled - powerful creatures corrupted by the Great Collision - prowled the lands in search of prey. Unfortunately for them, the human race had long since retreated behind the secure walls of the Sanctuary of Everlast. During one of his regular excursions outside the Sanctuary, Alden is separated from Celeste. - his childhood friend and crush. In that moment, he came to regret never summoning the courage to confess. Somehow managing to survive thanks to some trickery, Alden awakens as a mage. Instead of receiving a normal power, he gains the ability to decay. What’s more, during his ascension, he received a vision from his future self advising him not to trust the Asterons - celestial beings who had saved his race from inescapable doom. Normally... such a revelation wouldn’t faze Alden. However, there was only one major problem with the declaration, though. Celeste was bound with an Asteron. And not just any normal Asteron... She had made a pact with one of the Divine Sovereigns.

The Halfling says: curiosity is power.The Dwarf says: unity is power.The Elf says: Magic is power.The Gnome says: creation is power.The Beastman says: slaughter is power.Humans say: authority is power.The Dragon always says: knowledge is power.The Gods once said: faith is power.Lynch stands on the terrace of the All-Knowing Tower, overlooking the Anriel Continent, and gently says:“I”, am power.