Ding!

—

╔════════╗

║OVERFLOW!║

╚════════╝

[You’ve felled a Class Eight Magi x 1]

[You’ve felled a Class Ten Magi x 7]

[You’ve felled a Class Eleven Magi x 12]

[Fear Points: 1.5 → 6.5]

—

’Still low, but nice.’

Finally, now that Malik was momentarily alone, he took a moment to understand all that had happened. And damn, did it twist his mind.

So... he had transmigrated into the body of this planet’s Sultan and "Second Sun." The leader of many—perhaps the entire planet!

Yet it wasn’t going to be smooth sailing, far from it. This planet had been under attack by both Demons and invaders ever since their Sultan disappeared. Decades ago, maybe longer.

Apparently, the Sultan’s family—his family—had gone cruel with grief over what he did for them. His sacrifice. They began lashing out, which helped end up with them being seen as the Villains. At least by the enemy.

’Hm... that’s almost funny.’

He didn’t feel like laughing, though.

After a deep breath, Malik decided to check out his system further.

—

╔════════╗

║Fear System║

╚════════╝

{Class: Mortal}

{Unlocking Class: 0/10}

{Fear Points: 6.5}

{Soul Glyphs: Ember’s Touch (Peak) x 1}

{Invaders Fear}

{Runes}

{Traits}

{Quests}

{Shop}

{Wheel Of Fortune}

[Fate Points: None]

—

He stared at the screen for a long moment, piecing things together.

It seemed that his way of returning to his true strength was either by doing it himself—which likely would take ages—or pouring Fear Points into his Class stat to unlock his power.

The more Fear Points he put in, the higher his class would be in the Divine Hierarchy, and the more Runes he would unlock.

Once unlocked, he could use them without relying on Soul Glyphs.

Of course, his Runes would be at their weakest when first unlocked. He would need to rank them up too.

They would only increase through repetition, understanding, or, once again, pouring Fear Points into them.

It was quite a dilemma.

He had to instill fear, but he also wished to do good.

There was no point in getting stronger through terrorizing his own.

So the fear he needed to spread had to mostly belong to their enemies.

’Hm. I’m shaping up to be a misunderstood hero.’

He almost smiled at that.

’Now then...’

Feeling safe enough—at least for the moment—Malik decided to finally ask the questions he was owed.

"System, how did I get here?"

The system responded immediately:

—

[Are you asking how exactly you transmigrated into the Sultan’s body?]

—

Malik confirmed with a nod.

—

[Such a question would use up all three questions you are owed.]

—

All three for a single question...

"Go ahead."

He still accepted.

Malik knew he could ask better questions.

He could ask about the Runes, about Devil’s Maw, about his enemy’s weaknesses. Perhaps the vaguely and strangely familiar "Order" that the soldier seemed to take in such high regard.

But for reasons more than he could bother to count, this was something he needed to know.

The truth of his own arrival, both the why and the how.

And so, once the system accepted his answer, everything went white.

A memory poured into his mind.

Blink.

***

Malik opened his eyes.

He was met by a truck that took two whole lanes of the road.

A truck that he dodged, only to step into the path of a dagger.

A dagger that he blocked, only to crash into the ground below a screaming man.

The man seemed to have jumped off a building, a suicide.

This one, Malik couldn’t save himself from.

Death finally took him.

Blink.

***

Malik opened his eyes once more.

He was sitting on the Golden Throne.

Golden chains wrapped around his body.

Blurred figures stood before him.

They weren’t kneeling.

Blink.

***

Malik opened his eyes for the third time.

He had become an Angel. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The Second Sun stood two steps below this world’s twelve-class peak. He was a Sun in its Divine Hierarchy.

Malik rose from the East that he could not see and settled in the West.

Below him were his subjects.

Yes, ’subjects.’

He was their Sultan, the strongest of them.

Once, he was their Villain, now he was their Hero...

Or so they called him.

Yet even as their "Hero," here he was, serving his penance.

There was no free lunch in this world, even in the world he had seemingly gifted to himself.

The reward for the completion of his Embodiment into the man he transmigrated into was this...

A life of servitude, yet a life of peace.

A sentence of trying to become close to Rukh, the mother tree of all that was.

The price of his continuing on his Path of fire and blood, the truth untainted.

In the mornings when he rose, those subjects of his called to him.

His wife knelt to him, their dear daughter beside her.

His sweet little sister cried for him, never once missing her daily visit to his grave.

His other, bratty little sister moved as a sword would, protecting what he called his.

His little brother nearly died for him, gaining the title of Icarus, always reaching out to him.

His Right Hand didn’t leave a stone unturned, going to Hell and back to continue his legacy.

His final disciple was the backbone of his kingdom, never allowing Death to get too close.

His Lucky Soldier was the first to meet the enemy, screaming out Malik’s many Titles.

His remaining student stayed cloaked despite the guilt, keeping his people well fed.

His only friend remained a close ally, fiercely striving for their survival.

His Guard of the Fifth had their name spread wide, his strongest special unit.

His father took the crown’s weight off him, acting as the interim Sultan.

With the Sun here, he didn’t need to worry about whatever ailed him.

Malik was the protector of this realm, of Devil’s Maw.

Yet he wished to be more.

And so, while he was stuck circling their planet, he began to devise a plan to skip to the end of his penance.

This plan had finally borne fruit, after he, throughout all these years, relinquished much of his great strength, locking it deep inside him with familiar chains.

Naturally, Malik hadn’t done anything similar before, so there were no guarantees of success.

Still, he was more than willing to take the risk. If he remained stuck in place like this, once his punishment was over, there would be no home to return to.

"Divine Kingdom..."

His path and all of his Runes came together.

"Archive Of Fate."

His body instinctively understood that his time had arrived.

"They will see my face once more."

So he rose from the West.

"Devil’s Maw..."

And brought the beginning of the end.

"Your Sultan has returned."

Blink.

The moment he left the Second Sun, a white snake wrapped around it.

A gargantuan snake that was intent on devouring all that Malik held dear.

It was the Void, his mortal enemy, and it would not stop until it had its fill.

The Sun’s light dimmed due to its mere presence.

Yet the snake wasn’t alone, for there were many beside it.

All of Them were greedy for Devil’s Maw.

Its people were alone against the world.

Only their Sultan stood in their way.

Thus, he was the world’s target.