Malik didn’t even have time to blink before the world of sand and the sky full of screaming nightmares vanished.

Now, he was standing in the middle of a void.

An endless expanse of nothing that felt like it was pressing in on him from all sides.

This was his Soul.

Floating in the center of this darkness were ten orb-like things, the same ones that had previously combined into one, now separated again.

They pulsed with a rhythmic light, showing off their might, but as Malik stepped closer, he noticed a... problem.

The ten orbs were wrapped in thick golden chains.

Ancient metal that looked unbreakable.

Malik couldn’t help but wonder just what he was looking at.

’Runes.’

Only for the answer to instantly pop into his head.

He didn’t know how he knew it, but he stared at them for a moment and just... knew. These were his. They were his power, but they felt different now, as if they had come in a new form.

But that wasn’t all, as he felt them to be both weak and constrained, all thanks to the chains, no doubt.

He didn’t have time to stand around and admire such a sight. Outside, things were going south fast. He was in a bad spot, and if he didn’t do something immediately, he was going to be monster food.

’Open...’

Malik willed the system to show itself.

A screen flickered to life, glowing with a dim light.

—

╔════════╗

║Fear System║

╚════════╝

{Class: Mortal}

{Unlocking Class: 0/10}

{Fear Points: 18}

{Soul Glyphs: None}

{Invaders Fear}

{Runes}

{Traits}

{Quests}

{Shop}

{Wheel Of Fortune}

[Fate Points: None]

—

’Fear system, huh... is this like one of those novels?’

A small smile touched his lips.

If this were a system, maybe he wasn’t as dead as he thought.

Sure, the screen said he was a ’mortal’ right now, which was obviously the bottom of the barrel, but it was a start.

Besides, he had eighteen Fear Points!

...whatever that meant.

’Are they like stat points? No, there isn’t a stat page. Then is it like a currency?’

He didn’t know if eighteen was a lot or if he was the poorest guy in the world.

Besides, he’d just transmigrated here, so how did he even have eighteen?

Maybe looking at those fanatics had earned him something.

’Open shop.’

Malik didn’t bother with the ’Wheel Of Fortune.’ Gambling was for people who weren’t about to get eaten.

He needed a guarantee, not a game of chance. He didn’t care about the rest of the tabs either; those could wait until he wasn’t in the middle of a war zone.

Survival first.

—

{Shop}

[Soul Glyphs]

[Embers Touch — 2 FP (Single) | 4 FP (Peak)]

[Goliath’s Fall — 8 FP (Single) | 16 FP (Peak)]

[Scorpion’s Sting — 16 FP (Single) | 32 FP (Peak)]

[Devil’s Footsteps — 32 FP (Single) | 64 (Peak)]

[Zephyr’s Kiss — 64 FP (Single) | 128 FP (Peak)]

[Shifting Ground — 128 FP (Single) | 256 FP (Peak)]

[Eternal Life — 256 FP (Single) | 512 FP (Peak)]

[Thirst’s Quench — 512 FP (Single) | 1024 FP (Peak)]

[Dust to Stone — 1024 FP (Single) | 2048 FP (Peak)]

—

’Okay... so not a lot at all.’

Malik felt a flicker of disappointment, but pushed it aside.

He was too busy piecing together what this actually was.

’Soul Glyphs? Oh. Are these the ten Runes I have locked?’

He looked at the chained orbs.

There were ten of them, not nine like the Soul Glyphs in the shop.

Was there no correlation between them?

No, there was.

The bottom-most Rune seemed too... simple.

It was white, and only that.

The rest had color, strange text, and design.

Perhaps that Rune simply Ascended him from being a mere mortal.

So, ignoring the first Rune, which likely held no ability, it made sense.

Nine Soul Glyphs for nine Runes.

Buying these would basically let him bypass those golden chains for a bit. The deeper the Rune was in his Soul, the more expensive the "key" was.

’Single or peak...’

He looked at the price difference.

It wasn’t huge.

’Single’ probably meant one shot. ’Peak’ likely meant he obtained the absolute maximum power of the Rune for a limited time. There was no way it would allow it indefinitely; the price would be much higher otherwise.

Malik decided on Ember’s Touch almost immediately.

Sure, he didn’t know what the Rune did, but he knew that he was better off buying more.

He was a mortal. If he bought something expensive like Goliath’s Fall, he’d use it once and be out of points. If he bought multiple Ember’s Touch, he could stay in the fight longer. The strongest defense was the strongest attack, anyway.

’Buy one Ember’s Touch.’

Ding!

—

╔════════════════════╗

║NEW SOUL GLYPH ACQUIRED!║

╚════════════════════╝

[Ember’s Touch (Peak) x 1]

[Rune Description: This Rune speaks of your Element. You are of Fire; everything you touch can burn.]

—

The description was vague, but the moment the Soul Glyph entered his Soul, Malik understood it.

’This is heavy.’

He could fuse this fire with a weapon to make it cut through anything. Or better yet, he could just forge a blade out of pure flame and swing it. Already, Malik could feel the potential to rip through the air, sending explosions out for miles.

But unfortunately, as good as it was, the time limit for it was merely a single minute.

’Hm, I expected that much.’

It was a peak state, after all. It really wouldn’t have made any sense otherwise.

Malik was right in thinking so, but his disappointment didn’t stop there; it had come with a vengeance.

Now that he looked at the shop again to buy more, he noticed a change.

—

{Shop}

[Soul Glyphs]

[Embers Touch — 2 FP (Single) | 4 → 8 FP (Peak)]

—

The price had gone up.

’Dammit... of course.’

It had doubled!

’There’s always a catch. Can’t I be overpowered in peace?’

He let out a sigh and quickly bought one more. The price had jumped to eight, so once he bought the second, he only had five Fear Points left.

—

╔════════╗

║Fear System║

╚════════╝

{Class: Mortal}

{Unlocking Class: 0/10}

{Fear Points: 5}

{Soul Glyphs: Ember’s Touch (Peak) x 2}

{Invaders Fear}

{Runes}

{Traits}

{Quests}

{Shop}

{Wheel Of Fortune}

[Fate Points: None]

—

Seeing the ’2’ on the screen made his irritation fade. This was good. He had two minutes of incredible power.

’With this, I might just survive.’

Malik blinked, and suddenly, the void was gone.

He was back in the real world. Not even a second had passed. The black sand was still there, and the ’dots’ in the sky were still screaming toward them.

Malik knew how the points worked now.

Fear System.

The name wasn’t just for show.

If he wanted more Fear Points, he couldn’t just run. He had to spread fear. He had to fight and show these people—and those things in the sky—exactly what he could do.

And so, he accepted the Soul Glyph.

’Ignite.’

Immediately, Malik’s body was swallowed by fire. Great plumes of gold and white flame shot up from him, piercing through the sky and reaching out to the Heavens.

He felt beyond immortal, perhaps as strong as the Suns themselves.

But it wasn’t just a power-up. As the transformation took hold, Malik’s very demeanor shifted.

The experience of the Rune’s peak state flooded his mind, making him feel like a man who had mastered the flame over a thousand lifetimes.

Casually, he pointed his hands down at his sides.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A massive blast of fire erupted from his palms, launching him like a rocket. He reached high into the air, soaring above the dunes.

The movement and the following beacon of light had caught everyone’s attention, stopping the entire army in its tracks. Aladdin, the blue-haired young man, and Sinbad, the crimson owl, had stopped as well.

They all looked up in stunned silence at the flaming figure hovering in the sky.

Malik looked down at the black tidal wave of Corruption approaching the lines.

He didn’t feel embarrassed about the spectacle.

No, he didn’t feel anything but the fire.

A single hand was pointed forward.

"Fall."