?? CHAPTER 1
Darkness.
Not peaceful sleep—
but the suffocating, suffocating dark of a life ending…
and another beginning.
Aethyr drifted in it like a corpse in deep waters.
Then—
CRACK.
A fissure of white light split the void.
Voices poured through:
“Just keep swinging—precision before strength.”
— Life 1: Warrior.
“Mana bends to logic. Understand it before shaping it.”
— Life 2: Mage.
“No… not enough… rewind—!”
— Life 3: Regressor.
The fracture exploded.
Aethyr's eyes snapped open.
---
1. The Burning Village
He lay in a crater of scorched earth.
Ash rained from the sky like black snow.
Every breath carried the stink of blood and molten iron.
Around him:
Collapsed houses, shattered walls, lifeless bodies.
Not a single living soul.
Not at first.
Aethyr pushed himself up and brushed dirt from his hair, movements fluid, controlled—too precise for someone just returning from death.
His memories were fractured shards, but his mind was whole:
Calm.
Calculated.
Unshaken.
He ran a quick physical check—muscles responding, mana pathways intact though rusty.
He had returned.
Fourth life.
A cracked fountain beside him reflected a boy of seventeen with steady obsidian eyes and a faintly glowing sigil at his collarbone.
Aethyr touched the sigil.
It pulsed—
And the world reacted.
---
2. The Null Codex Awakens
A metallic whisper slid into his mind.
> “Initialization… complete.”
A translucent window formed in front of him:
[NULL CODEX ONLINE]
[Reincarnation Cycle 4 — Vessel Stable]
[Divine Fragment Detected]
[Personality State: Calm/Precise — Optimal]
No XP.
No level-ups from killing alone.
Strength came from:
Tactical efficiency
Proper form
Fighting style mastery
Adaptation
Understanding the enemy
Perfected decisions
And above all—
growth through purpose.
Aethyr breathed out.
“…I remember this.”
The system wasn’t given to him.
It was part of him.
---
3. The Attack Aftermath
A distant roar ripped through the ruined village.
Aethyr spun toward the sound—
instinctively lowering his stance, breath settling, mind narrowing.
He moved through rubble with silent, precise steps.
Not a stumble.
Not a wasted motion.
Then he saw it.
Massive claw marks gouged across stone walls.
Charred craters from high-level spells.
Body parts—human, beastman, elf—mixed in a grotesque mosaic.
A large shadow lay dead ahead:
A Cinderhorn Ravager—a mutated bull-beast covered in magma-cracked plates.
Too big.
Too powerful.
Completely out of place.
Aethyr knelt beside it, examining the wounds.
Slashed by claws.
Burned by magic.
Pierced by forged weapons.
Meaning—
Different races fought it together.
And still barely survived.
So that’s why the survivors would be injured.
Why they’d be wary.
Why they’d distrust everyone.
This monster… wasn’t normal.
He touched its cracked skull.
The Codex pulsed.
[Analyzing Monster Essence…]
[Result: Abyssal Mutation Detected]
[Cause: Foundation Erosion — Lack of Divine Stabilizer]
Aethyr’s expression tightened—barely.
A world without a god becomes a world without rules.
Without rules, monsters evolve without limit.
And they were beginning to.
---
4. The Cry of the Elf
A soft cry echoed from nearby.
Weak.
Pained.
Fading.
Aethyr moved instantly—calculating rubble angles, stepping where the stone wouldn’t shift, predicting stability with machine-like precision.
Under a collapsed roof, he found her:
An elf woman—skin lacerated, mana burned out, ribs cracked.
Her hand shook as she pointed beneath fallen branches.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Help… them…”
Aethyr followed her gesture.
Under the debris lay a small bundle of leaves.
A baby elf.
Barely breathing.
Just as he reached for the child—
A violent SNAP sounded behind him.
Aethyr spun in perfect form—one foot pivoting, arms raised defensively.
Something huge lunged.
---
5. The Beastman’s Desperation
A massive wolf-beastman crashed toward him, one arm hanging limp, fur matted with blood. Instinct—and trauma—drove him.
“Get AWAY from them!”
His claws slashed.
A normal person would have died instantly.
Aethyr tilted his head by a hair’s breadth—
the claws slicing air where his jugular had been.
He moved with flawless economy of motion.
“Stop.”
His voice was calm, unshaken.
Too calm.
The beastman froze—not from fear, but confusion.
Enemies didn’t talk like that.
Enemies didn’t stand like that.
Enemies didn’t stare with eyes that measured every angle, every weakness, every intention without hatred.
Only warriors did.
“…Who are you?” the beastman growled.
“Someone who wants the child to live,” Aethyr said simply.
Behind the beastman, more figures stumbled into view:
A dwarf apprentice, armor cracked open, limping with a broken leg
A demon scholar, clutching a shattered grimory, eyes glowing faintly with fearA tiny beastman cub, clinging weakly to the adult wolfman’s leg
All covered in blood.
All injured.
All traumatized.
All wary.
Because the Ravager wasn’t the only threat.
Multiple mutated beasts attacked them.
Their villages—different races—were all destroyed on the same night.
They had fought together.
Barely survived.
And had seen each other’s races die.
No wonder they distrusted everyone—
especially a perfectly calm stranger who appeared from nowhere.
---
6. The Calm Decision
The elf mother weakly grabbed Aethyr’s sleeve.
“Please… save them… not me…”
Aethyr shook his head gently.
“I’ll save everyone.”
He raised his hand.
The Null Codex pulsed.
[Combat Style Recovered: Mage Form — Efficiency 42%]
[Spell Model: Stabilizing Weave]
[Action Efficiency Rating: 88%]
Magic rippled from his fingertips—clean, cold, controlled.
A precise web of mana sealed the elf’s wounds and soothed her pain.
The survivors stared in disbelief.
The dwarf whispered, “What kind of magic is that…?”
The demon scholar narrowed his eyes.
“No wasted energy. No mana loss. That’s… impossible.”
Aethyr simply stood and lifted the elf child.
“We can talk after we get somewhere safe.”
The beastman growled softly. “Why… why help us?”
Aethyr answered without hesitation:
“Because the world is collapsing.
Because you are all that remains of your people.
Because I refuse to watch civilization die again.”
Again.
The word slipped out before he realized.
---
7. The System Accepts His Resolve
The Null Codex glowed more brightly than before.
[CIVILIZATION SEEDS ACQUIRED]
- Elf
- Dwarf
- Demon
- Beastman
[New Directive Activated: REBUILD THE FIVE RACES]
[Personality Aptitude Confirmed: PERFECTION PATH]
- Calm: Optimal
- Calculated: Optimal
- Precision: Optimal
Aethyr turned toward the burning horizon.
“Come. If you want to live.”
The races exchanged anxious looks.
Then, one by one, they followed him.
Behind them, the ruins crackled with dying fire.
Ahead of them, the world trembled—
as if recognizing its forgotten heir.
