RISE OF THE HOLY DEMONIC GOD

The man said something that caused Rey's mind to halt momentarily to process his words,

"Okay, now that the hinderance is gone, I may introduce myself.... I am Veylen Shadowthrone, the person responsible for drawing you into this grand play of destiny, which will undoubtedly devour you one day or another like all other family members..."

The words made Rey's mind undergo a sudden change as the man told him that his path was doomed from the start without chance.

"But..."

His silence made Rey's anticipation skyrocket as he asked out.

"But what? Even though you know that your so-called family of Shadowthrone is doomed for every member, why are you all trying so hard to progress it further, adding members one by one? Is it really that difficult to try to break the doom lingering over you on your own? No, you all are just mighty fools who think that 'maybe someone next can solve this, right.' That's what you all are after," Rey shouted without even realizing that the person he was talking to was someone not even Aiden could touch just now. Him being here in his body meant he could kill him. But now was too late as the arrow had already been shot from the bow and couldn't be taken back.

"Hoh~~!" Veylen, who was sitting still, sighed without any changes on his face. With a flick, everything beside him disappeared, which sent fear straight to Rey's heart very quickly.

He stepped back a few paces as he saw him walking toward him, even falling backward. He continued to move back even while falling onto the ground, his back hitting the wall of the room

"Listen, kid. My... no our family history is vast, dating back to the formation of all the superclusters and beyond. When all living beings were born, our family's first member, our Ancestor, was among them. He was the first holder of the <DARKNESS> law, a law above all others who claim to be the strongest in the clusters. It is even superior in its own league of origins as it can devour other origins. Our doom is not due to fate but because the balance was established to prevent any single person from ruling over others. We are cursed for being strong, for being above all. We are close to perfection, and some of us might have been perfect.

The law didn't awaken in any being except those who are the monsters of monsters. Even the so-called group of True Gods residing in the center of the superclusters are mere pebbles to us." He told Rey, who was shocked to hear the family members were one in a trillion geniuses, as maybe he was too...

"But there is a single mistake here. You, who isn't even comparable to an ordinary genius, have become the next member of the new era of Shadowthrone. This is quite a surprise for all the souls residing in the ###### ######." As the words came from the man's mouth, they pierced Rey like many arrows, making him feel like a mistake, a false member, and trash even among commoners.

"So, why would you even choose me? You just told me that I am trash. Why am I chosen? Don't tell me that you can't even select a genius to inherit the legacy of the Shadowthrone."

"Hoh, your mouth talks too much despite being a lowly trash who isn't even worth mentioning. Be thankful that you're standing in front of me alive; otherwise, if you weren't a member of a family that may bring change, I am sure I would have destroyed your body and put you in such a prison that your soul would be tormented for thousands of years, crying for mercy for death." He said as Rey, who heard it, just shrunk into the corner of the room like a frightened rat, knowing that he could do it if he wished to.

"Now the attitude is fine. So, hear me out, kid. Even though being a one-in-a-million genius is one of the requirements, the single and most important requirement to become a family member of Shadowthrone is something found in one being in all the clusters. It's not even required that you have to be a human being to become like that, as anyone is capable of getting into the family if they just clear one of the requirements. Then, even a brainless monster can become a member of the family, and that is... affinity, a kind of requirement you need to have to use the related element. The least you require is Ultima grade... oh wait. You won't even know what Ultima grade is, so the least you must have is, 98%. That's the minimum we can accept, and no one below it can be taken. But..."

He again stopped at "but," which piqued Rey's curiosity. Rey thought maybe he has about 100% to 99% affinity for darkness for sure, but again he stopped, which made him think there was a fault.

"You don't even have a tenth of it. You just have a measly 7.2% affinity for darkness."

Veylen said, as Rey again broke down into pieces, being informed once more that he is trash upon trash, but there was a light maybe ahead in his words.

He was crumbling by heart to hear that he didn't even have a single think that is worth mentioning by him.

"But I am also shocked to see other affinities, which I didn't think could be like that."

Rey, who heard it, got a little delighted as he thought maybe he had some affinity for an element that allowed him to become a member.

"You're even worse in those too. Fire (4%), Water (8%), Wind (11.3%), Earth (2%). Don't even ask about the higher-grade elements—they're just for show, and you don't have any hidden unique elements in you. Maybe when heaven was creating you, they were in such a bad mood that they made you like this. So why it chose you is the only mystery left." He said, leaving Rey as nothing but a crumbled piece of shame. He was already destroyed a few minutes ago but now the annihilation was completed.

"So why did it choose me? Can't you just tell me? Is making fun of me that amusing to you?" He said, his eyes ready to burst into tears.

But before he could say more, someone appeared behind Veylen and said, "Oii, aren't you talking too much trash right now, you fool?" Victor, who had been listening from the side, said angrily, with others equally upset.

"Did I say something wrong? Even though he's a member, you, who is trapped inside him, are much more valuable than he is—if you weren't dead right now. I may have think to make you the next on in comparison." Veylen said with a straight face and a barely-there smile.

"Even though trash, you can't belittle our host like this, you moron. And for being a member of your so-called family that's already on the brink of extinction and doesn't even have five members at one time, I'm not even interested in joining." Victor said, with Aiden supporting him from behind.

"Yes, and who says our host is trash? Even though he's a brainless commoner who just got a little lucky to become our host, luck is still a stat that can help someone." Aiden said, though their support made Rey feel even more humiliating than what Veylen was doing right now.

"You are all such fools to take a side that isn't even worth mentioning. Can't you all just leave his body and let me guide him to reach a stage that your previous owner, who was left to live by me, couldn't reach?" he said, as the paddle of Aiden's anger was triggered again.

"Who is speaking right now? The one who had to run away with his tail between his legs, claiming my master had to back away?" Aiden said with a grin, his teeth grinding against each other.

"Huh, but I remember your master was injured by a 'Tier 8' level being while still being a 'Tier 9' god candidate. Don't my retreat was necessary? Though I backed away, your master wasn't in good shape either," he said, mocking him with a simple face.

"You..."

"Stop this nonsense with me. Even though you all are useless, you can be of some help to this new member of our family. That's why I am letting you live here; otherwise, I should have kicked you both out of here and now from his body."

"Hah... didn't you know that we are bound by a soul contract? You can't separate us, or your last descendant will die right here," Aiden said with a smug face.

"Hoh! Quite a good move, but you don't even know that a being who has comprehended a full <Soul> law can do tricks that may surprise you, such as soul splitting, soul annihilation, and the easiest, soul link severance, which I can do right here and now," he said, as Aiden was once again shocked to discover this trick.

"But even though you all are waste, there is someone quite useful here, a being from outside living as a relic. You will show your potential now getting the current power synchronization," Veylen said while looking at Zero, who, after hearing this, didn't understand but felt scared by his words.

He then told him the thing Rey was waiting for, "So now for the final thing, the reason you became a member of Shadowthrone was that you have..."

-<To be Continued>-