Den slowly raised his clawed hand while the dark aura around his body twisted through the fog like living smoke. His crimson eyes remained fixed on the young man standing before him, studying him carefully as if trying to understand the strange human he had chosen as his successor. For a brief moment the Demon God appeared thoughtful, his expression calm yet filled with quiet calculation.
Finally, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"For now," Den said, his deep voice echoing through the endless mist, "your journey begins."
He lifted his fingers slightly, as if dismissing a servant.
"Goodbye… Kael."
The name lingered in the air.
Kael blinked.
Wait… how does he know my—
The thought never finished forming.
Den snapped his fingers.
The moment the sound echoed through the fog, the entire world shattered. The endless white mist cracked apart like fragile glass, breaking into thousands of fragments of pale light before collapsing into darkness. The ground beneath Kael vanished instantly, and the strange void that had surrounded him moments earlier disappeared as if it had never existed.
Then gravity returned.
Kael's body dropped through empty space.
Cold wind exploded around him as he began falling through the night sky at terrifying speed. The air roared past his ears while his clothes whipped violently around his body. For a moment his mind struggled to process what had just happened, but the rapidly approaching ground below forced him to understand the situation immediately.
He was falling.
Fast.
"What the hell?!"
His eyes widened as the landscape below came into focus. Under the pale silver glow of the moon stretched a vast world of fields, forests, and distant hills. Dark shadows moved across the land while the night sky loomed endlessly above him.
"That stupid demon god actually threw me!"
Kael flailed his arms for a moment before quickly realizing that there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop the fall. No wings appeared on his back, no magic slowed his descent, and the ground continued rushing toward him with terrifying speed.
Within seconds the rows of crops below became visible.
It was a cornfield.
The tall green plants swayed gently under the moonlight, completely unaware that a falling human was about to crash directly into them.
Kael braced himself instinctively.
"Well… this is definitely going to hurt."
A moment later his body slammed violently into the field.
The impact crushed several rows of tall corn plants as dirt and broken stalks exploded outward in every direction. Leaves scattered through the air while the force of the collision carved a shallow crater in the middle of the field.
The sound of the crash echoed briefly across the quiet farmland before the night returned to silence.
For several seconds nothing moved.
Then a low groan slowly came from the crater.
"Ugh…"
Kael pushed himself up slowly while dirt slid off his clothes and pieces of crushed corn leaves fell from his shoulders. His body ached from the fall, every muscle protesting the rough landing, yet surprisingly nothing seemed broken.
He flexed his fingers and rolled his shoulders experimentally.
Still intact.
The strange power Den had given him must have strengthened his body enough to survive the impact.
That realization did not improve his mood.
"Ouch… seriously?" Kael muttered while rubbing the back of his head. "You couldn't just teleport me like a normal god?"
He glanced up at the sky as if expecting Den to still be watching him from above.
"Or was that because I called you ugly?"
The night offered no answer.
Only the quiet sound of wind moving through the cornfield filled the air.
Kael sighed before climbing out of the small crater he had created. As he stepped into the rows of plants, he finally began to notice his surroundings more clearly.
Endless lines of corn stretched in every direction.
The plants stood nearly shoulder-high, their wide green leaves swaying gently in the cool night breeze. Under the pale glow of the moon the entire field resembled a dark green ocean, its surface moving slowly with the rhythm of the wind.
Far beyond the farmland stood a massive forest.
Tall black trees formed a thick wall across the horizon, their branches twisting upward like ancient claws reaching toward the sky. The forest looked old, silent, and slightly ominous under the dim light.
Above everything stretched the night sky.
A full moon hung high overhead, bright and calm, surrounded by thousands of glittering stars scattered across the darkness. The silver light bathed the cornfield in a quiet glow, turning the farmland into something unexpectedly peaceful.
Kael stood there silently for a moment, absorbing the strange beauty of the scene.
"Well," he said eventually, "this isn't the worst place to land."
After everything that had happened—the mysterious fog world, the Demon God, and the sudden fall from the sky—this calm field felt almost unreal.
He walked a few steps through the corn rows before sitting down on the ground. The soil felt cool beneath him as he leaned back and stared up at the moon.
"Guess I'll stay here tonight."
The wind rustled softly through the corn plants, creating a slow rhythm that filled the quiet field. For the first time since waking up with no memories, Kael allowed himself to relax slightly.
Time passed quietly.
Minutes slipped by, followed by nearly an hour. The moon slowly climbed higher across the sky while the stars remained scattered across the darkness.
Kael barely moved during that time. He simply lay there watching the night sky while thinking about the strange situation he had found himself in.
Dead.
Chosen by a Demon God.
Thrown into some unknown world.
It was not exactly a normal start to a new life.
Eventually, however, something unusual interrupted his thoughts.
A strange itching sensation appeared on his chest.
At first it was faint, like a small irritation beneath his skin, but slowly it began growing stronger.
Kael frowned and sat up.
"Did I get scratched by the corn earlier?"
He rubbed the spot absentmindedly.
The moment his fingers touched his chest, a soft glow suddenly appeared in front of him.
A large transparent screen materialized in the air, floating silently before his eyes.
Kael froze.
The pale blue light illuminated his face under the moonlight while lines of text slowly appeared across the glowing surface. Strange symbols formed and rearranged themselves until they became readable words.
For several seconds he simply stared at it.
Then a slow smile appeared on his face.
"Well… well."
His eyes gleamed with curiosity.
"My status window."
However, the smile did not last long.
As his gaze moved across the lines written on the screen, his expression gradually changed.
---
Status Window
Name: Kael
Age: 23
Power: Below Average
Gift: Eternal Black Fire
Condition: Cannot defeat a normally trained human
Goal: Make demons devotees again
---
Kael stared at the glowing screen for several seconds.
Then his eyebrow twitched.
"…What?"
He leaned closer to the floating window as if expecting the words to suddenly change.
They did not.
"Is this some kind of joke?"
Kael rubbed his face with one hand and sighed deeply.
"This looks like some kind of terrible slogan," he muttered. "I'm pretty sure a child could design a a better status screen than this."
His finger pointed toward the line that annoyed him the most.
Power: Below Average
"Below average?"
His gaze moved to the next line.
Condition: Cannot defeat a normally trained human
Kael blinked slowly.
"So let me understand this," he said quietly. "I'm the successor of a Demon God… but some random trained guy with a sword could beat me to death."
The corn leaves rustled softly in the night wind.
Kael leaned back on the ground again and stared up at the moon.
"That cheap demon god really gave me the worst starting package possible."
For several seconds he remained silent.
Then, unexpectedly, a small grin appeared on his face.
Instead of frustration, excitement slowly began filling his eyes.
"Well… that actually makes things interesting."
He sat up again and looked at the glowing screen.
"If my power is below average, that means I can grow stronger."
His gaze moved toward the final line.
Goal: Make demons devotees again
Kael tapped the words thoughtfully.
"So there are no believers left."
"That means I start from zero."
He slowly stood up and brushed dirt from his clothes.
As he clenched his hand, something unusual happened.
A faint black flame flickered across his fingers for a brief moment before fading away.
The Eternal Black Fire.
Kael watched the disappearing sparks with quiet interest.
"Alright then," he murmured.
"If I want demons to worship that ugly god again…"
His eyes slowly shifted toward the dark forest standing beyond the cornfield.
"First I need to survive."
His expression hardened slightly as he clenched his fist.
"And to survive… I need to grow stronger."
Far within the forest, something moved in the darkness.
A distant growl echoed through the quiet night.
Kael heard it.
And slowly—
He smiled.