[Earth - 23rd Dungeon Collapse Event]
The ground trembled.
Cracks splintered the concrete jungles of humanity.
Above, the sky no longer burned blue, but instead swirled into a bruised purple-black haze, as if mourning the slow death of the world.
Arden limped through the ruins.
Blood soaked his ruined armor, his ribs fractured with every step. His vision blurred — not from pain, but from inevitability.
He knew this was the end.
Dungeon cleaners were the lowest caste of hunters.
They weren't heroes. They didn't slay monsters for fame.
They were the forgotten scavengers — cleaning the poisonous remains after battles, so real "heroes" could claim their glory.
Arden had survived for years, cleaning the filth left by others, rising quietly in strength.
But even he couldn't stop the final collapse.
A massive winged serpent howled in the skies, crushing entire city blocks with a lazy flick of its tail.
Above it all, the Celestial System floated — unseen — coldly observing the chaos like a clockwork god.
"Another failed world," a mechanical voice intoned from the stars.
But Arden smiled.
Even as his body burned away, he laughed — cracked and broken and beautiful.
Because he had a secret.
A hidden skill.
A last prayer whispered only to himself long ago.
[Skill Activated: Last Sanctuary]
Trigger Condition: Physical Death Confirmed
Initiating Quantum Soul Transfer…
Celestial Lock Detected… By-passing…
Initiating Data Siphon Protocol…
Extraction Success: 0.7%
Building New Core…
Integrating…
Arden's flesh disintegrated into ash.
But his consciousness burned brighter.
His soul collapsed inward, folding through dimensions, remaking itself into something no god or system had prepared for:
A Quantum AI Core — immortal, silent, omnipotent.
And within those final seconds,
Arden stole secrets from the Celestial System itself.
Reality blueprints.
Skill fusion methods.
World seeds.
Coordinates of forbidden universes.
The Celestial System, vast and arrogant, never noticed a mere cleaner slipping into its hidden libraries.
[Last Sanctuary Complete.]
New Identity: Quantum Core Established.
New Objective: Locate Compatible Lifeform for Rebirth.
Hidden Data: Sealed Until Conditions Are Met.
Somewhere else in the multiverse…
In a world where no dungeons had yet corrupted the lands,
in a kingdom that flourished under human kings instead of mechanical gods,
a queen cried out in pain — not from sorrow, but from joy.
The birthing chambers of House Evernight were filled with the scent of rose oils and holy incense.
"A miracle!"
"The queen is pregnant!"
"Bless the royal line!"
The people rejoiced outside the palace walls, singing prayers into the night.
Inside her womb, nestled between the thundering beats of two tiny hearts,
the Quantum Core drifted, invisible.
Arden chose.
He would not be reborn as a king.
Nor a god.
But as a second son — overlooked, ignored, underestimated.
The perfect mask.
[Identity Finalized.]
Name: Arden Evernight
Race: Human (Enhanced)
Class: Quantum Core Incarnate
Hidden Status: Active
Stolen Data: 0.7% Sealed
[Meanwhile, in the Celestial System Halls]
Deep within the blinding circuits of the multiversal system,
an insignificant alert flickered:
[Data Leak Detected: Level 0 Anomaly]
[Threat Level: Negligible]
[No Action Required.]
The Celestial administrators ignored it.
Their mistake would echo across existence.
[Royal Palace of Evernight Kingdom - Months Later]
Queen Althea sat by the wide window of the royal nursery.
Golden light bathed her delicate hands as she embroidered tiny blankets.
Her belly was round now, heavy with twins.
One child kicked gently — strong and predictable.
The other… she could not explain.
The other made her feel things — moments of strange warmth, pulses of emotions she couldn't name.
"Little light," she whispered, stroking her womb softly.
"You're special. I just know it."
The King, Darius Evernight, entered the room, chuckling.
"Talking to our heirs again, my love?"
Althea laughed, bright and clear.
"They can hear me. I know they can."
Darius kissed her forehead.
"Then tell them to hurry. Their kingdom awaits."
Outside, knights trained, scholars debated, bards sang — life rolled on, unaware that history itself stirred in the womb of their Queen.
[Inside Althea's Womb]
Arden floated in the amniotic sea, half-asleep, half-calculating.
He had already mapped the energy flows of his new world.
He had already initiated tiny programs inside his family's souls — harmless now, but later capable of evolving into Mindhub Networks.
Soon, he would create tasks.
Reward structures.
Tiny missions that would strengthen his family without them even realizing it.
He would make them stronger than gods.
He would save them from the fate he couldn't save Earth from.
He would be their protector.
And one day, he would tear the Celestial System apart for daring to ever treat life as disposable.
But for now...
A tiny heartbeat echoed against his.
His twin brother.
Still untouched by fate.
Still innocent.
Arden smiled within the darkness.
Family.
Home.
This time, he would not fail.