The battlefield stank of blood, fire, and betrayal.
Ethan Cross staggered through the ruins of the once-proud fortress, his left arm hanging limp at his side, broken beyond use. His sword — chipped, battered — dragged behind him, leaving a shallow groove in the scorched earth.
Around him, the bodies of the Black Wolf Company, the only family he'd ever known, lay sprawled across the ground. Slaughtered like dogs.
By their own commander.
Ethan tasted iron as he coughed, spitting blood onto the cracked stone. His vision blurred, but he forced himself forward, boots scraping against debris.
I trusted them. I trusted him.
He clenched his teeth, pain shooting up his spine. He couldn't afford the luxury of grief. Not now. Not when death's hand hovered just above him.
The fortress walls, once a symbol of unbreakable defense, lay in ruin. Fires crackled in the distance. The corpses of mercenaries, soldiers, and monsters lay tangled together — a testament to the slaughter that had unfolded under a blackened sky.
The worst part wasn't the betrayal.
It was the mockery.
Captain Varek had laughed as he drove his sword through Ethan's gut, twisting it, sneering about how "some people were just stepping stones" on the path to power.
"I should have known," Ethan rasped. The words burned on his tongue like acid.
Thunder rumbled overhead.
Lightning split the sky, illuminating the desolation in stark, brutal flashes.
And then — the earth shook beneath his feet.
At first, Ethan thought it was another bombardment. Another spell. Another monster.
But no.
The ground itself cracked open before him, a jagged chasm splitting the earth as if the world's heart had been torn apart.
Golden light spilled from the abyss, illuminating the darkness.
Ethan stumbled back, shielding his eyes. His battered body screamed in protest.
A voice, smooth as silk and dark as midnight, whispered through the air.
"Ethan Cross. You have been weighed... and found worthy."
His heart slammed against his ribs.
"Who's there?" he croaked, struggling to lift his broken blade.
There was no answer.
Instead, a translucent screen appeared before him, floating in the air like a phantom.
[Boundless System Detected.][Candidate Found: Ethan Cross.][Initializing Core Transfer...]
Ethan blinked, the words burning themselves into his mind, as real as the blood on his hands.
He'd heard of systems before. Legendary artifacts. Myths told in hushed tones around campfires. Things that chose heroes... or destroyed them.
Another line appeared, pulsing ominously.
[Warning: Host Body Critical. Core Stabilization Required Immediately.][Accept Binding? Y/N]
Pain lanced through him, sharper than any sword. Ethan collapsed to one knee, gasping.
He was dying.
The system offered him salvation.
Or maybe it was a trap.
Either way, the choice wasn't really a choice at all.
He laughed bitterly, a sound somewhere between a sob and a snarl.
"What's the worst that could happen?" he muttered, and with his last ounce of strength, he reached out and tapped 'Y'.
The world exploded in gold.
[Binding Accepted.][Welcome, Dominator.][System Initiation: 5%... 20%... 50%...]
Ethan screamed as unimaginable power flooded into his veins, knitting flesh, re-forging bone, igniting something deep within his very soul.
Memories that weren't his flashed across his mind — visions of empires rising and falling, of goddesses clad in fire and silk, of worlds torn apart by lust and war.
He felt himself tearing apart.
He felt himself being rebuilt.
The voice returned, closer now, almost caressing.
"Rise, Ethan Cross. Rise as the Boundless Emperor."
When the light finally faded, Ethan stood — whole.
His battered armor had been replaced by dark leathers etched with golden runes. His broken blade had reformed into a slender, deadly saber, black as midnight.
Most importantly... he felt alive.
No — more than alive.
He felt powerful.
A new screen floated before his eyes.
[Ethan Cross]
Level: 1
Class: Dominator (Unique)
Health: 100/100
Mana: 50/50
Skills: [Dominion Gaze Lv.1], [Subjugation Slash Lv.1]
Inventory: [Starter Pack], [Boundless Core (Locked)]
Dominion Points: 0
Ethan grinned, the expression stretching across his face like a predator tasting blood.
"This... this could work."
He flexed his fingers, feeling raw energy crackling beneath his skin.
But before he could savor it, movement flickered at the edge of his vision.
Captain Varek.
The traitor who had betrayed him for coin and titles.
Still alive. Still gloating. Surrounded by a handful of loyal dogs.
They hadn't seen him yet.
Perfect.
Ethan's fingers curled around the hilt of his new saber.
The Boundless System pulsed in his mind, feeding him information, tactics, weaknesses.
Dominion Gaze: Temporarily paralyze a target with fear.
Subjugation Slash: Strike to weaken willpower.
A savage grin stretched across his lips.
"Time to test my new toys," he whispered.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward, a shadow among the ruins.
The air shimmered around him, and Varek's men froze, wide-eyed, terror blossoming across their faces.
Ethan struck.
One slash, clean and brutal, sent the first mercenary crumpling to the ground.
Varek turned, eyes widening in shock.
"You— you're supposed to be dead!"
Ethan laughed — a cold, cutting sound.
"You should know by now," he said, voice like steel, "it takes more than betrayal to kill me."
He launched himself at Varek, blade flashing.
The captain roared and raised his shield — too slow.
Ethan's saber shattered it like glass.
With a roar of desperation, Varek drew his sword and swung.
Ethan ducked, fluid as water, and drove his knee into Varek's gut. The man staggered back, gasping.
Ethan didn't hesitate.
He pressed the advantage, hammering Varek with a flurry of blows, each strike fueled by rage, betrayal, and the intoxicating new power surging through him.
Varek's parries grew weaker, his footing more desperate.
Ethan's Dominion Gaze hit him like a hammer.
For a brief, crucial second, Varek froze — terror naked on his face.
Ethan's blade flashed.
Blood arced through the air, and Varek collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest.
"You could have followed me," Varek gasped, coughing blood. "We could have ruled together."
Ethan tilted his head, considering.
"Maybe," he said.
Then he drove his sword through Varek's heart.
The captain gasped once — and died.
[Enemy Defeated: +100 EXP.][Dominion Points +50.][Skill Upgrade Available.]
Ethan exhaled slowly, savoring the rush of power and satisfaction.
He stood over Varek's corpse, the fires of the battlefield painting him in gold and crimson.
Above him, the Boundless System shimmered, offering paths, choices, futures.
He had been betrayed.
He had been broken.
Now... he would be unstoppable.
The world had forgotten him.
It would soon remember.
And this time, he would take everything.
Pleasure. Power. Kingdoms. Gods.
All would kneel before the Boundless Emperor.