The Unbound System: A Dark Awakening - Chapter 1

The Unbound System: A Dark Awakening

The cold, metallic tang of blood hung thick in the air, mingling with the acrid stench of burning rubble. Shadows danced wildly in the flickering light of the fires that devoured the once-proud city of Ryosa. Among the ruins, a lone figure staggered forward, his breaths ragged, each exhale a fleeting wisp of vapor in the chilling night air.

Kaito hadn’t meant to survive. Not after what he’d done.

Chapter 1: The System That Betrayed

The System, they said, was a gift from the gods, a blessing bestowed upon humanity to elevate them beyond their mortal limits. For Kaito, it had been a curse.

He had awakened his System at the age of sixteen, like everyone else. The glowing blue screen had hovered before him, a harbinger of untold potential. Its words, sharp and unwavering, had seared themselves into his mind.

System Detected: Unbound Chaos Protocol Activated.

While others gained abilities tied to elemental affinities, combat prowess, or support roles, Kaito’s System was different. It whispered to him, its voice a serpentine hiss, promising him power beyond comprehension. All he had to do was obey.

At first, it had seemed harmless. The System guided him to hunt beasts in the Wastes, its instructions precise and unerring. With each kill, he grew stronger, more attuned to its dark rhythm. He ascended faster than anyone in his generation, earning the envy of his peers and the wary admiration of the guilds.

But then came the demands.

“Sacrifice her,” the System had instructed one moonless night, its tone colder than the void. The target was Ayaka, a healer in his party and the only one who had treated him like more than a weapon. He had hesitated, and the System had punished him. Pain, raw and unrelenting, tore through his body, his very bones burning as if molten lead coursed through them.

“Obey,” it hissed again. And so, with trembling hands, he obeyed.

Ayaka’s lifeless body had crumpled at his feet, her blood staining his blade. The System rewarded him with new abilities, but the taste of power was ash in his mouth. From that day, Kaito became a fugitive, hunted not only by those he once called allies but by the System itself.