The Infernal Architect

Tyler's biggest regret in his whole life was the day he gave up on the only power that could change his miserable, fated life. Because he was only 16 years old and still immature and scared by the fact that turning into a demon would cause more problems than benefits.

He chose to accept his life the way it was. But who could have guessed that his fear back then erased one of the only chances for the survival of humanity? That power he was so afraid of ended up falling into the wrong hands!

With the increasing dimensional breaches and monster invasions, everyone knew that something big was about to happen, and their lives were bound to change there. Tyler thought it was none of his business at first—that the heroes and protectors from the League would do their work and stop the calamity that was about to befall them. He was one of those people who had immense hope in Daren King, the strongest and most promising hero of the time! The one who shouldered the responsibility of saving humankind from its extinction. In novel terms, Daren was essentially the protagonist, and Tyler was somewhat envious.

However, it wasn't until after Daren King was killed by the Supreme Revivalist using that power Tyler had rejected that he found out he was to blame for humankind's demise! He was the reason why he lost his parents; he was the reason why his sister was fighting and clutching onto her dear life's last straw! He was the reason why people died and were still dying...

With the death of Daren King, the hope of all humanity was lost! Now, Tyler was sitting next to his sister's deathbed watching her sleep while noises went on outside, and the TV displayed the cruel battle zone as humanity struggled on its last legs. At least he was going to die when he was right next to his sister.

"If only I had accepted the quest," Tyler sighed and turned his gaze to the window where he could see countless explosions go off in the distance.

Monsters ravaged bodies on the ground and filled the sky as they flew all over like a swarm. Countless drones also swarmed about, firing laser beams at the people below. Portals were being opened all over in random places, and very strange people with bigger taller bodies compared to normal people were emerging out of them, slaughtering everyone in their line of sight. Buildings were being sent crumbling with each passing second. The city was on fire and in rubble! It was a massacre to the highest degree! An apocalypse!

The explosions were coming closer and closer to the place where Tyler was, greatly illuminating the sky. Tyler looked at his sister bitterly with an expression filled with grief, guilt, and regret. His sister Chloe could be considered a peerless beauty; however, the current her sleeping on the bed was deathly pale and struggling to maintain her breath.

"I'm sorry, Chloe! - I am. Let's find each other in the afterlife," Tyler held Chloe's pale hands and closed his eyes as a silent tear fell down one cheek.

BOOM!!!

The next explosion happened, sending out a shockwave that destroyed everything in the vicinity, marking the end of Tyler's life.

Tyler gasped for breath as he woke up. His body was aching all over, and his face felt sore; his lips felt heavy and painful. Looking around, Tyler noticed he was in some kind of medical facility.

"What happened? How did I survive that explosion? No! Chloe! Where's Chloe?!"

After noticing that all the beds in this facility were empty except his, Tyler became extremely distressed. Struggling, he got out of bed and left the medical facility. He tried to hurry as quickly as possible so he could find Chloe, which intensified the pain in his body.

However, when he got out of the medical facility, he found himself in some hallway - a very familiar one at that. It was his old school's hallways!

"H- how did I get here?!"

The shock he felt at that moment was probably the most intense shock he had ever experienced! Now he recognized why he had a lingering feeling of deja vu!

It was only now that he realized the small differences in his body - he felt shorter and had skinnier arms! But just to make sure, he touched his face where a beard was supposed to be and it wasn't!

He had been reincarnated into his previous life!

The last day of ordinary school and also the day he found that book that offered him power!

He remembered clearly that on that day, he was severely beaten up by someone; that's why he ended up in the school's sickbay. He had wondered why his family hadn't come to pick him up from school and left him to stay there until late in the night. Then he found the book, rejected its quest, and went back home to find that his family was in the hospital after an unwelcome visit from his uncle Randolph. That bitchy uncle of his wanted to snatch away the last remnant of his family's lost prestige - their mansion!

This was the period where fate seemed to be against him.

With newfound determination burning in his eyes, Tyler slowly and steadily walked to the place where the book was buried and unearthed it.

A black book came into view. It had a very strange lock that resembled skeletal fingers.

Suddenly, a faint golden light traced itself on the front of the book and along the edges, leaving lines.

Eventually, the edges of the book were decorated with a golden intricate design that stretched inwards and a glowing golden title formed in the center of the book.

"LIBER INFERNUS"

After reading the title, Tyler didn't reach out to pick up the book and simply waited for a moment. The book abruptly rose with a humming sound and floated on the same level as Tyler's eyes, humming more violently. The skeletal fingers began to unrip the covers of the book, causing the book to hum even more fiercely as if it was excited to be free, and it developed a black smog that was evaporating from it and contaminating the air above.

The black smog was extremely menacing, coupled with the fact that he could hear miserable screams, shrieks, weeping, maniacal laughter, and sinister whispers all jumbled up together and coming from the book. It sounded awful, painful, sinister, horrific!!!

The first time Tyler stumbled upon the book, he had been so petrified by the black smog and sinister sounds that he wanted to run as far away from the book as possible. However, he couldn't move an inch due to the book's overbearing pressure.

This time he stared at the arcane book with a determined heart. He had to obtain the power within!

Once the skeletal fingers released the book covers, they disappeared into golden specks, and the book cover opened, releasing an even denser black smog, and the surroundings became eerily silent, adding a touch of deep anticipation and suspension to the scene.

Afterward, the pages started flipping one by one, increasing in pace to an extreme, filling the air with very dense black smog and contaminating the silence with that horrific sound! The horrific sound coming from the smog seemed to be amplified by the rapid flipping of pages.

An overbearing, deep, and wise angelic voice sounded from within the book.

[There was a time when celestials interacted freely with humans. They reigned over them and became gods—objects of worship meant to answer the humans' prayers. However, some of these celestials developed an affection towards the people they presided over and ended up sharing forbidden knowledge with them.

They gave humans the ability to manipulate spiritual energy, also known as mana, and introduced inventions that were not meant for that time.

The humans' selfish nature was portrayed once they accessed this knowledge; violence and wars broke out! It was a disaster!

As a result, the celestials who leaked this information were banished to Hades, and the earth was wiped out along with these inventions. The demigods who were as a result of procreation with the humans were also removed from the earth.

However, before being banished, Ramiel, a celestial of the time, wrote down his knowledge in the Liber Infernus and left it in the world.

By wielding this book, you gain access to the lost knowledge and inventions and oblige to being the new infernal architect! However, the price you must pay is your humanity. You must accept to turn into a demon and brace all its downsides. Do you consent?]

Tyler stared calmly at the book as a smirk silently rose on his lips.

"Yes!"

Just that simple word was enough to change both his and the whole world's fate!