Nine Realms

A man stood at the edge of a cliff, looking over the vast expanse of the valley below as the storm raged on.

He was a tall figure that towered over six feet with muscles rippling beneath his pale white skin. His piercing royal purple eyes seemed to take in every detail of the vast landscape before him.

He could see the storm clouds gathering in the distance, their ominous forms swirling and churning as if they were writhing masses of violently thrashing beings.

"They stirred chaos and desperation with calamities, just to let loose the monsters to inflict true terror? Like always, they're cruel bastards!" The man said in an impassive voice as he calmly looked over the valley.

The valley was filled with an evergreen forest and several cities that were connected through streets like a giant cobweb.

His voice was deep and full, with a strong, steady tone that conveyed his confidence.

The man appeared to be unmoved despite the calamities nature brought forth, nor did he try to distance himself from the cracks in space that were like giant fissures, torn open in the fabric of the Universe itself.

'What nutjobs!'

There were various kinds of monstrous existences that emerged from the depths of the fissures, but even that didn't affect the man.

His eyes fell on a horde that was massive and intimidating, with razor-sharp teeth that glinted whenever the lightning crackled.

A few were covered in heavy, armored plates, while others were slender and agile, moving with deadly grace and bloodlust the moment their feets touched the wet ground.

As the monsters kept swarming through the fissures in space, it was clear that they had not appeared on Earth due to a coincidence.

They had been summoned for a greater purpose, and they marched straight toward the cities to fulfill the only purpose of their life!

Meanwhile, a voice resounded in the minds of all the living beings on Earth.

[Initiating the Arcane System.]

The voice was mechanic and had no trace of emotion.

'What a shitty voice...can I return you?'

[The grace period denounced from the Great Unification of the Nine Realms has expired. Earth, also known as Haltan, will now face the threat of the Nine Realms.]

[The Arcane System will provide the necessary substances to reassure that the planet Haltan will receive sufficient Arcane Power and Mass to overcome the conquest of the Nine Realms.]

[Current Power level of the Planet's Lifeforms: None. The lacking Arcane Power will be substituted through permanent Rifts of a suitable level!]

[Highest Power Le–...]

"Shut it, System." The man said sharply, his voice cutting through the pouring rain.

The Arcane System obeyed his command and abruptly fell silent, freeing the man from the hassle of continuing to listen to all the explanations and the Tutorials.

Being one of the Invaders himself, he was not in need of the explanation that was only helpful to the intelligent lifeforms of Haltan.

The explanations would clearly illustrate how Arcane System worked, why the Nine Realms invaded Haltan, and that their life would be turned upside down from today onward.

If death was a distant stranger before it was bound to become your closest friend and most feared enemy from today onward!

"Should I go down as well now, or would it be better to conquer this little annoying thing first?" He mumbled to himself, while his hand ran through his slick wet black hair, pushing it back as he looked at the ominous tower that had materialized not even a hundred meters next to him.

Its ancient stones had risen up from the earth before the fissures in space were created.

Taking a step closer to the tower, he could feel the weight of centuries weighing down upon his shoulders, the darkness emanating from within spreading all over the small mountain range.

"A Tower that leads down deep into the ground with no way of escape, a place where only death and desperation hides, created by a Devil to get rid of a Devil…" The man mumbled, his chest heaving up and down and his fists clenched tightly.

The man stared at the ominous ground tower with loathing and anger.

There was a fire in his eyes, a blazing conviction that fueled him with the energy to keep moving forward even after the incidents of the past.

The marks of the past were still jarringly clear and fresh in his mind with a visceral intensity but the man did not allow himself to forget them, for they would allow him to become strong enough to gain what he wanted most; Freedom and Revenge!

Entering the Tower would be the best retaliation for everything that had happened to him until now but he knew that now was not the right time.

Despite working relentlessly all his life, he could clearly feel how weak he had become.

"Status!"

A blue holographic screen with several important pieces of information appeared in front of him, and the man's eyes creased in response, while the black horn jutting out of his forehead gleamed dangerously.

"This slut of a mother…"