Demonic Ascension System

A piece of what to expect: Before you read another word, know this: Hero isn't a hero. The front gates of the Demon Lord's fortress exploded open. Shattered wood and twisted iron flew inward, skidding across the stone courtyard in a spray of sparks. Through the settling smoke and the driving rain, a single figure emerged. Hero stood in the center of the shattered gateway. A simple white shirt hung over his lean frame, already translucent and heavy from the storm. His eyes weren't human anymore. They were glowing a violent, predatory red that cut through the gray mist. The courtyard was already swarming. Dozens of faceless soldiers in dark, heavy armor turned as one, their hollow visors fixing on the intruder. "Intruder!" a voice bellowed from the high watchtower. The soldiers charged, a pool of rusted steel and mindless hate rushing across the slick cobblestones. Hero didn't flinch. He slowly drew his right hand from his pocket. The mouth in his palm was wide open, its jagged teeth gnashing in anticipation. "Expanded Domain." The shadows on the ground stretched, then spread in a quick burst. Every ounce of darkness in the courtyard, amplified by the storm, rose up like a tidal wave. Then the whips came. Jagged tendrils of dark matter lashed out, tearing through iron armor, ripping limbs and shattering helmets with sickening, wet cracks. Hero dropped to one knee in the mud. He spat a thick glob of black ichor into the dirt. The shadows receded. The soldiers were gone. Only the rain remained. Hero is sixteen years old. He is half-demon. His father named him Hero to be a savior. The world gave him a different name: Hellrose. The bloom of hell. It's a name whispered in the Abyss that makes demons hesitate and hunters look away. His father force-fed him a demon core when he was eight. Hero killed him to stop the madness. The only person who ever saw the boy behind the monster was Elphie. She dragged him down a playground slide. She sat with him on the swings as the sun set. She asked him what he would do if she ever disappeared. He said he didn't know. She called him an idiot. He told her even the universe couldn't keep them apart. She gave him a bracelet with their initials—H x E. Eight years ago, she disappeared in a fire Hero thinks he started. She isn't dead. She's trapped in a dimension he can't reach yet. He wears her second bracelet next to his own. The constant click of the beads against his wrist is the only thing that reminds him why he's still breathing. The world wants to burden him. They have no idea what they're messing with. The hunters want a savior. The demons want a king. Hero wants to burn it all down. If both sides have to go up in flames for him to find peace, he'll strike the match himself. He carries a parasite named Migu in his right palm—a mouth full of needle teeth and a sick sense of humor. Hero isn't sure where the demon ends and he begins, and he's stopped caring. He is the Shadow Archetype. He belongs to no side. He's done being a vessel. He's going to the top, and he's taking the whole world with him.