The Domain of Death had never known laughter.
It had judged tyrants, consumed heroes, devoured gods. Souls came begging, sobbing, screaming. None had ever dared smirk.
Until now.
Aaron's flickering soul hovered before the throne, unbothered, unafraid. His last words echoed across the void like a challenge:
> "I came here to see what happens when Death stares back at me."
And for a moment, the silence lingered—long enough to feel like eternity itself had held its breath.
Then Death… laughed.
It wasn't cruel. It wasn't cold.
It was amused.
The entity's dark silhouette began to shift, shadows unraveling, forming something new—something almost human.
And then she stepped forward.
A woman of impossible beauty. Skin like moonlight woven into silk. Eyes deep as galaxies. Her voice, when it came, was like a lullaby sung across time.
> "You truly are something, little Devil."
Aaron, even in his ethereal state, smirked.
> "So this is it... The Queen of the End herself."
She tilted her head.
> "You speak with no fear. Most tremble. Most scream."
> "Fear?" Aaron's voice was casual, as if chatting with a bartender. "I've walked into death's door a hundred times. Figured it was time to meet the landlord."
Death paused. Then, softly—she laughed. A sound like distant wind chimes, echoing across eternity.
> "You amuse me, Devil. You... are not like the others."
She circled him, her form trailing ribbons of nebula and shadow.
> "Born in blood. Molded by betrayal. Died with a smile. And even now—you do not beg. You don't plead for another life.Just like That man who didn't embrace my gaze."
> "Because I don't want one handed to me."
"If I'm living again, it's on my terms. Same as always."
Death stopped.
> "Then let me ask you a question, Aaron."
She raised a hand. With it came weight, as if reality itself leaned in to listen.
> "If you could choose your world... if I gave you one chance to live again in a different universe u have seen in your world as manga, anime or a movie —where would you go?"
Aaron didn't pause. Not even for a second.
> "Everywhere."
The throne room went still.
Death blinked once. Then again. Her lips parted into something between awe and amusement.
> "Greedy and Ambitious."
> "You say that like it's a bad thing."Aaron Smirked.
"Very well. But power like that must be earned. Conquer your world. Stand as the absolute strongest. Only then will the multiverse unlock its doors to you."
Aaron's soul flared, as if smirking without a face. "Deal."
"Everywhere," she repeated, more to herself than him. "You seek infinity. Do you understand the madness you invite?"
"I like madness," he said. "It listens better than gods."
That earned him something—a pause. A tilt of the head. And then… the faintest smile.
"I could scatter you across time. Let you wake in a thousand worlds. Watch you burn. Watch you ascend. All of it—chaos."
"Perfect," he said.
Her fingers touched his soul—cold and fire all at once. And when they did, something ancient stirred inside him. Unlocked. But not yet awakened.
"I've laced your path with... possibility. Chance. The unknown. You won't see it coming—but when it spins, you'll know."
Aaron grinned. "Can't wait."
She stepped back. Reality cracked beneath her.
She took a step forward. Reality folded under her bare foot. With a single motion, she traced a circle into the air—runes flaring to life in ancient tongues not meant for living minds.
"Very well, little devil," she said, the amusement clear now. "Then I shall choose where your story resumes."
Aaron blinked. "Wait—you're choosing?"
Death's smile deepened. "Did you think 'everywhere' was an answer? Tsk."
She reached toward him, and with the grace of a queen and the mischief of a god, shoved his soul backward.
"You wanted everything," she said, pushing him into the swirling spiral that had torn open beneath them. "Let's start with my favorite."
Aaron began to fall—light warping around him, heat and cold lashing at his soul.
Aaron fell.
Not through space. Not through air.
He fell through realities.
Time fractured—spinning in different directions. He could feel his soul stretching, warping, pulled by unseen forces into a spiral of endless possibilities. Colors bled into each other—burning reds, deep blues, starlight white, and ghostly shadows. And in the midst of it all, emotions flooded him—rage, fear, confusion—other people's pain, joy, and memories tangled with his own.
And then—
A sound.
Faint, mechanical, like the hum of machinery powered by unseen hands.
> [SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
Aaron's mind latched onto the sound, sharp as ever. "Took you long enough," he muttered, even as he plummeted into the infinite void.
The voice answered, calm but with an undertone of curiosity.
> "…Unusual response detected. Synchronizing with host consciousness."
Lines of golden code rained down around him like light through darkness, curving around his soul. A system that felt too familiar, too human-like.
> [Soul Signature Confirmed.]
Name: Aaron
Designation: Unknown
Alignment: Inconsistent
"Adaptive framework activated."
Aaron's smirk deepened. "Damn right. I don't fit into your boxes."
The system paused. A subtle shift, like it was pondering his words.
> "Acknowledged."
The mechanical tone faded slightly, replaced by something warmer—almost sentient. Almost alive.
> "Welcome back, Aaron."
Golden threads wrapped around him, stitching into his very essence. Something ancient, primal, and waiting beneath his skin stirred—familiar, but not quite the same as before.
> [WORLD: SOLO LEVELING]
Target environment: Active.
Host body acquired.
Vital signs: Fading.
Physical integrity: Critical.
Reawakening sequence: Pending.
Shadow Sovereignty: Unclaimed.
Gacha Protocol: Unlocked.
Rewards available: Templates, Skills, Items, Armor, Knowledge, Blueprints, Technology.
Gacha Roll: Available after fulfilling certain conditions.
> Quest: Locked.
> Store:Locked.
Currency:???
Aaron blinked, disoriented by the swirl of information rushing through him. "So, now you give me a damn quest?"
The system's response was almost amused.
> "Yes. Survive. Conquer. And we will see what comes next."
Aaron felt his body shift in the void, reality snapping into place. He could feel the familiar weight of his form returning, his bones aching from the force of the fall. But there was no pain—just a gnawing hunger, a need to move.
> "Gacha Protocol: Unsealed. Choose your reward after fulfilling conditions."
Golden light began to flicker around him. Something distant tugged at him, like a beckoning. The Gacha system awaited his first move—but it was waiting for the right moment.
With a smirk that only grew in satisfaction, Aaron could already sense that things were about to get interesting.
------------
While Aaron was falling through the abyss, elsewhere, a slaughterhouse had taken shape. The hunters who entered the gate had found a door inside the dungeon, and they were eager to explore it in hopes of finding treasure. But they never expected that this would be their last gate adventure.
After entering the gate, what occurred was nothing short of a nightmare. After everything, Jinwoo, who was left alone in the room after sending Mr. Kim and Joohee out and giving her a mana stone, was overwhelmed by an unbearable sense of hopelessness. His leg was torn, the pain searing through him, but even worse was the feeling of impending doom. Joohee, desperate to save him, tried to heal him with the last of her strength, but time was running out. Despite her efforts, the wounds wouldn't heal fast enough.
Mr. Kim, seeing that Joohee was struggling and that their time was running short, had no choice but to knock her out and carry her, hoping that he could find a way to survive this hellish nightmare. But for Jinwoo, it was already too late.
Only one thought echoed in his mind, a fragile plea, "I can't die here..." As the statues moved closer, their presence like a crushing weight on his chest, Jinwoo's mind spiraled. He thought about his sister, his mother in eternal slumber, and the crushing loneliness that seemed to envelop him in this moment of impending doom. His despair was suffocating, his heart heavy with the fear of never seeing them again.
The statues grew closer, their cold, lifeless eyes locked onto him. Just as the statue wielding a sword was about to strike, Jinwoo's vision blurred, and for a moment, he was lost in the overwhelming darkness of his own helplessness, blanking out in the face of his inevitable end.
And then, in that moment of despair, a new presence took root. Aaron's soul, still drifting aimlessly in the abyss after his death, found the broken, fading remnants of Jinwoo's consciousness. The two souls collided in a brief, intense clash—one full of cold determination, the other lost in the haze of defeat.
As Jinwoo's life force began to flicker out, Aaron's soul seized control. There was no grand surge of power—just a quiet, inevitable takeover. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Aaron's mind came back to life. His senses, clouded by the fog of the afterlife, sharpened as he took in his new surroundings.
Opening his eyes, Aaron immediately felt the weight of the body he now inhabited. His leg was torn, the pain sharp and unbearable. Blood pooled around him, the remnants of a battle fought to the very end. He had never imagined being reborn like this, in such a fragile state.
His thoughts were a whirlwind as he processed the situation, his new surroundings, and the death of the person whose body he now controlled. He stared at Jinwoo's body, now devoid of life, and felt something stir within him. It wasn't grief. It wasn't loss. It was something deeper, a cold recognition that this was a new beginning.
Aaron, who had been a huge fan of Jinwoo and Solo Leveling, easily recognized where he was. The dungeon, the statues... it all felt oddly familiar. His heart swelled with an unexpected sense of satisfaction as he realized the significance of the situation. He was in a place that held endless potential, a place where his future could become boundless. After all, he would soon inherit the powers of the "greatest fragment of brilliant light" and the strongest of monarchs—the Shadow Monarch.
But before all of that, his attention shifted back to the immediate danger. He saw the sword descending upon his laid-back body, and a sense of calm washed over him. For the Devil who had known no fear, this was nothing to be afraid of. He had faced countless threats in his past life, and this was no different. In fact, he knew exactly what was happening.
He understood the sequence. The moment the sword would near him to strike, his system from the Architect would activate, just like it had for Jinwoo. He had seen the manhwa, and he knew how everything would unfold.
Just as the sword neared, the air seemed to freeze, and the blade's descent slowed dramatically. Aaron smirked to himself. The sword's movement wasn't stopped—it was being held back, delayed, in order to facilitate the activation of the system. This was the moment when everything would change.
But there was one key difference—one advantage Aaron had that Jinwoo never did: the gacha system. His golden finger.
A sense of certainty filled Aaron's mind. He had never relied on luck or chance in his previous life, but this was different. This was his chance to gain power like no other. Steadying his thoughts, he called out in his mind, summoning his system.
"System"...
Aaron's body throbbed with pain, his leg torn and bleeding, but his mind was sharp. He steadied his breathing and called out, "System, initialize."
"Warning: Vital signs critical. Vitality decreasing rapidly. Immediate action required."
The voice was cold, robotic, and unrelenting.
"System successfully initialized. Welcome, user: Aaron."
The interface appeared before him, and the system's voice continued, devoid of emotion.
"Store: Currently locked. Access will be granted after completing initial quest."
Aaron's mind raced, but he couldn't waste time. His eyes darted to the quest window.
"Quest Window: A list of quests will be available upon meeting specific conditions."
Finally, the main function appeared—the Gacha.
"Main Function: Gacha. Use points to summon abilities, items, or other assets. Points can be earned through quests and actions. Proceed with caution: The Gacha system operates on luck."
Aaron grinned despite the pain. He knew what came next.
"You have 1 free pull available.
Inventory: Unlimited capacity."
His heartbeat quickened, the chance to pull something powerful was in his grasp. But then, the system added more details.
"Main Function Details: You may summon a variety of assets including:
Items (Weapons, Armor, Artifacts, Potions)
Skills (Active, Passive, Supportive)
Technologies (Mystical, Scientific, Hybrid)
Familiars (Summonable creatures with varying abilities)
Character Templates (Templates across the multiverse)
Trash ...
And much more…"
Aaron's eyes gleamed with excitement. Templates from across the multiverse? The possibilities were endless.
"You are now ready to perform your first summon. Proceed with first pull."
He didn't hesitate. "Summon."