I was Reborn as a God Candidate in a Dead World

The Fleshbinder moved with the wet, uncanny grace of something that had forgotten what bones were. Each step squelched. Each twitch of his fingers tugged on the veined strands that connected him to the walls, the corpses, the vats of gore he called art.

"Keep your distance," Abel warned, eyes sharp. "He's not like the Puppet."

Noah didn't answer—he was already moving, his body a blur of speed he hadn't known before. He rolled to the side just as a tendon-whip slashed through the air where his head had been, the impact shattering a chunk of stone wall behind him.

God, I'm fast now, Noah thought, almost laughing from the high of it. Is this what Tier 2 means?

Abel charged forward, steel flashing. The mage snarled and sent a tendril of spine toward him. Abel ducked and sliced it mid-air, the motion fluid, practiced. Behind him, Noah sent a barrage of explosive cards—three in quick succession.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Chunks of blood-flesh scattered, sizzling on impact. The mage shrieked, not in pain but something like delight.

Noah's heartbeat pounded with a rhythm he hadn't felt before. Everything was clear. Each thread of muscle the mage sent whipping through the air, every shifting pulse of the cursed corpses clinging to the corners—he could see it all.

His mind raced, but it wasn't panic. It was calculation.

This was Tier 2. This was power.

And he hadn't even used his luck yet.

He pulled a breath. Flicked his fingers. The Tarot deck at his side shimmered with familiar warmth.

SKILL ACTIVATED — DRAW ONE

A card did not appear in the air. Not in the literal sense. Instead—

A shimmer. A shift in reality.

Words burned across his vision:

Boon of the Forgotten Veil

Those who were unseen shall watch over you. For the next 10 minutes, damage taken is halved, and enemies find it harder to detect your presence. Your shadow moves ahead of you.

Status: Blessing (Luck-Based Effect)

Origin: High Favor, Minor Interference Detected

The moment the words faded, the air shimmered faintly around him. His shadow twisted unnaturally, flickering like a cloak pulled forward.

"Nice," Noah whispered. "I could kiss whoever coded that."

And then he was moving again.

This time he dove straight through a hail of blood-knives flung from the mage's outstretched hand. They passed just behind him, slowed, confused by the flickering aura of the blessing.

He rolled, came up on one knee, and launched another card.

This one burst in pure, blinding light, searing the twisted tissue clinging to the ceiling.

"Left!" he shouted.

Abel didn't hesitate. He cut through a mass of slithering tendons as they lunged for Noah's throat, his blade now wet and steaming with gore. The two moved like pieces of a mechanism—fluid, complementary. Abel held the front, his blade absorbing the brunt of each attack, while Noah darted in and out of the field like a phantom, launching magical cards that split through bone and marrow.

The mage was strong. His screams turned into echoes, summoning grotesque half-made constructs from the walls—blended bodies of knights, animals, and servants. One leapt forward with spider limbs and a face stretched like wax.

"Gross!" Noah snapped, slicing through it with a kinetic card burst. "Zero out of ten!"

Another lunged from the side. Abel met it head-on with a brutal shoulder slam, then cleaved it in half.

But even with all that—

The Fleshbinder kept coming.

"Children…" the mage rasped, his voice layering over itself like a choir of pain. "So fragile. So perfect. I will remake you both—"

"God, shut up!" Noah roared and hurled a fire-tarot.

It struck the mage square in the chest.

And exploded.

The blast flung him back, tearing sinew from stone. Abel followed it up with a downward strike of pure fury. His sword cut deep—deep enough to sever one of the mage's main tether-veins that stretched into the wall.

The whole lab shook.

The mage screamed.

Veins snapped. The twisted constructs twitched and collapsed. The vats shattered.

A final, desperate whip of tendons lashed toward Noah.

Abel moved on instinct—blocking it.

The mage staggered, form unraveling.

Noah took one last step forward. Raised a single card. And whispered:

"…This one's for the screaming meat jars, asshole."

He released the card.

It sliced through the mage's core and detonated.

SYSTEM NOTICE

MAJOR BOSS DEFEATED: THE RED ALCHEMIST

Reward: 12,000 EXP

You have leveled up!

Level: 31

Noah stumbled back.

Abel stood still, chest heaving, blade dripping.

The lab went silent.

"…That was cleaner than last time," Noah breathed.

Abel wiped his sword. "You didn't almost die. That helped."

Noah gave a crooked grin. "Yeah. New me is a little harder to kill."

The silence after a fight like that didn't feel victorious.

It felt... hollow.

The room still pulsed faintly, as if the death of the Fleshbinder hadn't erased the memory of what happened here. Twisted slabs of red-glazed marble, shattered tanks still leaking thick fluid, and corpses that had stopped twitching but not stopped existing.

Noah didn't speak. Neither did Abel.

Until—

Click.

A metallic snap echoed from the far wall, near a hidden alcove now slowly unfolding like a locked jaw coming loose. A box. Ornate. Black steel trimmed with tarnished silver. The system didn't say anything this time—but they didn't need it to.

Abel stepped forward, eyes sharp. He opened it.

Inside was a full set of armor.

Dark, regal. Heavy knight plating marked with golden veins of an unfamiliar metal. The chest piece was etched with faded engravings—Abel's family crest, but older. Cracked. It shimmered faintly with enchantments.

Noah whistled. "Now that is hot."

Abel ignored the comment, lifting the armor piece by piece. A notification shimmered for both of them:

ITEM ACQUIRED: Sable Ward of the Fallen Prince

Type: Heavy Armor (Bound to Abel)

Bonus: +8 Endurance, +6 Strength

Passive Effect: Damage Reduction vs Necrotic Attacks +25%

Abel stared down at it for a moment, then looked at Noah.

Noah shrugged. "You earned it. You did save me from the last meat-whip."

Abel smirked faintly—faintly—and began equipping the armor piece by piece.

Noah turned, scanning the rest of the ruined lab.

Among the shattered bookshelves and broken glass, something caught his eye.

A leather-bound notebook. Mostly intact.

He picked it up, flipped through the pages—

"Uh. Definitely not English. Or Common. Or whatever language this world pretends to use."

Abel stepped beside him and took the notebook.

His eyes scanned it.

Then his face changed.

He grew still.

"Noah," he said, voice low. "This is their ritual."

Noah blinked. "Ritual?"

Abel nodded, flipping another page. "They didn't just curse my father. They bound the curse to themselves. Their own souls are part of the spell. As long as even one lives, the curse endures. My father can't die. He can't be freed."

"Which means," Noah said slowly, "if we kill all three…"

"The curse breaks. He can finally rest. The castle might be freed."

A moment passed. Noah nodded. "One to go."

And then—

HIDDEN QUEST UNLOCKED

Title: Echoes Unraveled

Objective: Defeat the Three Hollow Weavers

Progress: 2 / 3 Eliminated

Final Target: ??? (Location: Unknown)

Reward: ???

Noah exhaled slowly. "Figures the last one gets a dramatic entrance."

He looked to Abel. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Abel's gaze hardened. "The one in the library. The first you saw. He was the leader."

Noah cracked his neck.

"Well then. Let's go pay a librarian a very overdue visit."