Reincarnated as the Last Villain

The map was carved in Meras' last breath — lines drawn in light, fading fast, burned into Nilo's skin before the soul left him.

It pointed to one place:Blackgarde.

Once a city of divine pilgrimage. Now... no one spoke its name without spitting or whispering. They said it swallowed angels, that its mountains bled ash, and that its gates were sealed by time itself.

They were wrong.

The gates were open.

Waiting.

Kael's team was small:

Kael, leading with blade and memory.

Vaenira, silent, face unreadable, but fingers always near her dagger.

Nilo, armed with runes, charms, and fear he tried to hide.

Two scouts from the mountain tribes, paid in silver and silence.

Their goal: reach the Soulforge, destroy Zerath's resurrection engine, and uncover the core of the Remnant ritual before it reached irreversible scale.

The Descent

They reached Blackgarde at twilight.

Stone towers half-sunken into ash.

Statues of winged gods, weeping obsidian tears.

The gates opened with a whisper — not pushed, but welcoming.

Inside: silence.

No birds. No wind. Only cold that seeped into the bones.

[Location: Soulforge Ruins – Outer Circle]Threat Level: ExtremeAtmosphere: Null magic field active. Arcane spells weakened.Objective: Infiltrate the lower sanctum and destroy the heart chamber.

The Echoing Steps

As they walked, their footsteps echoed like screams.Walls carved with prayers — each line crossed out with blood.Shrines torn apart, replaced by mechanical altars of brass and blackstone.

"This place was holy once," Nilo whispered.

"Now it's worse than cursed," Vaenira replied.

They passed a gate where a symbol still glowed.

Kael froze.

It was the mark of the gods who once anointed him.

They had burned it off him long ago.

But it still answered his blood.

Suddenly — motion.

A figure emerged from the shadows, walking with a limp.

Clad in priest robes, but face covered in soot and metal chains.

"You came," it rasped. "He said you would."

"Who are you?" Kael demanded.

The priest laughed — a sound like cracking bone.

"I am the Warden of the Forge.And I was once like you — before I chose fire."

Soulforge Warden – Boss Encounter

The battle was brutal.

The Warden unleashed flame sigils that burned not flesh — but memories.Kael forgot his mother's face.Nilo forgot the name of his first teacher.Vaenira forgot the night she escaped Zerath.

Pain without blood.

But Kael endured — not because he was stronger.

But because he remembered what he refused to forget.

He drove his blade into the Warden's throat and whispered:

"You don't get to erase us."

[Boss Defeated: Soulforge Warden]Memories partially restored.Access unlocked: Core Chamber of the Forge.New Relic Acquired: Flame of Reclamation – A divine spark that may purify corrupted souls.

The Forge Core

They entered the heart of Blackgarde.

A great sphere of metal and bone, suspended above a chasm of souls.

Thousands of names screamed in Kael's head — voices of the Remnants.Begging. Cursing. Pleading.

Then a voice deeper than all others spoke:

"Kael Valen.You are too late.The forge has already begun."

"And now… you will be the next template."

From the sphere emerged a being of flame and armor.

But not Zerath.

It was something older.

A guardian bound by the gods themselves — now corrupted.

Its voice carried the echo of Kael's old commander.