The Abyss, the convergence of all evil in the multiverse, is also the antithesis of all that is good, beautiful, and pure.
Here, there is no friendship, no familial love, no romance—only betrayal, slaughter, and destruction.
The Demon Origin Sea, located within the Abyss, can also be referred to as the [Styx]. It traverses the infinite layers of the Abyss, representing the ultimate death and symbolizing the foundational cornerstone of the multiverse. It devours everything that approaches it; even gods who touch its crimson waters will be utterly consumed. Yet, it is also the birthplace of demons, where countless demons are born.
A crimson glow emanates from the scarlet stars in the sky, illuminating the boundless riverbanks.
As the tides of the Styx slowly recede, countless eggs are left behind.
These eggs are roughly half the height of a person, their surfaces covered in either scarlet or black patterns. Over time, they continuously expand and contract, resembling the most primal and savage fetal movements. If one listens closely, they can even hear the creatures inside emitting low growls.
A consciousness gradually awakens within one of the eggs.
"Kill, kill... hunger... kill..."
"Who... am I..."
Reason slowly overcomes the wild instincts, and fragmented memories flood his mind. They seem to belong to someone named Li Ye.
The memories are incomplete, fragmented, and intermittent, as if viewed from a third-person perspective, like watching a movie in detail.
Yet, this movie is utterly unremarkable, filled with mediocrity and ordinariness, with nothing noteworthy or memorable.
The newborn existence instinctively rejects such a life, as if it were telling him that his existence is meaningless.
At that moment, a voice echoes deep within his soul:
[Your true name: Stuart Ogrisa Asalon... Corifor Orsaka.]
And the inherited memories of a demon flood into his mind.
After a long while.
"I... am not Li Ye. I am Stuart Ogrisa Asalon... Corifor Orsaka!!!"
"I am a demon!!!"
A pair of slender, barbed claws pierce through the shell of the demon egg with a roar and a shout.
Li Ye—or rather, Stuart Ogrisa Asalon... Corifor Orsaka—emerges from the egg, becoming the first of this batch of demon eggs to hatch.
He stands at 1.4 meters tall, his head resembling a hybrid of a human and a wolf, with long, sharp canine teeth. His eyes lack whites or pupils, the entire eyeballs a blood-red hue. His limbs allow him to walk upright like a human, but he has only three fingers, each covered in scales and barbs, with razor-sharp claws. A short tail whips behind him like a whip, its sharp, gleaming tip making it clear that it is no mere decoration.
Gazing at the stars in the sky, he grits his teeth and declares, "I, Orsaka, will never live a mediocre life..."
A true name represents the foundation of a demon's existence, the essence of their being! Each demon's true name is known only to themselves. If it is fully revealed, it becomes their most fatal weakness, leaving their life and death in the hands of others. Thus, they can only use a portion of it as their public name.
The word "Olthagia" he had chosen, in the language of demons, represented the black sky.
A feeling of hunger surged within him, as if the stomach acid was about to corrode the stomach lining itself.
Shifting his gaze to the eggshell fragments at his feet, the instinct of a demon told Olthagia to consume it—it was his first meal.
Olthagia did not resist. Although his memories from his previous life as a human made him feel somewhat uncomfortable, he knew very well that he had to do it.
So he tore apart the eggshell and ate it piece by piece. As he did so, the scales on his body, which had been somewhat soft due to his recent birth, began to harden gradually, as if undergoing a transformation.
Before he could fully process the sensation of becoming stronger, a voice echoed in his ears.
[Evolution System Activated: Thank you for using it!]
At the corner of his eye, a column of information appeared.
[Host: Stuart Ogarissa Asathron...Curryfor Olthagia]
[Race/Level: Demon Race/Infant Demon]
[Strength: 5 (5)]
[Speed: 6 (5)]
[Constitution: 5 (5)]
[Magic Power: 6 (5)]
[Soul: 8 (5)]
[Talents: Soul-Devouring Evolution (evolves autonomously by continuously devouring souls), Slaughter Evolution (evolves autonomously through continuous combat and slaughter), Combat Instinct (innate strong combat talent)]
[Skills: None]
[Evolution Points: 0]
[Note: The values in parentheses represent the standard level of a normal newborn Infant Demon. Each increase in points enhances the current strength by one-fifth. For example, 6 points are one-fifth stronger than 5 points, and 7 points are one-fifth stronger than 6 points, with percentage-based enhancements.]
Looking at this information, with the memories of his past life, he immediately understood what it represented and muttered to himself, "A system? A cheat?"
His speed and magic power were relatively high, likely because his current body had a natural talent in these areas. As for his soul strength being 8 points, it was probably due to the fusion of his human soul with the demon soul.
Shifting his focus to the system, a stream of information flowed into his mind—it was the system's user guide.
After spending some time absorbing it, he understood the function of the Evolution System.
It converted the energy absorbed from slain lives into Evolution Points to enhance himself! A flash of excitement crossed his eyes, but then he remembered—wasn't Slaughter Evolution an innate ability of demons? Why did he need this system to intervene?
With a trial mindset, he first turned off the system's absorption and conversion functions. He walked over to another egg nearby, picked up a large rock, and smashed it hard, piercing its shell to reveal the underdeveloped demon inside.
The underdeveloped demon, despite the situation, was not yet dead. It struggled, glaring fiercely at Olthagia.
Expressionless, Olthagia threw a punch, crushing the demon's head and killing it instantly.
Using his demonic talent, he grasped the intangible and formless soul of the demon, picked up its corpse, and a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes as he began to feast.
The howling soul and the crimson flesh became his nourishment, laying the foundation for his growth.
As he ate, he felt the strengthening effect it had on him—a natural ability of being a demon, to evolve oneself through killing and devouring souls.
After finishing, he picked up a stone again and hurled it toward another egg.
Unlike before, this time he activated the system's absorption and conversion function.
The process was the same as before, but this time he didn't feel the slightest bit of enhancement.
However, the Evolution Points interface within the system now showed 15 points.
Ten of these points came from devouring souls, while the remaining five came from consuming flesh, meaning souls contributed the majority.
Closing his eyes, he evenly distributed these fifteen Evolution Points across his various attributes and silently made a comparison.
Soon after, the enhancement ended, and he opened his eyes, a look of pleasant surprise flashing within them.
The system's conversion efficiency was roughly twenty times that of his innate demonic abilities! This meant that with the same resources, his rate of enhancement would be at least twenty times faster than that of other demons—something an ordinary demon couldn't even dream of. Moreover, besides the basic enhancement of physical and soul strength, the system's more crucial ability was to evolve various skills by consuming Evolution Points.
The number of Evolution Points required would vary depending on the strength of the ability.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but turn his gaze toward the other Demon Eggs. Olthagia realized that his first fortune in his demonic life would come from them.
He clearly remembered that when he had just been born, the eggs on the riverbank were still quiet. But now, some of the eggs were already emitting strange noises—a sign that their bodies were nearing maturity. It wouldn't be long before new 'comrades' would emerge.
In this moment, Olthagia felt deeply moved. So, after setting the system to automatically allocate half of the Evolution Points gained from each harvest to strengthening his body and soul, while keeping the other half as reserves, he picked up a stone and began smashing the eggs one by one, starting from the nearest.
Among demons, even after gaining intelligence, there was no such thing as camaraderie. And for Infant Demons, who possessed only instinct and savagery, it was even more nonexistent. Only the strong could leave this riverbank and reach other layers of the Abyss. Those who failed would either become stepping stones for other demons or be remade when the Nether River rose again—there was no third option.
Crack! Crack! The sound of eggs breaking echoed in the corner of the riverbank, and the surrounding Demon Eggs seemed to sense the danger, becoming restless.
Olthagia chose not to consume the flesh of the demons, as eating physical flesh bite by bite was too slow—it would take several minutes to finish one, severely slowing down his efficiency. So, he opted to prioritize the bigger gains, focusing only on the demons' souls.
Formless and intangible, the souls could be compressed into a ball and devoured in one gulp—very efficient! Although he only allocated half of the Evolution Points to strengthen himself, as Olthagia continued his slaughter, he could still clearly feel himself growing stronger bit by bit. The stone he had needed both hands to lift not long ago could now be carried with one hand, and he could even hold two at once. The indescribable, wonderful sensation began to immerse him.
The crimson hue in his eyes deepened involuntarily, as his past humanity was gradually eroded by the killing instincts of an Abyssal demon. Although Olthagia was aware of this, he felt no concern. For he was now an Abyssal demon, and while brutality might influence his character, it did not affect his rationality—it was simply a part of his demonic nature.
Unlike flesh-and-blood beings such as humans, just as slaughter was the foundation of a demon's existence, emotions like cruelty, greed, and destruction were also the primary components of Olthagia's being. His very existence embodied a small fragment of the infinite evils that permeated the Multiverse.
There was no rising above the filth—he was the filth, he was evil!