Reincarnated with the Country System

Alberto wiped the dust from his face, his pulse pounding like war drums. He could still hear it—IN'THERAK's laughter. It lingered in the air, a wound that refused to close. His hands trembled, blood slick between his fingers, and he forced himself to focus—on anything but the devastation that surrounded him.

Circe was muttering to herself, her hands stained crimson. Around them, the survivors—what few remained—were huddled together, too stunned to do anything but stare at the ruined landscape. Broken bodies littered the ground, and the air stank of charred flesh and molten stone.

A new notification seared

> DIVINE INTERVENTION DETECTED

ENTITY: LESSER GOD OF STRIFE & DOMINION

MESSAGE: "YOU OWE ME A FAVOR, MORTAL."

Alberto scoffed, wiping blood from his lip. "Stop your fucking bullshit! I want to know how he got free. It was impossible to break his seal without the key—right?"

The voice was harsh, crackling like stones grinding together. "He didn't break the seal. He's still trapped in the Chest of Eternal. He's never been out of it. But if you don't stop him now, it won't take long to break the seal. He's going for the key now—if he gets all four keys, he'll turn this world into hell."

Alberto gritted his teeth, mind racing. "Then how do I stop him?"

"It's easy. He's in a weak state now. Destroy his vassal. The body he's in. But be careful. You have to destroy the body in one go. Otherwise, he might recover it like before. He can't be given a second chance. Now the fate of your empire and the others is up to you."

And just like that, the presence vanished. Alberto clenched his fists, adrenaline ripping through his veins. He knew what he had to do.

....

IN'THERAK soared through the sky, the fractured wings of reality bleeding abyssal energy with every beat. The wind howled in agony at its passing, the ground below shriveling and cracking. Mountains bowed, trees withered, and rivers boiled into thick, choking steam. The land itself seemed to beg for mercy.

It had been so long.

So many centuries, chained in the Eternal, rotting away as lesser gods flaunted their pathetic influence. The mortals had forgotten the old terror—the agony of existence when it walked the land. Now, the sky lay beneath it—crushed and subservient, just as it should be. Its hunger had slept for too long.

IN'THERAK's slit-mouth curled upward—mocking what might have once been a smile. The mortal realm. So vibrant. So pitiful.

It could still taste the echoes of godfire that had destroyed Caspian's body—burnt bone, liquefied soul. A powerful flame, but nothing compared to true divine fury.

"The world has changed," it whispered, voice slithering through the air. "Pale shadows rule it now. Lesser deities and mortal worms. Is this the realm I once ravaged?"

It thought of the Eldest—Va'Kesh, Orzai, Tzeriel—all still chained, their power but a whisper on the wind. They had hated it. Feared it. Because it had no need for their schemes and whispers. It shattered prophecies, sundered destinies. Where they dreamt of order and balance, IN'THERAK craved chaos and dominance.

"Mortals still grovel like ants... Just as they did when I last walked this world. Weak. Broken. Easily discarded."

Its wings flared, sending shockwaves across the sky. "You always despised me, didn't you? Because I never cared for your laws. I never bent to your fragile notions of fate."

It looked down at the burning wreckage below, eyes blazing with malevolent glee. "And those fools Va'Kesh, Orzai, Tzeriel... Still trapped, still dreaming of their release. Useless cowards."

With a thought, it tore open a wound in reality itself—a rift bleeding corruption. Through it, the monsters crawled. Grotesque, misshapen things—limbs at wrong angles, eyes melting like candle wax. Twisted abominations of flesh and shadow, howling as they clawed their way into existence. A horde, born from IN'THERAK's presence alone.

"You will devour," it commanded. "This world will know ruin once more."

.....

The Bernard Empire's aircraft—MiG-21 interceptors—roared through the sky, their pilots staring in disbelief at the radar. The target wasn't just fast—it was an unholy blur, a smear of darkness against the morning light.

"Control, this is Bravo-One. Target spotted—Holy Mother of God—it's... it's like nothing I've ever seen!"

The response crackled through the radio. "Engage immediately. Do not let it reach Rafa. Repeat: Do not let it reach the capital!"

"Roger that. Engaging now!"

The squadron formed up, launching heat-seeking missiles—four streaks of fire aimed straight at the abomination. The projectiles closed in—

IN'THERAK didn't even move. The darkness around it simply consumed the explosions, leaving nothing but silence.

"Bravo-One, target is still airborne! Repeat—missiles ineffective!"

The pilots cursed, breaking formation, strafing with autocannons. Bullets rained down, tearing through the air—useless. IN'THERAK didn't bother dodging. A sweep of its arm, and the aircraft disintegrated—pulled into a void of writhing shadow.

More cracks appeared along the sky, and from them poured the monsters. Raptors with bone blades instead of wings, serpentine horrors coiling midair, screaming like rusted metal grinding together. One pilot managed to eject before his plane imploded, but a raptor-beast caught him in mid-fall—tearing him apart with beak and blade. Blood rained from the sky.

IN'THERAK did not laugh. It did not even care. To it, the Empire's response was a fly swatting at a storm. Its destination was clear—Rafa. The capital. The palace. The keys.

"I will open the gates of hell itself," it growled, voice like molten iron dragging through gravel. "This world will rot. I will feast on gods and men alike. There will be no dawn—only endless, suffocating night."

It knew the humans would keep coming—sending their pathetic armies and machines. Let them. Let the world remember true fear. Let them feel the despair that had slumbered for centuries.

The sky fractured further—an omen of the coming apocalypse. IN'THERAK reached out, and darkness answered—shaping into colossal hands of shadow that crushed mountains and shattered valleys. Nothing could stop it now.

Nothing would stand between the Fractured Star and its dominion.