Soul Forging System

After dying in a tunnel and waking up in hell, a system tasks a once-overlooked graphic designer named Stephen King with becoming Death itself. Lucidas, the Hollow Architect, offers him a second chance in the human world through the Death God King Tournament. This brutal competition pits one hundred chosen humans, each empowered by a Death God, against each other for the ultimate prize: supreme power, immortality, and the throne of the next King of Death. Armed with the Soul-Reaper System, a spectral weapon, and missions to collect souls, Stephen must battle corrupted spirits, rival candidates, and his own diminishing humanity. Once invisible and forgotten, he is now Death's chosen, destined for recognition. This dark fantasy features system power-ups, spirit battles, PvP tournaments, and a loner's ascent to godhood, with potential harem elements and an evolving overpowered MC. Be advised, the story contains gore and may begin with slower world-building chapters.