"You've failed!" The speaker was no longer recognizable as human. His face was a network of cracks filled with flames, reminiscent of ocean waves, but aflame. "Why have you betrayed mankind?" "Why did I betray mankind? Isn't it obvious? Because I want to become a god," the figure declared arrogantly. He lowered his gaze to the man sprawled before him, bloodied and battered. The man was in his sixties; his hair had turned white, and wrinkles lined his face. But there was something remarkable about him, a defiant spark in his eyes. "God? Do you think you're a god now?" the man rasped, seemingly stalling for time against the menacing figure. "Ha, of course not. But I'm on the brink of gaining that immense power." "Ah, Lucius. I know you cherished this land. You fought for forty years, serving the people. Now look at us, the last humans on this planet. Everyone you loved is dead, Lucius." "To hell with you." Mustering the last of his strength, the elderly man tried to rise, reac
Lucius knew that the energy in his body was limited, despite having obtained energy absorption techniques from the painting world."How do I gather that much energy?""I will teach you... but you'll need to do something in return later.""Do something?"Caught in an intense situation, Nio, the girl, blushed slightly."I know this world will be destroyed. All I want is to experience love-making."Lucius' mouth gaped open, not expecting to hear such a request amid the chaos."Are you... serious?""I'm serious," she replied firmly. Lucius sighed, considering the bizarre world he found himself in to be part of an unreal memory."Alright... then how do I harness this cold energy?""Follow me!"Nio swiftly took Lucius's hand, leading him away. Lucius was speechless; Nio seemed to be driven by a passionate desire.Not far away, the rampage of the rat-headed nega continued. As it ravaged everything, Nio guided Lucius to an underground cave.Inside the dimly lit cavern, Nio swiftly threw somet
"Red Lightning!" he shouted, stomping his foot to create an enormous repulsion force, launching them far from the hill. They spun several times mid-air to maintain momentum before landing near a dense forest. "Is it due to the cold core? I feel my technique is improving," Lucius mused, feeling his power increase. "Graahh!" "Damn it!" Lucius cursed, quickly surrounding himself and Nio with black lightning to shield them from the blazing flames that incinerated the surrounding trees. "Why is it so fast?" he growled, glancing upwards to meet the creature's gaze, seemingly tracking them with deliberate intent. "Wait, if I recall correctly, the painting world was similar. Each world has a hero," Lucius considered, clutching the agdis. "Does that mean Nio is this world's heroine?" he thought hard. But his pondering was interrupted as he had to dodge a thrown stone from the monster with the help of his Red Lightning. "Booommm" Trees were uprooted and the bizarre fire's heat intensified
The magic of ice seemed to cause several glasses of water to freeze instantly. The ice was shattered by a woman, none other than Nio's mother, and mixed with the fruit juice they had on hand. "Unique, and fresh," said Lucius. The man and woman who were Nio's parents, smiled widely. "So, when are you getting married?" Nio's father asked again, causing Nio to puff up her cheeks in annoyance. "Dad, don't ask me that again," she huffed, quickly grasping Lucius' hand to leave the room after finishing their drinks made by Nio's mother. "Where are we going?" asked a surprised Lucius. The girl just smiled mysteriously. However, not long after that, Nio finally disclosed their destination. "Do you see that hill over there? That's my favorite place. I'm going to show you something interesting from there," the girl announced cheerfully. Lucius, whose hand was being eagerly tugged, felt like a boy being dragged into play by a friend. "From what I've seen, there doesn't seem to be anyone th
"Augh," the young man squealed as the girl's hand pressed against his back. A terrible cold aura seemed to enter every cell in his body, causing the young man's lips to suddenly turn purple. His vision blurred, but he could still hear the girl shouting repeatedly, "Control that energy. Otherwise, you'll die!" As she shouted, she continued to pump cold energy into his body. "What the hell?" Lucius inwardly grumbled, looking at his fingertips which had started to turn black earlier, his fingernails and toenails now turning purple. "Do I have frostbite?" he pondered as he lost the feeling in his hands and feet. "Control it, control the aura, and form a new core in your body," the girl hollered once more, causing Lucius to risk his life yet again. -- "Augh," the two people collapsed under the hot sun, drenched in sweat, the girl's curves made even more evident. This seemed to be a terrifying journey for Lucius, who was practicing this cold energy technique. Several times, he felt
If Lucius thought everything was fine, then apart from the oddity where the right and left of his body were switched, he began to realize that his guess was wrong. Suddenly, four strange figures appeared around him. They seemed to smell the scent of Lucius' body, and the four figures that were clearly not human looked at him lustfully. Their heads resembled the heads of large rats, with small and slender bodies that looked emaciated without clothes. Even their breastbones were sticking out, as if the creatures had been starving for a long time. "This is disgusting," Lucius muttered in amazement at the sight of such figures. They looked like large rats standing on two legs, with red eyes that flashed Lucius' shadow as if they were stalking him. "Grrrr" "Rowwrr" The monsters suddenly jumped at Lucius, trying to slash his neck with sharp claws. With practiced instinct, Lucius tried to dodge to the right, but it was his left foot that moved this time. The young man tumbled and almos
"Damn, this experience again," Lucius cursed after he was absorbed by the purple pearl. It placed him back into the pitch-black void, where no hint of light existed. "I can't even see my hand this time," Lucius muttered, lifting his hand only to see the encompassing darkness. "Augghh." "What's going on?" Lucius screamed, as if a foreign entity had awoken within him. A wave of fear washed over him, making him feel strangled by unseen, ghostly hands. The sheer terror of total darkness quickened his breathing. "No, what's happening?" Lucius yelled, trying to run aimlessly. His hands flailed about, but they touched nothing. The overwhelming darkness was all he could see. His anxiety peaked as his greatest fear was unearthed from deep within his psyche. "Total darkness," - it's not death that humans fear, but rather the loneliness and solitude in the complete darkness that follows. Trapped in this oppressive darkness, Lucius felt a greater pain than he had experienced when being t
"Splash!" Two young figures, Lucius and Amia, immediately plunged into the lake as though they were searching for something beneath its surface. They seemed to disappear into the darkness of the night, relying solely on their instincts and extraordinary abilities to discern what was transpiring in the depths. "What is it?" Lucius questioned himself as he spotted a light source below. Amia also seemed to see the light, and, in silent agreement, they both swiftly descended towards it. Their movements were so quick that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to compare them to two racing dolphins. "What is it?" Lucius thought again. His mouth was shut tight due to being underwater, but his brain was tirelessly processing the information it was receiving. For instance, a strange blue object appeared like a large glowing sphere with what seemed to be a young man sleeping within. It was an unfamiliar sight to Lucius, potentially housing thousands of mysteries he had never encountered in his two
"The red and black lightning roared, emitting a profoundly unsettling sound. The energy surged through Lucius' hands, causing the pointy-chinned demon to recoil. "Human, where did you get that much power?" The demon questioned, visibly astonished by Lucius' remarkable combination of attack and defense. "Those who are about to die need not know," Lucius responded defiantly, stomping his foot on the ground. The ground erupted, obstructing everyone's view. "Foul human, you think I can't track your location?" The demon retorted, flaring its nostrils in an attempt to detect Lucius' current whereabouts. "Above!" "Whack!" Lucius' heel kick, imbued with the terrifying red and blue lightning, was parried by the demon. "Aughh," the demon screeched, its arm visibly shocked by the lightning. It swiftly tilted and shifted its body to avoid the crushing force of the kick. "How is that possible? How?" The pointy-chinned demon wailed, waving its arm as if it were crushed. "How can this be? I
The chains finally broke, instantly drowning the young man, as the cloaked woman looked on with evident pleasure. "Soon, soon I can make a pact with the devil," she stated, her goal explicit, unaware that she was being observed by two pairs of eyes. "Mr. Lucius..." "Just call me Lucius," he said, interrupting the girl who seemed to have misnamed him several times. "But..." "There are no buts," Lucius interrupted again. "Then Lucius, why didn't we save that man?" "I believe there's a destiny that's protecting him. I'm more interested in seeing what that woman will do next," Lucius replied. The woman appeared to be hustling back and forth with the corpses that she had laboriously pulled out. It was clear that she was breathing heavily due to the strenuous work of carrying the bodies of villagers who had been slain by the village chief. "Damn, this guy should have left one or two slaves alive," she grumbled in annoyance, but she couldn't stop herself from continuing her task unt