"Hey Clive, what makes the power system in our country the way it is?"

  "I don't know."

  "I mean... why is King Arthur on top, the Council Twelve just below him, and a squad leader under every council member?

  Hundreds of people follow each one - but what gives them the right to judge everyone?"

  "Maybe how strong or influential they are? Come on, man, we're twelve. Why are you thinking about this stuff?

  Let's just play. That's all adult talk."

  Back then, we were more mature than most people our age.

  I still don't know why I was questioning the power system at that age...

  Or how Clive managed to give the right answer.

  What do you think,

  Sixth?

  " How ? ...How did you get to me with my whole squad outside?"

  "Come on," I said, sitting casually on his desk, "it was easy.

  I killed every single one of them."

  Blood dripped from his mouth as the Sixth coughed, trying to stay upright.

  "Then why... why am I on my knees, with your sword in my chest?"

  "You forgot the best part," I said, tapping my fingers on the desk, "-that why am I sitting here like it's my home."

  He glared at me. "I'm stronger than you. How did I not sense you? Why didn't I hear their screams?"

  "Because every day," I said, leaning closer, "a person's energy resets. For a single millisecond, it drops to zero. I waited for that. The moment it happened -

  I stopped time."

  I could still hear the rain hammering against the windows. I had chosen this night for that reason. A storm so loud, nobody could hear the slaughter outside.

  "So the next moment you saw," I whispered, "was my sword already buried in your chest."

  He gritted his teeth. "And what if I open my Projection right now?"

  "You can't." I twisted the blade slowly.

  "You've got zero energy left. I pierced

  your heart at the exact moment it reset. Right now, your body's only using what's left to keep you alive. You can even say your body is in emergency mode ."

  He let out a weak laugh, his voice broken but steady. "Ha... you got me good. I'm done for. So tell me - who are you?"

  The fact that he didn't even remember me, after what he'd done to my life - after the curse he put on my wife - made my blood boil. "Tell me how to remove the curse!" I screamed.

  With a bloody grin, he looked up at me. "Do you think I made that curse? You're stupid. I'm just a pawn."

  "Then who made it?! Who is he?!"

  "I'll tell you... on one condition."

  I pressed the sword harder into his chest. "Talk. Or I'll make sure your death lasts forever."

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  " I am not scared to die .

  After destroying countless lives I knew I will meet my demise as an act of revenge . I don't have a family to return to or to protect .

  I have not done a single good thing in my life and know there is no heaven for me.

  But still I am not scared because I have already given hell to many people who are still alive "

  " What's your condition? "

  "Kiss my ass first."

  His skull exploded under my fist before he could laugh.

  Blood splattered across my face, warm and heavy.

  The room went silent except for the rain. Crimson dripped from my eyelids. Whether from blood or rage, I couldn't tell. The world itself turned red.

  Then I heard it - a single thud - his body hitting the ground. And right after, the room filled with them. The other eleven Council members.

  The 9th's hammer came crashing down, breaking through the ceiling.

  Each floor shattered beneath me as I fell, the hammer crushing everything it touched. I barely managed to hold it off, my arms trembling, bones cracking.

  When we hit the ground, my legs snapped under the weight. Before I could move, I felt the sharp edges of the 3rd and 5th's blades at my neck.

  "Flash Step."

  The world vanished for a heartbeat - and I reappeared outside the building. But the 4th was already there, waiting.

  "Raging Fists."

  His punches landed like thunder. Each one shattered air, bone, and consciousness. I blacked out for a second - then woke again mid-punch, the next blow already sending me into the sky.

  Below me, the 10th and 11th leapt up from the rooftops, blades aimed at my chest.

  "Flash Step."

  In an instant, their world spun. They saw their own torsos falling before their heads hit the ground. Behind their own torso, they saw me - blood dripping from my sword which they realised was their's.

  The hammer struck again. The 9th's blow sent me crashing through three buildings. When I stopped, my back was broken, my arms twisted. Still, I stood.

  A voice echoed in the chaos - cold, resolute: "No more games. The civilians might get caught."

  "World Projection - GOD."

  The city vanished.

  I was standing in a barren wasteland, beneath a sky that bled light. An angel was bound in the clouds, her chains stretching across the heavens. Her size covered half the sky, her expression unreadable - until I looked again.

  Blood. Falling from her eyes.

  The ground split beside me. The heavens wept fire. Swords - thousands of them - filled the sky, all pointed at me.

  I blinked once. And meteors began to fall.

  For a moment, I forgot to breathe. Forgot to fight. Forgot everything.

  The first sword pierced my arm - and I came back to my senses. Projection - open.

  But it was too late.

  Two things happened at once: my projection shattered, and my body was pinned to the ground by a hundred blades.

  Hopelessness flooded in. I looked up. The angel's eyes met mine.

  I closed my eyes - and waited for death.

  But I wasn't dead.

  When I opened them again, the sky was clear. Five angels surrounded me now, each watching in silence.

  Then I saw him - a man, decaying, his skin peeling, his body falling apart. His eyeball dropped, rolling toward me.

  He smiled. "Oh, you poor soul... Thank you for taking my place - and my pain. From this moment onward, you are to suffer for eternity here. Until another soul takes your place."

  And with that, he turned to dust.

  I fell to my knees, gasping for breath, and that's when the endless nightmare began.

  A nightmare where I was utterly alone - trapped in an empty, silent world where nothing existed. Not even food.

  Months passed.

  I hadn't eaten, spoken, or slept for what felt like an eternity.

  Every time I closed my eyes or dared to look away from them, the angels came. They punished me - tore at me in ways beyond imagination.

  They'd peel my skin away slowly, force me to eat pieces of myself, or make me watch as they killed my wife again and again.

  I knew they were illusions. But they felt real.

  Every scream, every drop of blood, every flicker of despair - it all carved itself into me.

  Each morning, before the angel appeared, the world changed.

  The sky would twist and bleed, turning into a canvas of crimson. Then, blood would start to fall - soft at first, then heavy, splattering against the dead earth.

  And through that storm, the angel would descend, its wings glistening like blades dipped in the same rain.

  It would look down at me and ask the same question.

  "Do you want to die?"

  And each time, I stayed silent.

  Because what was the point of all this if I gave up now?

  But as the days bled together, something inside me began to rot. The illusions twisted further until I could no longer tell what was real. Monsters crawled through my mind, their whispers louder than my heartbeat.

  And then came that morning.

  The sky burned red again, blood pouring from above as the angel appeared before me - its voice calm, patient, cruel.

  "Do you want me to kill you?"

  My mind went blank. My body spoke before I could stop it.

  "Yes... kill me."

  That was it. Everything - my suffering, my wife's pain - all of it had been for nothing. There was never any chance of defeating the council. I closed my eyes and waited for the end.

  Then, a sting shot through my back.

  "I thought I told you that you can rely on me."

  My eyes opened - and for the first time in forever, I saw something other than despair.

  I saw the back of the strongest man I knew, holding the angel's foot in his grasp, stopping it from crushing us.

  I saw CLIVE.