I can't do it.
I can't endure it anymore.
The timeline freezes and I stare blankly at my foe, who is trying to attack me from above.
How many times did I Rewind to get to this point?
I stopped counting, but it is easily in the tens of thousands.
This thing is simply too strong for me to beat it. Even the Hammer does no real damage, and the creature seems to become more powerful as time passes.
The worse thing is that I can't get rid of it. At first, I tried to teleport the bastard into a sun, but I couldn't get a reliable connection near a star because of mana disturbance. So I decided to teleport it into the vacuum of space.
It worked for at least two whole minutes.
After that, the creature teleported back in an instant.
I tried everything, from teleporting it while it wasn't in what I would call its final form, to teleporting it to other dimensions.
The results are always the same, this monster is somehow able to learn teleportation after I teleport it once, and it's able to find me in an instant.
And the worse thing is that its teleportation technique is far better than my own, it's instantaneous and doesn't create a big glowing portal.
So what am I supposed to do here?
Killing this thing isn't an option, and getting rid of it is also not going to work. Running away is also not an option; that thing will follow me everywhere I go.
What am I supposed to do?
This battle is already too long for my standards, and there's no end in sight. Of course, the voice in my head is having a field day with this, and I lost consciousness more than once only to realize that this hellish cycle was kept going by the voice which took over my body.
I even froze the timeline for a couple of hours to recuperate some semblance of sanity in the middle of the battle, but it's not really helping.
At this point, my only escape from this nightmare is to Rewind time to before the battle even started.
But it wouldn't matter, this thing is likely to be a weapon of the Goblins, and going back would void all the painful progress I made in this battle.
DeStRoY!
And this guy is acting up again. I would also like to kill our opponent, but it simply cannot die. That thing is immune to everything I threw at it, even Mary's spells didn't put a scratch on it.
How can I survive this?
The only way would be not to assault the Tower but that would mean losing Krognar, so it isn't an option.
I'm stuck no matter what I do.
Something that also adds to my worries is the thing's voice; it's eerily similar to the one in my head.
In fact, it's almost identical.
The implications are not clear. Is this thing the same as me, a living being poisoned and warped to the bone by time travel?
Or maybe it did something else to fragment its soul, and a murderous voice is the natural result of such an action?
Either way, it's too similar to be a coincidence.
But I hope with all my heart that this thing doesn't have something similar to the Rewinder, or this battle will truly never end. It doesn't seem likely since the Enforcers of this planet would have abused this kind of power to its limits, so they would have stopped us before we assaulted the Tower.
Or it could be something even more terrifying, maybe becoming like this abomination is my future?
Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.
I take a deep breath and glare at my opponent. Avoiding its fist will be surprisingly difficult, even if it's quite small. This creature looks like an overgrown Goblin, it barely reaches my height but the power it packs is monstrous, it would make Beelzebub look like a powerless creature...
...It would make Beelzebub a lot like me.
Something breaks inside my head, and I fall to my knees. This battle shows my limits. I can't go any farther than this.
I should have stopped before it got to this point, I should have never gone to that damn party-
EnOuGh!
How easy it is for you to say that. You're just a consequence of my bad decisions, a pale copy of my soul that only contains hatred and an over-sized ego. You don't have to endure everything else, the pain and the regrets, the constant fear-
EnOuGh! We HaVe A mIsSiOn To AcCoMpLiSh!
I can't help but laugh, a mission? This whole shtick about wanting to save humanity from the Enforcers came from me. You wanting to conquer the world became clear soon enough. You're just using me for your purposes, aren't you? You want to erode me until I give you full control-
StOp ThIs UsElEsS wHiNiNg! PrOmEtHeUs WiLl NoT FALL!
It is unbelievable. I hit the nail on the head, didn't I? Come on, stop pretending to believe that we are really Prometheus. You know damn well just as I do that we abused the Order's trust and beliefs for our own purpose. There's not an ounce of divinity in us; we are just an insane loser who lucked out and discovered time travel.
I mean, would a god really fail to win every single battle he has fought? Would a god have less magical potential than a fucking blue rock?
We HaVeN't LoSt A SiNgLe BaTtLe.
Please, I would not call what we do winning. Retrying millions of time until we get it right, and losing many limbs in the process is hardly a victory. The results may be the same, but I lost more than enough already. You're the proof of that; if I had a smidgen of competence, then you wouldn't exist in the first place.
ReAllY?
I feel a tug at the back of my mind, and the timeline resumes its natural course. I lose control of my body and barely avoid the punch of my opponent, which causes a large hole in the floor. I don't have time to observe the situation since I teleport above it and fire every type of ammunition the Hammer has to offer. It pins the creature to the ground while I land nearby. Its barrier stops the onslaught, but I don't care and empty my shotgun into the beast before switching to the Field Pistol.
Surprisingly enough, it does fuck all damage.
But it doesn't deter the voice as it shifts my body and teleports me away from a sudden tentacle.
We ArE iNvInCiBlE, We ArE eTeRnAl! SeE fOr YoUrSeLf WhAt We CaN aCcOmPlIsH! I wAs HeRe SiNcE tHe FiRsT ReWiNd, BuT YoU cOuLdN't HeAr Me. NoW wE bEcAmE bEtTeR!
Then it confirms that the Rewinder induced this voice.
Great, I was insane from the beginning, but I never noticed it.
And I fail to see how our soul fragmenting so much that it turned into two distinct entities as a good thing.
DiD yOu NoT nOtIcE tHaT OuR sOuL nO lOnGeR fRaGmEnTs? It BeCoMeS StRoNgEr InStEaD.
Oh.
Well, that's good news, I guess. Not that it matters too much against something like this creature.
It MaTtErS. PrOmEtHeUs MuSt Be StRoNg.
Stop with that bullshit, we are not Prometheus, and we are not a deity.
WhAt MaKeS a GoD, IsN't It ThE BeLiEf oF iTs FoLloWeRs?
Now is not the time to be philosophical; we need to find a way to kill this thing.
And the plan has to be better than 'hitting it really hard until it dies.'
...Yeah, I'm stumped too.
The creature jumps back and launches a volley of tentacles, which I avoid after a few Rewinds. These things are destroyed as soon as they enter my body, but their brief entry isn't pleasant in the least.
I pummel the face of the monster with another volley of penetrators, its barrier groans but it still holds.
Not even the Tower would be able to endure such a continuous onslaught, but this thing can.
It's quite infuriating if I'm honest.
I take a step forward, "What ArE you?! WhY won't you DiE!" I shout while my voice melds with my other self.
"I am the Destroyer!" the creature responds before launching another of its deadly beams.
And that's my stomach gone.
I grit my teeth as my body is restored, and I feel something stirring in my head. I can hear the voice laugh with glee as the sensation becomes stronger, and I activate my robes again.
The sudden explosion of power even surprises me as the golden flames become brighter and clearer, like the resolution has increased. Even the Destroyer is taken aback by this sudden burst of power, so I freeze the timeline and inspect my body.
The robe is now covered with faint ethereal golden armor covered in elaborate inlays. It is a bit similar to the one I'm wearing under the robe, but this one looks better.
If I'm honest, the magical construct is quite stylish even if it's a bit pretentious.
"What is that?" I ask the voice in my head since it might have the answers I lack, although I doubt it.
"ThE StReNgTh oF tHe SoUl hAs InCrEaSeD." It answers.
Oh.
So the enchantments on the robes are proportional to the strength of my soul? It's better than nothing I guess, even if the sudden increase in power only amounts to a better light show.
"What is this power?! You weren't taking me seriously all along, did you! I'll make you regret your insolence!" the incensed Destroyer roars and prepares another attack. This multicolored beam slams against me, but I don't feel a thing.
I grin, this robe finally became something more than a tool of intimidation.
I crack my neck. Now it's time for shield punching part two!
A laugh belonging to the voice escapes my mouth as I teleport next to the reformed barrier of my opponent, and I smash my fist into it.
The two magical constructs collide, and golden spark fly everywhere.
I barely feel any resistance, so I keep pushing.
The barrier of the Destroyer creaks and bends, but mine remains undamaged.
"What is this? It's not possible!" the creature shouts before reinforcing its barrier with many new layers.
"Do NoT UnDeReStImAtE Prometheus!" we shout as a portal appears behind us, and a penetrator strikes our golden armor.
The shockwave and resulting mana vortex don't reach me, but the force propels me forward and allows my fist to go through like a hot knife through butter.
Man, this tactic became a lot more viable now that I can endure the penetrators without being harmed.
The Destroyer groans as my fist collided with its black armor. Black sparks with a red core erupt and strike me, but the scorch marks they leave on my ethereal armor disappear in a second.
"Prometheus will PrEvAiL!" I scream at my enemy and pull out my Field Pistol. The fast bullets make the cracks on the armor even bigger, and I shatter a good part of his shell with another punch.
The desperate Destroyer now throws everything it has at me. Tentacles, beams of energy and incomplete spells are all hitting me at once.
I feel a bit of my strength waning, "ThE SoUl WiLl SoOn BeCoMe ToO wEaK tO sUsTaIn OuR nEw FoRm." The voice warns.
Great, I've been burning my soul without knowing. So I shouldn't rely on this new power too much in the future unless the situation is dire. My soul can gain strength quickly, but it isn't infinite, and I don't even want to know what would happen if I burned it all.
"Then we'll have to finish this now!" I focus all my firepower into the hole I created in the Destroyer's armor. The sudden surge of damage stuns the creature, its paralyzed body tries to regenerate, but the large amount of damage is too much for the healing to be done in time.
I see new metallic spikes piercing the creature's flesh before being absorbed by the flesh tendrils, so I raise my fist and punch the exposed flesh.
The sudden shockwave sends ripples through its body, and I hear the satisfying noise of breaking bones.
A bloodcurdling scream echoes as the Destroyer falls on its knees. The might of the Hammer is still slamming into the creature, and I realize that one of the limbs that have been vaporized isn't growing back.
"W-Why? W-Why-" the Destroyer's cries for help are muffled by its blood filling its throat, and white cracks soon cover the body of the destroyer. One last scream echoes before its body turn into dust and disperse in the wind.
I fall on my knees and deactivate my armor. We fucking did it.
We killed that horrible DiSgRaCe.
I get up and take a deep breath before noticing something. My armor has changed since it nows resemble the ethereal apparition.
At this point, I gave up asking questions.
I turn towards the pile of rubble that the others have been using as cover. "Now, let's go kill Wurk."
Krognar is the first to raise his head, his jaw drops at my new attire, but he shakes his head and points towards the sky. "I-I think you already got him."
I look up and realize that the upper floors of the Tower are not there anymore.
The top of the building has been entirely obliterated by the battle between the Destroyer and me.
I shrug, "Oh well, at least we got him."
We got him and almost every resident of the upper floors. I hope that getting rid of all those parasites will help the Goblins reform their society, but who knows what the future will hold for this planet.
"I fulfilled my end of the bargain, so I hope you will do the same," I say to the shopkeeper.
Krognar nods so fast that his head leaves an afterimage.
"Great, so-"
"Prometheus! That was so- So cool!" I am interrupted by Mary, who emerged from her cover and ran towards me.
I smirk as the hybrid hugs me as tightly as she can. The other members of the Order look at me in the distance, and I wave at them to indicate that I'm okay.
I close my eyes for a brief moment, just to savor my hard-earned victory.
When I open them, the only thing that is left of the hybrid is her dangling arms still wrapped around me. Everyone else is dead, torn apart in the same gruesome way.
I feel some cold air on my arm and realize that it has been torn apart. My other limb soon follows as the other grows back.
Then all my limbs explode at once.