year2098
In the expansive and desolate battlefield that stretched across a significant portion of the Martian terrain within the vast solar system...
In the cosmic silence that covered the whole planet, a small spherical object seemingly made of marvelous technology hovered around its atmosphere, as if it was keenly searching for something in the silent mist that filled the air.
As if it had been successful in detecting its target, it quickly lowered its height and made its way among what seemed to be debris of a civilization that had been destroyed not long ago.
After a bit of searching, it finally found its destination as it landed in front of a large pillar made of unknown materials.
One could see a human figure leaning against this slightly slant pillar as if it was crashed against it not long ago. If one looked closely, they would see that the figure's eyes lit up as he saw the spherical object nearing him, as tears of happiness rolled down from his eyes.
In front of the duo was a giant crystalline body of the red dragon king, who had been slain not long ago by this hero. The hovering bot neared the body of this person as a blue laser emitted from its lenses and started scanning the body of its target.
"Entity detected- Arman (1st human hero)"
"health status- critical"
Arman closed his eyes as if anticipating something to happen after the scan, but he was bound to be disappointed as the orb after scanning him turned around and flew in the direction of the dragon king's body and proceeded to scan him similarly.
"Entity detected- red dragon king (last demon lord)"
"status- dead"
After the scan was over, a Golden beam was emitted from the orb and the corpse of the dragon king disappeared from the initial place.
"Ding!!
Mission accomplished!!
Preparing to return to the mother ship"
**boom**
explosions followed as the orb launched itself into the space and vanished in front of the half dead arman, who lied there with tears in his eyes, but this time his eyes didn't reflect happiness but a deep-rooted sorrow and also regret.
"You never disappoint after all ! "
"khe!!khe!!...."
A crooked laugh escaped from his broken jaw as it looked in the space in front of him.
[STATUS]
[Arman]
[AGE-35]
[bloodline/race-human]
[Rank-9]
[talents- curse of fate(-myth), cosmic body(SSS)]
[skills- dragon breath, vision of the cosmos, divine strength, ...]
As his pupils fluctuated, the info panel of his talent opened in front of him
[curse of fate (-myth rank)]
[the only negative rank talent in the whole universe, This curse emerges from the depths of the abyssal cosmos and thrives on the destiny of its host to satisfy its insatiable appetite. Appearing only once in a millennium to an individual blessed with extraordinary luck, it transforms into a parasitic entity, consuming their fortune and of those that belong to them]
---------
Twenty years ago, Earth underwent a profound transformation with the awakening of mana, leading to a shift in its inhabitants as they began to exhibit various talents through physical changes. This phenomenon extended beyond humans, encompassing the entire planet in a unified awakening.
The awakening gave rise to dungeons, transformed animals into monstrous beings, and infused mana into the essence of all living beings on Earth. Among humanity, numerous individuals emerged as heroes, with Arman distinguishing himself in his youth.
However, during a pivotal moment while confronting the boss of an S-rank dungeon, Arman encountered a sinister black seed like piece of flesh amidst the loot. Unexpectedly, the seed attached itself to him and became lodged in his heart, defying all attempts to remove it and causing drastic changes to his status.
Following this incident, Arman's fortunes took a downturn. Once admired, he found himself becoming the target of villainous organizations, with people viewing him more as a threat than a savior. His marriage dissolved, leaving him isolated as his social circle shrank and his mental well-being deteriorated. Struggling with fatigue, sour moods, and insomnia, Arman became disillusioned with life, feeling unvalued and resentful of his past reliance on luck.
Turning to Buddhist teachings on detachment from materialism and belief in karma, Arman found some solace, although he remained cynical. When news broke of a massive portal on Mars and the impending invasion of a rank 9 monsters, Arman saw an opportunity to redeem himself and aid humanity.
He applied for the expedition team of heroes to visit Mars and investigate the portal.
Traveling inside the mother ship deployed by the earthlings to venture in the confines of Milky Way.
And soon he reached the periphery of the planet and with the team he landed on the martian lands and approached the massive portal.
As soon as he landed near the portal, an explosion occurred and a giant red dragon came out of the portal, who proclaimed himself to be the dragon King and the last demon lord.
The team of heroes got ready as a harsh battle ensued
Various explosions happened, and only destruction was left in its aftermath.
Finally, after the combined efforts of everyone, the dragon's hp dropped to half when suddenly one of the heroes started acting strange.
He took out a communication Device and started a communication link through the mothership to earth.
As soon as the contact was established, he cried
" Help! Help! Arman has gone mad and started a killing spree here! We are on the edge here!! There was no portal, it was all his plan to deceive us heroes and surround us with his demon army!!!"
"What the fck are u blabbering u shithead!!!" Arman Shouted as he approached him to stop this nonsense.
**Boom**
However, midway through the battle, Arman was suddenly struck by a beam of charged energy from another teammate, sending him crashing to the ground.
As he struggled to comprehend the betrayal, a realization washed over him like a chilling wave. Glancing at his teammates, he saw the same smirk plastered on every face, a silent admission of their treachery.
"Sorry, Arman," one of them spoke, a hint of remorse masked by deceit. "This portal was the result of a failed experiment involving the interests of major world powers in space and time. To cover up the mishap, we needed a scapegoat, and everyone agreed you would be the perfect one not just for this one but many in the future as we further experiment with the planetary core, after all your power levels are the proper justification for why will u betray humanity and cause notorious disasters to your home planet "
With a click of a device on his waist, the crewmate vanished, along with the rest, leaving Arman alone to face the dragon.
With no allies and betrayal searing his heart, Arman resolved to confront the dragon head-on, engaging in a brutal and bloody battle for survival.
-----------
Coming back to the present....
Arman saw, as his last straw of hope, the scout bot from the mothership disappeared with the corpse of the dragon king he slayed.
"Seems like they were planning this betrayal for a long time"
"Hahaha... I don't even know the parties involved except those heroes"
***utter silence***
at this point, arman sat there staring at the wide cosmos at the cusp of his existence, as the winds of time threatened to extinguish his flame. Many thoughts and flashbacks came to his mind as he stared at the milky river of stars.
He remembered his childhood filled with innocence and purity as he grew up in a village near the mountains.
He could still hear his mother's voice who used to wake him up from the fulfilling and wholesome sleep that he had experienced at that time, the winds of the spring, the nights of summers and the leaves of autumn and the sunlight of winters which used to brush past his immature skin.
The days spent frolicking with friends in the woods flashed before his eyes, moments filled with laughter and joy, where time seemed to stretch endlessly before them. He recalled the excitement of festivals, the anticipation of each new adventure, and the comforting embrace of sleep that seemed to heal all wounds.
As the memories of good times were being recollected, and he was about to find peace in himself, a notification rang out loud, waking him up halfway to his death.
[Ding!! Congratulations host!! For being the first one in the entire cosmos to defy the curse of fate and resisting it for a whole two minutes.
[the consciousness of cosmos has unfathomable plans for everyone!! Behold your reward]
[Ding!! Congratulations, host has been awarded with the blessing of fate]
As the notifications rang in his ears, something seemed to be trying to escape from his heart, and he knew that it was the seed that had destroyed his life.
Suddenly, the muscle of his arm and hands tightened as he attempted to dig out the seed from his chest and he was successful in his first attempt.
Actually he had tried this earlier but was always warned by the system that he could lose his life. Well, if he knew how miserable his end would be, he would have already dug that damn seed out.
Staring at the bloody thing in his hands, he said
"at the end I am still never going to experience the blessing since I am already on the verge of death"
As he said that, he looked at his storage ring and took out a vial and started pouring his blood in it that was already leaking out from his chest cavity as the vial filled to the brim he slowly dipped the cursed seed in it and sealed it tightly.
God knows what he was doing as he kept the vial back in his storage ring.
And for the last time, he looked up at the earth in front of him.
"Goodbye mother"
As the sound of his exposed beating heart faded into silence, it remained unclear whether his words were directed towards his birth mother or the very Earth itself.
Moments later, his body began to disintegrate until only his accessories remained at the site.
Two days later...
A scout bot from the mothership hovered over the same location, scanning the rings and clothes left behind. Upon completing its scan, the accessories vanished mysteriously.
Meanwhile, far away on Earth, five individuals seated upon five different thrones smirked as they observed a screen, oblivious to the impending calamity heading their way.