What lies beyond the great stars we see?
What lies beyond the infinite cosmos?
What lies beyond death itself?
One thing's for certain—it's nothing pleasant.
Beyond death is a realm of cold, desolate suffering, a place where words can no longer capture the full extent of the horror.
Right now, in a battlefield far from home, a lone figure stands amidst a wasteland of shattered worlds, death, and the swirling chaos of magical power so immense that spatial fissures and black holes have become the new norm.
Surrounded by the corpses of those who fought alongside him, the lone figure—battered, bloodied, and defiant—stares up at three towering beings. These entities, scarred and fractured from a vicious struggle, hover above him with weary yet triumphant gazes.
"It looks like this is your end, Prime One," one of them snarls, a trace of fear mingling with its mocking tone. They had been ten beings of unimaginable power, rulers of greater dimensional planes—yet because of this single human, only three now remain. Six were personally felled by the man standing before them. One had sacrificed its very essence just to land a mortal blow, leaving the others to finish him off.
The human grins, his lips coated in blood. "Well… at least I took most of you bastards down with me—and I even crippled the rest." His voice carries a weak but satisfied edge, as if death's shadow is nothing more than a mild inconvenience.
The faces of the three beings twist with a mix of fury and dread. Despite their victory, they know that death has already marked them too. Because of this insignificant creature—this ant—they will die, no matter what.
"You may have taken us down with you," hisses another of the beings, her voice like poisoned honey, "but we're not gone yet. The victor writes history, while the vanquished are forgotten."
"Unfortunately…" The Prime One's voice fades, eyes dimming, "…you won't… have that… luxury… There… are… more… like… me… coming…"
"Wash…"
"Your…"
"Necks…"
And like a puppet with its strings cut, the Prime One collapses, joining the countless corpses that litter the ground—fallen heroes of the End War.
The three great beings linger in the sky, watching his body intently. Even in death, they refuse to lower their guard, for they know his reputation. The man who has come back from the brink too many times to count might have one last trick hidden up his sleeve.
As the Prime One's vision fades to darkness, a familiar message appears before his eyes—one that he hadn't seen since his earliest days of struggle, back when he was too weak to even imagine the power he wields now.
[Notice]:
[Congratulations...]
[You have DIED...]
[Activating perk within the title: Prime Human Progenitor.]
[Activating perk: Undying.]
[!! ERROR !!]
[!! ERROR !!]
[!! ERROR !!]
[!! Due to the nature of your death at the hands of an Origin Nova, your perk will be destroyed !!]
[Requirement met: Sufficient casualty accumulation detected.]
[The hidden condition of *The Original* has been fulfilled...]
[Sacrificing the accumulation of 925,892,035,832,195 past lives for one final revival.]
'What the hell?' he thinks, as his consciousness fades. Disoriented, broken, and teetering on the edge of oblivion, confusion warps his thoughts.
'So, this really is the end, huh?' A bitter laugh echoes within the hollow shell of his mind.
'Well... I defied fate once before. Maybe next time... I won't be such a fool.'
[Notice...]
[!! ERROR !!]
[!! ERROR !!]
[!! ER…RRRR…OOO…RRR.....]
"…You truly haven't failed me, have you, past self?" a voice whispers from beyond the glitches and static. "Fine, then. One more round…"
[Tower's System reset initiated.]
The Prime One's last breath escapes his lips.
But history's not quite finished with him yet.