Pain. Not a lot I will admit, but enough to bother me. The sensation I experience at the moment, where a golden copy of myself is striking my flesh once again, is powerlessness. An irritating feeling. I wish I could do more, but somehow, I can't.

It's been a few minutes at least since I've turned silent, grunting occasionally at the torment. Hundreds of blows, thousands more to come, my body a limping bloody mess. I don't understand how I have yet to die and get out of this place.

I read the quest another time, understand the failure penalty to potentially be horrendous, yet the stat difference doesn't let me contemplate it. Every waking moment, a fist or foot is smashed somewhere. Be it my inflamed face, my bruised arms and legs, torn torso or even plucked eyes.

I can't see anything besides the system messages. But I can feel the wind, feel the movement, feel the pain, feel the fear.

Physical or mental, it doesn't matter. The clone is set on destroying my everything.

Same old, a bothersome pressure on my chest followed by a painful impact on my chin. I wobble on my feet, left to stand on purpose, before my crotch is hit. I wince and shiver at the sensation, a massive force pulsating on my temple. I grunt as wind tells me I've been sent flying at incredible speed. Rolling around like a broken toy, a screeching something slams my breath away. I gurgle before wind is felt again, this time cut short as I hit a hard wet surface face first. It's disorienting, being thrown around like a ragdoll, hit repeatedly without a chance to defend.

But strangely, I begin to predict it.

No, it's more accurate to say I've predicted them all.

Since I've nothing better to do, I regain my lucidity and imagine the future blow. I stand back up, slouched at the earlier torture, before putting my palm in front of my stomach. "Huh?" I exclaim, a massive pressure landing into the ball of my hand. This pressure is massive, but easily manageable. I don't understand it.

My missing eyes attempt to look left, as I strike with my elbow. Another impact diverged. What is going on?

A single step backward, I feel wind blow at my face, I dodged what I believe is a falling heel. It splashes on the ground, as if telling me I was correct in this assumption. "I don't understand..." Another step back, a gust of wind forces my shirt to flutter. With a frown, I grab something with my left hand and kick upward. If I'm not wrong, that was the opponent's extended arm, while my foot lands on I what I assume to be his chin. That's it.

As if trying to push away my confusion, I take a stance and cover my closed eyelids, caressing them. As my hand fades apart, said eyelids twitch, opening.

The darkness hugging me is cleared away. I can see everything. The golden me is just standing there, ominous. My eyes widen as I hear it speak. "Don't force my hand." I'm not sure what it means, but the near silence in my head must soon be pushed away. Was it always this dark? No matter where I look, the white and grey have been overcome by darkness. That is apart from the two lines of gold.

Peeking at its status, I blink, close my eyes, focus, and try again.

[Stupid Demon Clown]

Age : Dumbass

Immortal Cultivation : Loser Realm

Immortal Titles : Certified Moron, Jack is the greatest and much stronger than me!!!

HP | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | (0 / YTZDGRTHG)

DT | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | (1 / -54)

STR : ▰▰▰▰▰ H-

SPD : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ H-

End. : ▰▰▰▰ H-----+-+-++

SEN : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ NNNNNNNNN

SOUL? Really? : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ H-

Do you even have any? : ▰ H-

Stupidity : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ ▰▰ ▰ ▰▰▰▰SSSSSSS▰++++ (UNLOCKE▰D)

Skills : Tech Eye - lv.-40000 [HHHsSs], Dao of Greed - lv.0, Crimson Arts - Lv.471878417574874181845185 [-], Qi Manifestation - lv.77777 [+]

As I thought... how the tables have turned, huh?

Turns out, if I'm not wrong, this entire thing is in my head. Meaning that I chose its strength out of fear and expectations. I set myself up and almost... no, I gave up. But not anymore.

Teleporting in front of my copy, an invisible force crashes into his face. "You almost got me." The messy status screen keeps flickering as my concentration fades and jumbles up. Taking a last peek before closing, I freeze. "What?" I hear the bastard chuckle. "You forced my hand. This is where it truly begins."

I look back down and frown heavily. Don't get swept up, take a deep breath and reduce his stats. The golden shit stain is trying to take back his status. Worse, it's now stupidly high and I can't do anything about it.

It just keeps getting worse as time goes on. "What did you do? Why can't I change it anymore?!" He only laughs to make my ears bleed and my heart skip a beat. "I think this is as far as I'll be able to push it. Because, inside your mind, I really need to be overpowered."

Indeed, his stats stop rising, but the end result is worrisome, to say the least.

[Greed Deity, Demonized Jack Heltros]

Age : Infinite

Immortal Cultivation : Absolute Realm

Immortal Title : Absolute Being

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HP | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | Infinite

DT | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | Infinite

STR : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ SSS+

SPD : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ SSS+

END : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ SSS+

SEN : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ SSS+

SOUL : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ SSS+

WISD : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ SSS+

FATE : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ SSS+

Skills : Tech Eye - lv.2 [+], Dao of Greed - lv.9999999, Crimson Arts - Lv.9999999 [+], Qi Manifestation - lv.9999999 [+]

"You think I'll fall for that? It's clearly bullshit. You even made it rainbow, why not gold?" He shrugs with a smirk. "Maybe next time, well, that's if you survive." I can't help laughing in retort. "Survive? This is my head! My world! It's all under my will!"

"Is it now? Then why can't you alter my status? Why can't you alter my abilities? Why can't you just delete me?"

"Hey Jack, who's bullshitting now?"

Fucker! With a thought, the wind hugs my entire body, rushing at the golden copy in an instant. I send a crushing, invisible blow ahead, but the golden bastard somehow reads it and places his palm in front. I don't have time to imagine anything else, as I clearly can't influence him anymore.

The surprising part is him blocking it fully with one hand attached to a loose arm. "You're weak Jack, way too weak. So I'll end it and show you the true worth of greed. Under my lead, you'll reach heights untold. Your status will look like mine in real life. Is it not salivating to think about? Your talent is boundless, whether you accept it or not. Don't act meek and actually grab what you want!"

"Tell me Jack, why go against me? We could go so much higher, so much sooner! We just need to work together! Just give up for once, for the greater good!"

"Not only are you not making sense, but you really ask why I'm mad? You spawned out of nowhere and punched me!"

"Hm. That's true. I could've been more diplomatic. But you're the one that imagined it! So is it really my fault? I was just following your desires." I almost vomit out of disgust. "Please shut the fuck up, why do I have to look at a golden copy of myself talking so... suspiciously. Couldn't you phrase that any better?"

"I don't know Jack-" With a blur, his appearance becomes countless times closer. "-was I wrong?" I imagine myself evading it, suddenly pulled an ever increasing distance away. In the midst of this mess, a golden light only grows. With another pull, my momentum shifts to the right, dodging a golden laser by a hair's breadth, where a golden hand clutches the back of my neck. "Die." With yet another thought, a powerful gust forces his hand apart as I teleport away continuously. I talk, echoes of my voice spreading and clashing with my afterimages. "That doesn't sound very diplomatic!"

A grunt shattering all voices, my vision suddenly goes high, my spine forcefully bent as a fist lands on my back. A shockwave later, I'm sent flying what looks like worlds away. A whisper attains deep into my ears, rattling my mind. "Don't think I'll let you go so easily. Surrender!" Trying to dodge whatever would come, I break my momentum and fling myself to the top. This place, apart from the ground, truly seems gigantic. In fact, is it infinite?

With a fraction of a second left to wander, I admire the edges that don't actually exist, shifting from black to grey to white, and so back and forth. Splashes of light and dark colliding and conquering.

Alerted by the lack of attacks, I look down, bringing my right arm further back. I can't find the golden fucker at first, but soon locate him far into the distance. He's looking at me eerily, like a lost zombie. It's creeping me out, helping my current endeavor. I accumulate orange energy around my hand, before palming downward. A massive shockwave erupts, orange lights exploding everywhere. In a mere moment, the scenery beneath is hidden away by an utterly ginormous orange explosion. The size alone many times larger than a nuke. The blast cannot reach my domineering altitude, a breath on my nape sending shivers down my spine. "What are you doing?" With a yelp, I rush to the ground, where a golden bastard awaits me. "Fearful?"

"This mess really isn't going anywhere Jack, just give up." With a shout, I swipe my hand, as if throwing sand, before a rainbow chain explosion engulf him.

"Rainbow is my thing Jack. Don't copy me. You don't want to receive a court date, do you? Get it? Date and date." I see his expressionless eyes distort as his smirk fades. "Alright Jack, now for the big guns." A deep purple flame suddenly erupts, as if an aura covering his body, before it grows into a much larger dark inferno. "Don't cry, I warned you." His green glowing eyes, as if emeralds, pressure my flesh and crumble my mind.