Have you ever dreamed of the apocalypse? You have, haven’t you? The threat of nuclear war leaving our world thorn to shreds, the rapture prophesized by so many religions, or even an extinguishing grade meteor falling to our planet to wipe it clean of all life.
If you’ve thought these worries to be the real apocalypse, you wouldn’t be more wrong, for the disaster which struck our world was like nothing perceived. A calamity beyond one’s imagination, and with it, our horrifying end.
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In a lone world no different from a ruin of modern Earth civilization. A lifeless land with deep red sky and corpses of both humans and oddities scattered about for as far as one could see. A soaring sound echoed as a male silhouette fell from the sky, crashing into the earth with a loud tumble that sent debris high into the air, burying himself within a pile of corpses.
Looking more closely, one could notice that the figure was a half-dead man in his late thirties now laid in the piles of bodies and his blood, his jaw well sculpted and features harsh but pale, giving him the look of a battle-worn warrior, one who lived a life of brutal combat.
Currently, his body was in utter ruin, limbless with his organs scattered around his beaten frame. Yet, even in this state, he remarkably didn't die, his eyes of a hazel brown, weakly stared up as his wild dark brown hair fluttered, driven by a dismal wind of this dying world.
"So, we failed in the end," The man said weakly as the scene above showed visibly to his eyes.
There, above the scene of ruined skyscrapers, a sinister portal of blood-red spiraled as a beam of holy white light fired from its center, arriving directly before the man as a series of strange text appeared before his eyes, followed by a mechanical like voice.
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Ding!
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Rift Expulsion is complete.
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Calculating survivors: calculation complete.
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Remaining Dimension Transcenders: 1
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As all other Dimension Transcenders have perished, the Final Dimension Quest has failed, the Devilborn Lord has claimed victory.
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The man only felt worse hearing this, but sadly for him, that wasn’t the end of his bad news. The cluster of holy white light that lingered in the air, condensed into a semi-transparent being.
It was an angel with wings garbed in holy battle armor. Her eyes indifferent as she stared at him and pointed her finger before speaking in a judgmental tone.
“You have failed to conquer the Final Mission, and your entire race's warriors have fallen! By the will of the Divine Originator, I, Proxy Alline, shall declare your world’s fate – extinction!"
As the man heard those words, his eyes wandered towards the sinister rift that loomed above, recalling a dreadful scene, one of an immense demonic being that overlooked his party, crushing both his allies and his very own body to ruin. Vaguely, he recalled another, a person in robes which caused him to grit his teeth in a foul rage despite his now weakened state.
"Why... why did things turn out this way? Did we not do enough to escape this darn game? That bastard betrayer… that darn devil… was our struggle only a pointless aim?" The man cursed before breaking into a fit of coughs, blood flowing down his mouth as even breath began to grow weak.
Proxy Alline didn't seem to care about man's sorrowful cry; she merely raised her hand above, conjuring a strange force that came from the world itself.
"Pitiful lifeform, accept your judgment!"
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Her voice echoed as a radiant light formed around her palm, growing with each passing second. Yet, while this happened, countless monsters like no others flew out of the portal, sinister creatures with large wingspans and savage angular beaks.
One such beast flew before perching on top of a nearby building; leaning its head at an angle as it gazed at him with its large glowing red eyes with reptile pupils.
"Kreeeh!" The monster howled as it flew off the skyscraper; it flapped its wings furiously as a gust of wind swept away all things in its vicinity. In an instant, its enormous body made an elegant curve in the air as it swept down with a raging intent opening its massive razor-sharp mouth to indulge in the human feast.
The dying man shook his head as he saw this, his face filled with a look of despair as he closed his eyes. At this moment before his death, he began to think to himself.
‘For what reason do I persist? I did everything I could but ultimately failed. Maybe, it's better off to die in this way.’
With his mind decided, he laid with full readiness to accept his fate of failure, the creature still closing in at rapid speeds, as he could now feel the forceful winds brushing across his ruined body.
It was without a doubt that his end was nigh, but right when the monster’s beak was about to rupture his body, a familiar voice sounded in his mind, calling out to his name.
"Evan,” the voice echoed, pulling his consciousness from his current world of blackness into one of pure light. Here, a few faces he hadn't seen for a while had gathered, one was a blond fat male in ancient armor and a friendly look.
The other, was a middle-aged man with spiky hair and a massive battle-axe, he stood by the side of an arrogant-looking male with blue hair and a mask on his face, grasping onto a long spear.
Finally, the last person was a beautiful woman with long purple hair, holding onto a scepter, her oval face covered by a veil as she stared at him with a look of affection and encouragement.
It was her who called out his name, and it was her who spoke into being his new destiny, "Don't give up, Evan. Don't let our sacrifice be in vain; the future… is in your hands."
As Evan heard those words, his hazy mind soon took on a feeling of clearness; she was the very love of his life, the very person who he would do anything for, the fact that she had died was enough to weigh on his soul.
That along with the deaths of his former companions of the final dimension team, he had thought he had done enough, but from the looks of it, it appears as if his current manner wasn't enough to relieve their fallen spirits.
Suddenly, Evan's lifeless body, formerly cold, began to surge with a newfound fire, his dim eyes burning as if lit by these flames, one that pushed away from the chillness of death that loomed over him.
"She's right; I shouldn't be this weak; even if I have to crawl through death, I should never give in!" He said with his fists tightly clenched as the world of white shattered into bits of glass, taking his consciousness back to the world of reality where the sinister creature remained moments from ending his existence.
Proxy Alline looked on with indifference, the ball of light in her palm, now the size of the building, pulsing with immense destructive energies. It was clear that she now held power to eradicate the world. However, before that, the nearing creature aiming for Evan's life howled as its mouth took a large bite at him with a ruthless glint in its eyes.
Evan stared death in the face with calm eyes; he knew he couldn't fight anymore, but even so; he didn't dare to give in, his mind now filled with an unusual amount of determination.
‘What am I doing laying around? I’ve come too far to pull back now… I must not give up!’ Evan shouted inwardly, as in this instance, unaware to himself, his mind started to change, his eyes glowing in a dim light as an unusual ripple formed around him, one which even he could not sense.
Suddenly, as if something felt this power, a loud thump resounded from his chest, like a heartbeat; Evan felt surprised at this as time seemed to have slowed down around him. Instantly, a bright crimson light erupted from his chest, as a neckless he wore for a long time hovered before him, glowing in a scarlet hue.
"This is... my Crimson Blood Necklace; what's going on?" Evan said with shock, but right as he fell into this state, a red screen unlike that of the prior system appeared in front of him, the text sounding in his mind with a mystical voice he had never heard before.
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To you who have finally awakened the Voidless Soul.
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To you who share a similar destiny. Tell me, do you wish to change your fate?
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Evan didn't know who it was or what was happening, but he knew that this was a rare chance. Quickly, he looked at the glowing pendant and spoke, "I don't care what it cost; if I can go back before it all began, if I can get another chance, I will do it without fail!"
The voice within the pendant remained silent; the beak of the monster continued to approach in slow motion as everything else remained at a standstill. Soon, the light from the crimson light pendant started to glow even brighter as the red screen appeared once more with the same mysterious voice.
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Very well, I have sensed your spirit, and you have proven yourself to be worthy. Go forth, and right your fate anew!
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Suddenly, the crimson light completely enclosed Evan's body, causing him to shine in the same radiance. When this happened, Proxy Alline had begun to sense the change, the space around her shattered, freeing her from the standstill as her eyes widened in utter surprise when she saw the strange pendant and felt its aura.
"That is... impossible! How can you possibly possess that thing?" Proxy Alline said in shock, her mind now thinking through all sorts of possibilities, but as if she knew this wasn't the time, she ended such thoughts as a menacing killing intent came from her.
"Human, that thing is not for you to wield, fall into the ruin with your entire world!" Her voice resounded across the entire space, seeming to reach out across even the planet.
The ball in her palm instantly started to reveal rays of terrifying white light that quickly scattered across the area. These rays transformed anything it contacted to dust, even the very monster that formerly loomed above Evan, with its gaping maws wide open.
Instantly, both Evan and the world around him transformed into a world of pure white, his drooping eyes gazing at the hovering pendant before him as his consciousness faded from this world.
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