“Gods? Haha…”

The man’s chapped lips stretched, forming a grin on his skeleton-like face. His sunken cheeks seemed to sink further, and his paper-white skin turned slightly paler.

“Gods should go to hell,” he sneered as the wind blew around him. His cloak fluttered, revealing his skin-hugged skeleton of a body.

Suddenly, Eve felt as though the air was condensing, and his body started heating up. A dark purple energy slowly crawled out of the man's palms, and while looking at Eve, he opened his mouth.

“[Dark Arts—]”

“Don’t you know, you're using a god's power,” Eve said, telling his troops to spread out. Before long, while the man stood in place, his soldiers surrounded him.

The man narrowed his eyes. Staring at Eve, he finally spoke, “Nonsense.”

“And yet you continue to listen,” Eve chuckled, gripping his sword tightly.

The man ignored the remark, looking at the dark purple mana coating his hands. His hand felt heavy, and his heart cramped every second he held the mana—it was like he was carrying a heavy weight.

“Mana is the product of my body and soul,” the man started. “Gods destroyed Earth, and with my mana, I'll destroy them,” he closed his eyes and slowly, the purple mana in his hand started to dissipate.

“Stop talking nonsense, you… you…?” The man frowned, squinting his eyes at Eve. “What the hell are you?” He asked, dumbfounded.

“Mana is the product of divinity,” Eve said, ignoring the question. “Gods created mana to toy with mortals by stripping a fraction of their divinity. Have you ever wondered why there's gods representing each mana element?”

The man didn't answer.

“While using the power of gods, you preach that you hate them?” Eve scoffed, raising his sword and pointing it at the man. “Every second you use mana is every second the gods get to play with you.”

Slowly, he felt his body warming up. His body tensed, and his focus sharpened. “If you truly hate gods, then abandon mana.”

“Why should I listen to a… mini-man?” The man scowled, dark purple mana crawling out of his skin like a maggot coming out of its burrow.

“Because I can answer all your questions,” Eve smirked.

The man sneered, “Then why did Olivia have to die?” He asked, his mana suddenly gushing toward his hands.

“Because gods wanted her to,” Eve answered, pushing off the ground and disappearing out of the man's view.

Wide-eyed, the man looked around only to feel his balance tatter as pain seared near his foot.

“[Dark Arts],” the man hissed, his mana instantly engulfing his body. “[Curse of the Sinner]!”

The purple mana boiled around his body, evaporating and turning into mist. Eve raised his sword, about to cut the man's other Achilles tendon when dark purple mana filled his eyes. Frowning, he jumped back.

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“You bastard!” The man howled, clutching his Achilles tendon. Then, purple mana pooled around his palms and seeped into the wound.

“Gods make you weak,” Eve spoke, walking calmly toward the man. “But Demon Gods are more sinister. In exchange for power, you lose yourself, slowly becoming the very thing you hated.”

Wiping the blood off his sword, Eve crouched, ready to charge in. The mist of mana around the man was slowly dissipating.

“You're lying! Mana, this is my life's hard work!” The man yelled, searching for Eve. Unfortunately, the latter was tiny, easily hiding amidst the grass.

“I don't doubt that,” Eve chuckled. “But when you face a god, your mana will be instantly stripped away from you.”

Eve straightened his knees, relaxing his grip around his sword. Looking at the man, he walked right in front of the latter's face.

“How will you destroy the creator of mana using mana? In my ears, you're talking nonsense.”

“And what are you?! Who are you to tell me—”

“I'm the one who will crush the gods,” Eve said, staring at the man without blinking. The man stared back, furrowing his brows. Then, he burst into laughter.

“What can a little man do? You're not even tall enough to reach my knees!”

“And yet you fell before my blade,” Eve said calmly.

“...I’m not a god. Not even close, compared to gods—”

Eve smirked. “You haven't even seen them yet, and you're already despairing. How pitiful, human. I thought you were different,” Eve sneered, raising his sword and pointing at the man's eyes.

“You disappoint me.”

The man fell silent, neither turning away nor closing his eyes. Instead, he kept staring at Eve.

“You, have you fought with the gods?” He asked, his eyes widening as blood slowly filled his eyeballs, turning them bloodshot.

“Numerous times,” Eve smiled, lowering his sword.

“Did you kill them?” The man asked, gnashing his teeth, his breath growing rapid.

“No,” Eve denied. “Back then, I was like you. I may not have used mana, but I was far more powerful than gods. I could defeat them,” he sighed. “But I was a slave, in the end. Now, it's different.”

“What will you do?” The man asked.

“I need your information,” Eve said. “I’ll conquer the world and gain power. And most of all, I’ll ruin the game the gods are playing.”

“A game, huh?” The man snickered, turning away to look at the vast, barren plain.

“You're right, it is a game.”

Eve watched silently, then mana suddenly poured out of the man's body. Scowling, he jumped back in retreat, but the purple mana kept expanding. The man stood in the eye of the storm, his purple mana laying waste on everything around him like a miniature cyclone.

“If this mana is the god's weapon,” the man said through gritted teeth, glaring at the dense fog of mana pooling in his hands. “Then I'll kill gods with their own power!” He yelled.

“It's useless,” Eve mocked, steadying his body as he stood on a small rock. Bending his knees, he shot forward.

“I'll prove that—” The man stopped talking, turning his head around as a sword cut the skin next to his eyes. Seeing Eve so close, he grinned. “—I'm not wrong!” He shouted.

“[Dark Arts: Erasure].”

The dark purple mana jumped, reaching for Eve as he cut through the air. Cursing, Eve ran, trying to outrun the mana to no avail. With the dark purple mana chasing after him, the man gathered his mana around his hands.

“[Dark Arts—]”

However, he suddenly fell, his body losing all balance. “This—!”

He rolled on the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he saw a wooden spear pointed right in his eyes. Beyond the spear was a clay soldier, looking at him with neither glee or hatred.

PUCH— “ARGH!” He yelled, turning his head away when he suddenly lost all his vision—another wooden spear was sticking out of his eye sockets.

“Damned you!” The man didn't bother to move, pushing all the mana out of his body and gathering it all between his palms. The wind raged, and the clay soldiers were thrown away by the sudden increase of pressure.

“[Dark Arts]! Ha…” He wheezed. “[Annihilation…] ha…”

However, nothing happened. His body felt cold, and all the mana dissipated, rising into the air like purple flames from a giant campfire.

“Tired?” Eve asked, though the man couldn't see him.

The man didn't answer, trying to feel his mana inside his body, but found none.

“You rely on mana, yet forget that mana is a foreign energy.”

Suddenly, he felt something press against his throat.

“I can kill you right now, the thing you mocked as puny.”

The man laughed. “Tell me, how will you kill gods?”

Eve answered immediately, not needing to think twice. “I'll cut their heads off, as simple as that.”

The man snickered. “Then… Can you make that happen?”

“Of course,” Eve said, looking at the blind man who had a wicked grin on his face. The man laughed louder.

“Then little man—”

“Eve,” Eve cut him off.

The man only beamed with laughter. “Show me,” he grabbed his face, pulling out the little wooden spears that rendered his eyes useless. “Show me a world without gods!”

Eve smirked.

“Gladly.”

A calm hatred mixed with volatile flames, stirring in the air before the man let out a long breath. He was bleeding, yet he felt no pain. Finally, he opened his mouth.

“Let me follow you, Eve. I'll do everything you say, but promise me one thing…”

“Yes, I'll kill the gods and give you their severed heads. That's a promise.”

“Hahaha…” The man looked up, falling on his back. “I look forward to it. My name is…”

+

He was a genius. Since he was as old as three, he never once found something he couldn't understand and master.

Even those complicated books about math, science, and history were like children's books as soon as he held them.

“Mama, do you love papa?”

Yet, there was something he couldn't understand.

“Kurgos, of course I do!” A middle-aged woman laughed while cutting apples. “You are the symbol of mama and papa's love.”

“Is that so?” The boy, Kurgos, lowered his head, looking at the book in his hand.

It was a book about a foreign prince eloping with the empire's princess. Together, they avoided both country's armies and fled near the ocean, where they found happiness.

“What is love?”

For the very first time, the boy who understood everything, found something that made his brilliant mind spin in circles.