Within an empty, white space two individuals were arguing. One a god, and the other a devil.

The god was a charming, pale little boy with short blonde hair, he seemed young enough to the extent that he could be considered a child at a glance. He was garbed in a white toga, two similarly colored angelic wings sprouted out from behind his small back, and he wielded a divine bow at his side.

In comparison, the devil had a purple tint to his skin and was much larger than the boy. He towered over the boy enough to cast a shadow over him. The devil looked like an older youth with long black hair that covered the sides of his face, twisted black horns sprouting out from the side of his head, similarly colored demonic wings sprouted out from behind his back, and he wielded a ghastly dark trident at his side.

“Tell me… Ain!” The devil yelled in frustration, “Why do you continue to hold faith in such… such scum! Do you not recall their origins?! What of Adam?! What of Eve?! Are they not simply vermin that destroy all those around them?!”

The devil pointed his trident outward, and what appeared directly in the trident’s line of sight was a distant planet. Earth.

The mere sight of the dying planet filled the devil with disgust. How is it that even after the god Ain had expelled them from his planet Eden and to the developing planet Earth, they would also bring corruption and devastation unto Earth as well? The once beautiful planet was constantly being destroyed bit by bit. Extinction. Pollution. Starvation. It was in a state of decay that the humans living on it brought upon themselves. Although they had the means to fix it, it seemed tantamount to an impossible task, this the devil knew. If someone were to ask the devil why, he would have responded with a simple reason. Humans were selfish. They were greedy. They were flawed beings, and yet, it was exactly because of this that makes them human.

“Calm yourself, Yalda. I believe in them, as I believe in myself,” the god named Ain replied.

What else could he have said? Ain had modeled them after himself, after all. If he had denied their existence, was he not denying his own existence as well?

“You…!” The devil named Yalda was at a loss for words. He opened and closed his mouth, seemingly to begin to say something, before abruptly pausing and opening his mouth again. Yalda sighed, shook his head, and made strange hand motions in concert with his opening and closing mouth.

It was quite a funny sight to behold if one were to look at it from a spectator’s point of view.

Yalda placed a palm on his face in resignation. He seemed disappointed in Ain.

“You believe in them, you say?” Yalda asked quietly whilst removing his palm from his face.

“I do,” Ain replied confidently.

Ain was well aware. Humans were selfish, but what of it? Was he and Yalda not selfish as well? Were they not just as flawed? Ain knew better than anyone that humans had their own strengths, and one particular strength prevailing over all others that was even enough to impress a god like him.

“You fool… Even after all this time…” Yalda whispered. How could he convince Ain? Was it even possible? Ain had endured watching the slow decay of Earth for millenniums, and yet he still believed in the cause of its decay. The thought agonized him.

A realization. An idea flashed through Yalda’s mind. To convince Ain… Didn’t he just have to prove it? Humans were vile and base beings, although they themselves could understand and see the problems plaguing them, they were unable to put past their selfishness to act for the greater good.

The devil Yalda began to laugh maniacally. His sudden bout of laughter caused Ain to wrinkle his brows in confusion.

“Then do you dare…?!” Yalda screamed. He stretched his right hand out, and plunged it into his own chest. The gruesome sound of flesh being punctured and rended echoed out within the white space.

“Yalda! Have you gone mad?!” Ain reached out towards Yalda’s right arm in an effort to stop his bizarre actions.

Yalda pointed the trident in his left hand towards Ain in a threatening manner, making Ain stop in his tracks. His right hand left his chest in a closed fist. Yalda slowly stretched and opened the hand, revealing the contents within.

A strange, purple pearl rest on his open palm. The pearl would occasionally pulsate, indicating that it possessed a life of its own. Strange violet wisps of mist revolved around the pearl.

Ain gasped.

“The Hades Heart, for,” Yalda named the pearl in his hand, while pointing his trident out with the other. The trident pointed at what was above Ain’s head. A radiant yellow halo was what floated above it.

Ain understood Yalda’s actions. The devil wanted to make a wager with him.

“You believe in them, don’t you? Then prove your beliefs! The seven billion of your creations against the seven of mine!” Even as black blood trickled out of the corner of Yalda’s mouth, he spoke clearly and confidently.

Yalda’s Seven Demons against the seven billion humans of Earth.

Unlike the humans that hide and ignore their flaws, Yalda’s apostles were exceptional beings that accepted their flaws. They were legends that became the embodiment of sin themselves.

Yalda snapped his fingers and seven silhouettes, projections appeared behind him.

The demons Belphegor, Asmodeus, Mammon, Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, and Abbadon.

Yalda was confident that even a single one of them was sufficient in annihilating humanity. If both their creations were to truly collide at this point in time, it would not be a fight, but simply a one-sided massacre.

Ain sweated at Yalda’s declaration. He was also aware of the inevitable result if the two sides were to clash in the present, but even his convictions were called into question. Ain knew it was impossible for humans for now… but it hadn’t always been impossible. All he needed was time. A change in the human mindset, a rearrangement of the paradigm.

Currently, humans were at the top of the food chain… but it hadn’t always been that way. They had grown complacent due to the lack of predators and threats, opting to fight amongst themselves because of it. They had become spoiled. Helpless. How many of them were truly ‘capable’? Relying on heated weapons that would have no effect on Yalda’s creations… How could the humans of the present be compared to the humans of the past, when they were forced to hone their bodies and push themselves to their limits in order to survive? Constantly adapting, evolving, and improving themselves, whereas their growth as of now had reached a dead end.

“I accept your wager, Yalda, but…!” Ain pointed his finger out to the vast white space. The finger landed on a large planet several times the size of Earth, covered in patches of strange colors. This was the planet named Pandemonium.

“We do this on the planet Pandemonium with the God and Devil system, and I want to give them a grace period of ten years!” Ain listed several conditions.

“Ten years is too long, five!” Yalda bargained.

“Fine, but after the five year period, you can’t send your seven apostles in simultaneously, they can only be sent to Pandemonium in yearly intervals,” Ain gritted his teeth.

“Then we have a deal, Ain,” Yalda’s eyes flashed ominously.

Ain knew better than anyone else. His creations, humans, were inherently flawed, but even so! Out of all the beings he had seen thus far, there was absolutely nothing that could match up to their persistence, tenacity, and drive to survive. He just had to reignite it. In his anger he had cast Adam and Eve out of his planet of paradise, Eden, into the hellhole that was the developing planet of Earth where they were among the weakest of creatures. At the time they were no different than ants. He had expected them to die off, but they hadn’t. A handful of humans developed and multiplied into seven billion. A handful of humans survived in a time where predators roamed the Earth and survival was nigh impossible for them. This was the power of their persistence, where humans were able to make the impossible possible!

‘Sending you to Pandemonium with a functional God and Devil system, and giving you five years is all I can do. Prove me wrong once more, humanity!’ The god Ain silently hoped.

…

Morning.

In a small, dilapidated apartment, a young man was reading a newly opened letter in his hands.

‘Dear Chrono Freed,

We regret to inform you…’

He crumpled the letter and tossed it to the side without reading the rest of its contents.

“Another failed interview,” Chrono bitterly chuckled.

The young man had messy black hair that made his eyes barely visible. If one had the fortune, or rather, misfortune to see his eyes, their initial impressions would be that they were dead and mechanical. He naturally radiated an unapproachable aura.

“Boring… Everything is so…” Chrono lifelessly murmured.

He was eighteen this year, recently graduating from a renowned university a few months ago with a Master’s Degree in Human Psychology along with the highest honors. He was hailed as a genius, and everyone predicted that he’d have a bright future ahead of him despite his personality.

“Even back then… It was so…” Chrono continued, his dull eyes continuing to stare into the nothingness.

Parents deceased, no living relatives. His academic achievements and background didn’t seem to help him in entering the workforce. What had he been doing all this time?

He felt like he wasn’t living, but simply surviving. Clinging onto an empty husk of life. Functioning like a living dead, a machine.

When was the last time he felt excitement? He had forgotten. It was too long, too many years ago for him to remember.

Chrono thought that living a meaningless life like this was a life better off not living.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Chrono sighed, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. Darkness engulfed his vision. A small part of him wanted for things to stay like this forever. However, the world always seemed to work against people’s wishes.

At that instant, all seven billion humans of the Earth’s population disappeared. The young, the old, even the newly born and those on the precipice of death. They vanished into thin air.

The same seven billion people reappeared on another planet. The planet Pandemonium.

A strange, unfamiliar smell entered into his nostrils. This smell was unlike the usual artificial stink of his dilapidated apartment. It was a much more different and natural smell that prompted him to open his eyes.

A different scenery entered his view. Chrono moved his head to the left and right. He was surrounded by trees as far as his eyes could see. He was also surrounded by many others of different age, sex, and nationalities. He estimated it to be around one or two hundred scattered people. In actuality, it was precisely two hundred people summoned to this particular location.

A scarce few of the summoned were in the middle of bathing or using the toilet, placing them in extremely odd and uncompromising situations.

The forest was completely quiet as those summoned were still trying to process the events that unfolded. They were unable to keep up with the sudden change.

Chrono noticed a small icon in the shape of a body on the upper left corner of his view. Focusing on the icon, it expanded into a transparent window. The appearance of the window slightly startled him. He thought that this all functioned similarly like a UI.

Name: Chrono Freed

Title: N/A

Affiliation: N/A

Health: 100/100

Mana: 190/190

Strength: 8

Intelligence: 12

Vitality: 10

Wisdom: 19

Agility: 10

Status effects: Divine Protection of Ain (all forms of damage are nullified for the duration of five minutes)

Right as Chrono opened his status window, the panic finally began to set in for others. The sudden noises disrupted his concentration, and the window vanished.

“Where the hell are we?!” Someone asked.

“Mommy!” A child cried.

It seemed like everyone was teleported independently and randomly to a designated location on Pandemonium.

Chrono remained unfazed even in a situation such as this. The only thing that changed about him was that his heart rate and pulse had unknowingly slightly sped up. Was this… nervousness? Was he feeling… excited?

No, it couldn’t be compared to that extent, yet.

‘Annoying,’ Chrono thought of the sounds generated from the ones panicking around him. The phenomenon they were experiencing couldn’t be explained, so why bother? Chrono knew that thinking uselessly about such an issue as of now would only create stress and affect your mental capabilities. He tuned out the sounds and re-focused on the icon to the upper left of his view, opening his status window once more. This time, he focused on each stat individually. A small description for each of the stats appeared.

Health: Current well-being, a prolonged zero stat will result in death

Mana: Required to use certain spells or skills

Strength: Fitness, Physical strength

Intelligence: Knowledge, Magical strength

Vitality: Stamina and physical defense, ten health increases per every point

Wisdom: Judgment ability and magical defense, ten mana increases per every point

Agility: Reaction speed, speed, dexterity

“Ding!” A sound of a bell echoed out into the minds of everyone. Chrono’s status window was forcefully closed, and another blinking icon appeared next to the status icon. The new icon was in the shape of a closed scroll.

Chrono focused his attention on the new icon, and another transparent window popped up.

Quest Log:

Introduction to Pandemonium (Mandatory Quest) - 4:58

He further focused on the only active quest on the list.

Introduction to Pandemonium (Mandatory Quest):

Welcome to the planet Pandemonium. All seven billion inhabitants of Earth have been transported over to this lawless world. Pandemonium has an active God and Devil System and with it, you can surpass the barriers of humanity that were placed on you back on Earth. Struggle! Adapt! Unite! This is your only hope of surviving. As an important note, you must not fail any mandatory quests! Take a weapon to defend yourself with. - Ain

Success Conditions: An introductory weapon is acquired by the time five minutes are over.

Failure Conditions: You are not in possession of an introductory weapon by the time five minutes are over.

Rewards: Acquired introductory weapon

Chrono closed the window and thought over its contents.

‘An introductory weapon…’

Brilliant flashes of light appeared within the forest, and piles of weapons fell to the ground.

There were twenty piles of ten weapons each scattered all around their vicinity, two hundred of them. The weapons were precisely enough for each of the summoned people.

The weapons were varied from knives to axes, swords, spears, bows and the like. What they all had in common was that the weapons looked very simple, and when focused upon, their information windows would show an ‘Introductory’ title next to the respective weapon’s name.

Chrono slowly walked towards a pile of weapons, ‘Is it safe?’ he thought. Could he freely take any of the weapons? Were there any traps? Similar questions appeared in his mind.

There was only one way to be safe, and that would be to not be the first, nor the last in acquiring a weapon. The first to take a weapon would bear the highest risk of springing any traps, and the last would be at the highest risk for failing the quest.

Chrono stood near a pile of weapons while observing the actions of the others.

Time continued to tick, and there were four minutes left until the quest’s deadline. It was at this moment that others finally began making their move, and Chrono saw the first person safely pick up a weapon.

“So it’s safe,” Chrono whispered, and reached his hands out towards the pile.

The time limit for the quest neared five minutes, and there were mere seconds left before its completion.

People around were still scavenging in search of weapons, others refused to take up arms, and a child or two continued to cry, unaware of the situation.

Chrono remained standing still and carefully observed his quest window.

Quest Log:

Introduction to Pandemonium (Mandatory Quest) - 0:05

Time continued to pass until there were only three seconds left, then two, one…

He swiftly gazed at those that still haven’t acquired any weapons.

The quest timer finally hit 0:00, and those that haven’t met the quest’s success conditions… exploded.

Their bodies exploded violently into a mass of chunky blood and gore.

Those who were near were showered and drenched in the blood of the deceased.

All hell broke loose as the survivors erupted into a mass hysteria. Screams of disbelief echoed out within the forest.

They didn’t know at this time that their noise would attract the original inhabitants of the forest, and little did they know that the second the first quest ended, the Divine Protection of Ain disappeared from them.

The second mandatory quest rang out with a “Ding!”

It was titled, ‘Escape from the Forest.’

Panic. Confusion. Fear.

People were filled with a variety of different emotions.

Amidst the chaos of the 164 survivors in the area, there was only one person who felt happiness, utter euphoria.

He stood there breathing heavily. He felt his heart rate quickly speed up. Droplets of blood cascaded down his cheek.

He said, “I missed this feeling of excitement!”

…

In a separate dimension, within an empty, white space two individuals watched similar events transpire to seven billion people all around Pandemonium.

“Do you see, Ain? Bear witness to their true nature,” Yalda said.

Ain watched the seven billion solemnly. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

‘They may be flawed, but…!’ Ain clenched his fists tightly, ‘It’s what makes them human!’ He silently repeated in his mind.

“Humans are greedy…” Yalda’s words were like a sweet, sweet whisper.

The devil didn’t need to say anymore for Ain to understand.

If only they hadn’t taken more than they needed… Many more would have survived. Ain thought back to Adam and Eve, and shook his head.

Some were still scavenging, searching for introductory weapons, but were unable to find any.

There should have been enough for everyone… So why?

To sate their greed, some took more than they needed and hoarded weapons. Some took several weapons, indirectly leading the others to their death.

Ain shook his head, turned, and walked away.

Yalda kept watching. The devil’s gaze briefly scanned across the survivors, paying special attention to those that took more than one weapon.

Yalda briefly paused his gaze on a man. The man’s face was splattered in small amounts of blood, and his expression shocked Yalda. He was surprised to discover that the man wore the same expression he currently wore. In the man’s situation however, that expression was completely out-of-place. A twisted grin. Yalda suddenly felt a shiver crawl up his spine, and quickly averted his gaze.

“What was that…?” Yalda asked to no one in particular. His body was trembling.

A human had frightened a devil.

That man Yalda saw, Chrono, had four weapons hidden on his body.