“Hello, Sam,” the Overlord choked out. “Long time no see, eh?” Jacob Atlas, wife to the late Maria Atlas and father to Sam Atlas, looked up at his son with a curious expression in his eyes after he said this.

“This… no, this has to be a trick. I saw you die!” Sam screamed.

The other man shook his head.

“No, there is no trick. Before we talk any more, there is an irritating pest that I need to distract.” Jacob’s torso had a hole blasted straight through it, but he looked as if he wasn't in any pain at all. He pulled out a blindingly bright orb of gray light from his pocket and crushed it between his fingers. A dome of misty energy expanded outwards, and everything stopped, save for the Overlord and Sam. He let out a sigh and smiled at Sam through bloody lips.

“Let's begin where it all started, alright?”

Sam wordlessly nodded.

“After your mom died, I was in a dire mental state, and I had been already preparing to kill myself after it had happened. However, just as I had stepped up on the ladder, a woman appeared. She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen, even more radiant than your mother. She began to tell me a tale that was completely unbelievable for me at the time…”

17 years ago, Sam’s house

Jacob stood on the last rung of the ladder, a step away from death. Beneath him, the mysterious woman began to speak.

“Jacob Atlas. What I am about to tell you might be hard to understand. You must not die now.”

“Look lady, I don’t know who the hell you are, an angel, some figment of my imagination, who cares. Can you just let me die in peace? I have no reason to live anymore,” Jacob whispered, almost sobbing.

“What if I said that the fate of the Multiverse rests on your shoulders?”

“Then I would think that you were crazy.”

The woman sighed and held up her hand, summoning a globe of fire to it. Jacob flinched and then crossed his arms.

“If this is what the Good Samaritans do these days, then I don’t know what the hell you’re all thinking.”

“The who? Never mind. I guess that you will require more convincing.” She snapped her fingers, and the room rotated around a central axis, leaving Jacob floating in the middle.

“Stop! Stop! I believe you.”

The woman smiled.

“Good. I am Isabella Dantorian, one of the few surviving members of the followers of the Dao, as well as an A Rank cultivator. That is not important now, but what is important is that you must fake your own death in front of your son. If causality is to progress as planned, then this has to happen.” Jacob growled.

“If you think I would do something like that to my own son, then you must have gotten a few things wrong about me. I would never leave my son without a father but still be alive.”

Isabella’s face flickered before returning to a placid smile.

“Well, then you leave me with no choice.”

The Present Day

“I woke up the next day in the middle of Canada with the ball of condensed Time energy that I used to fend off the System, and a note to use it when the tournament progressed to this point. I had no idea what that meant at the time, but I understand now. All my memories in relation to you and my past were gone, but I had been left with a briefcase full of money on which to live, as well as an essence orb to jump start my journey. That is how I became so powerful. Those levels allowed me to complete the trials to awaken a bloodline, which gave me extra stat points and abilities. The memories only came back after the System arrived.”

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Sam stared down at who, against all odds, could only be his father.

“So you were just some test for me, an obstacle to increase my power against?” Jacob nodded.

“For the past few weeks, my normal personality was supplanted by the aggressive, egotistical man who you know as the Overlord. That was the only way for me to get the right Dao for easy power growth, as normally I would never have embarked on the path of Supremacy. However, I will inevitably follow it to the end, to the true Dao of Supremacy itself, unless I die of course. My real personality will vanish after this conversation, so if you have anything to say to me, this is the time.”

Sam rubbed at his eyes, which were suddenly watering.

“Sorry, some of this volcanic ash must have gotten in my eye,” Sam said, as the tears started rolling down his face.

“Take all the time you need, Cub. Take all the time you need.” The use of his father’s pet name for him made him smile through the tears.

“I will fix this all. I will grow strong enough to get you back. That I promise,” Sam said, crying as he did so. With a pop, he received a System notification.

You have gained a new quest. (Your System interface will help to organize a sufficiently complicated series of events into a linear questline for you. In addition, it will provide essence rewards for milestones in the quest if applicable.)

The Sacred Bond

Difficulty:Impossible

Your father has been corrupted by an A Rank cultivator, a being of god-like power. Your goal is to find Isabella Dantorian and to make her relinquish her grasp on your father. This will require you to reach the top of the cultivating world, as an A Ranker is not easily swayed by the words of ants.

Ultimate Goal:Free your father’s mind from Isabella Dantorian.

Current Goal:Research the effect that your father is under.

Rewards:Information

Sam frowned and turned to his father.

“Wait, if you used that orb to stop the System from watching us, then why did I just get a quest?”

The eyes of his father flickered and then turned a fiery red color. Time returned to normal and Sam heard a sudden gasp from the audience. Then they shut and Jacob's body was teleported away.

“In a shocking turn of events, the Arbiter has won the tournament!” The System shouted.

Sam barely paid attention, too shaken by what he had just heard from his father. He was teleported out of the arena, just as the volcano erupted, marking his victory with a magnificent spray of lava. He appeared back in the waiting room, completely alone. The arena began to shift, and a series of golden stairs emerged from the ground. They spiraled up hundreds of feet, and on the very top was a glittering throne. Just as Sam made the connection, he was teleported to the top of the stairs, sitting on the throne. Directly below him was the body of the Overlord, still bleeding. He was unconscious but apparently the System didn't care.

“The competitors will now receive their rewards for their struggles. I will now announce the positions of the finalists! These positions are based on a complicated algorithm that analyzes their performance through multiple variables.” The System stopped and allowed the audience to eye up the people standing on the pedestal.

“In sixteenth place, we have Harry King! In fifteenth place, Thomas Aquinas. In fourteenth place, Marina Talbot. In thirteenth place, we have Drake. In twelfth place, Starchild. In eleventh place, Solitaire. Now, for the top ten competitors, the true stars of Planet Earth! For tenth place, we have Torchman. In ninth place, Anonymous. In eighth place, the Bear of the Motherland. In seventh place, the Angel of Death. In sixth place, we have Profound Visionary.” The System allowed the cheering to reach a fever pitch and then it announced the top five.

“Now, for the top five! IN FIFTH PLACE, REAPER! IN FOURTH PLACE, THE SCOURGE OF NEW YORK! IN THIRD PLACE, RODNEY KANE! IN SECOND PLACE, THE OVERLORD! AND FINALLY, THE WINNER, AND THE STRONGEST MAN ON EARTH,” The System stopped for a few seconds, “THE ARBITER!”

Sam was struck by a solid wave of cheering from the audience, as he was the closest to the top rows, and thus the largest number of people. It was not a physical force, but a psychological one, the desire of humans to be praised and acknowledged. A beacon of golden light shot down from above and bathed Sam in its halcyon radiance. A huge stack of credits was transferred to his balance, and more importantly a new title entered his vision.

You have gained the title [Earth’s Strongest:Mythical]. You have won the initialization tournament of Planet Earth, proving that you are the strongest person on your planet. This title will replace the title [#1 Overall Power, Planet Earth] if already possessed, and will act as a replacement for it in the future. +10% to all stats

Sam raised his eyebrow. That was a solid boost indeed.

“The competitors that are eligible for physical rewards will now be teleported to them.”

It was time to get the most important prize of all. The ability to create a faction.