"Open it! Let us out!!!"
"Have you lost your damn minds? How is an elevator shaft supposed to save you from a nuclear blast?"
He shook his head, glancing at the timer on the detonator.
*55… 54* The seconds dragged.
'I should pick a song for the last seconds of my life…' he thought indifferently, feeling for the player on his belt.
The panoramic windows looked straight out onto the cloud level. The first orange rays of dawn were seeping through the sky.
The perfect atmosphere to bring everything to an end.
"You bastard!!! You just had to turn a blind eye to it! Hold out for just a couple of years, and no one would have doubted that you'd become the next leader!"
Twelve old men in suits crowded around the single elevator and frantically pressed the call button.
Numbers were displayed on the left side of their chests. A number within the top twenty ranks.
These numbers weren't simple; in fact, they were the reason for everything.
Simply put, the lower the number, the more powerful the person's position.
But none of that matters anymore.
*48… 47*
"…You know, I've never smoked in my life. Maybe now's the right time to try?"
"Bastard!!!"
A man who looked far too young compared to these old men. He was barely in his twenties, and now he sat alone at the head of the long table.
In his left hand was an old music player, and under his right—a detonator with a countdown. On his black jacket was the number 43.
"How… How could you…" As the numbers ticked away rapidly, some of the old men began to weep.
Pleas, threats, and everything else were a thing of the past. They had been replaced by acceptance and despair. After all, there was no off switch on the detonator, and the bomb had been planted at the very bottom of the tower.
"I remember, years ago, I started here as a simple intern? No, wait, I think I was a janitor… And here I am. I've climbed to the very top, and I am going to destroy it with my own hands. Pretty symbolic, don't you think?"
"Go to hell with your symbolism!!!"
The balding old man with the number 2 on his jacket couldn't take it anymore. He lunged at the table, trying to reach him.
"Easy there…" He casually pointed the gun at him, forcing the old man to freeze. "Funny, isn't it? We're all about to turn to dust, and you're still afraid of a simple gun."
*38… 37*
"I'll… I'll kill…"
"I know it was you, Number Two… Albert. It was all you and your schemes."
"…"
"You initiated the development of the drug. You wormed your way into my mother's trust—my last remaining relative. Your people infected her… You made sure she'd never recover and would suffer in a hospital bed until her very last breath."
"You… You're just a nobody! You were a janitor! I've worked here almost my whole life, but that old bastard decided to give the leader position to you, not me. What else could I have done?!!!"
"Mmm… Well, I don't really care anymore. You see, I'm busy choosing my final song. There are so many good options, I don't know which one to pick."
"You bastard! Just because your mother rotted away, you decided to destroy everything! You're a damn psycho!"
"Psycho? You know, I prefer the word... Villain."
*29… 28*
"You're a monster… Do you have any idea how many people will die? You'll be the worst monsters in human history!"
"Oh, really? Well then… So what?"
"…"
"So what does it matter, Albert? In my whole life, I've never hurt a soul, but what good did that do? I just wanted a better life for my family… And look where that got me. I've reached the peak I've always dreamed of, but I'm standing here all alone. None of this has any meaning anymore."
With the gun leveled, he moved closer to the old man's face.
"Do you know what the only desire left in my empty heart is...?"
"..."
"To burn everything to the ground. Along with you, what you've built, and me... I want it all to end."
"Y-you…"
"Whether you've killed a million people or saved a million people… When you're dead, it doesn't matter anymore. You're just a corpse."
"…"
"Now light the damn cigarette for me. And if you believe in God, start praying."
He placed a lit cigarette in the mouth of Number 43. A few seconds later, the old man knelt like in prayer.
*14... 13*
"Phew…" he exhaled smoke, barely managing to suppress a cough. "So that's why people do this… Well, there's definitely something to it."
He put on his wired headphones, finally no longer hearing the moans and roars of the old men.
There was no time left to choose a song.
*Click.* He pressed the play button.
It would play the last track.
"Phew…" Taking another drag, he sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the table.
The melody in his ears began to grow louder as the rays of dawn fell on his face.
His reflection held no special expression or sorrowful expression, like that of an old man, for example. He just looked tired.
'Ah, I wish I could pet a cat right now…' he thought, taking the last drag of his life.
Finally, he realized what song was playing on his player.
It was his mother's player, which meant this song was the last one she had listened to in her life.
That realization made him smile a little.
And the song itself…
"Well, for an ending, it's not that ba…"
*BEEEEEEEP!!!* A piercing squeak came from the detonator.
He didn't even hear the sound.
For a split second, a white flash filled his vision… And then only darkness.
Not even a speck remained of him…
And it was perfect.
"Your dream is over. It's time to wake up, my… Champion." Until that voice called out to him.
...
An unknown amount of time had passed.
In the dark expanse, illuminated by the glimmer of distant stars, there were two silhouettes.
One of them was small and black, its darkness standing out even against the backdrop of space, and the other…
'Don't look, don't look… at it.'
"...So you're trying to say that I'll get a new life? In a different body and a different…" he said without raising his head.
"And in a different world. Yes, that's right," came the voice of the celestial being.
"..."
If there had been a heart in his shadowy soul, he would have felt it being crushed by those words.
The extraordinary voice of this great being began to sound muffled and almost indistinguishable.
It blended with the ringing in his ears, so reminiscent of an explosion.
"As I said earlier, this system is similar to the one that existed in your world… what you called 'elements'?"
"…"
"Fire. Earth. Water. Iron. Air… Of course, in your world this was considered fantasy, but here it's all quite real. With minor differences."
"…"
"There are Six Great Peaks and the Paths of Greatness leading from them… Um, six. Six Paths. All of this keeps the world in balance."
"The Path of Knowledge."
"The Path of Fortitude."
"The Path of Bond."
"The Path of Havoc."
"The Path of Dream."
"…And the Path of Solitude."
"…" He kept his head bowed and avoided meeting the creature's gaze.
"Each of the 6 Paths has 6 levels of power with their own abilities—6 Steps… And each of the 6 Peaks has its own Champion. They are symbols that participate in a great contest called the Champions Games."
"…"
"You are one of them… My Champion."
"…"
"The special one."
"…How many?" the dark silhouette finally uttered.
"…" This time, the great being remained silent.
"How many… did I kill?"
"The consequences of a nuclear explosion may only manifest years later, so the exact number…"
"You're some kind of damn god…!" he exclaimed hoarsely. "Is it really that hard for you to find out?"
A glint of the being's radiance accidentally caught his eye, so he lowered his head even further.
'Don't look, don't look… at me.'
"Don't blame yourself too much; that wasn't truly you…" With those words, the celestial being moved closer to him and whispered something in his ear. "*****"
"…" What he heard completely shocked him.
He wanted to sink into the darkness of space and disappear there forever, but…
"It seems the time has come…" The being placed its hand, as if made of countless stars, on his chest "Your trial awaits."
"…What?"
"Consider this a forced trial. You must escape from this place at any cost. Escape from the Pit… as fast as humanly possible."
He felt his dark soul begin to dissolve into the darkness.
"B-but why?!" he cried out hastily.
"...Because this is the only place his eyes cannot reach." the creature said in a strange, apologetic tone.
But that wasn't what he had asked.
All that remained of his spiritual body was a dark silhouette of his head, and with his last ounce of strength, he screamed.
"Why did you choose me as your Champion?! B-but I'm a damn…"
'Villain…' The end of the phrase faded away in his fading consciousness, never reaching his ears.
Despite this, the great being still gave an answer that he would never be able to hear.
"Because you are… My Biggest *****."
