There were eight billion. Now, only a few hundred remained.
The wind carried ashes. The stench of blood and burnt flesh clung to the air. Colossal structures lay in ruins, like the skeletons of a world that no longer existed.
Amid the debris, a small body lay motionless, half-buried in dust. One hand stretched forward… as if still trying to reach someone.
Faced with such devastation, a question echoed through the silent ruins:
— How did it come to this?
If anyone had asked the old master—the first of the awakened—he would say it all began sixty years ago.
Dark rifts tore open across the planet—wounds carved into space itself. From them emerged beings first mistaken for extraterrestrials.
But they were far more than that.
Human weapons were useless. Tanks, missiles, entire armies… nothing worked. For five years, humanity resisted, even resorting to nuclear weapons—but the damage was negligible. Cities fell one after another.
In the sixth year, humans with extraordinary abilities began to appear—like something out of fiction. People who could shatter buildings with a single strike, soar through the skies, bend energy to their will.
Hope ignited.
They believed salvation had finally reached Planet Azure.
They were wrong.
Those beings were not saviors. They came from another world—a place called Murim.
And they looked at humanity with nothing but contempt.
At first, they hunted the monsters, as if clearing the land. But it didn't take long before their true nature surfaced.
Humans became slaves to the so-called Martial Artists of Murim.
Women were traded like commodities. Children vanished without a trace. Families were torn apart. Entire cities became breeding grounds of exploitation.
It was hell. A place where millions died every single year.
Five years into that nightmare, the first human awakened a power similar to Murim's.
A spark in the darkness.
Then others followed.
And soon, a system began to govern everything. Cold. Absolute. Unforgiving. Status, abilities, and ranks dictated the worth of every individual.
Taking advantage of Murim's arrogance, humanity grew in secret.
They trained in hiding. Evolved in silence. Bled in the shadows.
And then… they struck back.
It took a decade soaked in blood to drive the invaders out.
A brutal war, where every victory cost thousands of lives.
In the end… humanity won.
There was one year of peace.
Just one.
Then, something worse came.
Enemies far more powerful than anything before.
Human growth was slow—painfully, hopelessly slow. The system's difficulty crushed most people before they could even begin, leaving them trapped in what was known as the "tutorial."
Progress depended on climbing a Tower.
A colossal, mysterious, merciless structure.
Every ten floors unlocked a new rank.
Very few ever made it past the fiftieth.
The master—the first awakened—reached the seventieth floor.
But even he could go no further.
In time, he abandoned the system. Just like the rest of humanity.
The population shrank like water boiling away in a kettle—evaporating day after day.
And as if that wasn't enough, corrupt leaders betrayed their own kind, trading humanity's future for Murim's favor.
Greed proved just as deadly as any enemy.
Many of humanity's greatest talents were lost to those conspiracies.
Then… forty-five years after it all began…
They appeared.
Beings that could not be defeated.
The weakest among them was Rank A.
There was no hope.
Not even the master—the only Rank SS—could stand against them.
That was when Vivian, the only Rank S Black Mage, proposed a plan.
A forbidden spell.
A leap across time and space.
A final, desperate gamble.
But the cost was overwhelming. Ki. Mana. Life force… and a body strong enough to endure it.
No one had that kind of power alone.
Even so, Linia—the Saint—revealed a forbidden absorption technique she had stolen from Murim.
— Master… I have to confess! I was planning to capture those Murim bastards and drain them to the bone… it would've been fun watching them suffer, hehe… Ah! What a shame I never got the chance! — Linia said, her voice trembling with regret.
Besides the master, there were ten Rank S warriors.
He was old. Ready to pass everything on.
But none of them had a body strong enough to withstand it.
It would take all of them.
All of them…
And within two hours, their bodies would wither into ash.
The master looked at them.
Not as warriors.
But as children.
The same children he had once found lost, starving, crying…
And who had somehow grown enough to choose death for his sake.
His chest tightened.
— There is no other way! Master, you're the only one who can do this — Vivian said firmly.
— You're the one who freed humanity and brought us this far — said Lucky, the War Axe.
— Master, you're the one who must carry our hopes — declared Lucas, the Phantom Swordsman.
— There's no one else who can do this but you! — affirmed Sebastião, the Guardian Warrior.
— Master… you've been our only hope from the very beginning… please accept it! — said Lucia, the Flame Archer.
The old man tried to resist.
— You damn brats… why won't you let an old man die in peace… don't you feel even a little sorry for me?
But there was no escape.
— Haa… when you look at me like that… it's not fair… you heartless disciples… not even sparing your own master! If this is the only way…
Lucia rushed forward and hugged him.
— Master, hehe… don't forget to take care of your Lucia again!
Faced with their resolve, he gave in.
Before leaving, he asked:
— Vivi… if I go back and change the past… what happens then?
— That… Master… I didn't want to say…
— If you don't tell me, I'd rather die here with all of you.
After a long pause:
— Haa… fine… you win… Even if you change the past… this future won't disappear.
He already knew.
Another timeline would be born.
— Tell me, Vivi… do you really think I'd become the kind of trash who would drain his own family just to survive?
— N-No! Never! You mean everything to us! — Vivian replied quickly. — This world is already ruined… even if we search everywhere… we'll only find a few hundred people…
They just wanted… at least one future to shine.
With no way out, he accepted.
The barrier holding back the dragons was breaking.
His disciples formed a circle.
One by one… their bodies withered like dying trees as their energy was torn away.
The master's power surged to its peak.
But his heart wavered.
— Master… do I look ugly now? — Linia whispered.
— My little Linia… you're still my beautiful girl.
— Hehe… you're still a terrible liar… you know that?
Vivian forced the rift open.
— Master… it's done! I've opened a path through space and time—decades into the past… go! Now!
Before stepping in, he glared at the dragon and spoke in its own language:
— I'll be back… and I'll wipe your stinking kind out of this world!
Vivian stepped forward and placed a small orb in his hand, her eyes trembling for a brief moment—yet she said nothing.
The dragon roared in fury.
And then—
— I love you… my children.
His voice echoed… and vanished.
°°°
On the brink of death, the disciples smiled…
Then—footsteps.
Two young figures appeared.
— Brother… I wanted to talk to him…
The young man shook his head. They couldn't risk altering the timeline.
The next instant, he vanished—
—and appeared before the dragon.
One strike.
That was all it took.
Space shattered.
The dragon's head exploded into a rain of blood.
Silence followed.
The young woman raised a hand, releasing a mysterious orb that restored the disciples.
— Just like you… we're also children of the one who left.
Relief… and silence.
— You know… he never stopped thinking about you. I wish I could tell him you're okay… maybe then he wouldn't look so sad.
— Then why don't you? — Lucia asked.
Silence answered.
— Master… in the end… you never changed… always sacrificing yourself… — Linia murmured through tears.
The young woman smiled faintly.
— Don't be like that… that old grump actually lived a good life. He became a legend in our world… even got married and had children.
Shock spread among them.
— Hehe… looks like that stubborn old man finally listened to me — Vivian laughed through tears.
Lucky glanced at Lucas, understanding something unspoken.
— You get it, right, Lucky? Haha… that was my idea! — Lucas said with a knowing grin.
Lucia's eyes widened.
— Wait… that teacher got to our master when he was younger and hotter? That bitch! She's making moves on our master—someone call the police! She needs a beating~
Sebastião immediately covered her mouth.
Even so…
Despite the pain in their hearts…
They smiled.
He had been happy.
"Remember this! You are my children. If the world ever turns against you… then I will turn against the world."
No one had forgotten those words.
He was never forced.
He chose this path.
He lived believing that power carried responsibility.
And even as a stubborn old man…
He was loved.
As they remembered, Lucia looked at the young man.
— Hey… is there something on my face?
— He looks like the master… — Linia said. — Are you his son?
— No. He's our uncle.
Vivian smiled softly. Everything fell into place.
— Hehe… hahaha… looks like I still have a chance — Lucia murmured.
Vivian sighed.
They all understood.
The master hadn't just changed the world.
He had changed his own destiny.