Chapter 1: Timeless Treasure

From the start of 2012 onward, people had started to mysteriously disappear and no one knew where they went. The governments of each country falsely claimed to have found a percentage of the victims' remains and that the cause of death was determined to be organ harvesting. They led the people to believe that there was upsurge of human trafficking and black market organ dealings, which made the common people more cautious but didn't change much else. Who could blame them? They didn't know how bad it was going to get.

How could they relate these disappearances to the apocalypse that the Mayan civilization prophesied centuries ago. Conspiracy theorists have analyzed these disappearances and related them together, but no one actually believed it. Even the conspiracy theorists themselves subconsciously thought that the whatnot they spewed was bullshit.

They were anticipating the type of zombie apocalypse that appeared in those American blockbuster films and believed that the only sign of it actually happening was if the world was showing sign of plague. There had to be at least some warning signs, right? People disappearing wasn't enough to make them conclude the advent of the apocalypse.

Oh, how wrong they were. These people didn't actually disappear, but were in the process of being systematically transferred to the hellhole called Vilonce. Some mysteriously disappeared, but most involuntarily participated in a murder play where freak accidents "killed" them, but where they were actually transferred to Vilonce. The being that called itself God was sending people to their nightmares in batches like a mailman packaging his milk. Only after arriving did humanity know how limited their imagination was.

No one knew how big Vilonce actually was, but it was a natural consensus that you couldn't explore it all, even if you were to explore for a millennium. It was a marvelously beautiful world that hid the fierce competition for existence between the various races living there. It was a harmonious existence consisting of greed, power, fear and dread where the strong ate the weak and the weak fed the strong. Countless terrifying species of predators and prey formed a vicious cycle that led to the mass genocides of races being common.

As long as you have power, anything can be gained. All of the fame and fortune one could possibly dream of and much more. The millennium long problem of life span and aging could be a breeze as long as you had the power to gain it. Of course for where there is light, it is a must for there to be darkness. If 1% of the people enjoy fame and fortune, then the other 99% have dread and fear for the coming tomorrow.

It is in such a world that Max White has survived, and later thrived in after experiencing this beautiful hell for most of his century old lifespan. Although not famous nor one of the strongest, Max was a master at survival. His most important talent was being able to grasp the situation and use it to his advantage.

If it wasn't for his rough start and unknowingly making a bad foundation, he wouldn't necessarily be the most famous but he would most definitely be one of the strongest.

Transferred at 16 years old, he's almost forgotten what life was like before Vilonce. The only thing he can remember before Vilonce was that he grew up in an orphanage with his little sister-Charlotte and childhood best friend-Ross. He can still vividly remember Ross's death at that time. At the beginning of the trials, Ross's talent shone similar to a firework, but also lasted as long as a firework and eternally faded.

Later his little sister would be next as she didn't have the foundation of a grown adult. If looked at positively, she went away peacefully in her sleep. Negatively, and she was poisoned to death. He still remembers her peaceful face as she lay in eternal rest. If only he could protect her with his strength, she wouldn't have gone.

The loss of his two most cherished people led him to develop trust issues and forced him to be a solo survivor.

Thinking about it, Max had so many regrets that could have been prevented if he had the necessary strength and proper mindset since the beginning. But when thinking about this Max didn't show any pain, but a joyful smile on his face.

For someone who rarely revealed his emotions on his face, it is easy to imagine the bliss he felt. Hiding your own emotions is a basic for veterans of Vilonce, usually helpful in psychological warfare. But this veteran did nothing to stop the joyful look on his face. Looking at the little timeless treasure in his hand, his heart pumped with excitement.

[Stopwatch of Time]

Type: Consumable

Rank: EX

Effect: Close your eyes and imagine the time period you would like to travel to while using this item and when you open them, you will be there.

Description: Go forward or spring back to the time of your desire.

Looking at this description, Max was ecstatic. Only a fool would jump into the unknown future where people will be more developed and powerful. What if he was met with misfortune in the future and his future self was crippled? Max, like most people, was not stupid. If he was, Max White wouldn't be here now. He immediately formed an outline for what to do to make up for his regrets and take revenge against those who controlled his fate. That was only the beginning, as if one were to look closely you could see the flames of ambition forming in his eyes. This time he didn't need to go solo, this time he will create his own empire and claim the apocalyptic throne.