The second time

The years continued to pass, and Elion's strength grew with each new skill he acquired. His daily quests had become second nature, but they were no longer challenging. Evolved Dred that once terrifying were now little more than a nuisance, easily dispatched with a flick of his wrist.

He had become a master of combat, a genius in every field of knowledge.

And exactly 110 years after the world had first crumbled, Elion found himself standing on a hill, overlooking a ruined city. The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the land.

His eyes, usually filled with determination, now reflected only exhaustion and sadness.

After a century of living in solitude and increasingly monotonous routines, Elion unknowingly felt a void growing in his heart. He had lost his sense of purpose and motivation to keep living—or to feel truly alive, at least.

Now, he is goalless.

Elion even started to miss the very people who had once made his life a living hell.

"Am I finally going crazy?" His voice came out hoarse, barely audible, as his brow furrowed and his pupils trembled slightly.

What an irony. Once, he had wished for their disappearance. Now he longed for their presence.

Back then, he hadn't felt alive around them. And now, even after everything that tormented him disappeared, nothing had changed.

He still didn't feel alive.

He began to wonder deep within himself: what truly makes a person alive? Is it a beating heart? A fully functional limb and organ? Or what?

Elion wants to know. He really wants to, but he can only bite his lip in frustration, knowing no one could give him the answer to those questions.

"What now? I've done everything. Seen everything... What's the point on living now?" Elion muttered while looking into his now grand status window.

[Status Window]

Name : Elion Viro

Level : Lv. 10.000

Age : 124 Years

HP : 1,000,000/1,000,000 

IP : 1,000,000/1,000,000 

Strength : 50,175

Intelligence : 60,824

Stamina : 50,112

Agility : 50,334

Skills : [Creation Lv. 10] [Inventory] [Taekwondo Lv. 200] [Karate Lv. 200] [Sword Lv. 400] [Dragon Breath Lv. 350] [Endless Tentacles Lv. 200] [Celestial Torrent Lv. 100] [Blazing Fire Lv. 100] [Press to view more ↆ]

For the first time in a century, Elion felt truly vulnerable. His heart, heavy with the weight of a hundred years of solitude, ached with a new fear—the fear of eternal loneliness.

This time, the system didn't make a joke. Basically, the system constantly cracked jokes was to help maintain Elion's sanity and humanity in a world that had crumbled. By doing so, it became a companion for Elion, keeping him grounded and making him feel alive.

But in the end, it had come to this. The system can feel a deep sense of sadness, fear, and frustration in Elion's words and expressions.

Even the fear he felt this time was greater than the fear he had when he died at the hands of the Dred 110 years ago.

As the system was about to comfort Elion, it suddenly detected a massive energy fluctuation nearby. Without hesitation, it sent a warning to Elion.

[Warning! An unknown Dred is coming at you!]

Elion's eyes widened in response, immediately shifting into a defensive stance, his heart racing as he prepared for whatever was approaching.

Suddenly, the air shifted. A cold, unnatural breeze swept over him. He turned, eyes narrowing as he saw something forming in the distance.

A tear appeared in the middle of the air, as if the fabric of space itself had been ripped apart. From the tear, a figure stepped through. At first glance, it resembled a person, its form vaguely human. But as it drew closer, its true nature became clear—it was anything but human.

Its entire body was pitch black, as though made from pure shadow, with swirling tendrils flickering like smoke. Its eyes, however, glowed an eerie, unnatural gold, cutting through the darkness with a chilling intensity. The creature radiated an overwhelming sense of malice, its very presence distorting the air around it.

It walked in the air with a confidence that sent chills down Elion's spine. Elion's breath caught in his throat as he instinctively stepped back.

"What in the world... is that?" Elion muttered in disbelief.

[Elion, get a hold of yourself! That thing is dangerous! It's a Dred that manifested from your own fears and negative emotions!]

As the system's words echoed in Elion's head, the Dred moved in a flash, disappearing and reappearing only a few feet from Elion, its golden eyes boring into him.

It looked like a twisted reflection of Elion's deepest fear—his own solitude, his own despair.

When Elion thought it couldn't be more terrifying, the Dred opened its mouth and greeted. "Hello, Elion."

"W-What?" Elion was startled, subconsciously taking a step back. His body tensed, his mind racing. "You… can talk? How?"

The Dred grinned, "Of course. Because… I am You." Its voice was low and glitchy, like a broken tape, sounding terrifying.

Before Elion could process what its saying, the Dred made the first move, distorting the space around it and shifting its position faster than Elion could track.

In an instant, it was in front of him and then gone again, reappearing behind him.

As the creature opened its mouth and shot a breath of fire at Elion's still-frozen back, a very loud voice rang out.

[Get your shit together, kid! Or you'll die!]

The system shouted hard in Elion's head, waking him up from his frozen state in an instant.

Elion spun around in an instant, his reflexes sharper than ever. He barely had a moment to react before a massive torrent of flames surged toward his face, roaring with intensity.

Without hesitation, Elion opened his mouth wide, activating his skill and unleashing a blast of his own fire breath, meeting the incoming flames head-on.

As the two massive streams of fire collided, a tremendous explosion erupted instantly, shooting up into the sky, shaking the very earth beneath them. The deafening roar of the blast echoed through the air, loud enough to pierce the silence for the entire world.

BOOM!

When the smoke from the massive explosion dissipated, Elion could see the figure of the Dred, completely unharmed, floating in the air with a wide grin on its face.

Dred's grin irritated Elion, making Elion's body tremble in anger. "Alright then. Let's see how long you can keep that smug look on your ugly face."

He quickly reached into his inventory and pulled out his sword, the blade shining in the dim light. He lunged forward, slashing at Dred.

But the Dred was ready, blocking the strike with its own dark arm, which turned into a shadowy blade. The two swords clashed with a loud sound that shook the air.

"Weak." Elion teased, trying to stay calm despite the intensity of the fight.

Dred laughed, its voice echoing.

Elion then switched to taekwondo kicks, aiming to knock Dred off balance. He spun and kicked, trying to hit Dred in the midsection.

Dred copied the move, matching him kick for kick. Their feet collided, sending both of them stumbling back a little.

Feeling frustrated, Elion used his skill [Blazing Strike], sending fire energy into his sword. He slashed down, and flames shot toward Dred. But Dred raised its arm, absorbing the fire and turning it into dark tendrils that wrapped around it.

"Nice try." Dred taunted, smirking.

Elion grated his teeth. This Dred wasn't just copying him; it was perfectly reflecting his moves, predicting what he would do next.

He needed a new plan.

Elion started using his speed, darting in and out of Dred's reach, flipping and rolling. He launched a series of quick punches and kicks, combining his martial arts skills with his training.

Every Elion's hit was strong enough to blow off a couple mountains, but Dred kept matching him. Elion felt frustration rise as Dred started to mimic even his breathing, their movements synchronizing like they were dancing.

The battle that followed was unlike any Elion had ever faced. Every move he made, the Dred countered. Every skill he used, the Dred mirrored perfectly.

They moved with the same speed and the same strength, locked in a fight that seemed endless.

They fought for an entire 3 days and 3 nights. They had been circling the entire world three times and destroying everything that they passed.

Elion now could feel it. He was tiring. The Dred wasn't.

"Hah… hah… hah…" His breath feels heavy.

His Imagination Points were nearly drained after using every skill he had, and Elion didn't even get a chance to activate his creation skill.

In a moment of desperation, Elion unleashed Celestial Torrent, hoping to end it all.

The sky tore apart, and beams of blinding light shot down from above, flooding the world in an instant. The ground shook, and everything around was swallowed by the light.

Elion stood midair, watching as the force of his power crashed down, making explosions all over the place, covering the entire battlefield.

But as the light faded, his heart sank. The Dred hovered in midair, untouched, with that same twisted grin on its face.

"Shit." Elion became more and more frustrated. Even his strongest skills had no effect.

[Elion, maybe it's time to retreat.] The system's voice echoed with a rare hint of concern.

Elion clenched his fists, his eyes fixed on the Dred. "I'm not running."

But in the next second, before he could react, the Dred vanished and reappeared behind him in a blink, using space distortion. Its hand twisted, morphing into dark, strong tentacles.

A sharp pain tore through him as the tentacles pierced his body, coiling around him like endless black chains.

His vision blurred, every inch of him burning with agony as his strength faded rapidly.

[This... doesn't look good, Elion.] The system's voice was almost a whisper now.

The Dred tightened its grip, squeezing the life out of him. With one final, crushing surge, it ripped through Elion's body, leaving him breathless and gasping for air.

"Your mother was right," the Dred whispered right into his ear, its voice sending a cold shiver down Elion's spine. "If only you'd never been born, the world would've been a much better place."

Once again, Elion was faced with death. But in his final moment, instead of fear, it was pure rage that consumed him. So much so that he vowed to find, hunt down, and kill that Dred, even if it would take the rest of his life.

"Just you wait, you bastard!" Elion managed to grit through the pain. "I'll find you, and I'll kill you!"

And when everything went dark, a message from the system pops up.

[You have died.]

[Returning the host to the save point.]