'Rudeus!'

'Rudeus!'

'Rudeus!'

"Who is there?" Rudeus woke up from his long slumber and stood up abruptly, but when he looked around the dark cave where he isolated himself, he understood that he was alone and he only heard his wife's voice calling him inside of his dream, and although his emotions were messed up, he reacted instinctively.

However, when he went outside to hunt like he usually did, he suddenly rushed home!

He moved at an insane speed, jumping over trees, swimming like a fish in lakes, climbing mountains like a goat, but he didn't stop even for a second.

"Rita! Vivian!"

There was no mistaking it, that dark miasma that spread everywhere was not something that should exist in this world, and Rudeus knew that.

His wife and his daughter were his most precious treasures, and even when people made him their Lord, giving him so much power and influence in his world, Rudeus didn't even hesitate to discard all of that to protect his wife and daughter.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the only threat to his family, and as soon as he understood that, he knew that he missed something important.

And he was too late. "No.. No.. This can't be.."

The dark miasma affected the newborn babies first, and then older children too.

The horror was about to begin and no one could stop it.

After he saw his daughter's dead body, Rudeus completely lost control of his emotions and went on a rampage.

And that was just the beginning.

Cries of anguish echoed throughout the lands as parents saw these children die one by one, without understanding the cause, and completely powerless.

"What's happening? What is this?"

"This is the end!"

"The Gods had forsaken this world!"

Despair spread like a plague and people were desperate for answers, a way to escape this reality, and chaos reigned, giving birth to dangerous sects who began spreading lies about how sacrifices were needed to appease the Gods' wrath.

Despite the horrendous circumstances, people still began to fight against each other, factions against factions, country against another country, as they doubted each other and fear controlled their minds.

War began to destroy the mutual peace that was established by Rudeus's victory and there was no stopping it.

And Rudeus's misery continued to grow. "Why is this happening, what is this?"

He wasn't aware of it but after he left, his wife had already struggled with depression, and after their daughter died and Rudeus went on a rampage, her mental health worsened and she committed suicide.

"Hahaha! Hahahahahahahaha! Hahahahaha!"

Rudeus laughed, he laughed, he laughed.. He didn't cry, he just laughed, but his eyes didn't laugh.

He buried his wife next to his daughter and he looked at the sky and a pitiful smile appeared on his face.

He realized that he was completely broken.

The world was coming to end before his eyes but he didn't feel anything.

Portals materialized everywhere and monsters that were hundreds, even thousands of times more powerful than the minotaur appeared.

"What is this?" These were the last words that he could mutter before the end.

*****

Adam and Rudeus's fight continued, but as time passed, both of them felt like their actions were meaningless.

Rudeus wanted to take back everything that was taken from him and Adam wanted to protect his life and the people that were important to him.

At that moment, both of them were ready to do anything for the same of their goal, and both of them believed that they were doing the right, or at least they convinced themselves that it was the case.

"I knew it, you will be consumed." Rudeus said, blocking Adam's first with his palm.

From the look of it, Adam reminded him of his past self, ignorant and desperate, unable to find the answer to all of his questions.

The corruption had already overtaken Adam's mind, and he began to change, not only in the way he fought which had become more aggressive but also

in the way he felt.historical

For a while now, Adam had forgotten about Cristal, and also about Liu and Zax.

At first, it was just because he was focused on the fight, but Rudeus noticed the changes in Adam's behavior.

"Tch! Stop babbling nonsense, I will crush you here so that something like this won't happen again." Adam shouted. Then he stepped back and thought about his next move.

Their fight felt like it went on for hours, but in reality, only a few minutes had passed. However, Adam could already feel the damage accumulating and his strength draining very fast, and that was not good, because once again he was tempted to absorb more corruption.

Corruption was the easiest way to increase one's strength, and Adam experienced this firsthand, however, he wasn't aware of the consequences.

"You can still choose to stop, so stop now. Else, you will regret it." Rudeus said, looking at Adam as if he was looking at an old friend.

They exchanged blows for a few minutes but it was as if Rudeus could feel Adam's pain and the chaos inside of him, and it was to be expected as long as someone sought to follow the path of power.

"The more you acquire more power to protect, the more you need to distance yourself from the one you want to protect. Everything has a price, and you can't have both. So if you don't stop now, you will have to bear the consequences." Rudeus told Adam as if he was educating him about life.

".. It doesn't change the fact that I will destroy you and get out of her," Adam answered.

Of course, Rudeus's behavior was extremely puzzling, after all, he was supposed to be the final boss that Adam had to slay to save Liu.

Still, the fact that he didn't pull his punches also meant that his determination was real, even though he hesitated. He hoped that Adam would just surrender before it was too late, but for the sake of his goal, he didn't have the choice but to kill him.

Their fight continued once again, as they started again exchanging fists and kicks at a very high speed, to the point that afterimages of their movements appeared around the room.

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

Boom!

However, it was Adam who crashed into the wall, the ceiling, and the ground, almost every second, but just after that, he stood up and charged at Rudeus.

Swoosh!

Adam emerged from the rubble again after he was sent flying by Rudeus's punch.

He believed that he couldn't let Rudeus use his power, so he had to keep him within the range of his power.

Using his power of nullification while fighting, taking damage, and thinking about his next move was extremely taxing, but it was clear that he needed more than just his fist if he wanted to beat Rudeus.

'The plasma sword. But that won't be enough.. Something that can finish him with one hit.' Adam thought to himself.

The antimatter was powerful, but it was too unstable, and Rudeus wasn't a fool; Adam knew that even if Rudeus talked like he was lecturing him, he felt killing intent in his punches. It was as if he was warning Adam, and telling him to give up.

"This power is nothing but a curse. Soon, you will understand. That is if you can get out of here alive, and keep your sanity long enough to realize your mistake." Rudeus said as if he was talking about his experience.

At that time, another thought, or to be precise, a flashback appeared inside Rudeus's mind.

*****

'Rudeus!'

'Rudeus!'

Upon hearing a voice calling his name, Rudeus opened his eyes.

After the portals opened, his world was engulfed by chaos and corruption, and the years that followed that incident were full of pain and misery.

Countless people lost their lives, devoured by monsters, their bodies were torn apart violently, and those who were lucky enough to not die had to witness that madness driving them insane, to the point that they killed themselves.

After all, only a monster could feel nothing faced with such atrocities, yes a monster, like what Rudeus had become.

He saw his friends, the people he know dying one by one in every painful way possible, full of agony.

Rudeus continued to swing his sword, again, and again, and again, but the monsters didn't decrease, and his action didn't change anything.

In the end, he was the only one left.. Alone in a world devastated by monsters, continuing to fight day and night.

At some point, he stopped thinking, forgetting everything, his pain, his sorrow, and surrendered himself to his urge to destroy.

"Aaaaaaaa!"

Rudeus had become the thing that he feared he would become, but in the end, no one was there to bring him back.

At least, until he heard a voice deep inside of his consciousness.

"Rudeus!"

"Wh-who..is..there?"

He was already gone, his consciousness was more or less dead, but this voice brought him back to his senses.

"I will give you time. Time to take everything back by yourself." The mysterious person that appeared in front of him said.

Rudeus was given time, or more precisely, a fragment of the tree of life that gave him an authority related to time.

From that moment onward, Rudeus could steal time from everything he touched and could also do the opposite, in other words, give back the time he stole.