Prologue

[The <■ ■> have descended.]

[The <Armageddon> has begun.]

The system message notified any sentient being in the <Central Territory>.

Clouds in the sky disappeared as meteors the size of entire cities fell, leaving a trail of destruction.

Earthquakes of unprecedented magnitude wreaked havoc. Accompanying them were constant volcanic eruptions.

Beyond the horizon, multiple tsunamis could be seen that, like a tributary, combined and created something even more terrifying.

From time to time, spatial rifts in the void manifested themselves, and from there, terrifying auras emanated the very mysteries of the cosmos.

But that lost importance when the danger on land was no less.

The abyssal beings that possessed bodies of various sizes and shapes destroyed everything in their path, while the inevitable end of the world stimulated their most primal instincts.

The smoke widened, wanting to burn the lungs of anyone who dared to be in this place.

The tectonic plates cracked, and with it, deep cliffs were born.

Inside, a faint glow shone; they were rivers of lava.

Meanwhile, in an unusual way, a man with fatigue contemplated the hell that lay before him. His clothes were in tatters, but still clung to his body; a fact possible by the blood oozing from the wounds on his skin.

"Once more..."

He thought that he could at least mitigate the great sorrows that bound him by returning to the past. In the end, he would not become more intelligent or talented. He knew it perfectly well.

Information, while valuable, is not a determining factor in solving any problem. How and by whom it is used is even more important than simply having it. And it was a frontier that could not be crossed by sheer effort. Life was never that easy.

Nevertheless, as his victories grew, he gradually ignored that notion. Thus, he gained confidence and, why not, pride.

A big mistake considering that here dreams were annihilated and ideals were extinguished.

Of course, the losses were inevitable and unbearable at times, but he pressed on steadfastly despite this.

He had much to gain if he succeeded in his goal.

But as he watched the events now unfolding, he could only grit his teeth and scoff at his optimism.

Transported into a world so vast that it seemed infinite, where countless dimensions and universes were interwoven, only to end up falling into the same hopelessness from which he thought he had emerged.

Such irony left an extremely bitter taste in his mouth.

What he thought he had saved vanished, and the exact outcome of his first life was repeated.

His strength was once again insufficient to change anything.

"... Regressors don't always have a fairy tale ending," he mocked.

No... it was just his ineptitude?

He was granted an incredible opportunity and lacked the skill to take advantage of it properly.

He wanted to cry, but he had no more tears to shed.

After all, how could an effect occur without a cause?

Having lost everything, he felt empty and lacking in aspiration.

"Uggh..." A wave of exhaustion washed over him, and, limply, he weakly knelt on his knees. "So... This is where it ends?"

Following his words, a shockwave originated nearby.

It sent him flying like an ownerless kite and further damaged his already disastrous body.

Usually, he would be able to stay upright and uninjured, but at this moment, this was as far as he could go.

As he fell to the ground and despite his immense willpower, he hissed with his expression distorted by pain.

When was the last time he had suffered a similar ordeal?

With information about the future, he constantly avoided the most significant dangers and tried to make the most of opportunities.

That was his maxim.

Looking back, it ended up being a big mistake—the more complex the work, the greater the reward.

It was a truth as straightforward as <Kirnora Falls>, but he realized it late... too late.

"I have sinned of presumption," concluded.

A real pity, but time has run out to change the course already set.

This world is not for giving second chances, his situation was an exception among thousands of others.

A lower probability than even winning the lottery.

Swoosh!

Soon after, another meteorite fell, preventing him from even looking closely at the spot where it had landed.

Auge!

The few remaining trees around him were annihilated, and a third of his body was charred.

"Shit!!!" he roared at the top of his lungs, his vocal cords on the verge of breaking. This had already crossed the limits of what he might be able to endure.

Then, without giving him respite, the seemingly distant tsunami arrived and flooded the world with unstoppable force.

Crash!

The water relieved some of the burning created by the flames that should have already incinerated her were it not for her abilities, but added a new layer of suffering.

An unknown amount of liters of water created immeasurable pressure.

The ribs that protected his lungs and heart cracked and then broke.

Even with all the cacophony of noises, hearing the cracking with absolute clarity was possible.

In the face of such attacks coming uninterruptedly, his body evidently could not last long.

All that was left of him was a mere puff of energy.

"... I'm sorry," he apologized with no one to whom his words reached.

At the same time, his mind was playing tricks on him.

The man thought he saw the faces and perceive the physical presences of his loved ones.

At this point, he was already hallucinating. Despite this, he didn't mind.

On the contrary, it helped lighten his mood and clear his mind.

It made him realize what he had caused and the consequences he had to pay for it.

In turn, he was confronted that which he always tried to overlook even though it was right in front of him.

The man sighed, feeling that he owed them a lot.

He underestimated the weight of the expectations, and he didn't truly value the importance of the responsibilities he had taken on.

He promised a path to survival, but it all came down to this.

In the end, it was just empty words. Simply a means to comfort himself and others.

With that, and reflecting on everything that had happened so far, the man finally understood.

Sometimes, some events were unavoidable even if you gave it your best.

No doubt he could have done more, but seeing the mess that was the <Central Territory> currently, he could no longer shy away from the obvious.

Absolute and unstoppable failure. It was undoubtedly the greatest of his fears.

'A moment of lucidity at death's door...' he thought.

"Apparently, it was true," he said dejectedly.

Apart from that, and unfortunately for everyone, the price to pay was...Total annihilation!

He didn't even want to imagine it, but it was happening, and he could do nothing to stop it.

Likewise, the man retained a hint of his declining consciousness.

Otherwise, it would be the same as accepting death, and he could not yet afford that rest.

Graciously, even in this world on the brink of destruction, he still had problems to solve.

Or in other words, promises to keep.

Perhaps that was the only thread he could cling to in order to stay sane.

So, even with the horrible injuries he suffered, he tried to get up with everything he had.

His body wavered like a weak flame against the cold tundras of winter. And inevitably, he collapsed on the ground without any vigour.

He no longer had the strength even to complain.

His body slowly grew cold, and his eyelids felt heavy.

What little vitality was ingrained in his existence was extinguished.

Soon, he could no longer breathe, the gleam in his eyes faded, and the darkness swallowed him like the gaping maw of a terrifying hungry beast.

All that was left in place was a lonely corpse.

With the overflowing temperatures, the body was reduced to ashes that were then violently scattered by the gusts of biting wind and tornadoes that reached the top of the atmosphere of these vast lands.