Leveling with the Puppets

{Foolish ones. Why did you think you could defeat us? What gives you the right to challenge the gods?}

The amused voice echoes throughout the battlefield.

That familiar voice caused most of humanity's bravest to shudder in fright.

The more fear that accumulated, the more powerful their opponent got.

And between this chaos, humanity's bravest and the last line of their defence gathered.

{Struggle all you want, but the system has already declared me as the 'ruler' of this world. There is nothing you all can do with your authority.}

{And even if you kill me, there are more gods from where I came from. Humanity will never be able to get rid of me.}

The entity continued in its amused voice.

It had no form or face, yet it managed to invoke fear in everyone gathered to fight it.

Another blast levelled the tower's surface, causing it to crack, and warriors fell to lower floors. 

More than half lost their lives due to that blast.

And slowly, people began to lose their confidence. 

Humanity had been fighting this war for about a decade now, and they were tired of being killed and dominated. 

They wanted an end to this nightmare.

"We cannot win. Is this how it's going to end? I refuse to believe it."

Even in such harsh conditions, one dared to bare his fangs and keep his head up.

That person was Orion, the hero of humanity.

He was the current strongest player of humanity and the one who led this charge.

{Oh! So, you refuse to give up, little human? Your resistance is impressive but futile in the end. Can't you see that you have already lost this war?}

The outer entity asked, but Orion refused to give up.

"I refuse to let you win. If we still have a chance, humanity will not fall."

Orion talked big, but no one believed his words. 

Even humanity was beginning to lose hope now.

{How naive. If this is what you think, then let me show you how wrong you are-}

The outer entity moved, but its body began to disappear. It's power was slowly being sucked away into something.

{You lowly being-! What did you do?}

 The entity asked in an enraged voice, but Orion only grinned.

"Me? I did not do anything. But our secret weapon finally made it."

{C-Curse you, humans. But you won't win. You will never be rid of us}

The entity cried as it disappeared into purple smoke.

A mechanical hand emerged from the smoke as it disappeared, and the body almost fell.

Someone quickly moved forward to catch the falling body.

"Soma, are you alright? That was not too much, right?"

Orion asked the young-looking man whose body was mostly made up of mechanical parts.

This puppet-looking man had been human once, but the more they fought, the more he had lost.

In the end, this was the state he had ended up in. 

But this child was also the last hope of humanity and the only thing capable of killing those outer gods.

"I am fine! I can fight more. We can overcome this."

Soma promised, but no one could see he had a problem standing.

After a thousand years of using this half-human body, it had started to break down.

"Hey, don't push yourself. You are our only hope."

Son Yokong, the strongest physical warrior of their era, spoke as he helped Soma stand up.

"You are right. I am truly the 'last' hope, right?"

Soma spoke softly, in a joking manner.

Humanity had not even finished celebrating when the place where the outer entity had disappeared was covered in smoke that began to condense.

Through the smoke, Soma could see an eye looking at him.

{Danger! The threat level has exceeded the safe amount.}

The system warned that noise was beeping in Soma's ears like an alarm.

"Soma, look out."

Someone yelled, and then blood splattered all over Soma's face.

He looked up at the familiar face of Orion, his brother in all but blood, looking down at him in regret.

"I am…sorry…this is…the end…for me…"

That day, humanity suffered its greatest loss and the ray of hope that kept them going.

'This is not real. NO! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS REAL. Orion is not dead-'

"Get yourself back in shape, Soma. Hurry, we need to get out of here."

Kronos yelled as he grabbed Soma's arm and pulled him along.

The entity that had killed Orion did not stop its hunt. It continued to kill and kill until Soma and Kronos were the only ones alive.

Soma felt numb, but Kronos dragged them into a cave with no light source.

"I-Is everyone truly dead? Kronos, what are we going to do now? How do we recover from this?"

Soma asked while trying to catch his breath.

But Kronos was resolute. 

"Soma, listen to me. I have…a plan. You are the only one left…no! You are the only one who could defeat the outers with your skill. So, you need to go back and fight."

Kronos explained, causing Soma to pause.

"Go back? Go back where?"

Soma asked in an angry voice.

But Kronos took a deep breath before he explained.

"Go back in time. There is a way to reverse time, but it will only work once and for one person. Soma, you need to be the one to go back and carry out burdens. Can you do that?"

Kronos asked, and Soma felt that it was unfair for him.

'But I can't complain since I am the only one left.'

"I understand. I will carry this burden, but Kronos, what about the price-"

The darkness lightened into a purple hue before an eye opened.

The outer entity had found them so soon.

{Where are you running}

The mere whisper of that voice was enough to entice fear in Soma's heart.

'No, I need to shake this fear off. It would only serve to make the outer god more powerful.'

"Soma, brace yourself. I will activate this array now. And from there on, whatever happens is up to you. So do your best. The others left you with a parting gift in your inventory. Use it as soon as you stabilize-"

The array started the same second Kronos activated his spell.

The outer god also snapped Kronos's head off.

'Kronos is dead as well. I never even knew his 'true name' until the end.'

A feeling of loss took Soma over, but he brushed it off.

No, he had to brush it off.

He could not let the knowledge of the future make his steps heavy.

{Where are you going?}

The outer entity asked, trying to get to Soma.

But his body disappeared before the outer entity could touch him.

[Warning! Impossible achievement achieved. All the stats will be revised]

[Unlocked: New achievement - The last stand of humanity]

The system blazed in Soma's head just as he got an achievement.

But it did not matter since the system disappeared from Soma's mind as he was flung into the past.

'Soma, you are humanity's last hope. Maybe your powers were a gift from the gods?'

Orion's words came to Soma's mind, and he felt angry.

'Don't say such ominous things. We are all humanity's last hope. If we are here, humanity cannot lose, right?'

Soma had asked Orion this question so proudly, but Orion had not answered back then. 

Now, it was clear why that had been the case.

'So, the only one who did not know about this plan was me.'

Soma closed his eyes as his consciousness faded from his body.

'Soma-'

"Brother Soma, are you alright? You went quiet during the confession and did not speak up."

Soma opened his eyes, and the first thing he noticed was his hand.

His human hand no longer felt metallic or weird.

The sensations in his hand were as clear as ever, but Soma was human once more.

'Where was I sent? What time is it? No! What day?'

"He looks spooked out. What happened."

"Do you think he had a nightmare? Or maybe an oracle?"

Soma slowly calmed down by hearing human voices.

Since they were speaking, he had yet to be in the tower.

"Brother Soma, is everything alright? You look spooked-"

"What is today's date? And where is this place? Can someone tell me anything P-Phone? I need a phone!

Soma asked, and everyone looked at him like he had lost his mind.

But one of the believers handed him a phone to check the date and time.

'I-I still have time. The tower and the system will not appear for another month. I need to make use of this time I have left.'

"Brother Soma, are you alright-"

"I need to go. Sorry, but I need to head out right now."

Soma yelled before he was running for his life.

He only had a month to prepare for the first trial humanity would face, and there was no time to waste