Chapter 1: The Pyromaniac Regresses

Depths of the deepest ocean, the darkest abyss.....

A small ember, the only source of light in this dark abyss, burns ever bright.

Beaten, battered, exhausted yet it still burns inexhaustible, unwavering and untamed by even this coldness of the Abyss.

The Abyss; A dark prison for those deemed indestructible, entities only to be sealed... This ember was one such entity.. renowned as The Pyromaniac.

A madman that once wreaked havoc, destroying planets, stars,even whole universes, yet only an ember remains now.

Once a mighty being, who wielded his flames of destruction, now suffering punishment by some self righteous bastards, who couldn't destroy him.

Reminded of past events, an intense rage burns his soul and a powerful aura bursts out.

The flickering soul burns brighter and brighter, condensing all heat it can. The seals burn, melted away by the terrifying heat. And the ember transforms into a majestic flame, wreaking havoc on the very Abyss itself. The ice cold waters of the abyss sizzle and burn. The fire carries not mere heat, but destruction and devastation, even the authority of the abyss cannot suppress the final attack of the once renowned Pyromaniac.

The Abyss is burnt to cinders, it's cold waters evaporated to nothing but mist. Only the small flame lingers in the now empty space, where the once mighty Abyss used to be.

[Congratulations!! Pyromaniac, for completing a secret Challenge - Destroy the Abyss. You have unlocked the Title"Destroyer of the Abyss".]

A voice rings out in the space, but no one can hear it, not even the flame that remains, the eternal flame. He has already been exhausted of his energy and will, yet his soul still persists somehow. Unending tortures, Ever growing hunger, and eons of solitude, for him to have persisted this long is in itself a miracle....

[Choose one of the two rewards:

1. Reincarnation

2. Regression ]

[You have five seconds to choose before the reward is randomly selected.]

No response, only silence greets this declaration.

[Random reward has been chosen.]

[Congratulations: Regression had been chosen.]

[Happy gaming]

A grin appears in the empty space and disappears as soon as it came.

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450 years into the past....

......

.....

The day of the launch of "Celestial Grounds".

The game that descended on the world, making everything it's playground. Created by God itself they had proclaimed.

A chance for the rise of humanity, not only as a whole but even individual prosperity had been guaranteed. Everyone had run for the chance to gain power, prosperity and wealth. Birds die for food and humans die for wealth as it is mostly commonly said.

{Today you shall all bask in the glory of The Celestial. Proclaim loud your meager name and enter the portal before you and you shall have what you desire.}

All the people of Earth could hear the voice in their minds, and as it kept speaking, the portals shining in blue hue appeared infront of trillions of people. Some eagerly jumped into the portals, while others hesitated waiting for those closer than them to be guinea pigs first.

{The portals shall be open untill you have entered and it shan't close, even all your lives if you don't go in. }

{For now farewell and may you choose well. Endless riches await those who enter the celestial lands. }

With that last sentence the voice disappeared.

Leaving people baffled at why such an opportunity was given like this. Although some adults grew more confused, the youths of the world grew more and more excited. Very bored of their mundane lives and this society, they gathered their friends along and went into the portals, leaving for whatever fantasy left to them.

One such youth, 15 years old, stood alone, examining carefully the portal and entering eagerly with a naively excited expression. Wanting to see a beautiful world filled with magical elements and fantastical sights yet his wish wouldn't be fulfilled, not this time as it didn't, the previous time.

The youth stands in a white space, looking serene and calm, unlike his previous eager self before entering the portal. His whole demeanor shifts as his eyes show a deep wisdom, and understanding of the situation.

He looks around calmly at the white space and at himself.

"So I've regressed? No wonder I feel so weak."

His child-like voice exclaimed in an emotionless tone.

"System get out here. Show me my previous quest and rewards log."

[The user has not been registered yet. Please speak your name to complete the registration process.]

The hollow voice rings out in the white space. The youth still isn't surprised at this situation.

"So even you regressed to your useless old self, haah. Guess I gotta do this shit one more time then."

"Register name: The pyromaniac."

[Invalid name detected. Please speak your real name, or be eradicated.]

The white space turns red for a moment before returning back to normal.

"Tsk. Worth a try."

He didn't want to use his family name, as it brought back memories that he wasn't quite fond off. And this system binds the soul with the true name of the person. He didn't want to be bound to this world but since he had entered the portal, it was imperative to comply for now.

"Ron Agnis", he mutters the name he once cherished, yet had ended up relinquishing in the future.

[Congratulations: Ron Agnis for registering successfully. You may now enter the Trial.]

The registration process was completed just like that and another portal appears, this time opening towards the trial planes.

Having done this once before, Ron moves towards the portal keeping a measured pace.

On the other side of the portal stands a grassland as far as the eye can see.

"Tch, to go through this shit again. What a waste of time." Ron mutters annoyed, remembering the fuzzy memories of the start of all this.

Although he had returned to the past, his memories still weren't complete and ofcourse certain things remained fuzzy.

[The trial has begun. ]

A blue screen appears infront of Ron.

[Rules: You are to complete atleast one challenge, in this stage, before you can continue further. The more challenges you complete,the better the rewards. If you deem it impossible to continue, shout 'I Quit.' and you'll be taken out of this stage.]

The trial as the name suggests was to distinguish the real geniuses from the rest. It was a screening process set up by the system. Many people would die in this place, the old, the children and the women. And those that survived and got out would still be in for a world, way different than their wildest expectations.

[The first challenge: Kill the Iron-claw.]

It was a 1 star beast, the weakest of the beasts in the celestial grounds. A grey rat, the size of a normal rat on earth, suddenly appeared in the field, it had claws made of iron, as befitting it's name.

Although the claws were dangerous if they hit, it wasn't too much of a challenge for anyone slightly adept at dodging.

Ron backs up a bit and takes out a dagger, that he keeps with himself all the time. The rat jumps at him with it's claws raised for attack but it's killed with one swing of the dagger.

[First challenge: Completed.]

[2 stat points awarded.]

"Well, that was easy."

[Second Challenge: kill 3 Iron-claws]

Surrounded by three of these creatures, Ron isn't flustered, he charges at one of them. Not giving it a chance to attack he pierces it's skull and kills it.

Screeee....

The other two scream at the scene but are also dispatched quickly in the same way. Ron wipes the blood on the knife with his shirt and continues the challenge.

[2nd Challenge Completed: Reward: 3stat points.]

[3rd challenge: kill 5 Iron-claws. Completed: Reward: Basic knife mastery.]

[4th challenge: kill 15 iron-claws. Completed. Reward: 4stat points.]

[5th challenge: kill 30 iron claws. Completed. Reward: Basic skill: pierce.]

As he continues to complete the challenges with ease, he is reminded of several geniuses who arose as soon as the tutorial ended. His eyes turn serious. He is reminded of himself before, when he only finished 5 challenges, although it was a good record but he was by no means in the top.

The highest challenge cleared by a human was the 17th challenge, a peerless genius who once stood at the very pinnacle.

A tall, muscular figure holding a spear appears in his mind. It was the protagonist of this era.

The man titled " The Hero Of Humanity."