[Fifth World Of Aerith]

On the [Fifth World Of Aerith].

13 humanoid figures stood solemnly, waiting for a few more to arrive.

A [Archdeacon Of The World] title was seen above the head of a 5'9 tall, beautiful, short, golden blonde-haired paladin. Her name was Shirley Rhodes, and she had crimson, blood-dyed eyes that seemed to be glaring into everything as they instilled in them inextinguishable fear. She had a pitch-black broadsword attached to her back, which was taller than her by a whole foot. Golden-coloured, divinity-filled patterns were engraved on the sword's wide "fuller."

A [Overlord Of Armour] title was seen above an armoured-up knight; absolutely nothing that described that man was visible except for the greyish purple blood smudges on his 5-foot-long double-edged sword and full-plated armour. His name was Ivor Mendez, and he was a knight.

[Seer Of The White] was a title displayed atop the head of a 5'5 tall, alluring, thigh-length silver-haired woman. Her name was Jasmine Tyler, and she was a saintess. She had silver-blue eyes, which calmed those who gazed at them, and a crystal orb that was filled with 75% golden liquid, floating in the middle of a halo that adorned the top of the head.

[Dom Of Life] was a title displayed atop the head of the healer; his name was Quinn Clayton; he was 6'1 tall, and had short silver hair with jade green eyes; and a neon green hue enveloped him whole, his hue seemingly calming the surroundings. He was a healer.

[Ebonblade Of Regret] was displayed on top of a dark-skinned woman whose head was adorned with a cowboy hat that hid her bright orange eyes; she was 6'3 tall, and wore a long jacketed, armoured hunter set; her name was Amanda Houle; and she was an assassin.

The title [Sovereign Of Genesis] was displayed atop a dark-skinned man with magic circles engraved on his knuckles; he had electric blue eyes with his curly hair tied up into a bun; his name was Louie Barker; and he was a mage.

The title [Achilles Of The Unholy Ashes] was visible atop a bulky, Viking-styled, 6'3 tall, dark brown haired man with sea green eyes. His name was Drake Osborne, and he was a berserker.

[Thorny Incarnation Of Blood] was visible on top of a man, who was adorned with knightly armour that was similar to Ivor Mendez's, but the one difference was that he, Gary Carline, wielded a spear; he was a spearman.

[Ruined Sword Of The Void] was visible atop an armoured man with a sword in his hand. His name was Ulric Kain, and he was a swordsman.

[Etcher Of Eternal Rest] was visible on top of another man's head, and he too had his face hidden behind his helmet. Oswald Rios was an archer.

[Crusader Of Perdition] was visible on top of a bald man; the lower half of his face was covered with a mask that was pulled down till his collarbones; he was 6'5 tall and had worn shoulder and arm guards without a torso; and proper armoured pants to cover his lower half. His name was Edwin Woods, and he was a warrior.

[Malignant Ironbark Buckler] was visible on top of another knightly armoured man, whose description was well hidden, like Oswald, Ulric, Gary, and Ivor. His name was Kenelm Burton, and he was a shield wielder.

And finally,

[Conqueror Of The Faded Memories] was seen on top of a beautiful, 6'0 tall, grey-haired woman with forest green eyes, whose name was Megan Garza. She wore open-front bra-like armour with skin-tight armoured pants; she was a necromancer.

There was one thing that all thirteen of them had in common, and that was the scars they carried on their bodies; even a saint wasn't an exception.

"When are they going to come?" Jasmine Tyler, the saintess, argued with a small pout of dissatisfaction.

"Let them take their time; today's the last free day for us." Louie said it with a hint of melancholy hidden in his voice.

FUUUUUUMMMMMM-!!!

"I don't think this is the kind of conversation that should take place among gods." Roared a loud mortal's voice from behind, and those whom the mortal claimed to be gods gazed at him over their shoulders.

The man was flying towards them with a jetpack hung on his back, as strong, hot air pressure was being released by the jetpack to hold him afloat. He was a 6'2 tall, silver-haired man with artic blue eyes; his name was Keith Frazier, with a [Classless] title displayed atop his head. And similar to the gods, he too had scars hidden behind his armoured clothes that were dyed in purple-coloured blood; the difference was that there were scars on his face too. His right eye was forcibly shut due to a wide scar, and there were more scars on his lips, cheeks, and a horizontal scar that traced his forehead from one end to the other.

Next to him was a dark brown-haired, brown-eyed, and brown-skinned alluring woman who seemed to be floating mid-air, defying gravity and nature's laws, while a sword rested on her waist belt. Her name was Beatrice, with [????] displayed on top of her head, meaning that she was stronger than the gods standing at a cliff edge. But of course, they could see what the title was if they put in a bit more effort. Since they didn't care about her enough, they ignored her as they deemed that it wasn't worth the effort, and currently, it didn't matter as long as she was strong enough to fight together with them.

Beatrice had an uninterested face as she gazed at those below her, and her expression seemed to ask, "Why am I dragged into these kids' play?" but since they knew that she was the strongest among them for whatever reason, they kept quiet. Though the comparison only happened between the righteous knight and her once, since he was defeated, they had learned that she was strong, and that was enough for them due to the responsibilities they bore; they didn't have enough leisure to care about everything.

And,

"..... Can I go back? I don't care about your bullshit as long as you don't cross paths with me." Beatrice said it with an apathetic expression and tone that sent chills through their hearts.

TING-!

ROLL-!

"This is the dungeon core you guys asked for." Keith mumbled as he tossed a pitch-black, black hole-like core on the ground as he took off the jetpack and placed it in his inventory, perfectly ignoring Beatrice's words as if he hadn't heard her.

STEP-!

Beatrice landed next to Keith, and as they approached the gods, they realised that today was the last day they had to do whatever they wanted because, from tomorrow on, they were going to be busy fighting against the stronger entities that had long surpassed the levels of the beings called gods.

["World Devourers" descending in: 00D: 25H: 47M: 37S]

["The Beginning Of The End" will be unfolded from the [Fifth World Of Aerith.]]

[Fifth World Of Aerith] was a world that had no human civilization due to its harsh environment; it was a world that was ruled by nature and beasts, with few being able to rival those that are claimed to be gods. Mountains, cliffs, caves, "labyrinths," and "ruins" filled the [Fifth World Of Aerith], and this world, if not for its unpredictable levels of danger, would have been the most optimal solution to farming experience points.

"Wait for a minute." Louie said as he walked towards the circled group, after picking up the core from the ground, using telekinesis.

The divinities of all thirteen of them blazed, flickered, snapped, flowed, and flitted around everywhere as they coalesced in harmony before getting sucked into the core Keith had brought. The core was now a bright, ocean blue liquid carrying orb, which seemed like a literal ocean was trapped inside of a miniature orb. It wasn't that weird considering that it was done by beings who were gods themselves.

Baffled by the mesmerizingly beautiful orb floating towards him, Keith was only able to gaze at it apathetically. Even though he was excited about what the orb could do, since he had seen too much of things he shouldn't have in his hellish life, he didn't have much change in his expression, as always.

"It is a gift. A gods' gift, to be exact." Shirley stated in an authoritative tone.

"Gods' Gift?" Keith's heart palpitated in anticipation and anxiety as he began to contemplate whether to take it or not.

"That orb will grant you a [Class], and do not worry, you won't be bound to us." Megan scoffed at Keith's wariness. However, Keith just smiled at her in response.

"Appraisal." Keith muttered under his breath, and

CRA-CRACK-!

Before the cracking sounds registered in their minds,

BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM-!

A pitch-black, light-devouring object peered at the [Fifth World Of Aerith], and the absurd amount of concentrated magic power's pressure forced all fifteen of them on to their knees. Before they understood what was really happening, an insanely dense, suffocating magic power merged with its ambience, descended upon them, and slashed through everything that stood in its way, its range covering the whole of the [Fifth World Of Aerith!]

A simple, thin line appeared throughout the whole world, and the reason for that was the object that had already disappeared into nothingness, and as the aftereffects of the slash, absolute devastation descended upon the world!

Amid this utter chaos, Keith, who was falling into the depths of the crumbling world as he lay upon a small surface of the crumbled cliff, gazed at the ocean-held orb that he had held tightly as if his life had depended on it.

[Appraised!]

[ORB OF TIME]

[Divine Artefact]

[CRAFTED] Item description: Crafted from the divinity of all thirteen gods.

[Effects: Class is changed to [Timekeeper].

[Regression] ability can be used once. [Returnee] title is granted upon ability usage.]

[Warning: The user's [Fate] will fluctuate constantly.]

[One-time use: 0/1]

The orb was dyed in his own red blood and the whitish golden blood of the gods; his fingers were twisted at unnatural angles, while his thumb, middle finger, and ring finger had managed to hold on to the [Orb Of Time]. Keith's face was bloodied, his limbs were bent at unnatural angles except for his orb-held hand, and he was on his last breath, and he knew it.

Keith managed to flash a smile as he muttered

"Heed.... the call of the strongest mortal! I, Keith Frazier, command thee, descend upon the new RULER OF TIME!"

TING-!