There was a game.
[The Ruined World Gallery]
It wasn't a particularly popular game, but it had its own fame.
It wasn't loved by everyone, but it had its fans ready to defend it to the last drop of blood.
It did not conquer the tops, it was not the best of the best, but it became known as a trash-treacherous game in the gaming community.
Videos with titles like [Players' Reaction to a Suddenly Treacherous Game] were constantly taking highlights on video hosting sites.
The forums were bursting with posts from burning players and comments from trolls who mocked them.
The problem wasn't one particular Bad Ending. There was something more.
The Saintess, who dreamed of a better world, burned her body as an offering to God, wishing to rid the world of injustice.
God honored her request and descended into the world.
In the end, the entire world was burned in divine flames.
[The world has been Destroyed.]
[You failed to protect the world from destruction.]
[The Gallery wishes you good luck in the next cycle.]
The Oracle that wreaked havoc in the world in an attempt to overpower the evil ways of fate.
"This time, I will definitely be able to…!"
[The world has been Destroyed.]
The heir of the Great Hero tried to find light in this world, which led to the birth of the Cataclysm.
"They'll all pay for it."
[The world has been Destroyed.]
An artificially created Dream Demon that cursed his birth and turned the whole world into his endless nightmare.
"Let us enjoy our long-cherished dream… forever…"
[The world has been Destroyed.]
[You failed to protect the world from destruction.]
[The Gallery wishes you good luck in the next cycle.]
No matter what you did, there was always someone who brought the world to a Bad Ending.
Because of their inevitability and incorrigibility, they were labelled [Fates].
Someone that had to be avoided. Someone that couldn't be avoided.
A world full of pain and suffering, a world devoid of any light and hope for the player.
A world that was falling apart no matter what you did.
By killing the Hero, sparing the Villain. By sparing the Hero, by killing the Villain. By sparing both, by killing both.
[The world has been Destroyed.]
Because of an injustice that was ignored. Because of an injustice that has not been ignored.
[The world has been Destroyed.]
Because of those who sought Immortality. Because of those who tried to get rid of Immortality.
[The world has been Destroyed.]
Because of those who were abandoned. Because of those who were not abandoned.
[The world has been Destroyed.]
Because of those who betrayed. Because of those who didn't.
[The world has been Destroyed.]
Because you were just breathing. Because you just weren't breathing.
[The world has been Destroyed.]
[You failed to protect the world from destruction.]
[The Gallery wishes you good luck in the next cycle.]
After an infinite number of repetitions, the players realized that Gallery was woven from an endless number of such endings.
A world doomed to fall no matter what you do. It was the world of Gallery.
And that made the desire to find that unknown [happy ending] even stronger.
Just like Sisyphus pushing a boulder uphill, only to see it roll back down, the players stormed Gallery over and over again, trying to find it.
I was one of the enthusiasts masochists that strove to find that [happy ending], by constantly immersing myself in this hell.
Having spent thousands and thousands of hours in this game, having met countless endings, I could only say one thing – none of them was happy.
As I said before, it wasn't a particularly popular game. In truth, it was trash.
But it was my trash. I loved this trash.
***
And so, one day, I found myself in this world, in the body of Damien Nilfheim, the living trash from the first Arc of the Trashy Game.
"I'm doomed."
Why was I sent here? Have I sinned in my life?!
Wait… yes, I have sinned. So this is punishment?
Shaking off these philosophical thoughts, I went back to my memories.
How did I get into this world?
I got hit by a truck. Sounds cliched, doesn't it?
Yeah, but I wasn't on the road at that point and heck, I wasn't even outside, I was just sitting at home in my favorite chair!
As I was about to restart [Gallery] once again, a truck that appeared out of nowhere rammed into some concrete walls and hit me.
Still, it should be commended for its perseverance.
Who knew the first one to chase me so desperately would be a four-ton truck?
Shaking my head I came back to reality.
The world will be destroyed no matter what I do.
I can run from it, I can stand still and I can even try to take off – the world will still fall.
It would be worthy of the dark tragedy genre if it weren't for one thing.
I didn't get here without my cheat code.
[As you have been granted special privileges.]
[Choose one of the following Traits.]
Just below, a seemingly endless list unfolded before me.
[Stellar Annihilation] [Ex-Rank]
[Origin: source.]
[Your strikes gain x10,000 bonus to area damage. Capable of destroying stars.]
[Sacred Body of Heaven and Earth] [Ex-Rank]
[Origin: source.]
[Endless potential for martial arts. Your body defies Heaven and Earth.]
.
.
.
[Regression] [Ex-Rank]
[Origin: source.]
[The user will regress to the past each time after death. Your soul denies the flow of time.]
These were Traits labeled [Ex-Rank], something that even the mad world of [Gallery] dismisses as impossible.
Something that transcended the very laws of the world and made any Goldfinger protagonist blush in comparison.
Abilities that completely break the balance.
"What a load of garbage."
But I couldn't be satisfied with it.
Stellar Annihilation?
What am I supposed to do with this? Destroy the world with my own hands?
No, thank you.
The perfect martial arts body?
I can become invincible in this world, but what if the real God descends?
It's like becoming the strongest ant to be crushed by an elephant.
Regression? It was tantamount to voluntarily locking yourself in perpetual torture.
Even I haven't sunk to that level of masochism yet.
I quickly rejected all of them. None of them could help me save the world.
If [Gallery] could be passed just by breaking its balance, it wouldn't be called a trash game, nor would I spend so much time in it.
Still, I continued my search through this list of Traits.
There were a lot of appealing titles, more like cheat codes.
[Absolute Immortality] [Ex-Rank]
[Instant Death Touch] [Ex-Rank]
"Haha… garbage… total garbage..."
Instant Death Touch?
Some [Fates] only activated after death, leading the world to destruction.
Absolute Immortality?
What's the point of being the sole survivor when the whole world has been turned to dust?
Again, not one of them could help save me this world.
With that determination, I continued.
The light in my soul had already faded after watching the 100th Trait, and after the 400th my hopes died.
But no matter what, my finger automatically kept scrolling down the endless ribbon of Traits. Until...
"Huh...?"
Just two words caught my eyes.
[Mind Singularity] [Ex-Rank]
I've never seen a title like that even in the game logs.
Could that be the reason?
[Origin: custom.]
Not having high hopes, I read its description.
And then an uncontrollable smile slowly appeared on my face.
"...Perfect."
This bizarre world, created from an endless weave of bad endings, needed an equally bizarre skill to save it.
Incredible martial arts, immense talent, devastating combat power, regression... couldn't save this world.
This insane world could only be saved by more insanity.
"I choose [Mind Singularity]."