The air was thick with smoke, sharp with the smell of blood. It stung the throat like a knife. Ash fell from the sky like dark snow, covering the ruins of a city that used to shine with life.
Tall buildings, once proud and gleaming, now leaned like broken giants, their windows shattered. The streets were cracked and littered with rubble, twisted metal, and dying fires that flickered in the heavy silence.
Bodies lay everywhere, piled in heaps that made the ground look like a grim painting. Men, women, children—their faces frozen in pain, mouths open as if screaming silently.
Among them were the heroes, the ones who used to soar through the sky with capes flowing like flags of hope. Their armor was cracked, stained with blood. Their capes, once bright, were now torn rags draped over their lifeless bodies.
In the middle of this nightmare stood Alex Virtz. His body shook with exhaustion and sorrow. His chest heaved as he struggled to breathe, each breath feeling like a fight against the weight of the world. His face, once strong and confident, was pale and streaked with blood—his own and his friends'.
His armor, which had protected him through countless battles, was broken and covered in ash. In his hand, his legendary sword—forged long ago to slay monsters—felt too heavy to hold.
Alex stared at the destruction, his eyes wide with horror and heartbreak. Tears blurred his vision, but he fought them back. These were his friends, the people he laughed with, the ones who dreamed of a better future.
The innocents he swore to protect, the kids who looked up to him with big, hopeful eyes. His world—beautiful, messy, and his—was gone, turned into this wasteland. A sob stuck in his throat, sharp like a blade. How did this happen? Where did they go wrong?
Above him, a dark figure floated, casting a shadow that swallowed the last bits of light. It was Harvey Gordon.
The name burned in Alex's mind, filling him with rage and despair. Harvey hovered in the air, his body glowing with a faint, eerie red light. He looked like a storm wrapped in human skin, his presence so heavy it made breathing harder. This wasn't the Harvey Alex had heard about in quiet tavern stories—a lonely, mocked boy, ignored by everyone.
That boy was weak, unwanted, a shadow no one noticed. People laughed at him, pitied him from a distance, but never let him belong. Harvey had lived like a ghost, his heart aching from rejection, his days filled with silent tears.
But that boy was gone. Something dark—the Forbidden System of Destruction—had pulled him from death and reshaped him. It gave him power, turning his pain into a weapon. Harvey wasn't human anymore. He was the Celestial Lord of Destruction, a force that made even the stars tremble.
Harvey's red eyes scanned the ruins, calm but hiding a storm of feelings he'd buried long ago. To the world, this destruction was a tragedy. To Harvey, it was his destiny, a way to release the anger that had grown inside him for years.
He remembered the taunts, the loneliness, the nights he cried, asking why he even existed. The System answered, giving him strength, but at a terrible cost. Each life he took echoed his own pain. Deep down, a small part of him wondered: Was this what he wanted? Or had the System turned his grief into something monstrous?
Harvey raised his hand, and a black aura swirled around it like a snake. It formed a glowing ball of energy, humming with the power to destroy worlds. The strength surged through him, drowning out his doubts. But as the energy grew, a pang of sadness hit him. These people had families, dreams—things he once wanted.
His hand shook, not from weakness, but from the tiny piece of humanity still inside him. He pushed it away, focusing on the betrayals that fueled him. They ignored him, mocked him. Now they'd feel his pain.
Alex's knees gave out, his sword slipping from his hand with a dull clang. Hope shattered inside him, leaving only an empty ache. "This… this is it," he whispered, his voice shaking. "The apocalypse." Tears rolled down his face, cutting through the dirt.
He thought of his wife's gentle smile, his daughter's laughter. Gone. All gone. His heart broke with every memory. Why keep fighting? He'd given everything—blood, sweat, tears—and it wasn't enough.
He sank to the ground, the impact nothing compared to the pain in his soul. He closed his eyes, not bravely, but because he was done. He'd fought for others, bled for them, begged for mercy. But the world was already dead, and he was just a ghost clinging to it.
Above, Harvey stretched out his arm, the massive ball of energy hurtling forward. It roared through the sky like a beast, tearing reality apart.
Alex braced himself, fear and sadness mixing together. He whispered a goodbye to the life he loved—
But in that moment, a blinding light swallowed him. His body was yanked away, reality twisting around him in a dizzying spiral.
The blast hit.
The city vanished in an instant, the ground melting into a sea of ash and stone. Every scream, every heartbeat, every trace of life was gone. Earth—Universe X—was dead, its echoes fading into nothing.
The only sound was the System's cold chime.
[Objective completed.]
[New Ability Unlocked: Interdimensional Travel.]
[Congratulations, you have unlocked a new path.]
Harvey's lips curled into a smirk, but his eyes stayed empty. He looked up, past the ash-filled sky, to places no one else could see. The System's voice was his only companion, cold and constant. But as its words faded, emptiness washed over him.
Destruction gave him power, but not peace. In quiet moments, the boy he used to be stirred, longing for connection, for forgiveness he couldn't give himself. "Is this all there is?" he thought, his heart heavy. The multiverse stretched out before him, vast and uncaring, like the void inside him.
[New Objective: Destroy the entire Multiverse.]
The words sparked something dark in him, pushing back the doubts. Harvey stood taller, his aura flaring. He'd keep going. Stopping meant facing the monster he'd become.
The Ancient Realm
Far away, hidden beyond the broken worlds, was a place of pure beauty—the Ancient Jade Celestial Palace. Rivers of light flowed through gardens of crystal flowers. Towers glowed with ancient symbols, reaching into clouds that shimmered blue and gold. The celestial lords lived here, beings older than the stars, their forms glowing like tiny galaxies. Their words shaped reality itself.
Alex crashed onto the palace's glowing marble floor, pain shooting through his broken body. He opened his eyes, and awe hit him like a wave. The celestial lords stood before him, their eyes deep with wisdom that stretched across time.
One spoke, their voice like a chorus of bells, echoing in Alex's heart. "Alex Virtz, mortal warrior. You have been chosen."
His lips trembled, his voice breaking. "Chosen? For what? My world is gone. Everyone I loved is dead. How could I—" Tears spilled over, hot and unstoppable. He saw his daughter's trusting eyes, felt her small hand in his. The grief was a monster, tearing him apart. Why him? Why not them?
"Harvey Gordon must be stopped," the celestial said, their voice shaking the palace.
They reached out, and power flowed into Alex. His veins burned with energy, healing his wounds and making him stronger than he'd ever imagined. It was overwhelming, filling the hole in his heart with purpose, but also fear.
New Abilities Granted to Alex Virtz
* Strength of Herculian strength : Power that made him feel invincible, but reminded him of how fragile he once was.
* Cosmic Flight: The freedom to fly, like a childhood dream now tinged with sorrow.
* Speed Beyond Light: So fast it blurred time, like how quickly his life fell apart.
* Weapon Casting: Creating divine weapons, each one a symbol of his will to fight.
* Portal Casting: Crossing worlds and calling allies, a chance for salvation—or more loss.
Alex shook under the power, doubt creeping in. "Why me?" he asked, his voice raw. "If you're gods, why don't you stop him?"
Silence fell, heavy and sad. One celestial spoke softly, their voice full of regret. "Harvey Gordon is beyond us. He's the Masterpiece of Destruction, the strongest celestial ever. We can't break the natural order."
Fear froze Alex's blood. If gods were scared, what chance did he have? But beneath the terror, a spark of determination grew, fueled by the love he'd lost. Hope was gone, but duty wasn't. His grief had become his strength.
Five Years Later
Five years passed, filled with silence, grief, and brutal training. Harvey had destroyed Universe X and now ruled its ruins alone. Power kept him alive, but loneliness ate at him. Sometimes, he wandered the wastelands, memories of his old self haunting him. The boy he was wanted redemption, but the destroyer he'd become ignored it.
In the distance, a throne stood—made of broken towers, burned relics, and the bones of heroes. Harvey sat there, his aura poisoning the land, his red eyes staring into nothing. Power had made him a king, but it couldn't fill the emptiness. "What have I become?" he thought, a tear falling before it burned away. Regret flickered, but his ambition crushed it.
A portal tore open in the sky.
Alex stepped out, his new celestial armor shining like stars. His eyes burned with resolve, hardened by loss and years of training. Grief had shaped him, but love—for his world, for the innocent—kept him going.
He looked at the throne, at Harvey.
Harvey stood, a smirk hiding the fear of seeing himself in Alex's eyes. A storm of emotions—rage, sorrow, and a strange longing—surged between them.
The System chimed again.
[New Threat has arrived.]
[Threat Classification: Celestial Type.]
[Title: The Guardian of the Multiverse.]
The battle for the multiverse had begun, and with it, the clash of two broken souls.