On a mountain peak that pierced through the clouds, two figures faced each other.
One was a young man clad in silver-white robes, refined and elegant.
The other, an old man in tattered clothes, yet his eyes burned with the same battle lust.
"No one in this era can stand against me. Martial Saint, today I'll defeat you here! Show me the full extent of your power!"
The old man roared. Muscles bulged, veins writhed, and a terrifying aura erupted from his body. Clouds shattered apart, leaving a massive gash in the heavens.
Caesar's lips curved into a rare smile. His blood boiled with excitement.
Finally… after all this time.
A complete opponent!
Good state. Good momentum. Good spirit. Good strength.
The strongest he had ever met.
He had waited far too long for this.
Back when he was weak, his thirst for battle drove him to train endlessly.
The stronger he grew, the fewer challengers remained. Until one day, he had surpassed them all.
What came after was only endless boredom. He secluded himself atop this very mountain, waiting for the day someone truly worthy would appear.
And now, that day had come.
"Show me everything you have."
He clasped his fist and bowed slightly. In the next instant, his aura exploded.
The collision of two monstrous forces twisted heaven and earth, bending space itself.
Any weak creature that dared approach would be crushed instantly, down to the smallest germ.
Caesar raised his fist, pouring all his strength into one strike. Behind him, the phantom of a colossal dragon roared, golden radiance flooding the world.
The old man narrowed his eyes. Crimson light enveloped him, and a demonic phantom loomed over his back like a god of slaughter.
"Dragon Saint Fist!"
"Demon King Fist!"
Two titanic fists, wrapped in world-destroying force, hurtled toward each other. The sky trembled in anticipation of an earth-shattering battle.
But the clash Caesar longed for never came.
His fist utterly crushed the old man's strike.
In a single instant, the body of his opponent disintegrated, down to the atomic level.
The shockwave tore through the skies of the entire planet, unleashing natural disasters without end.
He fell to his knees, face twisted with despair.
He wanted to cry, but no tears would come.
"No!!!"
His scream tore through the skies. Fists clenched, he slammed the ground in fury.
The weight of his strength erupted uncontrollably. The mighty mountain beneath him collapsed, triggering a violent earthquake that shook the land for miles.
"Where is my battle?! Where is the opponent I've longed for?!
Gone… it's all gone…"
His body slumped. His spirit dimmed.
Dragging his weary steps, Caesar left the ruins of the shattered peak and walked to the highest point of the world. There, he entombed himself, burying his body in eternal silence.
He waited.
He hoped.
That one day… he might feel the thrill of battle again.
...
Time passed. Years blurred into centuries.
Nearly ten thousand years slipped away.
The glorious legends of Caesar, the Martial Saint who once shook the heavens, were buried by the endless flow of history.
His last battle had nearly thrown the world back into the Stone Age.
At the highest peak of the planet, a coffin of eternal ice lay hidden beneath layers of snow and storm.
Then—
A streak of light pierced the blizzard and descended upon the frozen tomb. As it touched the coffin, a strange voice echoed within.
"We can give you battles of the highest order."
The moment those words fell, the coffin stirred.
As if awakened by the very key it had waited for, Caesar's eyes snapped open.
That long-forgotten flame surged once again in his chest.
With a single push, the coffin lid burst open. Ice exploded outward, scattering like shattered glass.
Above, golden radiance blazed forth like a second sun tearing through the clouds.
Before him floated a sleek card of unknown design, glowing with alien light. Caesar reached out, taking it in his hand.
"This… is a letter?"
He read the message. And then his heart ignited.
The fire that had lain dormant for ten thousand years roared back to life.
One-on-one battles against the strongest.
Balanced power.
Randomized skills each time.
A sensation indistinguishable from reality.
Just four lines. Yet they made Caesar tremble with joy.
"This… this is it!"
Though he couldn't understand the so-called "battle capsule" or the technology behind it, he knew one thing with absolute certainty:
It was exactly what he had been waiting for.
For the first time in ten thousand years, he cried.
Not from sorrow. But from sheer joy.
"Heh… hic… hahahaha! How many years has it been? How long have I waited? Finally—FINALLY! The battles I've longed for… they're here!"
He was about to rush off in excitement when he suddenly froze.
"…Wait. Where the hell do I even find this battle capsule?!"
His face darkened instantly.
"They gave me an invitation, but no damn address?! Are you kidding me?!"
Despite being buried in ice for millennia, Caesar's brain hadn't rotted.
If you don't know the way, just ask someone. Simple.
But then he frowned.
"No. Too much trouble. What if I ask the wrong person? Ordinary folk wouldn't even know what this is. Ten thousand years ago, most people couldn't even read. And now they expect them to explain this high-level thing to me? Tch."
He crossed his arms, thinking hard.
How do I draw someone capable to me instead?
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
"Ah! Of course. I'll just… show them a signal."
His aura erupted.
Atop the highest peak in the world, golden light blazed forth once more—like a second sun hanging in the sky.
But this time, it didn't fade.
It stayed.
Caesar poured his essence into it, a beacon meant to lure the strong.
...
It worked!
Not long after, he sensed people approaching. A disturbance. Conflict.
A grin split his face.
"Hahaha! That was fast. I barely waited, and someone's already here!"
In the next instant, his figure vanished from the mountain peak.
When he reappeared, the scene was clear: a group of young men.
Half were surrounding and attacking a lone girl.
The rest were heading straight toward where he had just been.