BAM! BAM! BAM!
Black clouds stretched like an endless sea—no matter how far the eye looked, there was no end in sight.
Thunder roared, accompanied by lightning bolts spanning thousands of miles, tearing the gloomy heavens into countless fragments.
In the middle of the sky, a dark figure hovered. A mist-like aura cloaked his body, concealing his face.
"They've arrived!" the figure muttered. "The chance for me to become a God… is almost here."
He looked upward, eyes blazing with greed and madness. "Five hundred years… I've waited more than five hundred years for this day."
"As long as I ascend, I can return home. Father, Mother, little sister… wait for me… I'm coming back."
He clasped his hands together. Between them, a spark of light flared, growing ever more dazzling.
Whoong!
A sound like a tolling bell rang out as the light in his hands surged skyward, piercing the dense thunderclouds.
BAM!
The storm clouds split apart violently, revealing a gap more than ten miles wide.
"Aldric! You've broken the laws of the world. We will not allow you to touch the throne of God."
At that moment, a voice echoed, followed by countless beams of light rushing in from every direction.
In an instant, they converged around the figure and halted.
Twelve beams of light transformed into twelve oddly dressed figures, each radiating dazzling brilliance—majestic and divine like gods.
Aldric glanced at the twelve and muttered, "Three Popes, four Emperors, and five Saints… It seems you truly wish to remain caged forever."
"Hah!" a man shouted. "A God? Are you mad? All you've done is shatter the world's laws, dragging countless innocents into ruin."
"That's right," a woman spoke. "God is the supreme existence—untouchable, unblasphemable. What you're doing is meaningless."
"Aldric…" A woman in a simple black dress—so breathtakingly beautiful even angels would envy her—spoke softly.
Her gaze fell on him, tender and overflowing with love and affection. "Stop this. Come back to me."
"Why waste words on him?" an old man barked impatiently. "He's gone mad, ready to unleash the Cataclysmic Thunder and destroy this world. Hurry, kill him—protect this world!"
"Hahahaha…" Aldric roared with laughter. "Protect the world? You disgust me. What you truly want… is my Gate of Truth."
"If that's the case, then today—before I ascend—I'll show you what it means to be called the Cataclysmic Magus."
"Kill him!" someone shouted, and the others immediately cast their spells.
All twelve raised their hands. Twelve massive Magic Arrays formed in the heavens.
They circled Aldric at once, transforming into a prison.
"Hahaha… Trash!" Aldric laughed madly. In one hand, he gripped a rusted black sword; in the other, a broken spear, both ancient beyond measure.
Yet both weapons pulsed with seemingly endless power.
He swung the sword, unleashing a slash of sword-light.
Whoong!
The sound rang like a bell as the sword-light split the heavens, the scar stretching for hundreds of miles.
At that moment, a swirling vortex of light appeared in the sky. Strange golden runes, divine and majestic, manifested—interlocking to form a colossal gate.
Aldric saw it and immediately poured all his strength into flying toward it.
"Stop him!"
"It's too late! He's about to enter the gate!"
"Damn it! Does he intend to destroy this world?"
The twelve could only stare wide-eyed as Aldric neared the Forbidden Gate.
Closer and closer he came. Aldric reached out, hope blazing in his eyes.
Suddenly, time froze.
"What?!" Aldric felt it clearly—not only time, but space itself had come to a standstill.
He couldn't move, but he could see a colossal figure—so vast it made him feel like nothing more than a grain of sand.
From that immense figure radiated overwhelming pressure and divinity, making him want to kneel on the spot.
"That is… a God?" Aldric gritted his teeth, thinking to himself. Yet no matter how he struggled, he could not move.
The mysterious existence looked down at him, raised its hand, and pointed a colossal finger straight at him.
"Not good!" At that instant, Aldric felt the breath of death itself, as though the Reaper's scythe had already touched his neck.
Suddenly, a beam of light burst from his chest, blocking the descending finger as if a mountain were about to crush him.
BAM!
A terrifying explosion rang out, unleashing a shockwave that swept outward like a storm.
The light slowly condensed into an arched gate, its surface flowing with countless shimmering Runes of Truth.
Crack!
Suddenly, a fissure split across the gate. Aldric's eyes widened as he roared, "My Gate of Truth!!"
"Now… kill him!" one of the twelve shouted.
Immediately, twelve swords of light materialized once more, thrusting toward him.
"Bastards!" Aldric roared. "If I live… I'll return. The hatred of today—I'll repay a thousandfold!"
BAM!
Another devastating explosion erupted. The mysterious giant crushed Aldric's Gate of Truth, making him cough up a mouthful of blood.
At the same time, twelve swords of light pierced through his body.
Aldric clenched his teeth, his gaze fixed on the colossal, godlike shadow—then his consciousness sank into darkness.
…
"Oy! Oy! Kid, are you still alive?"
An old voice rang out, stirring Aldric's mind.
"Looks like he's dead!"
"No, he's still breathing. He's alive."
Aldric frowned…
"Ah! You're still alive."
He slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was an aged, filthy face.
"Ah! You…" Aldric jolted upright, but pain exploded through his body. "Ack!"
It felt as though his body had shattered into countless fragments—but fortunately, the pain didn't last long.
"Oy! Kid, you alright?" the old man asked in confusion, concern in his voice.
Aldric glanced around, finding the surroundings both familiar and strange.
It seemed to be the main hall of an abandoned building. Rubble was scattered everywhere, the stench of rot filling his nose and making him nauseous.
"A building… wait! Could this be… Earth?" Aldric gasped, eyes widening.
The old man frowned. "Oy! Are you crazy? If this isn't Earth, then what? Hell?"
Aldric's heart surged with joy, though he forced himself to calm down. He looked at the ragged, foul-smelling man before him and asked, "What year is it?"
"Hm?!" The old man stared at him as if he were a strange creature, but answered seriously: "It's the year 2055—five years after the Apocalypse."
"Ah! Only five years since I left for that world?" Aldric muttered, barely able to contain his joy.
'Father, Mother, little sister… you must have missed me, worried for me. Fortunately, the five hundred years I spent in that world were only five years here.'
Yes, five years ago, according to Earth's time, he had been dragged into another dimension and thrown onto a continent called Terith.
That land had magic—and by fortune, he had the ability to wield it.
Aldric struggled to survive there for five hundred years, searching for a way back. The only path was to break the world's limits… to become a God.
But just as he was about to touch the throne of divinity, twelve Lords besieged him—and even a terrifying existence resembling a God appeared.
'Lucky… Aldric thought. Lucky I survived, and returned to Earth.'
Suppressing his excitement, he searched for a way home.
Turning to the old man, Aldric smiled faintly. "May I ask… where is this place?"
"Ah! This is Panomani City."
"Panomani?" Aldric frowned. Strange. Even after five hundred years, he remembered clearly—there had never been a building like this in the city.
In fact…
Looking around, Aldric realized this had once been a tall building, now collapsed, leaving only a few lower floors intact.
But what stood out most was the chaos surrounding it—the stench of feces, urine, and even blood.
As though this place had just endured a terrible battle, one that claimed countless lives.
WOO!!!
WOO!!!
"That is…" Aldric was startled as a wailing siren cut through his thoughts.
Hearing it, the old man's face grew heavy with sorrow and fatigue. "Looks like… those people really won't let Congressman Atony go."
Aldric's heart jolted at the name. He shouted, "Wait! Did you just say… that Congressman is—"
The old man sighed. "You didn't hear wrong. Congressman Atony, and his wife, Mollie."
Aldric's jaw dropped, eyes wide, his face struck as if by lightning.
'Congressman Atony… Mollie… that's… that's my parents…'