Chapter 3: Ank Truth
When Ank first began to question the meaning of the System, countless doubts plagued his mind. Why did it exist? Why was it bound to him alone? Why did it seem like a curse that made him suffer instead of helping him?
And in the first place, why do I need this?
And why am I alive, the questions were in his mind.
But far away—far beyond the mortal plane, beyond stars and galaxies, beyond even the dimensions where ordinary gods resided—three figures stood, watching silently.
They were no mere spectators. They were the source of his existence, the keepers of laws, and the manifestation of balance itself.
The Three Who Stood were:
The first was cloaked in darkness so pure it seemed to devour all light around him. His body released an endless aura of negative energy, a destructive force that could obliterate anything it touched. Entire worlds would collapse into dust if he willed it. He was none other than the God of Destruction.
"How hilarious," the dark one said, his voice low yet heavy enough to shake the void itself.
"All Might—the most powerful, the most cunning, the first emperor of the universe—reduced to this pitiful state. Suffering, broken, crawling in the mud like an insect."
His laughter echoed through the silence, twisted and cruel.
"Don't laugh!" another voice thundered, full of fury and divine authority. "If you laugh again, I will kill you where you stand!"
I am controlling myself for not beating you. I ignored you when you first laughed, but I can't ignore you anymore.
The second figure stood draped in radiant white, his entire form glowing with an aura so bright it seemed to repel the darkness around him. She was the God of Creation, the very manifestation of life and creation. His words carried sharpness and certainty, a contrast to the calmness one might expect from such a being.
Destruction sneered. "You? Kill me? You know as well as I do—you cannot."
"You're wrong," I will find a way and kill you.
Destruction replied coldly. "You cannot kill me. Do not forget—death itself fears me. And yet you dare to mock him, using her name. You know no one touches me.
And I will be enjoying every moment of Ank's suffering.
Between them stood the third figure. Silent. Unmoving. He radiated neither darkness nor blinding light but an aura of eternal stability. His eyes, deep and calm, reflected the weight of countless responsibilities. He was the God of Protection. Unlike the others, he did not speak, nor did he raise his hand. He only observed.
Together, the three formed an unshakable balance. Yet even balance trembled before what had been set into motion.
[[Author note: for my convenience and story flow, I use God of Creation, God of Destruction, God of Protection as Creation, Destruction, Protection]]
At last, Destruction chuckled again. "My revenge is complete. I no longer need to lift a hand. The boy suffers because of me. That is enough."
The void trembled at his laughter. For countless eons, Ank had been a thorn in his side after his birth.
Creation's eyes glared at him. "This is unacceptable! I protest! We cannot force him into such cruel quests just to awaken his power. He is suffering; I cannot see him in this state anymore."
At last, Protection spoke, his voice calm yet firm. "We cannot interfere. This is the cost of her revival. The law is absolute."
Creation clenched her fists, divine light swirling around her hands. "Revival or not, this punishment is too cruel! Why should he bear the consequences of what he did not do?"
Destruction smirked. "Because fate demands it. Do not speak to me like this. As you said earlier, Creation, you were the one who broke the law first."
The truth was heavy.
Ank was not an ordinary being. His existence itself was against the laws of the universe.
The God of Creation was his mother. Not through divine crafting of clay and soul, not through shaping power as she had done countless times before, but through something far more dangerous—she had borne him in her own womb, just as a mortal woman would bear a child.
She had longed for a child that carried her blood, her essence. But the laws of the universe forbade such a thing. No god was permitted to bear offspring that could carry both divinity and mortality.
Yet Creation was stubborn. She found a way around the law. She wanted someone for her loneliness, a child who would belong to her.
She went to Protection.
"You want a child?" he had asked, his voice steady but his heart trembling.
Protection liked Creation for a long time, but he had responsibilities, and such feelings were forbidden between gods of equal rank.
"Yes," she said. "Not one crafted from divine power, not one forged from energy. A true child. My child. One who will carry my blood."
Creation came here because she knew the only being capable of making her wish come true was Protection.
"It cannot be done," Protection warned. "The law forbids it. The universe itself will punish us if we attempt such a thing."
"Then help me find another way," she whispered.
And he did it. He did not reject Creation because this was the first time Creation asked something, and he knew Creation did not love him, but his love for Creation had forced him to do this.
Protection created an orb from his own energy—an essence of stability, endurance, and strength. He gave it to her, knowing the risk, knowing what it would mean. Creation accepted it.
And when Creation absorbed this orb, and after absorbing the orb became a shield around her womb, she knew that by using Protection's orb, the universe would not interfere.
And it would save her child from the universe's law.
Now millions of years passed, and now he came into the world through her womb, as mortals were born. His body carried her DNA, her life, her soul. He was her son—not just in spirit, but in blood.
To the gods, this was blasphemy. To the laws of the universe, it was a violation. To Destruction, it was an unforgivable insult.
Now, Ank is trapped in a system that wants him to complete quests for powers that he wielded before sealing.
Destruction's voice cut through the void again. "Why do you think he cannot summon you? Because if he did, you would guide him. You would push him to his limit. You would help him grow stronger than any mortal, faster than any god. And that would destroy the balance."
And he would quickly regain everything.
Protection's eyes flickered. "That is why the System blocks his summon. The one who created it foresaw this. It was made to limit him. To chain him. To force him to walk the path of suffering before he could claim his strength."
Creation's fury erupted. "And who is the cruel monster who made such a system?! Tell me! Tell me her name, and I will personally kill her! Even if it means staining my hands in blood, even if it contradicts everything I am as the God of Creation! Who dares to keep him from his mother?"
Her voice shook the void, heavy with wrath and sorrow.
Destruction smiled. "It was me."
Creation froze, her radiant aura flickering like a dying star. Protection lowered his gaze, unable to meet her eyes. He knew saying anything could trigger a war between Creation and Destruction, and he did not want to see another war when the universe was at peace.
"You?" Creation whispered, her voice trembling. "You created this… this cage?"
"Yes," Destruction said, his tone calm yet merciless. "I built the System. And it is perfect. A web of chains that will either crush him or force him to reach new heights. Either way, his suffering was my entertainment."
Creation's hands trembled. Rage consumed her, but the law held her still. She could not strike him. Not here. Not now.
Protection watched quietly. His heart ached, but he could not act. He loved her as deeply as the stars loved the night, but law bound him. He could not interfere. He could not reach out to Ank. He could only remain silent. He could not interfere in Ank's life directly.
Creation stood silently. She had given Ank life at the cost of everything—at the cost of breaking the law, at the cost of everything going against her. Now, when he needed her most, she could not be at his side.
Destruction laughed again, cruel and without any sympathy. "This is the price of going against the universe. This is the cost of your foolish love. Your son will walk a path of blood and tears. And I will watch him crawl."
But deep in the silence of the void, Protection whispered softly—so quietly even the other gods could not hear:
"No… he will rise. He is my child. He will rise higher than even you, Destruction."
Protection loved Ank as much as Creation, but he did not interfere, and he thought Ank was his child because of him Ank existence came into the universe. Ank also loved him as a father.
Protection, as father, promised to himself that he would definitely help in every way possible.
And though the laws forbade him from interfering, when the time needed him, he would help him, even by breaking the universe's law.