Ding!
[Due to the influence of "???", Earth has become an "Instant Death" zone.]
Dark clouds gathered in the sky, thick and heavy, casting a lifeless gray hue over the land below.
"You humans are truly disappointing."
The voice came from above, vast, echoing, and almost playful in tone.
A giant face formed within the clouds, its features cloaked in shadows except for two glowing purple eyes and a wide, smiling mouth that stretched unnaturally.
"While most civilizations could at least reach the [Gods Continent]," it said, its voice rumbling across the world, "the overwhelming majority of you haven't managed to do so."
The face tilted slightly, the smile never fading.
"Truly… pathetic."
Zap!
A flash of purple lightning tore through the clouds, followed by another, then another.
Zap! Zap! Zap!
Bolts rained down in thousands, each one striking like divine punishment.
People screamed and cities burned.
The sky itself looked like it was falling apart.
Monsters began to pour from the ruptures that appeared in the air, hideous beasts of all sizes, clawed and fanged, ripping through buildings and flesh alike.
Karl stood among the chaos, watching the scene unfold with empty eyes.
"This is… insane."
He tightened his grip on his sword.
Though deep down he already knew. It didn't matter how hard he fought.
Humanity didn't stand a chance.
For hours, the slaughter continued.
The sky rained death, and the earth drowned in blood.
One by one, people vanished, until the once-crowded world became silent.
Then, only one voice broke the quiet.
"You are the last one."
Karl looked up, and the face in the clouds turned its glowing eyes toward him.
"Do not be angry," it said lightly. "Your world was simply too weak."
Karl's jaw clenched. "You…"
"We gave you ten years to advance through [Gods Ascension]," the voice continued, "and yet, only a feeble amount of your kind managed to impress us. Truly disappointing."
Karl didn't respond.
He raised his sword as monsters crawled closer from every direction, hundreds of them, surrounding him completely.
"You are not fit to be part of our game," the being said. "And thus, we have decided to eliminate you."
The monsters rushed all at once.
Karl swung, trying to cut through the first few that came near, but he was already overwhelmed.
They tore into him from every side, their claws sinking deep, fangs breaking bone.
Maybe that thing was right. They were too weak.
And yet… it spoke of other civilizations. Other worlds that faced the same test.
Did they succeed? Was humanity the only one that failed?
He didn't know and it didn't matter.
Everyone was already gone. He was the last one left.
"Stop."
The monsters froze.
Karl fell to the ground, his limbs torn apart, barely breathing.
Blood poured from his wounds, pooling beneath him.
His eyes flicked up one last time at the massive face above.
Fwish!
A huge orb of purple lightning formed high above the clouds, swirling, growing denser by the second.
Its light was blinding.
"Goodbye, humans."
The orb shot downward.
BOOM!
Karl's world exploded into white, then black.
His body disintegrated instantly, vision fading into nothingness.
But then—
Ding!
A massive eye appeared before him, it was completely dark, with a purple pupil spinning like a vortex.
[This didn't go well.]
[Let's try again, shall we?]
Karl's eyes widened, or at least, he thought they did.
He couldn't even feel his body anymore.
'Huh…?'
The panels vanished, and so did the eye.
The darkness deepened, swallowing him whole.
His consciousness slipped away.
...
And then—
Ding!
Karl's eyes shot open.
"Huh?!"
He sat up sharply, gasping.
Sweat ran down his forehead as his heart pounded.
He looked around wildly. His bed. His desk. The faint glow of streetlights outside.
He was… home.
"Wait a minute…" he muttered.
His mind raced, trying to connect the impossible.
"I was fighting… and then…" He looked around again, disbelief growing stronger by the second. "I'm back here?"
He grabbed his phone and checked the date and time.
[May 20th, 2025 – 23:55:39]
Karl froze.
"No way…"
This was the night before his birthday. Five minutes before midnight.
He stumbled toward the window and pulled the curtain open.
The familiar sight of [Ascension City] filled his vision: towering buildings, hovering vehicles, neon lights, and giant holographic screens floating in the air.
Everything was the same.
The world hadn't ended a second time.[1]
'Did I… regress?'
It was the only thing that made sense.
He pressed his forehead against the glass, his reflection staring back at him.
[Gods Ascension]… was the game that had changed everything.
It had appeared out of nowhere three years ago, forcing everyone over eighteen to enter and face its trials.
Those who did came back stronger, able to use the powers they gained even in the real world.
But Karl had only been fifteen back then. Too young to enter.
His parents, like most adults, had entered the game, and never returned.
They were among the millions who died inside.
A year later, the [Calamity] hit.
Monsters from the game started appearing in reality.
Entire nations fell in days. 99.9% of humanity perished.
Karl somehow survived.
By luck, by chance, maybe even by miracle.
He was one of the last few with no powers to endure.
And after that, the survivors gathered together and built three colossal cities side by side, the last safe havens of humankind:
[Ascension City], [Eternal City], and [God City].
Everywhere else on Earth was overtaken by monsters.
Using the resources and powers brought back from [Gods Ascension], humanity rebuilt quickly.
The cities were advanced, clean, efficient.
The world was nothing like before.
And two years after that [Calamity], when Karl finally turned eighteen, the system opened for him.
He could finally join [Gods Ascension].
One might even wonder why the game specifically didn't allow anybody under that age to enter.
After all, the majority of children and teenagers died anyway during the [Calamity], so it was utterly stupid.
But still, for seven years, Karl fought inside [Gods Ascension].
He grew stronger, met allies, explored the impossible lands within that strange, endless world.
Until the tenth year came.
Until that "being" appeared and erased everything because humanity was too "weak".
Now he was back. Before the world ended a second time.
And that meant... he could do it all over again.
Karl took a deep breath and clenched his fists.
His pulse steadied, his mind cleared.
He wasn't afraid anymore. He had already died once.
He knew the future, the dangers, the monsters, the trials, even the mistakes he made before.
'Alright,' he thought. 'I can't waste this chance.'
He may be slightly late compared to those who entered three years ago, simply because the game didn't allow him to enter.
But right now, Karl knew he could catch up, and fast, as long as he managed everything well.
'That being mentioned the [Gods Continent]…' he thought. 'I've never even heard of it before.'
Not even the top players in his past life ever reached something like that.
Which meant there were entire parts of [Gods Ascension] no one had seen.
'It also said something about other civilizations…'
Humanity may have failed in his past life.
But now he had another chance to change that.
Karl looked at his reflection again.
His eyes were sharper than before, filled with resolve.
This time, he wouldn't die powerless.
He wouldn't let that thing look down at humanity and call them weak.
He would... rise above all.
[May 20th, 2025 – 23:59:58]
His phone screen flickered.
[May 20th, 2025 – 23:59:59]
His breath slowed.
[May 21st, 2025 – 00:00:00]
And then—
Ding!
The sound echoed in his mind.
His body froze.
A golden light filled the room as letters appeared before his eyes, familiar yet unreal.
...
A/N
If you haven't read "Mage of Oblivion" or do not know what it is, then good, this novel is better.
If you did read it before it was suspended, this novel is a complete rewrite, meaning that the majority of events won't be the same at all.
You can always read the free chapters to see anyway!
[1] There's a reason why I said "second time", not a mistake