A six-foot-two man stood in silence, his calloused hands hanging loose at his sides, still trembling faintly from years of combat.
His body and face were covered in scars—reminders of torture, battles and pain that had never fully healed.
Around him stood a few thousand soldiers, the last remnants of armies that had once numbered in millions. They were the survivors of the final battle of World War III.
World War III was over.
Beyond them stretched a landscape of absolute devastation.
For hundreds of kilometers in every direction, the land was filled with nothing but corpses, shattered weapons, and the broken remains of cities. The earth itself looked wounded, torn apart by explosions.
'This is not the outcome we wanted', El thought as his gaze swept over the ruined horizon. This isn't what any of us fought for.
What had begun as a small act of resistance—a desperate attempt to reveal the truth to the world—had spiraled far beyond their control. That single spark had ignited a global wildfire. It became World War III, a twelve-year conflict that consumed nations, erased borders, and left more than ninety percent of the world in ruins.
"We've won this war, El…" the soldier beside him said quietly. "But at what cost?"
El took a slow breath, though the air burned his lungs. It tasted of ash and copper, dust and the lingering toxins released by nuclear, hydrogen, and fusion weapons—creations humanity had once proudly hailed as symbols of progress and power.
"This isn't a victory, Carl." El said at last.
Today marked the final day of the war—not because the world had run out of weapons, but because there was almost nothing left to destroy.
"I know this is hard," Emily said, stepping closer through the settling dust. Her voice was softer, yet somehow it cut through the silence more sharply than any blade. "This isn't how things were supposed to end. But your people… they need you now. More than ever."
Her words stirred memories El wished he could forget.
They had started this war to expose the truth—to show the world what was being done to them in the shadows. But when those in power realized their grip was slipping, they chose destruction over repentance. Instead of facing their crimes, they dragged the entire world down with them.
El's jaw tightened, a dull ache spreading through every muscle that hadn't relaxed in days. He closed his eyes and thought.
What am I supposed to do now? Is there even a path left? Or is everything already too broken to fix?
Before he could find an answer, everything changed.
The burning wind around him vanished. The sharp, metallic stench of blood and decay faded, replaced by something unfamiliar—something calm. It washed over him like a gentle tide, easing the constant ache in his chest.
El's eyes snapped open, his heart suddenly hammering against his ribs.
The world he had known was gone.
He found himself in an endless white void, where enormous shimmering bubbles drifted like planets, each backed by a different galaxy swirling inside them with names written over the bubbles in unknown Script.
The repeating sight stretched infinitely in every direction, captivating him so completely that he didn't sense the presence behind him—until a voice cut cleanly through his awe.
"I apologize for summoning you without your consent, but the Omni-Kings are not fond of waiting, especially on rare occasions where three Ascendants have risen on the same day." A blue-skinned figure with white hair spoke calmly, his menacing smile unwavering.
He appeared unassuming-small stature, light purple eyes, a halo behind his head like some deity, yet El's instincts screamed at him that he is standing before something far beyond his comprehension, like some God or Alien.
El glanced down at himself, noticing that his form remained unchanged from the moment he had stood in the ruins, yet his physical body was gone. He was nothing but an ethereal presence in this mysterious space.
"Your instincts serve you well, mortal, but I am no god, only a faithful servant of His Majesty, the Omni-Kings, the True Ruler of all existence."
'He can read my thoughts.' El stood frozen.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, he steadied himself, forcing his emotions under control as he chose his words carefully.
"Are you here to Punish us?" he asked, his voice edged with sarcasm.
The Grand Minister's eyes narrowed slightly, but his expression remained composed. Without a word, he turned, and EL's form floated alongside him against his will.
"Allow me to explain your circumstances, and then you may decide the answer to that question yourself."
For a fleeting moment, EL thought the being might be King Yama, delivering him to his punishment for the destruction he had brought.
"Oh… King Yama is certainly displeased with you." the Grand Minister continued with a faint chuckle.
"You've burdened him with centuries worth of work in mere years, sending an overwhelming number of unscheduled souls to his domain. I'm sure you can imagine his fury. Or rather… you can see for yourself."
A screen materialized before EL, revealing a seemingly endless procession of glowing white orbs stretching into infinity. At the end of this line sat a towering red demon, horned and seething with rage.
It didn't take much to guess the target of that fury—EL. And yet, strangely, the demon wasn't as terrifying as the dwarf walking beside him. At least, that's what EL's instincts warned him.
"We are not here to judge you," the Grand Minister said, voice smooth and cold. "The affairs of mortals do not concern us."
Understanding settled over him. His fate was not yet sealed, but the dwarf before him had plans for him beyond his understanding.
"You will address me as Grand Minister," the Grand Minister said, his voice calm yet annoyed for being addressed as a dwarf again and again.
"I serve His Majesty, the Omni-Kings and they have summoned you in recognition of your… exceptional accomplishments in the mortal realm."
He continued without pause. "Any being who has, willingly or otherwise, gained dominion over a mortal world is eligible for the title 'Ascended'."
So he knows. Every detail, EL didn't flinch, but his gaze sharpened.
"You now bear the title the Omni-Kings use: Ascended. And with it, you've been granted an opportunity."
"What is expected of Ascended?" he asked.
"Nothing overly complex," the Grand Minister replied. "You will be sent into mortal realm. Your task is to conquer them. The Omni-Kings will watch over you, manipulate the game as they deem fit."
EL scoffed under his breath. "So it is a punishment, after all."
"On the contrary," the Grand Minister said, "It is a second chance. One most mortals would never be offered."
EL remained still, weighing the absurdity of his choices. Meet King Yama and face judgment—or serve the whims of cosmic children who play with worlds like toys.
The Grand Minister's voice softened and he answered the unspoken question of El.
"The Omni-Kings have ruled the existence since the beginning of time, and they have grown weary.
This—" he pointed toward the infinite stretch of galaxies"—is their game. And beings like you? You are their most valuable piece."
EL's jaw tensed. His voice came out low and sharp.
"Our lives might mean nothing to you. But this reality—the freedom I have now—was bought with the sacrifice of my entire planet."
He turned fully to face the Grand Minister, anger glinting in his eyes.
"Do you really think I'll become someone's pawn again?"
The Grand Minister's expression didn't shift, but there was a flicker of interest behind his ageless eyes.
"Perhaps not a pawn," he said, with a hint of amusement. "A knight. A king. Or even a god. You will be given power, purpose, and liberty beyond anything planet Earth could ever offer. And if you rise high enough… Perhaps you can correct your past mistakes as well."
The Grand Minister's expression remained perfectly composed, but his hand moved in a blur, distorting the space beside them. In the next instant, they were ripped out of the White Expanse and placed atop Earth's moon—a sight El knew well—overlooking a black, charred sphere where oceans and land alike were nothing but ash. Earth was no longer blue.
"Do-over." Grand Minister murmured.
As if someone had pressed a cosmic rewind button, the ruined planet began to spin backward. Seared continents reformed, oceans refilled, clouds danced back into existence. In mere seconds, Earth regained its color, its life, its breath.
El prayed it was an illusion—some trick, some hallucination—but he couldn't deny the truth burning in front of him.
"This… this is Earth."
The Grand Minister didn't speak. He simply waved his hand, and space folded around them. In an instant, they stood somewhere on Earth—somewhere El knew all too well. The place where everything had begun….
Their figures appeared inside a rusty, thatched hut, its broken ceiling letting sunlight spill in thin, warm beams. Two adults and a small child moved about, busy with their simple morning routines.
The father sat on a wooden chair, carefully repairing a watch. The mother tended a small pot over a fire, cooking the day's first meal. And the child—barely five years old—was trying with great enthusiasm to imitate a dance move he'd just seen on his mobile phone.
"This isn't working!" the kid shouted, lowering the small fist he had triumphantly raised toward the ceiling a moment earlier.
"Maybe start with something simple, El," his father suggested, not looking up from his work.
"Why isn't it working? I'm doing everything the video shows!" the boy insisted, shoving the phone toward his father.
Before the man could reply, a deafening FFFFFSSSSSWIINNGGG Missile Sound tore across the sky—and everything went black.
The scene shattered. El and the Grand Minister rose out of the ruined slums, drifting into outer space once more.
"You believe the power of Nuclear and Hydrogen weapons you once held was the limit a mortal could reach," the Grand Minister said coolly. "But you are only a frog sitting at the bottom of a well, mistaking the circle of sky above for the entire universe."
As the Grand Minister's words faded, the universe rippled again. In the blink of an eye, they stood atop the moon of another blue planet—one eerily similar to Earth but with only one continent.
Below them, a bald man in a bright yellow suit launched himself through space, colliding with a cosmic monster so powerful that each clash shattered planets.
El's breath hitched. Not even in his wildest fantasies had he imagined power on this scale.
The scene warped again.
Now they faced a colossal giant—its hand alone larger than the blue planet beneath it.
"He is one of the strongest conquerors under the Omni-Kings' command," the Grand Minister said calmly. "We call him Arishem the Judge."
The universe twisted once more.
El plummeted through an infinite wormhole. Around him, scenes of battles from countless worlds unfolded one after another.
A boy with a steel arm—coated in red—shouted "Gum-Gum!" as he launched a punch that tore the sky apart, striking a hybrid dragon towering over mountains.
A sleek, white-and-purple lizard-like being lifted a tiny sun-shaped energy orb on one finger and hurled it toward a planet filled with half-human, half Monkeys, the explosion tearing the planet apart.
Rows of skinless giants marched across a ruined Earth, their thunderous steps collapsing cities like sandcastles.
And in another vision, a lone human gazed upward—and with a single look, summoned a meteor large enough to erase an entire desert of Ninjas in an instant.
Each vision shattered El's understanding of power.
Soon all the scenes ended and they once again appeared in the mysterious space earlier.
"You destroyed your planet with your own hands," the Grand Minister said, appearing behind El.
"You burned your path so thoroughly, there is nothing left to return to."
"Even though we can return everything you lost with the snap of a finger."
"We still won't do it. As I've said—we don't interfere in the matters of mortals."
"But what we offer you... is a path. One that, if you choose to walk, may lead you to reclaim what you've lost—without giving up on what you will earn."
"BUT ON OUR TERMS." Grand Minister said in a deep tone.
A long silence passed between them.
Finally, EL spoke, voice steady but hard.
"And how does more bloodshed… more conquest… bring me that?"
"Each conquered world earns you a boon," the Grand Minister replied.
"At minimum, one wish—granted by the Omni-Kings themselves. But that is only the beginning."
The Grand Minister added, "the extent of what your wish can achieve depends on your performance—and the difficulty of the world you conquer. But it may just be enough to grant you what you desire most." he spoke as if he understood El's desires, which even El himself wasn't certain of.
'What would I even wish for?' EL thought.
'To bring it all back? its a relief that i still have the chance'
'My world… my comrades… my parents… can come back.'
But what if this new life—this power—corrupts me?
I can feel it already… something stirring inside.
A hunger. A thirst for never ending power.
Suddenly, EL laughed, his voice echoing through the endless hall.
"I chased revenge for so long… I became exactly what I despised."
He fell silent, then turned to face the dwarf beside him, eyes steady but uncertain.
"I want to go back, No matter what I become… I still want to make it right."
"I've made my decision, Grand Minister."
Just as El finished those words. A white door materialized before him, its surface glowing faintly. What lay beyond was hidden from his eyes.
Understanding the dwarf's intention, El stepped inside the door to meet the ruler of this absurd reality.
***
Author Note: After thinking about it for a while, I decided to start this story with a war-torn, magicless world, a MC normal but with a clear GOAL.
His past life won't have any significant impact until he conquers the world he's been sent to. I just wanted him to have a strong background.
This is my first fanfic, so I'm learning as I go. I'm open to suggestions, feedback and ideas.
Thanks for checking it out, and I hope you enjoy the story.