1 Betrayed By the World

"Open your eyes, Arlott."

Inside a heavenly white palace adorned with golden decoration and blue crystal designs, a melodious womanly voice rang from a face without any facial features except for a pair of tantalizing lips.

Facing the faceless face in the palace was a man with an unkempt black beard and shoulder-length hair wearing nothing.

His body was in perfect shape and painted with exotic scars. His disfigured face and scarred body were tantamount to the hellish life he lived. And his eyes were deadpan, with no light in them.

"What is this place?"

"It's unnecessarily bright," the same rough voice added after asking.

A light, melodious chuckle resounded in the palace, attracting the Arlott's gaze towards the faceless face.

"Weird. It looks like I am dreaming," Arlott muttered in response to his discovery, but he still remembered the first words he heard and asked the strange entity before him, "What second chance?"

The faceless face suddenly manifested a smile on its lips and said, "Arlott Lake, you are no longer alive because you took your own life."

"I killed myself?" Arlott frowned. 'Why can't I remember anything of my past?'

"Indeed. The feat you pulled off successfully killed four billion people in one day and put humanity on the path of extinction."

"The history of humanity is on the verge of wiping out."

"Crazy…how the fuck did I even do that?" Arlott muttered.

"Ahem, may I ask for some more details? My memories seem nonexistent right now," Arlott faked a cough and asked with a serious expression.

"I've erased your memories."

The faceless face's lips smiled.

"All you need to know is that although your action killed half of Earth's population, it's fine," she added. "Humans will flourish like never before because of your actions, though I doubt you would've wanted that outcome."

"Huh? You said my action killed four billion people and put them on the path to extinction, but now you are saying they will flourish like never before?"

Arlott was confused. Frankly, he didn't even care if Earth exploded, and he didn't know why he felt that way because he didn't have any memories to know the reason.

However, he was also sure that he didn't kill himself out of guilt just because he pulled some crazy shit that killed lots of people.

"I want to tell you the whole thing, but I must refrain," the faceless face said, "Your memories will return once you're back to your world with a new life, so you'll eventually know everything."

"Sure," Arlott expressionlessly smiled. "My current state of mind tells me I'll manage anything somehow. Weird that an empty brain thinks like that."

"Maybe it's not empty," the faceless face's smile turned devilish and charming, "You'll have many fascinating things to look forward to, my dear hero."

At that, a dreamy golden light enveloped Arlott before it disappeared along with him.

And then, the faceless face also disappeared from the seemingly heavenly palace that quickly turned into a ruined hall filled with lingering black wisps and then shattered like glass, vanishing into oblivion.

…

Arlott felt darkness enveloping his senses before he felt warm and sticky.

'Hmm? Am I in the place I am thinking I am in?'

Shortly afterward, his developing brain transformed with magical interference and his powerful soul as memories of his past life started flooding with wisps of unknown power.

From he was a year old to his middle-age until he died, he started remembering everything.

The impactful part lingered longer as Arlott focused on those memories, an inexplicable rage already manifesting from his soul even though he had just started reading his memories.

A naive boy, a middle-class family.

Struggling parents, but orphaned at sixteen in an accident.

In this world where only those superior in Arcane stand above the masses, fate was fickle, and wits were necessary.

Countries fought for resources, territory, and, most importantly, battling to seize control over the occasional appearance of magic phenomena such as magic ore veins, ruins, magical objects and entities from different dimensions, and such wonders.

Arlott had the lowest rank affinity with Arcane or any element and no talent with any of the three primary magic paths.

However, Arlott's luck flipped on his 17th birthday, as he suddenly surged with Mana and the colorful magic phenomenon around him during his class after he bumped into the school's most beautiful girl, Kiera Silverbeak, an heir of a prestigious magic family with a long history.

'That's where I tripped, huh?' Arlott remarked. That girl did something to him, and that caused his awakening.

Moreover, whether it was a coincidence or not, the same day also happened to be the one when a giant gate descended on Antarctica's center. The gate flooded with the army of three demonic clans as huge castles and magic barriers quickly littered the continent after killing the low population on it.

Goldfrost Demon clan, Black Murk Demon clan, and Inferno Star Demon clan.

Demons rampantly attacked while Arlott was recruited by the world's top magic academy, Astral Sage Magic Academy, for he was the so-called messiah.

The conflict among countries also ceased as a single global constitute formed, called the United Arcane Federation, to fight against this world-ending threat of demons.

Naturally, the leading powers and authority remained in the hands of top echelons, consisting of centuries-old families, clans, and organizations with deep magic heritage and knowledge. Still, there were other rising forces with talented and gifted people who were catching up to these established forces.

On the other hand, Arlott was trained hard and groomed meticulously, with the support and love from people and friends, because he was a never-before-seen talent!

He was the hero who was supposed to save the world from demons! A savior of humanity!

His overwhelming command of Flame, Wind, Earth, Air, and Space was second to none, and he officially became the strongest of all at the age of twenty-six.

'Strongest? Haha... What a joke,' Arlott ridiculously laughed and continued reading his memories.

Killing countless demons and saving even more people, he was adored by the masses and feared by enemies.

That was…until he killed the leaders of Demon clans and drove them back. The cosmic gates that brought demons were also destroyed by his hands.

A wave of peace ensued before he realized that the waters in this world ran deeper than he thought.

It turned out that he was just granted a magical seed so that he could nurture its powers by the so-called ancient sages, and those at the top echelons, the ancient clans, had no problem sacrificing one person for their benefit.

Pure cold benefits and greed. Thirst for power and knowledge that saw no problem in sacrificing one or many nobodies.

It was already ordained that demons would come, and they needed a savior, so they chose Arlott, who had nil magic talent, thus making him a perfect empty vessel to nurture the Divine Aurora Magic Seed—two birds with one stone.

And so, they used Arlott and then threw him away. The divine power he developed and nurtured was never his, and it was taken away easily.

His colleagues and friends were powerhouses of top families and organizations who fought alongside him against the demons.

But all of them distanced from Arlott overnight after he returned from the celebration party held by Sages and big-shot leaders of top global forces in Arcane Tower.

Something happened there at the party, but that part of the memory remained blank.

However, Arlott lost everything there, and everyone in that party knew about the scheme.

Having lost his magic source and powers the next day, Arlott's appearance was changed by his enemies, his mentality became unstable, and he sank into an abyss of despair.

All of his hard work vanished overnight!

No one would recognize and believe him even if he told people he was THE Arlott, their savior. The one who worked all day and night to get powerful, kill demons, and save people!

After all, he had no way to prove his own identity after losing his powers and downgrading his appearance into a shorter stature and disfigured face.

The funny thing was that only a few voices rose concerning the hero who vanished. Instead, his name was thoroughly plastered by the darkest of muds shortly afterward.

Breaking news! A savior turned savage! A hero turned devil!

A list of immoral actions done by him went public.

The so-called fabricated proofs about Hero Arlott's crimes!

Drug Addict.

Abuser of power.

Executing manslaughter just because of a few mocking words and getting offended easily.

A sexual beast who would take any woman he liked with his power.

A pedophile said to periodically keep high school girls for his fun at his various villas.

The hero, Arlott, was never a savior!

All he did was to gain the favors of the public, high status, and riches. With his God-given talents, he was a mighty hero of the masses outside and a devil in private!

"Humph, He got super powerful talents and received free resources to get strong. He killed the demons in the passing and became a savage in private!

"What's a hero who destroys humanity from within and lets his inner evil run wild?"

"He is not a human! He is worse than an animal!"

The slanders exploded in full waves with fabricated proofs. And the public? They believed it all.

After all, seeing is believing, and everything was there for everyone to see, WITH PROOF!

'Fantastic,' Arlott grimly grinned while a strange, cold fury stormed deep within his soul.

'What a trashy life.'

Demons were gone, and the hero was unnecessary. People's lives returned to the same one where powerful, influential, and established people ruled while rare few people with a strong sense of justice struggled to climb the ladder painted with darkness.

Good at the lowest, evil at the highest, and gray in the middle. As it should be...right? Heh.

'So, how the fuck four billion people died in one day?' Arlott wondered and continued seeing his memories.

Arlott saw himself staying in the pit of despair for half a year as misery itself had swallowed him. He thought about killing himself countless times and struggled to survive in this world that had turned wholly dark and lonely despite doing so many things for so many people.

However, he emerged from the abyss of despair again and vowed to take revenge at any cost.

He didn't want to give up!

While those who played Arlott on their palms mocked him from the shadows, he strove to get strong while struggling. He risked his life for any opportunity, experimented on himself recklessly, roamed other dimensions when they appeared, and danced at death's door for uncountable times.

They didn't kill Arlott because they enjoyed watching his suffering and making him a warning sign for rising tides.

But Arlott continued. The only thing that kept him going was his burning desire for revenge.

A revenge that looked so distant, but the everlasting flame to achieve it constantly burned inside him.

And then, at the age of 46, he stumbled upon a sea of malevolence—a shrine of cosmic catastrophe.

'This…' An indescribable feeling welled in him as he saw his final memories.

'A strange shrine in the depths of a dark dimension where I decided to take the risk for power, and there I encountered a statue of a single woman head with long purple hair and…. a faceless face bearing only eyes.'

A wave of shock washed over Arlott.

'The face only showed a pair of purple eyes, otherworldly and alluring, full of marvel and chaos.'

In his mind, the half-face with only a mouth and tantalizing lips that he had just recently seen in a dream-like palace overlapped with the half-face bearing only the pair of otherworldly dark purple eyes in the shrine of his memories.

'No way…' Arlott then finally remembered how he died.

He…offered his soul to that strange shrine, thus unleashing the monsters from that dimension onto Earth.

'So that's how four billion people died in one day.'

However, Arlott recalled an important thing a second later.

'But she said humans will thrive like never before…'

'ha..ha ha…ha ha ha….' Arlott released cold laughter as he marveled at these events tied with his life.

First, he was used as a tool to nurture a source of divine power due to his poor talents, a perfect specimen.

Second, after receiving such support and love from the masses, he lived a life where he worked hard every day to meet everyone's expectations.

He trained like a madman, got stronger faster than everyone, and killed more demons than anyone. He didn't fucking rest!

Because there was a saying that with great power comes great responsibility, but Arlott then felt even a step ahead of this saying.

He felt he was receiving great power, great support, and great love with responsibility!

And so, he worked damn hard!! Hard enough to be touted as the strongest at the age of twenty-six!

'What a fucking naive tool…' Arlott cursed himself.

He nurtured the seed with his determination, willpower, and hard work...only for it to be taken away.

The only mystery was he still didn't know HOW he received such a seed of power with ease and HOW it was removed just as easily.

'That bitch did something, but what and how?'

Arlott only had memories, and he was still a naive fool with zero magic talent and couldn't have sensed how the seed entered him except that it was related to Kiera because bumping into Kiera was the only anomaly of his life that day.

'And how was my magic source taken away with the power I nurtured?' Arlott focused on the part of memories right before he lost his powers…In just one night.

It was a gathering of powerhouses, his colleagues, and elders.

During that night, his humble ass self was meeting with five Magi Sages in the grandest magic center of the magic world established during the war—the Arcane Tower.

Of course, he felt he was stronger than those old fogeys, but he was a darn good boy, so he remained humble. Naturally, he was not stronger than them as they had tricks up their century old asses, but he didn't know that then.

'And then came those pieces of trash,' Arlott remembered the faces of his closest colleagues—the powerhouses who were only a step behind him.

Heirs and talented individuals of ancient magic families, clans, and organizations.

Two friends he earned by saving them during the demon war and supporting them also turned their backs on him.

'What could they do, right? Poor Cassandra and Leo made the most logical and correct choice,' Arlott coldly chuckled.

'They chose to side with the winners after knowing I was destined to become the trash.'

Arlott's chaotic and marvelous soul raging with such vengeance caused a peeping tom to reveal herself.

[Your soul is supremely fascinating, Arlott~ You've truly refined it through life and death...]

[Burning with such refined will flames and finesse…Aaahhh~]

A moan full of passion and bliss rang in Arlott's head.

'W-what the fuck?' Arlott was taken aback at the sudden voice ringing his head.

[Hi, honey. You can call me Laverna or Lave.]

'So you are the woman in that shrine.'

[Yep. I was about to eat your soul, but then I saw how it was so exquisite and refined by pure willpower of your struggles and a burning resolve. So, I formed a grand plan to help you and myself both, though it would take time for you to help me.]

'I see. So, where are you? And am I really at the place I think I am in?'

A chuckle resounded in Arlott's head before he received an answer.

[Indeed. I am in your fabulous soul sea, and you are in a womb. A womb you know very well, so look forward to seeing your mother's face~ Hahaha…]

'Don't tell me…' Arlott felt strange as he came to a conclusion. 'Am I in the womb of a woman I know from my past life? Is it Kiera or Cassandra or someone else?'

[Secret~ But it's been a whole thirty years since you died, and humanity is thriving.]

'Eh? Doesn't that mean my biological mother is going to be a granny?'

[Oh, far from it. This bitch has a hot figure and juicy milkers. Her age is nearing 100, but she looks like she is in her thirties.]

[After humans unlocked their potential and started exploring another path alongside the path of Arcane, thanks to the calamity you brought upon them, people can easily live longer as long as they become strong in the path of Genome.]

[And they are thriving because Geno Arts can be used in tandem with magic, making humans more powerful than ever.]

'I see,' Arlott wryly smiled. 'So despite everything I did, the main pieces of shits are still alive and flourishing?'

[Indeed, but you are not done yet, darling~ You will descend on this world again and become an overlord, a tyrant, and a villain in their lives, hahaha~]

Arlott felt heat rising in his soul as he was looking forward to living a new life, and this time, he would do everything right for him from the start!

'I am looking forward to it.'

Laverna chuckled.

[Of course, honey. But for now, you have to take a rest for a few months and grow well while I weave my powers for your solid foundation.]

Arlott wanted to say something but suddenly felt blank and lost consciousness.