To the Beggining and Beyond

Arms so thick they could be compared to large logs of wood. Legs and calves with veins so taut they looked like they were about to burst.

A spectacularly toned body made up of muscles visible everywhere — a startling physiological sight that defied logic.

For the record, even a professional bodybuilder would feel like an insignificant dwarf next to that graceful figure.

Those were the descriptions of the man who was one of the most influential members of the roundtable, the group that brought together the most powerful people on the entire planet.

His name was Ross Phipps, the 39-year-old North-american legend known by the pseudonym 'Goliath'.

The pinnacle of human strength.

God of War and Goliath — This is how he was known and described in the books of the remaining human colonies in the world.

Ross was the one whose physical gifts could only be reproduced by Ezra in addition to the mythical holder of the 'Golden Shield' title.

''Kugh!''

However, the man who surpassed the concept of superhuman was losing in a competition of physical strength?

''Urgh!'' Taking another hit, he grunted, spitting blood at his opponent way.

Wasn't Ross the same man who'd managed to hold a goddamn giant with his bare hands? So how the hell was he losing to someone so tiny, couting with a mediocre physique, clearly underdeveloped?

"Hold on, Ross!" Ezra yelled, flinging his teammate backwards in an attempt to protect him.

Amazed by his selflessness, the remaining squad members thought of it as the act of a true hero, but they were completely wrong about Ezra's intent.

It wasn't that he cared about the man, but rather that Ross was essential for his plan to work properly.

Honestly, it would be a huge loss for the group if Ross died at that point.

Besides, he was one of the key pieces needed for Ezra to be able to get past that stage of the dungeon — so letting the man die wasn't a welcome option.

''Shit!''

With a deafening bang, that followed after a shower of blue magic arrows shot from the ceiling, Ezra barely stopped himself from stumbling backwards as he parried the incessant barrage of powerful attacks coming his way.

In an instant, his bloodshot crimson eyes flashed with a green flash, barely perceptible to naked human eyes — the young man had activated one of his myriad abilities: the mythic 'Eye of Apollo'.

''.....''

The creature advanced without a word, as the young man took a quick leap to the left, narrowly avoiding the remaining arrows it had fired.

''Tch! Fucking monster!''

How many times has he been through the same situation? Ezra was sure that only he and that annoying guy could defend themselves against that monster.

But that wasn't surprising for anyone.

He was the legend of the first generation and Masiosare — that's how people knew him, after all.

Masiosare, a name he himself chose after learning to control his powers - its meaning could not be better: Masiosare referred, in a long-forgotten language, to one who reigned above even the mythological creatures of an exiled period in time.

"Masiosare, huh?" Commented the dungeon keeper, cutting a bullet in half with his sharp hands. ''You don't deserve such an achievement attributed to your name, boy.''

'How the hell does he know about my nickname?' Exasperated, Ezra thought.

Then, with a single second of carelessness on his part, the creature disappeared from his field of vision.

''What?''

Faster than anyone present thought possible, slashing through a hexed bullet fired by one of the team members, the guardian surged into Ezra's flank.

''Not again!''

Screaming in annoyance, and not pain as the others had expected, he felt sharp fingers cutting into the flesh of his back with precision.

Terrifyingly, his eyes captured the exact moment the thing's fingers dug into his bones.

The violent shock made them creak as they were splintered to mere dust, leaving Ezra's body limp like slime.

''Don't come back, kid. You are unbearable." The being uttered, its arm covered in fresh blood.

In the next second, with the blink of an eye, Ezra found himself once again surrounded by a landscape painted black.

He didn't dare utter a word in that vast, lonely space, just repeating the process of the screens and returning once more to the dungeon's endpoint.

There was no longer any logic in his method of action.

As if in a final act of desperation, the brown-haired man continued to try every method he knew, indiscriminately. However, in each attempt, he was always torn apart in the end, by the same freaking & lunatic being.

[You've died]

[You've died]

[You've died]

[You've died]

Soon, the total number of times he experienced that torturous experience, capable of driving anyone mad, skyrocketed into the hundreds of thousands.

His eyes, once fierce, burning with hatred and the will to overcome the ordeal of the Kronos Dungeon, now looked lifeless — frankly, it was almost as if there was no hope left in them.

''Again.''

Anyway, Ezra still raised his arm — now healed by the authority of his ability — to the Save Points selection screen direction.

But, reluctant for the first time in a long time, just before making contact with the holographic window, he stopped. His fingers curled into a clenched fist, which dropped to his side.

His knees threatened to drop him at any moment, nearly giving way. Instantly, hitting his face with his fists, he finally came to a conclusion.

There was no way to get past that point.

At least not being a foolish weakling like himself.

''Fuck... Why?'' He swore, blood dripping from his mouth onto his shirt. ''Why this happened to me? WHY?! WHY, HUH?!''

Drops of water fell to the glassy floor, forming a small, glistening puddle.

At that moment, the man could only break down in tears, for the misery that was his pathetic life.

Honestly, he wanted to be strong enough not to have to cower in fear from a monster.

He wanted to be smarter than he already was, so that he could solve problems easily and quickly — and with no need for his skill to intervene in between.

He wanted to be like 'that guy', and be naturally talented, so that no one would be able to match his power.

He wanted his heart and mind, still weak, to cease his emotions for good so that he could become an Unbeatable Stronghold.

However, despite all his efforts, in the end, Ezra only ended up in that pitiful decrepit state. Moreover, unfortunately, he was only allowed to live normally if he was able to reach the end of Kronos Dungeon.

The problem was that he wasn't strong enough and there was no one he could truly call an ally.

Along with the problem that those who dared, unabashedly, to say that they were his ''friendly colleagues'', were no more than obstacles, most of the time.

With morbid thoughts filling his mind, the brown-haired lad could only think of one thing: redo his life's decisions and become someone incapable of losing.

If he could start over... that was it...

A solution...

Perhaps then, Ezra could surpass the man who reigned supreme above all power holders on Earth, plus who knows, even surpass the level of the sadistic gods.

''Wait a moment…''

Suddenly, he remembered something very important.

As if blessed by a sudden superintelligence power, he was hit by a monstrous epiphany — blinking frantically, as well as rubbing back tears, he analyzed the screen of his power minutely.

''That's it! Reset everything!" Grinning megalomaniacally, like a cartoon character, the man read the save files.

His red eyes slid like a surfboard over the sea, looking down at the first message above the others, from the window.

The ghostly blue flickered, illuminating parts of his face.

''Here it is! I knew it was a good idea to keep it quiet, undisturbed!''

With words written in italics and a striking gold tone popping up, there was his masterpiece. There lay his salvation; a true escape from that perpetual hell he was trapped in, for so long.

Informing the exact date, in the description tab, the time counted already exceeded more than 24 years.

[Save Point #1: The Siren's Song]

[File created 24 years, 9 months and 3 days ago — 5/27/2022]

''Puhaha...''

Laughing softly, he slowly lifted his spirits.

His countenance became more accentuated than before as he reached for the contents of the screen.

"Right." Ezra stated to himself. ''If it's from the beginning, I'll certainly be able to change everything.''

[Save Point #1, The Siren's Song, has been selected]

As he loaded the save file, he closed his eyes happily — for the first time in a long time, Ezra genuinely smiled.

"Things will be different." He spoke, being devoured by a shower of violent sparks. Before his eyes, entire parts of his body began to disappear, one by one. ''I swear they will be different.''

Starting over from the beginning of everything — just 4 years after the monsters first appeared.

Turning the time that had passed into mere waste forgotten by everyone, with the exception of himself, Ezra hummed as he completely faded.

[User is being transported back to the chosen Save Point!]

[The skill, 'World Memoir', wishes you good luck]