QUESTION
Are all humans born good—or are they born evil?
And at the end of that question lies another:
Which is better?
I do not know.
Humans are like flowers.
Some are planted in fertile soil, watered with care, and allowed to grow strong.
But what of those born into rot?
If we are born good, why must we endure hardship?
Is suffering meant to carve away our evil through effort and resolve?
Some overcome it—yes.
But what of those who never had the strength to try?
These are the questions I ask myself.
Because I have known both comfort and thorns.
I will carry those memories until the day I stand before my creators and demand answers— with the strength I earned.
I know it may be difficult for you to breathe in and understand.
But even without resolve, even without the strength to overcome life, I will achieve my goals.
I believe there are things beyond life and death.
Beyond this universe.
Something more alluring than water and air—something waiting for us."
Dragging his chained feet across the stone floor, divine metal biting into his flesh, Reyley forced himself three steps forward and spoke:
"What about monsters?"
"Were they born evil?
And even if they were, is there a path to atonement—or is it right to rid them of this world?"
"There are monsters born good who later become evil.
I know this, because the world changed them.
Just like it changed me.
Pain does not harden.
It hollows.
And those who have been empty long enough understand that truth."
"I remember… I used to laugh.
Not the fake laughter meant to fill silence—but real laughter.
Back when the world still felt warm.
I had friends.
I had hope.
I believed strength existed to protect others.
I believed life was something worth holding onto.
But the world has a way of teaching.
And it teaches only in pain.
One by one, everything I loved faded away—not suddenly, but slowly.
Like a light dimming in a room no one cared about.
I tried to save them.
I tried to fight.
I tried to become what they needed.
And in doing so, I killed parts of myself I didn't realize were still alive.
Every step forward pulled me further from who I was.
Every battle carved away pieces of the boy who smiled too easily and trusted too fast.
Now I feel no hope.
No fear.
Not even hatred.
I feel momentum.
Cold.
Inevitable.
Necessary.
They say I've gone too far.
They say I've become something else.
They are right.
Because in the end, I changed—from a lively, hopeful boy into a cold, emotionless killer.
Now I stare upon this endless world with a ruthless, monolithic gaze.
Everything is for my benefit."
"I do not care about morality, Relationships or Emotion
I view people as tools to achieve my end goal—nothing more.
Survival is the only truth.
I will betray.
I will kill.
I will sacrifice—without hesitation or regret.
They call me heartless.
They are wrong.
I had a heart.
The world fed it to me."
"Belief is for those who think the world owes them kindness.
There is no reward.
No afterlife.
No glory.
There is only the moment—and what survives it.
I do not save people.
I do not protect ideals.
I remove obstacles.
I am not cold because I was born this way.
I am cold because warmth failed.
And if the world demands obedience—
It will have to burn.
I am what comes next.
This is who I am.
The pinnacle of a broken and wretched man."
He smiled.
"But even I make mistakes.
I am not perfect."
Before him stood five beings—normal humans who have gained access to unspeakable knowledge to one of each of the sixteen concepts of reality and have transcended the normal bounds of humanity.
They were known as MONARCHS.
"You were given a chance to speak," one said calmly.
"And these are the words you chose."
One voice rose within Reyley's mind—then another.
He's right. You were given a chance to speak, and you wasted it.
Don't listen to him. Say what you know is true.
Shut up. How do you know he's right? Even if he is, they won't listen. All they hear is a chained man spouting nonsense.
Beg. Kneel. Beg now—they might let you atone.
Do not beg to these bastards.
Reyley lifted his head.
"Do you really think you can chain me and lock me away?"
Silence followed.
Oh no. Why did you say that?
You're in trouble.
You're in serious trouble now.
What are you going to do?
What can you do?
With a single, effortless motion, the Monarch of Judgment rose from his seat.
"Shadow Guardians," he said calmly, "take this barbarian and chain him in the Eternal Prison."
A murmur rippled through the court.
But the voice in Rey's head kept on rambling
The Eternal Prison?… a place where time does not pass.
You won't survive that.
Only a miracle could save you now.
But miracles don't exist.
You won't be able to eat or drink.
You'll starve.
No—he won't. His body was trained for five hundred years. With divine-state ascension, he can last two to three years without sustenance.
And how long do you think he can maintain that state?
Reyley swallowed.
"No… I don't want to die," he murmured.
"What about my goal?"
Raising his head, he screamed—
"Are you all just going to sit there while they take a human and throw him into a prison meant to contain deities?"
The crowd remained silent.
"I'm not a god. I'm not a Demon Lord," Reyley shouted.
I don't have immortality. I can't survive a place like that."
His voice cracked.
"Why isn't anyone saying anything?"
"SAY SOMETHING!"
Then—someone stood.
Reyley gasped.
Above him stood one of the Five Elders—beings who held absolute authority over the Supreme Court. The elder looked down at Reyley with nothing but disgust and slowly opened his mouth.
"Did you think twice," the elder asked coldly,
"before slaughtering nearly the entire continent of Rassian?"
"Did you think twice before gouging out the eyes of every male ogre in the Divine Forest—beasts created solely as offerings to our creators?"
"And did you think twice before gathering children of various races—five years old and below—inside a holy cathedral… and burned them alive?"
"I wonder," the elder continued, voice unwavering,
"how it felt hearing their screams."
"You must have been satisfied."
"It must have pleased you."
"And all of this," he said, "for power?."
He paused.
"So tell me—do you believe you can atone?"
"If we allow a monster like you to live, what do you think the world would say of us?"
Reyley opened his mouth.
"But—"
"There is no but," the elder snapped.
"Take this man out of my sight."
Reyley gritted his teeth.
Rage churned inside him—not because he was innocent, but because he was powerless.
As Shadow Guardians seized his arms and dragged him toward the waiting portal, Reyley turned his head back and spoke—
"I will return."
"I will purge this world of all divinities and demons."
"And with the power I obtain, I will create a new world—one where humans live freely."
"A world free from fate."
"That is my goal.
"And even if I die trying—then I die."
Laughter echoed in his head.
"You heard him, right?"
"He thinks he can kill a god."
"He's lost his mind."
"Nonsense."
"But what if he does?"
"Impossible."
"Halt."
The voice cut through the chaos in his mind.
Before Reyley could react, the Monarch of Law raised his hand.
"After hearing what you just said, before casting him into the Eternal Prison," the monarch said, "strip him of all his powers.
The murmurs returned in his head.
"That means he'll be human again."
"What about us?"
"We're part of his mind—not his power."
"But what if he dies?"
"That's a problem."
"Beg," one voice whispered desperately.
"Beg, you idiot. Why is your face still expressionless?"
One of the Shadow Guardians raised his hand, forming a cross-shaped sigil.
A spell began to form.
"Wait—he's casting!"
"Stop it!"
"I don't want to disappear!"
The guardian's voice rang out—
"By the authority of the Supreme Ruler, and by decree of the Five Monarchs of the Supreme Court…"
"I deem this man unworthy of all power he possesses."
"By the Monarch of Law, I consign him to the Eternal Prison."
"By the Monarch of Seal, I bind him."
"And whosoever attempts to aid him—upon contact, they shall perish."
A crimson light engulfed the court.
In the next instant—
Reyley vanished.
Sentenced to exist within the Eternal Prison…
Until the day he dies.