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nI was greeted by a large, blood-red portal… and I knew now this was the first time I’d be meeting him face to face.

nIt was never said directly, but I could feel it in my bones, flesh, tendons, and mind… that he was waiting for me behind such a magical doorway.

nMy foot stepped through, and it felt as if I had lost it entirely, but I continued to persist forward, and with a cold expression, I fully entered this new dimension, the portal closing behind me.

nThis world I was in flowed with lava… yet was so cold and lifeless you’d think I stepped into the domain of an ice god.

n“Welcome, my son,”

nSitting on a towering throne, I found a man with tanned skin, long black hair, and armor-plated with golden appendages.

nArms, legs, heads, everything on the humanoid body was found on this man’s armor, and he seemed to have no remorse for them.

nEach movement of his muscles nearly tore these poor bodies in half, yet he kept on twitching like he was itching for a battle.

nFinally, the throne he sat on was massive. And not only was that throne which was made of hundreds of golden weapons towering over me, but the man who sat in it was even bigger.

n“Show off,” I grumbled.

n𝒪𝐕𝗅xt.𝒸𝞸𝚖

nHe had to be at least twenty meters tall when compared to me, but when compared to the rest of this massive **ing palace… I guess you could call him average.

nA strong smell of blood lingered in the room, like the souls of the damned who had been slaughtered by this man continued to wrap around his neck, only to drift with the bloody-stained wind.

nThey were like a cape of burdens which this man held no remorse for… it was almost pitiful.

n“The Sangria-Eyed King is a position I used to hold. Yet, that title means nothing to me anymore. Feel free to abuse it as you like… but I won’t be telling you its secrets,”

n“Great, I got your sloppy seconds. How kind of you,”

nAs the man looked down on me, I could feel his all-powerful pupils graze across my skin, nearly tearing massive gashes open in my flesh.

nIf he wasn’t holding back so greatly… well, needless to say… I would’ve died already.

nJust from his mere gaze.

nBloodlust and killing intent had been infused into those two crimson eyes hanging arrogantly in those sunken and dark-circled eye sockets.

nHe looked as if he hadn’t slept in days, but the vibrant and almost careless nature that he exuded was more than enough to tell me that was the least of his worries.

n“Can’t you do something about this stench? It’s seriously gonna make me throw up,”

n“Get used to it, boy. You won’t be smelling anything but this in the future paved out for you,”

nA long silence befell both of us as I seemingly attempted to size up the massive god, all while he looked down on me like I was a mindless toddler.

n“I have a few questions, and I’ll start with this… where is my mother?” I questioned the man, but just as he opened his mouth, I stepped in to finish it. “And don’t give me an ambiguous answer like she’s in a better place. I know she isn’t dead, but I can already tell the excuses you have in store for me,”

n“*sigh*… Fine by me… She’s on a different test planet: Earth,”

n“Earth? You mean the planet I was on before?”

n“Well, this one is a bit different… though, you shouldn’t pay so much attention. It isn’t good for you,”

n“*sigh*… Will I ever be able to visit her? Talk to her at least once?”

n“You could if you get strong enough, but traversing the fabric of reality is something quite troublesome. Tearing a hole in it is one thing, but stepping through that hole and moving through it… well, needless to say, at your power… your soul would be reduced to dust in an instant,”

n“Hmm… I see,”

n“Any other questions that I may answer? I have a few things I’d like to ask you,”

n“Why did I become your son? I was already a preexisting soul before, but instead of one being created within your child, I transmigrated into it… taking the vessel for myself,”

nThe man paused for a moment, staring into my soul before replying, cracking those dried lips of his open.

n“That child was already dead,”

n“Huh? Wha-?” I sputtered, as none of this made sense as it whirled like a hurricane within my mind, tearing the cells to shreds… and then, it finally clicked.

nThough, the man in front of me proceeded to explain it.

n“Our son died, and both of us were aware of it, so I took your brave soul, who had died so effortlessly on the battlefield,”

n“Wait, wait, wait… how did he die? Did he get killed or something?”

n“The formation of a demi-god’s soul is complicated. Both the blood of an archmage and the blood of a god allowed for a better chance of survival… but in the end, it was still a 2% success rate. Even as a god, luck wasn’t on my side,”

nI wanted to ask another question, yet pushed it down as I already knew what his answer would be.

n“But, the vessel didn’t die. It still had a beating heart for just a moment, and so, in that fraction of a second, I plucked a decent soul from the timeline, and that was you,”

n“Second to last question… do you really think of me as your son?”

nThe man smiled maliciously before standing up from his chair, extending his height to a towering forty meters tall.

nAlthough he just grew, his height suddenly began to condense into a man about seven-feet tall and stood proudly before me.

n“Of course I do,”

n“That’s good… And final question. What was the point of the Ares System? Just a little advantage for me?”

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