#peob on ao3

[i-bring-crack]

Small snippets of a fanfic idea I had for a long time. (That idea will probably be released later)

7 villains

7 tales

7 deaths

1 protagonist

8 ends

**********

"I love him."

"I would trade the whole world for him."

"You two... I'm right here."

They turned to Jin-Woo.

"I love you."

"I would trade the world for you."

"Stop!" He was getting flustered.

***

His eyes do more than gaze at the precious portal that has appeared before them. Unlike any before, this one is smaller. A gate of red and gold mixed with one another. His eyes burn a bright purple, the shadows spread everywhere as soon as the cracks of lightning get louder.

Thomas Andre and Sung Il-Hwang are in the front of the gate.

Liu Zhigang is protecting Siddhart Bachchan and Shimizu Akari at the rear.

Goto Ryuji, Sugimoto Reiji, Yuri Orloff, and Lennart Niermann are all on each extreme of the field, 5 other S ranks next to them.

From afar, other hunters stood at the position directly as Jin-Chul told them to do.

To the side, Sung Jin-Woo looks relaxed. In this world he knows he won, he knows he can win this again with his powers over the dead. Even if Jin-Chul's own plan doesn't work out he has 20 others to destroy whatever will come out of that portal.

So he steps forward from Thomas and his father. He takes the lead as the daggers appear on both hands, Kamish's precious fangs. A look of determination appears on him as he hears Cha Hae-In's steps behind him and Woo Jin-Chul's voice saying that "It's time."

"Arise."

He clenched the hilt of both weapons as the shadows come out. Dragons, Ants, Titans, Elves, Ogres, Orcs, Humans seeking for revenge. The knights, the elites, all the way to the commanders.

Beru on his left, Bellion on his right.

Before Igris comes out of the shadows, A hunter opens their eyes to reveal a black scalera with burning crimson irises.

The whole world is standing still. He turns around to face the bright metal that aims at his neck.

CLANG!

Jin-Woo's darken eyes go wide. A mix of emotions are shown in that always stoic face of his. Many times he has felt the despair of the world run up to him, the inevitable death reach out to him. Each time he has managed to come out of those troubles, unscathed or filled with stabs on his heart. No matter what monster he faces, he will win, he will surpass his limits to survive. Sung Jin-Woo always comes back from the brink of death, ready to defeat the enemy.

Well, not this time.

The portal crack again and dissapears as the sword is flung away from the S rank hunter's hand.

Jin-Woo's face collapses, it's an emotion he has only ever had once when he was left at the double dungeon. Betrayal, fear, hurt, despair. It's an emotion that was described once in his story.

A face that looked as though he had lost everything dear to him in an instant.

"A tragedy." Antares speaks from the lips of Cha Hae-In.

***

"You are a bitch!"

"Says the one that smells like a dumpster. "

***

Sung Jin Woo is surprised, not once considering the consequences of his actions could exist. 

***

"You turned my character gay!"

"He is Bi, Suck_my_balls_69."

***

"Wait... are you... Harrypottersimp101xd?"

"No, I'm SevenPickleRicksInAJar."

***

Hae-In looked at the destruction lay out in front of her. Her face remained calm as she scanned the damaged buildings, the cracked concrete and the pools of blood among the carnage.

He glanced back at her. Tens, maybe a hundred times, she had seen the same view of the apocalypse. A horrible sight such as this had become the norm, the least, Woo Jin-Chul sighed and grabbed a face mask from his pocket.

She looked back at him.

"We are getting close to the titan, something more than a handkerchief will help."

Hae-In took it with a simple gesture of gratitude.

Both of them stopped at the sight of the titan. Goto, that was in front of them, spoke. "If we take one step closer, he will kill us." And Hanekawa translated it for them.

Both looked up towards the giant. It's immense size towering over skyscraper in existence, not even the dimming sun could be seen even when they were kilometers away from him. And if he were to swing his club, it would reach all of them in an instant.

"Alright, what do I do?" Cha Hae-In wasted no time in taking out her sword. The difference in power betwen her and the giant is still too wide even with the help of the System in her body. Woo Jin-Chul had another plan instead.

"I need you to get eaten by him."

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

"What?" Said Goto, confused as to why everyone else was confused.

***

"Jin Woo," Hae-In sighed, "We are about to deal with the purge of gods during Ragnarok-" and crossed her arms, "Could you at least wear something other than... that?"

"What's wrong with my gear up?"

Ju-Hee was not so kind as she pointed out. "That's the thing, you have no guear up whatsoever. How will a pair of jeans and black jacket survive through the literal apocalypse?"

He tugged the shirt a bit, "This one is really sturdy."

"Change. We are going to make a massacre, not shop for your mother's groceries." Goto finally said.

***

"Damn, what breed of dog is that?" Said Thomas, confusing the Beast Monarch until Jin-Woo could punch him.

***

Jin-Woo got up from his sofa. "I'll be right back chief, I'm going to murder someone." And dissapeared while Jin-Chul went back to look at the news. Then watched as someone got the soul kicked out of his body.

***

"Hey," Zhigang kept looking at the cosmos. "Do you ever wonder how stars taste like?"

"Wouldn't that like... burn you?" His sister said in a daze.

"But what if..." He tried grabbing a star with his fingers. "We put one of them in a freezer. And then ate it?"

His sister gasped. "That's a good idea."

"I know." Their words were dragged out through the conversation.

"I think it would taste like weed then."

"Why weed?"

"Because..." and her sister raised her hands up to prove a point. "Weed is hot air. Stars are made of hot air."

Liu Zhigang looked at her for a long minute before gasping. "You are a genius." And hugged her. "I'm so glad you went to harvard." She smiled.

Jin-Woo simply watched them talk from afar, wondering who got them alcohol in the middle of the Andromeda Galaxy.

***

"TAKE THE CUP!"

The door to the throne room exploded in a hundred pieces. As the beast walked inside the room with a bloody smirk on its face, the room lighted up in flames. The Rulers in the hallway had been pierced through the red sword. The guards of each section of the palace had their heads cut off.

Only two enemies remained.

The Monarch laughed as both of them took out the daggers and the sword.

"To think you of all beings will stand in the way of your freedom."

"I'll have the freedom by by own hands."

"And you..." The red eyes dissapeared. Next thing he knew, his body had been crushed against the wall as his mouth coughed up a pool of blood.

"Let me repay the favor of my death with yours."

.

.

.

Turn the time back again, 10 years before it all started. That was the law, if he made that, he will get the good ending.

His eyes settled over to Cha Hae-In, the decrepit state of her body still glowing as she tried to breathe in more mana. Her back was against the floor pushing back Antares' sword with her own.

Kandiaru's blessing was broken, Jin-Woo tried to control Querehsha's poison on his own. Even among the wreckage he looked at the nearest piece of metal in his disposal and tried wrap it in the shape of an arrow.

[Ruler's Touch] was activated, Jin-Woo took another step forward and inclined the arrow foward.

.

.

.

The hand was burned by a bright light as soon as he touched the cup. The water falling out of the cup fell on to his hand and splashed him with a brighter degree of burns. Has it not been for the [Gloves of Akarios] his bones would have disintegrated too.

.

.

.

Hae-In looked back at the cup, then at him, she hesitated for a while, the pupils shaking as the cup began to fill itself with the mana around it. Fate had the same outcome, she didn't nod, she didn't smile, she looked downwards to the reflection in the blood-stained marble.

'778'

CRACK!

Faster than the sight of an arrow, she tilted her head upwards.

CRACK!

The light morphed onto a crack, a thousand lightning bolts swarming in the same place. A hurricane of storms, all with different colors of the spectrum appeared on its edge.

CRACK!

The water of the cup flowed from different openings.

CRACK!

A gliterry substance began to form around the water, in a second it moved towards the holder of the cup. His skin downing patches of clear silver that burned until it bled.

CRACK!

"STOP THAT BASTARD!"

The shadows suddenly created a wave of darkness around the Rulers. One of them shouted out. "SHADOW MONARCH WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?"

CRACK!

"HE WILL DOOM US ALL!"

CRACK!

The laughter of the Dragon King could be heard behind the two spears of Warmane.

CRACK!

Another hand appeared to take the cup. A hardened, colder hand that stopped the other from swinging the cup again.

"...ji..."

"Good." The Brightest fragment said.

The black armored hand took it away from his hands.

"Don't..." He gasped for air. Don't take it away. Don't let her repeat this. Don't let me die here.

Don't leave us all to rot here.

Death stared back at him.

I trust you. It whispered.

CRACK!

***

"I made you to die." Were the first words Antares heard from his father. Father? Well, he can only call him a father on a technicality. To all beings created among the abyss, including himself, he was just their creator, as a God would be to humans. He could call him father if he wanted to, but he never wanted to do something less in his life than say that. Not only because of his words, but because the young boy already knew that ever since he gained consciousness upon this world he was never meant to have a father or mother, not even a guardian. 

His existence was meaningless? Old news really, the only ones have been left behind from this memo are Baran and Adam, with the latter still being a newborn under the placement of the World Tree's protection. Baran on the other hand just is too stupid to notice what Legia, Yogummunt and Sillad already managed to see. 

Maybe it was for the better, Antares heard the caretakers of the World Tree say about the two. They said the same to him, that it was better not to know, that ignorance was a beautiful bliss. Then, they would turn around and keep talking to themselves, obviously enjoying the fact that they know more than him. He hated that with his core, at the same time he didn't interfere with it. Which is why he was brought here, finally, at 11 years old. 

To be 'told of his fate'.

He was made to kneel down, his red crimson eyes rekected on the marble, the saffron colored hair touching the floor even when he had done its best to tie it up in a neat ponytail. His knees felt cold despite the elegant trousers that covered his bruised skin. Holding out a yawn, Antares feigned interest when he was told to look up at the crown of the creator. 

Vices and other kinds of informants standing close to the highest throne worded out a lengthy paragraph of his life among other things that he was too uninterested to listen to. The only words that actually made it into his mind were the 'apologies' his creator spoke in as a last conclusion to the tale. 

With the event finalized, Antares rose up, bowed down (pulling his urges away from killing) before the lengthy throne room and then turned back to the hall. 

"Do you have one last prayer for your Lord and Father?" One of the vices voiced out his concern. They were more emotional than those made from the Absolute Being like himself. The young boy grabbed both his hands from the back and walked away, not daring to look at the throne any longer. 

"Antares." 

He kept going. 

"Antares!" 

His nails pierced the small hand.

The 11 year old stopped, its red wingtip shoe squeaking as he turned around with one leg. "What." The voice was as childish as it was threatening. 

"Seriously, say something. This is your obituary, the course of your destiny will depend upon it." The child looked back at the Absolute Being, wordless as ever, then went back to the lesser being. "–Even if... even if you are destined to die, which most life does at some point.—" 

"Simple life does. Simple and stupid life like you."

The vice cleared its throat, "— You– no matter, I won't comment. Listen Antares, this is the only time the Lord and Father shall listen to your pleas. It could be the deciding factor to where your soul ends up. Not accepting the destiny given upon you can be the worse feeling imaginable when you aren't ready to accept Death. So accept your destiny and pray."

He wanted Antares to bow down to the Lord himself, after discovering the eternal damnation that the Dragon King will be under, they thought he will crawl to the foot of the God and ask to change it's life, to give him something better. When they told him fate could not be changed with a simple prayer he would ask then for the Lord to give him immense powers, to let him live for eternity, to gain riches or something that could satisfy him in his life.

Antares huffed. "Fine then."

"Good." The being smiled behind their veil, a beauty not destined to see. 

"I pray the Lord, the Absolute Being and creator of all to make me love of my enemy! So that I can overcome I can die in peace at the hands of Death." 

A lie that he knew would not be fulfilled, he was to die in the most gruesome way ever, and what being made of pure darkness and void of a heart be able to feel the pain that comes with love.

It's as impossible as thinking his destiny will change.

From that moment on he did not pray for any God to change the world. He bowed to become the strongest, until the only thing that can kill him will truly be the end of this universe.

"Antares!" 

The doors open, he took the chance to walk away. The other vices hurried up to hold back their brethren who was walking out to him. When the doors began to close the young boy's silluete turned its head back to look at said vice. A tiny smirk appeared long enough for the being to notice, but not long enough to do anything about it when the doors slammed shut. Darkness suddenly absorbed him like he was its greatest master.

"Don't worry... don't worry... he will die in the most gruesome way possible already." 

"I hope it's sooner."

Another greeted through its teeth.

"Dragons may be the strongest, but they will be the ones to fall the hardest."

The shadows covered him bigger than the light of the Absolute being behind that door. It's magnificence made from a golden gate and the platinum door that reached meters above his height, higher than the absolute being, higher than the throne itself, high as the walls that encased him. They all looked much more magnificant than the sight of his creator. Back when he was even younger, meeting him for the first time since he lived, almost half a decade ago. His amazement was too great as he waited behind those doors with unnerving anxiety, toes stepping around the halls, slightly moving sidewards or forwards, he only managed to stop as the young snow elf grabbed his head and put him back in his shadow. Stand still or else he will make your life miserable.

Now as he crawled upon the shadows after his death, the memories of that place seemed to be engraved in portraits of the long hallway that seemed to lead to nowhere.

But at some point he managed to find one simple being clothed in all black, no longer wearing the armor that he used to done like his second skin. Instead a black clock hung over his stature, still higher than the Monarch in his humanistic form.

"Ashborn."

Death met him in the eyes.

"How long will you plan to be here."

"Not long."

The Dragon King looked towards the painting. Curiosity turned into anger and anger to a silent rage.

"Your memories of him are so clear." Death turned its eyes to the painting. "I guess all that anger must remind you of his face a lot."

"It does." The anger no longer washed over him, Ashborn's moving the emotions of his heart in the landscape that he created out of their memories. The Monarch no longer had a power inside this place. It all suddenly became a gentle breeze of peace that they killed to have since the moment they were born.

"And I, who loved the Lord until my final moments no longer have a grasp over how he looked after my first death." He laughed. "Hatred can be a powerful thing sometimes."