Charles was thrown out of the portal like a sailor vomited by a storm onto a foreign shore.
His feet hit the floor that felt slippery and cold, but not the cold of Fontaine's ice, but the cold of marble never touched by the sun's warmth.
His back bent in a pitiful curve of exhaustion, his hand supporting on trembling knees, trying to hold his own body weight.
He took a deep breath. Slowly, he straightened his body, his joints creaking in protest. He lifted his head, and instantly, his eyes narrowed, assaulted by a painful brilliance.
Giant pillars, their height piercing the unseen cloud ceiling, towered before him. The pillars were not made of stone, but of condensed white light, pulsing with the slow heartbeat rhythm of the universe.
The floor he stood on was a calm water mirror, reflecting an endless golden sky.
Harsh light illuminated his face, penetrating his pores, as if wanting to strip his soul bare.
Charles raised his remaining hand, shielding his watering eyes, trying to protect his sanity from this oppressive grandeur.
Beside him, Amelia stood tall. Unlike Charles who looked like a dirty intruder, the white-haired girl seemed as if she was born from this place. Her pale skin reflected the surrounding light, making her glow.
She didn't glance at Charles; her chin lifted slightly, her eyes as cold as eternal glaciers staring straight ahead.
Charles followed her gaze.
At the end of the path made of light, a figure stood.
The figure had its back to them. Its long hair cascaded to its back, a pure golden blonde so pristine that it made human gold seem like mud. Its robe pure white, fluttering gently in a non-existent wind.
At that moment, the figure suddenly turned.
Its movement slow and graceful.
Charles instantly felt his breath catch in his throat. He swallowed saliva that tasted bitter. His eyes widened.
That face was the definition of perfection.
Not human beauty with flaws and character, but mathematical beauty that was symmetrical and absolute.
Its eyes were molten gold, matching its hair, emanating a warm but distant light. Its mouth slightly open, surprised at the uninvited guests, but the expression soon vanished, replaced by the calm of a marble statue.
Then, a thin smile curved its lips—a soft smile, but with a distance of thousands of light-years.
Why... is she so beautiful? Charles thought inwardly, his usually cynical mind now paralyzed.
For him, that beauty made him feel small, dirty, and unworthy.
Amelia closed her eyes for a moment. Instantly, a crooked smile formed on her lips.
"Is it okay if I assume the Four Shades aren't here?" Amelia said, her melodious voice echoing in the empty space, breaking the sanctity of the place. She glanced around, toward the light pillars, ensuring no other entities were watching, before looking back at the golden figure.
The blonde-haired figure was silent. It didn't answer, just stared at them with an inscrutable gaze—like a mother seeing lost children, or perhaps, like a scientist seeing a failed experiment.
Amelia's smile widened, revealing her row of white teeth. "Tell me," she asked, her tone now sharper, "Why did you give us the System?"
The question hung in the air. The blonde-haired figure seemed surprised to hear it. Its golden eyebrow slightly raised. But then, it smiled faintly. It turned its face away, staring into the distance where golden clouds drifted slowly.
"At first..." its voice sounded like wind chimes ringing in the distance, soft but echoing in the head, "it was just out of compassion."
It stepped slowly, its feet causing no ripples on the mirror floor. "I wanted to see how a human struggles. Against the fate destined for them. To get what they want to have, beyond the limits of flesh and time. That struggle... the desire to live... made me sympathize."
It stopped, looking down, its slender fingers combing its long golden hair. Its expression changed, a cloudy shadow crossing its sun-like face. "However, it turned out to be a bad thing. My sympathy was poison. So many humans used that gift... for things far from humane."
It stared at its own palm, as if seeing invisible blood stains there. "Humans use the System for their own interests. Selfish. They don't use it to fix the world, but to multiply their own sins. Killing each other. Satisfying animal lusts. Greedy and never satisfied. Vengeful to the point of burning the world." It sighed. Its voice sounded like autumn wind. "I gave them wings to fly, but they used them to dive and prey."
Amelia listened, her head slightly tilted. Suddenly, she chuckled. "You say that as if you understand humans very well," Amelia interrupted. She stepped forward, shortening the distance between them. "Let me clarify one thing for you. All that you mentioned... greed, lust, revenge... that's the true nature of humans. That's our diversity."
Amelia spread her hands. "Good and bad things are done by humans in the same breath. From the start, humans don't just do good things like in your fairy tales. We are mud and light stirred into one. And you... you close your eyes to this fact. You build holy expectations on a cracked foundation. That's what disappoints you about humans. Not because we changed, but because we became ourselves."
The blonde-haired figure was silent, its golden eyes staring at Amelia.
"You just want to prove something, don't you?" Amelia continued, her voice now lower, more piercing. "You want to prove that humans are pure-souled creatures. You want to validate that. You want a mirror that only reflects your beauty."
Amelia widened her smile until her eyes narrowed into crescent moons. "Unfortunately, the reality isn't like that. We are creatures who don't want to be confined by your morality. We want freedom, even if that freedom means destruction. And most importantly... we are never satisfied."
The blonde-haired figure stared straight at Amelia. Its smile faded, replaced by a terrifying calm, like the sea surface before a storm. "I know..." it said softly. "Your presence here... has shown that very clearly."
Amelia burst into laughter. Her eyes sparkled with mad joy. "Good! That means you're ready to die!"
Without warning, Amelia stomped her foot on the mirror floor.
KRAAAK!
A tremendous freezing sound exploded from her footing point. Black ice suddenly devoured all light. The freezing wave spread at lightning speed, turning the golden floor into a dead tundra expanse, shooting straight toward the blonde figure.
Charles jolted violently. His survival instinct screamed. He jumped to the side in panic, rolling on the slippery floor just as sharp ice crystals sprouted from where he stood a second ago. A bone-piercing cold assaulted him, making him shiver.
But the blonde-haired figure didn't move at all.
The fierce ice wave, which should have frozen and destroyed anything it touched, suddenly stopped dead just one meter in front of it. As if hitting an invisible wall.
The blonde girl looked into the distance, ignoring the threatening ice at her feet. She sighed. Then, she turned to Amelia, her eyes narrowing slightly. Just slightly.
Knowing her freezing was forcibly stopped, Amelia immediately charged forward. From the empty air in her hand, water vapor condensed and froze in an instant, forming a massive jagged ice sword. She jumped, light as a feather.
The ice sword swung, aiming straight at the goddess's slender neck.
The blonde-haired girl didn't raise her hand. She just closed her eyes slowly.
And at that moment, the world stopped.
Amelia stopped in mid-air. Her body frozen in an attacking pose, her ice sword just inches from the target's neck. The flying ice particles around her hung still.
Charles, hiding behind a pillar, felt his heart pounding in his tight chest.
At that moment, the girl reopened her eyes—golden eyes now shining brightly. And instantly, time resumed.
Amelia moved again, her attack momentum continuing. But her target was no longer there.
Behind the blonde-haired girl, space suddenly rippled. Dozens, then hundreds of golden light points appeared, forming dazzling halo circles.
From each circle, hilts of swords, spears, and halberds made of pure light began to emerge.
It was a god's armory!
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
Dozens of light swords shot out at the speed of sound, flying straight at Amelia like a golden meteor shower.
Amelia's eyes widened. She immediately twisted her body in the air desperately, her ice sword dancing to parry the rain of death.
TING! TRANG! CRASH!
The sound of metal and ice clashing filled the air. Amelia managed to parry five, ten, twenty swords. But the attack didn't stop. She lost her footing in the air, pushed back by the relentless impact force. Then she fell back to the ice ground she created, her feet slipping.
But she had no time to breathe!
She immediately swung her sword again, parrying the endless light swords.
Charles, watching from behind the light pillar, pressed his back tightly against the cold surface. His breath held. What should I do? he thought. It seems she doesn't intend to attack me... am I not considered an enemy yet? Or am I too insignificant to her?
The light swords parried by Amelia didn't fall to the ground. They shattered into beautiful golden light particles, then dissolved back into the void, only to be replaced by new swords emerging from the portals behind the girl.
The blonde-haired girl still stood in place, not moving an inch. Her shoulders slumped slightly, and she drew a heavy breath. Then her eyes closed briefly, before opening again.
At that moment, the sword emergence sped up.
And their number doubled!
Amelia's gaze darted wildly from one sword to another. Her breath ragged softly, cold sweat beginning to appear on her forehead, freezing into ice crystals. Her stare trembled.
At that moment, one light sword managed to slip through her parry.
SHLICK!
Amelia instantly screamed, stifled.
The sword had pierced her left shoulder!
Not long after, the second sword hit her thigh, pinning her leg to the ice floor. The third sword slashed her arm. And the fourth sword pierced her stomach.
Fresh red blood instantly spurted in the process, staining the white ice floor and her beautiful cloak.
Amelia fell to her knees. Her ice sword slipped from her weakening grip, shattering into shards upon touching the floor. She bit her lip until pale to stifle her scream, her breath ragged and wet-sounding. Her knees trembled violently, no longer able to support her body.
Her blurring vision directed toward the blonde girl. She closed her eyes tightly.
At that moment, the sword rain suddenly stopped.
Silence descended again, heavy and oppressive.
The blonde-haired girl looked down, staring at Amelia kneeling in her own blood pool. She stared at her in silence, for so long. Then she drew a short breath, stepping forward. Her white dress swayed gently, sweeping the now blood-stained floor.
She stopped right in front of Amelia.
Her shadow covered the dying girl's body.
"It's over," she whispered softly.
...
Charles stared blankly at the death stage before him. His mouth slightly open, his voice caught in his dry throat. His eyes blinked rapidly, trying to process. Amelia, the conqueror who had frozen an entire nation, who had played thousands of lives like chess pieces, now knelt in her own blood pool, subdued by one soft sentence.
Seriously? It ends just like that? his mind screamed. That doesn't even qualify as a fight!
He slowly stepped out from behind the light pillar, revealing himself at the edge of the silent battlefield.
The white-haired girl, Amelia, turned slightly. Her gaze as cold as eternal glaciers now seemed empty, like cracked glass.
Just a glance, she looked at Charles, before turning her face back toward the girl in front of her.
Charles froze. His brows furrowed sharply. A tyrant who manipulates the world, defeated this easily? By a system owner? Without a second phase? Without a final transformation?
Doubt crept like a snake in his mind. If this is a narrative... this is too anti-climactic. Too easy. Too... suspicious.
And at that moment, Amelia's smile suddenly returned!
"Over?" she whispered, her voice containing stifled laughter.
Amelia opened her eyes wide, staring sharply at the blonde girl before her. The blonde-haired girl remained calm, her golden gaze meeting Amelia's blue ice gaze.
At that moment, the air around the blonde girl changed. Her breath, which should have been warm and alive, suddenly exhaled thin white vapor, as if the temperature around her plummeted drastically in milliseconds!
The girl's eyes widened. She quickly turned around.
And there, another figure. No, the same figure. Another Amelia, intact without wounds, stood right behind her!
That Amelia held a sharp and deadly ice sword.
"Surprise," the second Amelia whispered.
Without hesitation, she stabbed.
CRASH!
The ice sword pierced the girl's back!
Its tip, smeared with red-golden blood, emerged from her chest.
The girl's eyes trembled violently. She stared at the sword tip protruding from her chest. Blood dripped to the mirror floor.
Amelia pulled the ice sword with a rough yank.
The girl, driven by pain, immediately vanished in a flash of light, teleporting herself far behind Amelia. She bent over, her hand clutching tightly the wound in her chest, her breath ragged and heavy. The golden light around her flickered unstably.
Amelia turned slowly. She swung her ice sword in the air, cleaning the girl's blood with a graceful motion.
"I always wondered," Amelia said, her voice calm and analytical. "Is the system owner omnipotent? Omniscient?"
The blood spray formed a red arc on the white floor.
"If yes, has my entire plan been known by her? Has she prepared countermeasures for every step I take? What if she also knows every skill I have, even the ones I hide?"
She began to walk sideways, circling the girl like a wolf circling wounded sheep. She kept her distance, not rushing.
"But after going this far, seeing you bleed and surprised... I'm finally sure. You, the system owner, are just a giver. You are not God. You are not omnipotent, and you certainly are not omniscient."
Amelia's smile widened, revealing her row of white teeth. She pointed her sword tip at the girl.
"You can't control the freedom of your system recipients, can you? You can't even limit me even though you gave me this power. You gave a weapon to a child, and you're surprised when the child points it at you."
She paused for a moment, closing her eyes as if enjoying the irony of this situation.
"Don't you feel something's off? Why did you approach me so casually earlier? Are you stupid? Careless in front of your enemy whose ability limits you don't know. Thinking victory is already in hand just because you see blood."
She opened her eyes, her gaze sharp and mocking.
"So I'm very lucky. But it's quite pathetic... that the person who gave me the system, gave me the freedom to destroy the world... is a stupid naive person like you."
Without warning, Amelia leaped.
She charged at the girl with lightning speed, her ice sword ready to slash the neck.
The blonde girl narrowed her eyes. She bit her lip so hard blood flowed, but the wound soon closed. This was regeneration!
Instantly, she drew a golden sword from the void and blocked Amelia's attack.
CLANG!
The clash of the two forces created a shockwave that shook the light pillars. Amelia's eyes widened wildly, full of battle madness.
The blonde-haired girl, on the other hand, her gaze continued to tremble, her breath ragged softly.
Amelia pushed the golden sword with her ice sword, then used the momentum to jump back into the air.
At that moment, she spread her hands. Water vapor in the air froze instantly, forming a massive solid ice spear spinning at high speed.
With one hand motion, the spear shot out.
The girl held her position, biting her lip again. With a stifled scream, she swung her golden sword, slashing the massive ice spear right in the middle.
BOOM!
The spear exploded into thousands of glittering ice particles.
Amelia landed slowly, her toes touching the floor like feathers. Her white hair and cloak floated gently. She opened her eyes again, her gaze as cold as eternal glaciers. Her smile returned.
"Why don't you try peeking at my system?" she asked. "Find out my skills, then use other skills to counter them? You have access, right? Or is it because of your stupid idealism?"
She chuckled.
"Well, I don't doubt that everyone has their tastes. In fact, I agree the most with that. Maybe you're part of certain people... those who highly value privacy. But that's what puts you in this position."
At that moment, the room's temperature plummeted to absolute zero in an instant.
From under the mirror floor, the sound of cracking ice echoed. KRAAAK! The floor shattered, and from its depths, dozens of massive Ice Golems crawled out. Their glowing blue eyes stared at the girl, ready to tear her apart.
"Truly pathetic," Amelia said.
"Just so you know," the girl spoke, her voice slightly trembling. She began to walk sideways, circling Amelia in the opposite direction. "Killing me won't make this system disappear! That power will remain!"
"So?" Amelia asked casually, continuing to walk.
The girl furrowed her brow, confused. "Huh?"
"I mean... I don't even care if this system disappears or not," Amelia smiled crookedly. "From the start, my goal is only one."
The girl's eyes widened. A horrifying realization crept across her face.
"Don't tell me...."
"Exactly as you imagine," Amelia interrupted.
She charged. At the same time, the Ice Golems ran to assault the girl from all directions.
Behind the girl, hundreds of golden portals opened. Light weapons emerged and shot out, attacking all targets at light speed. Golem after golem shattered into ice dust.
But Amelia kept advancing, parrying, dodging, and attacking.
"Tch," Amelia clicked her tongue.
The shattered golems regenerated in an instant and attacked again. But Amelia's breath began to ragged.
Meanwhile, the girl remained calm in place, continuing to fire the endless rain of golden swords. At the same time, she raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
...
A/N: I tried to make this girl like Archon, but, well... it's really difficult. Forget about OC, I hate OC. Maybe next time I'll write a fanfic with only a little bit of OC!
Btw, I'm still expecting comments!
If you want to read the 7 advanced chapters with a faster update frequency than the webnovel, you can read it on my patreon whose link is below:
https://www.pâtreon.com/Junxt
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