Back then, Zenryu's best friend had been babysitting the children since she needed someone she could trust to watch the kids while she was away working.
Zenryu's best friend had been more than happy to help out. It gave him a reason not to go home and deal with his own crumbling life, and he could help out his best friend's family at the same time. When Zenryu returned home that day, it had been perfect timing, as his best friend had just received an emergency call. So he ran off in a hurry, grateful that Zenryu came back just in time to watch the kids.
It had all been one massive misunderstanding. Every single piece of it.
Zenryu went to see his parents that day, hoping for support. But he never knew that his father was on death's door. Drinking and smoking all his life had destroyed his body, and when he finally got a system, it caused his already poor health to worsen dramatically instead of improving.
His father had needed help to do everything, even something as simple as eating. This had been a massive task that Zenryu's mother had to take on all by herself, day after day without rest. She wanted desperately to ask for help, but they didn't want to burden Zenryu, knowing he was systemless and was going through his own troubles with his marriage and job.
Medical costs, stress, back pain, and exhaustion all weighed heavily on Zenryu's mother. She was old, and didn't even dare to enter the tower to try and get stronger. So, when Zenryu appeared at her door that day, she felt the weight on her shoulders lighten. She was happy to see her son, although deep down she hated herself for always having to rely on Zenryu to help them through their problems...
But then she heard Zenryu was there looking for help with his marriage, and that he didn't even own his company anymore... and she realized she couldn't help him. She didn't dare to let Zenryu enter the house, not wanting him to see his father's condition and worry. But his father's illness was just the tip of the iceberg.
Zenryu's sister? She was missing inside a dungeon, something they hadn't told him about. They didn't want to add to his burdens. Zenryu's little brother? The fool had been trying to be like Zenryu and take on responsibilities that Zenryu had always shouldered. But it led to him being killed over and over inside the dungeon and respawning each time, trapped in a cycle of death. He was going through his own trauma, barely holding himself together.
She didn't want all of this weighing down on Zenryu, so she lied to his face. She wasn't a good liar, but she tried her best and made promises she knew she would fail to follow through on. She didn't want Zenryu to worry about their lives when his own was falling apart. She alone went on to handle everything as best she could, although to this day, Zenryu's little sister was still nowhere to be found. So, she sent Zenryu away with empty promises of making it up to him later.
Zenryu's elder brother? His daughter had been gravely injured by a dungeon that had opened up near their home, and they were drowning in heavy debt from the mounting medical bills. Zenryu's arrival at their door was a spark of hope... but hearing that Zenryu had come looking for a shoulder to lean on, that he needed help himself... Zenryu's elder brother couldn't let him inside their house.
He knew Zenryu would have tried to help them if he saw what they were going through. That's just who Zenryu was. But with Zenryu being jobless and dealing with his troubled marriage, his elder brother thought it was for the best that Zenryu didn't worry about them on top of everything else. Things had gotten so bad for them that Zenryu's elder brother had even considered having his wife sell her body to make money.
It would bring in a huge amount, since back then, men were willing to pay fortunes for such chances to distract themselves from their harsh reality. But he couldn't do it. Even if it meant his daughter's death, he couldn't bring himself to have his wife sell herself like that.
To Zenryu, all of this painted a clear picture of his whole family abandoning him. It was insane how, at the exact same time, the entire family could suffer such devastating events. It was like fate itself wanted Zenryu to feel like he had been abandoned and betrayed by those he trusted most. But the test Zenryu had unknowingly accepted as a child gave him everything he ever wanted first.
So, he had been surrounded by people who were his friends and people he could trust. If they weren't, it would contradict the perfect life the system promised. To make everything feel real, and then to rip it all away, maximized the heartache Zenryu felt when it was gone. He had truly had a perfect life. He had stood at the top of the world and had everything a man could want...
***
Zenryu appeared on the plane of the gods, falling straight down and slamming into the ground. He lay there on the hard earth for some time, his eye twitching from barely contained rage... all of it had been one massive misunderstanding? His worst enemy throughout everything had been himself? His own assumptions and pain had blinded him to the truth?
But after a long moment of stewing in that realization, he sighed and let the anger drain away. He had nothing to worry about now. The past was the past. He just needed to grow stronger, and what better place to do that than the realm of the gods themselves? So he pushed himself up and tried to fly, only to immediately fall back to the ground.
"The rules here are far more strict than the ones below. You're no longer immortal, and you have a lifespan of only three thousand years," Jarvis explained.
"Yeah, the plane of the gods is truly impressive," Zenryu said while turning his head to look at a bear that was sniffing the air and walking towards him. The bear's eyes lit up at the opportunity for an easy meal. With a flash of movement, it lunged towards Zenryu, who quickly formed a barrier to shield himself.
The barrier shattered like glass, and the bear's claw slammed against Zenryu's body, sending him rocketing away while coughing up blood. Zenryu quickly landed on his feet, his pupils shrinking as he realized he wasn't healing. He looked like a mere mortal who had been injured, bleeding and weak.
The bear shot towards Zenryu again, only to find that its claw attacks no longer worked since the attack was broken. Having no other choice, it tried to bite Zenryu instead. But as its teeth slammed down upon him, it found that Zenryu's very existence had already adapted to the threat. Its teeth shattered against his body like brittle glass.
'...My abilities still work, but they seem to be nerfed... no, they aren't nerfed. It's just that in this plane, they have to overcome far greater resistances than before.' Zenryu thought while watching the bear collapse to the ground lifelessly.
Irreversible Destruction: Any damage Zenryu deals to the world does not heal. Whether natural or skill-based, Zenryu's actions cannot be recovered from. That includes even unconventional ways of healing, such as Kumagawa's All Fiction. However, the true horror of this ability manifests itself in the defensive application. The stronger an attack used against him, the further the attack itself will be "broken," and it will never return to normal. An arm used to punch him will be permanently broken, and superpowers will often become unusable afterward. He will also no longer recognize any ability or technique previously used against him as an attack, so even if the power is somehow still functional after being used on him, it will not affect him anyway.
This was originally Iihiko's ability, but naturally, in Zenryu's hands, it had become far more powerful. But it still had its limitations, as seen when he fought that dragon on the final floor. A person who could heal on a deep conceptual level, deeper than he could reach, would ignore this ability entirely.
That bear, as soon as it attacked him, and Zenryu blocked, the very concept of its offensive capability was broken beyond repair. But this went a step further. Since Zenryu no longer recognized the bear as a danger, all of its attacks became completely harmless to him. And because Zenryu evolved to counter the bear entirely, just the thought of killing it caused the creature to die.
[You have leveled up to level 4.]
"Fuck." Zenryu said, dropping to the ground while looking at his injury. The wound wouldn't kill him, but the longer it took before he dealt with the damage, the weaker his condition would become. This wasn't even conceptual damage, yet why couldn't he even begin the process of healing?
"This plane's attacks hold more weight than anything below. What was conceptual healing back on the lower floors is barely enough to heal from a common cold up here," Jarvis said, her voice carrying unease at their situation. Honestly, Jarvis was understating it. That dragon Zenryu, had fought on the final floor wouldn't even be able to heal from something as minor as a paper cut in this realm.
Zenryu formed flames in his palm and tried to use the heat to seal the wound. But the wind blew out the flames before he could finish. They were simply too weak to withstand the environment. This caused Zenryu's lips to twitch in frustration before he sighed, accepting the setback. Then he noticed something... he was only level 4.
"Oh, while having sex, Yggdrasil reset your level. You didn't notice due to... well, you know." Jarvis said, causing Zenryu's eyebrow to raise. He also noticed that the weight of every level up felt greater for him now than before. Yggdrasil seemed to have evolved his system to be more suited for someone as exceptional as himself, making each level mean more.
Taking a deep breath, he recreated the flames in his palm. Naturally, they were stronger and more resistant to the wind this time. Zenryu was always improving, so what affected him once would find it nearly impossible to bother him again.
Zenryu gritted his teeth against the pain as he worked. He was confused as to why things hurt like never before now, why his body felt so vulnerable. But he gritted his teeth and endured the agony until his wound was sealed shut. He jumped back up to his feet. The injury still hurt, and he had not fully recovered his strength, but at least he wouldn't be losing any more health.
Zenryu used The Almighty, only to find the ability wasn't nearly as powerful as it once was in the lower realms. But it was enough for him to lock onto a future where he skinned the bear before him and turned its body into usable gear. Bringing that future into reality, the bear's corpse instantly disappeared, reappearing on Zenryu's body as a bear-skin coat that wrapped around him.
Zenryu reached into the void and pulled out his Zanpakuto, a simple-looking katana with no remarkable features. But it was about time he had it fight alongside him properly.
"They were not joking. There really are no monsters here." A golden-haired man said while walking through a dense forest, his eyes scanning the shadows between the trees as he tried to find any sign of creatures. He turned to look at his party, specifically the elf who was sensing the air and reaching out with her abilities to detect any monsters in the area. But she too found nothing.
"How could a whole forest go empty like this? It doesn't make sense." The elf said with a look of genuine confusion, her pointed ears twitching as she strained to pick up any sound of life.
"I asked around before we entered. They said a while ago, a massive monster had appeared in these woods, which forced the other monsters to start leaving the forest in search of food elsewhere." A massive man carrying a heavy shield said with a thoughtful look, recalling the rumors he had gathered.
"Could they have left to find food in other territories? No, that can't be right. How could so many creatures leave without anyone noticing their migration?" The elf thought aloud with a deepening frown.
"Do you have any idea what's going on?" The golden-haired man asked the woman who had tagged along with them for this mission. They were adventurers by trade, and their job was to investigate the reason behind the mysterious lack of monsters in this forest. Meanwhile, this woman had her own mission—to hunt down and kill the monster that had suddenly appeared and disrupted the entire ecosystem.
Since their objectives aligned so closely, she decided to accompany them. They were more than happy with this arrangement since she was an S-rank adventurer, one of the strongest beings in the entire kingdom.
"No idea yet, but it might have something to do with whatever creature calls this place home now." She said calmly, her sharp eyes shifting slightly to look at the blood splattered on the side of a nearby tree. The blood was dry and old. She guessed it was a few days old at least.
Following her gaze, the others noticed what she was looking at and moved over to study the area more closely. That's when they found the faint traces of a battle that had taken place here, and what appeared to be marks left by a sword cutting through the monsters without a hint of any energy buffing the sword slashes.