Before I can say anything else, the gray-haired woman speaks first, “Thank you for everything. Now, please, rest peacefully.”

Then, Ruby vanishes into fine particles.

The world feels like it has stopped. My body turns cold instantly as if someone drained all life out of it. I feel lightheaded, and it's as if something's lodged in my throat.

My mana explodes for a brief moment. It literally explodes, all of it. Yet, a simple glance at the woman in front of me, at her mana, makes me stop.

[FOCUS]

All my emotions are pushed to the back of my mind.

[Focus - lvl 24 > Focus - lvl 25]

[Focus - lvl 25 > Focus - lvl 26]

“Good job holding it back, little pup,” the gray-haired woman looks at me. This time, her face isn't the calm mask I'm used to. There's a small, yet noticeable hint of madness in her expression.

Without her even moving her arm, a tear appears in the air and a monster steps through.

[Cinderbear- lvl 60]

As soon as the beast appears, an oppressive aura fills the air. Flames dance across its body, weaving in and out of its gray fur. Its eyes glow like smoldering coals in the dark. A low growl rumbles from its throat, resonating through the air and reverberating deep within.

Before I can react, I see the monster charging at the others while her mana grips me, pushing me through another tear.

From where we stand, atop the cliff, the city sprawls before us. Its towers stand tall and proud, clawing at the sky with smaller homes nestled in their shadows. A thick wall imbued with mana surrounds the city. Despite the distance, the city life stirs a swirl of color against the white stone.

Under the fading sunlight, the city takes on an ethereal glow, magic-infused lights flickering from windows, casting an inviting glow against the twilight. The city is full of life and resonating with magic and stands there, unaware of the impending doom.

“I have killed almost everyone I knew and had some relationship with. My descendants, my disciples, my friends, my grandson Keiron,” her eyes barely show any emotion as she says this. “It's better to put them to rest than... whatever this is.”

The city looks so peaceful as we observe it from a cliff.

“Now I only need you to witness everything. But before that,” she disappears, not using a tear, she just moves that fast. She lands in the middle of the city, creating a crater under her. Her mana explodes, shattering the ground under her feet and I feel multiple monstrously powerful people fight against her. A pillar of orange light quickly turns into a dark cloud.

The sky is still a dark orange, reverberating under the influence of the man named Tristan who is probably hundreds of miles away.

The ground around the distant woman lifts up, spewing more smoke and mana. White and red lightning starts to flicker around the clouds and the ground.

Slowly, the pillar grows, spewing out horrific amounts of mana that send me to my knees. My skin burns from the heat, my brain feels like it's about to melt even while my mana continues to try to push back against it.

The monster appears next to me and the pressure on me alleviates.

“Their emperor ran away and one of his paragons died trying to stop me.”

The pillar of light grows even bigger and even while being shielded by her, I feel her mana flaring up.

Suddenly, with a force so immense it's almost incomprehensible, her mana explodes. The shockwave ripples outwards, racing towards the city in a blink, reshaping the landscape with every passing second. Buildings don't just crumble; they implode, collapsing under the weight of the unleashed power, their sturdy structures folding as easily as paper.

Massive chunks of ground are torn from their roots as though being sucked away by an unseen force. In the aftermath of the mana burst, the city isn't just decimated, it's erased from existence. Every trace of life, every symbol of civilization, wiped away in an instant.

Accompanying it are sounds of destruction—the groans of twisting metal, the shattering of countless windows, and the devastating crashes of entire structures collapsing. Each sound resonates throughout the now-ruined landscape, marking the city's transition from a vibrant metropolis to a graveyard.

Dust and debris are flung into the air, creating a cloud that blocks out the sun. It spreads, growing until it cloaks the ruined city beneath.

A city housing millions of people is destroyed just like that.

“My last descendants are now dead. By my hand, that's the last favor I could give them all.”

Her face returns to its cold mask, yet her eyes seem off as she turns back to me.

Another tear appears in the air and she moves us somewhere else.

It's so quiet in the room where we are. [Perception] tells me that we are deep underground, surrounded only by a rock that has crystals filled with mana imbued in it. Each single one of them has a pattern too difficult to understand, disrupting the mana and the space all around us.

The room we are in is massive, as tall as a smaller building and squared. A silence dominates, sharp and absolute, broken only by the occasional distant hum of the mana-infused crystals. The floor underfoot is cool and unyielding, made out of polished stone.

As my eyes adjust to the subtle glow, I can make out the vague outlines of the massive room, all bathed in an ethereal glow from the mana crystals.

The gray-haired woman stops after we get there, looking at me.

“Try saying those words again.”

I do so.

She laughs, and her laugh echoes in the empty room with walls made of the same iron.

“I can't hear anything,” her laughter strengthens and her eyes turn to me, “I can't rewrite your mind, I can't copy my subconsciousness to your brain, I can't exit this planet. I don't hear what you say, and even some of my thoughts feel off.”

She pauses.

“It's disgusting.”

Her mana flows into the room.

“My mind should be mine alone!” She screams.

Even now she is under the control of the system, unable to do anything, unable to come up with a reason or properly understand the situation. Even as powerful as she is, she is unable to do anything.

A brooch hits my chest and I catch it.

“This is the 'Peacekeeper,' the strongest defensive item in the world.”

The item is heavier than it looks, giving off a sense of safety. It's just a silver oval, nothing fancy, but it's carved with lots of tiny patterns filled with mana. The engravings buzz a little when I touch them and when my mana reaches out, the Peacekeeper pushes back with a huge surge of energy, almost enough to knock me off my feet. It's powerful, really powerful, but it's holding back, ready to activate when needed.

My eyes meet hers.

“My name is Lissandra and I'm the first and last Absolute. My mana is the most powerful in this world. Deep like a dark ocean, more vicious than hurricanes on the ruined north, colder than southern seas, and vaster than the plains of the abandoned continent. I'm the most powerful being in this world, and I'm a fake.”

Her words hang heavy in the air, a declaration of her existence. She stands as the embodiment of unparalleled power. Each syllable uttered seems to vibrate with power, sending ripples through the space around her. There's a bitter bit to her voice.

Her mana continues to charge, only to be pulled back to her and flow somewhere deep in her Mana Heart.

“I can't fight back even with my powers, and I can't escape.”

More and more mana rushes to her and the item in my hands starts to let out mana, fighting against mana from her. The sheer volume of her mana is astounding, an ocean of power that threatens to overflow and engulf everything. The air around us crackles with raw, uncontrolled magic, the oppressive weight of her mana making it hard to breathe. It's like being trapped in a storm, surrounded by thunderous waves of pure, unbridled energy.

She is like the core of a star, generating more and more mana and immediately absorbing it while terrifyingly delicate patterns of mana appear all over her body, etched deep into her own skin.

Her voice trails off into a bitter laugh. "I feel hollow," she continues, her face a haunting, full of torment. "I've lived centuries, commanded power beyond measure. Yet there's something missing, something incomplete." Her gaze drifts towards me, her cold eyes reflecting the dim light of the underground room. "Every person I've ever known, every place I've ever been, it's like they've been reduced to echoes... shadows."

Her hand clenches into a fist, raw power humming around her. "I'm nothing more than a ghost. A fake trapped in a reality that isn't mine." A dark smile twists her lips. "But, no more. If I am a fake, if all this is fake, then let the world behold my mana."

And then, with absolute confidence, she speaks.

“I'll destroy it all.”