Deicide

Prologue

[World Class Quest Completed]

[Rewards will now be distributed]

"It's...finally over." Staring at the blood red sky above as I stood on the corpse of a large serpent-like creature.

15 years prior.

The world as we knew it, was invaded by divine entities known as 'Elder Gods'.

Reality turned into a game, and we, its 'Players'.

The Elder Gods gave us quests, some of which caused more than 30% of the human population to die out. Eventually such things known as 'World Class' quests made themselves known throughout the world.

We didn't survive the first one, and the second only resulted in a small percentage of the human race surviving.

Those who were left fought hard during the third quest, only to end with me, the last one standing.

Indeed, we were forced to play a game to entertain these 'divine' beings.

Other such aliens bet on our lives, how long we would survive before ultimately falling. They were the audience, the gods.

Some players were chosen, chosen to be the avatar of that respective god. Those who weren't eventually went extinct.

I too, ended up becoming the avatar of a god.

"I wished I'd never accepted."

This was a shitty game. The ending was never defeating the final boss, no such thing existed.

Instead, it was the end of humanity that would end our pain.

"In the end, it doesn't matter if I die or live now huh?"

A smile formed on my face as I took a look around my surroundings.

The corpses of my comrades, my friends, my lover. All of them, lifeless as I stood alone, facing towards a bright glow over the horizon.

Maybe if I was stronger, I could reach a height that could be comparable to the gods themselves. If I were stronger, my loved ones would never had fallen.

But I was stuck with this skill, [Revitalization], a skille that never allowed its user to die.

Due to this skill, although my death should have happened long ago...I alone stood firm.

[Achievement unlocked: "One Man Army"]

[Ending achieved: "The Last Drop"]

The interface before me spoke as much.

"Last drop huh? What was this, a sea of blood?"

All humor aside, I would have been happy to see these pop up in the past.

Now that I think of it, I was the reason for our demise. All my decisions, up until now, if there were even a slight change this would have never happened.

[Congratulations on clearing the World Class Quest: "Judgement Day"]

[Your reward will now be granted]

Seems like this is really the end.

"Not even a simple 'well done' huh? Just some flimsy reward?"

A faint chuckle escaped my lips as I stabbed my sword into the corpse of the serpent, better known as 'Jörmungandr'.

I never considered how a character felt in this situation, it's pretty depressing.

I for one, didn't possess the strength to live in this world any longer.

[The item "Regression Stone" has been granted to player "Ryan Flaux"]

"...The hell?"

What is this?

A... Regression Stone?

Usually quests would give users equipment such as armor or weapons. Other times skills would be given by the system or as a gift from one of the many gods.

Naturally items were also given at times, but this was different-

[Regression Stone]
World Class Item
-Grants a player to remake their story
-1 time use
-Gift from Elder God "The Fool"

My eyes widened upon reading the description of the item.

"World Class Item...remake...story?"

In any game, the concept of regressing is a common one.

The idea was that you could go back to the start of the story with your prior knowledge and complete things you were unable to do before.

For this to appear in front of me, it meant I could restart this game all the way from the beginning.

"The Elder Gods....is this some sort of trick?"

When this game started, we were all wary of the Elder Gods. Naturally none of us had the privilege of glancing upon their physical form at all.

The fact that an Elder God gave me an item that could turn back time. It was hard to believe.

"Himelem, are you there?"

No response. It appeared even [The Abundance] wasn't present during this time.

I'm truly alone with this option.

Moreover, this 'Fool' that gave me this item due to finishing the quest....

I never heard of them until now. So why?

"I know you're watching. Why are you giving me this privilege?"

My finger hovered over the display box for the item before landing on it, causing it to manifest in my hands.

A golden, smooth marble ball about the size of my palm. It radiated some sort of divine energy, indeed this was the real thing.

"Please..."

Let this be true.

I will take any chance given to me, to save my loved ones.

With this stone, I could change everything. All my mistakes can be undone.

I can save her

"I'll be sure of it."

The feeling as if I was floating away, my senses slowly faded with that. A sense of relief followed.

[In this second run, I know you will reach a different ending.]

[We will meet soon, have a good game...]

Those were the last words I heard.

Yes... whoever you are, I thank you.

It's time to start, my second run.