The Superior Rebirth: A Hero's Awakening

The Shadow of a God

As Aleksander gazed into the darkening sky, swallowed by a sudden malevolence that stripped the sunrise rays, his eyes sharpened. Determination burned in them, even as his confidence and will clashed with the primal instincts of fear and despair creeping into his body.

"He survived one of my strongest attacks," Aleksander noted, clearly surprised, though his calm demeanor held. "Now I understand why he is said to be the most powerful creature to ever live—surpassed only by the Supreme Beings themselves."

"What a monster."

From afar, a figure plummeted from the heavens like a falling star, a meteor crashing into the ground with a cataclysmic force that carved a massive crater into the ruined earth.

It was Julius.

A maniacal laughter tore through the devastated city—wild, unhinged, the sound of a deranged god drunk on ecstasy. "YOU COMPLETELY ANNIHILATED AND KILLED ME WITH THAT LAST ATTACK OF YOURS!" Julius roared, eyes blazing with a rabid enthusiasm, his voice cracking with both rage and exhilaration. Gone was the elegant, calm figure; in his place stood madness incarnate.

"I haven't had this much fun since my resurrection!" he continued, his grin splitting wider. "You truly are a god in the making, Aleksander!"

"I was right to wait thousands—millions of years—for the chosen Ivanovich to be born. All that wasted time on the unworthy before you... it was worth it."

Slowly, Julius rose from the pit. His movements were strained at first, but each step bled with overwhelming malice. Around him, the air withered—light twisted and died as darkness devoured it. His once-black hair bleached into wool-white strands, and his body swelled, frame hardening into a more monstrous form.

"You managed to force my dormant powers awake," he said, slicking back his bloodstained hair with a trembling hand, a wicked smirk tugging at his lips. "I'd been struggling to access them. But when you killed me, my instincts screamed for survival—something I haven't felt since my youth."

His voice dripped with mockery as he added, "For that, I deeply thank you." He lifted his head, revealing eyes now burning yellow and crimson, glowing with the hunger of a predator beyond gods.

Aleksander held his silence. He knew now the truth: the creature cloaked in mortal guise would not fall so easily. One devastating strike was not enough to kill Julius—not permanently.

Julius noticed the shift in his opponent's aura and grinned like a wolf. "That divine-infused attack of yours was strong, I'll give you that. And yes, divinity cuts through me like a blade—I am, after all, evil incarnate. But don't think you can erase me with one blessed blow."

"If that were possible, I wouldn't have survived for so long. I've faced Ivanoviches before you, and though I found them irritating beyond belief, I always won in the end."

His laughter was low now, simmering with venom. "You Ivanoviches are born with divine power. My greatest weakness."

His expression twisted. "But... I am cursed with immortality, child."

The words slithered into the air, heavy and undeniable. "Even breaching my regeneration is an achievement in itself. But no matter how many times you kill me, no matter how many fatal blows you land... I will always return."

He spread his arms wide, as though unveiling some grand revelation. "Because my true self is not this vessel. I am an eldritch god, born from the collective hatred of every living being."

His eyes gleamed with malice. "You didn't know this, did you?"

Aleksander said nothing, but his stare grew sharper, his resolve iron-hard.