After asking the system about [Lich] and locating the final two [Tokens] needed to unlock the [Door of Destiny], Alex found himself standing at the edge of a decision.
Only one question remained.
Just one final inquiry he could make before the opportunity vanished, and that made it more important than anything he’d asked so far.
There were countless things he still didn’t understand.
Countless mysteries he had yet to unravel.
His thoughts swirled in every direction, where to start?
What question would give him the most insight?
What would bring him closer to the truth, closer to victory?
He could ask, “What are the Gods?”, but the answer seemed obvious at this point.
They were powerful entities that had existed since the beginning, each of them responsible for the downfall of at least one of the 25 worlds now entangled in Universal Descent.
He also thought of asking about the [Door of Destiny] itself: “What was behind it?”
Was it even worth his time to keep searching for the remaining tokens?
But even if the answer turned out to be disappointing, the path to the Door still served another purpose, it forced him to grow stronger.
Conquering the remaining towers would be a training, and with the [Chosen Games] drawing closer, every challenge counted.
No, asking about the Door might’ve given him a satisfying answer, but deep down, he knew it wasn’t the best use of this final question.
His instincts told him not to ruin the surprise, because sometimes, uncertainty was the best motivator.
So he waited. And he thought.
In total silence, Alex began to sift through dozens of potential questions.
One after another, he shot them down, either because the answers didn’t matter or because he’d already figured them out himself.
Nothing felt quite right. He was looking for something bigger.
[30 minutes remaining.]
Time ticked on, reminding him that he still had half of the window left to ask that last question.
It was generous, but Alex didn’t want to waste even a second more.
The fact that he had now spent more time thinking than he had actually spent fighting the Hatred Demon was… telling.
“As they say, the strongest battles are in the mind,” a familiar, mocking voice echoed from somewhere deep within.
Alex groaned and rolled his eyes.
“Shut up,” he muttered, brushing aside the lingering fragment of the Hatred Demon that still clung to his soul like a foul stain.
And then, finally, after more than twenty-five long minutes of silence, reflection, and mental debates, his eyes snapped open, lit by clarity.
He knew what he wanted to ask.
A question that went beyond immediate strategies or specific enemies.
This one would dig deeper. It would cut into the core of everything, into the very foundation of Universal Descent itself.
“Alright,” he muttered aloud, his tone filled with finality.
[Ask away.]
“My final question is…” Alex took a breath, steadying himself, “What is all of this?”
[Elaborate, please.]
“The question pretty much covers everything,” he replied calmly, “I’m asking what this all means. What is Universal Descent? How is it possible that it came to Earth, and what’s the reason behind it? What’s the end goal?”
“And finally… what even is the system, what are you? That’s what I mean.”
It was a massive question, but that was exactly why he chose it.
Rather than ask five separate things and get incomplete answers, he decided to wrap them all into one.
He took a gamble, betting that the system would still answer if he explained it properly.
[Very well, we shall take your final question as: “What is all of this?”]
A grin pulled at Alex’s lips.
‘Nice!’ he thought.
[Let us start, then.]
“Huh?” he blinked.
But before he could even process what was happening, a wave of sharp pain tore through his skull.
“What the…”
His surroundings melted.
One moment he was standing in the destroyed [Dragon City], and the next, he was plunged into pure darkness.
A familiar kind of darkness. Another void.
‘Void again,’ Alex sighed internally, groaning as the headache began to fade, ‘I should really get used to these by now.’
But this one was different, deeper. Colder. Quiet.
So quiet, it felt like the entire universe had stopped breathing.
Then, finally…
Ding.
A large, deep blue panel illuminated the darkness before him like a flare in the night.
Its light cut across the void, drawing Alex’s gaze toward it immediately.
[Your last question is too large to answer with only panels. So we shall show you visually.]
Alex gave a simple nod.
And then, everything changed.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Twenty-five small explosions erupted in front of him, one after the other, like fireworks going off in the night sky.
Each one created a spinning orb about the size of a human head.
They hovered in place, each one beginning to rotate slowly.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
They continued appearing, forming a perfect circular pattern.
They were orbs, but not just any orbs.
Each one pulsed with different energy, some glowing green, others radiating a dark purple or shimmering gold.
One had what looked like a giant grin carved into its surface.
Another had soft clouds atop it, releasing tiny, sparkling rain.
“What the hell is this…” Alex murmured, slowly stepping closer.
The longer he stared, the more details he noticed.
One orb had two purple moons spinning around it in slow, elegant arcs.
Another was painted in sickly greens and greys, and yet another was a dull, matte black with eight rings orbiting it like a cursed Saturn.
Then it hit him.
Each one of these orbs wasn’t just random, they were worlds.
Worlds unlike his own, each with their own unique form, color, and atmosphere.
And finally—
Bam!
The twenty-fifth and final orb burst into existence.
This one, Alex recognized immediately.
It was Earth. A perfect replica. Blue oceans. Green continents. White clouds.
All of it: his Earth.
But that also meant…
[…These are the twenty-four other worlds conquered and destroyed by the Gods.]
The system’s voice echoed through the void like thunder.
Each of those worlds had fallen.
Worlds just like his, some more advanced, some less, but all had been absorbed into the nightmare that was Universal Descent.
[All these worlds were as technological, if not more, advanced than yours.]
[But they were destroyed by “Universal Descent” in the exact same way as what is happening to Earth now.]
[The system was initiated on every one of them.]
[But no one grew strong enough to challenge the gods.]
[One by one… they all fell.]
[The only ones who truly survived without injuries were the “Chosen Ones” of each world.
[And now, they are who you see today.]
[The rest, billions upon billions of lives, are gone.
[A few scattered survivors remain, waiting for judgment once the final world, your Earth, is conquered.]
Alex stared at the spinning orbs, his heart pounding.
His breath caught in his throat.
These weren’t just game mechanics anymore.
These were real worlds. Real people.
His mind reeled at the implications.
The gods hadn’t just come to Earth.
They had done this twenty-four times before.
And Earth… was the final target.
In his past life, that target had been hit.
Earth had fallen. But not this time. Now, Alex knew.
Now, he understood what was at stake.
It wasn’t just about saving humanity. It wasn’t even about defeating the gods anymore.
It was about justice, for every world destroyed, every soul lost, every system-triggered apocalypse.
[It is time to get into the real information now, FateBreaker.]
The panel’s tone shifted, becoming heavier, more serious.
Alex looked up, fire burning in his eyes.
He hadn’t even received the full answer yet.
This was just the beginning. There was more to uncover. More to understand.
So he took a deep breath, steadying himself as his hands curled into fists.
“Go on,” he said quietly, “I’m listening.”
Because now, more than ever, he needed to know everything.