"Kill them. Kill all humans and demons. Leave no one alive."
From every direction, the battle cry of the gods' army echoed across existence. On the battlefield of the infinite cosmos, humans and demons were locked in a war against the gods. For countless thousands—no, millions—of years, the gods had moved their pieces, manipulating humans and demons into fighting one another. And from the ashes of those endless wars, this great rebellion against the gods had been born.
After five such wars, the sixth was about to begin.
On one side stood the armies of humans and demons. All the strongest humans were present, and from the demon side, every Demon Lord stood with their forces. Against the gods, there were only twelve humans—and leading them all was Kagai, the Ruler.
This battle was destined to be fought against the Third God—the God of Sky. Everywhere, the atmosphere was drenched in war. The warriors of the gods' army stood ready, swords in hand, magical bonds glowing, awaiting a single command to begin. In their eyes was a strange calm.
But that calm would not last long.
On the other side, humans and demons were also fully prepared. They needed only the signal to charge. Rage burned in their bodies and eyes—the rage of beings who wished only for the destruction of the gods.
At that moment, Kagai the Ruler and the God of Sky stepped forward to the front of their respective armies, taking command.
Kagai turned to the strongest Demon Lord and said,
"So the time has finally come, Carnoles. This battle may be difficult for us. You will lead the army. I will deal with the God of Sky."
"As you command, Ruler," Carnoles replied. "I will lead the army. Please take care."
The signal for battle was given.
Both armies collided at blinding speed, crashing into each other like streaks of light. The impact sent violent tremors across the battlefield, the ground splitting apart under the pressure. Humans and demons attacked so swiftly that the gods' army could barely comprehend what was happening. Yet the warriors of the gods quickly formed their defenses and launched counterattacks.
Meanwhile, Kagai and the God of Sky stood calmly before each other. Rage and tranquility coexisted in both their eyes.
Drawing his sword, Kagai spoke,
"My apologies for keeping you waiting for this battle. But now, I am fully prepared to defeat you, God of Space."
The God of Sky burst into laughter.
"Ha! Do you think you can defeat me with that sword? Even if you had taken more time, you still wouldn't have become strong enough to defeat me."
Kagai smiled faintly.
"Oh, this sword? I merely drew it for my own defense. You are living under a misunderstanding."
In an instant, he wrapped Magic of Time—Ritual Magic around the blade and struck at the God of Sky's legs with the speed of time itself.
Before the God of Sky could react, one leg was severed. Realization struck only when the second leg was also cut. Shock flooded him—an insignificant human had severed his limbs without giving him even a moment to comprehend it.
As he was still processing this, Kagai slashed toward his neck.
But the God of Sky vanished.
Kagai frowned, unable to grasp what had happened. Where had he gone?
Sheathing his sword, Kagai suddenly sensed a presence behind him—and felt magic being cast. Instantly, he teleported away. From a distance, he saw the God of Time standing behind him, activating Magic of Time Presence.
Because of this magic, Kagai could neither travel to the future nor the past. He was bound to fight only in the present.
Understanding this, Kagai spoke calmly,
"You're afraid I might go to the past or future and change time, so you activated this magic beforehand. How disgraceful—for a god."
The God of Time stopped time itself and replied,
"As a god, I will do what I believe is right—even if it is wrong. And you are misusing my power… quite effectively against the God of Sky."
At that moment, the entire war came to a halt.
Time froze completely. Silence spread across the universe. No clashing swords. No explosions. Absolute stillness.
But this silence was merely the calm before catastrophe.
Everyone except Kagai and the God of Time was frozen by the flow of time. Kagai felt both surprised—and relieved. No other lives would be lost now. He could focus solely on the gods.
The God of Time drew his Time Reversal Sword, pointed it at Kagai, and said,
"Be on guard."
Gripping the blade before his chest, he declared,
"Time Reversal—First Technique: Activate."
The sword struck toward Kagai with the speed of time itself. As it activated, an invisible clock formed around the blade, its hands spinning at temporal velocity. Kagai had no time to even move. The strike tore through his arm and leg, racing toward his neck—
Before it could land, Kagai activated:
"Infinite Time—First Technique."
The sword stopped abruptly… and shattered into fragments.
In less than a second, Kagai summoned his weapon from afar and activated:
"Infinite Time Sword—First Technique: Dance Capture Infinite Sword."
Clock-shaped symbols formed around the blade, spinning in reverse time. Slowly, they advanced toward the God of Time. Thousands—no, millions—of swords surrounded him, dragging time itself backward.
The God of Time realized the truth.
Kagai had trapped him within his own temporal principles—forcing him toward his weakest era. A time long ago, when he had first accepted dominion over time by his own will. The era when humans and gods first went to war.
And time would not stop rewinding.
"You alone must decide how you will escape this flow of time that restrains you," Kagai said calmly while healing his wounds.
"Time cannot kill time—it can only stop it. But how long it will stop… that is for you to consider."
With that, Kagai teleported away to search for the God of Sky.
Around the God of Time, the swords continued pulling him backward through time. His techniques failed—neither sword nor magic could break the seal. Time rewound so violently that he could not even think clearly.
Meanwhile, Kagai searched through countless universes for the God of Sky. But he could not find him. Using his power, the God of Sky was creating infinite universes, fleeing as far away as possible—terrified of Kagai, who had nearly killed him moments earlier.
As he fled—
A hand struck, blowing his head apart.
A voice echoed,
"Life or defeat—what have you chosen, God of Sky, Universe?"
The God of Existence spoke in fury.
"You are fleeing from a Ruler we ourselves chose to defeat us. You should be ashamed."
The God of Sky's head regenerated from a black substance, restoring him to his former state. Trembling, he begged,
"Forgive me. I cannot escape him. He discovered my weakness, sealed my movement, suppressed my powers. If the God of Time had not arrived, I would have been killed. All my abilities were sealed."
The God of Existence spoke grimly,
"This is not good. He is defeating us one by one. If we do nothing soon, the prophecy will fail."
Leaving the God of Sky behind, he moved toward Kagai.
There, just as Kagai was about to activate his magic, the God of Existence appeared and stopped him.
Their battle began.
Humans and demons had once lived peacefully within their own universes. Yet they had always fought—and the reason was the gods. To increase their power, the gods chose a human to become a Ruler, to wage war against them. As time passed, humans and demons grew stronger—strong enough to reach the level of gods.
To prevent that, the gods manipulated fate.
Seven gods were involved in this design.
"You are not right… and you are not what you were meant to be."
A voice echoed across the universe.
A black shadow emerged—one that devoured Time, Existence, and Sky, erasing even their names. A nameless darkness stood before Kagai, prepared to erase him completely.
"Erase everything," the shadow commanded.
---
After twenty-six trillion years
After Kagai's defeat, countless wars were fought by humans and demons against the gods. Every time, they lost—and the universe reset to its beginning. The gods repeated their schemes.
This cycle continued for nineteen eras.
Now, the twentieth era had begun.
A new beginning.
For two days, rain poured across the Earth. Storms raged everywhere. The ocean turned violent, its waves rising to touch the sky.
Amid this terrifying weather, inside a large house, a woman screamed in labor. The time had come for the child within her to be born. Darkness surrounded the house. There was no electricity inside.
In the distance, a massive volcano was on the verge of eruption, lava rising to its mouth.
Suddenly, the woman's screams ceased.
A baby's cry filled the air.
At that very moment, the storm calmed. The Earth grew peaceful. The lava retreated back into the volcano, and all became still.
---
In the Spirit Universe
A white, orb-like being sat upon a throne.
From within the orb, a voice echoed as it laughed softly.
"So… a new Ruler has been born. A new beginning. And a new hope."
— By Kangiten