Unrivaled in another world

[: Daniel POV :]

Half a year.

That's how long it's been since my last true moment of stillness—since I last allowed myself to breathe, not just inhale air, but actually feel alive.

Time passes differently here.

Maybe it's the constant bloodshed, the endless loop of combat and silence, or maybe it's just me, slowly unravelling.

It's been two and a half years since I stepped into this place—since the Forbidden Continent became my graveyard of enemies and the birthplace of a version of me I sometimes struggle to recognise.

And in that time…

I've killed over half a trillion monsters.

Cleared 600 Gates.

Decimated entire ecosystems.

Laid waste to countless monster lands buried beneath history and madness.

Each kill and each step has brought me closer to the end of this nightmare, to the mission's conclusion, to freedom.

But lately… I've started noticing something.

Or rather, the absence of something.

The Overlords—the so-called final threats, the architects of this dimension's suffering, the monsters I was sent here to destroy—they're nowhere to be found.

Not one. Not a whisper. Not a trace. Not even a corpse.

In 2.5 years, I haven't seen a single one.

And that should terrify me.

But it doesn't.

Because I'm past fear.

At this point, I trust my instincts—and more importantly, my eyes.

When I first noticed their absence, I assumed it was just a coincidence.

The continent is massive after all, and I've crossed deserts made of screaming sand, mountains with hearts of thunder, and forests that bled fog instead of dew.

I thought I'd run into them eventually.

But I didn't.

So I used Eyes of Calamity: Far Sight—a skill refined and polished to perfection, a lens that could pierce layers of reality, stretch across continents, and even shatter illusions laid by beings of unknown.

It allowed me to see through storms, realms, constructs, even time-warped ruins.

And yet…

No Overlords.

I refined my scan again and activated Status View.

With my level nearing 20,000, I could perceive entities far beyond my original scope.

I expected to find markers, signatures, even hints of resistance.

Instead?

Nothing.

My vision returned blank every time I searched for the Overlords' names.

Not hidden. Not cloaked. Just… absent.

That could only mean one thing:

They aren't here.

Not on this continent.

Not hiding in the shadows or buried in sealed temples or cursed tombs.

Not lurking behind some world-ending formation that would explode when I blinked.

They're inside a Gate.

The conclusion was inevitable.

Because I knew this continent. I had scoured it, razed it, mapped it in blood and flame.

And more than that...

This land is locked.

No one leaves.

No one enters.

That includes the Overlords.

So if they're not out here, they must be in there.

In the Gates.

I stared at the open maw of my 601st Gate, floating silently before me like a pupil-less eye.

It pulsed with ancient power, like it knew what I was thinking, like it was begging me to enter.

After all, Gates are a fracture, a wound that was forcibly tear in this dimension. 

And I would enter it without any hesitation. 

I always did.

But this time, I paused just long enough to feel the weight of it all settle on my shoulders.

I took a moment to breathe. 

Half a trillion.

Half a trillion lives erased.

The number alone was meaningless now—abstract. But I knew what it meant.

Worlds had fallen to me. Species erased.

Civilisations inside the gates shattered before they could speak.

And yet, I was still hunting, still searching for those final answers.

Who are the Overlords?

Why have they hidden for so long?

What are they preparing for behind those sealed Gates?

By now, they should have noticed my presence, right? 

After killing so many monsters and removing gates, surely those kinds of beings should have been wary of my presence, right? 

I didn't know.

But I would find out.

[: SYSTEM NOTIFICATION :]

[: Current Kill Count: 541,214,441,993 : ]

[: Gates Cleared: 600/1000 : ]

[: Overlord Killed: 0/7 :]

[: Objective Progress: 47% : ]

[: Mission Status: Incomplete : ]

I almost laughed when I saw the percentage.

I was so far, yet I could taste the ending in the back of my throat like iron and ash. But the System wouldn't let me go yet.

And neither would I.

Because even if I'm close, I'm not done.

Not until I tear down whatever lies behind that final veil.

The truth is, I don't feel like a person anymore.

I haven't for a long time.

Sometimes I see my reflection in broken relics or the shimmering waters of collapsed spirit wells—and I don't recognise the man staring back.

Not because of the horns, the void-marked eyes, or the shifting mass of mana around me like a breathing storm.

No.

It's the emptiness—the way I stare without blinking, like something behind my gaze has long since died.

That's what scares me.

Not the power.

Not the destruction.

Not even the Overlords.

But the idea that when this is over, there might be nothing left of me to return.

I fear that by the end of the day, there will be no Daniel.

Just a walking weapon with a memory of a name.

Still…

I keep going.

Because I made a promise once—to them...

Even if they've forgotten me, even if I never see them again…

I have to finish this, so at least...I could still see them...even if they don't recognise me.

But the idea of that scares me...it really scares me...

But I have made peace with it...

So I stepped forward, my foot hovering just above the Gate's surface.

The mana pulsed around me, reacting to my presence, as if the Gate itself recognised me by now.

I inhaled deeply.

"…Another one," I murmured. "Let's see if you're the one hiding them."

And I stepped through.

The world twisted and reality shifted again.

But this time, something felt different.

The pressure.

The resistance.

The way the air vibrated as if the Gate was reacting defensively.

It was subtle.

But after so many Gates, I knew how they felt.

Perhaps because of my physique, I could somehow communicate with gates. 

This one didn't want me here.

Not because it didn't want my help to let it heal from its wound.

But rather, the danger lurking behind this gate. 

Which meant…

I was getting closer.

Perhaps...this gate...an overlord is hiding behind it...?

Because I've already seen what I can become when I'm pushed past the brink.

I'm no longer the man who entered this place. I'm something else.

A force. A plague. A myth etched into a land that was never meant to survive me.

But I still remember who I was...I think so.