“I win.” [???]

A man declared as he stood on top of a black creature. He was dripping with blood, breathing hard and his left arm was missing, but he still stood tall, ready for any surprise attack. The thing that was lying on its back simply stared at him, giving off an eerie feeling, not of bloodlust, but simply a presence that desires destruction.

It looked like a patch of darkness in the shape of a human, completely dark with no distinguishing features at all. Despite having a solid body as the man could step on it, this thing’s figure would sometimes waver a bit like a mirage in the desert. It looked like a human’s shadow with no human. However, unlike a normal person, it had no limbs. The man had continuously cut it up until it was in this weakened state, too weak to continue fighting.

From a third person’s perspective it might seem like a hero had just vanquished a monster bent on destroying the world, but the man is no hero, for this was a fight between monsters.

He was dressed in black clothes, had black gloves on as well as a long black coat. The clothes were not normal as they looked as if they absorbed the light and there was smoke around the hem of the coat. It didn’t emanate from it; instead it was the coat itself as the hem would turn into smoke before going back to looking like cloth.

The only part not covered in black was his head, and it was the strangest part too. Although he had the face of a human with pale skin, his right eye had a slit pupil and the iris seem to be made of golden magma while his left eye was dark brown with no slit. He had white feathers for hair and on the right side of his head was a black horn that curved to the back. Similar to the shadow at his feet, he had an aura of death around him that would send shivers down the spine of the bravest of men.

“It would appear so.” [Shadow]

The shadow spoke in a raspy voice that sounded neither male nor female.

“Look.” [Shadow]

It said to the victor. If it had any arms, it would have gestured to their surroundings. The two were in a dark space with shining lights everywhere. It looked as if they were standing in outer space, except that small and large objects were floating around them: castles split in two, huge cracked boulders, giant statues cut to pieces, pyramids drilled with large holes and debris of whatever else was there but lost shape because of their fight.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” [Shadow]

The raspy voice sounded delighted as the shadow asked the man. He looked at the traces of destruction around them.

“…Yes, It is... But it’s not what I’ve chosen. Besides…” [Man]

The man said after a pause. Out of nowhere a huge sword appeared in his hand. It had a black handle as well as a semi-transparent bluish blade that gave off a faint light. He then raised it in a back grip with the tip of the blade aimed at his enemy’s head.

“A living world is more beautiful than a dead world.” [Man]

He then stabbed downward, splitting the head in two. The strength and speed was so great that the sword became a blur and a shockwave sent the debris floating around them flying. His enemy didn’t react at all, but before long the shadow started to lose its humanoid shape and turned into black smoke that rose upwards. It chuckled mockingly in response to the man’s words.

“But your living world will bring you pain, just like always… Whatever, the outcome will not change.” [Shadow]

The rising smoke then completely dissipated and a nearly inaudible voice drifted to his ear.

“See you at our next game, Ryner.” [Shadow]

It didn’t sound raspy and otherworldly; it was the pleasant voice of a woman, and it belonged to that creature.

“See you later, Alice.” [Ryner]

The man, Ryner, answered as such while relaxing his guard. Alice was now gone, hibernating somewhere to recover her strength. The fight was over and Ryner now had to prepare for the next one. Even though he emerged victorious, he still sustained a great deal of damage. He had to rest or the next time it would be him who gets a sword in the head. Although it won’t kill him, he needed to avoid losing at all cost.

So, Ryner started searching. Right now he was in a separate dimension, created by the both of them. If they were to fight in a populated world, it would be destroyed in the aftermath. As such, they always fought in a dimension devoid of life, a rule that Ryner managed to set up and Alice had to grudgingly accept.

Ryner closed his eyes and felt the many different worlds around him, realms rules by different gods, filled with a myriad of life forms. He then found one that was suitable for his rest and seemed fun, making him nod contentedly to himself.

“Alright, time to go on vacation.” [Ryner]

Ryner said in a relaxed tone, his earlier deathly aura gone. His serious expression was replaced with an easygoing smile and his sharp eyes relaxed and were half closed as if he was going to fall asleep. The destroyer of all life became a laid back and sleepy looking guy. He then started dissipating into smoke just like Alice.

But unlike her, he was in the process of creating a body inside the world he chose. Once the incubation period was over, he will wake up in his new body and once again start his life as a resting patient and a sightseeing tourist.

Deep in a forest, buried underneath the earth, a green oval shaped crystal suddenly appeared out of nowhere. In the middle, the silhouette of a small embryo could be seen. As the years went by, the silhouette transforms, taking the shape of a small baby, a kid, a teenager and an adult. After 20 years, in the middle of the day, the crystal suddenly started cracking. Light seeped out and glowed more intensely as the crystal completely broke and released a small explosion.

The earth above it was sent flying by the force, nearby plants were flung away and animals who heard the loud sound escaped in fright. Once the dust cleared, inside the hole produced by the explosion, a young man climbed out nonchalantly. His body was covered in dirt, his short black hair was messy and he was stark naked.

This guy was Ryner, now looking completely human. Nothing about him seemed out of place except for the many scars and the right eye with a white iris. Standing in the forest, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the life energy of the world seep into his body very slowly, healing him.

This was how he could recover his strength. By being in a world full of life, his body will absorb the energy around him and recharge his powers. Satisfied, he then held out his right arm in front of him and a pale blue ring the size of his hand appeared instantly. It had three more rings inside and when he passed his arm through, his hand disappeared and the inner rings shifted position, forming a cone.

As he pulled his hand back, the rings returned to their original position before disappearing. He now held some clothes that he took out from his own personal pocket dimension, a skill he learned after creating so many battlefields for him and Alice. Dusting himself off, He put on a pair of dark brown pants, black shoes and a simple white shirt.

“I’ll greet the gods in charge of this place later, for now, time to act like a tourist!” [Ryner]

With light steps, he started wandering the forest, looking at the scenery around him. After two hours, he got tired of it and ran at inhuman speed, weaving his way through the trees. When he got out, he found a beaten road and decided to walk normally to enjoy the new view.

But it wasn’t even ten minutes later that an arrow came flying at the right side of his head. He purposely tripped forward to narrowly dodge it before stopping to look at the perpetrator. A rough looking middle aged man wearing dirty clothes and a leather breast plate stood at the edge of the forest, bow in hand. Four more quickly jumped out from their hiding spots and surrounded Ryner.

“Tough luck buddy, you just lost your chance to a quick and peaceful death.” [Bandit leader]

The man talking to him seemed to be the leader of the bandits, as he had the best looking armor among them as well as a broadsword in his hands while the three others had daggers.

“But I’m not unreasonable, buddy. If you get naked, kneel on the floor and bark like a dog then just maybeee~ we’ll spare your life.” [Bandit leader]

Although he said so, one could tell from the blood thirst in his eyes that he had no intention of letting Ryner go. All his friends knew this and snickered, hoping their prey would still go along with it to get a good show. The monster in the form of man simply stared at him with a sleepy expression for a few seconds before giving his answer.

“… Are you stupid?” [Ryner]

At his insult, the bandit leader lunged at him right away with clear wrath on his face. He quickly moved in front of Ryner and swung his sword down on his head. Ryner sidestepped to the left while grabbing the bandit’s wrist, pulling on it to make the bandit flip forward and fall on his back while sending his sword flying upward.

“Look ooooout~.” [Ryner]

Ryner yelled with no intonation towards the stunned bandit leader. Before he could react, the sharp weapon fell straight for his throat, effectively piercing it.

“Tough luck buddy, you just lost your chance to live.” [Ryner]

The four remaining bandits stood frozen, their mouths wide open. This sleepy looking man just moved faster than their strongest fighter and easily killed him in an instant.

“Excuse me, but I’d like some directions. Could anyone point me to the nearest city?” [Ryner]

At his words, everyone snapped out of their stupor and raised their weapons. The archer was the first to attack as he let loose an arrow to the head again. This time, Ryner sidestepped the arrow, caught it as it flew in front of him and spun his body to throw it back at the archer in one fluid motion. The bandits lost their second man as he died with an arrow between his brows.

The three dagger wielders attacked at the same time while screaming, ready to stab him full of holes. There was one behind, in front and on the left. Ryner, with the same sleepy looking face that hasn’t changed since the start of the fight, kicked the sword of the first bandit that was embedded in his throat towards the assailant in front of him. The sword flew with such speed that it sent the man flying backwards from the force. The other two stopped in their tracks and look towards the latest casualty.

This was a fatal mistake as Ryner took this chance to approach the one on his left and dislocated his wrist in one quick motion. He then snatched the dagger and stabbed it in the bandit’s throat before he could even scream from the pain. With a gurgle noise, the bandit fell backwards while Ryner played with the dagger by throwing it in the air.

The last remaining enemy, seeing this, started shaking in fear. He realized too late that they shouldn’t have attacked this guy. Ignoring his friends’ deaths and fearing for his life, he ran towards the forest to get away from that freak. But a burning pain in his left leg caused him to fall as he screamed in agony. Ryner, while playing with the dagger, caught it by the blade and threw it towards the bandit’s leg. He then walked up to his crawling prey and stepped on his back.

“Please! Please! Don’t kill me, please!” [Bandit]

The injured man desperately pleaded to his possible killer. Tears were already gathering in the corner of his eyes.

“I’m not going to kill you~. I just want some directions that’s all~. So tell me what I want to know otherwise I’ll shove your dagger up your ass.” [Ryner]

Ryner spoke in a slow and playful tone of voice, but the latter half was spoken in a quick and deadpan tone, scaring the man even more.

“Yes! Yes, of course! A-Anything you want, I’ll tell you anything! So, please let me go! I, I have kids to feed, that’s why I-“ [Bandit]

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t need such obvious lies. Man you guys really are dumb. Anyway, tell me where the nearest city is, what it’s like and if it’s any fun.” [Ryner]

Dismissing his plea, Ryner asked him his question, which caused the man to quickly answer him, suppressing his pain.

“Th-The nearest city is called Sakael, the capital city of the Garroth kingdom! And, and it is the biggest cit-“ [Bandit]

“You know what, just tell me if there are any good sightseeing spots.” [Ryner]

“Si-Sightseeing spots? What would you like to know exactly, si-sir?” [Bandit]

Ryner then thought for a bit before answering with a small smile on his face.

“Hhmmm Anything fun will do. After all, I’m on vacation.” [Ryner]