A lone traveler traversed the barren lands this stormy dessert offered... or rather what it didn't offer.

From time to time, the traveler would come across a few corpses.

Back then he was known as Phoenix, one who would slay Ultimata no matter how harmless and kind they may be.

Long after his legacy of Phoenix, he would be known as Phantom.

"I fucking hate this place. All it does is create sandstorms and have a few safe havens with monstrous animals. Why did I even bother checking out this planet?!", he mumbled under his breath.

Trying to navigate this dessert, he uses his special gadgets to make sure he gets to the closest water source.

Wearing goggles, a white coat that reflects sunlight off him, white boots with dried mud on them, and white cargo pants.

His hair, as pink as dawn, with few red strands, his purple eyes with white lights within them, and his glass earrings in the shape of an octahedron with a light ball within them. Relatively small, they just remain fixated within his earrings.

Chasing after the same being Hyperion would later in life, he was far closer to the truth than anyone else.

With the aid of the 15th, he attempted to hunt down others of her kind as she was not only extraordinarily weak for an Ultimatum but also heavily dependant on others.

Never could she ever harm anyone without the influence of others but with Phoenix at her side, they were unbeatable.

"I wonder how Project SAINT is going. It took her a while just to make me the first saint. How is she supposed to create the third one without a reference while not knowing about the repercussions of the second?", he thought.

Project SAINT is an ancient project created by the one and only Ultimatum of Phantoms who would use the Authorities of her fellow monstrous kind to create new weapons that would aid in battling them. Creating most of the Ultima Keys, several God Keys, and thousands of Flora Keys. Project SAINT was one of her many projects that would allow ordinary people she trusts to gain tremendous power. Drawing that strength from abstract concepts, universal laws, and higher dimensions, she allows them to not only use but potentially grasp their abilities further improving not only in combat but also in every aspect of their life letting them become godlike entities rivaling Ultimatum.

The sandstorm settles as dawn approaches.

With the clearer view, not far, a settlement could be seen.

Considering it worth investigating, he quickly approached the few tents that remained rooted within the sand. However, those were insignificant as something even greater was watching him far from his location.

Upon arrival, a lone and untouched tower... something that should resemble a castle anyone would think of whenever they hear about fairytales of a knight in shining armor rescuing a detained princess trapped within a tower.

The medieval turret had its own aura with its freakishly clean and white walls almost as if it was created to attract travelers.

Slowly but surely, he casually approached the structure.

Revealing what is beneath this cloak, his same old shield, and tattoos over the left half of his torso and his left arm that look like gears.

Rather skinny, he's still very muscular as his body is well defined despite looking as young as ever as if he was somewhere between 16 and 20 years old.

The tattoos are simple black gears and a few clocks on the left half of his body.

Stopping time, he approaches the building to make sure he can move out of the directions traps may be aiming at.

Carefully examining the turret, he pulled a spherical object with a lens on it out to examine it.

Floating towards the structure fueled by his magic, it scanned and determined whether or not something may be inside.

Taking its time, it felt like an eternity of scanning that may indicate that there is a lot more to unfold than what he had previously thought.

"Why is it taking so long? Shouldn't it-"

Suddenly, the sand beneath him collapsed to reveal a rather large tunnel beneath him.

"Time has slowed down but hadn't stopped!", he thought as he plummetted to his demise.

Allowing time to flow normally once again, he kept falling as he looked down only to be submerged within the white void which nested within the planet.

The Messengers Abode

Shortly after being blinded, he awakened within the skies looking down at several floating islands.

Instead of the natural lighting that burned his skin whenever exposed and was incredibly bright, he was within a rather dark and close world clouded by darkness.

Instead of a sun, only a purple rift remained within the skies that stretched across the heavens.

The floating abodes were many but rather far apart with few violet bridges all leading towards the center of this world, the main event, the island at the very top.

A massive arena is blocking other islands from ever seeing the entrance of this hellish abode.

The flora and fauna are all made of unusually dark gray birches with red and glowing veins, bushes with white branches and red leaves, ominous purple fruits that are attached to each plant, shadowy hellhounds with purple eyes, red pterodactyls, and humanity.

Affected by some kind of illness similar to the plague, they idly sit by awaiting the judgment of the gods.

"Another one of her abodes? Do I have to fight within another one of those rings or arenas?", he wondered.

With a radius of ten kilometers, the only thing on it was four watchtowers outside of the massive impenetrable wall of black stone.

Golden gates were the only pleasant to look at things that were part of this realm.

Upon landing, one rather soft female voice made an announcement.

"Welcome, traveler! Or should I refer to you as Phoenix?"

A short pause before she addresses the miserable people of this world.

"Hello, world! Today we have a special guest with us!

The one and only person responsible for the misery he's caused to us...

The one who rebelled against our goddess by spouting foul lies...

The one who wished death to all of us...

It's Phoenix! As incredibly persistent, annoying, and negative he is, we have to commend his bravery to stand up to us again!"

In form of a hologram, she presented herself as the kind and humble goddess that twisted the views of the poor inhabitants.

Her white gown and her white veil covered most of her body revealing only her long and dark blue hair. A golden gem was embedded into her forehead that was shaped in form of a droplet.

Raising her arms, she made her verdict public.

"We, the people and me, Aquila, need to teach these people a lesson! Half of you guys get to leave and live the life you have lived before, a quarter gets to move up one island, an eighth gets to move up several islands with their families. For the Top 5... I'll let you work on my abode!"

Broadcasted across every island within every household, people were expecting his cruel execution by crazed, insane, and sick monsters.

"And if I win?"

Entertained by the fact that he even believes he has any rights under her rule, she decides to allow him a chance to escape just this once.

"Unlike you, we're fair. We don't slay those that have done no wrong. We'll give you a chance to leave this realm and never return!"

Cheers could be heard as people are starting to teleport into the arena.

"Let the games begin!", she announced.

"2000 sick people?", he thought.

"As if they could beat modern technology."

Attempting to pull something out of his disk, he comes to the realization that the pocket he would reach into to get whatever was within it, wasn't available to him. The ability to stop time was replaced by the ability to slow down time. His gadget remains but its practical use in battle is limited. Scanning everyone here, he determines that only ten of them are a major threat to him he only could face one on one. Another one hundred are considerably strong with several of them being able to overpower him. The rest are relatively weak that cannot scratch him. As such, with an abysmal chance that Aquila will keep her word, he has to preserve his magic.

"Let me add that Phoenix uses uncanny and ridiculously unfair tactics. To make sure that we'll have a fair chance, I'll heal everyone back to full strength at the start of each phase. Continue, my dear people."

The first one to approach him was a rather fast, tall, and muscular individual. Unlike most of the inhabitants, he lacks any kind of infestations taking over his body. Muscular, healthy, and at his full strength, he should be fully capable of defeating Phoenix.

With a greatsword in one hand as this is the only weapon befitting his size and a massive spiked club in the other, he breached the surface of the arena.

Slowing down time and jumping into the air, he headed towards weaker contestants.

The first weakling he lays his eyes on is killed with just one strike to the head. Leaving a dent within him, the same monstrous fighter that appeared before is chasing after him. Another strike that dented not only the earth but also the corpse of the man Phoenix had just struck down splitting him in half... With haste, he fled the scene moving on to another after stealing the sword in slowed time.

Up ahead lied an entire group of rather weak individuals.

"23... No, 24 of them..." he thought.

Not shying away from slaughtering them all, he struck down one after another.

The first was beheaded.

The second had his heart crushed by the hardened blade.

The third had his skull broken apart.

The fourth was killed by a kick to the chest.

The fifths head was sent flying by an uppercut.

The rest were killed in a similar quick and gruesome fashion. Leaving only a pile of corpses, he continued on his mission trying to find out more about the people of this world.

Approaching one rather young boy who could be at the age of twelve, he quickly rushed in to protect him from harm, not to protect him but to question as many people in different age ranges as possible. A rather strong individual was about to smite him with a club that would be destroyed by Phoenix blade along with the user.

"Hold onto the sword!", he commanded.

As ordered, the boy did as he said and let himself be carried away by Phoenix. Jumping off to the border of this arena, he makes it towards the end within several dozen hops.

In front of the walls that keep the fighter captive

"Answer my questions and I'll offer you protection from-"

"I don't want it! You monster!", he cried out as he attacked with his very own longsword. Barely being able to swing it, he swung at Phoenix. Without an issue at hand, he blocks the attack as if it was nothing. Shocked he took a few steps back and fell.

"Do I have to repeat myself or will you comply?"

Peeing himself he nodded and awaited death. Teary-eyed and about to wail, he awaited his execution. With Phoenix taking a step closer, he closed his eyes as something dropped to the ground.

"Take it."

Slowly opening his eyes, he watched Phoenix open a small container. It contained a nutrient block with unknown properties. The thing he dropped on the ground was another one of those containers. Starved, he instantly made his move to devour the nutrient block. Downing it within a couple of seconds, he nearly chokes on joy, fear, and confusion as a suspicious stranger who's suddenly declared a criminal for no known reason offered him food. Also presenting a small bag of water where he only has to bite off one of the corners, Phoenix demonstrates how he should consume the water within. After feeding him, he could only question why Phoenix would do so.

"Why? I tried to kill you! You're my enemy! I don't want your sympathy! You mercilessly killed others but decide to help me?! Why?!" Sobbing and frantically thrashing around while using the dust and dirt that lied on the ground he expected no answer. He just wanted to be killed as a criminal is the one helping him.

"You did remind me of myself which is why I just decided to choose. Also is there no way in hell that they would choose a bunch of young, relatively healthy adults and one scrawny kid that even struggles to lift his sword. Why were you chosen to battle within this arena?"

"Because it's an honor to do so! We get the chance to ascend and become strong enough to-"

"Who told you that? Isn't that kinda stupid?"

"How dare you disrespect the teachings of Aquila when all she does is care for us and create strong soldiers that could potentially liberate this world! You-"

"What if I let you leave this world and finally see the stars?"

Before the child could utter another word, he is left in awe by an amazing view. The same gadget used for scanning also has its own holographic interface that allows him to revisit places he's explored before and people he had met... or rather the memories of these things. Pulling him back onto his feet, Phoenix showed him the night skies of most planets, the beautiful oceans and forests, and a rift in space far similar to the one within this world.

"I can let you see those things if you desire to. Your father likely sent you here to die because you are weaker than your peers... Your mother abandoned you for the same reason... Siblings avoided you or pretended that you didn't exist... Friends turned on you leaving you behind... I was the same and was labeled a traitor and a criminal," he said. While it is true that he is a criminal to many worlds, he didn't exactly live through the same horrors as this kid did.

"And what do you get out of it?", he wondered.

"I can finally cross this world off my list and add it to the ones that have been liberated. That's all I want!" With conviction and pride, he delivered these words.

"You have potential and the power to change something! Don't waste it when you're gifted with such a great will!", he said trying to get into his head. Even if these were half-truths as it is incredibly insane that he even could get through to him, it was only for the good of all. For the good of as many as he could save...

"I guess it worked," he thought. "Lying to him is cruel but it's worth doing. At least one person can be saved. The rest doesn't matter."

With this, he only needed to know his name though it may be a touchy subject. With the drugs within the nutrient block and the water, not only is their strength linked and amplified but also can Phoenix control his output. Handing him his sword, while holding onto another, he promises to get him out of here. Drugged up, the young boy could only nod in agreement.

As the same berserker from before approached them, Phoenix made sure to block both of his attacks and shatter his rather worn-down weapons. Calling for the assistance of his new friend, he held back the monstrous man he was facing. Quickly, his ally came to his aid, jumping higher than he had expected, blasting off into the distance. Still holding back the berserker who was wearing him down with a barrage of fists, he adjusted the child's output by using his very own mind.

Accurately aiming at the berserker, he ordered, "Cast aside that sword and punch him!"

Quickly, his friend threw it away and punched their target essentially stopping him in his tracks. With a finishing blow to the head by a sword coated in spiritual power, they cracked him open and fled the scene.

Aquila, watching from the nearest tower, disgusted by his ability to cheat when they had a clear deal, called the slaughter-fest off. All participants were teleported away except for him and the young boy.

"I sadly must inform you, that not only had the savage participant cheated within this honorable battle for the top, but also dragged an innocent young child into doing his deeds despite being fully capable of defeating most, if not all of the participants. For accepting the bribe, the child must die. For disrespecting our great ways of choosing those that will liberate us, we'll take away everything he owns, including his virginity, his pride as a man, and his sanity!"

With this declaration, she slowly descended down the walls of the arena. Gracefully, she landed in front of her, or rather her queens, enemy and approached both taking her time walking towards them. As the anomalous ability that kept him from stopping time or pulling out objects from his dimensional pocket loosened, she sunk into the depths of this arena. The earth beneath them started falling apart as water gushed out of it.

"Don't move!", a woman not familiar to them demanded as a pentagram appeared above them. Luminescent shades of blue enveloped them as they were sucked into the pentagram. With several spawning across each island, no one could tell where they would resurface.

On the lone island the furthest down

On a lone island, the furthest one down within this hellish realm, where light is scarce and piles of corpses are rampant, Phoenix, his new friend Giovanni, and the mysterious stranger that they now owe a favor to, converse trying to figure out how they should proceed. With polluted air and the remains of those that were banished to this hellhole, it was clear that even the toughest bacteria struggle to keep themselves alive. Not because of the lack of light and warmth but because of a "thing" only he seemed to sense. The corpses hardly decayed despite the possibility of them being decades old but somehow they remained standing.

"I'm Fortuna! A traveler who loves danger, a savior to those that pay a hefty sum, and the most interesting you'll meet in this boring dump of indoctrinated idiots!", she huffed while out of breath. Her blue hair put together into one braid, the skintight bodysuit with a design perfectly mimicking the night sky illuminated by the stars far away, the blue witch hat, and the astrolabe floating directly behind her is proof of her being an outlander. It seems as if her teleportation gimmick expends her stamina. Though, before she could catch her breath, she was attacked by Giovanni.

"Who do you think you are?!", he shouted only to break out in tears right after.

"A strike to the gut... and one with lots of willpower despite being such a crybaby... Interesting!", she exclaimed. Unfazed and rather amused by his gesture, she pinched his cheeks.

"Such a brat! But at least he has a personality... unlike most of the population way into this fucking goddess!"

Phoenix huffed as to make his presence known. "So what do you want in exchange for your aid?", he inquired. Cold, ready to retaliate in case this turns into a conflict, and ready to ditch Giovanni just in case things don't go along smoothly, he mentally prepares for battle.

"No need to be so hostile! You're the Ultimatum Killer, aren't you?"

He nodded as a response and grew even more cautious.

"You saved my home planet a while back so I guess that's your payment. Though how come you're so weak?"

"It's none of your business... How do you plan on getting out of here?" Straight to the point, he addressed what everyone really wanted as he ignored Gions cries.

"The same way we got in here...", she replied. "... the rift we slipped into?", she added with uncertainty. Though she has scouted the towers that allow Aquila to appear and disappear at will, she's unsure whether or not that would allow them to escape The Messengers Abode.

"Let's start off with our abilities. I read lesser spirits which is practically useless in battle, can mark places and objects with my Star Sign and hop between them getting from A to B, and I use water to heal and buff myself. Though I don't really know how my abilities work and where they originate from, so working with me may be hard outside of my teleportation abilities. My greatest strength is the way I even can utilize water and water vapor to hope from A to B. Let's say Aquila absorbs the water she has summoned and it would mark her. Though... In case she's outside of my range, she would be pulled towards me or vice versa. It would be annoying having to look for her and waste time possibly-"

"No, wait... She gets pulled towards you?", Phoenix inquired. Something seemed to fascinate him about her ability though none of them could tell what it was.

"Yeah... when I was just a fledgling adventurer, I coated a rock within my spiritual power and threw it towards a moon orbiting the planet I was exploring. Instead, I ended up a few dozen kilometers into the air and nearly fell to my death. I was lucky enough to just be near water and entirely stop my momentum... How did I even do that?", she said. She herself couldn't even tell what her ability is as she seems to be far too carefree to ever think about it.

"Can you use it right now?"

"Sure... Though I don't know what this is supposed-"

"Just do it!", he ordered.

The same sign she used to traverse this realm... It spawned only a few meters away from them. Giovanni braced for the threat that would come with Aquila's appearance. Instead, nothing happened as the sign faded away as Fortuna went back to being exhausted. Again he attempted to a gadget out of his disk and successfully does so. Handing over another nutrient block to Fortuna, he replenished her magic.

"Where were you before falling into this abode?"

"I was staring at a turret. Why are you-"

"Teleport us there."

Grabbing Giovanni's arm, he pulled him back onto his feet.

"Do you still want to leave?"

Teary-eyed, he nodded. This time, however, he wasn't drugged into feeling in a way that benefits Phoenix as even the effectiveness of the drugs he was given could be regulated by his mind. Starting to cough up blood, he gave Fortuna the order to get them away from this realm.

Back in front of the turret, a sandstorm howled across the land as Fortuna prepares to leave them behind.

"Well see ya again, Phoenix, Giovanni! You definitely are... interesting."

Everything started to become foggy as they too started to move. The past was starting to fade away as he is regaining his senses only to be thrust into another world.

Sentience, within the city center of Munich, was sitting within a cancerous growth similar to the one that devoured Elena. She carefully observed his memories but was struggling with a simple decision that would allow her victory. Should she kill them essentially subjecting their souls to an eternal repetition of memories within horrific monsters that mimic people meant to anger Elena and lower her defenses or should she preserve their bodies at least, for now, having them be spit out as soon as she has fulfilled her mission?