The Player Who Can't Level Up

Whir.

When Kronos called out to Gaia, the shining yellow sphere began vibrating.

Gabriel mumbled, “The halo’s disappearing…?!”

The blinding light that had appeared with the materialization of God was slowly disappearing.

Gabriel whispered in disbelief, “This is crazy… I can’t believe it actually worked.”

Frustrated at Gabriel, Kronos yelled, “What do you think you’re doing?! This is the most important part!”

Gabriel jolted and quickly raised his hands again. When the yellow sphere with Gaia got Gabriel’s energy, it vibrated even more.

Whir.

Kronos’ eyes were filled with madness as he shouted, “Chaos’ power is forming a protective barrier around us! We have succeeded in escaping God’s influence! This is the final stretch! Put everything you have into it!”

“D… dammit!” the other rulers swore. They seemed shocked by how close they were to accomplishing their goal. They all looked confused but didn’t stop injecting their power into the sphere.

“All the worlds are fusing!” one of the rulers said. He soon collapsed, having injected all of his dimension’s essence into Gaia.

Plop.

Kronos didn’t even blink at this. His accomplices were nothing more than necessary tools to him. Once they had served their purpose, he had no need for them.

Plop.

Before long, the others also collapsed, having fed the sphere all of their energy. They were so powerless now that they couldn’t even move their lips.

Kronos said under his breath, “If we fail, all will end. It will be over.”

He wasn’t talking about a simple death. God was known to be an indifferent bystander, but they all knew he wouldn’t forgive anyone who had defied him. The consequences would be even more severe if the insurgents were his creations.

‘If we fail, God will personally end us. And Chaos… he will destroy the world,’ Kronos thought grimly. The Tower had already linked all the worlds and dimensions. If they failed in defeating God, he would just destroy everyone and everything and create a new world.

‘That’s exactly why we are revolting,’ Kronos reminded himself. God decided everything, be it your thoughts, life, or even death. They were powerless and had no control over their lives, so they had decided to revolt. It was an attempt to gain free will.

‘Gaia!’ Kronos could feel God’s power diminishing a little thanks to Gaia.

‘But who is Chaos?’ Kronos thought. Who or what was powerful enough to battle God this well?  

‘I guess it doesn’t really matter.’ Kronos smiled bitterly. When he looked around, he saw that everyone except Gabriel had collapsed.

Gabriel urged, “Hurry up! I’m at my limit!”

Feeding Gaia with both hands, Kronos looked up. God’s brilliance nearly blinded him, but he could still see God’s weakening halo.

As if it was a magic incantation, Kronos ordered, “Start the Tower.”

Whirrrr!

The sphere that encased Gaia shook even harder. The sphere’s brilliance was now truly breathtaking, even more beautiful and dazzling than God’s halo.

But…

‘Her light also looks cloudy.’ Kronos could see it, and he knew why. The energy Gaia was producing now was mixed with Chaos’ dark power. The force they created together was the worst of the worst. It would be enough to absorb even God’s power.

After sharing the last bit of his energy, Kronos finally slumped a little and whispered, “You can do this…”

The Tower shook.

Dun dun dun dun. 

The Tower had woken up after accepting enough power.

The Tower.

The Tower to kill God.

The Tower to become God.

[Babel has been activated.]

Using Chaos’ power, Babel shot a disastrous light beam up into the sky.

***

The scene that unfolded was something no human could describe with words. Babel, the Tower’s name, was created by God’s creations. It then used God’s nemesis Chaos’ power to shoot a deadly light beam.

God was still invisible, but…

‘God has been pierced.’ Gi-Gyu could tell that the light from Babel had succeeded in stabbing God.

Gi-Gyu felt speechless because he had witnessed something impossible. It was akin to a group of ants defeating a giant—no, they had actually stolen the giant’s power.

‘Kronos’ plan worked,’ Gi-Gyu thought in awe. Babel’s light had killed God and trapped his power. God was dead, but he wasn’t gone.

Fwooosh!

Divine light from Gaia’s sphere blinded Gi-Gyu. Her light was now brighter than God’s halo, spreading everywhere as the sphere shook continuously. Everyone collapsed before they even got the chance to celebrate.

‘The Tower obtained God’s power.’ Gi-Gyu knew this for a fact, thanks to the memories stored inside the Tower.

“Ugh,” someone groaned and looked up. Gi-Gyu realized that it was Kronos.

‘Father…’ Mixed emotions filled Gi-Gyu’s mind.

Kronos whispered, “D-did it work?”

He stood up dreamily and began walking toward Gaia.

Trudge.

Everyone remained silent. The thuds from Kronos’ footsteps and the Tower and Gaia’s sphere resonating were the only two sounds left.

Gulp.

‘God just died.’ Gi-Gyu swallowed nervously. Despite having just witnessed God’s death, he couldn’t believe it. How could God die helplessly from a single beam?

Kronos caressed Gaia’s sphere and whispered, “Gaia… We did it.”

‘What is Father going to do now?’ Gi-Gyu wondered. God was dead, and his power now belonged to the Tower. And his father…

‘He said he would become God.’ Gi-Gyu remembered. So what was Kronos’ next step? Gi-Gyu’s eyes sparkled in anticipation.

“Now, I shall become God…” Kronos whispered in joy when suddenly, a piercing roar rang in the air.

Kwarrrrrk!

It wasn’t a physical cry but a powerful roar from a soul. Realizing what it was, Kronos screamed, “It’s Chaos!”

Looking dazed, Kronos whispered, “But… How?”

They had only freed a small part of Chaos to steal its power, and the Tower should have been enough to suppress Chaos since it now held God’s power. This was the plan all along. Chaos was supposed to fall into deep sleep again, and Kronos would gain God’s power.

After becoming the next God, he planned on solidifying his power and reign before eliminating Chaos and stealing its power too. At least, this had been his plan, which didn’t anticipate Chaos escaping its seal.

Kronos screamed, “Gaia! Gaia! You must stop Chaos! Make it dormant again!”

His screams had no effect, as Chaos continued to roar. He whispered in disbelief, “Gaia…?”

Gabriel suddenly whispered, “I guess it worked…?”

It seemed Gabriel’s ears were ringing because he shook his head a few times.

When he turned toward Kronos, Kronos nodded and replied, “Yes. It worked. God died, and his power now belongs to the Tower.”

“I can’t believe it’s a success. So Father…” Gabriel’s eyes became unfocused.

Kwarrrrr!

Hearing Chaos’ roar, Gabriel stared at Kronos and whispered, “What…? What happened? Shouldn’t Chaos be in deep sleep? If our plan worked…”

“I’m checking to see what happened. But for now…” Kronos suggested.

Gabriel nodded and stepped forward.

“Ughhhh!” someone screamed suddenly. It was Anu who had collapsed first. He gasped in pain as he stared at Gabriel’s white sword poking out of his chest.

While killing the collapsed rulers, Gabriel reassured Kronos, “I will take care of them.”

[Kronos and Gabriel wanted to monopolize God’s power. Had the other rulers survived, they would have to share this power. Kronos believed that sharing this power would weaken its strength to rule the world. So Kronos and Gabriel planned to kill the rulers immediately after God died.]

The system explained. Meanwhile, Gi-Gyu watched as a new hole appeared in each rulers’ chest. They were close to being immortals, but they were at the weakest state of their lives now. Not only had they drained their powers, but the essence of their respective dimensions was gone too. Therefore, they were helpless against Gabriel’s white sword.

The rulers screamed in pain.

“Are they all dead now?” Kronos shouted for confirmation.

Gabriel yelled back, “Just focus on taking care of Chaos!”

Turning toward Chaos again, Kronos mumbled in frustration, “Dammit… Gaia… Just what have you done?!”

Gaia was still not attacking Chaos as she should. To Kronos’s surprise, someone other than Gabriel said, “I knew this would happen…”

It was the tree-bark creature. “I knew this might happen, so I planned for this. I knew you would try to kill us after God’s death, Kronos.”

The tree-bark creature’s chest wound slowly closed, and Gabriel asked in shock, “How did you know?”

The creature should have died, but his wound fully closed as he rose. “Because I have the support of someone powerful. I prepared for this in case things went wrong.”

A new voice greeted, “Long time no see. Well, I suppose it hasn’t been that long.”

“Satan!” Gabriel gasped in shock. Satan, the old ruler of hell, was known to have died, but it appeared that this wasn’t true.

Boom!

Satan made his first move. His arm moved fluidly to grab Gabriel’s neck with an explosive sound as if made of spirits and shadows. Meanwhile, Chaos struggled to escape its seal, which was slowly giving way.

Kwarrrk!

Watching Kronos as he opened his hands, the tree-bark creature announced, “Kronos! Fighting you will be an honor.”

“Dammit!” Kronos swore in a fury. The situation was no longer in his control and was becoming increasingly complicated. Not only was one of the rulers alive, but Satan had also decided to join in. Chaos was close to breaking the seal and freeing itself. And to top it all off, Gaia still refused to listen to him.

Suddenly, Chaos descended.