Warlock of War: My Ares System

Slowly, my spear rose to my neck, slowly digging into it as I tried to resist, but the confusion whirling in my mind sidetracked me.

How the hell… how is it possible… was Ares even aware of this… how did this happen?

"Why am I fighting myself?"

"As expected… you're as smart as me, Orion," The man smiled, mimicking how I looked exactly, probably just a bit more tired.

SHING

"Are you my sibling or something?" I asked upon rising from the dead and reawakening to the point where I could fully control my body again.

"Don't try and gaslight yourself… you know who I am," The man muttered before taking a step forward and swinging his arm upwards.

It tore through the atmosphere, creating a massive splash of blood that flew at me with a velocity so quick I could barely track it with my eyes.

As it collided with my torso, I felt the wind get knocked out of me, yet also, at the same time, I felt my internal organs fold into each other.

"If you're me… then how are you standing there,"

"Gods have the power to do many things… and the ones who wield time are known to be the strongest of them all…."

"You… son of a bitch… so you're saying you're me from a different timeline,"

"To be exact, I'm called a path, and so are you. We are all on paths of destiny laid out for us, and from what I've seen, you're the path that hasn't neared its completion… what the hell have you been doing with your life?" The man snarled, stepping in front of me as I tried to gather my thoughts, trying to figure something out that I could use against this man.

He was so insanely strong that I barely had any idea of how I was supposed to beat him or if even beating him was possible.

"I don't understand what you're talking about…." I wiped the blood from the side of my mouth and swung upwards with my spear, using it as bait as I kicked the back of his leg by wrapping my foot behind him.

It was a simple move that somehow worked out as he was knocked to the ground, and I mounted his torso.

His cold eyes peered deep into my soul continuously, scraping the edges and making sure I could tell it was really I that had presented itself before me.

"All paths happen at the same time according to a certain god… meaning you failed to utilize everybody around you… you're the only whose failed out of all of us… unable to utilize the godly information around you…" The man smiled before quickly distorting as I wrapped my hands around his slender white neck and pressed hard into his esophagus.

There were no choking sounds or signs of struggle as he continued to smirk with his eyes, their life slowly dimming with each passing second.
And soon, those dreadful panels revealed themselves to me.

.

[You have slaughtered a Shard of The Emperor of Blood]

[The god overseeing the match is disappointed]

[A reluctant reward has been granted]

…

I soon awoke in the middle of the night, heaving heavy breaths and making sure each of my limbs was still intact.

Indeed they were, but a continuous feeling of dread pierced through me, whilst at the same time, I was thankful the tearing feeling within my chest had disappeared.

"Was that a dream?" I muttered to myself, wiping the sweat off my face and then opening my status.

『Status』

[Name: Orion Vazgath]

[Race: Demon]

[Class: Prince of Blood]

[Level: 43/55] (20/200) XP Needed

[HP: 100/100 MP: 75/75 SP: 60/60] - Above Human

[Strength: 43] - Above Human

[Defense: 40] - Above Human

[Magic: 45] - Above Human

[Speed: 48] - Above Human

[Skills: [Spear Coating] [Berserk Coating] [Empower] [Scout] [Ancient Torterras Tongue]

[Miasma Infused Presence]

[Prince of Blood Skills: [Royal Blood Magic] [Vampiric Creation] [Vampiric Drain]

[Shroud of Fermented Blood] [Egg of the Progenitor]

[Passive Skills: [Toxic Immunity] [Toxic Body] [Night Vision] [Breath of the Snowy Underworld]  [Blood of the Underworld] [Blood Tainted Aura] [Blood Tainted Presence] [Speech of a King] [Constitution of a Tarturling] [Prisoner of Tartarus] [Iron Speech] [Demon's Gluttonous Stomach] [Potion Organs]

[Rune Path: [Influence of Battle] [Throne World: Basin of Roses] [Locked] [Locked] [Locked] [Locked]

[Equipment: [Magic Ring] [Storage Ring] [Sangria King's Spear]

…

"Goddammit… I'm unworthy of such an upgrade," I muttered, agitated at my own weakness and even though I could normally ignore the negative criticism of others… I just couldn't help but be mad at how I called myself weak.

It wasn't the words that got under my skin but the person who said those words, and obviously, that was me.

Suddenly, a woman appeared in my room, not bothering to hide her presence, as she slowly closed the door behind her.

"I felt a disturbance within the palace atmosphere… I came here to check up on you and make sure you're fine,"

"Hey, Arachne… is it true that there may be parallel Orion's out there…?"

"Tch… so he really did come. That loopy motherfucker I'm gonna slaughter him for daring to enter this domain-"

"Please answer my question,"

The woman froze as she looked at me, desperately trying to hide the unsettling feeling slowly boiling within my chest.

My calm smile slowly turned into one of anguish as I was tortured by this new information.

"Parallel universes… we call them different timelines. From each major decision you've taken, a different you will appear from there and go down your own path. Then, there will be another fork in the road with yet another major decision… and then they'll split off from there,"

"I see… do you have a library I can access? Preferably one with skill books?"

"Do not let your greed collar you. You've upgraded your throne world into its intended shape with the help of Athena's ichor. You should be grateful… fucking spoiled brat,"

The woman clicked her tongue once before leaving my room, slamming that almost comically large door behind her.

"*sigh*... I got it… The way to get stronger,"