I KNOW THE FUTURE: THE LAST SURVIVOR

AUTHORITY OF DOMINION

CHAPTER ELEVEN

My blood ran cold.

I knew that ability.

Authority of Dominion.

In my previous life, it had belonged to Julius Everton.

It was one of the abilities that made him terrifying after the apocalypse. He could force weaker creatures to obey him, suppress their instincts, and eventually control monsters that should have been impossible for a human to command.

But he shouldn't have it yet.

Not today.

Not on the first day.

Julius looked at his glowing hand with fascination.

The Gold-Hoarder Golem remained motionless in front of him.

Its enormous body was lowered, almost as if it were kneeling before its master.

Julius laughed.

"Aeron."

I didn't respond.

He turned toward me.

"You look surprised."

I tightened my grip around the Widow-Maker.

"I am."

"Good."

His smile widened.

"For once, I'm the one who knows something you don't."

I stared at him.

That wasn't entirely true.

I knew more about the future than he could ever imagine.

But the problem was that the future I knew was becoming useless.

Every change made my memories less reliable.

The Golem was different.

Julius had awakened his ability early.

The unknown creature beneath Saint Jude had never existed.

And now...

The timeline was becoming something I had never seen before.

Elena stepped beside me.

"What is happening?"

"Julius awakened an ability."

"I can see that."

Her sword remained raised.

"Can he control the Golem?"

"I don't know."

Julius heard her.

He looked at Elena.

"Let's find out."

He raised his glowing hand.

The blue light around his fingers became stronger.

The Golem suddenly moved.

Its enormous body turned toward me.

My muscles tightened.

Julius pointed at me.

"Kill him."

The Golem roared.

Then it charged.

"Run!"

I grabbed Elena's arm and pulled her aside.

The Golem smashed through the bank wall.

BOOM!

Glass and concrete exploded across the street.

People screamed and scattered.

I rolled across the pavement and immediately got back up.

The creature turned.

Its golden eyes locked onto me.

Julius stood behind it.

He wasn't attacking.

He was watching.

Testing his new power.

I understood immediately.

He didn't know the full extent of his ability yet.

That was my advantage.

"Elena!"

She looked at me.

"Take the civilians and get them away from here."

"What about you?"

"I'll handle Julius."

Her eyes widened.

"You're going to fight both of them?"

"I don't have a choice."

She hesitated.

Then she nodded.

"Don't die."

She turned and ran toward the fleeing crowd.

I faced Julius.

He smiled.

"You've become quite interesting, Aeron."

"I could say the same about you."

He looked at the Golem.

"I've always felt that there was something different about me."

"You haven't changed."

Julius laughed.

"Everyone changes."

He raised his hand again.

The Golem charged.

I sprinted in the opposite direction.

The creature followed.

I couldn't fight it head-on.

Not yet.

I needed the ring.

Without it, my stamina would eventually fail.

I remembered the original battle.

The Golem's core wasn't the treasure.

The core protected the treasure.

If I destroyed it, the ring would disappear with the monster.

I needed to separate the two.

I ran toward the bank.

The Golem smashed through another wall behind me.

I jumped over a fallen pillar.

A fist slammed into the ground.

The shockwave knocked me off my feet.

I rolled.

Pain shot through my shoulder.

I forced myself up.

The Golem was already coming again.

Too fast.

I looked around.

Then I saw it.

The vault.

The original timeline came rushing back.

The Golem had emerged from there.

The treasure chamber was beneath it.

If I could lure the creature back inside, I might have a chance.

I ran.

The Golem followed.

I entered the ruined bank.

Julius watched from outside.

He didn't follow.

That worried me.

He knew something.

I ignored the feeling.

I reached the vault.

The Golem entered behind me.

I turned.

"Come on."

It roared.

I waited until it raised its fist.

Then I moved.

The fist smashed into the vault wall.

I jumped onto its arm.

My hands grabbed one of the glowing runes covering its body.

I pulled myself upward.

The Golem shook violently.

I almost fell.

I climbed higher.

The golden crystal in its chest was glowing brighter.

I remembered the weakness.

The Golem couldn't protect its back while attacking.

I pulled the Widow-Maker back.

Then drove it into the crystal.

CRACK!

The Golem screamed.

A massive shockwave threw me off.

I hit the ground hard.

The crystal had cracked.

But it hadn't broken.

I pushed myself up.

The Golem staggered.

Its movements slowed.

I smiled.

"There you are."

I charged.

The Golem swung.

I ducked.

I jumped.

The Widow-Maker struck the crack.

CRACK!

The crystal shattered.

The Golem froze.

For one second, everything became silent.

Then golden light exploded from its chest.

I covered my face.

The Golem collapsed.

Its massive body broke apart into pieces of glowing stone.

The System appeared.

[Gold-Hoarder Golem defeated.]

[Experience acquired.]

[Special reward detected.]

I looked toward the remains.

A small golden ring lay on the ground.

My heart jumped.

The Infinite Stamina Ring.

I reached for it.

But before my fingers touched it, a hand grabbed my wrist.

I looked up.

Julius.

He stood over me.

His blue eyes were cold.

"That's mine."

I stared at him.

Then I smiled.

"You're too late."

I twisted my wrist free.

Julius's expression changed.

I grabbed the ring.

The moment I put it on, a powerful surge moved through my body.

The System appeared.

[Special Item Acquired.]

[Infinite Stamina Ring.]

[Effect: Stamina regeneration greatly increased.]

I clenched my fist.

My body felt lighter.

The exhaustion that had been building since the fight disappeared almost instantly.

Julius stared at the ring.

For the first time, his expression showed genuine anger.

"You knew about this."

I didn't answer.

He stepped closer.

"How?"

I raised the Widow-Maker.

"That's something you'll never know."

Julius stared at me for several seconds.

Then he smiled again.

"Fine."

He stepped backward.

"We'll find out eventually."

The blue glow around his hand faded.

Behind him, Elena returned.

"The civilians are safe."

She looked at the destroyed bank.

Then at Julius.

"What happened?"

I looked at the ring on my finger.

"We won."

Julius laughed softly.

"No, Aeron."

He turned away.

"We both won."

I watched him walk away.

Something about his words bothered me.

I looked at the destroyed vault.

Then at the ring.

Then at the violet mark hidden beneath my sleeve.

Three treasures.

Three changes.

And one question kept repeating in my mind.

If Julius had awakened his strongest ability this early...

What else had changed?

My System screen suddenly appeared.

But this time, there was no normal notification.

Only one sentence.

[Warning: Future knowledge reliability has fallen below 80%.]

I stared at it.

My smile disappeared.

For the first time since my regression...

I realized that knowing the future might no longer be enough.