Return of Overthinker

Chapter 1

Inside a sprawling, modern tent filled with futuristic equipment, a wise old man sat motionless in his maglev wheelchair. The antiseptic smell filled the inside of the tent.

Two soldiers hastily approached the elderly man, their voices echoing with urgency. "General Alex," they said, "the President requires your presence for a crucial address about our world's future. The people already await you." With respectful care, they began to push the old man's floating wheelchair out of the tent.

General Alex, his body rigid and unresponsive, seemed trapped in his own form, a prisoner of paralysis, unable to react or move on his own.

Emerging from the tent, they were greeted by a tumultuous roar under the bright sun and scorching heat. Shouts of "Alex, Alex, Alex..." filled the air. The scene unfolded in a colossal stadium, reminiscent of a grand football arena, now swarming with an ecstatic crowd, each member vociferously chanting the old man's name. Numerous banners adorned the stadium, all bearing Alex's name. "Alex! No matter what happened, you will always be the king in our hearts!"

At the podium, the presenter's voice boomed with reverence, "Presenting Alex the Great General, the revered leader of Eden, the savior of humanity. Let's offer our grandest applause to the hero of our world."

Underneath the vast expanse of the blue sky, millions clapped, their applause thunderous. Yet, amidst this overwhelming adoration, General Alex's eyes brimmed with profound sorrow.

‘I've given up everything for the sake of this world. They label me a global hero. Yet, am I merely an unfortunate pawn manipulated by my enemy? The more famous I become, the more he hates me.’

Paralyzed, his once-powerful body had betrayed him, leaving only his mind active. A brain-voice recognition device was fitted onto his head, the sole means for him to communicate and for them to manipulate him.

'How did it come to this?' he pondered.

In the final battle with the King of Darkness, he overused his mind power, an ability that was once considered the weakest. As a result, his entire body overloaded, and many of his brain-to-body nerves exploded, causing him to become paralyzed. And just as the world was on the brink of victory, his once trusted friend, a traitor, and now the new world's president couldn't wait a second to eliminate him.

Alex was ushered to the center of the grand podium and the wireless connection linked Alex's brain-voice recognition machine to the main audio of the stadium. Alex's voice then started to fill the stadium.

"Greetings, everyone, let me speak briefly. Fifty years ago, our world faced a real Armageddon," he began. "The holy sage said the wages of sin are death. Through the sins of humans, demons harnessed those negative emotions to transform human sins into negative energy, opening a gateway to the planet controlled by darkness and unleashing monsters, beasts, and horrors upon our world."

"The world we knew was destroyed. Monsters rampaged through the streets, claiming the lives of those we cherished. By the kindness of our Creators, we humans were granted the power once wielded by God and angels to vanquish demons. Some of us became ability users, our sole purpose being to destroy these monsters and prevent Armageddon. And so, we survived."

He paused, his voice faltering for a moment as he contemplated the weight of his next words. “Under the guidance of our beloved President of the world, who provided leadership and support, we overcame this world tragedy. All by the grace of our president. Let's give our best applause for President James.”

As the crowd erupted into cheers, chanting James’ name, Alex thoughts were a turbulent storm of anger and betrayal.

'Did I really say something like this? No, it was never my voice. It's been manipulated, a synthetic voice of me, used for the president's propaganda,' he fumed inwardly. 'That traitor, the one who sold out the Eden Guild, trampling over our sacrifices for his own personal gain. I yearn for vengeance.'

Meanwhile, the voice, artificially crafted to be his, continued to resonate throughout the stadium, “Now, I will use my superhuman ability to see 60 years into the future of our mankind, to prevent a recurrence of such tragedies. We have turned disaster into opportunity. The gate, once a source of horror, is now our portal to dimensional travel and conquest of distant planets. I seek to foresee if we can create more gates, making us the sole rulers of the universe.”

The crowd's response was electric, a wave of applause and cheers sweeping through the stadium. From victims of a great tragedy, they were now envisaging a future of dominance and power.

President James, his smile a mask of pretense, unveiled a box containing a large, blood-colored ruby-like stone. “This is the inner demon stone of the King of Darkness. Alex will use it to glimpse our future. Let's give him our fullest support.”

The audience rose, offering their most enthusiastic applause as the stadium reverberated with thunderous sound.

Approaching Alex, he placed the stone on his thigh, whispering sinisterly, "If you don’t die today, Alex, I will kill all of the Eden guild's families and torture them. So, please die. I will deal with them generously if you die. Thanks for your contribution; now let me step on your corpse."

Using a pretended show of respect, he directed Alex's hand to settle upon the foreboding demon stone, sealing his destiny with a devious smile. He was aware that Alex was already nearing the end of his life's journey. All it would take was a slight nudge in the name of justice, and Alex would meet his demise. As Alex's closest and best friend, he would bask in all the glory following Alex's passing.

With a resolute determination crystallizing in his mind, Alex embraced his final act of defiance.

'My ability, Overthinking, was once deemed the weakest, merely allowing me to think twice as fast as an ordinary human. For 30 years, I was seen as the underdog, the least among my peers. Every power has its path of growth, its own unique journey. With time, I mastered it, elevating my thought processes to extraordinary levels. It evolved, enabling me to predict the future, from mere seconds to now, sixty years ahead. Making me the strongest ability user.'

Alex's thoughts drifted back to his final confrontation with the King of Darkness, a battle that had decimated his beloved Eden Guild, leaving him as the sole survivor. It was a tragic irony; they had fought valiantly for a brighter future, only for their dreams to be inherited by cowards, backstabbers, and conman.

Alex remembered what his loyal followers, his family, had said to him. "Leader! Formulate a plan to defeat the King of Darkness, even if it costs us our lives! We are ready to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of humanity. Please! Staying alive is pointless if he remains untouched! We are prepared to make this sacrifice. Just please take care of our families when we die. We believe in you, Leader." They believed in him, and for a greater cause, they were willing to give up their lives... only for this person to take all the credit.

It was a betrayal akin to nurturing a dream girl with all effort and money, only to have her usurped, tainted, and raped, by your worst enemy.

But now, Alex’s hand, already in contact with the demon stone, he smiled inwardly, not with resignation, but with a spark of hope.

‘I won't seek the future; instead, I'll transmit my current knowledge and experiences back to my younger self, sixty years ago. Perhaps, with this foreknowledge, a younger Alex could forge a better path.

Please, young Alex, protect our families, Eden Guild. They will be your only comrades and family in the fake world.’

As Alex tapped into the raw energy of the demon stone, it began to glow ominously. Confronting President James with a defiant glare, he mustered the strength to speak his last words through telepathy to his worst enemy, “Fuck you, James! This time, I'll be the one to turn the tables!”

James' face contorted with confusion and fear. “What are you doing, Alex!” he shouted, sensing something had gone terribly awry. The process, known for its brilliant white light, was now enveloped in an unnerving darkness.

In a cataclysmic burst, the demon stone exploded, and with it, Alex's physical form disintegrated, leaving only information and memories that could be compressed and passed through the tunnel of time. This time, Alex wasn't merely searching for information in the future; he was entirely sending information to himself 60 years ago.

***

In a high school of a small mountain village ...

I was roused from a dream that spanned a lifetime. It was a vivid journey through 60 years of triumphs and tribulations, love and loss, fury and regret of someone named Alex, or it is me? These memories and insights flooded into my consciousness, overwhelming yet enlightening.

I awoke, disoriented but gradually coming to terms with my surroundings – the familiar setting of high school in a quaint village. My youthful body felt foreign yet familiar. Glancing at the back of my right hand, I noticed a symbol, a mysterious mark that hadn't been there before; it had appeared about two month ago.

In this moment, I realized the truth. I was younger again, transported back to a crucial juncture in my life. It was four months after humanity's darkest emotions had erupted, inadvertently opening gates to other planets controlled by the darkness. The world was on the brink, unknowingly standing at the threshold of chaos and destruction.

As the monsters began to pour in from another planet to Earth, the impact was devastating, especially in the larger cities. Places teeming with negative emotions, such as gambling dens, brothels, and fighting arenas, were the first to experience the full force of the tragedy. These centers of sin became the gateway and hunting grounds for the monsters, who preyed on humans relentlessly.

In the midst of this turmoil, peaceful places like the small village I was staying in transformed into sanctuaries. These locations, with lower negative emotional intensity, served as the final refuge for humans to seek shelter, regather their strength, and prepare for the task of reclaiming their world.

As the demonic forces made their presence known, so too did the angels. With the arrival of the monsters, many humans received abilities from the Creators, The True Source of everything, marked by the appearance of symbols on the back of their hands. These symbols were the keys to surviving and eventually overcoming the calamity. People with symbols accepted the permission to harness the power of the universe, nature, and the laws that control life which usually used by gods.

There was a total of 365 symbols, divided into three major categories: Creation, Protection or Preservation, and Destruction. Each symbol bestowed a unique ability upon its bearer.

The first time humans discovered the symbol, it was accompanied by a voice from heaven, saying, "Listen to your heart and let your heart guide you in discovering your abilities." This turned out to be a true tragedy, as humans had already forgotten they even had a heart to listen to. For the longest time, they were more inclined to heed their emotions, desires, and wants. Consequently, they realized that only very few people could truly listen to their hearts, and sadly, most people didn't even know they had a heart.

So, they tried to understand its ability and what it could create, using trial and error. They gathered all humans with the symbol and placed them in one location, forcing them to self-study. If it didn't work, they would push them into conflict with monsters even when they were not yet ready for the fight. Those initial three years were a real tragedy for all the blessed people, and the death toll kept mounting.

I looked at the small high school I was in, realizing that most of the people here would die within a year. The local government had gathered them, intending to nurture their abilities before sending them to face the monsters. Among the 100 people here, with more being added over time, I was the weakest, lacking the ability to fight or create anything, as my blessing was ‘overthinking’.

The reason I was on the ground just now was that a bully with a strength ability had used me as a practice dummy, hitting me hard while pretending to find his ability.

I smirked, "With 60 years of advanced information and my leadership as the greatest guild in the world, I will start from the bottom and rise to the top of this world."

"James, I will truly win over your wife. The most beautiful angel in the world will be mine. This time let me fuck your wife!"