The GOD-SLAYER'S INFINITE REGRESSION

I woke up to the stench of copper and burnt air. My head throbbed. I tried to move my hands. Steel bit into my wrists. I wasn't on the Golden Throne. I was in a cage.

"Wake up, meat," a voice spat.

A bucket of icy water hit my face. I gasped, blinking away the sting. I looked up. I recognized the jagged stone walls and the iron bars. This was the Pit of Xul.

"Vaxen? Is that you?" a shaky voice whispered from the next cage.

I turned my head. It was Kaelen. He died ten years ago. He was supposed to be a pile of bones.

"Shut up, filth!" a guard roared. He slammed a baton against my cage.

A blue screen flickered in my vision.

[SYSTEM INITIALIZING...]

[SYNCING SOUL DATA...]

[ASSIGNING CLASS: F-RANK SLAVE]

I snarled. The System. The harvest. It was starting all over again. But then, a red glitch tore through the blue interface.

[ERROR: UNAUTHORIZED DATA DETECTED.]

[OVERRIDING SYSTEM PROTOCOLS...]

[DIVINE SLAYER STORE UNLOCKED.]

[CURRENT KARMA: 0]

I felt a surge of cold power in my chest. I had done it. The Chrono-Collapse worked. I was back.

"Vaxen, you look different," Kaelen whispered. "Your eyes. They're glowing."

"Keep your head down, Kaelen," I said. My voice was raspy.

"You're talking back now?" The guard, a brute named Torvin, sneered. He unlocked my cage and dragged me out. "The Overseer wants the new batch ready. Move."

He kicked me toward the center of the damp corridor. Other slaves were being lined up. They all looked like walking corpses.

"Vaxen, please," Kaelen begged as they pulled him out. "I can't fight. My leg is broken."

"Nobody cares about your leg," Torvin laughed. He shoved a rusted, notched blade into my hand. "Take the toothpick. You're up first in the morning trials."

"This blade is garbage," I said.

Torvin stopped. He turned around, his face turning purple. "What did you say, slave?"

"I said this metal is trash. Just like you," I said.

The other slaves gasped. Kaelen started shaking.

"You want to die early?" Torvin stepped into my space. He was a head taller than me. He reached for the shock-collar around my neck. "I’ll fry your brain right here."

"Try it," I said.

He pressed the remote on his belt. A surge of electricity should have dropped me to my knees. I felt the heat, but I didn't flinch. I had endured the lightning of the Storm Gods. This was a bee sting.

"The collar... it's not working!" Torvin yelled. He pressed the button repeatedly.

"My turn," I said.

I moved faster than his eyes could track. I didn't use the sword. I grabbed his wrist and twisted. The sound of snapping bone echoed in the tunnel.

"AAAGH!" Torvin screamed.

"You think a rusted sword and a slave collar can hold me?" I leaned in close to his ear. "I’ve tasted the blood of the Heavens, Torvin."

"Guard! Help!" Torvin shrieked.

Two more guards ran toward us, leveling their spears.

"Drop the blade, 402!" one shouted. "Get on your knees or we kill the boy!"

The guard pointed his spear at Kaelen’s throat. Kaelen sobbed, falling to the dirt.

"Don't do it, Vaxen!" Kaelen cried. "Just listen to them!"

"Vaxen is dead," I said. I looked at the spearman. "I am the one who ends the cycle."

"Shoot him!" Torvin barked, clutching his shattered arm.

The guard lunged. I stepped inside his reach. I drove the rusted blade through his foot, pinning him to the floor. He screamed as I ripped the spear from his hands.

"Who else?" I asked.

The second guard froze. He looked at Torvin, then back at me. "You’re a freak. You’re supposed to be an F-rank."

"The System lied to you," I said. "It lies to everyone."

"What are you doing?" Kaelen whispered, staring at the blood on the floor. "They'll kill us all for this. The Overseer will send the hounds!"

"Let him send them," I said. "I need the Karma."

"Karma?" Torvin groaned. "What are you talking about, you lunatic?"

I ignored him. I looked at the red screen floating in the corner of my eye.

[ALERT: DEVIATION DETECTED.]

[FATE ALTERED: GUARD TORVIN DEFEATED.]

[EARNED: 50 KARMA.]

It wasn't enough. Not yet. I needed the high-tier gear. I needed my old powers back.

"Vaxen, look!" Kaelen pointed down the hall.

Heavy boots thudded against the stone. A man in black leather armor approached. He carried a jagged whip that hummed with magical energy. It was Overseer Malek. In my last life, he was the one who blinded Kaelen for sport.

"A riot?" Malek asked. His voice was smooth and terrifying. "On training day?"

"Sir, he broke my arm!" Torvin whined. "He’s using some kind of illegal magic!"

Malek looked at the blood on the floor. He looked at the spear in my hand. Then he looked me in the eyes. He paused. He felt it. The weight of a soul that had lived a thousand years of war.

"You aren't the boy I bought last week," Malek said.

"The boy died in his sleep," I said.

"And what rose in his place?" Malek asked, uncoiling his whip.

"Your executioner," I said.

The slaves scrambled back against the walls. Kaelen tried to crawl away. Malek laughed, and the whip sparked with blue fire.

"I’ve broken giants," Malek said. "I’ve broken mages. You’re just a gladiator who got lucky."

"Come find out," I said.

Malek swung the whip. It cracked like a thunderbolt. I didn't move. I opened the Store menu in my mind.

[BROWSE: WEAPONS]

[BROWSE: SKILLS]

[BROWSE: AUTHORITIES]

I needed something cheap. Something to end this fast.

[PURCHASE: PHANTOM STEP (TIER 1) - 40 KARMA?]

[YES / NO]

I clicked yes.

The whip lashed toward my face. I vanished. I appeared behind Malek before the sound of the crack even finished. The slaves shrieked in terror and awe.

"Where did he go?" Torvin yelled.

Malek spun around, his eyes wide. "Teleportation? That’s an S-Rank skill!"

"It's just the beginning," I said.

I leveled the stolen spear at Malek’s heart.

"Wait!" Malek shouted, holding up a hand. "I can give you a better class! I can make you a Champion! You don't have to be a slave!"

"I’m not a slave," I said. "And I’m not a Champion."

"Then what are you?" Malek hissed.

I stepped forward, the tip of the spear drawing a bead of blood from his chest.

"I am the reason your Gods are going to scream," I said.

The heavy iron doors at the end of the hall began to groan. An alarm siren blared through the pits. The ground began to shake as the heavy machinery of the arena started to turn.

"The pits are opening!" Kaelen yelled. "The monsters! They're releasing the hounds!"

I looked at the darkness behind the gates. I could hear the growls of the mutated beasts.

"Good," I said. "I was getting bored."

The gates slammed open.