Egologia shot through the sky like a meteor piercing the void, his speed insane, beyond comprehension, but his body wasn't prepared to withstand this pressure.
The wind struck him like sharp knives, his vision growing hazier, yet he didn't stop.
He was trying hard to increase the flow of defensive maga within him, and yet… he was aware of something else.
"I'm not strong enough to endure this."
He was now experiencing it firsthand, feeling the tearing of his muscles, the screaming of his bones under the strain, as if he were racing against his own death.
Below him, the landscape was changing rapidly. This wasn't normal terrain.
He passed volcanic craters overflowing with blue lava, dancing slowly like living creatures, then black swamps boiling with long-limbed creatures swimming in dark mist, their eyes reflecting a terrifying silver light. On the horizon, mountains breathed green smoke, as if giant creatures slept in an endless slumber.
But suddenly…
"No… impossible!"
A sharp pain struck his head. A sudden sensation overwhelmed him, as if his memory was mercilessly thrown backward.
Life 1.
He had thought it was the last.
For a few seconds, he forgot himself in the air, as if his body had stopped flying while his mind drowned in a whirlpool of hazy memories.
There was something different about that life, something that convinced him it was the end… but he couldn't remember the details, only a strong feeling that it was more than just a life.
"That world… it was different from all the others… it was connected to something deeper… maga… Shit!, I learned it there."
There was no clear evidence, but his body, mind, and even his soul were aware of it.
But he didn't have time to sink deeper into his thoughts.
—BOOOOM—
It was as if an invisible wall had struck him mid-air! A strange force penetrated his being, draining his energy, making the air around him heavier than mountains.
He began to fall, no longer able to fly. This wasn't a failure of his body, but something external.
A barrier.
This was the human kingdom he had heard about, but it now appeared as a place where maga energy rose to insane levels, to the point where the barrier itself was enough to prevent any weak creature from entering.
"Damn hell!! This power, this maga???"
He tried to resist, but his body betrayed him. His fall was gradual, as if he were being stripped of his strength piece by piece. He wasn't just falling; he was weakening with every meter closer to the ground.
And finally…
—CRASH—
His body hit the ground with force, skidding on his chest, leaving a long trail in the hard soil.
The wind was calm now.
The sky above him was still.
But he was helpless… for the first time in a long while.
"What… happened? This pain…Shit, damn it, don't surprise me like this!!!"
He woke up, savoring his pain with pleasure... "How I long for it every time. Pain, it's what makes one feel alive."
"How did this system begin? A hundred lives? What exactly have I gotten myself into...?"
"A strange memory... Damn it, that Life numbers, what's with it? It stings me... The third time? No, the fourth...! Damn it, every time I think about it, it stings me again! Zero...? Can something like that even be considered a number with?"
"I remember there was a life where this sequential pattern existed... I think I took this numerical approach from it."
"Oh, yes, yeah... Life 99, it was the second... Back then, I was an inventor. I used strange things, advanced, magical boards..."
"What were they called?"
'Damn it... It's weird..."
Just weird.
"But... it seems I've broken into something."
He wasn't alone.
There… a few meters away, eyes were watching him.
"Shit…! I'm not alone."
"I can feel it, something…. Damn it. No need to see anything."
"Logically! I've just invaded a kingdom."
"Hell… this is bad."
No use. His limbs were heavy, his breaths slow, every cell in his body screaming with exhaustion. The maga in his body… was disabled.
"Fuck this… I've lost everything the moment I crossed the barrier."
If he tried to escape now, he'd be finished before he could take a single step. No, it wasn't like he had a choice to escape in the first place.
"I'm weaker now… too weak to even think of surviving this wall…"
He lifted his head slightly, his eyes trying to pierce the shadows around him.
There, behind the tangled trees… eyes glinting in the shadows, they had spotted him well.
And now they were coming for him!
No negotiation.
After all his experiences, after all the lives he had lived, there was no hope in negotiating with these damned humans. They were merciless, without exception.
So, when he saw the shadows moving toward him, he didn't raise his head ready to speak… he prepared for the worst.
In a slow, heavy blink, he now found himself staring at four men standing silently before him.
They wore green scarves with golden patterns, reflecting a faint glow.
Their eyes were cold, harsh, examining him as if assessing a damaged good.
But one of them was different.
The one leading them, a veteran who seemed seasoned, his face bearing old scars, and his eyes—cold as iron—staring at him with unshakable confidence.
His right arm was exposed, showing solid muscles and golden tattoos extending to his palm, while his other hand gripped the hilt of a massive sword, not yet drawn, but it seemed he didn't need to draw it to impose his authority.
And when he finally spoke, there was no hesitation in his voice.
"Soo!… another stray has crossed the barrier."
"Egologia… right?" another guard spoke, perhaps recognizing him, and added, "You were among the weakest in the war. Captured. How… did you survive?"
Oooh…
This kingdom was his home.
So… damn.
He felt a faint smile forming inside him, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. He had fallen into a great disaster, and there was no clear way out this time.
"No answers?" Sir.
The leader looked at him with a stiff expression, then muttered disdainfully:
"So you're a spy. Something like that, right? Sent here for a purpose. Damn the weak, all the vile traits are born in them."
"What? No, no, no! There's a clear misunderstanding, sir!"
But his voice changed nothing.
The leader turned his face aside, muttering as if he hadn't intended to give him a chance to speak in the first place.
"Unfortunately, I won't kill you now."
He turned slowly, then continued in a low voice, as if deciding his fate with a single sentence:
"We need to prosecute your case first. Take him."
Good, good, good, good, good…
This wasn't bad. In fact, he loved opportunities.
Two of them stepped forward, grabbed him by the arms, and led him.
They began to walk.