# Chapter 27: Then There Is No Other Way
This is a story that happened a long, long time ago, about a young boy.
That year, the boy was fourteen years old. He wore black mourning clothes and dug a pit in the mountains behind his hometown. He placed his parents' remains inside, letting their graves accompany his little sister's small burial mound. The boy prayed to the gods, begging them to let the three reunite underground.
The boy grieved his parents' departure, yet he was also relieved that they, with their crippled legs, could finally leave this world full of malice. But from then on, the boy was completely alone, with nothing warm left in the world to hold onto.
This was the second year after the all-out war between Superhumans and the World Government. After radical Superhumans launched suicidal destructive raids on major cities, numerous prosperous cities in the Siberia World were destroyed in an instant. Twenty-two of the thirty-seven member states' capitals of the World Government were obliterated. Over 250 million people perished during the "Three Days of Darkness" at the war's beginning, and several times that number died from the subsequent chaos and small-scale attacks. The following two years of total war reduced the entire Siberia World's population by one-third.
The radical Superhumans believed they represented the new humanity of the future, while ordinary people without superpowers were an obsolete species that should be eliminated. And these obsolete species dared to plot to strip them of their superpowers—this was undoubtedly an irreconcilable blood feud. These insane Superhumans used their abilities without any psychological burden, destroying everything they could see. They spared no one, including the elderly, women, and children—in fact, they specifically targeted them.
In reality, once superhumans with small targets but tremendous power abandoned their moral bottom line and began indiscriminate attacks, there was almost nothing in the world that could stop them. On the front lines, ordinary human armies might still have a fighting chance, but in urban pacification battles, no matter how they were fought, the World Government always suffered greater losses. Because it was impossible to prevent surprise attacks, the super-cities that once had populations exceeding ten million essentially ceased to exist. The World Government divided its major cities one by one, turning them into fortresses that could support each other. Yet even so, prevention was impossible.
If not for a portion of superhumans loyal to the World Government restraining and preventing radical attacks, the world's order would have long since collapsed. Instead, the World Government still controlled more than half the world, regularly sending mechanized armies to purge superhuman collectives scattered across the globe. These superhumans were willing to stand on the same side as ordinary people—most of whom were hostile or even hated superhumans—because everything they cherished had been destroyed by those radical attacks.
People called these superhumans who hunted superhumans for revenge "Hunters," and the boy was one of them.
Although he was one of the youngest Hunters, the boy had already experienced many battles. At first, he would feel confused about killing, even afraid of the blood on his hands. But when he remembered that it was those radical superhumans who destroyed his home and killed his family, the boy never hesitated again. He became cold-blooded and cruel, showing no mercy to anyone.
The boy formed a squad with several other Hunters. They hunted lurking superhumans in cities and fought members of radical superhuman collectives in the wilderness. With his ability, the boy walked the line between life and death time and again, defeating powerful enemies. And precisely because of this, through repeatedly using his ability, he came to understand its true nature.
That was "Stagnation."
It was not the "self-acceleration" the boy had previously imagined. On the contrary, the essence of his ability was to stagnate everything within a vast range centered on himself. Within this stagnant space, only he could move. In most situations, the boy was virtually invincible during his ability's duration, because no matter how fast an attack was, it would always be slowed to a speed he could dodge.
It sounded unbelievable, but for the people of the Siberia World, this was nothing remarkable... because superpowers didn't need to follow any rules. This was the conclusion the Siberia World Government had reached after years of research.
Superhumans' abilities were incredibly diverse. Some were relatively ordinary and could be explained by science, while others completely defied common sense, even ignoring various laws. Even superpower awakening itself was like this—to this day, neither the radical superhumans nor the World Government had found any pattern to awakening. A person who awakened superpowers might have been a beggar on the street the day before, while the descendants of two superhumans might never awaken superpowers in their entire lives.
Undoubtedly, there must be some internal pattern, but because the Siberia Central Research Institute, which had studied this aspect most deeply, was destroyed by the most powerful superhumans at the very beginning of the war, this pattern remained undiscovered to this day.
Because of the boy's subconscious vigilance and deliberate concealment, almost everyone thought his superpower was teleportation. In terms of external performance, there seemed to be no difference. In actual combat, stagnation might not cause large-scale casualties, but it was extremely convenient against superhumans with fragile bodies. During the two years of hunting, the boy had killed over eighty radical superhumans with his ability—almost the entire count of other squads. Among these superhumans, there were those powerful enough to single-handedly defeat armies, but within the unprepared stagnant space, their fate was decapitation, becoming the boy's merits.
Thus, time passed through another two years of conflict. The world's population continued to decrease, but the war situation gradually stabilized.
If the war continued like this, the radical superhumans would inevitably face defeat—although they had several of the most powerful superhumans with destructive power comparable to fusion bombs, without considering that the World Government also had Hunters capable of matching them, they were ultimately rootless without population support. Years of total war had not only reduced the world's population by one-third but had also drastically decreased the number of radical superhumans. By now, except for the dozen or so largest superhuman collectives, most superhuman groups had been eliminated.
Conversely, relying on the large population base that produced numerous awakened individuals, the World Government had an endless supply of superhuman soldiers. As one side grew and the other declined, the war seemed unlikely to last much longer... In various fortresses, television stations had begun countdowns for the full-scale counteroffensive. Inspiring speeches played on every broadcast. The chaotic Superhuman Era was about to end. Everyone believed that the dark days were passing and a new order would soon be established.
The boy was one of them. He was now seventeen, with several taciturn Hunter comrades who could rely on each other. Through friendship and bonds, his cold heart had found warmth again. Now a young man, he couldn't help but look forward to the future—what kind of life should he live after the war? Should he find a cute girl to marry? If he married, who should he invite to the wedding? How many children should he have? What should his children do in the future?
That was how the people of the Siberia World were. They liked order, liked predictable, controllable lives. The young man was no exception. He had even started preparing for parenthood, buying several pre-war baby books from the flea market. He had even begun planning the decoration of his new home, waiting for his future wife to arrive... Even his comrades' good-natured laughter couldn't stop him from imagining all this. That might be the taste of happiness.
If only everything had been as beautiful as imagined.
On a cold, damp autumn afternoon, a drizzling rain that seemed to seep into the bones fell. Under this gloomy sky, the last few large superhuman collectives were eliminated by the combined forces of the Siberia World Government army and the Hunters. There were no longer any large-scale radical superhuman groups in the world, only scattered illegal ability users scattered across the globe.
The young man who had fought bitterly for years—no, now he should be called a man. The grown man gasped tiredly on the final battlefield filled with gunpowder smoke. He used his ability time and again to help his squad escape danger, protecting his comrades who had fought alongside him for years. Using stagnation space more than twenty times in a single day, the man felt his ability was completely overloaded, but he didn't feel hard at all, because this was the final battle. After this battle, the world would return to order. The night of war was about to pass, and the dawn of peace was right before their eyes.
By now, the man was one of the high-ranking Hunters, commanding several of the strongest Hunter squads. For this battle against the last and strongest batch of insane superhumans, the Hunters had almost all come out, yet even so, this battle was extremely difficult.
None of the superhumans who had survived the war until now were weak. Each possessed the power to single-handedly confront an entire army. They could summon wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, create tornadoes and earthquakes. Some could absorb all physical impacts, others could control tangible energy, and there were even quite a few mind controllers who could manipulate people's hearts. If not for the full support of the World Government, the Hunters alone could never have defeated them. Both sides suffered extremely heavy casualties, nearly annihilating each other. Several government army corps had completely lost their designations.
But in the end, the Hunters still won. The most powerful among the radicals—those with fusion bomb-level destructive power—had one killed by the man's surprise attack. The others were now being besieged outside the atmosphere by Siberia World aircraft and other powerful Hunters. The man looked up at the overcast sky, watching the flickering light clusters behind the clouds, and couldn't help but laugh.
The war was about to end. He even began thinking about how to hold a peace banquet tomorrow. The man and his comrades' faces were filled with happiness—the kind of smile only those who still had tomorrow and hope could show.
But the next moment, the happy smiles froze.
Because their former allies, the army subordinate to the Siberia World Government, suddenly turned their weapons on the Hunters.
Ruthless bullets came from behind, from unsuspecting backs. In an instant, one-third of the surviving Hunters died on the spot. The remaining Hunters were shocked and enraged. They looked at the cold-faced Siberia World Government army, cursing their inexplicable betrayal. These battle-hardened superhumans immediately began preparing to counterattack, but before they could release their superpowers, a steel facility resembling a signal tower rose from the army's formation. An invisible field spread, and almost all the Hunters lost their superpowers.
After many years, when almost all superhumans had nearly forgotten about it, the anti-superpower interference field had been successfully developed amidst countless rumors and falsehoods. And their first target turned out to be their former comrades.
"This world doesn't need superhumans."
The man could hear the cold, merciless voice. He could see his comrades falling one by one, bullets piercing their brains, bomb shrapnel tearing through their bones and organs. The man looked around blankly. Everything stagnated. The anti-superpower interference field hadn't reached him yet, blocked by his stagnation space, which allowed him to survive the surprise attack without any defense. But it also made him witness his comrades dying "slowly" before his eyes.
At that moment, the man felt as if he had returned to the day he was twelve years old. Once again, he witnessed the things he cherished being destroyed, and he could only watch it happen—the difference was that last time, it was superhumans who acted, bringing the bitterness of "powerlessness." This time, it was ordinary people, bringing the bitter fruit of "betrayal."
Was this betrayal sudden? Actually, it wasn't. In that instant, the man recalled various omens—budget cuts for the Hunters, overt and covert propaganda campaigns, public opinion placing all blame on "superhumans" rather than simply the radicals... While everyone was immersed in the anesthetic of victory, the World Government had long prepared its butcher's knife.
In a daze, the man left the battlefield. No one noticed his departure. After disposing of all the superhuman corpses, the World Government army that had completed its mission hurried back to their respective garrisons. They still had many tasks to complete. Eliminating the remnants of the Hunters was only one of them. They also had to rush back to the fortresses to arrest all superhumans living in the cities.
Unable to comprehend all this, the man was exhausted. As he sped back to the fortress where he had once lived, a riot was occurring inside—countless ordinary people madly stormed the homes of superhumans living in the city, dragging out those with little combat ability and killing them... The powerful superhumans were either radicals or Hunters. The few remaining were basically all serving in the World Government. They had long been caught in one net. What remained were all weak superhumans with virtually no abilities.
These weak superhumans couldn't resist. They didn't even know why their formerly friendly neighbors would suddenly attack them. Some superhumans even called for everyone to stop, insisting there must be some misunderstanding—their heads were all cut off without exception, becoming decorations for this carnival of violence. This scene occurred everywhere in the world, from government high-rises to poor neighborhoods, without exception.
As for why... it was simple. Because superhumans could receive subsidies far exceeding those of ordinary people. Because superhumans didn't consider themselves the same as ordinary people. Because superhumans always looked smug, as if they were special.
Most importantly, because superhumans had superpowers, and they didn't.
The man, sneaking back to the street where he lived, could see the warm little house he had just renovated a few days ago already engulfed in blazing flames. And on the nearby street, mutilated, headless corpses had already shriveled from the high-temperature smoke.
Whose corpses were those?
Who knows.
Looking at the raging fire almost identical to the one eight years ago when his sister died and his parents lost their legs, the man was silent. Then he laughed. He didn't know why he was laughing, but he laughed very happily.
That day, ninety percent of the superhumans in the world died. Both radicals and Hunters were completely wiped out. Superpowers almost disappeared from the Siberia World. The lucky survivors lived in constant fear, unable to see the future or hope, even beginning to doubt the meaning of their existence. Patrols hunting the remaining superhumans searched every corner of the world.
But the world left behind did not become better as the World Government had imagined. In fact, it became worse.
Because with the death of a large number of superhumans, various "anomalies" occurred in the world.
—Rumor had it that superhumans could devour each other's superpower essence to enhance themselves.
But except for the most powerful superhumans, no one knew what superpower essence was. Even when those superhumans said the entire world was filled with countless superpower essences, others couldn't see them, let alone devour them.
But undoubtedly, this essence existed and was closely related to the awakening and birth of superhumans... The death of countless superhumans seemed to set off a frenzy across the entire Siberia World. An invisible frenzy surged through. The formerly crazy ordinary people were horrified to discover that they seemed to have superpowers too. They seemed to have become part of the prey. And the rate of superhuman awakening was ten times faster than before.
This was something the World Government had never anticipated.
The birth of superhumans was originally unpredictable. But initially, the rate of superhuman awakening wasn't fast, so there was a possibility of completely eliminating them and suppressing their birth with the anti-superpower interference field. The World Government believed that the entire world would return to its original state under the anti-superpower field. But the field couldn't be activated twenty-four hours a day. The Hunters, as a powerful superhuman force capable of matching the radicals and as heroes of the war, would inevitably become a new privileged class after the war. Let superhumans and ordinary people coexist equally? Even the superhumans themselves didn't believe it.
So, the World Government, standing on the side of ordinary people, would never sit idly by while the superhuman force grew. The new order had to be consecrated with the blood of superhumans.
But now, when the contradiction between ordinary people and superhumans had fully intensified, with no room for easing or coexistence, the World Government was horrified to discover that their rule was beginning to crumble... Because of the greatly accelerated superpower spread, no one knew whether they would become a superhuman in the next moment, whether they would become prey. The superhuman elimination plan that had once made everyone cheer became the source of the World Government's self-destruction. Because the initially naturally awakened superhumans were still inclined toward order. But now, they were forced to become outright anti-social elements.
Try to imagine: if you suddenly gained superpowers, with the power to casually dominate the lives of ordinary people, and the law couldn't restrain you, but those without superpowers were hostile or even hated you, constantly wanting to strip you of your superpowers, wanting to exterminate you and other superhumans—what would you do?
Perhaps some people would let themselves be slaughtered, but there would always be those who wanted to resist. Even if they had previously been among those who wanted to exterminate superhumans—the shift in human standpoint was as fast as light.
So... order collapsed.
Anyone could kill anyone, and no one could stop anyone. When the number of superhumans increased at an unbelievable rate, the world fell into an increasingly rapid cycle of collapse... The types of superpowers became more numerous, and the abilities became more powerful and bizarre. To protect themselves, to avoid being struck first by others, everyone went mad fighting each other, destroying everything they could see. The world collapsed beyond recognition. The ecological cycle completely collapsed. The earth turned to scorched earth, the sky pitch black. In this true apocalypse, humans still slaughtered each other.
The man witnessed all this. He witnessed civilization collapse into chaos. He finally understood that what could destroy order, what could destroy happiness, was never superpowers, but the human heart.
Since that was the case... since the human heart was like this, since the world was like this. Since that was the case, since order was like this.
Then there was no other way.
The awakened man finally made up his mind at this moment. Since this world was so unbelievable, then let him thoroughly transform this crazy world. Since the human heart was so dark and selfish, then let him be the most selfish one. Since order was so fragile, then let him create the most perfect and solid order.
Even if it took ten years, twenty years, thirty years, or even a lifetime, he would surely accomplish it.
Thus, time flew by. The moment the metal throne was forged at the center of the world—
An iron-cold, solid order was born in the hands of the strong.
The ripples of Steel Force spread. Information began to interact.
Joshua, who should have been reversed by time, watched all this. He gazed at this dreamlike past. The warrior was silent. He watched that man create a new order single-handedly. He watched that man create metal humanoids as his servants. He watched that man coldly treat all things equally, forging souls into tools.
Joshua gazed at the destruction and rebirth of the old Siberia World. He gazed.
He turned his head to look at the man behind him, the one watching all this together with him.
"The 320th observation failed... Another ending like this."
The man murmured like this. He slightly turned his head and met Joshua's gaze. His eyes were indifferent, but not condescending. The man just watched without any emotion, then said in a low voice: "Descender."
"Leave my world."