Chapter 533: Forcing the System

“…URGH!!” I vomit blood as I take thousands of punches from Zhian’Thar. They’re so powerful she’s blasting holes straight through my body, which can’t even react to someone this fast.

’I need to react. Another 24 seconds of punches this strong and I’ll die…’ My body is being torn apart. She’s completely stopped holding back. I just feel the damage piling up and up without end.

And each punch carries immense explosive force. She doesn’t even need to put power into them—just the fact she’s striking at the speed of light makes my body’s defense feel like a sheet of paper.

’Adaptation… improvement… evolve a skill? What do I have?’ I keep my calm. Usually, when I was close to death, I’d panic. My senses would sharpen, and I’d frantically think of how to survive.

But now that I’m just a Pandora, I stay calm even facing certain death, patiently selecting the best choice.

’There are 3 options: become too resistant for her to damage me, land a blow so strong it kills her instantly, or become faster than her… without using magic or skills…’ I focus my entire mind on finding the solution.

’10 seconds have passed…’ 30% of my body has been destroyed. A reversal in the fight that happened in seconds. I check my status. My level rose to 1 billion. In the brief time we’ve been fighting, my body pushed adaptation to the limit.

Level = 1,000,000,000 / 100,000,000,000

Power = 999,998,125 / 999,998,125

Life = 999,998,125 / 999,998,125

Stamina = 999,998,125 / 999,998,125

Resistance = 999,998,125 / 999,998,125

Magic = 999,998,125 / 999,998,125

Total = 4,999,990,625 / 4,999,990,625

’Almost 5B total power… what can I do with this?’ 13 seconds have passed. Time feels slow. My heightened world perception gives me more time to think than I actually have.

’45% total body damage… I only have a few seconds left… but I can’t even see her…’ I look through all the abilities I have.

’Wait, that one…’ I focus specifically on one system ability. It’s a spell, so I can’t use it.

[Speed Blitz Temporal] – a temporal magic that allows instant movement from point A to point B. The distance between the two points is traversed in 0 seconds, equivalent to instant speed.

But the concept behind this spell is what matters. My body resists that speed without being destroyed because this ability has no “acceleration.” Without acceleration, I’m not affected by the physics of moving that fast.

And this speed is also faster than light. This ability is the key to surviving.

’16 seconds have passed…’ I vomit a lot of blood. The impacts of her punches reverberating through my entire body are causing massive damage.

’The speed… how does she move like that?… The bone armor… She didn’t abandon the armor. She moved at light speed and appeared without it, meaning the armor was destroyed by the speed, but she wasn’t.’ I go blind because the giant eye behind me was obliterated by her punches.

Keeping patience even in this situation is hard, but thanks to the passives I have related to patience, I manage to stay calm.

’Her body… her body is the solution… state? Is she changing states?’ In physics, this concept exists. Things that can reach light speed without suffering friction and being destroyed aren’t necessarily physical things.

’Waves… She’s reacting to the environment, creating a kind of zone where her body forces space to follow her movement?’ That seems to be it, because her punches don’t generate friction against me—they just have that terribly powerful impact.

It would be similar to a kind of reality warp. Wherever she goes, she forces reality to obey her speed, so nothing generates friction against her body.

That’s also why the armor disappeared. The armor isn’t part of this “zone” that protects her. This probably isn’t an ability but a function of her body, just like there are bioluminescent beings.

’20 seconds have passed… 55% of my body destroyed.’ I lose my arms—they’ve been destroyed. I take a deep breath and decide to force the system using my authority as the Goddess of the Apocalypse.

[Error! Error! Error! Your authority over the system is-@&@@&(%&*(@%] I break the system and crumple it.

[E-rror—error…] I do it again. The system is something created to help races gain their powers, but it’s also a lock that seals many things. Goddesses aren’t bound by that lock because they’re above the normal system.

[(Are you really doing this?)] A neutral voice speaks from all sides inside my head. This time, it’s not the system’s voice. 21 seconds have passed. I only have 3 seconds left before my body collapses.

[(Pandora, do you really know what you’re doing?)]

[Shut up and obey me. As the Goddess of the Apocalypse, I have every right to do whatever I want with you, ’System.’] I say to the system as I start breaking it further. The screen deforms, cracking.

[(You don’t care about the consequences? You could die…)]

[If I do nothing, I’ll die anyway. Besides, I’m not breaking any rules. Don’t try to deceive me. The system is at the disposal of all goddesses.] I finish adjusting what I want.

[(Do you know who I am?)]

[Yes. You’re one of the avatars of the Primordial Goddess. The true System. The one who governs the system in the truest and freest form, unlike the modified system the goddesses use.] I give the answer I feel is right.

[(I see… So you just want to leave the normal system and enter the main system?)]

[Exactly.]

[(…Fine. You win this time… What do you want?)]

[A passive. A passive that lets me enter the state of zero time at will, defining Target B as a living thing I cannot see.] With that, I’ll be able to move faster than light. I’ll be someone who can travel from point A to B instantly whenever I want, even if it doesn’t give me punches with infinite mass because there’s no acceleration.

[(You really tried to damage the system beyond repair for this?… Sigh… I’m not as merciful as the Primordial Goddess, even if I am her avatar. Do this again, and I’ll kill you. Don’t try to overstep boundaries you shouldn’t, Pandora…)]

[I haven’t overstepped any boundaries, System. I’m just speeding things up. I would’ve awakened this passive with or without you because I’d eventually adapt to have it. Besides, forcing the creation of this passive is also my own merit.] I’m using conceptual distortion through universal laws for this, along with the Doom Element. I’m not asking for mercy or a gift—I’m ordering that I receive something I would’ve gained anyway.

[(…You’re right. Tearing the normal system apart like it’s nothing to access me is truly your merit… So you seek a reward rather than stealing from me.)]

[Exactly. I want my reward. So hand it over.] I knew it would work. Not out of arrogance, and not out of luck or destiny, but because the Primordial Goddess gave me the answer.

Important things are controlled by her. Time is the answer. The Primordial Goddess said her avatar controls time, which automatically means avatars of the Primordial Goddess control true death, the true system, and things relevant in that way.

[(You’re… insane. Truly mad.)]

[Thanks for the compliment. Now, could you hurry up? I have 2 seconds left to live.]

[System Message = To reward you for your achievements (Error!/Error!? Error/), the system “accelerated” your future skill gain temporarily by 1000000000000000000000000000% for 0.000000001 second. With this, you have awakened a new passive (Error< ERro,. Error).

22 = Temporal System Bypasser 1 = Allows the user to move within the zero-time zone by marking a point A and a point B.]

[(Satisfied, Pandora? I hope you understand the consequences of what you’ve done. And understand there won’t be a second time. We’re watching you. [We Are All Watching You.] All the time. Every moment.)] She threatens—a threat that sends shivers down my spine, but a threat I already knew.

This is another thing the Primordial Goddess made clear. She’s watching me, and if she’s watching me, all her avatars are also intently observing me. Though I don’t understand why—why the Primordial Goddess seems so interested in me.

’1 second… Better put this passive to the test.’ I define myself as Point A, and define Zhian’Thar as Point B. And before I take more attacks, I move.

I kick Zhian’Thar in the face. She’s thrown back, slamming back-first into a tree while spitting blood. The speed she was moving at hit her like her own impact.

“W-What?!” Zhian’Thar says, shocked. My eye partially regenerates, seeing the pitiful state of my body. I’ve lost all four arms. I’m full of holes and covered in black sludge that is my blood.

All the bones in my body are broken, and holes in various places spray black blood.

“Hahahaha, you freak. You’re still alive?” she says with an incredulous smile as I take a step forward, starting to regenerate now that the damage has stopped.

“Hihihi, of course I am. Our fight couldn’t end in such a pathetic way, right? Sorry for the delay. It took me 23 seconds to react to you. My fault… I should’ve been faster.” I get into a fighting stance, my arms regenerating.

’Considering the cost from damage… 30% of my Mana is already gone… An acceptable cost for survival.’ In the past, I’d have 10% Mana left after this. I’ve truly improved a lot.

’They’re watching me, huh…’ I need to be careful. That threat wasn’t a joke. One wrong move, and they’ll erase me. It means I must be careful and not break rules. Her avatars aren’t as benevolent and neutral as the Primordial Goddess herself.

“That was a lucky hit,” Zhian’Thar says, getting up from the ground. She moves again at light speed, but I appear in front of her, punching her face as her nose breaks and she’s thrown out of that state, hurled a few meters back.

“Zhian’Thar… I just evened the playing field. Don’t be so arrogant, okay?” I say mockingly, making her snarl at me.

“Hahahaha, yes. Of course. That’s why the Goddess of the Abyss created you, right? To adapt. So let’s see if your adaptation can still handle me.” She smiles, while I also smile at her, even though I’m the one with more damage.

It’s not like the system saved me. I just forced the universe to give me what I wanted. I analyzed my enemy, understood how her ability works, and forced the universe to give me something that would help with that. All done with my own strength. But it didn’t guarantee me victory. I need to end this fight quickly.

Being a goddess grants certain privileges. Forcing the system was a goddess’s privilege, but I abused it too much. I feel my body vibrating, as if it’s about to fall apart. My body is unstable because of the forced use of Mana for something like damaging the system, which is one of the existential pillars of this universe.

I would’ve gotten this ability someday. In fact, if I didn’t die, I’d probably awaken this passive. The passive’s very name gives away that it already existed for me. But forcing it to come ahead of time probably made several of the avatars pay more attention to me, because now I know too much.

’This is so sweet… Moments like this, when I’m so close to death and have to pull these crazy stunts, make me feel so alive…’ I love this feeling of extreme danger, so I focus even more on the fight against the enemy in front of me.

I also understand why goddesses create their own systems instead of using the Primordial Goddess’s System.

The True System is terrifying. Just its voice made me feel like I’d be erased from existence. It’s truly fun to know beings that powerful are out there, in plain sight, yet untouchable at the same time.

I think I’ll focus on creating my own systems after this battle if I survive. I don’t want to see that being again if possible.

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