《Damnatio Memoriae》 System Log 1: The First Floor Ugh...? My head... My eyes fluttered open as I looked around the dark, strange room. Where am I? But then, something grabbed my attention¡ªa large door with "Floor 1" labeled over it. When I rose, I noticed a brown cloak on me. When did I put this on? I couldn''t remember. I just shook it off and walked toward the door. As I approached, a blue prompt appeared before me. [Welcome, Sho.] Sho... Is that my name? My brow furrowed. [You are probably confused about why you''re here, but don''t worry. You will remember.] "Remember? Where am I?" [You will know soon... very soon.] [To start things off, you will need to clear each floor. There are 10 floors in total, and then you can leave this place.] I was still confused, but a part of me wanted to know more. "Floors?" [Yes, each floor has different enemies to slay before moving on to the next one. Every floor becomes harder than the last.] [Do you want me to explain the rules?] [Yes or No] I hummed to myself, wondering. I woke up with no memory of how I got here or why I am here. Maybe if I asked... "One question. How many enemies need to be killed for each floor?" I was ignored, and a new prompt appeared in blue. [Complete the Tutorial] [Rules: Pick one of the three starting classes. Each class has its own weapon. Once chosen, you will be able to roll for a random skill. There are seven types of skills, but... rarity varies. Every skill has different effects. You can also level up your class and skill as you progress¡ªbut only if you pick the right one.] The right one? [Let''s begin.] [Choose a class: Rogue, Fighter, Healer] I thought about the options carefully. Healer? Hmm... A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. The moment I was about to press the Healer option, the prompt glitched. [Choose a class: Rogue, Fighter, Knight] What was that? Is something wrong with my eyes? No, it couldn''t be. Why did "Healer" vanish? Maybe I imagined it... or so I thought. I pressed the Fighter option, and a pair of leather gauntlets materialized in my hands. Then, a new prompt appeared, offering me a chance to roll for a skill. I pressed the button. The prompt glitched, and a new one emerged in a dark purple hue. [Skill acquired: Vitiate] Skill Type: Debuff Subclass: Decay Ability: Weaken or corrupt anything you attack. Passive Effect: Any form of attack you receive becomes corrupted. Rarity: C My eyes widened in shock. Vitiate? What is this? Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the prompt glitched back to blue. [Skill acquired: Restless Failure] Skill Type: Consequential Subclass: Resonance Ability: Every time you die, enemies will remember you. Passive Effect: N/A Rarity: E Remember me? It didn¡¯t seem to have any passive effects. I wasn''t sure if that was a good thing or not. [You have selected: Class - Fighter, Skill - Restless Failure. Are you ready to move on?] "Wait... I received two skills." [You only have one skill. Check your inventory.] A prompt appeared before me, showing multiple slots. One slot displayed my equipped gauntlets, while another revealed a sphere containing my stats. << Class : Fighter >> << Weapon : Gauntlets >> << Strength : Laughable >> << Intelligence : Room Temperature IQ >> << Speed : Slowpoke >> << MP : Pathetic >> << HP : 1-tap >> << Luck : Dogshit >> << Skills acquired: 1, "Restless Failure" >> I examined my stats and slowly frowned. ¡°The fuck is this?!¡± [Are you ready to proceed?] [Yes or No] Sighing, I pressed "Yes." The door slowly creaked open, blinding my eyes with light. [Good luck. You''ll be fine... probably.] ¡°Probably?!¡± Nerves made my heart race but I shook it off and took a deep breath before exhaling. I had so many questions and needed answers. If I had forgotten who I was, then getting through this was the only way. Clenching my fist, I stepped through the doors onto the first floor¡­ and what I saw froze me in place. System Log 2: You know what you have done Then, I understood why the system hesitated to wish me luck. In front of me, multiple red eyes illuminated the dark room. I couldn¡¯t see anything else¡ªonly a blue prompt that appeared before me. [Mission: Slay all the enemies] My breath hitched as the prompt vanished. I looked up and saw them getting closer... and closer. I trembled, turning as my eyes widened¡ªthe door was gone. W-Where is the door? I reached out, but there was nothing. Only empty space. Suddenly, low growls came from behind me. I trembled, slowly turning. Shrrk! It hurts. I don¡¯t know why it hurts. Why do I smell blood? Is this mine? This isn¡¯t right... THUD! The world faded to black. The last thing I saw was a black prompt: [Skill activated: Restless Failure] [All Enemies Stats Increased] [You have died.] [Your sins will not be forgotten.] Thump... Thump... Thump! My eyes shot open. My heart raced. I rose, touching my body frantically. No blood. No wounds. ¡°W-what happened? I¡¯m alive...?¡± I stammered, trembling, clenching my cloak. When I glanced around, I saw it. The door with "Floor 1" labeled over it, but it was different. The door was larger this time, with lit torches on both sides. A blue prompt appeared in front of me. [Death Count: 1] ¡°D-death count one?¡± Wait... did I die? My thoughts raced, trying to remember what happened. A fog filled my mind. Yet... it was temporary. Another blue prompt appeared: [Floor 1 has been changed] ¡°Changed...?¡± My brows furrowed. Trying to piece together what that meant. Is that why the door looks different? Even the dark room smells strangely nice. Could this be the cause of my death? Hmm... I closed my eyes and took a steady breath. I walked toward the large door. It was further this time¡ª20 meters away, I noted. As I approached, a blue prompt appeared. [Do you like to try again?] This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. [Yes or No] Why would I try again? I pressed "No." The prompt glitched¡ªthen reappeared. [Do you like to try again?] [Yes or No] What? The prompt glitched again, just like last time?! I pressed "No." Again, the prompt glitched and reappeared. [Do you like to try again or give up?] That very instant, I finally realized. Chills prickled down my spine. My heart began to beat faster. My eyes widened. Faster, the pounding in my chest. I took a step back and a new blue prompt appeared. [Try again or give up.] The prompt glitched to red. [Try again or give up?] Back to blue. [Try again or give up!] I didn¡¯t do anything, just stood there watching the prompt change over and over again. Fifteen times, I counted. Until this happened... [Try again?!] [Yes or No.] [Pick?] [Not trying to choose?] [Whatever.] [Guess it doesn¡¯t matter.] [Maybe this will help you remember.] W-what...? Suddenly, the torches went out and the large door in front of me turned into dust. The dark room began to tremble. I tried to steady myself, yet all I could do was stumble left and right. I heard something¡ªit sounded like a whistle. Wind. A powerful cold breeze brushed by me, nearly sending me flying off my feet. The second I covered my face with my arm, it stopped. When I lowered my arm, I was in a large illuminated gray rocky field, stretching into a distance that was almost imperceptible. The sky was replaced only by a dark void. There was no sun, no light. There was nothing, but darkness. Where am I? I thought, glancing around. Then, a large blue prompt appeared above me. I looked up and my brow furrowed as I read. [Kill them all] "What?" The prompt disappeared. Low rumbling filled my ears, and something caught my eye. In the distance, I saw multiple figures. Each wearing different colored armor and emblems. I heard behind me a loud roar. I turned and saw different beasts and... dragons? Wait¡­ Dragons?! I looked all around me¡ªarmies upon armies of beasts, figures, and different races. My heart almost stopped as they came closer. I tried counting... tens of thousands. Wrong. There were millions. No. Hundreds of millions. I trembled and dropped to my knees and at that moment I said to myself: "Y-You can''t be serious... R-Right?" A blue prompt appeared before me. [Good Luck.] "G-Good luck..." I tried to chuckle, but it faded quickly as the prompt disappeared. Desperately, I asked: "Isn''t this a bit much for a tutorial?" [This is the tutorial?] Those words crushed me. Not only my hope, but the next prompts destroyed my soul. "What did I do...?" A red prompt appeared and began to glitch, flickering into different colors. [What did you do? You will know.] [That no one is here to save you.] After that, the prompt vanished. I was frozen¡ªcouldn¡¯t think of anything, nor had anything left to say. Thud. Thud. I looked up. An armored knight stood before me, eyes glowing beneath its helm. It raised its sword. When it came down... The world faded to black. [You died.] System Log 3: You remember now, don’t you? If only I knew sooner... that this would be what true hell feels like. I was wrong. This was far worse. I died over and over again. Never had a chance to even open my eyes¡ªBlood. Lots of blood. Every second felt painfully unbearable. Yet even that... was an understatement. [You died.] [Death count: 3] Why me?! [You died.] [Death count: 12] W-Wait, can I explain myself¡ªA spear impales his skull. [You died.] [Death count: 36] I give up! Plea¡ªA beast rips his torso in half. [You died.] [Death count: 59] I learned my lesson. I learned¡ªCrushed under a giant''s foot. [You died.] [Death count: 78] N-No more, please¡ªDrowned in a pool of acid. [You died.] [Death count: 432] Okay, I get it! It''s my fault! It''s mine!! You hear me¡ªBeheaded mid-scream. [You died.] [Death count: 767] What have I done, tell me¡ªA lightning bolt disintegrates him. [You died.] [Death count: 1623] When I get out of here, I will¡ªA barrage of arrows pierces every inch of his body. [You died.] [Death count: 3812] You fucking piece of sh¡ªA war hammer caves his skull in. [You died.] [Death count: 12,113] T-This is just the tutorial. T-This is just the¡ªA monstrous claw rips out his spine. [You died.] [Death count: 36,779] Did I deserve this¡ªDissolved into dust by black flames. [You died.] [Death count: 76,545] What did I do to you¡ªStrangled to death by a weeping woman with spectral hands, whose translucent hair was like moonlit sand. [You died.] [Death count: 121,456] Aren''t you satisfied¡ªEaten alive by swarming insects. [You died.] [Death count: 185,426] ... [You died.] This is all I saw. I don''t know how much time has passed. I died over and over... and over. [Death count : 389,230] Again and again. I didn''t understand. Why am I here? Why am I being tortured? What¡¯s the point of all of this? [Death count : 456, 420] My cries had faded. [Death count : 513, 239] My hope was torn away. [Death count : 567, 230] My existence? Only one big fucking play... [Death count : 612, 450] To remember what? My sins... [Death count : 629, 670] I don''t even know what I did. [Death count : 633, 559] If only I remembered... [You died] [Death count : 633, 560] For some reason something changed. My eyes weren''t opening this time. Everything was pitch black. Like I am unable to wake up? DING! A glitchy purple prompt appeared in the darkness. [You will remember.] [They don''t know, but they will. Soon enough.] If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. [If only they knew. That this was their first mistake.] [Do you want revenge?] [Yes or No] Yes or no...? I''ve died too many times to care. But... this feeling, something is burning. Rising in this broken shell I am. If only you came sooner, I almost forgot how this felt. What rage feels like. I didn''t even hesitate, only said. "Fuck it, let''s do it." Suddenly, a new prompt appeared in an ominous red. [Skill : Vitiate has leveled up] [Vitiate >> Lord of Vitiation] Skill type : Debuff Subclass : Decay Ability : Weaken or corrupt anything you attack >> Anything you attack is temporarily weakened or corrupted by 70%. Passive Effect : Any form of attack you receive becomes corrupted >> Any form of attack you receive corrupts nearby enemies. Sub Effect : When an enemy kills you, your stats increase by a small amount. Rarity : C >> B [Your status has changed] Class : Fighter >> Sho Weapon : Gauntlets >> Straight Hands Strength : Laughable >> 50 Intelligence : Room Temperature IQ >> 200 Speed : Slowpoke >> 80 MP : Pathetic >> 150 HP : 1-tap >> 300 Luck : Dogshit >> 61 A new prompt appeared in the darkness. [Good luck.] Instantly light came back to me as my eyes shot open. Steel flashed from all directions, but I was faster. I vanished in a blur and re-appeared high in the air. Looking down at the field below. There they were... an endless horde of enemies before me. Their gazes shifted to me like firebugs illuminating the night. Unfazed. Indifference to the suffering they caused me. I steadied my breathing, my brown cloak billowing. Then¡ª I crashed my fist towards the giant below. BOOM! A shockwave tore through the battlefield. The ground split apart as debris and rock flew in all directions. As the dust settled, I stood over the giant''s lifeless corpse. Around me¡ªhundreds of knights and mages lay dead. The horde? Only advanced. Unmoved by their fallen comrades. Stepping over them like wasteful foot pads. I rose and fury had consumed me. I didn''t waste any time. I tore through many of them, before they could even process. Thousands fell in minutes. [Your stats have increased] [Your stats have increased] [Your stats have increased] Hundreds of thousands in many digits. [Your stats have increased] [Your stats have increased] [Your stats have increased] The more I killed, the more detached I became. Well... I am beyond that point. Millions felt like mere midgets. I forgot. The amount of time that passed. Was it really a year? Maybe a century? Doesn''t matter anymore. Because I did it. I killed all of them. I stood on billions of bloody and severed corpses that stretched endlessly across the gray rocky field, flexing my chiseled abs. My brown cloak that covered my body was ripped to shreds. The only thing left was my ripped green braes, barely hanging on. My black boots... destroyed. Barefooted. I stared up at the dark sky. Empty. I felt nothing. Not yet. [Tutorial Complete] [Time passed : 2 years] [Death count : 14, 225, 423] [Kills : 7, 520, 623, 607] [Stats] Class : Fighter Weapon : Unarmed Strength : Doesn''t Intelligence : This MP : Look HP : Familiar Luck : Right, Sho? Familiar...? I pondered that word for a moment. Glancing around, my heart skipped a beat. Eyes widened in realization. The corpses... billions of them sent a sharp pain through my skull. My mind was flooded with memories that were unfamiliar. Reality shifted around me, flickering from an endless field to a dark destroyed battle field. The sky was a swirling mass of smoky violet. The thundering sounds mixed with the rain. Pounded against the destroyed ominous terrain. There I saw corpses of many others like me. Who once wielded weapons, now eternally asleep. Who once held kingdoms and global power, gone. The world was in ruins, just like one that caught my attention. A blue prickled hair man, whose silver armored body was partially covered in a purple dark goo. All I heard from his ragged cries. "Why? What did we do to you?" Once I heard that. The sound of rain faded, so with my fragmented memories. Reality shifted back to the rocky field, where endless lay. Another prompt appeared in red before me. [You remember now, don''t you?] [You destroyed the world] [All that remains lies beneath you.] [You¡¯ve taken lives.] [You¡¯ve taken what was mine.] [Now you are here to pay for it.] [Your very sins!] Sins..? It kept going on and on about it being my fault. That this is what I deserved for taking so many lives. Honestly... I forgot to care. My gaze shifted to the corpses below and I remained impassive. I couldn''t feel anything. All this pointless suffering¡ªjust for this. [You are corrupted.] Suddenly, beside me, a strange new prompt appeared in purple. [That Fool shouldn''t have it?] [Skill acquired : Let''s Shut Him Up] Skill type : Manipulation Subclass : Override Ability : Pull and Strip any entity, from any domain, bound or unbound. Passive Effect : 3 entities detected... Class: Omnipotence/Omniscience/Boundless Rarity : Are you ready to choose? For a moment, I examined the ability and asked the only question that mattered. "Who did this to me?" [The Dumbass Has Been Selected : Kleyn] [Pull him.] I didn¡¯t need to know why. I was done with this. Instantly, my gaze shifted to the blue prompt that had reappeared over and over again. [You will be stuck here forever.] [With no way out.] [How will you...] [Wait. What are you doing?] My hand was raised toward the prompt. A part of me already knew. The only thing I needed to say was¡ª"To me." The prompt cracked and shattered like glass. A figure was pulled through in a blur. There he was. A white cloak. A strange golden watch hanging around his neck. Messy black hair obscuring his face. Hazel eyes. Yet, none of it mattered. Here he was¡ªin my grasp, as my fingers tightened around his throat. His expression twisted between fury and utter shock. "I-It can''t be! This is utterly impossible?!" My eyes narrowed. I spat through clenched teeth, "You trapped me here. Meddled with my suffering." My grip tightened. My fury soared. "Who are you?!" The man mirrored my fury and pulled me into a hug. He simply whispered, "Fuck off." Suddenly a white blinding light pierced my eyes. I felt like I was being blown back, faster and faster. Like I was falling. I hear rustling, leaves? Wait¡ª? THUD! The last thing I saw before darkness claimed me¡ª[Access Has Been Removed.] System Log 4 : I Hold the Wheels of His Past I heard the chirping of birds and felt a breeze against my skin. Sho groaned as his eyes fluttered open, he pushed himself up and glanced around. He saw trees with the rustling of leaves. Sunlight pierced his vision. The shadows flickering against the lukewarm wind. "A forest...?" The grass was strange¡ªyellowish in color. It was fall, and he was no longer in a gray, rocky field. "Where am I...?" he whispered, scanning the yellow-hued forest surrounding him. Then, he finally noticed. A disconnection. His violet eyes widened as he took in his new appearance from a close distance. Long, white hair, cascaded down his back. A black robe with designs that reflected the blue sky. He wore ankle-cuffed black trousers accompanied by dark green shoes. His skin was pale, his build was slender¡ªalmost unnervingly cool. Frantically, he touched his robes. "I look different?!" Panicking, he took a step back, he noticed something odd. "Why do I feel like I am watching myself?" He moved his arm up and down, watching it with a new perspective, from an angle that tugged at his perception. "What is this...?" His mind raced with many questions. When did I put this on? Has the world changed? How did I get here? What happened to me? Who was that¡ª He cut the thought off, his expression shifting. He remembered. Everything that unfolded. The endless illuminated gray rocky field. The billions that lie beneath him. The blue and purple prompts. The strange man with a white cloak and an odd golden watch. He hadn''t forgotten. Sho couldn''t feel anything at that realization. "Kleyn," he muttered. He wanted to clench his fist for the suffering he had caused. He wanted to feel something at this moment¡ªbut nothing came. Only emptiness. Is that why I am here? Because I destroyed the world? Even if I did. I still don''t fully remember. Why? Why did I do it? He frowned. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. His mind was a fog of confusion¡ªperhaps even misunderstanding. Then, something clicked. With a swipe of his hand, he checked his inventory. A yellow prompt appeared before him. [Access Has Been Removed.] Strange...? I don''t remember seeing this before. Is it because he told me to fuck off? Sho sighed. With another swipe, the prompt vanished. He didn''t have time to dwell on it. Not the how or the why. Only one thing mattered. Kleyn. "He did this to me. If I am willing to escape, I need to find him." Determined. Sho eyes narrowed as he strode forward. Walking over fallen leaves, passing large ancient trees, towards a bright clearing. When he went out. He saw it. Down an impossibly high cliff lay vast lands spanning many kingdoms. From North to South. From East to West. The structures are built with odd shiny material. Walls. Castles. Many buildings alike and a large palace that pierced the clouds, that was golden but eerily white. Sho remained impassive. Yet, he couldn''t deny it. His eyes widened at the site before him. A large ocean far beneath him, encircling the lush green lands. Yet, what he perceived was merely a fragment of the truth. For me¡­ I can see the world¡ªpast, present and future. Across vast lands and oceans wide, two empires in the north reside. The Gu Eschaton and Celestial Immortals, bound by peace yet faiths at war. The Gu praise the Great Old Ones, their Cult of the Maw awaits the flood. A feast of ruin, a world undone¡ªdevoured whole in endless blood. The Immortals kneel to the Jade Emperor¡¯s reign, the maker of heavens, earth, and plane. "The Path of Ascension," they call their way. Yet their reach is small, their might held at bay. To the west, three titans rise¡ªwhose power can bring the world''s demise. Lands that were dark but strikingly violet. Lies the third. Corruptus Laden Neo. Once an empire of beauty, now fallen into the hands of someone disgustingly shitty. They have once achieved their goals but this time, nothing at all. Further west lies the fourth and fifth. Whose power was less transcendent than the sixth. The first is called "Ali Ali Luman." They had no quarrels with the world. Yet, they believed in a non-existent beast called "Ashai." Who will awaken and purify the world. There was no beast. There was no one, but only glowing red entities who came from the outside. No one knows where. No one knows why. Even the other gods. Nor do I. For the only word that is said, "Ali Ali Ashai." Further west lay the second: The Empire of Julah. Unlike the others, they worshipped nothing¡ªonly themselves. Theirs was the largest empire, ruled by men, not beasts or gods. No divine will shape their fate, only the weight of their own hands. Gifted and ambitious, they built their greatest creation: Politics. A system to govern the world. Yet in the grand scheme, their wisdom was as vast as their ignorance. They sought peace, but peace built on blindness is a fragile thing. But in the south, there was no division. Only one empire reigned¡ªthe sixth. Eterna-Imperium Aeon. They had lands that floated in the grand blue sky. Beautifully crafted large white structures and with a waterfall that came from up high. From a giant obsidian monolith that didn''t belong to this time. Below, were multiple churches. That stretched across cities and kingdoms. They constantly worshiped the god known as the "Goddess of time." No one knows her name. I can''t blame them. After all, I erased mine. In the far east lies two empires who shared the smallest piece of land. One is called "The Dividing Moons," and the other "The Sequence of the Great Fools." Both were at peace. The moons were blessed by a god named "The Primordial Shadow." Yet, while praised they are more afraid of the other. The Fools believed in ethereal threads, stretching from their forms, they reached toward a boundless sky, passing through mists that blurred and swirled. These threads led to a distant citadel, into the hands of a figure next to an oil well. They say that this is utopia and their foolish god doesn''t belong in this era. This might be an exposition, but surely, Sho, I can promise this is only your beginning. Suddenly, we trembled and remembered as Sho made his way through the yellowed, shifting forest. Nearby, a kingdom felt his dark, ominous presence. We looked up and saw a prompt appear before the billions. [He is coming. He is coming. Kill him.]