["...Wait. Wait. No. Shit."]
The System had just realized that it screwed up.
And Zar?
He was smiling.
Not just any smile—a victorious, knowing smirk.
The kind that scread:
"I just won, and you can't do anything about it."
Leaning back against his throne, he stretched his arms lazily, like a king who had just conquered a kingdom without lifting a finger.
Then, in an almost theatrical voice, he said:
"Ha ha ha... System, this ti, you've done a great service—without even taking anything in return."
He let his words sink in, savoring the mont.
Then, as if to add salt to the wound, he continued:
"And you know what? I'll be generous. I'll let this whole thing go. In fact, I'm even grateful that you didn't hijack my words in front of the gods. That would've been a disaster."
The System, however, did not seem amused.
["Think what you want."]
It responded in a flat, deadpan tone.
Zar frowned.
Sothing about that lifeless, indifferent tone bugged him.
"...Oh, co on, System. It wasn't that bad."
["Ahh... now what?"]
Zar squinted.
"Then why are you talking to like that?"
[...]
["...Oi, Zar, are you losing your mind? Who the hell enjoys being talked to the way I talk to you?"]
Zar blinked.
Then again.
His brain stalled.
He opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Then opened it again.
Then—
"You know... I don't have any real friends who understand , so—"
["Hey, hey, man. Stop right there."]
The System cut him off imdiately.
["Just so you know—I'm straight."]
"..."
For a second, Zar's brain completely short-circuited.
Then—
With genuine outrage, he shouted:
"YOU B*STARD! I WAS JUST SHARING MY PAINFUL PAST AND YOU—!!!"
["Moving on!"]
The System swiftly changed the topic, acting like Zar had said absolutely nothing of importance.
["Aren't you forgetting sothing important?"]
Zar, still fuming, clicked his tongue.
Then, after a brief mont of thought—
"Oh, right. System, can you PLEASE tell why I wasn't invited to Kairos Eternis?"
He emphasized the word "please."
Trying to sound polite.
Trying to make it clear: This is serious. Answer properly.
The System, however—
Did not answer properly.
["I'm NOT gonna say anything."]
Zar's mind whirred, piecing together the suspicious nature of the System's words.
It was so blatantly evasive that his instincts imdiately scread:
"I've been scamd."
And just like that—
A very specific thought ford in his mind.
A ntal image so clear that it felt almost too real.
---
Scene: A Run-Down Marketplace in a Shady District
The streets were crowded, noisy, and chaotic—a labyrinth of scam artists, desperate traders, and naive custors just waiting to be robbed.
And in the middle of this crooked, grimy hellhole—
Sat a man.
Not just any man.
A fraudster.
The fraudster.
He sat behind a rickety wooden stall, the kind that looked like it would collapse at the first gust of wind.
His attire?
An over-the-top robe, so luxurious-looking that it scread:
"I am 100% fake, but I want you to think I'm important."
His stall?
Decorated with questionable rchandise—
Glowing trinkets, mysterious scrolls, and "potions" with labels like:
"Drink This and Beco a God!"
"Elixir of Ultimate Immortality!"
"1000-Year-Old Wisdom for Only 5 Gold Coins!"
It was a masterpiece of deception.
For days, the fraudster had been waiting.
Watching.
Hoping for the perfect idiot to walk in.
And then—
One day—
A dream custor appeared.
A man dressed in expensive clothes, carrying a fat pouch of gold.
The fraudster imdiately perked up.
His eyes sparkled with fake kindness.
His lips stretched into a gracious, knowing smile.
"Ahhh, a wealthy fool! How rare! How precious! A custor sent by the gods themselves!"
He rubbed his hands together, already imagining the gold in his pocket.
At first, the fraudster sweet-talked the custor.
"Ah, my good sir! You have an aura of greatness! A man of your stature should not be wandering these lowly streets. But fear not! You are in the presence of a grand master of the arcane arts!"
The custor blinked, intrigued.
The fraudster continued, his voice dripping with fake sincerity.
"I see a destiny unlike any other! A fate so grand, so extraordinary—ah, but wait! There is sothing... sothing missing!"
The custor leaned in, whispering.
"W-What is it? What's missing?"
The fraudster sighed deeply, shaking his head as if burdened with divine wisdom.
Then, in a low, dramatic voice, he said:
"Power. True power. The kind that only I can grant you!"
The custor gulped.
He was hooked.
And the fraudster knew it.
Now ca the final move.
With an exaggerated wave of his hands, the fraudster pulled out a glowing vial.
Inside?
Just water with so crushed glow-in-the-dark mushrooms.
But he held it up like it was the elixir of the gods themselves.
Then, in a hushed whisper, he said:
"This... is the legendary Essence of Omnipotence! One sip... and you shall transcend mortality itself!"
The custor's eyes widened.
His hands shook.
His breath hitched.
Then, he threw a massive pouch of gold onto the counter.
"I'LL TAKE IT!"
The fraudster grinned.
He casually took the gold, pretending not to be excited.
Then—
As the custor drank the glowing water, expecting instant godhood—
...Nothing happened.
Absolutely nothing.
For a long, awkward mont—
The custor just stood there.
Waiting.
Then—
Slowly—
He looked back at the fraudster.
His expression?
Dawning horror.
"W-Wait... I don't feel any different..."
The fraudster, already counting his gold, looked up and smiled.
"Ah, yes! That is the beauty of it! The power is growing inside you! Slowly! Give it ti! Maybe a hundred years!"
The custor froze.
Then, with sudden realization—
"WAIT. WAIT. NO. SHIT."
The fraudster?
He was already gone.
-----
Zar's mind snapped back to the present.
His entire body stiffened.
His expression darkened.
And then—
His blood pressure spiked.
Because he had just realized sothing horrifying.
That fool in his imagination?
That was him.
And the fraudster?
The System.
This was his damn situation.
"...You... Shaless SCAMR."
The System imdiately responded:
["Oi, stop."]
Its voice was irritated.
["Don't disrespect by comparing to so scam artist."]
Zar squinted.
The System clearly didn't like the comparison.
But that only confird it in Zar's mind.
It knew he was right.
He clicked his tongue.
"...Tch."
The System sighed.
Then, before Zar could argue further—
["Whatever. Instead of wasting ti arguing, let just give you a live broadcast of Kairos Eternis."]
Zar paused.
His irritation faded slightly.
And then—
His expression shifted.
From confusion—
To realization.
And then, guilt.
Slowly, awkwardly, he muttered:
"...Sorry."
The System?
["Whatever."]
And with that—
The broadcast began.
Silently, both Zar and the System turned their attention to Kairos Eternis, watching as the gods made their way toward their destination.
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