The stars were cold tonight.
Chris stood alone atop the roof of his apartment complex, arms folded against the chill wind. The night had a strange stillness to it, like the world itself was holding its breath. Below, the city moved in flickers of neon and distant sirens—but none of it felt real anymore. Not to him.
The countdown had reached zero.
His system pulsed quietly.
[Divine Trial: Mars – Initiating Transfer]
[Warning: Conquest Attempt Detected – Freezing Local Time]
Everything stopped.
A fluttering bird mid-air froze, suspended like a sculpture. The breeze paused mid-drift. Even the clouds ceased their slow churn across the sky. Chris turned his head, slowly, watching a taxi sit motionless halfway through a red light.
Time had halted—just like when he first entered the Tower.
Only gods and those touched by divinity could move in this space.
A pulse rippled through the heavens. The stars bled upward, lines of white and blue stretching like molten threads pulled by unseen hands. Then, the sky cracked. Shattered.
And Chris fell.
There was no sensation of gravity, no wind on his skin—only a tunnel of swirling red sand and burning solar flares around his body, spinning faster and faster until everything vanished into white.
Then—
Impact.
He landed hard, knees bent, feet crushing into dry, cracked stone. Red dust burst outward. His body absorbed the shock easily. Slowly, Chris stood.
His breath caught.
The Martian landscape unfurled around him like a dream carved from ruin and fire.
A blood-colored sky churned with copper haze, filtering faint sunlight into something harsh and alien. Jagged cliffs split the land in all directions, their edges razor-sharp and ancient. Fossilized towers—half temples, half machines—pierced through the dunes like bones of dead gods. In the distance, glowing rivers of molten crystal curved through the terrain like veins.
Red. Everything was red.
[Mars Tower Detected]
[Planetary Trial: 40 Floors Registered]
[Difficulty Tier: Lethal]
[Warning: This realm is unlinked from Earth's resurrection systems. All deaths are permanent.]
Chris narrowed his eyes. "So this is the real game."
He scanned his interface again. A new prompt flickered into view.
[Active Status: Divine Presence Stabilized]
[System Permissions: Combat Analytics Unlocked]
Suddenly, the HUD expanded. A faint line of light stretched over his vision. In the distance—near the base of a crumbling stone gate—a red dot pulsed.
[Target Identified: Res]
[Class: Gatekeeper]
[Health: 9,800 / 9,800]
Chris tensed. "So it begins already…"
But he didn't rush forward.
Not yet.
He turned slowly and walked a few paces across the dust-covered platform. The air here didn't feel like Earth's. It wasn't thin—but it was heavy. Denser. Saturated with something… divine.
Every breath hummed with energy. The sand underfoot responded faintly to his steps, as if recognizing the weight of a god-in-the-making.
His thirstless body—upgraded and refined—kept his temperature steady. The vacuum-tight adaptation held his breath regulation effortlessly, though he knew this place wasn't designed for humans.
And yet… it welcomed him.
Chris knelt beside a cracked obsidian shard embedded in the rock. He touched it. It pulsed faintly, showing a mirrored reflection of himself for a split second before going dark again.
He whispered, "Are you watching, old god?"
No answer.
Not yet.
He rose again and approached the edge of a cliff. The vastness of the Martian trial stretched before him—endless red valleys broken by towering fortresses and black obelisks crackling with dark energy. Somewhere out there, forty levels awaited. And four great beings.
His hands curled into fists.
Behind him, a snarl broke the silence.
He turned.
The red dot from before now stood in full view.
The creature—Res—was massive. At least nine feet tall. Its body was sculpted from crimson muscle and plated in organic, lava-like armor. No eyes, only slits of burning light across its skull-like head. Four arms, each ending in curved blades of bone and flame.
Its health bar hovered above it.
[Res – The Gatebound Guardian]
[HP: 9,800 / 9,800]
It stepped forward, the ground cracking beneath its weight.
Chris unsheathed his sword slowly.
The red creature raised its arms. Flames surged across its skin, and its jaw split sideways into an unholy grin.
No words. Just the sound of boiling blood and hate.
Chris's system pinged again.
[Combat Engagement Initialized]
[Name: Res]
[Warning: This entity guards the First Gate of Mars. Victory required to proceed.]
The sword in his hand pulsed. The echo within it whispered, faint but eager.
Chris didn't attack.
Not yet.
He lowered into a stance, drawing in a breath as dust coiled around his feet. He would feel this place. Taste its violence. Learn the rhythm of Martian death before leaping into it blindly.
And when he moved—
He would do so with the intent to win.
To live.
To conquer.
Mars had opened its jaws.
And Chris was about to tear through its teeth.