Wooooooooo...

A whirl of energy twisted through the forest like a miniature tornado.

One hundred and thirteen figures sat in a perfectly arranged circle, someone at the center, as the trees and leaves swayed violently around them.

Energy poured into their bodies without pause.

[Talent Upgrade: 72%...]

Aron couldn't help the bubbling anticipation rising inside him.

What would this new upgrade bring?

He'd been sitting cross-legged for nine hours straight, monitoring everything in a two mile radius.

Other than the statue nearby with its faint flicker of life force, there wasn't a single living being in range of his senses.

With nothing else to do, he had been watching the timer crawl upward at a snail's pace.

Finally, Aron ordered the clones to end their cultivation session.

He braced himself, expectations soaring a hundredfold, just before an overwhelming torrent of power surged through him.

It was like standing in the middle of a tsunami made of raw energy.

The surge didn't stop after a single burst; his aura kept climbing, higher and higher, until the entire forest quivered around him.

For the first time since he arrived in this strange world, the unmoving morning sky began to ripple and melt away.

Trees aged and eroded before his eyes, crumbling to dust in slow motion.

Seeing the scene Aron could only hope for the best.

As he continued absorbing his gains, but soon.

Aron's eyelids grew heavy, too heavy.

He tried to resist, but the pull was irresistible.

Before he knew it, he'd fallen into darkness.

Thin, multicolored threads of light shimmered in the sky above him and started to flow straight into his body.

--

When Aron opened his eyes again, he found himself in a dark, empty space.

"What the... did I teleport again?" he muttered, scanning the shadows.

Something felt off.

Then, from the shadows, a figure suddenly stepped out, his exact copy.

Same face, same eyes, same everything.

Only this one wore a smug grin that oozed arrogance.

"Who are you?" Aron asked cautiously.

The copy didn't answer. Instead, its grin widened, arrogance flashing in its eyes as it stared at Aron with utter disdain.

"What a pathetic loser," it muttered, gaze sweeping over him from head to toe.

Even though the words were quiet, Aron heard them clearly.

He blinked and glanced behind him, wondering if it was talking to someone else. But there was no one there.

"No wonder your parents abandoned such trash," the copy said, voice dripping with mockery.

That one hit a nerve.

Aron's heartbeat quickened, anger slowly bubbling up.

"Are you gonna prove me wrong?" the clone taunted, pulling a sword from nowhere. "Or will you keep confirming what you are... a spineless coward?"

Before Aron could react, the clone lunged.

Aton tried to expand his senses, to use any of his abilities, but nothing worked.

Not his active skills, not his passive ones, nor his internal ones.

The sword slashed toward him.

Aron dove aside, but the blade grazed his shoulder, leaving a thin, stinging wound.

He scrambled to his feet, glaring at his identical self, who merely stood there, calm, disgusted, superior.

"Pathetic," the clone said coldly. "No wonder your own wife betrayed and left you. You're such a loser."

Aron's hands trembled.

Rage filled his chest, his teeth grinding together.

The clone smirked. "Honestly, I wish your mother had erased you when she had the chance. Would've done everyone a favor."

"Ahhhh! I don't give a damn anymore... come die for me!"

Aron's eyes flared red in an unnatural tint clearly under some sort of influence as he charged forward like a beast unleashed.

The clone threw its head back and laughed.

"Hahahahaha!" It didn't even bother defending.

Its weapon vanished as it weaved effortlessly around Aron's attacks, hands folded behind its back dodging Aron's attacks effortlessly.

It didn't counter.

It didn't even try to block.

It simply moved, smiling as if it had achieved its goal.

Then, as Aron prepared another strike, the ground erupted beneath him.

Stone pillars shot up, wrapping around his limbs and locking him in place.

He tried to command the earth to release him, but it didn't respond.

His connection to it was gone.

The clone stopped a few steps away and spoke with a calm, cutting tone.

"If you don't care, then why are you angry? Why does it still hurt?"

It stepped closer, voice dripping with contempt.

"A fool who can't even face his own truth dares to aim for sainthood? You, who still clings to mortal emotions, dream of transcending them? How dare you dream of transcendence? What gave you that delusion?"

The stones tightened around Aron's body, forcing blood from his lips.

--

Outside, the real Aron's body sat motionless at the center of the circle.

His eyes were closed, his aura trembling violently.

Streams of colored light still flowed into him, yet now, blood dripped from his lips, his ear and eyes.

Above, the sky split open, tearing like fragile paper as the forest around him began to shrink faster, dissolving at the edges of reality.

Deep in a hidden cave, the small stone statue of a baby twitched.

Cracks spread across its body as bits of stone peeled away, revealing faint, living flesh beneath.

Its life force stirred... weak, but growing.

...

..

.

Author note:

If you've read this far, then it's clear you're loving the journey just as much as I enjoy writing it.

But here's the truth: stories don't grow on their own. They grow because of you, the readers who stand beside them. And on Webnovel, your Powerstones, Golden ticket and engagement are the heartbeat that keeps a novel alive. Each support you cast isn't just a number on a chart. It's a signal that you want more, that you believe Aron's story deserves to climb higher, to reach more people, to carve its name into the rankings where it belongs.

Your encouragement decides the pace of this journey. Together, we can push this story through the chaos, step by step, one stone, one ticket, one chapter at a time.

So thank you, for every stone, every ticket, every moment you've given this story. You are the reason Aron's world lives and grows.

Let's walk through the apocalypse together

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

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