The Gene Gamer

One minute after Cylius left, giant creatures started coming from all directions each the size of a mountain. Giant dragons, flame python several kilometers long, floating water whales, humongous snow apes...

Although most were large creatures, there were an exceptional few that had a normal size or tiny build. 

All kinds of creatures appeared with a common trait among them, they all radiated incredible auras carrying immense pollution that was changing the environment by the second. 

These creatures while powerful and was qualified to own a vast amount of territory each, they had their share of enemies and friends. 

Constrained by the other powerful monsters, they couldn't hope to be free and do as they pleased like they were in their own territories. 

As they each kept a distance from one another, some frictions were sure to be made since such a large number of powerful creatures had gathered here. For example, an abnormal bird with black and blue wings distinctly resembling the legendary phoenix had already picked a fight with a rock crocodile that lived in the earth and fed on earth elements. 

These two were deadly enemies by nature as the ancestor of rock crocodiles the Element Devouring Crocodile had ascended by ambushing a phoenix while it was feeding, directly snapping its whole body and killing it. 

At the time, the water crocodile was only second-tier but managed to ambush and kill a third-tier phoenix. After killing the phoenix, it devoured its body and also ascended to the third-tier water-fire devouring crocodile which was a rare species that held immense power and potential. 

However, things didn't go smooth as the phoenix it had ambushed was a purebred phoenix that was of direct lineage. After knowing about the incident, the phoenix tribe was enraged resulting in several high level third-tier phoenixes to be sent after him. 

Surprisingly the water-fire crocodile survived the hunt and even killed one of the phoenixes which were sent after him. 

Slipping out from the hunt, after numerous years the crocodile returned again with a debt to collect. The phoenix tribe had suffered much as this time, the little third-tier existence where they could look down years ago had now become a fully grown sixth-tier Element Devouring Crocodile that had the power to destroy a planet with a single thought and even fighting equally against a galaxy.

Many members of the phoenix tribe died as they suffered a heavy loss that healed only after several generations, and by generations of the phoenix tribe it meant tens of thousands of years. 

The phoenix god disturbed by his descendants call was awoken from his slumber only to find out that the Element Devouring Crocodile had already ascended to become a god just like himself, a seventh-tier existence. 

As much as unwilling he was, he had no choice but to compromise to the Element Devouring Crocodile and not have any clashes among themselves. However it was only for themself, the agreement didn't say that conflicts among their descendants is forbidden. 

This led to the war that happened for eternity among the element devouring crocodile tribe and the phoenix tribe. 

Eventually, due to their long inherited legacy, the phoenix tribe won and the element devouring crodile tribe perished which led to the power of the element devouring crocodile to greatly weaken. Grabbing the chance, the phoenix god clashed with the element devouring crocodile and killed him. 

However, the ruins of the element devouring crocodile clan still remains and so does their legacy, although scattered all over the universe. But the phoenix tribe would never let the element devouring crocodiles to rise again so a large tribe of the element devouring clan was never formed.

Along the river of time, no pure bloodline remain as only the polluted exist now. For example, this rock crocodile. 

Due to the restrictions and how much it had been polluted, it could only become an ordinary earth devouring crocodile with no hope of ever going along the tracks its ancestor did. 

Although this phoenix was also a polluted distinct species of the phoenix, it still held some traces of their nature which resulted in it becoming hostile to the Rock Crocodile. 

Other than these two, there were many other frictions between monsters which resulted in the situation coming more chaotic as time went on. Some even had their auras released fully being prepared to fight right there and then. 

However, once a voice was heard all the noise quieted down as the monsters stood still refraining from doing any more actions to displease the person behind it, a bundle of darkness.

In this whole secret dimension, there were many fourth-tier creatures but only two fifth-tier creature and one sixth-tier creature which the fifth-tiers acted as the leaders. The sixth-tier just stayed behind them all, sleeping for eons without being disturbed once. 

This time, it was not different, the sixth-tier stayed in its slumber without awakening once through the countless eons it had stayed here. In fact, other than the two fifth-tiers no other creature knew of its face, they had never seen it before. 

They just knew that there was an almighty existence behind these two terrifying fifth-tier leaders. 

This time, while all of the fourth-tier came here, only one of the fifth-tiers came and the other continued its slumber. 

"The realm had long left the Ancient Sanctuary, hope is lost for obtaining the realm. Scatter!" the voice said while in an indistinct voice that seemed to be out of existence. 

After hearing the voice, the ones that came here were disappointed nonetheless but didn't dare to have any objections. After a minute or so, none of them remained in the place. 

The bundle of darkness looked at the place where the space tear had closed, with only a single thought in its mind.

'That aura... what was it?'

... 

Cylius although didn't know what had happened, had a cold shiver down his back imagining what would've happened if he stayed behind. Although he was still reluctant, the danger alarm in his mind had overwhelmed the reluctance he felt.

Right now, he had nothing to do. He would directly teleport to the surface area and then wander the planet to see the wonders of it.

This journey, he already had enough of the benefits. 

...

Garen who was eating a lava monster right now had already reached the peak of the first-tier, already having broken the limits of his genes he was in the peak of the limit-break stage. 

Having broken through all he had, he couldn't progress past this realm at all, as described by the system to reach the second-tier he apparently had to comprehend a rune even if its a slight portion of it, that was all one had to do to reach the second-tier. 

However, this one thing was blocking his path. No matter how much he tried and no matter how much he ate and devoured, he couldn't even see a glimpse of this realm which made him both furious and depressed at the same time. 

No matter how much he tried, the runes would make his mind dizzy and seemed to slip out of his grasp. He was out of tricks and the only way to improve rapidly was an almost impossible plan. 

When they first met, Garen was oblivious to all of it but something inside of his was constantly telling him to get close to this person. As a friendly person, he of course did what his instincts told him and became friends with him although the person seemed to be annoyed by him.

But with his thick skin, he didn't feel anything at all and just considered this man as a tsundere, who was hostile on the outside but was actually kind and soft on the inside. 

Even the bullying they did together, he considered it nothing more than an enjoyable fun and there were no harsh feelings contained inside it. With this thought, he increasingly liked this person and considered this man as a brother to him.

Things went smooth until his awakening ceremony came and his powers awakened. 

At first, there was nothing special, just a usual force type innate gene that controlled the fire element. But as time passed, the gene that was analyzed to be a force type changed and evolved to become twisted. 

The scarlet red color of it became a pitch black with only a trace of red within it. 

Since the gene, his personality had been changing continuously to become a darker version. Random thoughts of killing and torturing people jumped into his mind often but he resisted the urge to do it, at the start.

After time passed and he was venturing with his teammates, the evil thoughts intensified. Due to the long time of torture he had been going through trying to resist the evil thoughts, his will relaxed for a second. 

At that time he felt incredible peace within is mind as he felt that he was going back to his mother's womb, warm and cozy.

Even though it relaxed for a moment, the evil thoughts invaded his mind as they took control and everything became black. He couldn't remember anything after that but when he finally regained his vision, several mutilated corpses laid before him all with anguished faces. 

There was even a woman that clearly had traces of rape. 

He was puzzled at why he was here and why the person who did all of this spared him. Even though he didn't know the reason, he cried at how much the teammates he had spent a long time with and built a solid relationship with had been tortured by this man.

Just as he was going to wipe his tears, he noticed his hand were covered with blood. Seeing this, a sudden thought struck his mind... he may have been the person who did all of this. 

He didn't want to admit this fact, no he didn't want to acknowledge this fact at all yet traces led to him being the person who did all of this. 

At this time, a voice sounded inside his mind, the voice that had the exact same sound as his contained overwhelming demonic aura. 

'You did all of this. You killed them, you killed your teammates while enjoying the process...' as soon as the voice said this, a surge of memories surfaced in his mind. 

The memory was clear. It depicted a child punching and smashing the already dead corpses. While doing this, the child had the same thing hung on his face during the whole time, a wide grin.

Seeing this surge of memories, a surge of emotions went through his eyes as everything blurred for a second. Right after, immense flames exploded from his body, engulfing the whole forest, catching it in a set of fire. 

While in this process, lines started surfacing from the surroundings as they covered the whole body of Garen in a blackish red barrier. After this, the child slumped on the ground powerless as everything blacked out for the child once again...