"Where the hell am I?"

Such a simple question, yet Sebian couldn't answer it. Even looking around didn't provide him with any clues.

'My castle, my army, my throne… WHERE ARE THEY?!' Unable to speak, the greatest alchemist in the universe could only rely on his thoughts.

"Sebian Katius Maximus Nahareterian. Your vile deads reached the point where I had no other choice but to intervene myself. What do you have to say for your defence?"

A voice appeared. Frantically turning his head around, the greatest alchemist of all times attempted to locate its source, but to no avail.

"Are you mute or something? Welp, not like it changes anything…" Only when the voice appeared once again, did Sebian manage to finally find its origin.

It wasn't as if the owner of the voice was trying to hide. In this strange dimension filled with nothing but magical flux, his presence was simply too average, too natural to be easily noticed.

"Who are you?" Rather than flying into a rage, Sebian's lips curled up. Was it the moment he was preparing for, for his entire life? Could it really be that easy?

"Who am I? Ah, it's been a while since someone asked me such philosophical questions." Now that the alchemist knew where to look for the owner of his voice, his eyes didn't leave the figure of this average man even for a second.

"I'm sorry, but you will learn that I'm all kinds of a man, but normal isn't one of the traits you would attribute to me." As if the invisible shackles came off, Sebian suddenly found himself free from his restraints. Capable of speaking, moving and most importantly, driving his energy, he was now ready for what was likely to become the fight he strived for his entire life.

"Yeah, I can easily notice that. After all, most of the people that I bothered to bring to this dimension would either fall to their knees and praise me as a god or just lose all their ability to act rationally." Opening his eyes and raising his head, the owner of the voice still couldn't be bothered to raise from what seemed like a flux-made bed. "Rarely anyone dares to prepare for a fight in my face."

"Hah!" Sebian laughed the arrogant words of this strange being, not bothering to hide his preparations anymore. If it knew he was driving the energy, then there was no point in trying to be sneaky about it. "I will ask once again. Who are you? I don't want to overexert myself if you are not the one I'm looking for."

"Well, speaking from your perspective, I'm no different from a God. But personally speaking, I don't really think I'm one." Putting a thoughtful look on his face, the entity in a form of a young man smiled gently. "You know? In the many millennials that I watched over this world, I hardly bothered to think about it. Is there a real God above me? Or maybe there is one in another universe?"

Unwilling to speak any sense, this being clearly didn't intend to make things easier for the alchemist. With all three dimensions of his cultivation firing up, the perfectly harmonic flow of mana filled Sebian flesh. No matter what nonsense this thing was speaking about, there was no denying it.

It was the so-called god of this universe. Through studying the records of the lost civilisations, Sebian could figure as much. From the appearance of a strange tribe all over the planet, through the surprising influence, they obtained in every place they went…

One didn't even need to account for the disappearances and untimely deaths of nearly all the greatest figures that both Sebian's home planet and all its colonies saw in its history.

'There is no denying it, he has to be the…'

"But frankly speaking, you can call me Bart."

That was it. The most idiotic answer that one could utter with a straight face. By searching through the annals, Sebian found out what was the name of a deity that this strange tribe worshipped. Not some grandiose call, respective for its apparently endless might, but a simple, commoner's name. Learning the true name of this ambiguous god made doubt appear in Sebian's mind for the first time.

And that meant, the man responsible for all his torture, all his sacrifices, all his agonising pain, was lying on a bed-shaped cloud of magical flux, right at his hands reach!

"Die!" That was the moment he was waiting for. The day during which, he would take his revenge on this sadistic god. The day he would payback for all the griefs that his family and friends suffered. All the hell he went through himself.

And the price for all of that would be paid full in that heretic god's blood!

Driving his cultivation to the limits, Sebian could feel his aura exploding outwards. As the man standing at the absolute peak of his world, there was no one he could challenge anymore. No one, except for the fake god in front of him.

"I'm flattered, but I'm nowhere near as influential as you take me to be." With vicious and gentle at the same time smile creeping up on this entity's lips, Sebian's entire might dissipated.

'He didn't even need to lift a damned finger!' That one moment alone was enough to show the difference between their strengths to the alchemist. Not even his aura, rich in medicinal power obtained from all the pills he consumed through his long years, was capable of withstanding a mere thought of this monstrosity.

"Well, one day you may learn the truth behind it all. But for now, you are not worthy." Finally standing up from its cloudy bed, Bart looked at Sebian with curiosity brimming in his eyes. "Yet, there is no denying it. Out of all my children, you are quite…"

Raising his hand and rubbing his chin, Bart smiled. Then, all the kindness disappeared from his eyes, replaced by cold wrath.

"You have sinned a lot. So in my authority as the overseer of your world, I hereby curse and condemn you." Speaking with a soft voice, Bart swatted his hand away as if he wanted to get rid of an annoying fly. "You sought immortality, so I curse you with undying. You sought vengeance, so it will haunt you until you will be truly reborn."

All at once, the disposition of this insane being changed. From a simple young man whose ability to display emotions was limited to his psychique, it suddenly exploded. The entire area, as vast as Sebian could see, filled with the mana of a density way beyond anything the alchemist thought to be possible.

Yet, as baffling and confusing as it was, Sebian could still clearly see the general outline of this omnipotent being. Despite his eyes only capable of seeing a tiny fraction of its build, Bart's domineering presence could still be noticed in every move of this insane ocean of mana.

"I hereby, cast you out." Spoken as stoically as one would comment a passing cloud on the sky, at the same time, Bart's words held a strange, primal power to them. In a flash, the magic heaven when Bart resided disappeared, replaced with endless darkness.

And then, a light appeared.