Utopian System

Zala walked the chamber with slow steps, her fingers caressing the statue while she spoke, her voice mixing boredom and a strange anticipation.

"You know what's funny? Nine human victories, and not once have they managed to reach this," she tapped the statue's base softly.

She turned to Elio, her eyes glowing in the dimness. "You see, the game's rules aren't the only thing you should consider. Killing me isn't enough to truly win the world. That's just... the first step."

A gesture of her hand and dim lights began to glow, forming a spherical map of the world's ten rings.

"Killing me makes you win the game, sure... But to truly liberate this world, you need to conquer all ten rings. All of them. And not just that, you have to do it in less than a thousand years." Her smile turned cruel. "Do you know why that specific limit?"

Elio maintained his silence, but his eyes followed every movement Zala made.

"Because when the thousand years are fulfilled..." the lights on the map flickered, "all remaining artromus awaken. Level 100, each of them. One hundred million per ring." She paused, letting the numbers sink in. "And the best part? They're no longer limited by barriers."

She approached Elio, her presence overwhelming in proximity.

"It's a perfect apocalypse. Even if they manage to kill me, even if they 'win'... the clock keeps ticking. And when the last bell tolls... Their happiness doesn't last." She snapped her fingers, and all lights went out except one, illuminating her face from below.

"The nine victories?" Her laughter was soft, almost intimate. "I gave them six of those. Boredom is a terrible enemy, you know? Sometimes I just wanted to see what they would do, which path they would take..." She waved a hand dismissively. "But it was always the same. The thousand years passed, it's impossible to defeat a trillion monsters in a system book challenge, so the apocalypse came, and I..." She gestured at the chamber around them, "woke up here, at the start of the next game."

Her eyes found Elio's, a gleam of genuine curiosity in them. "I'd never brought a human here before. It was never necessary. The formula was simple, kill the Von, enter the city and let the system reset everything..." She shrugged. "But this is the last game. Victory number ten thousand for me. And I wonder..."

She approached the statue again, her gaze lost in the familiar features of the figure. "I wonder what options it really has."

She turned to Elio, and for a moment, something of Zara shone in her eyes. "Don't try anything stupid. This body may resist killing you directly, but there are many ways to cause pain without killing." Her smile turned dangerous. "And if I have to pin you to that wall again and leave you there for a whole month, I'll do it without hesitation."

With a casual gesture, the shackles dissolved. Elio fell to the ground.

"The statue only responds to a Von's touch," continued Zala, watching him with interest. "All I need is for you to activate it and give me access. And in exchange... I'll save 10 people of your choice."

Elio rose slowly, his eyes moving between Zala and the statue. His fingers twitched, trying to form magic patterns to distract her with an attack and open his book.

"Oh, come on," Zala laughed, the sound strangely discordant in Zara's voice. "Do you really think you can do anything against me? In my territory? A level 20 against a level 100?"

Elio didn't respond.

Instead, he concentrated all his power in a desperate attempt. His book floated toward him...

With a bored gesture, Zala dispersed the magic as if it were smoke. The black metal rose from the floor like living serpents, wrapping around Elio and dragging him back to the wall.

"How disappointing," she sighed as the shackles reformed. "And here I was trying to be reasonable."

Zala's smile was cold as she watched Elio chained to the black wall.

"Since you won't cooperate or entertain me... Enjoy the view," she gestured toward the statue. "You'll have a whole week to contemplate it. Alone." Her tone was casual, almost bored. "I need to... resolve some issues with this new body."

She turned to leave, but...

As soon as she left the chamber, she felt the resistance.

'Don't even think about it, bitch.'

"Oh, now you talk?" Zala smiled while walking down the black hallway. "Don't like the plan to starve him? Then surrender already and..."

'If you think I'm going to let you use MY body to...'

"YOUR body?" Zala burst out laughing. "Dear, you lost ownership rights when you heroically stepped in front of your little friend. So let me kill him already and..."

'You won't.'

Zara's voice resonated in her mind, stronger than ever.

"Damn it!" she growled in frustration. "I just need to kill him! One simple act and everything ends, let us finally rest, you humans and the artromus too!"

'Aww, the all-powerful Zala can't kill a simple human without asking permission?' Zara's voice dripped with sarcasm. 'What a tragedy.'

"You realize I can make him suffer, right?" Zala tried to turn back toward the chamber. Her legs refused to move. "Oh, come on, this is ridiculous!"

'What's wrong? Legs not cooperating? Must be frustrating.'

"You know you'll eventually give in," Zala clenched her fists. "Every minute that passes, every hour he suffers chained... how long do you think you can resist?"

'How long do you think you can handle this migraine?'

A sharp pain shot through Zala's head. "STOP THAT!"

'Oh, don't like it? Too bad. It's MY brain after all.'

"You're a..." Zala massaged her temples. "Fine, let's make a deal."

'A deal? With the thing that hijacked my body? Let me think about it... NO.'

"You just don't understand!" Zala hit the wall. "I need to kill him! It's the only way to end this cursed game!"

'And you think I care about your stupid game?'

"You should! In less than a thousand years, everything you love will be destroyed!"

'It won't work... You can't trick me and you won't win so easily!'

Another stab of pain pierced her head.

"FINE!" Zala leaned against the wall. "Keep it up! But every minute you resist is another minute he spends chained! Is that what you want?"

'Is that your great strategy? Torture him until I give in? Pathetic.'

"And how do you plan to stop me?" Zala laughed, but there was a touch of frustration in her voice. "This is my body now."

'For now.'

Zala tried to take a step again, but her leg refused to move. A growl of frustration escaped her lips.

"This is ridiculous!" she punched the wall with her fist again. "LET ME END THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL!"