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Chapter 1 - Chapter 1. Avaris

World of Dragons

Desert Sea of Nirales

The light from the second moon illuminated the vast, seemingly endless expanse of sand. Dragging herself forward with her arms, crawling inch by inch, Maya struggled to keep moving. Her pursuers weren't far behind.

Shit. Am I really dying? if only my legs weren't broken by that dumb lizard… I'm almost there. Just a few more kilometers and I'll be out of this hell. Then I can fi—

A shadow stretched across the sand in front of her.

Boots. A pair of them. Slowly approaching.

A wave of despair washed over her. She didn't dare look up. Anyone walking so leisurely in a place like this had to be capable of killing her easily in her current state.

Then he spoke—calm, jovial, almost as if commenting on the weather.

"At this rate you'll certainly die."

Maya strained her neck, looking up at the man now standing in front of her, an annoying smile on his face. Something felt off. His clothes and shoes were too clean for someone hundreds of kilometers into a desert—in fact, his shoes looked like they were just unwrapped. There wasn't a single speck of dust on them.

She stopped analyzing and asked bluntly, "Are you going to kill me?"

"Of course not," he replied brightly, flicking his wrist in a cheerful, dismissive wave. "How about you tell me how you ended up like this?"

She stared at him, wide-eyed. Was he serious? She was clearly about to die and he knew it.

Maya sighed. "You should go. They're almost here."

Ignoring what she just said, he said, "You look like you're in pain, that might be why you're talking nonsense." He paused for a second and continued, "Okay, you can sit down now."

She frowned—her view had changed instantly; she was now sitting down, her body completely healed.

"Now that the pain's gone," he continued, the same annoying smile on his face, "you can share your story with me."

She was about to go on again about how they were getting closer when she noticed the silence. Not just that everything had stopped moving—the dust in the air, the wind—even her heartbeat had stopped, and she couldn't move any part of her body at all.

"Don't worry about your pursuers, I've stopped time for this realm. As for why you can't move, imagine your heart just suddenly beats a thousand times in an instant. You would die instantly from the insane blood pressure."

He tilted his head. "I could grant you the ability to survive the effects. But that would be too boring, don't you agree?"

He smiled faintly.

"Just communicate with your thoughts. I can hear."

His face suddenly turned serious for the first time. "Please don't waste any time. Just go straight to the point."

From the way he looked at her, she could tell—he wasn't joking.

Not like I have a choice anyway.

She began.

My name is Maya. I was born a slave to the dragons of this world. I don't know who my father was, but before my mother died, she told me about another place—somewhere beyond their rule. A world without dragons. A world where humans weren't treated like livestock.

I made that world my goal.

For over a decade, I trained in secret. Hiding my strength. Hiding my hatred. I studied every weakness I could find, every gap in their arrogance. Then, inside the emperor's archives, I found something—an artifact. I don't know what it was or how it worked, only that it enhanced me. Made me fast, strong. Strong enough to kill one of them. Just one. And that was enough.

I ran.

They chased me—four of them. I managed to kill one, but the others didn't stop. They never stop. And now… I'm here.

"Hmm, okay. Good story. I've granted you an ability and slightly increased your physicality. Once I release the time stop, your survival will be up to you."

He leaned back slightly, resting his back on empty space. "I'll allow you a single question. After that, I'll dispel my ability."

Maya was speechless—she had just taken in a lot of info.

Wait... a new ability?

"Is that your question?" he asked with a slight look of disappointment.

She suddenly realized that was a question. No, no, that's not it.

She wanted to ask what her new ability was, why he was doing this—for what reason would he help her to this extent?

A question instinctively materialized in her head: Who are you?

The usual smile appeared on his face once more.

"Avaris," he said lightly. "But you may also address me as God."

Her lips parted—shock freezing her more than the stillness around her. Countless questions arose in her mind, but just as she was about to ask, she felt the desert breeze blowing.

Time moved once more, and the mysterious man had vanished, only leaving her with a vague phrase:

"1 or 0."

"What the fuck does he mean—'one' or 'zero'?" she muttered, hands tightening into fists.

A fierce, echoing roar penetrated the air. Maya immediately calmed her mind and readied herself for battle. A few seconds later, three lesser dragons—each at least 10 meters in length and 2 meters in height—came into her view. The three of them took human form almost simultaneously. The guy in the center, who seemed to be the leader of the group, said to the others—

Each of them—above their chests, or their souls, or whatever it was—had a faint mark. Glowing. A "1."

She didn't question how she knew it was part of their soul. It just made sense. Like breathing. Or blinking.

And with that came something else.

A weight. A rush. Like a memory she hadn't lived—but remembered anyway.

Polarity Reset.

The words appeared in her mind, cold and clear.

She didn't know where they came from. But she knew exactly what they meant.

One touch. One command. Flip the setting.

A 1 becomes a 0. Existence becomes nonexistence.

The dragons began their attack. Their plan was simple—two of them would engage her in a fight, and if she tried to escape, the third could easily block her path.

Two of them rapidly approached, easily closing the distance. Their movements were lightning fast, hacking at her with their claws. She rolled to the side; a huge crater had appeared where she was standing before. Even though the unknown artifact she stole enhanced her physicality, she would still be severely injured if she took that attack head on. Luckily, she had the advantage in terms of speed.

The two dragons kept raining a barrage of blows at her, hacking at rising speeds and precision. Maya was still somehow able to dodge, taking immense damage—but none that was life-threatening.

Maya managed to gain some distance for a second, then they rushed at her again. Strangely, this time she didn't defend herself; she just waited for them. The third dragon, sensing something off, screamed:

"Wait! Don't attack it!"

But it was too late. They didn't stop—or rather, they didn't want to.

The instant the claws of the two dragons made contact with her skin, Maya's lips parted and curled into a smile. Time seemed to have slowed down for her.

"ZERO."

An eerie silence enveloped the area, but it was soon broken by the terrified shriek of the third dragon. He had seen it very clearly—the moment his two comrades touched her skin, they died. Even though she didn't even move a finger.

"You—what did you do?"

After a few seconds, Maya replied with an ecstatic grin on her face.

"Polarity Reset."

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