Monarchs of Ruination

In a dimly lit yet luxurious room, a young man sat slouched in his chair, his posture tense.

At seventeen, he looked far from his usual composed self—his face bore minor bruises, and his costly black clothes were covered in dust.

But his injuries were the least of his concerns.

His deep crimson eyes flickered around the room, scanning every detail again and again, as if checking whether he was caught in a dream.

And to confirm his suspicion—

Slap!

A crisp sound echoed as he struck himself with full force.

"Ouch!… Fuck, my body is too weak." The young man cursed, rubbing his stinging cheek.

This was NOX Ashborn—a regressor, if one could call him that.

But unlike other protagonists who simply rewound time, NOX had experienced each second of his life in reverse chronological order—reliving billions of years backward until he returned to this moment.

It had only been a few breaths since he woke up, but his mind still refused to accept this absurd reality.

After a few more slaps and checks, he finally arrived at a solid conclusion.

This was real.

At that realization, an overwhelming weight seemed to lift from his chest, like an obsession that had gripped him for an eternity had finally disappeared.

His lips parted, and his voice trembled with madness and triumph.

"I finally succeeded… I finally succeeded…!"

His body shook with excitement, a manic grin spreading across his face.

"Hah! Yes! Everything went just as I planned!" NOX complimented himself, nearly laughing in elation.

But then, amidst his joy, he felt a strange warmth trickle down his cheeks.

At first, he thought they were tears of relief.

He was partially right.

NOX lifted a hand to wipe them away—only to freeze in horror.

He wasn't crying tears. He was crying blood.

A sharp chill ran down his spine.

"What the fuck… Is this some kind of horror story?" He muttered, his fingers trembling as they came away slick with crimson.

Then, a realization struck him like lightning.

"Wait… my eyes—"

His stomach twisted with unease.

NOX bolted toward the bathroom, stumbling over his own feet in his panic.

Gripping the sink, he lifted his gaze to the mirror and wiped away the blood obscuring his vision.

As his reflection cleared, his breath caught in his throat.

Gone were his normal purple eyes.

In their place, something far more ominous stared back at him.

His new eyes burned with a hellish, crimson glow, their vertical slits expanding and narrowing with an unnatural, predatory intensity.

They were ever-shifting, never still, like swirling pools of malice and destruction.

He knew these eyes.

They were Evil Eyes.

Eyes that only high-ranking Devils could possess.

In his past life, he had gained them too—but they only manifested when he transformed into a Devil or when his emotions spiraled out of control.

But now…

They had become permanent.

Strangely, NOX felt no frustration at this revelation.

He didn't even feel disappointed.

The world had already called him a Devil once before.

And tomorrow, they would do it again.

Even if he plucked out his own eyes, those self-righteous hypocrites would still hunt him and his family, parading under banners of "Justice" and "Greater Good"—all while hiding their greed for his family's wealth and power.

He had witnessed this happen twice—once in normal time, and once in reverse.

But this time, it would be different.

This time, he would be the hunter.

His grip on the sink tightened as he embraced the Evil Eyes as his own.

And then, a thought struck him.

"If I merge these eyes with my [Divinity]…"

The moment the idea took root—

Ding!

A holographic screen flickered into existence before his eyes.

[Do you wish to assimilate the Evil Eyes into your Unrecorded Divinity—God of Myriad Emotions?]

A familiar mechanical voice echoed in his mind.

NOX's lips curled into a knowing smirk.

"Of course."

[Assimilating…]

The moment the process began, NOX felt a strange twitch in his eyes, and instinctively understood what was happening.

It was going slow on purpose.

Because his Divinity didn't want to accidentally blind him.

He snorted. "Tch. This damn Divinity is still treating me like a fragile newborn."

After a brief thought, NOX asked aloud,

"Can I assimilate my powers into my Divinity and make it stronger?"

[...…]

The Unrecorded Divinity pondered for a moment, considering whether it should even bother answering its weak and stupid wielder.

[Only powers related to emotions resonate with the wielder's Divinity and can be assimilated!]

NOX nodded. He had already figured that out, but he still asked to confirm.

This damn Divinity was as aloof and proud as ever, refusing to entertain "obvious" questions.

But NOX didn't mind. He was used to its quirks after spending nearly a billion years with it, regressing backward in time.

It was the only thing that kept him sane through the endless cycle of Time Reversal Sickness.

[+1 Hatred Points earned from Harry White!]

Just as NOX was lost in his thoughts, he saw another familiar notification from his Pathos Emotion System.

[+1 Hatred Points earned from Zhang Wei!]

[+1 Hatred...]

[+1 Anger..…]

"Geez, these brats really do hate me… And I haven't even met them yet." NOX mused.

He already knew what was about to happen.

After all, he had experienced it moments ago—just in reverse order.

Shaking off his thoughts, he cleaned himself up, wiping away the blood and dust before stepping out into the night.

Instead of waiting inside, he dragged an old recliner chair into the middle of his spacious courtyard.

Settling down comfortably, he reclined back with a smirk, waiting for the uninvited pests who were about to show up.

******

In the spacious courtyard, beneath the dead of night, NOX reclined leisurely in his chair. Above him, a massive celestial planet loomed, its luminous and colorful glow bathing the landscape in an eerie, surreal radiance.

But NOX wasn't the type to admire beauty.

A wet cloth covered his eyes, soaking up the blood as they twitched intermittently—a side effect of his Divinity assimilating his Evil Eyes.

Feeling bored, he suddenly spoke.

"Shadow Uncle! If I killed someone today, do you think my old man would explode like a loaf of bread tossed into lava?"

Silence. Only the distant chirping of crickets answered him.

And then—

"Are they trying to kill you?" A deep voice echoed from within his shadow.

"Maybe!" NOX replied nonchalantly.

"Academy students?" The voice asked.

"I think so. These brats want to prove to the world they aren't afraid of Devils." NOX smirked.

He already knew that most of the ones coming weren't actually trying to kill him.

They just wanted to prove themselves—to their friends, their school, their girlfriends or boyfriends.

Teenagers and their need to prove themselves… truly exhausting.

Of course, not all of them were harmless. Among these brats, there were rats—ones who actually wanted him dead.

"Then that stupid guy is going to fume, caught between lecturing you and answering to the academy." The voice laughed heartily, as if already picturing NOX's father's frustration.

After a pause—

"They're coming… Need my help? If you beg with sincerity, I might protect you—after you take a few punches first." The voice teased.

NOX snorted.

"I don't need your help. Look at the bruises on my body… What kind of half-assed guardian lets the person he's supposed to protect get beaten up like this?"

Shadow Uncle remained unbothered, as if he was used to NOX's complaints.

"Are you sure? If you beg now, I'll step in—after you lose one or two teeth." The voice teased again.

And so, their bickering continued.

A Few Minutes Later…

A faint whooshing sound reached NOX's ears, followed by a slight breeze that tousled his hair.

NOX: "..."

He remained silent for a moment, too speechless to even comment.

Then—

"The gate's open, you know? What's with this pathetic 'assassin' act?" NOX remarked lazily, still reclining in his chair, the wet napkin covering his eyes as he casually continued his conversation with Shadow Uncle.

A few yards away, dozens of amateur assassins had surrounded him, encircling him from all sides.

But the "whoosh" sounds they made during their grand entrance were so painfully loud that NOX was at a loss for words.

He should really hand them an 'Assassin 101' book.

Their expressions darkened at NOX's mocking tone.

How dare a Devil's Seed humiliate them?

Their anger only worsened when they realized NOX still hadn't even looked at them.

Hell, he hadn't even removed the napkin from his eyes.

"Okay… Since you brats are here, make your move. I have better things to do," NOX sighed, sounding completely uninterested.

[+0.5 Hatred...]

[+0.1 Anger…..]

[+0.1 Hatred...]

Just as one of the more impatient students was about to lunge at NOX, another quickly stopped him.

"Are you a Devil or a Human?" asked a student, dressed in an overly elaborate assassin outfit.

NOX couldn't even bring himself to be angry.

"If I were really a Devil, would you still be standing there running your mouth?" NOX retorted lazily.

"We are not afraid of Devils!" Another student declared proudly.

Still relaxing in his recliner, NOX was genuinely amused by the statement.

'Not afraid of Devils?'

He never thought he'd hear something so stupid—especially from a student who had just started their cultivation journey.

Shaking his head slightly, NOX asked, amusement lacing his voice,

"Have you ever seen a Devil before? I mean, not in videos or Virtual Realms—but up close?"

Maybe it was because NOX had spent too much time running around, trying to save his family, dealing with schemes, and reliving his nightmare of a past life, but for his own amusement—

And to sort his thoughts—he continued entertaining these 'assassins'.

[+0.1 Hatred...]

[+0.1 Anger..…]