Solo Leveling: I Am The Only Supreme With the Cheating System-Chapter 516: What About The System?

[Between Chaos.]

Michael materialized in a dimly lit hall, his gaze sweeping across the empty space, a bewildered frown etched on his face.

"I thought I died," he murmured, the words barely audible in the silence.

A voice, resonant and calm, echoed through the hall. "Your body died, but your soul survived."

Michael spun around, his eyes landing on a middle-aged man who was walking towards him, hands clasped behind his back, his expression utterly impassive.

"Who are you?" Michael asked, a knot of confusion tightening in his chest.

"I am known as Tartarus."

The man halted a few feet away, his gaze unwavering as he studied Michael.

"Tartarus? Typhon's father and the System—" Michael began, his mind racing.

"---No."

Tartarus's sharp interruption cut him off. "I did not create the System. I merely handed it to you."

Michael's confusion deepened. "You didn't create the System?"

"Indeed. I simply passed it on."

"Then who created it? And why am I here?" Michael demanded, his eyes darting around the mysterious hall.

"Well..." Tartarus began, a hint of something unreadable flickering in his eyes. He walked past Michael, his voice dropping slightly. "You are here to receive your true inheritance." He paused, looking back at Michael over his shoulder. "That is, if you desire it."

Michael felt more lost than ever. Tartarus had answered one of his questions, yet the most significant one remained unanswered. "Don't dwell on it too much. The answer to your first question will come," Tartarus said, his gaze now directly on Michael. "Michael Brian, do you not have other questions for me?"

Michael fell silent, his mind grappling with the information he had just received. After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "Why did you choose me instead of your son?"

Tartarus's expression softened slightly. "Typhon is my son, yes, but his heart is consumed by darkness, by an insatiable hunger for destruction. I cannot entrust my lords and soldiers to him; it would only lead to the complete annihilation of the realms. And you...?" Tartarus turned fully to face Michael. "I chose you because of your heart."

He stepped closer, his gaze intense. "You are a human who is balanced."

"What do you mean by 'balanced'?" Michael asked, raising an eyebrow in skepticism.

"Not excessively cruel, not inherently evil, and not naively good... simply balanced," Tartarus explained, his tone matter-of-fact.

Michael was taken aback. "I don't think I'm all that remarkable."

"Oh, really?" A faint smirk played on Tartarus's lips. He waved his hand, and a translucent screen materialized in the air before Michael. It displayed a scene from what felt like only yesterday: Mira lying pale and still on a hospital bed, Ricky and Levi sitting beside her, their faces etched with worry.

"You saw that...?" Michael whispered, his attention fixed on the screen, a pang of guilt and sorrow hitting him anew. "I remember this."

"Of course, you do," Tartarus nodded, his gaze softening slightly as he watched Michael's reaction. He continued, "When the dagger struck Mira... your rage was immense. You killed the guild master, the vice guild master, and the first elder of the opposing guild without hesitation. But you spared the remaining members, allowing them to flee. Then, when you confronted the second guild, you didn't kill a single soul. Instead, you even took Rahond and his elders into your own ranks."

Michael turned to Tartarus, surprise evident on his face. "Yeah... we have been watching you," Tartarus confirmed with a knowing look.

He waved his hand again, and the scene on the screen shifted, now showing the chaotic intensity of the guild battle against the Vipers Guild.

"You remember Kay?" Tartarus asked.

"Yes... Ro's boyfriend," Michael replied, the memory of the young man flashing through his mind.

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"Good... His father was responsible for your father's death and even plotted to kill you. Yet, you spared him. And now, Kay is a respected captain in the Amerisa Military."

"That... I forgave him because he was innocent," Michael explained, the conviction clear in his voice.

"But if you had killed him, no one would have questioned it. No one would have dared to object. Your decision, your restraint, kept him alive."

"Okay..." Michael conceded, a sense of understanding beginning to dawn.

"Hold on, there's more." Tartarus gestured again, and the screen changed once more, now showing Violet in the thick of battle with another guild, her movements fierce and determined.

"I recognize this," Michael said, recalling the urgency he had felt upon hearing the news.

"Yes... You rushed to her aid after receiving word of the attack and single-handedly turned the tide of the battle, saving Violet and her guild. You then merged her guild with yours, making her one of your trusted elders."

"So, all my life, you have been watching me?" Michael asked, a strange feeling of being observed washing over him.

"Indeed," Tartarus confirmed with a nod. He waved his hand yet again, and the scene on the screen shifted to show Conner and Helena standing alongside Glen, an unexpected alliance formed after their initial animosity.

"Conner and Glen were among your fiercest enemies," Tartarus pointed out. "Individuals whom even I believed you would ultimately eliminate. Yet, you chose forgiveness, especially towards Conner, who had not only bullied you relentlessly but had also targeted your sister."

"Everything done doesn't have to revolve around revenge," Michael muttered, the words a quiet affirmation of his own choices.

"That is precisely it!" Tartarus exclaimed, a genuine smile finally gracing his lips. "That is why I chose you! Typhon is consumed by the fires of revenge and fueled by unbridled anger. But you... you possess the strength to let go, to see a brighter path, a path that ultimately benefits the future!"

"Okay..." Michael nodded slowly, the weight of Tartarus's words settling upon him.

'With the system's powers, Typhon will be easier taken down, and I can finally save my world... but first.'

He then returned to his earlier question.

"What about the System?"