My Muscle System in the Mage World-Chapter 421: People should live in the present—not the future, not the past

"Why should I be scared of you?" Aur asked, his voice flat and expressionless.

The short man let out a guttural laugh, his teeth bared in a predatory grin. "Haha, I like your courage, brat. But tell me—what logic gives you such confidence? Fail to give me a satisfying answer, and I'll kill you."

The air grew heavy, the man's suffocating presence pressing down on Aur like a vice. Sweat streamed down his face, but he stood his ground.

"If you truly wanted me dead, you'd have done it already," Aur replied, meeting the man's gaze. "Yet here I stand—unbound, breathing, and not in the afterlife. That tells me you need something from me."

The short man's grin faded, his eyes narrowing as he raised a finger and pointed it at Aur. "You," he hissed. "What could I possibly want from someone as insignificant as you?"

Aur's eyes didn't waver. "I don't know. But you do."

"What if what you're thinking is wrong, and I kill you right now? Would you regret it?"

Aur shook his head calmly. "No. I don't regret my choices. People should live in the present—not the future, not the past. Even if I wanted to resist, could I? What's the point of fearing what I can't control?"

The short man's eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flashing within them as the air grew colder. Tension hung heavy, suffocating, as a thin mist began to creep in, curling around them like ghostly fingers.

The man's outline blurred in the haze, but his parting grin lingered like a haunting memory. "I don't believe you, brat."

Aur's breath hitched as a wave of cold swept over him. His body froze mid-motion, locked in place as if the world itself conspired to hold him still. Seconds later, he crumpled to the ground, his eyes fluttering shut as darkness claimed him.

The next moment, Aur's eyes snapped open, revealing a dark, endless abyss stretching in every direction. There was nothing—no sky, no ground, just a void swallowing everything.

"I… can't move?"

Aur's thought in the emptiness. He willed his body to respond, but it felt distant, disconnected, as though every thread tying his mind to his limbs had been severed. Panic prickled his thoughts.

Then, breaking the silence, a faint, unsettling scritch-scratch noise began to echo. It was subtle at first, like the brittle scrape of tiny legs against a rough surface. The sound grew sharper, more defined—a dry, crackling whisper that wormed its way into his ears and sent an involuntary shiver through him..

The noise drew closer, circling him. He couldn't lift his head, couldn't even blink as the sound neared. Finally, something loomed into his line of sight.

A cockroach, its grotesque form stretching a full meter in length, crawled onto his motionless body. Its antennae twitched, probing the air, while its chitinous shell gleamed dully in the faint crimson light of his glowing pupil.

Aur's breath caught in his throat, he was utterly helpless beneath the monstrous insect's weight.

There wasn't just one but multiples; their scritch-scratch sound grew even more, their massive frames completely overwhelming Aur.

He looked on as the cockroaches crawled all over his body.

"Haha, brat, are you afraid?"

Aur couldn't even close his eyes, as every movement seemed to be etched into his mind. The creepy sensation of the cockroaches filled his heart with shivers. Helpless, he could only stare straight at the ceiling. Suddenly, his mouth was free from whatever binding had restricted it.

"Who knows?"

"If you didn't disrespect me, then you wouldn't have faced these consequences."

Aur cracked a grin when he heard this.

"Respect! Respect! Respect! Haha," he laughed out loud.

"What are you laughing at?" the short man snarled in his ear with an annoyed tone.

"Do you know what happened to that Tier Seven Wizard when he asked for my respect?"

Aur laughed, huffing and coughing.

"You are too arrogant, brat. This is not your fantasy world; it's the real world. You should know the consequences of disrespecting a Tier Seven Wizard. That guy was just caught off guard, but can you even repeat the same thing again?"

The short man spoke like the whisper of a devil.

Aur froze on the spot, as if realizing it just now:

"You're right. I cannot do that. Can I?"

He touched his chin with an extremely grim expression.

"Then what is your choice, brat?" the short old man asked curiously.

"You are right, I should respect you. Please forgive me, Lord Immortal. This junior was on a hill but couldn't see Mount Tai. Please, will you forgive me for the mistake committed by your junior?"

Aur spoke with a pleading expression, filled with pity for the weak.

"Hahaha, not bad, brat. You finally know your place for once. However…" The short old man grinned. "You still need to face the consequences. Besides, I don't believe you."

Molten magma appeared in the dark room, completely drowning Aur's body in it.

Cockroaches crawled all over his body, and the suffocation from the lava nearly rendered Aur unconscious. His eyes turned dim, yet even so, there was a faint power within him that refused to allow him to sleep.

This horrifying experience intensified even further as giant bugs began to appear in larger quantities, completely overwhelming him.

There was no escape!

It lasted for what seemed like an eternity—an eternity that Aur could not escape from.

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After an agonizingly long time, when Aur could no longer distinguish reality from a dream, a light flashed in his eyes.

"How is it, brat? Have you learned a lesson after some beating?" The short man smirked cruelly, showing no mercy.

Aur was disoriented, his body wobbling, making it difficult even to stand. He looked up at the man's face expressionlessly and spoke quietly:

"Yes."

"Haha, good, good, brat. I've taught you something that even your mother hasn't taught you before."

Aur's eyes glinted as he expressionlessly bowed. "Thank you for teaching me."

"Now, follow me."

The short old man beckoned, and Aur quietly followed. Looking at the smug expression on the old man's face, Aur mumbled in his heart:

"Laugh while you can because when the day comes for me to laugh, it will be your last."

If this were a story with a protagonist, they probably couldn't stand the humiliation and would fight back with every last ounce of strength. But this was real life—there were no cheats, nor was there a blessing called "plot armor."

As Aur walked behind the short old man, his pupils turned dazed, and he followed mechanically, as though his soul had left his body.

Soon, Aur was guided to a lush forest outside, where fleets of shadows roamed the sky. In the midst of these shadows was a grand golden throne, upon which a long white-haired man with crimson pupils sat.

There was no aura around him, almost as if he were a completely normal man.

"It's weird," Aur muttered, narrowing his eyes. There was an uncanny sense of familiarity about the man, as though they were somehow related—but not quite at the same time.

"It feels like there is a familiar anomaly which I also have, almost as if…"