“Are you saying that if I leave this world, Cadel Lytos will die……? W, why? Why is he dying?”

Scarlet Dragon raised one eyebrow as he looked at Cadel, who was asking impatiently.

“Was his name Cadel Lytos? I heard that that family was quite powerful in the old Demon War. It seems they’re still going strong.”

“Answer me, please!”

“……Isn’t it strange that a half-soul can live so long? The purpose of the soul’s birth is to unite with another soul, so it is natural for it to disappear once its duty is completed.”

“Then, if I remain in this world, Cadel Lytos’ soul can survive……”

“No.”

Perhaps frustrated that Cadel couldn’t understand what he was saying at once, the Scarlet Dragon frowned slightly and continued.

“The reason you were able to merge with a half-soul is because now your soul is also a half. The other half, well. I think it might be staying in your world. If you choose to stay in this world, the remaining soul that was separated will take over your body, and Cadel Lytos’ soul will be pushed out and destroyed. The result is the same.”

Everything the Scarlet Dragon had said so far had been unpredictable, but nothing had been more shocking than this. Cadel scrambled to his feet, not wanting to hear anymore. His weak body staggered, but he managed to hold on to the wall.

The Scarlet Dragon glared at Cadel’s pitifully trembling back and then said in a sneering tone.

“I don’t know why you’re so distressed. Didn’t you need a rationale?”

“……What’s that even supposed to mean?”

“You want to stay in this world, right? You found someone you love. I just gave you a reason to justify your greed. No matter what you choose, the soul will die, but if you don’t stay, the human body dies as well. Think of it simply.”

Cadel gritted his teeth at the unapologetic attitude as if he were about to reveal a dirty secret. He turned his head ferociously to glare at the Scarlet Dragon, but the man seemed unperturbed. In fact, he probably didn’t care. As unpleasant as it was, there was nothing but the truth in the Scarlet Dragon’s words.

Eventually, Cadel swallowed hard and looked away. A sharp pain shot through his fingertips as he pressed them against the wall.

‘As for Cadel Lytos having half a soul, yeah, that can happen. It’s a game.’

The player has always been the one who moves the protagonist in a game. There are no games where the protagonist moves alone and you just stare at him, doing nothing. If he thought about it that way, he could somehow accept that he was half Cadel Lytos and half himself.

‘But even if I disappear or not, Cadel Lytos is destined to die…….’

It was too terrible a truth. That there would be no way to give Cadel Lytos back the body he had already taken? That his subordinates would grieve over the body of their dead commander when he was gone?

All of it terrified him, but most of all, he feared what would happen when he chose to stay here. When Cadel Lytos’ soul disappeared and he became a complete Shin Yeohwan. He was afraid he would realize that the deep affection he had for them was all Cadel Lytos’s. He was afraid that he would end up regretting his life in an unfamiliar world.

There was no escape anywhere. He felt like he was trapped in a room with a tight seal on all sides, slowly suffocating. He couldn’t help but think that no matter what he did, there would be a painful ending. He shouldn’t have transmigrated in the first place. He should have died immediately after being hit by the truck.

He had held on for dear life just to see the end of the story, but now even that eagerness was fading. He wanted to avoid the future, a future he dreaded rather than looked forward to.

Cadel closed his eyes tightly and cleared his throat. If he could, he wanted to forget all the truths he’d been told, but the harder he tried to avoid them, the clearer they became. It felt like his mind was being shattered into pieces and scattered like dust under the scorching sun.

A weak laugh escaped him, not the least bit amused. It was the system window that kept popping up.

[Character analysis is complete!]

[You have encountered the hidden knight ‘Kunra’. Try to gain his favor and recruit him.]

The Scarlet Dragon’s eyes narrowed as he realized that Cadel’s smirk seemed odd. Feeling the stare, Cadel whirled around and pointed a finger at the air, mockingly, like a man who’d lost his sh*t.

“Is your name ‘Kunra’?”

“……Did that power tell you? I’m surprised. There are few in this world who know my name.”

“Yeah…… That’s amazing.”

Muttering softly, Cadel arched his back, hands on his thighs. There was no longer a smile beneath his bowed head.

“You’re a hidden knight. It wants me to recruit you. The system seems to want you to be my ally.”

“Hidden knight, huh…….”

An inexplicable cold sweat broke out. Cadel wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at the Scarlet Dragon, Kunra, with a stony expression on his face. He seemed to be mulling over the words of the system that Cadel had delivered.

He wondered how the Scarlet Dragon would react. Would he be resentful of the system that classified him as just a ‘slightly special knight’? He might be making plans to fight against it, saying it was an unpleasant force.

It would have been better for him to classify the system as the enemy. It would be better if this damn system disappeared. Until now, what Cadel had been holding on to was not a rope. Nothing but rotten rope was burning, with hellfire rising from above and pillars of fire rising from below.

In the face of Cadel’s endless despair, Kunra’s reaction was to laugh. Cadel’s brow furrowed at the loud laughter that echoed through the cave.

“……What’s so funny?”

“That power seems to be classifying everything in this world in its own way. Very interesting. Does that mean that this one is a hidden character? As much as this one is happy to find that power, it seems that that power is also excited.”

It was an unexpectedly cheerful demeanor. At the sight of Kunra’s genuine joy, a dark emotion stirred within Cadel.

It was as if Kunra had tossed him aside like a failed piece of pottery, shattered him, and then rejoiced to find the gem inside. Cadel wished he had been willing to hear the truth, but he was not.

His attitude of treating all Cadel’s misfortunes as an amusement angered him beyond measure. It felt unfair. That Cadel was the only one offended by this stark truth.

“Do you enjoy that? To the system, you are just an accessory to the world it created. In my world, you’re just one of those flimsy characters who couldn’t fit in a deck of cards. Are you saying you don’t mind even if you know that fact? No matter how much power you have here, it’s all insignificant. Do you like that? Or are you just trying to avoid reality?”

Cadel’s words shot like poison, and Kunra’s face, which was filled with joy, spread cynicism. He sneered openly as if he knew what Cadel was talking about.

“What does that mean? If this world is just a delusion of your world, doesn’t that mean the opposite is also possible? Do you think your world is the only reality that exists? Even if this is a world spun out of someone’s imagination, nothing will change. Rather, it is fun and interesting. If this entire universe is a mere creation created by someone outside the universe, then nothing guarantees infinite imagination more than that.”

Kunra said bluntly, facing Cadel’s contorted face.

“If you want to live trapped in a small world, I won’t stop you. Most beings confine themselves to fleeting moments that are smaller than a world, and you can do the same, though you’ll lose the reward of a unique experience.”

“Don’t speak condescendingly.”

Cadel admitted that everything he said was a childish rant. Still, he didn’t want to break his spirit, he wanted to stand up to Kunra to the end, perhaps in defiance of the truth of what he was saying.

Instead of catering to the small human’s petty rebellion, Kunra slowly pushed himself to his feet. He swept a hand through his long hair and looked lazily at Cadel, who was propped up on his legs, unable to stand.

“I’ll consider it.”

“You’re not being condescending, right?”

“You are a narrow-minded person. I’m talking about the system’s recommendation.”

Recruiting a hidden knight was definitely a good thing for Cadel. Even better, it was the Scarlet Dragon. Obtaining the power of the Scarlet Dragon meant possessing combat power comparable to that of a thousand armies.

But Cadel didn’t look happy at all. Rather, he pursed his lips and avoided eye contact as if he wanted to refuse. At that transparent response, Kunra seemed to have his pride hurt even more than when the system classified him as a ‘hidden knight’.

“If they had seen you in the past, they would have cursed you for being a full-bellied human being.”

“……How long will you consider it? I need to get off this mountain as soon as possible. There is also a knight that needs to be brought in. Now that I think about it, if I bring that knight in, there won’t be any position for you.”

“Any way you look at it, I think it would be better to leave a place for me. Well, even if that is a problem, it doesn’t matter. We all have thoughts.”

Kunra looked into Cadel’s eyes, which showed his will to refuse at all costs, and grabbed his arm, pulling him upright.

“I will give you the answer until you leave the mountain.”

“……Please also promise not to touch us while we go down the mountain.”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking of me.”

Kunra didn’t like Cadel’s uneasy glare, which made him feel like he was somehow ruthless. After all, he was the only one who had told him the truth from start to finish.

What an ungrateful human being, he thought, dragging Cadel out of the cave.

“Your comrades are running wild in the mountains. Go back quickly and tell them to stop their rude behavior of breaking into other people’s houses.”