According to the setting, in this state the dream god shouldn’t know he’s a god—not until awakening, at least. Hexin originally thought that using this character card would make him lose his memory for a while. He had even braced himself for the worst. But for some reason—maybe because of his multiple identities—he remembered everything clearly. Which… was honestly just awkward.

The dream god’s card showed no reaction. Looks like he had to follow the plotline for now and wait patiently for an opportunity to awaken.

At that moment, a squad of soldiers kicked open the door and stormed into the sleek, white room filled with sci-fi vibes. Embroidered on the collars of their uniforms were red wing insignias. Dozens of laser rifles were instantly trained on the man in the white lab coat. A few soldiers rushed in from behind, swiftly restraining the man and wrenching his arms behind his back, immobilizing him on the spot.

“Careful—he might be carrying corrosive chemicals or traps!”

They’d learned this from dealing with the other researchers in the facility. These scientists weren’t combat personnel, but some of them were mad geniuses—unpredictable and lethal. Several of their comrades had already been caught off guard.

One soldier flipped over the ID badge hanging from the man’s chest and went pale when he saw that he was an A-rank senior researcher.

But the fierce resistance they expected never came. In fact, the researcher didn’t even look at them—not once. His eyes were locked on a nearby vessel, as if he were witnessing something unimaginable. He didn’t react at all to being arrested.

The squad followed his gaze—and froze.

Inside the vessel, suspended in liquid, was a young boy.

He was wrapped in flowing white robes that drifted around him like mist and clouds, casting a dreamlike haze. His appearance was otherworldly—so beautiful it didn’t seem real. The longer you stared, the more it made your head spin. One moment, it was breathtaking. The next, it felt like you were lost in a sweet, hazy dream. It was hard to keep your thoughts straight.

The boy’s eyes met theirs through the glass, and suddenly, none of them could look away. It felt like being dragged into a mire—impossible to escape, yet strangely willing to sink.

The moment lasted no more than three seconds, but for the soldiers, it felt like three hours.

Then the boy frowned.

A sharp crack split the air—the vessel shattered as if struck by an invisible force. Fine fractures spiderwebbed across the surface before it burst with a loud crash. Glass shards and fluid exploded outward like a sudden downpour, showering the room. Razor-edged fragments skimmed past cheeks and skin, leaving behind thin trails of blood.

That finally snapped the soldiers out of their trance. All of them sucked in sharp breaths.

“Captain, that—!” One soldier’s voice trembled, spooked by how they’d just lost control. At the same time, his eyes kept flicking back to the boy despite himself—his instincts screamed not to, but it was hard to resist.

The one called “Captain” rubbed his temples and barked, “Must be some kind of psychic power targeting consciousness. Guard your minds! You’re supposed to be elite soldiers—look at you!”

But even he didn’t dare glance at Hexin again. Instead, he grabbed the researcher. “What’s this experiment? Who is that? What the hell have you people been doing here?!”

The researcher didn’t respond. His expression teetered on the edge of madness—half laughing, half crying—his face alight with fanatic devotion. “We did it… we really did it… a god—it’s a god…!”

He was clearly no longer sane. Muttering nonsense, completely unhinged. The captain gave up trying to question him and motioned for the others to cuff him.

On the other side, Hexin slowly withdrew the psychic force he had sent toward the researcher—or, as humans seemed to call it. This was his first time using mental power like this. If it weren’t for the dream god character, it would’ve felt completely foreign.

By now, Hexin more or less understood what was going on. Back when he, as the war god, had dismantled the Theological Council, he’d already sensed a familiar power in the experimental subjects dragged out from underground. Though no one had said it aloud, it was the power of the abyss.

This warped, chaotic, void-like darkness… whoever dared to tamper with that was doomed to be burned by their own fire.

Since the Theological Council’s headquarters had been destroyed, Hexin was likely now in one of its surviving research outposts. And he’d been turned into one of their experiments.

This experiment, of course, had failed. They’d never once succeeded—Hexin was the only exception.

Right now, he wasn’t the dream god in his prime. His appearance, powers, and everything else were far from complete. Only a minuscule trace—maybe one-billionth—of his aura was leaking out. Whether that was already considered strong among humans, he wasn’t sure.

Standing outside the broken vessel, Hexin’s robe—its material unknown—remained pristine and dry, floating lightly around him.

He tried to pull his unfamiliar mental power back in. Across the room, the tense soldiers suddenly found they could look at him properly again.

The captain raised a hand to stop anyone from raising weapons and slowly lifted his own hands in a gesture of peace, softening his voice. “Don’t be afraid. We’re here to help you. You’re free now—no one will hurt you again…”

The soldiers around him couldn’t help shooting him strange looks. This was the same guy who usually barked orders like a warhound—now talking like he was coaxing a frightened child.

But none of them could blame him.

Before they found Hexin, they’d already cleared out several labs. Every experimental subject they rescued had been unstable—aggressive and violent. Some even had strange powers, as dangerous as mutated creatures. Many had been injured in the clashes.

And this boy… even a passing glance revealed his stunning beauty. No one dared imagine what he’d grow into. If not for his special status, releasing him into the galaxy could make him an instant star—the kind that would drive billions mad with obsession.

If Hexin could read minds, he’d probably say: good thing you’ve never seen the dream god at his peak. Or worse—his older brother, the true source of all evil.

Hexin quickly slipped into character, putting on the dazed look of a newborn test subject fresh out of the tank. “You’re… here to save me?”

That face was lethal, too. Luckily, these were seasoned warriors with strong mental fortitude. Since Hexin hadn’t awakened yet, his presence was still within the bounds of human comprehension. They managed to keep their composure.

The captain exhaled in relief and extended a hand with a reassuring smile. “Of course. We’ll protect you.”

Hexin followed them.

Honestly, all his previous roles had been celebrated and worshipped, surrounded by glory and stardom. Thinking back now, he realized he’d never really taken the time to understand this world. Returning to a more “normal” perspective—even if only seemingly so—actually felt kind of… novel?

The captain left part of the team behind to mop up what remained. The facility had already been mostly cleared, just a few loose ends left. The rest of the unit returned to base.

Their so-called base turned out to be a massive warship—almost the size of a mechanical fortress. A swarm of ships, aircrafts, and fighter jets trailed behind it, all still reeking faintly of burnt gunpowder. It seemed they’d just come out of a large-scale battle—something far beyond what that lab could’ve put up.

On the way back, Hexin overheard a conversation through comms. Turned out “sweeping the lab” had just been a side task—their real mission was to combat abyssal variants. From the way they talked, Hexin gathered that this “Red Wing” unit was fairly well-known—an elite force with solid frontline credentials.

No one expected that Hexin, walking so far behind, could still pick up on what the captain at the front was saying. Then, out of nowhere, Hexin looked up—his gaze locking onto a flash of white streaking across the sky.

One of the younger soldiers who’d been secretly watching him couldn’t help leaning over. “That’s a celestial.”

The soldier noticed the slight change in Hexin’s expression and responded with complete understanding. After all, celestials were famous—divinely created and immensely powerful. Few ever got the chance to see one up close. It was only natural to be awestruck the first time.

Even he looked a little starry-eyed before sighing wistfully, “No wonder they’re considered the closest things to real gods. Man… I wonder when I’ll ever get to see a god with my own eyes…”

A teammate overheard and snorted, “Pfft, dream on.”

“Hey, don’t jinx it!” the young soldier grumbled. “You never know! If I can’t win a hundred-billion jackpot, can’t I at least wish?”

The two began bickering playfully, causing a noisy stir among the troops. But no one seemed bothered—it was obvious that after completing a major task, the atmosphere had lightened significantly. Spirits were high.

When the team finally reached the warship, the captain gave a short cough—and everyone instantly snapped to attention. The rapid mood switch amused Hexin, who chose to ignore all the quiet, curious glances being thrown his way.

After verifying their fingerprints and iris scans, the gates slowly opened. But what greeted them inside made everyone’s face change.

The captain barked, “What’s going on?!”

Several people in nurse uniforms rushed over. “It’s the earlier batch of test subjects! We were supposed to run physical exams on them, but none of them are cooperating. It’s chaos in there—the vice captain and the others are discussing whether to use force.”

Hexin could feel the approaching disturbance through the floor. Just as he was about to say something, a distorted humanoid figure suddenly burst around the corner, shrieking as it charged toward the entrance.

The figure still bore a vaguely human form—but parts of it were twisted and inhuman. A thick, amphibian-like tail trailed behind it. All its limbs were bound in specialized shackles, but it had forced its way out through sheer brute strength.

The soldiers near the door immediately drew their guns. The nurses screamed, but were quickly shielded by the nearest guards.

Hexin could feel a soul-rending pain radiating from the creature—a mental scream of agony. The vertical pupils that didn’t belong to any human species swept past him—and then froze. In the next breath, the creature launched itself at him, unbothered by the blood streaming from the chafing of its shackles.

Hexin frowned, releasing a thread of spiritual power to probe gently forward. Just before it made contact, a tranquilizer dart shot out from the side and hit the creature first, dropping it instantly.

Hexin looked toward the direction the dart had come from.

A new group was approaching. Leading them was a man in uniform—presumably the vice captain—but Hexin’s attention was caught by someone else among them. A man in a white lab coat.

That face—Hexin narrowed his eyes slightly. It was all too familiar.

This group swiftly dragged the unconscious subject away. Then, spotting Hexin, they all paused in surprise.

“That’s…”

“Is he the new one?” The man in the white coat stepped forward, his voice low and smooth—carrying a strange cadence.

He clearly held authority. Everyone around him instinctively went silent.

The man’s face was flawless—strikingly handsome, with an inscrutable curve tugging at the corner of his lips. Behind his glasses, a pair of lead-gray eyes stared through a faint mist, unreadable.

Yet something within that fog was beginning to stir—twisting, feverish, like it wanted to consume everything in its path.

He locked eyes with Hexin.

Hexin, expression unchanged, met his gaze calmly for a moment before turning away, casually asking the captain, “Who’s that?”

The captain hesitated, assuming Hexin was just nervous. “That’s the military’s consulting doctor. Very skilled. He’s one of us.”

Hexin: …yeah right, “one of us” my ass.

“The previous batch of subjects has already been processed. Let me take this one,” the man said, lowering his gaze to meet Hexin’s. The corners of his lips curled into a cryptic smile. “Come on. Let’s get you checked out.”