* * *

The place he arrived at was the entrance to the cave. Cadel narrowed his eyes as he stared at the deep darkness before him.

‘……It’s hot.’

He could feel the heat. A hot gust of wind was blowing from the depths of the cave, so intense that simply standing there caused his skin to burn with heat.

It was certain that Kunra was inside. Even so, Cadel hesitated, unable to step in right away. He instinctively sensed that something unusual was happening.

“Kunra.”

He called his name softly, but the only response was a chilling wind. Swallowing dryly, Cadel slowly took a step forward. Fearing that he might get burned by stepping in without protection, he made sure to don his scale armor.

“Kunra, you’re inside, right?”

To brighten his dark vision, he summoned a ball of fire and called out to him in a nervous voice. As he ventured deeper into the cave, the heat only intensified. Cadel endured the suffocating warmth, gradually increasing his pace.

As the number of fireballs he conjured grew, a red energy spread across the walls of the cave like veins. It felt as if he had entered the body of a monster. Frowning, Cadel began to sprint.

“Kunra! Where are you?!”

As he rushed forward, scanning the interior of the cave, Cadel’s expression shifted to one of shock.

“Kunra!”

Where his gaze landed, deep within the cave, Kunra was crouched in agony, entangled with the fiery red energy. Cadel rushed to him, shaking his body.

“Kunra, Kunra! Get a hold of yourself! Why are you in this state……?”

His body was burning hot, literally like a ball of fire. The heat was so intense that it felt as if he might catch fire at any moment. Cadel could barely touch him, only managing to make contact by layering his scale armor with an additional barrier.

Kunra swayed weakly in response to Cadel’s touch. As Cadel brushed aside his disheveled hair, a contorted face was revealed. He looked like someone trapped in an inescapable nightmare, unable to even open his eyes, writhing in pain.

Cadel slapped his cheek and forced his upper body upright, leaning him against the wall. As he propped up his slumped head, he could feel Kunra’s hot breath on his palm.

‘What should I do? What can I do……?’

Should he have brought Garuel? Even if Cadel had brought him, would he have been able to treat Kunra? How could he treat the Scarlet Dragon, who was not even human? Cadel had no idea how to handle this. He didn’t even know how Kunra ended up in this state.

‘Is this the work of the system? But I haven’t done anything recently to upset the system. There’s no reason for the system to torment Kunra!’

Kunra, who had always been in a position of strength, now appeared so weak that it instantly shattered Cadel’s composure. Unable to act, he was left floundering helplessly before Kunra.

‘Is there no way? Is there anything that could help…… just a little?’

Seeing Kunra gasp for breath, as though he might pass out at any moment, made Cadel anxious. His face was full of worry as he scanned the interior of the cave. As he lit up various corners with fireballs, a small space in the far corner caught his eye.

“That place……”

It was a spot where Kunra often went to retrieve his belongings.

‘I remember when I first met Kunra, he went there to get alcohol.’

He recalled how the cool drink had quickly replenished his vitality. If he could find that, maybe it could help cool Kunra’s burning heat.

Cautiously brushing Kunra’s cheek, Cadel quickly stood up. As he squeezed into the space he had noticed, he found it was bigger than he had expected.

Cadel quickly scanned the stone shelves, searching for something. Soon, he spotted a familiar crystal bottle and quickly gathered several of them, then exited the small space.

“Why did this happen to you……?”

Kunra’s face, pale like a wax doll, twisted in agony. His disheveled state was far from what Cadel wanted to see. Carefully, he opened the bottle and poured the liquid inside, anxiously watching Kunra’s condition.

He used wind mana to cool the sweat from Kunra’s brow and called his name repeatedly, even when there was no answer. He tended to him with all the care he could muster.

After his devoted efforts, Kunra’s eyes slowly opened. Fumbling, he reached out, trying to recognize Cadel’s face. When his dry, cracked voice called out Cadel’s name, Cadel hurriedly cupped his cheek.

“It’s me, Kunra. Are you feeling better?”

“……Why are you here?”

“Is that really important right now? I came looking for you because you weren’t responding, and then I found you collapsed here! Do you know how worried I was?”

Kunra blinked several times, slowly regaining his breath as though coming back to reality. As he regained his senses, the overwhelming heat that had filled the cave gradually subsided, and the erratic energy that had been spiraling out of control began to recede back into his body.

Once Kunra had quickly regained his composure, he still held Cadel’s hand, which was gently cupping his cheek, and gazed at Cadel’s face, which was filled with concern.

“I told you, you don’t need to worry about me.”

“Is that really something you should be saying right now?”

“……”

“Is this because of the system? Is that what’s causing you to be like this?”

At Cadel’s worried question, Kunra’s gaze darkened. He stared at Cadel silently for a moment, and then spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.

“It’s all my fault.”

“……What?”

“It’s all my fault.”

“Why are you suddenly saying this? I gave you some alcohol earlier, but are you drunk or something?”

Even though Cadel asked in disbelief, Kunra remained indifferent. He gently pulled Cadel’s hand down, his empty eyes lowering. Kunra, who had just regained his senses, now seemed like a completely different being. He appeared drained, as though all his energy had been sucked out of him.

“Why are you like this, Kunra? You’re making me anxious.”

Cadel pulled his hand away from Kunra’s weak grip. Had he regained some strange memory? What kind of memory could make the once arrogant Scarlet Dragon appear like this?

His heart beat uncomfortably, skipping with an unpleasant rhythm. A sense of foreboding filled the air, pressing down heavily on his entire body. In the heavy silence, Cadel waited patiently. After some time, Kunra slowly spoke again.

“I am a failure.”

It was a statement Cadel never expected to hear from him. Words that seemed to carry true emotion, spoken in a dry, almost indifferent tone, made Cadel stare at him, speechless.

* * *

Once a memory surfaced, it broke free like a collapsed dam, tearing down the barriers that had kept the truth hidden. Kunra was the one and only god of this world.

He loved his world. He loved the beating nature, the living plants and animals, humans, and even the demons within it. Though sometimes displeased by the discord they created, to Kunra, who had lived an eternal life, such complaints were fleeting moments.

Even if he cared for them endlessly, and loved them for a lifetime, it seemed he would never grow tired of it. That was, until he arrived — until the arrival of the ‘god of another world’. Kunra’s life had been abundant with harmony and love.

That god had no name. He had no true form, and when he was first discovered, he was merely mimicking the shape of Kunra. One day, he suddenly appeared and looked upon Kunra’s world. Without hesitation, he spoke to the wary Kunra.

[I’m traveling through many worlds. Do you know how many worlds exist in this universe, in this endless multitude of dimensions?]

“I don’t know. It’s intriguing, but I have no intention of leaving my world to satisfy a small curiosity. I also have no desire to entertain an unwelcome guest.”

[I’m not an unwelcome guest.]

“Of course, you would say that.”

[I am an invader.]

“……?”

[A devourer of worlds, a hedonist who enjoys the souls within them, an addict drunk on indulgence, and……]

The absolute being of all these dimensions. He arrogantly referred to himself as the ‘absolute being’ with a voice devoid of any laughter.

Kunra didn’t even scoff. Meeting a god from another world, confirming the existence of another world — it was all a first for him. Yet, this unwelcome guest before him was clearly out of his mind.

“A devourer of worlds? What? Whatever. You’re just a fighting pig. So, are you saying you’ve come across dimensions to invade my world?”

[That title doesn’t suit me.]

“What’s the point of arguing over it?”

Even though he claimed to be a traveler, the being was unwelcome. For Kunra, the presence of such a powerful foreign entity intruding on the world he protected was a source of great unease.

He moved closer to the ‘invader’ that resembled him. His face, devoid of expression, was like a doll, and simply looking at it filled Kunra with an odd sense of discomfort.

“Are you challenging me to a fight? This isn’t your world. A mere child like you, who can’t even show his true power……”

So rude, so arrogant. Kunra wanted to teach this rookie invader his place. But before he could finish his sentence……

[I have gathered the souls of countless worlds.]

Kunra’s body, which had not been touched by anything, was suddenly knocked back by a force so intense it felt like a shell had struck him. His body was flung, bent at an odd angle, and shot through the dense forest, carving a straight path.

Kunra couldn’t even comprehend the situation as he crashed through dozens of tree trunks. The incessant voice of the invader echoed in his ears, scattering his sense of reality.

[The souls, I have brought them into my world and scattered them across the land. My creations have continuously blossomed in joy, and I have been greatly satisfied. As long as their joy does not dry up, their souls will never die. If I gather even more souls, my world will be filled with even greater joy, and I will grow stronger.]

Kunra, barely managing to open his wings, struggled to regain his footing, fighting against the recoil. As he caught his breath, something hot trickled from his lips. Reflexively, he wiped his mouth, and his hand was stained with a red liquid. Blood.

A flicker of uncertainty flashed in Kunra’s eyes as he noticed the vivid bloodstains.

[To gather the souls of worlds, a guardian’s guidance is required. Only the guardians of worlds know the location of the souls. Therefore, hand over the souls to me, small world’s guardian, Kunra.]

“……You’re making a lot of noise with nonsense. I have no intention of letting my world become your pitiful amusement.”

[The world without a guardian becomes prey for countless invaders. Don’t expect them to rule the world in your way. However, I will respect your method. I only wish to fully enjoy this world.]

“Are you saying I can’t understand because we rule different worlds?”

[No. It’s because you have yet to feel the difference in power.]

The difference in power. The invader casually scratched Kunra’s pride. As he said, Kunra was the guardian of this world, and also the sole absolute being. He had never experienced defeat, and such an experience should not have been possible for him.

If someone were to mention a difference in power to him, it would be because they feared Kunra’s superiority.

But……

“Ugh……!”

[If you remain satisfied and stay in one place, you will never grow. Even a god is no different.]

With a simple gesture, a light movement, the invader overwhelmed Kunra. An intangible force gnawed at his body at an uncontrollable speed.

The once magnificent wings were torn apart in an instant, and the scales that were impervious to anything turned to dust. Kunra couldn’t even read the invader’s movements. This invader, who looked exactly like him, with an eerie, emotionless face, relentlessly pressed Kunra without pause.

The flames that could burn half the world, the claws that could pierce a mountain, the energy that governed the flow of the world — against the invader, they were all useless. Kunra’s attacks couldn’t even leave a scratch on him.

‘This is impossible. This…… can’t be happening.’

As the blood spilled more and more, and the kind of pain he had never felt before took hold, Kunra could sense, for the first time, the feeling of ‘fear’.

He couldn’t lose here. It wasn’t just because of a trivial fear of the defeat he had never experienced.

If he lost, this world — the world he had loved and cherished more than anything — would become someone’s toy. It would dance like a puppet to someone else’s amusement, endlessly.

Such a thing could not be allowed. He had to stop that dreadful catastrophe, no matter what it took.

— Or so he vowed.

[Do you want to protect it?]

He had lost. The fight lasted no more than ten minutes. The mountain range that had risen during their struggle became a flat plain, and the once blue sky turned blood-red. Kunra’s blood spread across the vast land like an ocean.

Kunra felt his life quickly fading. The energy from his body drained away, and a dizzying sense of despair filled the void left behind.

[You have lost. And yet, do you still wish to protect it? ……Answer me, weak god of the small world. Do you wish for your world to continue existing?]

“I would give everything I have to protect it.”

Sometimes, when he heard the desperate prayers of humans, he had thought about how fleeting their brief lives and desperate wishes were. He had pondered it calmly. But now, Kunra was more desperate than anyone in this world.

To protect the small, fleeting hopes of humans, of all life. He, too, was desperate, praying for mercy.

His pride had long been discarded. He couldn’t even raise his head. Fearful of the disaster that could strike at any moment, he begged, willing to offer anything in exchange, just to be spared.

At least, there was one thing to be thankful for — the god from another world seemed to take pleasure in watching the arrogant rookie realize his limits and crumble.

[Then, offer me the soul of this world. I will indulge in the souls of your world, and my own will revel in the suffering of this world.]

“……”

[So, you must cast aside all memories, and assist me — and my own — in enjoying your world. If you do so, I will overlook your defeat.]

The invader spoke of taking half the world’s soul and absorbing it into his own world in a ‘special form’. In this way, the two worlds would be linked, and he planned to alter the flow of this world so that ‘his own’ could experience greater pleasure. He also declared that, in order to ensure the flow remained intact, he would periodically send one of ‘his own’ to act as an ‘overseer’.

Until a satisfactory level of pleasure was achieved, unsatisfactory timelines would be used as experimental fodder, ultimately discarded. A world that has had half its soul taken cannot regenerate.

The amount of timelines that once governed the world, when it was a single, complete soul, would no longer increase. Simply put, the more the timelines were deleted, the fewer the number of future timelines that could be granted.

If the invader’s world remained unsatisfied and sought even greater pleasures for too long, this world would lose all possibility and be completely destroyed.

Even knowing all of this, Kunra made a deal with the invader. It was born of his inherent arrogance that he could not discard even in the face of defeat. He believed that even if he lost his memories through a deal with the invader, he would be able to recover them with his own power.

It was a foolish choice. In the end, the reason he regained his memories was due to the influence of the invader — now the system. From the moment he woke up, he was already a loser. Even though he regained his memories and understood the truth, most of the plans he had put into motion before losing them were no longer feasible.

He had lost too many timelines for too long. All that remained was his ignorance and arrogance as if he were still the absolute ruler of the world.

With the return of his memories came the overwhelming despair he had long buried. Kunra looked at the human before him. Once, he had considered him his only hope, but now, he was nothing more than an ‘overseer’ of another world.

“I…… I cannot defeat the system. Its power will never leave this world. So, you should give up too. The system will not disappear until this world completely collapses.”

He felt no desire. The despair that had been buried so deep, it had gone unnoticed, was steadily gnawing at his roots.