Merin stands in the throne room, his gaze heavy as it sweeps across the surroundings. His face is tense with worry. Because something happen
Merin stands in the throne room, his gaze heavy as it sweeps across the surroundings.
His face is tense with worry.
Because something happened halfway through the battle with the Black Flame Tribe's totem.
Even now, lingering fear grips his heart.
For the first time, he saw death closely.
Not the death of a clone.
Not the death of this body.
But true death—the death of his main body and all his incarnations.
Because in that moment, he saw someone touch the law of the dead.
The doors open.
Tillie enters, her steps unsteady, sweat dampening her face.
Her Dream Travel ability is gone.
Her extraordinary power has vanished.
And not just hers.
Every citizen in the Dream Kingdom has lost their strength.
Even Merin feels it.
The Divine Kingdom—the realm where divine essence flowed as the source of their power—has been sealed away.
Tillie bows low.
"Lord, I came from the border of the kingdom. Outside, on three sides, the land has turned into forest. To the south, a vast river cuts us off."
Merin's eyes narrow.
Tillie continues, her voice strained.
"Magic beasts are attacking the borders. For now, with our rune weapons and stored arsenal, we can hold them back. But…"
Merin leans forward.
"But?"
"Without extraordinary power, we can no longer forge new rune weapons or ammunition. The beasts attacking now are weak, but if stronger ones come… our fortresses will not hold."
Merin closes his eyes.
His spiritual sense spreads outward, yet it cannot grasp the new energy that blankets the world.
The old flow of essence has vanished.
Something new has taken its place, beyond his comprehension.
He opens his eyes.
"Bring me a magic beast. I will solve the problem of cultivation."
Tillie bows.
"Yes, Lord."
Yet she does not leave.
Merin notices, his brows furrowing.
"Do you have something to ask me?"
Tillie hesitates.
Her lips tremble before the words come.
"Sir… how strong was the being that changed the world?"
The throne room falls silent.
Time itself seems to stop.
Then, the world begins to rewind.
The present dissolves, flowing backwards into memory.
The battlefield returns.
Merin is once again standing before the Black Flame Totem, its molten mane raging across the sky—
And in that moment, Merin is gaining the upper hand.
But then his body freezes.
The battlefield dissolves.
In the next instant, he finds himself seated once more upon his throne.
Above, the sky darkens.
A hand covers everything.
Its shadow stretches across heaven and earth.
Merin feels death itself pressing down on him.
The weight is absolute.
The hand is not just a hand—it is the concept of death made manifest.
For the first time, he knows with certainty—
If the owner of that hand chooses to strike, he will die.
Not the death of his body.
Not the death of a clone.
But real death—complete erasure.
Yet the hand does not kill him.
Instead, the scenery shifts.
In a breath, Merin finds the Dream Kingdom itself displaced, moved to a land unknown.
His Divine Kingdom—the wellspring of dream essence, the source of all extraordinary power—has been sealed away.
Now the truth crashes into him.
Before, killing Merin meant entering his Divine Kingdom, striking his true body.
This divine vessel was only a clone, a shell he could create endlessly with divine essence.
But now, with the Divine Kingdom sealed, this body is his only body.
And destroying it means his final death.
Time returns.
The throne room stands before him again.
Tillie waits, her question still hanging in the air.
Merin speaks, his voice heavy.
"I am not even a speck of dust before beings like that."
Tillie trembles.
"Lord… then what is the purpose behind such a move?"
Merin shakes his head.
"Let us ponder that later. For now, we must overcome the difficulty before us."
He turns to her, his gaze sharp.
"Quickly. Bring me a magic beast."
Tillie bows deeply.
"Yes, Lord."
She turns and walks out of the room.
After she leaves, Merin shouts, "Guards!"
A guard steps inside and bows.
"My lord."
Merin's eyes remain fixed ahead.
"Call the cabinet ministers to meet me."
The guard nods once.
"Yes, my lord."
He turns and walks away.
Silence fills the hall.
Merin slowly lowers himself onto the throne.
His fingers tighten against the armrest as he ponders.
Should he cut his losses and leave?
The thought is sharp, almost convincing—
Until a voice sounds in his mind.
"If you leave, I will kill you."
Merin's heart freezes.
A cold weight sinks into his chest.
He draws in a deep breath.
"You are the one behind this."
The voice replies, calm and detached.
"Not me. My teacher."
Merin's jaw tightens.
"What do you want from me?"
"You will make the experiment interesting," the voice answers.
"And what are you afraid of? In the newly formed world, no one can kill you."
Merin frowns.
"Newly formed world?"
The voice clicks with amusement.
"I said too much. If you can be the final winner, you will gain an exceptional prize."
Then silence.
The presence fades as if it were never there.
Merin calls out with his mind again.
Once.
Twice.
Over and over.
But no answer comes.
A few minutes later, the cabinet ministers enter and bow.
Merin raises his head from thought and begins the discussion.
Without extraordinary power, the order of the kingdom has shifted.
Some citizens may begin to think differently; for now, all are equal.
The ministers seated before him are the most ambitious in the Dream Kingdom, yet none dare harbour other thoughts—
Because even now, they feel the crushing spiritual pressure flowing from Merin.
Extraordinary power has vanished.
But the pure spiritual force, the tempered body, the strength forged through endless years of blood and pain—those remain.
The mighty are still mighty.
Yet weakness has appeared.
They cannot recover as quickly, and should large numbers of ordinary people steel their resolve, even a powerful being could be slain.
The ministers know this truth.
And they also know something else.
To regain extraordinary power, they must rely on Merin.
None of them possesses the talent to craft a new practice system.
Only the totem can accomplish such a thing.
The meeting continues, voices weighing heavy matters.
Meanwhile, far from the Dream Kingdom, a violet dragon sweeps across the clouds.
Its wings tear through the sky like thunder.
It descends and lands on a vast platform carved into the mountain's heart, stone trembling under its weight.
The dragon walks forward, and with each heavy step its form shrinks and shifts—scales drawing inward, wings folding, claws smoothing into hands—until at last a tall woman stands in its place, her violet eyes glowing faintly like burning stars.
She steps into the cavern.
Inside, treasures beyond mortal imagination spill across the floor.
Mountains of gold and silver coins shimmer in the dim light.
Gems pulse faintly with mana, weapons gleam with runes that whisper to the air, tomes bound in dragonhide radiate ancient secrets.
And above all, upon the largest mound of gold, lies a colossal dragon—thrice her size, scales glimmering like fragments of the void itself.
The humanoid dragon bows her head.
"Mother, everything around us has changed."
The great dragon opens one glowing eye, the cavern trembling at its gaze.
"Nothing to do with us."
"Someone has formed a vast experimental field," the daughter presses, voice low.
"Mother, that someone has combined multiple micro planes into a single lower plane. I cannot believe they would not consider us part of the experiment."
The great dragon rumbles a deep growl that shakes the treasure piles.
"We are part of it, yes. But we are introduced only as variables. We can leave anytime we want."
"Then let us leave."
The daughter's words are sharp, but her eyes flicker with fear.
She remembers too clearly—sleeping upon the surface of an endless sea when a titanic hand reached down, clutching the entire plane and fusing it with countless others.
Only her bloodline, her nature as a Void Dragon, had allowed her to witness it in full.
"Not now," the great dragon answers.
"That being promised me a Void Gold Coin for every year I remain. I will not discard such a reward lightly."
Seeing her daughter's unease, she shifts the subject.
"You told me about the human whose body mimics our transformation."
"What about him?" the daughter narrows her eyes.
"He is also here. But now, he has become a divine creature."
The words crash into the cavern like thunder.
"What?" the daughter roars, voice shaking the gems from their resting places.
"Where is he?"
"Not yet," the great dragon replies calmly.
"First, you must familiarise yourself with the laws of this new world. When the time is right, I will send you."
The daughter hisses through her teeth, but restrains herself.
"Hm." She turns, her long violet hair sweeping behind her as she walks into another passage, disappearing deeper into the mountain.
The cavern stills.
The great dragon lays her head back upon the mound of gold, her voice echoing in the silence.
"The Void Shifter has gambled all his favour, all his treasure… even taken debts. If this experiment fails, he will drown in obligations that will bind him for millennia."
Her eyes gleam faintly as her tail shifts across the gold.
"So before I decide whether this experiment threatens the Void Dragon race… I must see it through."