I sailed across the calm ocean. The cold sea breeze hit my face, feeling like a whisper from another dimension. The waves rolled, reflecting the moonlight on the dark surface of the water. I didn't need a boat, but I built one. Not because I needed it, but because I wanted this feeling, the sensation I had when I was still human. A sensation I had long forgotten.
Imagine your life as a large photo album. Each photo in it is a memory of every moment you've ever experienced, from childhood until now. When you look at this photo album, you don't just see pictures; you also feel the journey through time. There are sweet memories that make you smile, and there are also bitter memories that might make you a little sad. Just like a photo album, remembering the past is a way to appreciate the journey of your life. You can see how far you have come and learn from every experience within it.
"Libertas, remind me of the probability for this project?"
How ironic, it's even smaller than Rimuru's 3.14% and feels infuriating. It's like seeing a small piece of cake in your hand, and then seeing another small piece of cake in your friend's hand. You don't feel jealous because your friend's piece is slightly bigger. You feel annoyed because you realize that of the entire large and delicious cake, you only got a barely visible portion.
This journey is a big gamble, a step that could end everything or transform me into a higher entity. 'Chaos Dragon.' Just thinking of the name makes my spiritual core tremble. This is my greatest experiment. If it succeeds, I'll have the key to perfecting my evolution. If it fails, I will vanish, and everything I've built will return to nothingness.
It's like a programmer who has spent years building a very complex program. Every line of code they wrote is knowledge, every function is an achievement, and every bug they fixed is a valuable lesson. This program is a representation of everything they have mastered. Now, they've found the final line of code that will perfect their program, transforming it into something unrivaled and efficient. However, this code is very sensitive. If the code works, their program will evolve, becoming something more than they ever imagined. Everything they have built will reach its highest potential. If the code fails, it will create a fatal error. Their entire program will be corrupted, and all the lines of code they have built will return to meaningless blank data.
I glanced behind me. Umbra, as I've named It, has been listening to me. I sense it presence from a distance, through the spiritual bond we share. It is the only being in this world whom I've given a name. The only being I see not as a tool, but as... something else. I remember our last conversation. "If I don't return this time... stay alive." These words didn't come from my logic, but from my deepest emotions.
In recent decades, I considered emotions a weakness, an inefficient variable. But now, I realize that emotions are what connect everything in this world. I wonder if I'm too extreme? I don't have a name. I don't have a gender. I don't have emotions. I'm a being who randomly reincarnated into this world. Yet, as Rimuru said, to become a true Demon Lord, I need 10,000 human souls. A concept that I find very strange. Why human souls? Why not monster souls? What makes human souls so special?
My journey is filled with caution. Since the incident with the Dryad, I realized that I can't move recklessly. This world is filled with entities far more powerful than me, entities that could obliterate me with a single attack. I activated my Concealment mode. I adjusted my magical energy waves to align with the frequency of the ocean, making me undetectable. It was a tactic I learned from a previous life—hiding in plain sight.
However, no matter how perfect my camouflage is, I know I can't let my guard down. Because in this world, nothing is perfect, not even the God who created it. I don't know where the other Demon Lords are. They are beings who have lived for countless years, and they surely have the ability to see through all forms of illusions. I feel like a treasure thief trying to sneak into a treasure chamber guarded by a sleeping dragon. If the dragon wakes up, I will vanish.
A squadron of Pegasus Knights moved in a rhythmic formation across the sky, filling my view. "Dwargon Pegasus Knights? What are they doing here?" In the midst of the group, I sensed a presence. A presence so strong it made my body tremble. That presence didn't hide its aura. Instead, it let its aura overflow aimlessly. "Gazel or Guran?" I muttered to myself, clenching my fist. It doesn't matter who it is, but is my strength only this much that I feel fear? I immediately steered my boat away from that presence. It was a simple yet effective tactic. I didn't want to face him now.
After one week of travel, I arrived near the Canaat Mountains. The mountains were shrouded in thick fog, and the air felt cold and heavy. I could sense a dense magical energy, energy that didn't come from nature, but from a living being. I made my boat vanish with a wave of my hand, then activated my strongest camouflage mode. My body became intangible, like a shadow floating in the air. I couldn't take any risks.
The journey into these mountains felt like sneaking into a tiger's den. Everywhere, I saw sleeping dragons. Some of them were so enormous they made me feel small and insignificant. I floated among the dragons, moving slowly and carefully. I didn't want to make a sound. Every step I took had to be perfect. Finally, I arrived in front of a seal. The seal was carved into the cave wall, emitting a faint light. From that seal, I could feel an energy so dense, so chaotic, so powerful. "Chaos Dragon..." I whispered, and my spiritual core trembled. This is the end of my journey. And this is the beginning of my greatest experiment.
I stood before the ancient seal, a magical formation carved into the cave wall, emitting a faint light. The air felt cold and heavy, filled with a suffocating spiritual pressure. From the cracks of the seal, I could feel an energy so dense, so chaotic, so powerful. This is an entity that has no soul or consciousness, only pure chaos bound by a supreme power. I activated Libertas, scanning every detail of the seal.
I ignored the warning. I didn't intend to destroy the seal. My goal was to create a small gap, a gap big enough to allow the Chaos Dragon's essence to escape, but not big enough for Milim to sense it. I took a breath. This would be the most dangerous part of my mission.
"Libertas, help me if any errors occur during the process."
I focused all my energy, manifesting my Manipulator for the last time. I didn't use it to attack or control, but to manipulate the energy around the seal. I was like a surgeon trying to move internal organs without touching them. Every movement felt difficult. The energy flow from the seal was chaotic, unpredictable, and very difficult to control. But, I didn't give up. I kept manipulating, searching for a gap, until finally, I found one. A small gap, the size of a needle.
This is my chance!
Using my Manipulator, I changed the frequency of my magical energy to match the Chaos Dragon's energy, then transformed my body into a collection of energy. Then, I entered it. The process happened so fast that the seal didn't react.
Inside the seal, I saw a ferocious dragon with many horns, unmoving like a statue. I felt a tremendous shockwave. It wasn't a physical shockwave, but a spiritual one. It felt like something was trying to destroy my soul, burning it from the inside, eroding every part of me. It was chaos. What a tremendous power. I closed my eyes, focusing all my strength to withstand the attack. I let the chaos flow into me, feeling every particle of it.
It's time to begin this experiment.
"Libertas, prepare, monitor, and report every detail that occurs during this experiment."
"If I can't control this chaos, let this chaos control you." I murmured.
Staring at the Chaos Dragon in front of me felt like finding money on the side of the road. All the past failures and near-fatal wounds pushed me to this point—the final gamble. "I will not fail again," I muttered, my voice emotionless yet filled with determination.
With one breath, I began to draw energy from the Chaos Dragon, penetrating the Gravitational Field around the creature. My body felt turbulent, and an indescribable pain exploded in every part of me. Damn it, is this what my test subjects feel every time I forcibly evolve them? My pain immunity is useless. This isn't physical pain, but the pain of my existence being forcibly pulled and reshaped. The skill Calm Mind forced me to remain calm even though the pain I felt was excruciating. The cold, mechanical voice of Libertas echoed in my mind:
"Do it, Libertas! I allow you to use Manipulator as needed!"
The pain peaked. My body and spiritual essence, which had been forged through battles and evolution, were destroyed, then grew back, over and over. I felt as if my mind was splitting, between reality and nothingness. The screams of pain didn't come from my mouth, but inside my mind.
But I couldn't respond. My entire consciousness was focused on the burning pain. In the midst of the suffering, another voice emerged—deeper, as if echoing throughout the universe. It was the Voice of the World.
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The Voice of the World? Is it trying to help me or have I met a certain requirement? No, that's not it. It's not important. I have to survive this dangerous situation.
"Libertas!! Libertas!!" I said urgently in my mind, "Intervene using Manipulator at maximum capacity!!! Forcibly combine the entire essence of the Chaos Dragon into my essence. No matter the risk to my body. Do it now!" Now is the real gamble. I hope this works.
The pain I felt was driving me insane. Arghhhh... This is bad, my consciousness is starting to become distorted, my mind is in chaos.
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My entire body felt like it was being pulled into an abyss, and my consciousness faded. I sank into emptiness, as if time had stopped. Second by second, day by day, year by year, I felt trapped between reality and death, where pain was my only companion.
After an immeasurable amount of time, a strange sensation began to return. First, a feeling of coldness. Then, a feeling of warmth. My consciousness slowly returned, but something happened in the next second where I immediately lost control of my own body and my consciousness fell silent again.
He (not me) opened his eyes. No longer white, they now glowed with a cold, soulless red light. He stood up. His body and face were now more human-like but still retained monstrous characteristics, with dark-colored scales on his body. His old green and dark blue aura was now a gloomy black-purple—the color of Chaotic Energy. Long black hair reached his waist with dragon-like horns on his head. Wide wings behind him made him even more intimidating.
However, Libertas's voice was no longer heard. All that was left was a whisper inside him, a voice that was not his own. Destroy!! Kill!! The whisper commanded him to destroy, to take, to dominate. He stretched out his hand. The claws felt sharper, more deadly. A roar echoed, full of rage and uncontrolled power.