A few years had passed.
On a beautiful night, the moon shone brightly over the kingdom, surrounded by countless stars. A cold wind drifted through the air, brushing softly against the castle walls. Everything looked peaceful… almost too peaceful.
The King stood alone on the balcony, staring into the vast silence of the night.
"The beauty and silence of nature… feels like danger tonight," he muttered to himself, a hint of unease slipping into his voice.
He exhaled sharply, trying to steady his thoughts. "I was just a drunk man… how am I supposed to give a speech in front of thousands of people… and all those criminals I captured?"
A bitter sigh escaped him.
"Actually…" he continued, eyes narrowing, "the one who caught all of them was Strange Man. Yet he never showed himself. He gave me all the credit… for something I didn't even do."
His hand slowly clenched into a tight fist.
"Whatever his plan is… if it ever threatens my kingdom or me, I will hunt him down at any cost."
But the confidence in his words faded quickly.
"Still…" he whispered more nervously now, "why did he choose me to give this speech? And he said he would send more people… but the strange thing is—he usually captures a criminal around this time… yet nothing has happened."
The silence answered him back.
He sighed again, heavier this time.
Suddenly—
A hand touched his back.
The King flinched in shock and turned around quickly.
Behind him stood the same boy who had once been saved from slavery by Strange Man. In his hand was a sealed letter.
Before the King could speak, the boy vanished without a word, as if he had never been there at all.
The King stared at the empty space for a moment, unsettled.
"I don't know who that boy really is…" he murmured, slowly lowering his gaze to the letter, "but he always appears on Strange Man's side… bringing messages… telling me what I need to do."
After a pause, he didn't open the letter.
Instead, he simply turned away, walked back inside the castle, and went to sleep—carrying the unanswered questions with him into the night.
The Morning of Judgment
The next morning…
The entire kingdom gathered.
Villagers… nobles… prisoners in chains… even shadows hiding among the crowd—
All stood beneath the open sky, waiting.
Waiting to hear the words of their king.
A cold wind passed through the massive assembly, carrying whispers of curiosity… doubt… and hidden intent.
Then—
The King arrived.
He stepped onto the grand stage, his royal cloak swaying behind him. Thousands of eyes locked onto him at once.
Some filled with hope.
Some with hatred.
Some… waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
The King took a deep breath.
This is it…
He slowly unfolded the letter in his hand.
And froze.
Nothing.
Not a single word was written.
His fingers trembled.
A drop of sweat rolled down his temple.
His mind went blank.
Was this a mistake…? No… this is his doing…
The silence grew heavy.
Unbearable.
Then, forcing a smile, the King spoke—
"…I have nothing to say to you all."
A pause.
"…Have a good day."
For a second—
Silence.
Then chaos exploded.
"FRAUD KING!!"
"YOU MOCK US?!"
"DOWN WITH THE KING!!"
"DIE!!"
Anger spread like wildfire. The crowd turned into a storm, voices crashing against the stage.
Guards tightened their grip.
Hidden assassins prepared to move.
The King stood still—
So this… was the outcome…
But then—
A voice.
Loud.
Dominant.
It cut through the chaos like a blade.
"FOOLS… STOP."
The entire crowd froze.
Even the wind seemed to halt.
That voice continued—
"You came to hear a speech… and it was delivered exactly on time."
Murmurs spread.
Confusion replaced rage.
"Our King… is wise."
"Our King… is kind."
"If he had spoken for hours, your time would have been wasted."
A pause.
Each word landed deeper than the last.
"So he chose silence."
"To save your time."
"To observe you."
The crowd slowly calmed.
"He didn't just look at the villagers…"
"He looked at the nobles."
"…and even the criminals."
A shift.
The prisoners raised their heads.
"To see if justice was real… or just a lie."
"To see if his people lived with dignity…"
"…or suffered in silence."
The voice softened—
"And for that… you should be grateful."
Then, like a command that echoed through hearts—
"Long live the King."
Silence.
Then—
"LONG LIVE THE KING!!"
The shout erupted from every direction.
Stronger than before.
Louder than before.
Even the prisoners… began to cry.
Chains rattled as some fell to their knees.
From the shadows—
The hidden assassins stepped forward.
Not with blades—
But with bowed heads.
They knelt before the King.
The storm had turned into loyalty.
The King slowly closed his eyes.
A faint smile appeared.
"…So this was your plan…"
"…to place trust inside their hearts…"
He didn't need to see him.
He already knew.
Strange Man…
A New Era Begins
From that day on—
The King was no longer just a ruler.
He became—
The Wise King.
The Ideal King.
Even the feared Rabal Gang surrendered…
And chose to stand under his banner.
From Afar…
Far away, hidden beyond sight—
A lone figure watched.
The Strange Man.
A faint smile crossed his face.
"The outcome… exceeded my expectations."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"But…"
"…this is only the beginning."
Present — The Zero Dimension
Rahat's voice shattered the silence.
"You're wasting my time!"
His eyes burned with frustration.
"This is just some tragic story you're telling!"
The Strange Man remained calm.
Silent.
Unmoved.
Rahat stepped forward—
"What am I supposed to do with this past?!"
"You said I'd find my answers!"
SLAP—
The sound echoed sharply.
Rahat froze.
Lucy stood before him—
Eyes cold. Expression deadly.
"You will listen."
Her voice was calm… but absolute.
"He hasn't finished."
A step closer.
"And when he does…"
Her gaze pierced through Rahat.
"You'll understand everything you've been searching for."
Silence.
Rahat clenched his fists…
But said nothing.
Behind her—
The Strange Man smiled.
Not loudly.
Not proudly.
Just… knowingly.
And Once Again…
The past begins to unfold.
The king walked alone through a raging sandstorm.
Golden grains clawed at his skin, the wind howling like a beast that had long forgotten mercy.
His steps, however, did not falter.
"I still don't understand…" he whispered, his voice nearly swallowed by the storm.
"What was that strange man thinking?"
His mind drifted back—
To that moment.
The Strange Man stood before him, calm as ever, holding three radiant treasures—each one carrying an ancient, sacred aura.
"Take these," he had said.
"And begin your journey to the West. Walk straight. Do not stop. No matter what happens… keep walking."
The king had frowned. "And these treasures?"
A faint smile.
"They will ensure your body does not fail you. No exhaustion. No harm."
—
The king let out a slow breath in the present.
"He was right…" he muttered.
Despite the endless storm…
Despite walking for what felt like days—
He felt nothing.
No fatigue.
No pain.
Only confusion.
"But then… why am I walking like this?"
The question lingered—
And then—
He stopped.
The storm… disappeared.
Silently.
As if it had never existed.
The king's eyes widened.
Without realizing it…
He had crossed into something else.
Another dimension.
A dead one.
The sky above was colorless, cracked like shattered glass.
The ground was littered with ruins—collapsed structures, broken remnants of what once might have been civilizations.
And bodies.
Everywhere.
Lifeless. Rotting. Forgotten.
No movement.
No sound.
No life.
Only an endless, suffocating rain fell from above—cold, heavy, unnatural.
A thick fog coiled around everything, as if the dimension itself was trying to hide its own decay.
"…What is this place…?" the king whispered, a rare tremor in his voice.
It didn't feel like destruction.
It felt… corrupted.
As if something far beyond human comprehension had consumed this entire world.
Something… supreme.
The king forced himself forward, each step heavier than before—not from exhaustion, but from fear pressing against his very soul.
Then—
He saw it.
A house.
Standing alone amidst the ruins.
Untouched.
Unnatural.
He froze.
"…Why does it feel like…"
"…this was meant to be my destination?"
As if guided by an invisible force, he approached it.
The door creaked open the moment he touched it.
He stepped inside—
—and everything changed.
The king's breath caught in his throat.
It was another dimension.
Again.
But this one…
Was not dead.
It was beautiful.
Crystals rose from the ground like forests, shimmering with blinding brilliance. Diamonds reflected endless lights across the space, creating an illusion of infinite stars.
But when he looked up—
There were no stars.
The sky was a deep, suffocating red.
Veins of purple light stretched across it like cracks in reality itself.
No sun.
No moon.
No life.
Only… something watching.
"…This place…" he whispered.
Even beauty here felt wrong.
Twisted.
The king walked forward slowly, his senses on edge.
Then—
He stopped.
Before him stood a crystal.
Unlike the others.
It glowed.
Softly.
Yet overwhelmingly.
As if it held something within it—
Something alive.
Something aware.
Suddenly—
A crushing pressure descended upon him.
His knees trembled.
His breath grew heavy.
Every instinct screamed at him—
Leave.
Now.
It wasn't fear.
It was domination.
As if his very existence was being rejected by this place.
The king clenched his teeth.
"…So this is what he meant…"
The Strange Man's final words echoed in his mind.
"No matter what happens… keep moving forward."
With trembling hands, the king raised a finger—
—and sliced it open.
A single drop of blood fell.
It touched the glowing crystal.
—
Silence.
Absolute.
The pressure—
Gone.
The world—
Still.
Even time itself seemed to hesitate.
Then—
The crystal cracked.
A faint sound.
Like a heartbeat.
From within the light…
A figure began to form.
Human.
Just like him.
Standing before the king—
As if it had always been there.
Watching.
Waiting.
And now—
Awakened.
The king froze.
Standing before him—
Was himself.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same presence.
But empty.
No emotion.
No breath.
No soul.
A perfect reflection… stripped of life.
His mind went blank.
Words refused to form.
Even his thoughts felt distant, as if something was suppressing them.
Before he could speak—
The other him smiled.
A slow… knowing smile.
"I've been waiting for you."
The voice echoed—not through the air, but directly inside his mind.
The king's body stiffened.
Waiting…?
For me?
The reflection raised its hand and revealed a stone—small, dark, yet pulsing faintly as if it had a heartbeat of its own.
Without hesitation, it pressed the stone into the king's palm.
The moment their hands touched—
A chill ran through his entire being.
"Take it," the other said softly.
"You've already played your part."
The king's lips parted—
But before a single word could escape—
The figure vanished.
No light.
No sound.
Just… gone.
—
The king staggered.
The crystal world collapsed around him—
And in the next instant—
He was back.
Inside his palace.
Standing exactly where he had been.
The same air.
The same silence.
Nothing had changed.
Not a single second had passed.
His eyes widened.
"…Impossible…"
His gaze slowly dropped to his hand.
The stone—
Was still there.
Cold.
Real.
Proof that everything… had happened.
—
Night fell.
The palace slept.
But the king did not.
A quiet presence entered his chamber.
No guards reacted.
No doors opened.
Yet—
He was there.
The Strange Man.
Standing in the shadows as if he had always belonged to them.
Before the king could speak—
"Where is it?"
No greeting.
No explanation.
Just that one question.
The king stared at him for a moment… then silently extended his hand.
The stone rested in his palm.
The Strange Man stepped forward and took it.
The instant his fingers touched the stone—
He smiled.
For the first time—
Not a faint smile.
A real one.
Something deeper.
Something victorious.
He turned.
And began to walk away.
"Wait," the king finally spoke.
"What… is that thing?"
No answer.
Not even a glance.
Only silence.
The Strange Man kept walking.
Step by step—
Until he reached the edge of the chamber.
Then—
In a voice so low it barely existed—
He whispered,
"The key… to the Secret Society."
He paused.
"…With this, the deepest truths of this world… will finally open to me."
His fingers tightened slightly around the stone.
A quiet chuckle escaped him.
"My Truth Vision… has never lied."
"And I…"
He tilted his head slightly, a shadow covering his eyes.
"…have never failed to change an outcome.
A brief silence followed.
Then—
A soft sigh.
"King…
For you… I rewrote fate.
From the very beginning… your path was never ordinary.
You becoming a wise king… a ruler admired by all…
was never natural.
Designed.
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
You are the bloodline of the Golden Sorcerer.
The words fell like thunder.
And blood like yours… cannot simply exist in filth.
It must be refined.
Purified.
Elevated.
That is why I placed you here.
In a royal environment.
Surrounded by power… by order… by expectation.
So your blood could awaken again.
The king's hands slowly clenched.
All of this…
…was planned."