The void exploded into light.
The golden box dissolved, its chains shattering like glass. The light that poured from it was not gold or white—it was abyssal black and blood-red, twisting together in a vortex that swallowed the stars. Eren threw up an arm to shield his eyes, but the light did not blind him. It painted itself onto his consciousness, etching symbols and names and truths into the fabric of his mind.
When it faded, a figure stood before him.
It was tall—perhaps six foot three, a few inches taller than Eren himself—but it was the presence that made it feel massive. Clad in ornate obsidian-black armor that seemed to absorb the light around it, the figure carried itself with the weight of something ancient and terrible. Four skeletal wings extended from its back, folded now, their membranes stretched tight between jagged bone. On its head sat a crown of black horns, each one carved with runes that dripped with shadow. In its hand, it gripped a jagged greatsword that drank the light, its edge a void in the shape of a blade.
The Demon King opened its eyes. Two points of crimson light burned in the darkness of its helmet.
It was not the size that made Eren's breath catch. It was the density of the thing. The avatar stood before him like a wound in reality, a being that should not exist in any world, let alone one standing before a cleaner from the outer districts of Ironvale.
[ GACHA RESULT: SSS-RANK BOSS AVATAR ]
[ NAME: BEELZEBUB, THE DEMON KING OF GLUTTONY ]
[ TYPE: DUNGEON MASTER AVATAR (DIRECT CONTROL) ]
---
[ ACTIVE SKILL: GLUTTONY ]
[ EFFECT: UPON ACTIVATION, THE AVATAR MAY CONSUME ANY CORPSE, MANA STONE, OR CORE WITHIN REACH. CONSUMED MATERIAL IS CONVERTED DIRECTLY TO MANA AT 500% EFFICIENCY. ADDITIONALLY, WHEN CONSUMING A DEFEATED ENEMY, THE AVATAR MAY PERMANENTLY ABSORB A PORTION OF THE TARGET'S STATS, SKILLS, OR ABILITIES. ABSORPTION CAPACITY INCREASES WITH SYNC RATE. ]
---
[ PASSIVE SKILL: LORD OF FLIES ]
[ EFFECT: COMMAND OVER ALL INSECT-TYPE AND SWARM-TYPE MONSTERS WITHIN A 1-KILOMETER RADIUS. THESE CREATURES OBEY THE AVATAR'S WILL WITHOUT QUESTION. SWARM INTELLIGENCE GRANTS THE AVATAR NEAR-OMNISCIENT AWARENESS WITHIN ITS DOMAIN OF INFLUENCE. ]
[ PASSIVE SKILL: ABYSSAL CROWN ]
[ EFFECT: THE DEMON KING'S PRESENCE RADIATES AN AURA OF OVERWHELMING FEAR. ENEMIES WITHIN A 500-METER RADIUS SUFFER SEVERE STAT REDUCTION. THOSE OF WEAKER WILL MAY BE PARALYZED OR DRIVEN INSANE. ALLIES WITHIN THE AURA GAIN RESISTANCE TO FEAR AND MENTAL MANIPULATION. ]
[ ACTIVE SKILL: GLUTTONY'S FEAST ]
[ EFFECT: THE AVATAR UNLEASHES A WAVE OF CONSUMING DARKNESS IN A 100-METER RADIUS. ALL NON-ALLIED ENTITIES WITHIN THE RADIUS SUFFER RAPID MANA DRAIN. DEFEATED ENEMIES ARE AUTOMATICALLY CONSUMED AND CONVERTED TO MANA. COOLDOWN: 24 HOURS. ]
[ ULTIMATE SKILL: THE ENDLESS HUNGER ]
[ EFFECT: ONCE PER MONTH, THE AVATAR MAY ENTER A STATE OF ABSOLUTE CONSUMPTION FOR 60 SECONDS. DURING THIS STATE, THE AVATAR IS INVULNERABLE. ALL DAMAGE DEALT IS CONVERTED DIRECTLY TO MANA. ALL DEFEATED ENEMIES ARE CONSUMED INSTANTLY. WARNING: ACTIVATION OF THIS SKILL ACCELERATES SYNC RATE BY 10%. ]
---
[ NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: HIVE MIND (PASSIVE) ]
[ EFFECT: THE DUNGEON MASTER'S CONSCIOUSNESS FUNCTIONS AS A SERVER. EACH BODY—HUMAN AND AVATAR—ACTS AS A RECEIVER, PERMANENTLY CONNECTED TO THE SAME CENTRAL CONSCIOUSNESS WITHOUT LATENCY. THIS CONNECTION CANNOT BE SEVERED. THE DUNGEON MASTER IS ALWAYS AWARE THROUGH ALL BODIES SIMULTANEOUSLY, WITH EACH RECEIVING FULL ATTENTION WITHOUT DIVISION. TRUE MULTITASKING IS ACHIEVED: EACH BODY MAY PERFORM COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TASKS AT THE SAME TIME, WITH NO CONFLICT BETWEEN THEM. ]
[ ADDITIONAL EFFECT: AS THE AVATAR IS MERELY AN EXTENSION OF THE DUNGEON MASTER'S CONSCIOUSNESS—A PERMANENT SECOND RECEIVER CONNECTED TO THE SAME SERVER—THE PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCE OF THE DEMON KING'S NATURE IS FULLY NEGATED. THE DUNGEON MASTER DOES NOT BECOME THE DEMON KING. THE DEMON KING IS THE DUNGEON MASTER. IDENTITY REMAINS WHOLLY INTACT. ]
---
[ NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: SOUL SYNCHRONIZATION ]
[ EFFECT: THE DUNGEON MASTER'S HUMAN BODY INHERITS STATS, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES FROM THE AVATAR BASED ON CURRENT SYNC RATE. AS THE SYNC RATE INCREASES, THE HUMAN BODY'S LIMITS ARE REMOVED. ]
[ NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: REALM OF THE DEMON KING ]
[ EFFECT: THE AVATAR MAY DESIGNATE A 500-METER RADIUS AS ITS "REALM." WITHIN THIS REALM, THE AVATAR'S MANA REGENERATION IS DOUBLED, ENEMY MANA REGENERATION IS HALTED, AND ALL ALLIED UNITS GAIN 50% INCREASED STATS. THE REALM CAN BE MAINTAINED INDEFINITELY BUT REQUIRES 100 MANA PER HOUR TO SUSTAIN. ]
[ CURRENT SYNC RATE: 0.0% ]
---
Eren read the skills, his eyes moving faster as the implications became clear.
Gluttony let him consume and grow. Lord of Flies gave him command over swarms. Abyssal Crown made him a terror on the battlefield. Gluttony's Feast and The Endless Hunger were weapons of absolute destruction.
But then he reached Hive Mind, and the world shifted.
Each body acts as a receiver, permanently connected to the same central consciousness without latency. This connection cannot be severed. The Dungeon Master is always aware through all bodies simultaneously.
He read it again. And again.
A laugh escaped his throat—raw, unexpected, genuine. It echoed across the obsidian platform, swallowed by the starry void.
He had been afraid. When he saw the warnings about the avatar's influence, about the hunger consuming his identity, about becoming a monster wearing human skin—he had been afraid. He had thought, in that moment, that the power came with a price he might not be willing to pay.
But Hive Mind changed everything.
He was the server. The bodies were receivers. And the connection was permanent. He would never be without it. There would be no moment of separation, no need to "reach out" or "pull back" or "activate" anything. He was simply going to be more—one consciousness, multiple bodies, all of them him.
He reached out with his mind, feeling for the connection the System had described. It was there—a thread of crimson light linking his consciousness to the figure before him. But as his awareness touched it, he realized the truth: the thread was not something he had to grasp. It was already part of him. It had been there since the moment the ring pricked his finger.
He let his awareness flow across it, and suddenly—
He was standing in two places at once.
His human body stood on the obsidian platform, hand raised, eyes wide. And beside it, the Demon King stood as well, its burning eyes alive with the same awareness. Two bodies. One consciousness. And he knew, with absolute certainty, that this was permanent. He would never not be aware through both bodies. The connection could not be severed.
He lifted his human hand. The Demon King's hand lifted at the exact same moment, in perfect synchronization.
He turned his human head to look at the avatar. The avatar turned its head to look back at the human. They faced each other, two bodies, one mind.
And then he separated them.
He moved the avatar toward the edge of the platform, striding forward with the weight of its armor and the drag of its greatsword. At the same time, he walked his human body in the opposite direction, toward the Core. Both moved simultaneously. Both received his full attention. There was no lag, no confusion, no sense of one body being "primary" while the other waited. There was only him, in two places, doing two things, with complete and effortless focus.
He was here. He was there. He was everywhere his bodies existed. And he always would be.
He laughed again, and both mouths laughed together—his human voice light and breathless, the Demon King's voice a deep, resonant echo that shook the platform.
"The Moderator knew," he said, and both bodies spoke the words in unison, human and demon, a single voice from two throats. "They made sure I wouldn't have to choose."
He let the avatar stand at the edge of the platform, its burning eyes scanning the void below. His human body walked back to the Core, placed a hand on its surface, and felt it pulse in response. Two bodies. Two tasks. One mind, always aware through both.
He could fight with the avatar while his human body negotiated with guilds. He could feed his dungeon with one while training with the other. He could be in two places at once, doing two things at once, living two lives at once—and never once feel stretched thin, because the connection was permanent, the awareness constant, the attention undivided.
And he would never lose himself, because there was nothing to lose to. The Demon King wasn't a separate consciousness waiting to consume him. The Demon King was a receiver, permanently connected to the same server that ran his human body. Both were him. Always had been, from the moment the ring activated. Always would be.
He looked at the avatar, standing at the edge of the platform, its greatsword resting point-down on the obsidian, its wings folded, its burning eyes watching the void. His other self. Always there. Always aware. Always him.
He smiled, and both bodies smiled together.
"Show me the Gacha System," he said.
---
The holographic display shifted. A new window expanded beside the skill display.
[ GACHA SYSTEM: THREE TIERS ]
[ SUMMON GACHA ]
[ COST: 50 MANA PER ROLL ]
[ UNLOCK MECHANIC: Rolling the Summon Gacha unlocks new summon races. Once a race is unlocked, you may summon individuals of that race at any time by paying their mana cost. Summons are the foundation of any dungeon—goblins, orcs, kobolds, slimes, skeletons, golems, and other standard dungeon creatures. ]
[ DUPLICATE BONUS: If you roll a summon race you have already unlocked, the entire race is strengthened. Their base stats increase, their mana cost may decrease, and they gain access to new variants or evolutions. ]
[ RANGE: F-RANK TO A-RANK ]
[ SERVANT GACHA ]
[ COST: 500 MANA PER ROLL ]
[ UNLOCK MECHANIC: Rolling the Servant Gacha unlocks a specific individual servant. Servants are unique beings and cannot be mass-produced. Once unlocked, they serve as elites within your domain. ]
[ UNIQUENESS: Servants are all unique. There are no duplicates. Each roll grants a new individual that has never appeared before. ]
[ RANGE: B-RANK TO S-RANK ]
[ AVATAR GACHA ]
[ COST: 10,000 MANA PER ROLL ]
[ UNLOCK MECHANIC: Rolling the Avatar Gacha unlocks a new avatar—a dungeon boss-tier entity that becomes an additional body for the Dungeon Master. Avatars include dragons, hydras, archdemons, seraphim, and other legendary beings. Each avatar serves as another receiver connected to your consciousness through Hive Mind. ]
[ UNIQUENESS: Avatars are all unique. There are no duplicates. Each roll grants a new form that has never existed before. ]
[ RANGE: S-RANK TO SSS-RANK ]
[ SUMMONING COSTS ]
[ — Basic Tier Summons: 1-10 MANA each ]
[ — Advanced Tier Summons: 10-50 MANA each ]
[ — Elite Tier Summons: 50-200 MANA each ]
---
Eren studied the display. The Gacha System was open. He had 100 mana currently—enough for two Summon rolls, or one-fifth of a Servant roll. Not enough for an Avatar. Not even close.
But the mechanics were clear. Summons were the foundation. Servants were unique individuals. Avatars were more bodies—more of him.
He reached out and closed the Gacha window. Not yet. He needed mana for upgrades, for floors, for the essentials of dungeon growth. But the option was there. Waiting.
He turned back to the Core, his mind racing with possibilities. Then he looked at the avatar—at himself, standing guard at the edge of the platform. His other self. Always there. Always aware. Always him.
"I'll stay here," he said, and both bodies spoke together. Then he smiled—a cold, sharp expression that looked natural on the Demon King and unsettling on his human face. "Both of me."
He let the avatar settle into a guard stance beside the Core, its burning eyes watching the darkness below. He didn't have to command it. He simply was it, and it was him, standing guard, waiting, watching.
He turned his human body toward the exit portal and stepped through.
---
The apartment was the same as he had left it. The same stained carpet, the same dead monitor, the same stack of unpaid ration vouchers pinned to the wall. But when Eren looked at it now, he saw it differently. He saw the walls that would not contain him, the floor that would not hold him, the life that was already becoming too small for what he was about to become.
And in the forefront of his mind, as present as his own heartbeat, he could still see the obsidian platform. He could still feel the weight of the greatsword, the fold of the wings, the pulse of the Core. His other self stood guard in the void, patient and eternal, always aware, always watching. The connection was permanent. He would never not be aware through both bodies.
He sat on the edge of his bed and pulled up the system interface one more time.
[ DUNGEON MASTER SYSTEM ]
[ USER: EREN VANCE ]
[ DUNGEON LEVEL: 1 ]
[ FLOORS: 1 ]
[ SYNC RATE: 1.5% ]
[ CURRENT MANA: 100/500 ]
[ GACHA SYSTEM: ONLINE ]
[ — SUMMON GACHA: 50 MANA ]
[ — SERVANT GACHA: 500 MANA ]
[ — AVATAR GACHA: 10,000 MANA ]
[ UNLOCKED SUMMON RACES: NONE ]
[ OBJECTIVES: ]
[ — REACH DUNGEON LEVEL 10 (UNLOCK TIME DILATION + 10 FLOORS) ]
[ — REACH DUNGEON LEVEL 20 (UNLOCK REALM MANIFESTATION + 20 FLOORS) ]
[ — PASS HUNTER QUALIFICATION TEST (6 DAYS) ]
Six days. He would take the test. He would pass. And then he would begin the real work—feeding his dungeon, floor by floor, level by level, climbing toward the day when he would no longer need to hide.
He looked at the ring on his finger. The crimson-black core pulsed once, twice, then settled into the rhythm of his heartbeat. In his mind, he felt his other self shift, the greatsword scraping against the obsidian floor, the burning eyes scanning the void. Not a separate consciousness. Just him, in another place, doing another thing. Two bodies, one mind. Permanent. Constant. Unbreakable.
Twenty floors, he thought. That's when everything changes.
He lay back on the thin mattress, his body humming with power, his mind already planning. He would need to test his new strength. He would need to find fuel for his dungeon. He would need to hide what he was from the hunters and the W.A.A. and everyone who would destroy him if they knew.
But for now, he needed to rest. His other self would watch. His other self would wait. Not as a servant, not as a weapon—but as him, in another place, doing what needed to be done.
He closed his eyes, and for the first time in years, he slept without dreaming of hunger—because hunger was no longer something he feared. It was something he was. And everywhere he was, he was awake.