Chapter 1: The Thing That Should Not Exist
The world did not end with a bang. It ended in silence. A silence so absolute that even existence itself seemed to hesitate.
Like a breath held too long, everything unraveled. Space folded inward and time lost its meaning. For a brief moment, everything simply ceased.
And then something remained.
Rimuru Tempest opened his eyes. Or rather, he became aware. There was no sky, no ground, nothing familiar.
No magicules drifted in the air. No allies, no system voice, no presence at all. Only an endless, empty void.
"…This is new," Rimuru muttered. His voice existed for a moment, then vanished. Even sound felt rejected here.
He tried to move. His body responded, but not normally. His slime form stretched and snapped back unnaturally.
Then—
[Notice: Environmental Constants Unstable]
[Warning: Dimensional Integrity = Undefined]
[Attempting Reconstruction… Failed]
Rimuru blinked. "…Alright. That's definitely not normal." Even for him, this felt wrong.
The last thing he remembered was standing at his peak. Beyond Demon Lords, beyond True Dragons, beyond threats. Then something changed.
It wasn't an attack. It felt like a correction. Like reality itself rejected him.
Rimuru extended his perception. Normally, he could sense entire worlds. Now, there was nothing.
No energy, no souls, no laws. Just emptiness beyond comprehension. "…Creepy."
For the first time in a long while, he felt uncertainty. Not fear, but something close.
Then something shifted. Not in space or time, but in meaning. Suddenly, a place existed.
Rimuru stood on a cold metallic floor. Lights flickered weakly above him. A hallway stretched endlessly.
"…Okay," he said slowly. "Now this feels like somewhere." He took a step, hearing an echo.
Echoes meant structure. Structure meant rules. And rules meant understanding.
[Notice: New World Detected]
[Analyzing… Unknown]
[Warning: Logical Consistency = Compromised]
"Compromised?" Rimuru frowned. "What does that even mean?" No answer came.
A sound broke the silence. Footsteps approached, fast and uneven. Someone was running.
A man in a lab coat appeared. He was breathing hard, eyes filled with fear. He froze upon seeing Rimuru.
"…What the hell are you?" he asked.
Rimuru tilted his head. "Funny, I was about to ask the same thing."
The man stumbled back. "You're not on the list… containment breach… this isn't right…"
"Hey, relax," Rimuru said calmly. "I'm not here to cause trouble."
Then the facility spoke.
"CONTAINMENT BREACH DETECTED."
"ALL PERSONNEL PROCEED TO EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS."
Rimuru blinked. "…Containment breach?"
The man went pale. "You shouldn't be here. None of us should."
Something shifted behind him. Not physically, but conceptually. Like something unseen existed.
Rimuru's senses locked onto it instantly. "…Oh." His expression changed slightly.
Interest.
"Stay back!" the man shouted. But it was already too late.
The entity appeared. Humanoid, yet not. Its form flickered unnaturally.
Limbs stretched and distorted. Its face was missing. Only emptiness remained.
Rimuru analyzed it instantly. And failed.
[Error: Target Cannot Be Defined]
[Warning: Conceptual Instability]
Rimuru smiled. "…Now that's interesting."
The entity moved. Not fast, not slow. It simply appeared closer.
Then it reached the man.
He screamed. Then he was gone. No trace, no blood, nothing left behind.
Rimuru narrowed his eyes. "Alright. That's not normal."
The entity turned toward him. Reality itself seemed to bend.
Something tried to define Rimuru. To understand him. To place him into a concept.
It failed.
The hallway trembled. Lights flickered violently. The entity recoiled.
Rimuru stepped forward. "Let's try this again. What are you?"
No response came. The entity simply collapsed.
Its form unraveled. It vanished like a forgotten thought.
Silence returned. "…Huh," Rimuru muttered.
Then—applause echoed behind him. Slow and deliberate.
"Well," a calm voice said. "That was unexpected."
Rimuru turned. A man in a clean suit stood there. Completely untouched.
"You're not in our records," the man continued. "Yet you neutralized that entity."
Rimuru crossed his arms. "Care to explain where I am?"
The man smiled slightly. "You're in a place that does not officially exist."
"A place where the impossible is contained… studied… and erased."
"We call it the Foundation."
Rimuru blinked. "…Of course you do."
The man stepped closer. "Tell me, what exactly are you?"
Rimuru smiled. "Good question."
For a moment, the air grew heavy. Something vast filled the space.
"Name's Rimuru," he said casually.
The man's expression stayed calm. But his eyes sharpened.
"I see," he said quietly.
Rimuru shook his head. "No. You really don't."
Silence stretched between them. Then the man chuckled softly.
"…Even better."
Above them, alarms continued to echo. More breaches, more anomalies.
More things that should not exist.
And now, one more had arrived.