When I opened my eyes, I was enveloped by the pitch-black darkness of the night and the suffocating silence of the forest.
I didn’t know how long I had lain unconscious.
My body was caked in dried mud and bloodstains.
Even though I had awakened from those nightmarish dreams, from that endless cycle of death, I had no desire to move.
Everything felt so meaningless, so empty...
From where I lay, I stared up at the clouded sky.
Even the moon refused to show itself.
What was I supposed to do after getting up?
Conquer those damned ruins with Fredrinn?
But why?
I saw it... Fredrinn was going to die anyway.
Was I supposed to gather an army against the Obsidian Dawn?
Why?
No matter what I did, I couldn’t win that war.
Was I supposed to kill Prince Charles and that ghost, Dr. Aris, who was still alive?
But how?
I saw it... there was no way I could defeat them.
Was I supposed to keep that foolish promise I made to Kaiser?
I can’t.
No matter how strong I became, there was always someone stronger.
Everything was meaningless from the very beginning.
My enemies, no matter what I did, no matter which path I chose, were always one step ahead of me.
So... what was the point of fighting?
What was the point of walking toward that horrific death I had witnessed time and time again, knowing I would lose?
I wasn’t the main character of this world.
So why did I have to endure all this pain?
That’s right! I’m not the main character!
All I have to do is hide somewhere until that inevitable end comes.
If the end is unavoidable, then I should at least live the rest of my life as I please.
Right?
I directed this question to that dark entity in my mind, the Crown of Madness.
I needed to talk to someone.
Anyone, anything...
I felt so utterly alone, so helpless in that moment.
"Why aren’t you speaking!"
Silence.
"Mock me like you always do! Fill me with hatred! Encourage me to fight, to take revenge! Why are you not saying anything, damn it!"
My quiet words in the forest turned into screams that burned my throat.
"You were the one who motivated me to return to life! You were the one who gave me a second chance when I died! So why are you silent now!"
"Say what you told me that day! Tell me I can take revenge on my enemies! Tell me I am stronger than everyone and everything! DON’T BE SILENT, DAMN YOU!"
"SPEAK TO ME!"
No matter how much I screamed, no answer came from that familiar, mocking voice.
Only silence.
It remained quiet, as if relishing my pathetic, broken state.
After minutes of staring at the cloudy sky, I slowly pushed myself up from the ground and sat.
The surroundings were dark, cold, and damp.
Since I was in a state of complete psychological collapse, I activated the Dragon Pride skill.
My mind, strengthened by that intense willpower, cleared a little; the clouds dispersed.
But my problems were still there, still with me.
I lit a small flame in my hand to illuminate the area, and I did not like the sight before me.
I was surrounded by dozens of dismembered monster corpses.
Their blood was spattered everywhere, staining the earth a deep crimson.
What had happened here?
I had been defenseless while I slept. It would be impossible for monsters to have attacked me for days, and for me to have killed them in my sleep.
So who killed them?
No, I don’t think so. It wasn’t me.
I approached to examine the corpses more closely.
The massive carcass of a wolf... its jaw had been forcibly ripped off with immense strength.
Next to it, the body of a giant bear... its limbs were twisted backward by some unnatural force, and its belly bore five large, deep claw marks that had pierced its hide.
On the other side, the corpse of a huge serpent, bent and tied into a knot...
As I stared at the bodies in confusion, something massive landed behind me with a sudden, loud crash.
The ground shook from the abrupt weight, creating a small tremor.
I immediately activated Storm Heart and leaped back.
I put distance between us and drew my katana, taking a defensive stance.
Before me stood the monster I had seen in one of my dreams.
Four massive arms ending in long, razor-sharp claws; each as thick as a Minotaur’s.
Its massive body, nearly 2 meters tall, stood like a mountain in the darkness.
On its head, four crude horns of different sizes and colors were placed discordantly.
From its back swayed a long, scaly tail reminiscent of a crocodile’s, ending in a sharp spike.
It had no face; only two bright, black eyes staring at me, and a maw full of sharp teeth.
This was an abnormal form.
When I thought about how such a monster could exist, only one answer came to mind: Dr. Aris.
I anxiously reached into my pocket... but I couldn’t find the black sphere.
Somehow... this monster had managed to get out of that black sphere and was free.
It didn’t move from its spot.
It just looked at me.
The power aura radiating from its body was at least Seven-Star level.
If I tried to fight, it was a monster that could easily defeat me in my current exhausted state.
But for some reason, it didn’t show any hostility toward me.
We stared at each other for a while in the silence of the night.
Then, its massive body turned into black smoke.
The smoke quickly shrank, turning back into that small, black sphere, and floated through the air directly toward my hand.
I caught the sphere, astonished.
What was happening? I didn’t understand.
When I tried to examine the sphere, I noticed something strange: There was no longer the slightest trace of Dr. Aris’s nauseating, dark mana.
The sphere now carried the trace of my mana completely.
Then, the last dream I saw came to mind.
That four-armed monster fighting alongside me in the massacre at the Bladehaven Duchy...
Yes. This was it.
The updated text in the system window came to mind.
Did that monster have a name?
"Zagna?"
The moment I thought the name, a message came from the system to my mind.
[Do you wish to summon Zagna?]
[Yes / No]
Curiously, I said, "Yes."
And within seconds, that massive monster appeared before me again.
It fixed its bright, black eyes on me, waiting for me to give an order.
To test it, I pointed to a large, nearby tree.
"That... tear it apart."
Zagna didn’t hesitate for a moment. It immediately lunged forward and slammed its massive fist into the trunk of that old, thick tree.
The tree, faced with this immense blow, shattered as if it were a piece of paper and fell to the ground with a crash.
A genuine smile appeared on my face for the first time in weeks.
"I guess... contrary to what Zevstyle promised, I might have actually gained something useful from these nightmares."
"Return, Zagna."
Zagna turned back into the black sphere and appeared in my hand. I carefully placed it in my pocket and set off through the forest toward Veythral.
Along the way, I examined the skills in my updated system window.
My mana core had indeed leveled up.
The duration of Sovereign Form had increased.
And most importantly... I could finally see what Serene’s Grace was.
But what was this...
It was an absurdly strange skill.
Changing reality by paying a price?
It was the only skill among mine at the highest rank, EX, meaning "Forbidden."
"I think... I have to try this."
"System, I want to use Serene’s Grace."
[You must pay a price. What will you sacrifice?]
"A price, huh... I offer half of my mana as the price. In exchange... restore that destroyed tree."
[Request accepted] [Activating blessing] [Reality is bending]
Before I could even understand what was happening, in the blink of an eye, a sudden fatigue washed over my body.
Half of my mana core had emptied in an instant.
But in return, when I looked ahead, that massive tree, which Zagna had just shattered... was back to its original state.
It stood tall, as if it had never been destroyed, never been shattered.
When I thought about what I could do with this skill, my hair stood on end.
If I sacrificed something more valuable than my mana... someone I loved, or a piece of my own life... to what extent could I change reality?
I was slowly reviewing all my skills when my eyes caught the last few notifications.
[You have 99+ new messages from Lilith]
I paused when I saw the 99+ messages from Lilith.
Lilith... the ancient witch who had cursed me, who had given me the "Soul Thief" skill.
I thought her consciousness had been destroyed thousands of years ago.
How was she trying to communicate with me?
Then again... what did I even understand anymore?
I really knew nothing about this world.
"Show messages," I commanded.
[Error! The system cannot execute this command due to unknown external interference.]
"Useless even when it’s updated, huh..." I muttered.
I continued walking toward Veythral. I had more or less decided what to do.
I had no intention of endangering myself for those foolish prophecies anymore.
I had no intention of entering battles I knew I would lose.
I wanted to spend the rest of my life peacefully, with Nivelle.
But I highly doubted I could just leave Veythral.
Especially after causing so much trouble for Fredrinn and his territory, and after making all those promises to him about Julian...
"I guess," I said to myself, "I’ll have to bloody my hands one more time before I go."