Episode 1 – Betrayal and Reincarnation
Inner Universe.
It was a massive universe that encompassed the various universes from Universe No. 0 to Universe No. 11, and it was also a universe that existed individually from the Numbered Universes.
And owing to the vast nature of that universe, two administrators had to jointly oversee the Inner Universe.
One of the two administrators—an absolute god who had reached the rank of Divine Emperor, a rank that only three beings across the entire Outer Universe possessed—was clutching his heart and bleeding.
“Keuk….”
However, his eyes alone were filled with nothing but the will to escape by any means.
“Lumos… I won’t ask you to forgive me.”
“So you do know?”
The one called ‘Lumos’ nodded silently despite his opponent’s mockery and replied.
“I admit I’m being extreme, but you expected this too, didn’t you?”
“Ha! Expected what? We could have cooperated enough. You just stabbed me in the back like this because you were afraid your position was threatened, didn’t you?”
“T-that’s….”
“Pathetic bastard. Knox, those cheat-like authorities you possess are a waste.”
“That’s rich coming from you… but let’s end it here.”
A fierce gale surged from the giant greatsword swung by the one called Knox.
-Huuuung!
As if once wasn’t enough, just as he was about to unleash another sword strike,
‘Now!’
Lumos, who had been waiting for an opportunity, ignored the cascading sword strikes and began focusing on his inner consciousness.
Ssgeok!
“Why the hell… why!?”
Just as Lumos knew all of Knox’s authorities, Knox also knew all of Lumos’s authorities; thus, he couldn’t understand Lumos’s actions in allowing the attacks so easily.
“Hahaha, Knox, I told you every time. You talk too much, and it’s all useless.”
Sneering, Lumos unleashed all the energy he had stockpiled—even allowing Knox’s attacks—to open a dimensional gate.
Feeling the immense energy from the front, cracks formed in Knox’s expression.
“Damn it! Stop him, stop him!”
He barked orders at his apostles stationed around him, but,
“You idiot, think. If you can’t stop it, do you think they can?”
“Lumos!!!”
Though he spoke as if teasing, his body was drenched in cold sweat as he was being thrown into the gate.
Raising his middle finger toward Knox, who had once been a friend, he muttered,
“Wash your neck and wait, Knox. We’ll meet again someday.”
***
Twenty years had already passed since he had settled here in Universe No. 0 after fleeing from Knox and changing his Divine Name from ‘Lumos’ to ‘Machina’.
‘Knox… the wounds I suffered at his hands won’t heal….’
Perhaps because he had overused his strength during that process, his Divine Rank had also fallen by one level.
‘Far from recovering, the wounds have only worsened.’
In truth, a drop in Divine Rank shouldn’t have caused wounds to worsen to this degree.
But.
‘Damn… he must have been really determined. Seeing as he even applied poison.’
He had to suffer from an unknown poison that had seeped into the gaps of his wounds.
The unidentified poison was eating away at his life, invading not only his body but also his soul.
‘It’s probably due to one of Knox’s authorities, [Absolute Infection].’
However, he could no longer afford to reminisce about the past due to the killing intent pressing down on him from moments ago.
“Did we finish them?”
“Keuk. Where did such a monstrous bastard come from….”
A man returned to reality at the sound of conversation coming from all directions and muttered as if in futility.
His arms and legs bound by chains made of divine iron.
“Haha. They say once you fall, the fall never ends… now I have to endure this at the hands of nobodies?”
‘If only I had treated the wounds inflicted by Knox sooner….’
As if responding to the soliloquy bordering on a scream, an old man tall enough to remind one of a giant tree approached, unfurling his fan widely.
“Machina, I do not know the extent of the power you originally possessed, but what is certain is that your power is undoubtedly dangerous to our cause.”
Looking at the countless swarm of people—a number so great that counting was meaningless—with the tall old man holding the fan at their forefront, he muttered a lamenting soliloquy.
“Kekeke. To think the place I barely escaped to would become my grave.”
“Escape? You’re saying everything you did just now was running away? Hehe, what would happen if you ran away just twice more? Tsk.”
Those gathered here knew nothing of his affairs with Knox, nor his true identity, so they misunderstood his muttering however they pleased.
“More importantly, what happens to Earth once I’m gone?”
“Did you develop attachment in a mere twenty years of living on Earth?”
“I did. I treat everything as precious, unlike you lot. Do you have a problem with that?”
‘Keung… this is driving me crazy.’
Contrary to his words, his body had no room to heal the poison due to the fatigue from the recent battle, and the rate of decay was only accelerating.
“Do not worry about Earth. I shall look after it with my magnanimity. And if there is a next life, take care not to let your guard down and suffer as you did this time.”
“Do you truly believe you defeated me because you’re strong?”
‘If only I didn’t have these old wounds, you lot wouldn’t even amount to a single fistful.’
Perhaps feeling pleasure from having felled such an overwhelming existence as himself, they were intoxicated with superiority.
“Hehehe. Is there any need to answer what is obvious from the current situation?”
“…..”
“It is truly a shame that I must deal with a mighty existence like you as well. For that, I apologize.”
Contrary to his words, the old man’s eyes were filled with anticipation like a child receiving a gift.
“May you go to a better place.”
Soon, immense energy erupted from the old man’s fan.
Closing his eyes tightly at the massive energy surging from the front, he focused on the magic power within.
‘If it’s with this speck of remaining power…’
The moment his face, previously steeped in emptiness, returned to cold composure as he steeled his resolve,
‘Though this is my first time doing this in my life.’
“Please!!”
[Forcibly connecting to the flow of the universe!]
[Universe No. 0—Intervening in the Reincarnation Succession!]
[Forcibly inputting the user’s soul.]
The instant an attack bearing terrifying energy—one that seemed to leave not a single opening for the powerless him—approached within reach,
Dding!
He could see system messages covering his vision.
[Input successful.]
[User {Machina}’s Divine Rank has fallen below its previous level, and the user’s authorities have been sealed.]
Even though the divinity he had accumulated until now would be reset,
‘Still better than being annihilated.’
[Reincarnation procedure initiating!]
Jjeo-eo-eo-eong.
As if responding to the notification sound, a heaven-splitting bolt of lightning fired down at him.
“W-what?”
While everyone watching, including the old man, floundered in shock, he who had been bound in chains crumbled into powder and scattered away.
***
“Seojun, Seojun?”
“U-uh?”
“Are you okay?”
“Just now….”
“You suddenly fainted while training just now, I was worried, you bastard!!!”
“That’s right, sorry….”
“Don’t tell me you’re like this because of what happened earlier?”
‘Honestly, I can’t even remember what just happened.’
It was just that,
suddenly light flashed before his eyes, and he was confused by the screens now visible in his sight.
〚A trait awakens in response to the user’s soul!〛
〚Unique Trait—Ink Qi has been registered.〛
While he was dazed, captivated by the screens,
“Hey!! Sin Seojun! Are you going to keep this up? What are you going to do if you space out over a single letter!”
“Sua….”
When Seojun called out with a trembling voice, she too noticed that something else had happened to him.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I, u-”
It was the moment he was about to say, ‘My Unique Trait awakened.’
‘Is it too early to talk about it?’
A Unique Trait that had appeared suddenly.
‘I need to see whether this is a good trait or not.’
If it had been someone other than Sua, he wouldn’t have even had such worries and simply wouldn’t have told them, but,
‘Sua is trustworthy.’
Yet the reason he still didn’t say it was,
‘Because if I say it, it might be dangerous or a useless trait.’
‘She’d feel sorry again like she did four years ago.’
Even though she knew well that trait awakening wasn’t something people could control at will,
‘She’s a friend who’s soft-hearted despite her appearance….’
“U?”
“A-ah, it’s nothing.”
“This bastard?”
Tta-aak!
With terrifying force unbefitting her slender hand, she struck the back of Seojun’s head.
“Argh! Why’d you hit me!!”
Just as Seojun was about to voice his displeasure while rubbing his stinging head,
〚Results are being recalculated according to the soul’s growth!〛
〚You have awakened to your past life!〛
“Keuk….”
Without warning, a flood of memories surged into his head, and it began hurting as if his skull would burst.
Sua couldn’t help but panic at the sight of Seojun curled up like a shrimp.
“I didn’t hit you that hard. D-don’t overreact.”
“Keuugh! J-just a moment….”
After five seconds of nothing but awkwardness between them,
“Keung. Did I succeed in the end?”
What did he succeed in?
Seeing Seojun utter words that didn’t match the situation, Sua asked with a worried heart.
“Is the spot I hit okay? I didn’t know it would hurt this much, sorry.”
“Ah. Ahem. Of course it’s fine, do you think I’d fall for that again?”
“Iik! You rotten bastard! As if I’d ever worry about you again!”
Though she spoke like that, she turned her head and let out a sigh of relief.
“Hm. Anyway, I’m a bit tired, so let’s end training here for today. Thanks for today.”
“Huh? Y-yeah…. Don’t overdo it for a while, go in and rest.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow.”
As Seojun’s atmosphere turned abruptly serious, Sua could do nothing but part ways while looking at him worriedly.
***
Walking along a wide road past various commercial buildings, a high-rise apartment complex came into view from afar.
Seojun naturally entered the apartment complex and greeted the security guard dozing off at the guard post by the main gate, as always.
“Sir, was everything okay today?”
“Mhm… ah, student from unit 1406, nothing special today. They say they’ll install Gate Bypass Stones at the front gates of all apartments in Jeollabuk-do, including ours, starting next week, so I’d recommend using the back gate for about a month.”
“They’re finally installing them in our region too.”
“Yeah, we’re a bit late compared to other regions, but let’s be grateful the Association is installing them even now!”
Gate Bypass Stones.
They had become one of the greatest inventions indispensable to this world, so much so that areas without them were called high-risk zones.
Still, what was fortunate was that, unlike Gates, Dungeons were safe so there wasn’t much need to prepare, though I heard even Dungeons had been heavily guarded in the early days after the Day of Upheaval.
Day of Upheaval.
We called it an era of opportunity, and an era of disaster.
150 years ago, when Dungeons suddenly appeared, people were unable to adapt to the changed world.
Awakened ones who awakened their traits appeared among many people and began to wield mana.
Those who wielded superhuman powers directly entered Dungeons and began clearing them step by step.
Monsters did not come out of Dungeons unless one entered directly, and as the Awakened began responding adequately, it seemed peace had come to the world, but,
as if mocking that peace, Gates appeared in the world.
Unlike Dungeons, what emerged from Gates were not monsters but heterogeneous monstrous lifeforms called ‘demons’….
If they weren’t cleared within a certain time, the demons inside the Gates would pour outside and attack people indiscriminately.
The demons were so powerful that several Awakened who had cleared high-rank Dungeons had to die before they could be repelled; Gates brought despair to humanity.
Thus, humanity had to wage war for a long hundred years to protect cities ruined by demons.
‘It’s called the War Against Demons.’
It is called a disaster that caused massive casualties and a desperate struggle easily seen in any history textbook.
Though they couldn’t completely eradicate Gates during the war period, people ultimately succeeded in inventing the Bypass Stones by pouring in unstinting support and manpower, and they showed good results in herding Gates into one place so they wouldn’t appear in certain regions.
The heroes who accomplished merits in this War Against Demons were called the Twelve Heroes, and,
Seojun was called the bastard or the defective of the Heavenly Sword Clan, founded by Heavenly Sword Sin Yucheol, one of the Twelve Heroes.
The reason Seojun was called a bastard was related to him taking the surname ‘Sin’ following his birth mother’s family name.
‘They are also my targets for revenge.’
Even though he had now awakened to his past life, the nineteen years he had lived without memories of it were clearly ‘his’ own life as well.
‘Rather, the nineteen years of this life feel more real to me.’
“Hoo. Anyway, let’s skip the trivial matters and hurry home to check my trait.”
Returning home and firmly closing his door, Seojun opened his status window with a nervous heart.
Even though he hadn’t awakened a trait, everyone could view their status window, so he didn’t feel much resistance to calling it up.
『Name: Sin Seojun
Age: 19
Origin: Earth
Level: 3
Unique Trait: Ink Qi (???)-1 Star
Strength: 12
Stamina: 15
Agility: 14
Ink Qi (Unique): 2
』
〚Unique Trait—Ink Qi: The Reverse Heaven essence capable of containing all energies existing in the world.〛
“Hrm… Reverse Heaven.”
‘This isn’t a trait from my previous life?’
When he examined his interior, he felt a minute amount of energy gathered within his body.
“So Thunder Essence is still sealed as before.”
Although he had gained his past life’s memories, it seemed it would take some time to acquire Thunder Essence, a trait from his previous life.
And considering the nature of Ink Qi and Thunder Essence respectively,
the past life’s Unique Trait, Thunder Essence, bore the energy of Orthodox Heaven,
while Ink Qi bore the energy of Reverse Heaven.
‘And even without checking the energy, it was explicitly stated as the essence of Reverse Heaven in the status window.’
Most gods probably wouldn’t know the difference between Reverse Heaven and Orthodox Heaven in detail, but,
he knew, as he had been the administrator of the Inner Universe in his past life.
‘This thing called Ink Qi is extremely dangerous.’
It’s a trait that even the system couldn’t measure a rank for.
‘At the very least, it’s on the same level as my previous life’s authority, Thunder Essence.’
For a trait that hasn’t even become an authority to be immeasurable….
“Hoo. This is a good thing, right…?”
Moreover.
“Its compatibility with Thunder Essence might be extremely bad.”
Thunder Essence was characterized by having good compatibility with most energies even if they weren’t Orthodox Heaven energy, but,
‘I’ve never even considered the compatibility between Reverse Heaven and Orthodox Heaven….’
He wouldn’t know if they were compatible unless he tried using them together, but while he had encountered Reverse Heaven before, handling it was a first.
“Hoo, complicated, so complicated.”
After giving a bitter smile, while he was spending time analyzing Ink Qi piece by piece to prepare for any potential risks,
he was able to obtain additional information about Ink Qi.
“This… it’s that guy’s trait. Why?”
In his past life, there had been a situation where he had to escape after being betrayed by many with Knox at the forefront, but there were a few subordinates who fought alongside Seojun without betraying him until the end.
Among various subordinates, that guy, Raph, in particular….
‘He was so devoted to me.’
“But why do I have his trait?”
Though overshadowed by Seojun and Knox of the past life, he was a capable fellow who had even served as the administrator of Universe No. 1.
‘Though I didn’t see his final moments….’
“The fact that I’ve obtained this trait means something must have happened to him.”
‘Knowing Raph’s personality, he definitely set up insurance in case something happened to him.’
“Raph. If this is the insurance you had in mind.”
Using this as a foothold,
“I will surely succeed in my revenge.”
So,
“As long as you’re still breathing.”
Just stay alive.
Seojun suppressed his surging emotions and barely calmed his heart by recalling how that guy had handled Ink Qi.
“Hoo. Still, the fortunate thing is that I know how to grow this energy.”
Since the original owner of this power was Seojun’s direct subordinate, and he had watched firsthand the scenes of him growing and utilizing the energy, it was natural that he knew the method.
‘It’s like finding your way with a map.’
In reality, it was more like using autonomous driving to find the way rather than a map, but.
“Whatever, a good thing is a good thing.”
What was most important was,
“that I’ve gained a fine weapon in a situation where I have so many targets for revenge across both my past and present lives.”
Seojun looked up at the sky and spoke with a broad smile.
“Everyone, just you wait.”
-Ssik.
“This time, it’s my turn.”
‘I’ll devour every single one of you without exception.’
The administrator of the Inner Universe, once the pinnacle of the gods, began to bare his fangs at the world upon receiving one more chance.