Cuhlun picked up the pen. In truth, he didn't need to write more than one rule—one would've been enough. Still, he wrote two, just for his own safety.
No creature taller than two meters shall be supported; all of them deserve death.
Humans shorter than two meters do not deserve death.
These rules alone couldn't kill or resurrect anyone—they were only rules, after all. That's why he wrote "deserve death" instead of "die." The rules themselves wouldn't kill, but they would encourage others to destroy those who broke them. In this way, anyone he summoned or created through his mind would follow the rules… except, of course, the bandits and those who simply refused to obey.
The reason for specifying "two meters" was simple—he was about to face an ocean, a clear sign of a leviathan. If he was fighting a leviathan, the easiest way to distinguish it from a human was size. Sure, the rules could have loopholes, but he didn't want to write dozens of them one by one. Too many, and even those who normally followed them might grow tired and turn against him. Less was better.
For now, the rules were just a few words scribbled on paper. But because they were written by the principal—the "boss" of the school area—they had to be enforced, woven into the very logic of this world.
A strange kind of power, but… what else could one expect from the Realm of Memories?
...Wait. He'd forgotten something.
He needed to find the Mind Eater.
Cuhlun thought for a moment, then did something different. He pulled the microphone closer, pressed the button, and spoke into it:
"Ehm, ehm. This is your principal speaking. The girl previously known as the Mind Eater must come to the principal's office immediately. Anyone who sees her, please assist."
He leaned back in his chair, propped his feet on the desk. The Mind Eater would come to him soon enough; he could use the time to think.
In this memory world, there were only three true beings: himself, the leviathan, and of course, the Mind Eater.
The leviathan… might not even be a leviathan. He was inside a puddle—a living, intelligent, powerful puddle—and he had no idea what its true form was. But he guessed it must be something vast. Since he'd first woken up in what looked like an ocean, it made sense it was something aquatic.
That immense mass of water was its mental realm, just as Cuhlun's "school" was his. If Cuhlun had used his memories to shape his world, then so had the leviathan. The ocean he saw was its home. Calling it a leviathan wasn't far off.
As for the Mind Eater… she was a complete mystery.
At first, Cuhlun had assumed the school realm encompassed everything, but that wasn't quite true. Still, if he wanted the rules to extend beyond the school grounds, he could always bring the school along with him. In the Realm of Memories, anything was possible.
He reached into his pocket for the revolver—but it wasn't there. It had vanished when he became the principal. So now, he was unarmed.
With a sigh, he began doodling on the paper, clearly bored.
When the door finally knocked, there was a doodle of a dinosaur on his desk. He crumpled the paper, tossed it in the bin, and went to open the door.
The Mind Eater stood there—wearing a suit, looking remarkably elegant.
He hadn't expected such a wild creature to appear so… human.
She smiled lightly. "Honestly, I didn't expect you to be here. I'm glad you're helping me."
A brief silence followed. Cuhlun covered his face with one hand in mild embarrassment. Just because she looked human didn't mean she was. The cursed thing couldn't even speak properly...
Still, he couldn't point that out to her—not when he was struggling to keep the conversation going. He sighed.
"Actually, it's the opposite. I was hoping to get your help. Anyway, it's time to share intel, right?"
The Mind Eater sat down on a chair that hadn't existed a moment ago, then began speaking.
"Alright, let's do that. I'll start. The real me in the outside world still hasn't realized the puddle is alive—but she hasn't been attacked either. So don't worry. You're safe."
Cuhlun exhaled. "Good to know I'm safe, but… I just realized something. I still don't understand your signature ability. If you don't know what's happening in the real world, how can your real self not know what's happening here? How can two versions of you even exist at once? And ever since I met you, you've been in every mind I've entered. Isn't that weird? Since we're on the same side now, maybe you can finally explain?"
The Mind Eater took a sip from a cup of coffee that hadn't been there moments ago.
"Ehh… fine. I'll try. Originally, there was only one of me inside my own mind. But every time I killed someone using my ability, another version of me was created. With each new version, the number of minds I could enter increased. There are hundreds of me wandering through different minds right now. When we kill someone inside those minds, only our memories return to the main body. So even though I technically know what's happening out there, the real me won't learn any of it until I'm done here. That's how it works."
Cuhlun was speechless. For someone usually expressionless, he looked genuinely shocked.
"Wait—so if I entered your mind, I'd have to fight hundreds of you?"
The Mind Eater finished her coffee, set down the cup, and nodded.
Cuhlun walked over to the bin and vomited. He and the Mind Eater were the only ones who knew what happened in World 774—and the idea of facing more of her made him sick.
That thing was pure evil. Even he would tip his hat to her cruelty. Once, he'd been trapped in a dream-arena where she pierced his intestines. Another time, trampled beneath hundreds of horses. In another, forced to fight an endless army… and of course, he'd lost.
He'd been tortured by her in dreams.
Then again, he'd tortured her too—buried her in the planet's core, dropped nukes on her, sealed her in a burning castle. Maybe that wasn't the sort of thing friends did… but fair's fair.
Now, though, they were allies. So as he vomited, the Mind Eater patted his back.
When he finally recovered, they sat across from each other.
This time, it was Cuhlun's turn to speak.
"First off, as principal, I've set two rules:
No creature taller than two meters shall be supported; they all deserve death.
Humans shorter than two meters don't deserve death.
With these, our goal is to summon beings strong enough—and obedient enough—to follow the rules and help us kill the leviathan. Do you know anyone we can summon through imagination?"
The Mind Eater thought for a while, then simply said, "No."
Cuhlun sighed. What had he expected? The mistake was his.
"Alright, then I'll summon someone. Hmm... Renas should do."
He called out: "Renas! I know you're there. Come in."
The door opened, and Renas stepped inside—rifle in hand, just as Cuhlun remembered.
They wouldn't tell him he wasn't real. They just needed his help.
Because the Renas in Cuhlun's mind had never known him as a principal, the moment he appeared, Cuhlun's principal status was instantly stripped away. Everything in the office shifted—the change wasn't visible, but it felt as though the simulation itself had reset.
Cuhlun waved; Renas waved back.
"Renas," Cuhlun said, "I need your help. We're going to kill a leviathan. We can do this, right?"
Renas met his eyes, thought for a moment, then answered. "If you get it out of the water, I can handle it. My time-stop ability doesn't work well underwater."
As Cuhlun spoke again, he noticed his clothes changing—back into the black cloak he'd worn for five years beside Renas. This Renas wasn't the boy from before the apocalypse. He was the one from after.
Even if this version was only a fragment from memory, it carried a spark of reality—enough to correct what was false.
Cuhlun's cloak turned completely black. On one arm was a silver-like crossbow, on the other a gleaming dagger of the same metal. His eyes were pitch black, and staring into them too long felt like falling through reality itself. He could feel power coursing through him again.
Renas radiated an equally formidable aura. They were both at the level they'd reached in the final moments before slaying the Holy Dragon Meldora—the peak of their strength. From the Mind Eater's perspective, their combined power could reshape worlds, dominate countless realms.
Cuhlun's eyes gleamed with fragments of lost power. The spark of what he'd once been.
He smiled faintly. Then, in a voice filled with calm joy, said:
"Then come with me. We're going leviathan hunting."