It is said that when a personsinks into endless darkness, a man faces a brutal choice—
to become one with that darkness, drowned in its so-called glory…
or to be exceptional, to rise when all odds crush him down, and create a sliver of light strong enough to erode the very abyss swallowing him.
The beast's massive mouth closed around him.
As Ross fell, the mirror-filled sky vanished, swallowed by a band of teeth.
The creature pushed itself halfway out of the ground—its lower body still buried in sand, its upper half rising tall. If it had eyes, one would think it was staring at the sky.
Ross lost his balance—not landing on his feet but collapsing backward, arms instinctively reaching for something that wasn't there.
Useless.
His fate felt sealed shut.
Beep.
The screen appeared again.
It displayed a massive beast—physique similar to a whale, slick, long, built with fins perfect for maneuvering. But its face was ugly, predatorous, worm-like, made for swallowing anything whole like a living vacuum.
Lines extended from the figure like a hospital diagram, labeling every deadly aspect.
Speed: 30
Strength: 40
Size: 205 meters
Weight: 8,000 tons
[What the heck is going on? The Sand Worm is supposed to be on the second level—why is it here on level one?]
Medusaa's voice trembled, shattering the suffocating silence of the darkness.
But it made no difference.
Ross was frozen—eyes empty, trauma wiping out every trace of life.
"The world hates me, doesn't it? Wants to drown any hope I have left…" he muttered.
Yet deep inside the darkest corner of his heart, a candle flame flickered to life.
Small. Insignificant.
But enough.
Ross chose the latter path—
to create a ray of hope.
A cold breeze shot across his back as he fell even faster, teasing the oceanic nature of wherever he was headed.
And like lightning striking a thought, it came to him—
A.O.I.
The moment he tapped into it, fear surged through him.
Fear—
the vital key that awakened .I. like unlocking a special door.
"Every emotion is a key to specific power!"
In that moment, the light in his soul—his desperate hope—twisted itself into something new.
Desperation.
The key to the second power.
Guuuu!!!
The deed was done.
The worm's mouth snapped shut.
The eyeless face was complete.
Its attempt to swallow its enemy… successful.
The fins began spinning in circular motions. Its long body joined in, stirring up clouds of dust like a helicopter about to lift off. The sand blasted outward in every direction.
"Ooohum…" it groaned.
"Ohnmh…"
Its mouth opened again, just slightly—like a dog choking before a vomit.
A.O.I Activate
O.phir: God of Order
SPECIAL TECHNIQUE: Time Freeze
Weakness>has an activation time of 1.5 seconds.
Everything stopped.
The dust.
The fins.
Its massive body.
All of it froze at once, obeying Ross's command.
Silence expanded—deeper than the silence before creation itself.
"I'm not giving up!" Ross roared.
He launched himself out of the worm's mouth, his whole body coated in slimy stomach fluid. An unseen force pushed him upward—perhaps a perk of Time Freeze.
Thud.
He landed on the creature's nose like a superhero, stance radiating disrespect, daring the monster to challenge him.
"Not here. Not now!"
Determination carved itself into his eyes.
"I have a kid's life to save!"
[Time Freeze deactivate ~ Groly depleted.]
Motion returned.
The dust resumed its drift.
The fins spun again.
The worm's body lurched as if confused—movements scattered, like a child who lost his pencil.
It realized something was wrong.
Its first conclusion:
The human on its nose should've been dead.
Roar!!
It opened its massive mouth again, firing bursts of air through its nose to blow Ross away like a mere fly.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Ross turned from its face to the thick, slimy worm-body below.
Swing.
He slashed—driving the katana deep into the edge of its skin.
He clenched the handle, knuckles white.
"Ahhhh!"
Gravity grabbed him.
He dragged the blade downward as he fell, carving through flesh.
It was like descending a cliff while holding onto a rope—but the rope was a sword.
"Rooar!"
Blood sprayed everywhere.
The worm thrashed violently, but the katana was buried too deep.
The realm's abnormal gravity pulled Ross faster.
Thud.
He hit the ground.
A rain of blood followed.
The sliced flesh peeled apart like a torn curtain. With its balance ruined—half its body in the sand, half exposed—the worm toppled over like a collapsing building.
It twitched its fins, clinging to life.
But with that amount of blood loss, the effort was pointless.
Death hovered close.
BOOM!
A thunder strike from the mirror above slammed into the worm's head.
Heat and force ripped it apart into countless pieces.
The shockwave hurled Ross back like he was hit by a truck.
If not for his endurance, he'd be dead.
As it was—he was heavily wounded.
Through the explosion and dust, a figure descended.
[Look up, Ross… that's the Genki we're here for.]
.....
Mutts Residence – The Secret Room
Just like Ross, Marie's day had been full of discoveries—
only hers didn't involve any fighting.
Ever since she entered the secret room, she had spent nearly half the day reading the countless books scattered across the long table. Some described inventions she recognized—devices her company had released.
But many were things she had never seen or heard before.
Above all, the time-travel device fascinated her the most.
The calculations written around it were maddening, a chaotic storm of formulas that felt impossible for any normal person to understand.
According to the notes, the power source was supposed to draw energy from the cosmos.
He even wrote that harnessing cosmic energy was "impossible," yet still continued to pursue the idea.
It was mind-boggling.
Ring. Ring.
Her phone vibrated on the table, snapping her out of the book-induced trance.
Linda's name lit up the screen, bright and colorful.
Below it—Accept or Decline.
"Fuck—how long have I been here?"
She tilted the phone to check the time.
19:32 PM.
"I've been here for seven hours!? No wonder Dad loved this room."
Pow! Pow!
Gunshots erupted across the residence—loud, sharp, echoing into the secret room.
Each shot hammered against her chest, pushing her heartbeat into panic.
"What the fuck is that…?"
Her voice trembled, curiosity and fear blending.
She grabbed the book and the diamond watch, clutching them tight as she approached the same door she had entered through.
Guu!
The door slid open automatically, leading back into the quiet library—
a library with a large front window.
Heart pounding, she rushed to the curtain.
Slide—
She pulled it open.
And froze.
The entire front yard was filled with mercenaries carrying guns.
Dead bodies of security agents lay scattered across the ground—some shot, others decapitated.
Front and center stood a tall, dark-skinned man with long dreads.
Zabi.
The Enforcer of the Turtle Companies.
And he was here.
At their home.