The Demon Queen's spaceship.
Inside the damaged experimental chamber, the Masked Man stood silently amid the destruction left behind by his battle with the Demon Queen.
The reinforced walls were cracked. Several pieces of laboratory equipment lay scattered across the floor, and the air was filled with the faint smell of burnt metal.
The Demon Queen had already left.
For a moment, everything was quiet.
Then—
CRAAAAAACK!
A deafening explosion erupted from the outer wall.
The entire chamber shook violently as a massive section of the spaceship's hull broke apart, exposing the laboratory directly to the endless vacuum of outer space.
An alarm immediately began screaming throughout the facility.
BEEEEEEEEEP! BEEEEEEEEEP! BEEEEEEEEEP!
"WARNING! HULL BREACH DETECTED!"
"THE OUTER WALL HAS BEEN DESTROYED!"
"EMERGENCY PRESSURE FAILURE! SEAL THE BREACH IMMEDIATELY!"
The scientists panicked.
Alien technicians rushed toward emergency control panels while others desperately attempted to activate the automatic sealing system.
But the damage was too severe.
Air rushed out through the enormous opening, carrying loose equipment, papers, broken machines, and anything that wasn't firmly attached to the floor.
"GRAB SOMETHING!"
"THE WHOLE LABORATORY IS BEING SUCKED OUT!"
"WHERE ARE THE EMERGENCY BARRIERS?!"
Amid the chaos, the Masked Man remained standing.
His clothes fluttered violently in the rushing air. His jacket snapped behind him, and his hair was blown away from his forehead.
Yet he didn't attempt to grab anything.
He didn't try to escape.
He simply stood there, staring at the darkness beyond the shattered wall.
Then his feet slowly left the floor.
The rushing vacuum pulled him toward the opening.
One of the scientists noticed him.
"HEY! YOU! GRAB THE RAILING!"
The Masked Man didn't respond.
His body drifted backward.
A second later, he passed through the broken wall and disappeared into the vast darkness of space.
The laboratory doors slammed shut as the emergency barriers finally activated.
BOOOOM!
Metal plates rushed into position, sealing the breach.
The alarms gradually subsided, although the technicians continued working frantically to stabilize the damaged section.
"He's gone!" one alien scientist shouted. "That human was pulled outside!"
"Forget him! Restore the pressure first!"
"Activate the external repair drones! We need to seal the hull before another system fails!"
Beyond the reinforced walls, the spaceship continued moving through the endless universe.
And somewhere outside it, a lone human floated silently in the darkness.
He had nowhere to go.
No air to breathe.
No ground beneath his feet.
And no one beside him.
Meanwhile, in her private quarters, the Demon Queen was relaxing as if nothing unusual had happened.
A transparent window stretched across the wall behind her, revealing countless stars scattered across the darkness.
She was humming cheerfully when a small notification appeared on the screen beside her.
LABORATORY HULL BREACH — EMERGENCY REPAIR COMPLETED.
She glanced at the notification.
"Oh?"
Another message appeared.
SUBJECT: MASKED MAN. LAST KNOWN POSITION: OUTSIDE THE SPACESHIP.
The Demon Queen blinked.
Then she smiled.
"Wait a minute. That annoying human actually got sucked outside?"
She tilted her head, looking almost amused by the news.
"He's only a human, isn't he? He can't breathe in outer space."
She tapped her cheek thoughtfully.
"Well, whatever."
Her smile widened.
"It's not like I care."
She turned away from the screen and resumed humming.
"Besides, I already know he's not going to die that easily. He'll probably come back somehow."
She giggled.
"What an interesting fellow!"
And with that, the Demon Queen returned to enjoying her peaceful evening, apparently unconcerned about the fate of the man she had just fought.
But far beyond the spaceship's protective hull, her assumption was about to be tested.
### Beyond the Spaceship
The universe was silent.
There was no sound of alarms, no voices of scientists, and no laughter from the Demon Queen.
Only an endless expanse of darkness surrounded the Masked Man.
His body drifted farther away from the spaceship.
Slowly, his movements stopped.
His arms hung loosely beside him as his clothes floated around his body. The familiar world he had known was now nothing more than a distant vessel, its lights gradually disappearing into the darkness.
He looked down at his hands.
For some reason, he could still think clearly.
So this is it?
His thoughts echoed inside his mind.
I'm really going to die here?
His body was beginning to turn pale. Without a protective suit or a supply of oxygen, his human body could not survive the conditions of outer space for long.
Yet the thing that frightened him most wasn't the darkness.
It was the realization that he still didn't know who he was.
I don't know myself.
He closed his fingers slowly.
I hide my face. I hide my scars. I hide behind this mask, my clothes, and the image I've created for other people.
He had spent so much time worrying about how others might see him that he had never learned how to look at himself.
I'm a writer.
The thought surfaced quietly.
I've created so many characters. I've imagined so many worlds. I've given people dreams, struggles, friendships, enemies, and entire lives.
His mind wandered through the stories he had written and the countless ideas that had once occupied his thoughts.
But what about me?
What have I done with my own life?
He remembered the world he had left behind.
The ordinary streets. The familiar surroundings. The life he had struggled to understand.
If the Demon King hadn't summoned me through that portal, I wouldn't even be here.
He paused.
But where would I have gone?
The question brought back a memory.
A memory from before he had arrived in this strange universe.
A memory of the moment when he had passed through the portal.
At the time, he had believed that he was simply being transported from one world to another.
He had never understood what had actually happened.
But now, suspended between the stars, the truth began to emerge from the deepest corners of his consciousness.
In the real world, his body had already died.
The medical condition he had been struggling with had finally caught up with him. At the moment he had experienced the attack, his life had come to an end.
The figure that had appeared through the portal was not a living human who had simply travelled between dimensions.
It was his soul.
The Masked Man had already crossed the boundary between life and death before entering this world.
So… I was already dead.
His thoughts became strangely calm.
I've been dead this whole time.
He remembered the life he had left behind and wondered what had happened afterward.
Maybe I should have remained there.
Maybe I could have watched my old world from a distance, like a spirit wandering through places it could no longer touch.
A faint, bitter smile appeared beneath his mask.
But even that might have been nothing more than another fantasy.
He slowly closed his eyes.
I don't know who I am.
I don't know what I'm supposed to become.
And now, I don't even know whether there's anything left for me to do.
His body continued drifting through the darkness.
For the first time since arriving in this universe, the Masked Man stopped trying to fight against his circumstances.
He stopped struggling.
He stopped searching for an answer.
And he accepted the possibility that this might be the end of his journey.
Maybe… my story ends here.
His eyes closed completely.
Silence returned to the universe.
But something was wrong.
Something that should never have happened was happening.
And across the boundaries of countless worlds, ancient beings began to feel it.
### The Shock Across Creation
Far away, beyond the ordinary understanding of space and time, an enormous spiritual presence suddenly trembled.
Within a mysterious realm, a black sword rested in the darkness.
Its blade was silent.
Its consciousness had remained dormant, watching over a power whose origin was connected to something far greater than an ordinary weapon.
Then—
THUMP!
A powerful pulse passed through its consciousness.
The black sword trembled.
For a brief instant, its surrounding darkness distorted.
The presence within it suddenly became alert.
Something had happened.
Something terrible.
The being known as Black Phoenix had felt it.
Its consciousness surged through the sword, and a powerful spiritual pressure spread across the surrounding realm.
What…?
It had sensed something that should have been impossible.
The existence of its Creator was fading.
And that Creator was dying.
Elsewhere, within Kaito Jin's body, the Black Dragon suddenly opened its eyes.
Its enormous spiritual presence stirred.
The energy that had remained connected to Kaito's existence fluctuated violently, making the surrounding spiritual atmosphere tremble.
No.
The Black Dragon's consciousness sharpened.
That can't be happening.
It had recognized the same disturbance.
The being responsible for its existence was disappearing.
And it wasn't alone.
Across different dimensions, other powerful entities began experiencing the same inexplicable shock.
Some were ancient spiritual beings.
Some existed within weapons.
Others lived within the bodies of individuals who had never fully understood the powers they carried.
Yet all of them felt the same thing.
Their Creator was dying.
And if their Creator disappeared completely, the consequences could reach far beyond a single individual.
The worlds connected to his creations could collapse.
Their histories, their characters, their struggles, and their futures might all be lost.
For the first time, beings who possessed extraordinary power found themselves confronting a problem they couldn't solve through strength alone.
Their Creator needed help.
And there was almost no time left.
### The Stories Behind Him
The darkness surrounding the Masked Man began to change.
At first, there was only a faint glow behind his motionless body.
Then another light appeared.
And another.
One by one, luminous titles began materializing in the void behind him.
Letters formed from radiant energy, suspended in the darkness like fragments of countless forgotten dreams.
The Red Anniversary.
Last Sunrise.
The Day She Calls Me That.
The Village That Waits.
Court Class.
This World Burn Me.
More titles appeared.
And more.
Each represented a story he had created, a world he had imagined, or a dream he had once attempted to turn into something real.
The titles continued multiplying until they formed an enormous constellation behind his unconscious body.
But they were not merely words.
Each title carried a connection to the world it represented.
Each connection led to characters who possessed their own existence within the greater structure of creation.
And now, those connections were responding to the death of their Creator.
A new light appeared beside the titles.
Then a figure emerged from the radiance.
It was Black Phoenix's spiritual manifestation, its presence resembling the mysterious power contained within the black sword.
Nearby, the Black Dragon's consciousness appeared as an enormous shadow, its eyes fixed upon the motionless human floating before them.
Other Creation-Level Beings materialized around them.
Some took recognizable forms.
Others appeared as strange collections of light, energy, and spiritual symbols.
Even beings associated with the natural world—the ancient forces connected to animals and living creatures—began gathering in the mysterious space.
And among those presences was a familiar spiritual existence.
Leo.
Not the ordinary physical body that lived in the world of World Martial Art, but the spiritual being connected to his deeper existence.
He looked at the Masked Man.
For a moment, Leo said nothing.
Then his expression changed.
"Wait…"
He stepped forward.
"That's our Creator."
The words spread through the gathering.
"Our Creator is dying?"
"How is that possible?"
"Why is his existence disappearing?"
The questions came from different directions, but none of the beings had an answer.
Black Phoenix moved closer to the unconscious Masked Man.
Its consciousness examined him, searching for any remaining trace of the life that had sustained him.
There was almost nothing left.
The human body had reached its limit.
And the soul inhabiting it was fading alongside it.
Black Phoenix turned toward the other beings.
"Isn't there anything we can do?"
Its voice carried an unfamiliar desperation.
"We cannot simply stand here and watch him disappear!"
The Black Dragon's eyes narrowed.
"If he dies completely, the consequences could extend to every world connected to his creations."
Leo clenched his fists.
"Then we have to save him!"
"But how?" another being demanded. "Our powers belong to our own worlds. Even if we give him our energy, a human body might not be capable of containing it."
Black Phoenix looked at the Masked Man again.
For a moment, the entire gathering fell silent.
Then it spoke.
"There may be a way."
Every gaze turned toward it.
"We cannot restore his original life in the real world. That moment has already passed."
Its spiritual energy began to glow.
"But as long as the worlds connected to his creations continue to exist, we may be able to sustain his existence here."
Black Phoenix paused.
"Not for a single year. Not for a hundred years."
Its gaze hardened.
"We must keep him alive for as long as these stories exist."
A wave of astonishment passed through the gathering.
Black Phoenix continued.
"We will lend him our power. Every one of us. We will give him enough energy to maintain his existence in this universe."
The Black Dragon immediately understood.
"You're proposing that we combine our powers to sustain his soul."
"Yes."
"And if his body cannot withstand the energy?"
Black Phoenix looked at the titles glowing behind the Masked Man.
"Then his existence must change."
Silence followed.
Everyone understood what that meant.
They weren't simply attempting to save an ordinary human anymore.
They were about to give an ordinary human the combined power of countless creations.
A power that no single being present could fully comprehend.
### The Creator's Awakening
Suddenly, two familiar figures emerged from the glowing titles.
One was Lily.
The former red mobile phone, which had entered this universe and become a human being, now stood among the gathering of powerful spiritual entities.
Beside her appeared Sera, the woman who had once been the black Samsung phone.
Her glasses reflected the radiant titles floating behind the Masked Man.
Both women stared at the unconscious figure.
Lily's expression changed.
"Wait… that's him."
Sera adjusted her glasses, unable to hide her shock.
"Our Creator?"
Lily moved closer.
"He's dying?"
No one answered.
They didn't need to.
The fading energy surrounding the Masked Man told them everything.
Lily clenched her fists.
"No. We can't let this happen."
Sera's expression became serious.
"If his existence disappears, the consequences could be catastrophic. We need to act now."
Lily turned toward Black Phoenix.
"Tell us what to do."
Black Phoenix looked around at the assembled beings.
"Everyone. Lend him your power."
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then Leo stepped forward.
"If he's the one who gave us our existence, then I'm not going to abandon him now."
A golden spiritual light began emerging from Leo's presence.
The Black Dragon followed.
Black Phoenix released the energy contained within its consciousness.
One after another, the Creation-Level Beings began contributing their power.
Their energies gathered around the Masked Man, forming an enormous sphere of radiance.
The titles behind him began shining more brightly.
Each story responded to the energy flowing through its connection.
The Red Anniversary.
Last Sunrise.
The Day She Calls Me That.
The Village That Waits.
Court Class.
This World Burn Me.
The titles illuminated the surrounding darkness until the entire region appeared to be filled with the accumulated light of countless worlds.
Then the energy began flowing into the Masked Man.
At first, his body didn't react.
His eyes remained closed.
His limbs remained motionless.
But a faint pulse appeared within his chest.
Then another.
THUMP.
The surrounding energy surged.
THUMP.
His body began glowing.
The pale color of his skin gradually changed as countless streams of spiritual energy passed through him.
The gathering watched in silence.
Black Phoenix's voice echoed through the radiant space.
"Come back."
More energy poured into him.
"We're not finished with you yet."
The titles behind him began rotating, each releasing a different wave of power.
The energy became so immense that the surrounding space started trembling.
Then—
CRAAAAAAACK!
A fracture appeared in the darkness.
Another followed.
And another.
The void itself was beginning to crack under the pressure of the awakening energy.
The Masked Man's body suddenly arched as an enormous spiritual force erupted from within him.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A tremendous wave of energy spread outward.
The Creation-Level Beings were forced to shield themselves as the radiance expanded across the void.
Behind the Masked Man's head, a single luminous ring appeared.
Then a second.
Then a third.
Within seconds, countless rings began forming behind him, overlapping one another in an extraordinary celestial formation.
They extended far into the surrounding darkness, each rotating at a different speed.
The energy continued increasing.
Above his head, a mysterious eye began to manifest.
It opened slowly, revealing a presence that seemed to look beyond the ordinary boundaries of the universe.
The Masked Man's mouth opened unnaturally as the overwhelming energy escaped from within him.
His body was no longer merely receiving power.
It was transforming under the influence of countless creations.
Black Phoenix stared in astonishment.
"What kind of existence are we creating…?"
The Black Dragon remained silent.
Even Leo struggled to comprehend what he was witnessing.
The energy continued spreading until the surrounding black-and-white void cracked like glass.
For a brief moment, it seemed as though reality itself could no longer contain the power awakening before them.
Then everything stopped.
The countless rings remained suspended behind the Masked Man.
The mysterious eye hovered above his head.
The titles of his stories continued shining behind him.
And at the center of it all floated a human being who had once believed that he was nothing more than a frightened writer hiding behind a mask.
He had not been born a god.
He had not created himself.
He had not possessed this power from the beginning.
It had been given to him by the beings whose existence was connected to his own imagination.
The very beings he had once believed existed only within his stories.
Now they were standing around him, having risked their own power to keep him alive.
And the universe itself had begun to tremble at the consequences.
### The One Who Followed His Dreams
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
The Masked Man remained suspended in the center of the radiant formation.
The countless rings behind him continued rotating.
The eye above his head watched over the surrounding darkness.
The energy within his body had become something extraordinary, yet the person at its center remained the same individual who had once struggled to understand himself.
He was still the writer who had hidden his face.
Still the person who had doubted his abilities.
Still the human being who had wondered whether his dreams were worth pursuing.
But he was no longer alone.
Around him stood the beings who had inherited their existence from those dreams.
Leo looked at him quietly.
Lily lowered her head.
Sera stood beside her.
Black Phoenix and the Black Dragon watched the transformation, aware that they had witnessed something that might never happen again.
The titles behind the Masked Man shone like an endless collection of memories.
And somewhere within the motionless figure, the faintest trace of consciousness began stirring.
He had wanted to understand who he was.
He had wanted to know whether his life meant anything.
Now, countless beings were waiting for him to open his eyes.
Not because he had conquered them.
Not because he had forced them to kneel.
But because they wanted him to live.
The answer to his existence had not come from a god.
It had come from the people he had created.
And so, the narration of this extraordinary event began.
This is a human being.
Neither a god nor an almighty Creator.
Just an ordinary human who chose to follow his dreams.
Life had knocked him down more times than anyone could count.
He had hidden his face, concealed his scars, and struggled to understand the person he saw whenever he looked at himself.
In the real world, his life had already come to an end.
Yet the people he had created through his stories were now trying to give him another chance to live.
He had given them worlds.
He had given them stories.
And now, they were giving him their power.
Not to make him their ruler.
Not to turn him into their master.
But to save the human being who had dreamed them into existence.
The countless rings shone brighter.
The cracks in the surrounding void spread farther.
And at the center of the phenomenon, the Masked Man remained suspended between death and a new beginning.
For the first time, the Creator was being saved by his own creations.
The chapter/story has ended, but we'll remember it someday from another corner of a new universe