Chapter 2: Niveish and Hundred Thousand Years
The moment Mi Min reached out her hand toward Sayru, he was pulled into the spatial vortex like a feather in a storm.
Then—
Nothing.
No light.
No sound.
No sense of self.
Only darkness… and emptiness.
Time meant nothing inside a rift between dimensions.
Not even Mi Min, the one guiding the transfer, could measure it.
All that remained was a sensation of melting
as if one's soul was being peeled away…
layer by layer.
⋆····
[World of Niveish – Year 1032 of the Unified Era]
"Ughh… that ceiling looks familiar… though I've never seen it before."
Sayru opened his eyes slowly.
The first thing he saw was a worn, wooden ceiling.
His breathing was heavy, like someone who had just returned from a centuries-long war.
The room was simple, in a style so old it immediately told him—
this world was nothing like his own.
"Finally awake, you turtle…"
Mi Min's voice was sharp, but held a note of relief.
She was sitting on the edge of a small table, arms crossed, wearing a slightly annoyed expression.
"Ughh… my body feels like it's falling apart…
Where… are we?"
"It's been nearly a year since we entered the rift.
This is a cheap inn in a small town near the magical capital."
Her tone was laced with mild sarcasm.
Then she added casually:
"Oh, and by the way… you almost died."
In this world, technology like that of Sayru's old world didn't exist.
Instead—there was mana, the force that governed everything.
And because his body wasn't prepared, he had spent an entire year in a coma, unconsciously resisting the foreign energy of this new world.
"The fact you didn't explode is a miracle in itself, idiot.
Anyone who tries to absorb mana before merging with a spiritual core… ends up as a burst corpse."
Mi Min explained, her tone surprisingly patient despite her annoyed face.
"Wait… spiritual core?"
"Yes. It's the first foundation for any martial artist in Niveish.
Without merging it with your heart, you can't control mana.
But… your body absorbed it on its own—no training, no permission…
Either you're lucky and gifted, or cursed. I still can't tell."
For the first time in a very long while—
Sayru felt something close to acknowledgment.
Someone… had called him gifted.
A simple word.
But it carved a mark deep inside him.
This young man who had been useless in his original world, barely graduating college,
was now told he possessed rare talent.
"Well… at least I'm not dead."
"And still an idiot."
Mi Min scoffed with a half-smile, then added:
"I guarded your body for ten days after we arrived.
I used up most of my mana fending off people trying to enter the room.
The innkeeper almost called the city guards!"
Once Mi Min was sure he could walk, she led him out of the inn.
What Sayru saw outside… was beyond anything he had imagined.
Clear blue skies.
Clouds drifting lazily.
Tiny glowing particles in the air—
as if the atmosphere itself danced with spirit dust.
"Is this… mana?"
"Yes. And it's responding to you."
But his eyes weren't on the mana alone.
He looked at Mi Min, who had changed.
Her clothes shimmered with light, her form smaller—
now only about forty centimeters tall.
"The abundance of mana here restored my true form.
What you see now… is me."
They sat on a large rock far from town.
The sun had started to dip, casting warm orange light.
"Now… tell me.
Why am I here?"
Mi Min didn't hesitate.
"I'm a sacred spirit.
I received a spiritual revelation.
It told me to find a specific person—someone I share a spiritual resonance with."
She paused, looking at him, then continued:
"And that person… was you."
Sayru processed her words slowly as she explained further:
"My revelation told me to pass on the Art of Ten Moons to you.
And help you master it."
"But why? Who sent this revelation?"
"I don't know.
We spirits don't choose our orders.
We follow revelations without question."
Sayru leaned back slightly.
Everything was moving too fast for him.
But…
Did he really mind?
In his old world, he was forgotten.
But here, he was told he had purpose.
A destiny.
Was he chosen?
Maybe.
"I see…
So then, what about my old question?
What does it mean to be human?"
"You'll find the answer when you grow strong enough."
He sighed.
He wanted to laugh—
but didn't.
Then he asked seriously:
"And this feeling…
This strange sense of familiarity with this world?"
"Because you took the body of someone who once lived here.
He died not long ago.
Same name, same face, same age.
When you arrived, your bodies merged into one."
"…"
Sayru sat on the ground.
Closed his eyes…
"Alright then.
Let's begin."
Mi Min finally smiled.
"The Art of Ten Moons consists of three core techniques:
Mana Cultivation, Array Crafting, and Blood Contracting."
"…What's the first step?"
"Finding your spiritual core.
Otherwise, in your current state, you'll explode."
She laughed softly, her expression brightening.
"Our first destination… the magical capital."
The two set off on their journey—
arguing and bickering,
like they had known each other far longer than they actually had.
⁂
[Unknown Location – Year 101,090 of the Unified Era]
A hundred thousand years had passed.
The world had changed.
Continents shifted.
Kingdoms crumbled.
New empires were born from blood.
In the sky—
a floating palace, bound by colossal chains.
The air was thick, oppressive.
The pressure alone could shatter the bones of the weak.
Inside…
A black throne.
And on it, a man with familiar features.
But his eyes… didn't belong to this world.
The mana around him…
was black.
Heavy.
Choking.
"Sayru?"
Was it really him?
Or… something else born from his ashes?
"Stand."
His voice cut like a blade.
Twenty figures bowed instantly.
Beside him, a red-haired woman knelt.
"Your Majesty…
The lower world has sent tribute.
Rare treasures… requesting your favor."
"I don't need that trash.
Distribute it to the army."
He opened his eyes—
and vanished.
"Yes, Sacred Demon Emperor…
Sovereign of the Ten Dimensions."
She whispered it with reverence—
and followed him into the shadows.