Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Part 1. The Reason for the Apocalypse
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Everything in the world had been reduced to ashes, leaving only lava-scorched earth behind. The molten rivers that had once flowed freely began to recede, erasing their trails as they returned to their origins.
The world's time slowly began to rewind.
This marked the sixth time. Humanity—and Earth itself—had met its end at the hands of the dragons once again.
The man, Yoo Ji-tae, gazed up at the blood-red sky.
As always when the final moments arrived, he decided to calmly reflect on the apocalypses that had come before.
It had all started when the hatchlings—baby dragons—ventured out for play. A dimensional rift during their outing had accidentally pulled them to Earth, and that was the spark.
The world they came from was nothing like Earth. The young dragons were oblivious to this fact. Naturally, they had no idea what consequences their actions might bring.
The hatchlings played freely and wildly, just as dragons in their own world always had.
But the results were, without exception, catastrophic.
"......"
All adult dragons bore the duty to protect hatchlings.
This protection sometimes manifested as vengeance. If a hatchling died at someone's hand, dragons from every clan would unite, without distinction, to exact blood payment.
That was why Yoo Ji-tae's clock had rewound six times.
He wasn't weak. He had lived nearly a century, spending decades wading through fields of slaughter.
He wielded every authority and blessing his existence allowed. By now, he could stand against an entire nation single-handedly.
Yet even Yoo Ji-tae couldn't protect this vast Earth from dozens of dragons.
It was an act of god—no, beyond that.
"......"
Once, these endless regressions had been exhausting.
If only he could die alongside humanity. But the very powers that made him the strongest in this world clung fiercely to his life, refusing to let go.
In the end, all he could do was sever this repeating chain of time.
By stopping the apocalypse.
So, what had caused the apocalypses?
One hatchling had lost control in the frenzy of war, descending into madness and dying in a pool of its own blood.
Another had trusted humans too naively, only to be used and discarded, wasting away in a landfill.
Yet another, overcome by loneliness, had wailed through day and night in a narrow alley before taking its own life.
These three outcomes, slightly twisted or intertwined, had each led to doom.
The cycle lasted between ten and twenty years—the forced duration of their "playtime."
Before he knew it, the fully rewound Republic of Korea stretched out before his eyes.
His impassive gaze swept over the world.
Asphalt-paved roads. Towering buildings rising above them. People hurrying along with umbrellas. Horns blaring from black and white cars weaving through the crowds. Even the sky was a dreary gray from the rain.
In this monochrome world, one man stood out, his presence a deeper shade of ash-gray than anything else.
His lips curved faintly. It wouldn't be easy, but this time would be different.
He had finally grasped the pattern.