Prologue: Should I Just Die?
"Should I just die...."
In a world dyed entirely gray, only one man remained.
Ruins. Even calling it that felt like a luxury, for there was nothing around him at all. Not a single blade of grass could be seen on the blackened, dead earth.
It was as if no other living creature existed in the world besides this man.
...And that was the truth.
"Boring."
After sending off the last survivor, for two years now, the man had lived alone in this world.
Though it was just two years in name, it felt like at least two hundred.
He could barely even remember how to hold a conversation anymore.
Rumble!
At that moment, the sky split open, and swarms of pitch-black monsters poured forth.
"Fine. Come at me, then."
Dimensional Eaters. Calamities that devoured everything in the world. These were the vanguard sent by that thing.
It had been seventeen years since he'd been dragged into this damned world. He'd faced them so many times now that he was sick of it—he'd lost count of how many he'd slain.
"By the time I regress, it'll probably be twenty years...."
The man's name was Hyeo Ga-on. A name meaning he would become the center of the world.
On the day he was pulled into this otherworld, Ga-on had been at the barbershop in front of the training camp, about to enlist in the army. With trembling heart, he'd listened to the buzz of the clippers devouring the hair he'd grown for so long.
That was how he'd ended up here.
And then... he lived like a worm.
This world had bestowed a cruel fate upon Ga-on, who had grown up in an ordinary family with a smooth life.
With his lowly talent, he'd scraped by in that pathetic existence, living cowardly.
Then, by some stroke of luck, he'd regressed.
At the moment of regression, it felt like he had everything. With knowledge of the future, he thought he could become the protagonist of this world.
He'd always envied the strong, admired them, crushed by self-loathing. He believed he could escape that life.
Now, he thought, he would become that very figure.
But his talent was still trash, and in the end, he lived cowardly once more.
He took everything. What he needed, what he didn't. Using future knowledge, he monopolized it all, living a greedy life.
Even betraying comrades he'd shared time with before fateful encounters. Ugly.
He'd walked an even trashier path than before regression.
In the end, nothing remained.
The strongest. Even now, when he could proudly claim that title, nothing was left by Ga-on's side.
He was alone.
Thoroughly alone, fighting invaders day by day, dying bit by bit.
Now, he even welcomed them.
Entangling with those who had nothing but survival left, he found joy in it.
These were the only moments he truly felt alive.
If this continued, he'd go mad.
No, perhaps he already had.
If he got one more chance, this wouldn't happen.
He could do better.
As such thoughts crossed his mind, he let out a dry chuckle at his own absurdity.
"And this is the result after coming back."
Even if he got another chance, he might end up with an even worse conclusion.
He didn't know who granted the regression, but unless they were a complete idiot, they wouldn't give another shot to the same guy.
Why gamble on a proven failure?
"Kyaaak!"
As he indulged in foolish thoughts, the monsters closed in right before his eyes.
The sky was blotted out by an unimaginable horde, stars invisible.
He rose, facing the horde rapidly narrowing the distance. Spinning the spear that had been planted in the ground, he thrust lightly.
Whoosh—an unhurried strike.
A gentle breeze blew, tousling his hair.
And the wings of the monsters blocking his view turned to powder, dyeing the sky ashen.
"Ah, my bad."
Pathetic. After devouring countless fateful encounters like a glutton, he still couldn't perfectly control his power.
Over twenty years swinging a spear, and he couldn't even master this.
Truly, wretchedly worthless talent.
But put another way, he'd grown this strong with such talent.
Regression was that remarkable.
It allowed even a worm like him, without talent or grit, to claim his share.
The problem was the world wasn't so forgiving.
If he'd regressed, he should have at least protected everyone.
He failed, and now he was alone.
"Then, shall I take another lap around the world?"
Gazing at the beautiful starry night sky, Ga-on slowly began stretching.
It was his daily routine, but nothing beat circling the globe to kill time.
He knew no survivors remained in this world, yet he couldn't fully abandon hope.
He had to search every corner, just in case.
Even an animal would be nice....
As he prepared to run, satisfied with repelling today's invasion, a massive roar suddenly erupted from the sky.
Krraaaack!
"Huh?"
The sky split.
Beyond the darkness studded with stars, the universe cleaved in two.
The dimension was tearing apart.
────!!!
From within emerged a horrific aberrant lifeform.
A body the size of a planet, covered in countless maws like jagged jaws.
Drooping long tentacles like an octopus, it revealed itself from beyond the dimension.
Just looking at it instilled overwhelming dread.
For the first time in ages, goosebumps rose on his skin.
"So it was you."
The Dimensional Eater. The one only rumored until now finally appeared.
The cause of him being dragged into this world, and the goal to end it all.
He'd lived because he couldn't die. Suicide tempted him countless times, but he'd clung to life for a chance at atonement.
And now, that chance had come.
────Groooaaarrr!!
The thing bellowed.
Hundreds of millions of mouths across its body tore open at once, fulfilling their role.
Shwooooosh────!
All the world's energy was sucked into it.
The surrounding stars lost color, dying black like the ground beneath Ga-on's feet.
In real time, its energy ballooned explosively.
How many worlds had it devoured like this? What was the total energy?
Tension coursed through his body.
But he felt no fear, only tension.
With all the fateful encounters he'd monopolized, fear would be an insult to those he'd robbed.
"Then, let's go."
Ga-on took a step forward.
The moment his foot hit the ground, the storm dwelling within him unleashed.
Boom!
A whirlwind that devoured everything swept the surroundings.
Vast energy enough to blanket the world erupted from one man's body, charging toward its target.
────Kuaaaah!
Their eyes met.
Not sure if it even had eyes, but Ga-on instinctively knew its gaze fixed on him.
Its largest maw, still shut tight, opened.
Immediately, immense suction assailed him.
Undaunted, Ga-on gripped his spear firmly and countered.
The rampaging winds that seemed to devour everything around converged into one point. It might seem like a stalemate at first glance, but it was merely the calm before the storm.
"Hup!"
The moment the spear thrust forward, the mad dragon manifested.
The dragon, composed entirely of storm, roared ferociously and collided with the Dimensional Eater.
Kaboooom!────!
The two forces clashed, plunging the world into darkness.
The terrifying shockwave reduced everything nearby to nothingness.
The clash of powers inevitably birthed massive energy turbulence, destroying the surroundings.
Neither yielded, the standoff that wouldn't break easily ended sooner than expected.
Crack!
Space, the dimension, could not withstand the immense force and began to crumble.
Torn and shattered, it shook unstably, on the verge of collapse.
Soon, the dimension collapsed.
The entire world broke apart.
As concepts of time and space blurred, shaking even mighty souls, Ga-on spotted a single star.
'Earth...?'
Unlike the land he'd stood on moments ago, a planet brimming with life, blue and green.
Of course, it was hard to be certain it was Earth, but the unmistakable shape of that landmass gave it away.
Some said it looked like a sideways tiger, but to him, that lump viewed sideways resembled a rabbit—the country where he'd been born and raised. Korea.
Shimmer────.
The planet split like a lingering afterimage.
Rotating clockwise, it multiplied into ten Earths.
Ten identical twin planets existed beyond the collapsed dimension.
They drew closer.
Among the many Earths, one approached rapidly.
No, was Earth charging toward him?
In the chaos, Ga-on felt his vision blur.
A strange sensation, like his soul detaching from his body—liberation and loss intertwined.
Through the fading sight, he saw another self.
A younger self, tense in the barbershop chair.
From a time so distant he could scarcely recall, before he'd become trash.
'Miss that.'
With that brief sentiment, Ga-on's eyes closed.
Regret clung to his eyelids, refusing release, but irresistible pressure crushed his will.
What lay beyond death?
If there was an afterlife, reuniting with those who resented him, what words should he offer?
With those thoughts, Ga-on's consciousness fully sank into darkness.