After finishing my time travel, I returned to the present.
Time had passed, but I didn’t disappear.
That was inevitable.
The past me was no longer a rookie who had just undergone dimensional transference.
I shared my current memories, experiences, and the karma of the void with him, so he was no different from me.
Of course, in terms of combat power, he was less than 50%, but that was still more than enough to sweep across the Gritia Continent.
And.
‘Whatever scheme Nepas prepares, I can crush it.’
That bastard must have thoroughly prepared countermeasures against me.
Since he recognized me as an enemy, he would have left no room for negligence in eliminating me.
But no matter what tricks he had in store, they were meaningless in the face of overwhelming power.
Unless his main body arrived in that time period, killing the past me was impossible.
He wouldn’t gain anything.
Rather.
‘Thanks to that, I obtained good information.’
I gained a lot.
The biggest achievement was undoubtedly Nepas’s secret to immortality—called undying, immortal, or eternal.
He hid his avatars across countless dimensions and timelines.
As long as not all of them were killed, he wouldn’t die.
That was why no matter how many times I killed the current Nepas, he could always revive.
There was only one way to kill him.
Eliminate all the avatars hidden across dimensions and timelines, then take care of the main body in the present.
Of course.
‘It won’t be easy.’
Even for me, who had obtained the authority of time travel, this was quite a difficult task.
Difficult?
No, it was nearly impossible.
As I said before, traveling to a desired point in time was practically impossible.
Unless I used a trick like Nepas’s, finding him hidden in all those dimensions and timelines was bound to be hard.
But nearly impossible didn’t mean impossible.
‘Thanks to that, I bought some time.’
Until just recently, my body was in the worst condition.
My inner self was collapsing, and even my future self had been destroyed, accelerating the collapse.
But now?
‘The collapse rate has stabilized, and my lifespan has increased.’
Originally, I thought I had about ten years left.
But through this journey, I gained enlightenment, and instead of shortening my lifespan, it actually lengthened.
Through the phenomenon of unification, I contacted my past self and received some of his life force, which hadn’t yet collapsed.
Simply put, I gave him my current experiences, a portion, and the karma of the void, and in return, I received the life force of my past self.
As I said, what I touched was the absolute law of equivalent exchange.
If you give something, you receive something in return.
I received life force, and thanks to that, my grace period was extended.
But I couldn’t be completely relieved.
Because I saw Nepas’s resolve to eliminate me with all his power.
Until now, I survived because he was treating me like a toy, but if he went all-out…
—
‘Something big is definitely going to happen.’
That didn’t just mean changes in my personal circumstances.
A massive transformation would occur across the entire Earth—a cataclysm similar to when the Tower first appeared.
And the only ones who could stop it were…
‘Me and Leon.’
On Earth, it was just me and Leon.
Of course, Lee Seo-jun existed as a possibility, but he was only a seed of hope.
Whether he would grow into a great tree later remained to be seen.
Right now, me and Leon had to protect Earth and humanity.
That didn’t mean something was going to happen immediately.
Like the calm before the storm, Earth was peaceful.
That was why I called for an emergency meeting.
It wasn’t just South Korea, which I belonged to.
“The center of the world, Kim Si-won. Emergency world summit requested.”
It wasn’t just me who needed to prepare.
Nepas was targeting me and the entire Earth.
No, perhaps he intended to devour this entire timeline.
That was why not just me but all of humanity needed to actively intervene and prepare for Nepas’s schemes.
This world summit was a place to discuss such preparations.
Of course, in the past, no one would have listened to a mere Oriental from South Korea.
But now, I was the center of the world and the world’s greatest Awakener.
No one dared defy my words.
That included the United States, Russia, China, and Japan, which had previously shown hostility.
“An absolute command that no one can resist was issued.”
“To Seoul, the capital of the world.”
Following my request, the leaders of each nation began gathering in Seoul, South Korea.
—
The hall.
The leaders of the former great powers—the United States, Russia, China, and Japan—as well as the leaders of rising powers like Spain, Brazil, and Argentina, were all assembled.
But not a single one of them dared to breathe properly.
That was inevitable, since the host of this summit was Kim Si-won.
Their eyes were filled with doubt, unease, and tension.
How could it be otherwise?
Until now, despite holding the most powerful authority, he had rarely used it.
But now, today, he had summoned all the world’s leaders here.
Along with threats of severe penalties and sanctions for anyone who didn’t attend.
The media didn’t know.
But they had been accurately informed.
Of Kim Si-won’s will.
And since they couldn’t act against that will, everyone had made time to attend.
That was why they couldn’t help but feel anxious and tense.
Because Kim Si-won, who had never brandished the sword of authority before, seemed determined to do something now.
As everyone was nervously looking around.
Creak—
The door to the conference hall opened.
Everyone had already arrived.
The protagonist was supposed to make a grand entrance last, so they all knew it was Kim Si-won.
And.
Thud—
As expected, someone slowly walked up to the podium in the conference hall.
“I thank you all for responding to my request.”
Kim Si-won, standing on the podium, bowed his head and expressed his gratitude.
“You must all be wondering. About why I took such a强硬 stance and made everyone come here.”
He didn’t beat around the bush.
Kim Si-won immediately got to the point.
“It’s simple. Right now, the world is facing an unprecedented crisis.”
A crisis.
It was a cliché politicians used.
A technique to heighten the sense of crisis and gain something.
But if it was Kim Si-won saying it—and no one else—it wasn’t a joke.
“When you say crisis…?”
Oscar Velderd, the young president of Spain who had recently risen as a new powerhouse, asked a question.
Who could possibly bring a crisis to the world that Kim Si-won was protecting?
“Nepas.”
Upon hearing those three syllables, most reacted:
“Nepas…?”
“The one who ruled the Demon Clan…?”
Everyone knew.
Although it hadn’t been long since he started operating under the name Nepas, he had exerted that much powerful influence.
A former Legion Commander of the Demon Clan, and more recently, one who advocated for the Demon Clan’s independence.
Though he was eliminated and purged by Altain, at least those in power had to know that name.
“But wasn’t he dead?”
Everyone knew he had been purged by Altain.
So why was his name suddenly coming up?
“You all think he’s dead, but that’s not the case. He’s alive. And he’s formulating a thorough plan to annihilate Earth and humanity.”
Every time he reappeared, he devised even stronger, more inescapable plans.
This time was no different.
Especially now that he recognized me as an enemy rather than a toy, he was sure to come back with a vengeance.
To prepare for that, not only I but also the world and all of humanity had to be ready.
“Is he a threat just because he’s alive? We have you, Kim Si-won.”
John Gray, the US president who had been most cooperative with Nepas, stepped forward.
Having now realized his place, he was desperate to align with my line instead of Nepas or the Demon Clan.
Such flattery was an effort not to repeat past mistakes.
His words were transparent.
But I didn’t bother pointing that out.
There was a time when I considered them—the US, Russia, China, Japan, and others—my enemies.
But not anymore.
My enemy wasn’t fellow humans; it was Nepas.
So I had no intention of remaining at odds with them like before.
“I’m grateful for your kind words, but that’s praise beyond my worth. Nepas’s full power is something even I would struggle to handle.”
That was something no one expected.
“Are you saying even your power is insufficient?”
“Yes. I can’t guarantee that even if I join forces with my disciple Leon here, we can stop him.”
He pointed to Leon, standing beside him.
Everyone knew Leon, his first disciple who had absorbed the Rank of Creation.
“Hah!”
“How can that be!”
Gasps of astonishment followed.
It was inevitable.
The fact that even combining me and Leon’s strength would make it difficult to face him meant that humanity’s power was utterly insufficient.
“But haven’t you been holding him off well so far?”
Oscar Velderd continued asking, as if representing the nations.
It was a natural question.
Until now, I had thoroughly crushed Nepas’s schemes.
But that was…
“Not his full power.”
It wasn’t Nepas’s full power.
“He was merely enjoying a game until now.”
“A game? With that immense power…?”
“It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Everything he’s done so far was just a game. That’s why if he appears with the determination to get serious this time, the repercussions will be enormous.”
The extent of Nepas’s full power was something even I couldn’t fathom.
That was why we had to prepare.
“And it’s to a degree that even if I and Leon here help, it’ll be difficult to handle. No, even if we somehow manage to stop him by luck, the damage to the world will be uncontrollable.”
Stopping him wasn’t the problem.
If Nepas’s plan succeeded, humanity would suffer irreversible damage.
Even if we won, it would be the same as losing.
“To minimize that damage, each nation must cooperate closely and prioritize world peace over their own interests.”
But I knew too well that this was an idealistic statement.
Because…
Everyone fell silent at my words.
Even South Korea and Spain, which were friendly to me, couldn’t answer readily.
It was inevitable.
Individualism had been rampant in the world for a long time.
World peace?
Bullshit.
People had even come to despise those who spouted such nonsense.
In that situation, sacrifice for world peace?
They would immediately be impeached and lose their current power.
Knowing that, none of them could answer me.
And I knew that well.
That was why.
“…I plan to establish the World Awakener Association.”
I wasn’t asking for sacrifices from each nation.
I was merely going to enforce it.
Under the name of the World Awakener Association, I intended to create an organization that could control the entire world and all Awakeners with power.