At the very beginning of my entry into the Gritia Continent, I was haunted by nightmares.
It was only natural.
I had never once killed a person.
Coming from peaceful modern times, I had become a soldier of the Asran Kingdom, wandering through countless battlefields.
Hundreds, even thousands, had died.
From the gaping wounds, entrails spilled out, and corpses with wide-open eyes stared directly at me.
That place, filled with the metallic stench of blood—the battlefield, soaked with resentment and hatred—was no place for a mere mortal like me to endure.
Whenever I tried to sleep, the dead, the enemies, chased me.
Cut by swords, pierced by spears, axes cleaving my skull.
In my dreams, I experienced death tens of thousands of times.
Without missing a single day, I was plagued by nightmares.
But after a year, ten years, a hundred years—
With the passage of time, the dreams ceased.
Why?
Because feelings like sympathy, guilt, and all emotions related to murder had faded away.
No, more accurately, those feelings had been worn down to nothing.
Dreams are a collection of past experiences and the remnants left in the heart.
But since on the battlefield, and in killing, I no longer felt any emotions, I stopped dreaming altogether.
Yet now—
I am dreaming.
And it is a lucid dream.
It’s clearly a dream because—
“Huff, huff.”
That breath, rough and labored, is coming from right in front of me.
The pure white armor is crushed and broken beyond repair.
The black sword, which once shone with a light that could cut through everything, has been split in two.
“Drip, drip.”
Bright red blood trickles down the hilt of the sword and drips onto the ground.
The wound was one that could have taken him down at any moment.
Yet the man stands firm, rooted to the earth.
He cannot fall.
I look around.
“Urek.”
Urek of the Black Hammer Clan, the dwarf warrior.
The sturdy shield that always protected the group lay shattered in pieces scattered across the ground.
Pierced in the abdomen with a fatal wound, he lay face down on the earth, growing cold.
“Chloe.”
Saint Chloe, who filled the gap left by Urek.
Her pure white priestly robes were stained crimson, and her single body was split horizontally, spilling her entrails.
“Kro, Taro.”
The twin beastfolk siblings.
Known for their agility, the siblings, who used to confuse enemies, stood frozen, their hands tightly clasped.
The party that always stayed by his side, the reliable comrades—they were all dead.
The handsome man, whose original blonde hair had turned brown from dust and bloodstains, stared straight ahead.
There stood someone clad in jet-black armor that emitted such cold air it caused white breath to form.
“Sorry about this.”
The one who caused this disaster offered an apology.
“I have to live too.”
“Raaaaaah!”
At that cry, the blonde man burst forward at a furious speed.
“Vwoooom!”
From the broken sword, light surged forth.
It replaced the original blade and boasted a sharper edge than ever before.
The Sword of Light, Luminaire.
Only those qualified—the true heroes—could wield it.
Blazing brilliantly!
It emitted a tremendous light.
That power, which drives away all evil energies, has a strong effect of eradicating seeds of darkness.
“Valdevron Brocia!”
It had to work on Valdevron Brocia, the Undying Legion Commander, naturally a member of the Demon King’s Legion.
However—
He paid no mind to the light.
Instead—
“Swish.”
He swung Frigg, the sword bestowed upon him by Ingram the Demon King, with no hesitation.
“Thwack!”
The chilling sound of flesh being pierced.
Eyes locked in midair.
“Pfft!”
The blonde man spat out dark red blood and collapsed.
Valdevron Brocia coldly watched the fallen hero.
“The light is useless,” he said, removing his helmet.
From beneath the helmet that radiated blue demonic light emerged not a demon but a human.
With long, unkempt black hair hanging loose, he was Valdevron Brocia, the commander of the Undying Legion, one of the six corps of the Demon King’s Legion.
He was my past self… the one who killed the hero.
***
I opened my eyes.
All I saw was a ceiling plastered in white wallpaper.
“…It’s been a long time.”
How long had it been since I last dreamed?
I didn’t know.
It felt like at least hundreds of years had passed.
Yet suddenly, a dream.
‘It must be due to multiple factors.’
I killed Ha Yeon Lee and completed my revenge.
Though I had lived for centuries with my emotions dulled, my mind inevitably wavered in that moment.
Moreover, I hadn’t yet realized the truth about the Awakening Potion.
Since forgotten memories resurfaced as dreams, some cracks must have appeared.
“Splash!”
Although my mind was clear, I washed my face with cold water as a formality.
I looked into the mirror.
The reflection distorted like the surface of water, then formed the familiar image of the Demon King Ingram.
The same as in the dream.
He glared at me, tears of blood streaming down his face.
‘One day, I will find you and make you pay. Until then, enjoy the rest of your life, Valdevron Brocia. No, Kim Si-won.’
His final curse was not just a threat or a warning.
It was a deep imprint left on my very existence.
Even if I returned to Earth, that demon king would seek me out to take revenge wherever I was.
‘Just like I did.’
After wandering the Gritia Continent for hundreds of years, I returned and took revenge on Ha Yeon Lee.
That’s why I have to prepare.
For the full life that awaits me after completing my revenge.
I opened my smartphone.
I had already destroyed the one through which I’d been contacted from Russia, and now I was using a new device (provided by the government with enhanced security).
I immediately searched the news.
But there was nothing notable.
Japan, which seemed ready to wage war, and China, which had just lost a talent named Lu Hong, were both quiet.
‘The calm before the storm, huh?’
A good sign?
No.
Silence means someone is scheming behind the scenes.
They must be planning something, and it’s probably connected to me.
The Awakening Potion issue, and both China and Japan.
Even one of those is a complicated problem on its own, but all of them together—
Of course, it was all my doing.
Everything I set in motion to get revenge on Ha Yeon Lee had snowballed into this massive crisis.
But—
‘It doesn’t matter.’
No need to overthink.
One step at a time, in order.
I pressed button number one.
“Brrring!”
Only the person saved in my contacts was reached.
The moment the ringtone sounded—
[Yes! Manager Kim Chaun—no, Minister!]
A voice full of strength.
Even though I couldn’t see him, I could imagine him standing at attention as always.
“I need you to investigate something.”
[Leave it to me!]
I gave him a secret mission.
***
To the ministry that had been busy restoring the Republic of Korea Awakening Bureau.
“Emergency, emer—emergency!”
An urgent voice echoed.
Who dares make a racket during such a sacred (?) working hour?
Usually, someone who noisily disrupted the office would be met with harsh stares.
But no one in the Bureau dared to say a word.
It was inevitable.
“Emergency!”
The one causing the commotion was none other than the Bureau’s head, Minister Kim Chaun.
“What’s the matter, Minister?”
Deputy Director Oh Manseong, who practically ran the entire Bureau, asked.
“Kim Si-won, Kim Si-won has received a mission.”
Kim Si-won’s mission.
Some might criticize the government ministry for obeying an individual’s orders, but not at all.
Within the Bureau—and in fact, throughout the entire Republic of Korea—that name carried more weight than Acting President Hosik Jeong.
Moreover, Hosik Jeong himself had issued orders to all ministries.
‘Above all else, Kim Si-won’s mission takes priority. Even if it’s my order, if Kim Si-won requests something, that must be handled first.’
The government was going all out to gain Kim Si-won’s trust.
And at last, a request came.
It was this:
“A detailed investigation into all companies and institutions ordering the Awakening Potion in Korea. All information, including locations and personnel, everything!”
Upon hearing this—
“Everyone heard that, right?”
Deputy Director Oh Manseong looked around the room and continued.
“All ongoing work is suspended. Starting now, we begin investigating the Awakening Potion at the request of Kim Si-won.”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
All missions were temporarily halted.
This was the start of the government’s desperate efforts to hold on to the golden thread called Kim Si-won.
***
Elsewhere.
Elixir Korea Branch.
Elixir is the world’s top alchemy research institute headquartered in the United States.
It was the first to develop the Awakening Potion and used that to monopolize the market as a giant corporation.
Their Korea branch was lit even at dawn.
Inside the laboratory, flasks, beakers, and various alchemy tools were piled up.
In the silent lab, a man in a white coat was seen.
“Step step.”
He was patrolling with a flashlight, the darkness swallowing the room.
He was Kim Sangjin, the researcher on duty today.
A family man with a ten-year-old wife and twin daughters.
After wandering around the lab for some time, he entered the basement.
That place held various materials including herbs obtained from the Tower.
As he lingered, he pressed against a bare wall.
Then—
“Grgrgrgr!”
With a loud roar, hidden underground stairs appeared.
After briefly looking around, he descended into the secret area.
How far had he gone down the dark corridor?
A blocked place, a stone chamber behind a firmly closed door appeared.
“#!#!%!$#^@%!”
Unintelligible incantations poured out in a strange language unknown on Earth.
Then—
“Click!”
The door unlocked with a metallic sound and swung open.
What lay inside was—
“Aaaah!”
“P-please save me!”
“Please… kill me……”
It was hell.
These were not screams but the roars of beasts.
And they echoed from every corner of the stone chamber.
Inside huge round glass jars were people.
Some had their skin peeled away, revealing raw red flesh.
Some were continuously burning with fire that wouldn’t kill them.
Others had parts of their bodies gradually cut away.
The necks of the jars stretched out long like straws and gathered in one place.
At the mouth where they converged—
“Drip.”
A drop of black liquid fell into a waiting beaker below.
“Very good.”
Passing by this hellscape, Kim Sangjin’s expression twisted oddly.
A sticky liquid, like slime, flowed from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.
A Doppelganger.
A pitiful being that had lost its own identity.
But the gods had granted them the power to mimic other lifeforms.
Not just the appearance.
They could imitate the person’s thoughts, memories, and even temperament—cursed demons.
“Finally, they’re all gathered.”
He took out the flask filled about one-third full and set a new one beneath it.
That was the essence of pain.
A mystical substance liquefied from the negative energy emitted by humans.
The humans trapped in the glass jars were livestock and raw materials for extracting it.
Today’s duty for the Doppelganger was to drip its own bodily fluid into the flask filled with the essence of pain.
“Drip.”
The black liquid mixed with the fluid and turned transparent.
“One complete.”
It was the substance known worldwide as the Awakening Potion.
But the truth was demonization.
Since the fluid came from a Doppelganger, which could transform humans into various demons like Succubus or Doppelganger depending on the fluid type, humans who took what was disguised as the Awakening Potion gradually lost their humanity and were reborn as new Doppelgangers.
“I’ve finished one.”
But the Doppelganger’s work was far from over.
“Aaaah!”
“Ugh…”
Humans screamed in pain.
It was time to torture them to extract more essence of pain.
“Slurp.”
A transparent, sticky tongue licked a face once.
“Hhh…”
The time spent torturing humans was always enjoyable.
Just as he was about to approach the livestock to savor that pleasure and extract more essence—
“Ssilk.”
Darkness flickered.
And then—
“…There you are.”
A low voice reached his ears.
No hesitation.
“Fwahk!”
A massive fireball formed in his hand.
This was Kim Sangjin transformed—an Awakener with powerful fire attributes.
Since Doppelgangers can also mimic abilities, this one had tried to use that power to eliminate the intruder.
But—
“Siiik!”
The fireball vanished.
“Thud!”
He trembled like a leaf and dropped to his knees.
In front of him—
A blue demonic glow shone in the darkness.
“Zzzeak.”
The chill that froze even the air was no power an inferior demon could radiate.
It was Valdevron Brocia, commander of the Undying Legion.
The worst commander who subdued the forgotten hero long ago.
“From now on, answer my questions honestly.”
He had descended into the modern world.
A family man with a ten-year-old wife and twin daughters.”
really? I have a lot of questions