Silence dominated the room.
The entity's hand was still extended.
The whole world was waiting.
But—
Kim did not reach out his hand.
Instead…
he looked at it.
With eyes that were terrifyingly calm.
And said:
"I don't want your offer."
The entity stopped.
"And I don't want death."
A step forward.
"…I want the truth."
Stillness.
Then—
For the first time…
the entity trembled.
A slight tremor.
"The truth…"
"Its price… is higher than the pain you've lived."
Kim answered immediately:
"I've already lived it."
Silence.
Then—
The darkness smiled.
Without warning—
the void exploded.
But it wasn't an explosion…
It was immersion.
Kim did not see…
he lived it.
The sky was red.
The ground was filled with corpses.
Screams.
Kings…
laughing above rivers of blood.
Eight massive thrones.
Each ruled by nothing but power.
He saw the entity…
But not as a shadow.
As a human.
Standing in the middle of hell.
Trying to stop it.
Trying to convince them.
Trying…
To save something that had not yet been born.
"The future."
The kings agreed.
They allied.
They swore oaths.
But—
At the decisive moment…
They betrayed him.
One after another.
The reason?
"Fear of losing power."
The entity chose…
To turn itself into a System.
Light covered the worlds.
Power was distributed.
Hope was born.
But after his death…
Everything collapsed.
The System became a tool.
The strong…
created slaves.
The world became worse.
Suddenly—
The vision stopped.
But Kim did not return.
Instead—
The scene changed.
A person stood there.
His back facing Kim.
The same aura.
The same feeling.
As if…
He were a copy of him.
The entity said:
"…You were not the first."
Kim froze.
The person slowly turned.
His face…
distorted.
But—
His eyes.
The same as Kim's.
Crimson.
"This…"
"…came before you."
"He succeeded."
"He reached it."
"But…"
Silence.
"…he chose a different path."
What happened to him?
He rejected the entity.
He wanted to fix the world himself.
He became stronger than everyone.
But—
"He became what he hated."
"A king."
"A tyrant."
"Worse than the eight."
He became greedy for power.
He drowned the light in the darkness of his heart.
And followed them.
Everything collapsed.
Kim returned to his room.
His breathing was heavy.
But his eye…
was different.
Not shocked.
But…
understanding.
The entity appeared before him again.
"Now…"
"Choose."
"Death."
"Or the truth."
"Or…"
"…be with me."
Silence.
Long.
Then—
He laughed.
But it wasn't a mad laugh.
It was…
aware.
Calm.
Terrifying.
He said:
"I don't want to be like him."
"And I don't want to be you."
A step forward.
"…But I also…"
"…will not be a victim."
He looked directly into the darkness.
"I will see the truth."
"But—"
He paused.
"…I will walk my own path."
Silence.
Then—
For the first time…
The entity laughed.
"That is why…"
"I chose you."
Suddenly—
A system message appeared:
Experiment Path Broken
New Path Created:
[The Free Entity]
Kim's eye…
began to glow.
But—
Not only crimson.
But…
With a new color.
An unknown one.