Inside the capsule, the Strange Man's hands begin to move slightly. Not much—but enough to show that he is about to awaken after a very long time.
In his mind, he starts thinking—how and why did he end up in this situation?
In his past, when he failed to open or break the secret gate of the World of Darkness, some guards arrived and took him to prison.
After many years, he finally saw sunlight again. But it didn't feel normal—it felt like he was in a completely different place.
The place looked like a yellow-golden path. There were no signs of life—only sand-like ground, a yellow sky, and yellow clouds… yet no trace of rain.
He looked around, but there was nowhere to go except forward.
Without thinking, he began to walk. After about fifteen minutes, he reached a mountain. The mountain also gave off a yellow aura, with no visible end.
He looked around it, and suddenly, he saw a group of three people.
They were sitting around a round table, as if in deep discussion.
Their appearances were mysteriously hidden, but their aura felt like that of supreme gods—or perhaps something even higher.
The last words the Strange Man heard were:
"In this time, if we fail to do the work we planned properly, the light part will be completely destroyed."
The Strange Man began to think again:
"Where am I exactly? This place… this vibe isn't ordinary. A normal human would definitely go mad because of this environment."
All of a sudden, he was teleported in front of the round table.
One of them—one of those beings—spoke:
"To build the foundation of our plan, this human… or perhaps a supreme human… will help us."
He couldn't understand what was happening.
Everything started to blur.
Present
He opens his eyes.
The capsule breaks.
And he steps out from it.
He sighs in relief and says,
"It's finally over.
I consumed the power—the magic essence of the True Devil.
I didn't consume it because I needed power… but because I needed to revive my true strength."
In his hand, he feels a red magical energy flowing—mana surging through him.
"This was the power that helped me to unlock even 1% of the gate to the World of Darkness… but—"
He pauses.
"Sadly, I failed. Even after using all the key cores hyper verse—across countless timelines… it still didn't work.
Because of the simple magic resistance of the God of the New World present there."
He clenches his hand slightly.
"But for now… my power is enough to do the work I've been assigned."
Suddenly, the door of the room opens.
Another version of the Strange Man walks in.
The other one sees him, bows his head, and says,
"I did the work you assigned, sir."
The Strange Man nods.
The other one vanishes.
The Strange Man speaks quietly,
"I can clearly see now… my clone really did great work. But now… rest in peace."
He walks toward a secret room.
Inside, his spirit partner lies in a coma.
The surroundings are filled with a dense magical aura, continuously healing her.
He gently pats her.
"You were always there for me… in every situation.
I told you not to fight Natasha.
I knew about her power—the one she tries to suppress within herself.
But now… just rest, my partner."
He locks the door and leaves her there.
"It's time to meet an old friend… to fulfill my next step."
In an instant, he teleports to the Spirit Realm.
Without hesitation, he appears directly in front of a mansion.
Some guards notice him and shout,
"How did you locate this mansion? This place is covered with magic that hides both presence and appearance!"
He isn't in the mood to answer.
Without chanting a single word, he casts a spell.
The guards collapse instantly—as if their life essence has been drained away.
Hearing their screams, a spirit emerges.
Seeing the Strange Man, the spirit approaches him and greets him warmly, as if they have known each other for ages.
"Long time no see.
How are you… Strange Man?"
The Strange Man nods and says,
"Let's come to the point.
Before I was captured… they gave you the stone, right?"
The spirit smiles and replies,
"Which stone? By the way, come inside. Have a seat—we have many things to talk about."
The Strange Man responds coldly,
"No need for that.
Just tell me where the stone is… or I will forget that you were once my comrade."
The spirit laughs lightly and says,
"Yes, I have it. But I can't give it to you.
It's not that I don't want to… it's an order from higher authorities."
Past
When the prison guards captured the Strange Man and took him away,
they entrusted the spirit with a stone—the key of a secret society.
It is not just an ordinary key.
It is the key to every hidden path… every secret way to travel across timelines—
from one universe to another, one multiverse to another… even from one hyperverse to another.
RPG
It is also the original key to the seal of the Golden Dragon's Golden Valley—
a place where a miniature creation exists, similar to the Light World itself.
The spirit lowers his voice slightly.
"So… overall, I'm sorry.
I can't give you the key."
The Strange Man nods silently and turns to leave.
The spirit begins to feel uneasy.
He knows the Strange Man very well—
especially from the time they first fought.
Watching him walk away, the spirit mutters under his breath,
"The Strange Man… will definitely come for me soon."
Some days passed, the Spirit is searching everywhere for the Strange Man, fear growing inside him.
"If he recovers his strength, he won't need anyone to finish me… Am I alone now? Am I still weak like I was in the past?"
He clench his fists.
"No… I cultivated for so long in the Golden Valley and across countless secret realms. I crossed every one of my limits. Not only that—I gathered the top-tier warriors, the strongest soldiers from across different universes.Not only that from every hidden gate, I traveled through timelines—everywhere—searching for the best executives to kill him. Because I know… he will come."
A pause.
"He has to come. He is the maddest person I have ever met."
In the past…
A human, deafening the guards with his mere presence, walked into a grand castle where the king was lying lazily on his throne.
Without wasting a second, the human spoke:
"Come. Follow me. I will show you the light. I will guide you toward true creation."
The king burst into laughter.
In an instant, he transformed—his final form emerging: the Immortal Body, the Body of Heaven.
He pulled back his fist, power gathering.
"Do you even understand what this punch means? If it lands, you're finished. Don't mistake yourself for powerful just because you defeated my soldiers. Now… face true fear."
Suddenly—
The king froze.
Above his head, a red clock appeared… ticking.
60 seconds.
The human spoke calmly:
"You have 60 seconds. If you defeat me, you win."
A small smile formed on his lips.
"But if you fail… you will be erased from reality."
Silence filled the hall.
"There is another way," the human continued.
"Accept my offer… and I will remove this curse."
The king's expression changed.
In that moment, he realized—
This human was beyond him.
Slowly… he lowered his fist.
"I accept."
Present time…
The Spirit open his eyes.
"And that king… is none other than me."
Suddenly, a guard rush in and tell.
"My lord! The Strange Man has been spotted in the southern part of the forest!"
Without hesitation, the Spirit stand up.
"Prepare the army."
Within seconds, countless soldiers move under his command as he rush toward the forest.
The Strange Man is already there.
Sitting silently.
Facing away from them.
As if… he had been waiting.
The Spirit stop , fear creeping back into his voice.
"I… I warn you, Strange Man…"
A brief pause.
"Surrender yourself to us."
When the Strange Man refuses to listen, the Spirit gives the order:
"Attack him!"
His soldiers charge without hesitation.
The Strange Man shows no fear. He remains calm… standing still.
Without any chant or enchantment, he casts a spell.
At once, all the soldiers feel it.
They are inside a spell.
The Spirit's eyes widen in fear.
"No… no, this can't be the same spell that was once used on me. But how is the range so vast… so massive?"
His thoughts race.
"If the range is this large, then the spell shouldn't be as powerful as before. And he hasn't recovered his full strength yet… right? There's no way he can do that in such a short time…"
The Strange Man speaks calmly:
"I already told you to give it to me… but you didn't."
A brief pause.
"Fine. No problem."
His voice remains indifferent.
"And honestly… it's my bad luck that I can't use my more powerful spells right now. So this will have to do."
Silence falls for a moment.
Then—
"Erase."
In an instant, all the soldiers begin to burn.
They burn… and burn… until nothing remains but ashes.
The Spirit stands frozen in shock.
"You… you've left me no choice."
He activates a strange gadget—something he obtained from the secret realms.
The surroundings begin to distort.
Everything turns into a void.
Inside that domain, the Strange Man feels it—
His mana flow… gone.
He frowns slightly.
"So my guess is right… but how exactly does this work—"
Before he can finish—
A punch lands on his face.
Then another.
And another.
It is as if a million punches strike him at once.
He cannot dodge.
He cannot use mana.
He can only endure.
"This is painful… yes. These are spiritual punches—each one strong enough to shake a planet."
Another wave hits him.
"And he is mixing in psychic power… amplifying them even further."
The barrage continues.
"But in this domain, he cannot move either… which makes things simple."
Another impact.
"And these punches… are nothing compared to what I faced in that prison."
His eyes sharpen.
"Those demons… their blows are far more brutal than this."
Slowly, he raises his hand.
A sword appears.
A cursed blade.
"This is enough."
With a single swing—
He cuts through the incoming spiritual punches.
At the center of the domain, the Spirit suddenly screams.
An immense pain surges through his body—
As if something severs his veins.
He tries to use his magic…
But nothing responds.
He cannot control it anymore.
The Strange Man begins walking toward him.
Slowly.
Step by step.
"This is easy," he says calmly.
"Because I discovered something…"
He stops in front of the Spirit.
"How to cut the overall mana flow of a body… by severing the magic at its source."
The Spirit trembles.
The Strange Man looks down at him.
"That time, I let you go… because I am the one deciding my own actions."
A pause.
"But this time… I can't."
His voice turns colder.
"Because now… I am just a thing being controlled by someone else."
He raises his sword.
"So… rest in peace, buddy."
With one clean strike—
He cuts off the Spirit's head.
After taking the key from the fallen body, he glances at it briefly.
"So… I am almost at the final stage of my work."
Without another word—
He turns and leaves the place.