The figure slowly raised one hand and made a simple gesture. The moment he did, the peaceful world began to change. The bright sky gradually disappeared as endless black fog descended from above, swallowing the forests, the rivers, the lake, the garden, and the small wooden house. Everything was quietly consumed by the darkness, as though the consciousness itself had finally accepted its own end.
The figure didn’t resist. He simply stood there, watching the black fog erase the world around him with a calm expression, as if he had already made peace with the inevitable.
The dragon felt the black fog enveloping his own consciousness once again. He knew he was about to be dragged away, perhaps back to the world of the living. Before he disappeared completely, he looked at the figure one last time and called out,
"What is your name?"
The figure turned toward him with a faint, self-deprecating smile. He remained silent for a brief moment before quietly replying,
"Me?"
A soft laugh escaped him.
"I’m just a weak Loser... nothing more."
The next instant, the black fog completely swallowed both the figure and the world, leaving behind nothing but endless darkness.
After the dragon disappeared, the entire world was completely consumed by the endless black fog. The forests, the lake, the house, and the garden had all vanished into the darkness. Only a single figure remained standing within the boundless sea of black.
Moments later, another figure appeared.
It was the God of Slaughter.
He looked at the lone figure known as Loser before letting out a faint laugh.
"So... you’ve finally accepted the truth?"
He slowly walked through the black fog.
"Weren’t you the first one who wanted to live for yourself after enduring a life filled with nothing but pain?"
Stopping a few steps away, he looked directly at Loser.
"Then why were you still clinging to the hope of living like everyone else?"
His smile gradually faded.
"Even after everything... even after living through all those worlds."
Loser looked at the God of Slaughter for a long moment before finally speaking.
"So... you want him to live the life of a Coward now?"
His voice remained calm, without anger or mockery.
"A life filled with nothing but loneliness?"
The God of Slaughter met his gaze without hesitation.
"Well..." he shrugged lightly. "He’ll be lonely, but that’s still better than living a life filled with pain and chaos."
He looked into the endless darkness.
"And loneliness..." he continued quietly, "...is nothing more than an illusion. We’ve always been alone since the day we were born."
Silence filled the endless sea of black fog.
After a long pause, the God of Slaughter looked around the empty darkness before turning back to Loser.
"Now it’s finally our turn to be erased, so let’s not waste any more time."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"We’re the only ones left. Every other version of us has already been erased."
Both of them quietly accepted their fate. Their bodies gradually began to disintegrate, turning into countless crimson fragments that drifted into the endless black fog. Neither of them resisted. They simply stood there in silence, allowing themselves to be erased.
But just before the last traces of their existence disappeared, the endless darkness rippled.
A third figure stepped into the black domain.
It was Asher.
He looked at the two disintegrating figures without saying a single word. Then, before they could vanish completely, he slowly raised his hand. An invisible force spread from his body, pulling the remaining fragments of both Loser and the God of Slaughter toward him.
The countless crimson fragments surged into Asher like streams of light.
Within moments, the two fading figures had completely disappeared.
They hadn’t been erased.
They had become part of Asher.
The moment Loser and the God of Slaughter merged into him, the endless black fog suddenly became violent. It surged toward Asher with far greater intensity than before, as though every trace of restraint had vanished now that only a single existence remained.
The darkness crashed against his consciousness from every direction, desperately trying to erase him.
But Asher didn’t move.
He quietly closed his eyes, silently assimilating the final fragments of Loser and the God of Slaughter. Their memories, experiences, regrets, and resolve gradually became one with his own.
When he finally opened his eyes, he slowly lifted his head and looked directly into the endless black fog.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of hesitation in his gaze.
"I’m not going to wait for another lifetime."
His calm voice echoed throughout the endless darkness.
"It’s time to finish this... in this life."
Back in the physical world, the dragon’s consciousness finally returned to his body. He slowly opened his eyes and instinctively looked toward Asher’s vessels.
They all stood perfectly still.
Each vessel wore the same blank expression, their eyes devoid of emotion, as though their consciousness had yet to fully return.
The dragon let out a quiet breath, realizing he had truly escaped from those endless consciousnesses.
But the memories of everything he had witnessed remained vivid in his mind.
The crimson world of corpses.
The God of Slaughter.
Loser.
And finally...
Asher.
Remembering all of it, the dragon looked toward Asher once again. His eyes no longer carried contempt or curiosity.
Only deep wariness.
Dragon didn’t know what to say.
The being standing before him was still the same young cultivator he had been talking to only moments ago.
Nothing about Asher’s appearance had changed.
Yet, to the dragon...
Everything had changed.
He no longer saw a reckless human chasing an impossible dream.
He saw a being who had lived through countless lives, whose memories had been erased again and again, yet whose desire for freedom and peace had never truly disappeared.
The dragon could no longer determine what Asher really was.
A human?
A reincarnated god?
Or...
Something far stranger?
Dragon didn’t know, but he was sure of one thing: the being before him was one that a law had been trying to keep under control for eternity. Yet even that law could only keep him trapped—it couldn’t destroy him.