"Pheeew!" I let out a sigh of relief. "Finally out!"

Joy overwhelmed me. Not only had I escaped the ruins, but I was also standing in the open world for the first time. Fresh air hit me square in the face, carrying with it the pleasant scent of flowers and the sharp tang of pollen on the wind. The world around me was alive, vibrant, and stunningly real. I pinched myself to confirm it—everything existed, and I wasn't dreaming. My awe was quickly overtaken by a fake exhaustion that I really looked forward to: I collapsed onto the ground, savoring my first actual break ever since my very being was reigning over reality...

For a moment, I let myself believe this world was mine to enjoy. But the universe has a way of reminding you that peace is borrowed, not earned.

"Oh, I see the weight of time has caught up to you, Kai!" A voice interrupted my moment of peace, loud and surprisingly grating. Initially, I ignored it. It was directed towards this Kai guy anyway. But the voice persisted.

"Kai! Don't ignore me, dude!"

The person was coming closer, and I couldn’t ignore them any longer. I stood up, baffled. "Who are you?" I asked, staring at the stranger.

The man before me—if such beings could just simply be called 'a man'—stood with an aura that was both captivating and unnerving. His face was a paradox of endless beauty, framed by soft brown hair that cascaded gracefully, punctuated by a pair of piercing brown eyes that seemed to see through everything. Beneath his left eye rested a beauty mark, subtle yet undeniably striking, adding to the magnetism of his presence.

His attire was no less remarkable. He wore a blue haori, a garment akin to a kimono but tailored with an emphasis on comfort. Its fabric flowed with a quiet grace, complementing the crimson hue of the shirt beneath. Layered further underneath was a simple white tee, all of it brought together by a sleek black belt that cinched his silhouette perfectly. Even his nails, a deep, lustrous black, meticulously completed his aesthetic.

I found myself reacting instinctively, raising my own hands to study them. My breath hitched as realization struck like a bolt of lightning. The being I had just described in such vivid detail... was me, and the being ahead? A perfect mirror—down to every last detail.

"I am survival," he said with a calm, almost smug smile.

The man, stood before me. He wore my very appearance, though I had no twin. He embodied survival—a concept I believed I had eradicated. Yet, there he was, standing strong and healthy—if that’s the right way to describe a being older than me, who's now older than time itself.

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“I need a moment. What’s all this?” I demanded, my mind reeling. There was no need for him to prove his identity further. His visage and that single word, survival, were more than enough to unearth buried memories I wanted to leave behind. As much as I wished to flee from him, guilt held me in place. My body had acted against my will, mowing down beings like him. Perhaps I owed him this much—to listen.

We headed to a nearby bench, where questions and answers flowed like a river. Coincidentally, an actual river coursed behind us, flanked by lush forests. The sight was stunning, a stark contrast to the ancient ruins and the people bustling about with devices rich in advanced, or funnily enough, ancient technology—at least from my point of view. It reminded me of my homeworld, now devoured… But these forests were far superior to anything I had seen before.

Survival began explaining, drowning me in revelations. First, his ability. Well, his name was survival; what other power would he have but the ability to endure? The logic was simple yet absolute: his existence was tied to ALL. As long as something survived—something like a soul trapped within a beast—so would he. He would persist, return, just as my body had done countless times throughout countless stories.

All right, I could accept that. If someone specializes in a specific task, they better be good at it.

Second came his plea. He was bored and wanted to spend time alongside me, participating in my so-called “slow life.” I resisted with every argument I could muster, but not only did I owe him for, well, eating him, his arguments were annoyingly persuasive.

“FINE! Have it your way!” I relented, though it didn’t fix the issue of how he addressed me. Kai wasn’t my name. Apparently, he remembered me as Kaito, a name I've forgotten. Since I had already chosen Lucifer and had no intention of answering to this... Kai thingy, we struck a deal: he would take the name instead. It would be less awkward than calling him “survival” in public.

With that settled, he explained what had happened after the beasts stopped thinking. Existence reclaimed the void. As I had suspected, the law of existence was flawed within self and reignited the very universe from nothing, automatically and without intervention.

Then came the most chilling part: the other concepts. Time, Space, Wisdom, and the endless list of others... Upon the universe’s renewal, these titles were claimed by entirely new entities at the beginning of this new timeline. Different beings from those we had known before. New existence meant new personalities, new avatars, and new gods. And each one of them carried their own, unique and fully personalized... agenda.

I felt a cold dread settle over me. The law of existence had done more than reignite the universe. It had reshuffled the deck, dealt out new gods to play their games. And like all gods, they were fickle, their agendas' unknowable, their influence unavoidable.

Hmm... Different rulers with different agendas?

Oh, no...

That meant instability, unpredictability. I had wanted nothing more than to build a cozy home with Ryna, endure Kai’s antics apparently, and enjoy a slow, peaceful life. But now? Now I had to contend with chaos?

Great. Just great...

image [https://i.imgur.com/w25P90R.jpeg]