Kim Songcheol remained silent for a moment. He stared directly at the Administrator without blinking.

The first Kim Songcheol couldn’t utter a single word. No, it would be more accurate to say he didn’t know what to say.

Until now, other Kim Songcheols had no choice.

There was no room for choice due to the limitation of being a being created within The Source.

But Kim Songcheol now had a choice.

A choice to pick between ‘Your World’ and ‘His World’.

‘Your World’ would refer to the world created within the 998th Kim Songcheol, where Kim Songcheol was born. And ‘His World’ would refer to the first Kim Songcheol’s world, meaning reality.

Of course, it’s unknown if this means the world created by the 998th Kim Songcheol would be made into reality.

But the Administrator is not one to play word games. If Kim Songcheol chose ‘Your World’, it would ensure that world’s continued existence in some way.

Kim Songcheol, lost in thought, slowly, very subtly, raised his head.

He looked as if he had made up his mind.

The first Kim Songcheol watched in silence.

Everything rested on Kim Songcheol’s lips. But he had no right, nor the face, to force a choice.

Whatever world Kim Songcheol chose, it was his freedom.

When he had resolved to humbly accept whatever choice was made.

Soon, Kim Songcheol’s voice resonated.

“…But who are you?”

It was not a choice, but a question.

And the Administrator readily answered.

[I am the one who watches the end of all things, the one who finds value in an inescapable end, and the one who can barely declare a reprieve for what has reached its end. I call myself the Seeker of the Apocalypse.]

“So you’re not the cause of the Apocalypse, then.”

[That is correct.]

“Then why did this dog-awful thing begin? If the Apocalypse hadn’t happened in the first place, none of this would be an issue.”

[That is the Law and Order of the World. Where there is a beginning, there is an end. Though the methods differ, ultimately, all things are destined to become nothingness.]

“I understand that, but why did it have to be this world? The other worlds are the same. We didn’t do anything wrong, did we? There must be worlds where the Apocalypse hasn’t arrived, right?”

[It was simply decided that way.]

“Just bad luck?”

[Why do humans die? Can every death be explained? Even if it can be explained, can every person accept every death?]

If someone died in a car accident, the reason for their death could be clearly uncovered.

However, the bereaved families cannot accept that death. Just because there’s a reason doesn’t mean it’s understandable.

The Seeker of the Apocalypse was saying such things.

That there is no reason, and even if there were, humans targeted by the Apocalypse would not be able to accept it.

“Ha.”

Kim Songcheol let out a breath that was neither a laugh nor a sigh, but something in between.

Given that the corners of his lips were slightly upturned, it could be said that it was slightly more likely to be a laugh.

“I, no. ‘We’ are Mages.”

Kim Songcheol said.

[I know.]

“If you are a Seeker, we are Pioneers. We Mages are beings who explore unknown territories and plant flags to claim them as our own. We have walked paths no one has ever been on to get here.”

[I know.]

“But you’re telling us to just accept it? When there’s still a long way to go?”

[Your journey ends here. Accept it. And choose. You have only two possible endings.]

“No, we still don’t know the ‘Beginning.'”

[Beginning?]

“You said it. If there’s a beginning, there’s an end. We faced the Apocalypse without knowing anything, but we struggled our way here. The price was a hollow explanation about the end. Just that it was bad luck. Did we come all this way just to hear that?”

[What do you want?]

“I told you. I want to know the Beginning. How is a world born?”

[…]

“Why is a world born? What conditions are needed? After it’s born? How does it grow? Or is it born fully grown?”

[…]

“Is that a question you can’t answer?”

[No, about that…]

The Seeker of the Apocalypse paused for a moment, then continued.

[It was a question no one had ever asked.]

“Then do you know?”

[…]

The Administrator maintained a long silence.

And finally.

[‘If I must answer with ‘know’ or ‘not know’… I do not know.]

The answer came back: ‘I do not know.’

Kim Songcheol smiled a little more intensely. Enough for the first Kim Songcheol to perceive it as a ‘smile.’

Kim Songcheol asked the Seeker of the Apocalypse with a clear voice.

“Then… aren’t you curious?”

The vast galaxy on the Seeker’s face blinked once, like an eye blinking.

[…]

“I need to know. If this is the end, what is the Beginning?”

As Kim Songcheol extended his hand, a golden light emerged from the distant horizon, like the rising sun.

The golden light soared vigorously and began to cut across the ash-gray sky.

It was as if a giant, delicate brush was dipping golden ink onto a canvas of sky and drawing a line.

The golden light, which began at the horizon, traversed the sky and fell to the opposite horizon.

And as Kim Songcheol smiled and made a ‘snap!’ sound with his hand,

the sky opened along the Golden Line.

It looked like a narrow envelope being pulled open by two fingers.

The very narrow and thin gap in space rapidly widened, then narrowed again.

And within the open space, framed by the Golden Line, a Universe-like space, resembling the Seeker of the Apocalypse, unfolded.

“Is a normal approach not enough after all?”

Kim Songcheol brought his hands together.

Then, from far within the Universe space, a golden light surged, instantly traversing the space and reaching the opposite end.

It was not that Kim Songcheol’s magic was faster than the speed of light.

It was because it was ‘magic’ that forcibly tore open space, not ‘light crossing space.’

The Golden Line mercilessly pulled at the space, crushing its shell.

Then,

the Universe space opened, revealing a ‘new space.’

It was a space unlike any seen before.

The space was composed of white and black.

It was truly a repetition of white and black, and the substances floating in the void were also a repetition of white and black.

It was a place beyond the Universe.

It was a certain space and realm that contained this vast Universe.

Just as the world of the 998th Kim Songcheol existed above the world of the 999th Kim Songcheol.

The current world also existed beneath some other world.

Even the Seeker of the Apocalypse raised his head to look at the sky.

He, who always looked down upon those he was meant to guide as a Seeker, looked upwards for the first time.

The movement of the galaxies and stars within his body quickened slightly.

It was agitation, or a tremor of some emotion.

[You will be the first human to witness that world.]

If you asked the first Kim Songcheol how far the current world extended, he would probably answer ‘the Universe.’

He had never thought about the world beyond the current one, and he lacked the powerful magical ability to open a path to that world.

But Kim Songcheol was different.

And revealing that space might have been Kim Songcheol’s inevitable destiny.

He had already ascended from the lowest 999th world to the first world, that is, the current world.

In other words, from -999 to 0.

Since he had reached 0, it was a destined progression to go to 1.

However, going from 0 to 1 was different from ascending from -999 to 0.

That was the first Kim Songcheol’s ultimate magic, a perfect leap into the unknown achieved by Kim Songcheol.

“That seems to be where all worlds belong. I have to go there.”

Kim Songcheol soared into the gap in space. Beyond the Universe space, he pushed his body into the Unknown Space.

Kim Songcheol instantly leaped and stood in the center of a vast, expansive, and empty place.

A world composed of white and black.

Below, there was a small grain. It looked like countless grains flowing towards the center.

In one of those grains, a tiny gap was open, bordered by a thread-like Golden Line.

That tiny grain was the Universe where the first Kim Songcheol existed, the current world.

Kim Songcheol observed a certain flow in which that grain was caught.

It was a flow commonly found everywhere.

It formed a spiral, causing countless grains to gather towards the center.

He shifted his gaze to another flow. And then he examined yet another flow.

All the flows exhibited similar patterns.

The grains would collide with each other, becoming increasingly dense, until they surpassed a critical point, powerfully compressing into black, then at some moment, differentiating into white grains and scattering in all directions.

Then, if those grains got caught in a certain flow, they would compress again to become one, change color, and burst outwards in all directions.

Everything was like that. Floating in space, or caught in a flow, or scattering anew.

It was truly a world where only beginning and end existed.

That world seemed simple, yet it was also immensely vast.

Each small grain contained a Universe, a single world.

The world where Kim Songcheol existed also appeared small due to distance, but if one approached it closely, it would be too immense to even comprehend.

Even a Universe is an incredibly vast space compared to a human.

The space where those Universes exist in nothingness.

And the Flows those Universes were caught in.

The voice of the seeker of Apocalypse flowed into Kim Songcheol’s ears as he watched all of it.

[Can you stop this immense Flow?]

As expected, his tone was dry and even, but Kim Songcheol knew it was a question with an answer already decided.

And Kim Songcheol had no choice but to give that answer.

“…No, I can’t stop it.”

Kim Songcheol was observing a Flow.

There are some things you just know without trying.

This was not something that could be managed.

Countless Universes are swept into a massive Flow, facing Apocalypse, and then a New World is born.

A mere human could not stop that Flow.

But Kim Songcheol quietly observed the various Flows with sparkling eyes.

Flows were naturally forming. It wasn’t that some specific nothingness was creating the Flows; rather, Universes floating through space interacted, and Flows were born.

In the Flow leading to the end, white Grains are dyed black, each facing Apocalypse in its own way.

Even the seeker of Apocalypse can only barely evacuate a single planet from Apocalypse by containing it within his own body, not the entire world.

That universal being, too, as he said, can only barely postpone it.

This world was a place where such immense events unfolded.

Kim Songcheol, observing the pan-universal phenomenon, muttered softly.

“But I understand. The ‘Beginning.'”

Analyze and grasp.

That is the fundamental principle of a Mage.

Those many Universes are caught in a Flow and coalesce into one. And that coalesced mass is incredibly small.

But from that small mass, countless white Grains burst forth.

The black coalesced mass is the ‘End,’ and the moment white Grains burst from it is the ‘Beginning.’

There were many vast and incomprehensible processes, but simply put, that was it.

And Kim Songcheol had already found room for his intervention in that process.

“I only have 24 hours. You know that, right? Ah, now it’s probably about 23 hours.”

He took his eyes off the Flow and looked back at the seeker of Apocalypse.

[I know.]

“I’ll postpone the choice for a moment. About 22 hours and 59 minutes.”

[What are you trying to do?]

“I’m going to save everyone. All Kim Songcheols.”

[…I will watch.]

The seeker of Apocalypse neither encouraged nor opposed him.

He merely stood behind Kim Songcheol.

“Well, suit yourself.”

Kim Songcheol began to leap through space, taking huge strides.

It was an incredibly vast space, but space is still space.

At Kim Songcheol’s level, distance was no longer an issue.

Kim Songcheol was searching for something among the countless Flows.

A smaller Flow.

Because for him to exert even a small influence, the Flow had to be very small.

One hopeful sign was that the size of the Grains varied completely.

The Grain Kim Songcheol existed in was of medium size.

There were Grains hundreds of times larger, and Grains hundreds of times smaller.

If the Flow was formed by small Grains, its scale would be proportionally small.

If the scale was small, the possibility of intervention was higher.

However, time was limited, and space was unimaginably vast.

It was harder than finding a desired galaxy in the Universe.

Time continued to flow.

One hour, two hours.

In a world vaster than the Universe, 23 hours was but a fleeting moment.

Kim Songcheol, a human, was trying to accomplish something by breaking down that moment.

Though not explicitly mentioned, for the seeker of Apocalypse, that act itself held meaning.

After all, the value he sought was profoundly human, yet simultaneously transcending human limitations.

If he wished, he was willing to exceptionally postpone the Apocalypse for both worlds.

However, he didn’t even mention that.

Instead, he merely watched.

With a slight expectation.

Something that this small being would achieve, something that might have to be called a ‘miracle.’

Time continued to flow.

20 hours, 21 hours.

When 22 hours had passed, Kim Songcheol began to feel a strange sensation in his body. A ticklish yet alien feeling.

That sensation was proof that his disappearance had begun. Although it was happening very slowly now, once it crossed a certain point, he would vanish in an instant.

His heart quickened. Kim Songcheol intensified his search.

And when 23 hours had passed.

Kim Songcheol found the smallest Flow he had found so far.

Even that was massive for a human, but if he were to attempt it even once, this was the Flow.

There was no time to find anything else, and it was also the smallest Flow he had seen.

Moreover, the timing was perfect.

Because it was when the ‘Beginning’ was about to occur.

Kim Songcheol stood before that Flow.

“The final Magic used by the final Mage… perhaps.”

Kim Songcheol waved his finger.

Then a Golden Line extended powerfully, touching the current thread from which Kim Songcheol had emerged, the Grain he had already opened, and then retraced its path back.

And within the returning golden light sat the first Kim Songcheol, already aged beyond measure, with his eyes closed.

He looked almost like a corpse.

All his hair was white, and his face was covered in age spots and wrinkles.

His emaciated body was so thin that his bones were visible.

He had maintained the defensive Magic for so long, sustaining the world within The Source.

Kim Songcheol approached the first Kim Songcheol and whispered a few words.

Then the first Kim Songcheol opened his eyes. His eyes, hidden by his eyelids, were incredibly clear and deep.

He merely looked at Kim Songcheol and nodded slightly.

With that, the agreement was made.

Kim Songcheol extended his hand toward the Flow. Oneness expanded greatly, revealing itself, and Golden Lines began to race across the void.

It was completely different from drawing Magic circles with simple lines.

Elegant curves overlapped and merged, drawing a massive Magic circle.

That Magic circle truly contained everything.

The Circle Magic accumulated by the first Kim Songcheol, the 2nd-tier Magic developed by other Kim Songcheols, and the 1st-tier Magic created by yet other Kim Songcheols.

Finally, even the 0th-tier Magic devised by the last Kim Songcheol.

All the Magic accumulated by every Kim Songcheol merged into a single Magic.

The immense golden Magic circle glowed brightly. Simultaneously, the body of the first Kim Songcheol was enveloped in golden light, then instantly dispersed and merged into the Magic circle.

The first Kim Songcheol had assimilated into the Magic circle.

At that moment, the brilliant golden light reached its peak, and a single beam of light shot out from the center of the Magic circle.

It was a humble beam of light compared to the massive Magic circle. It was only as thick as a finger.

That humble light vigorously advanced and touched the center of the Flow.

At the center, the Grains had already coalesced into a single black mass.

Soon, new white Grains will burst forth from the mass.

The golden light that touched the black mass simply vanished, leaving behind a small golden speck.

That was all.

The final Magic, the final Magic that manifested.

It was truly an insignificant phenomenon.

Just a golden speck on a black background.

That was the limit of Kim Songcheol, who was born human.

“Hoo…”

Kim Songcheol let out a long breath and staggered as if dizzy. At that moment, the black mass burst, scattering new Grains everywhere.

Thousands, tens of thousands of Grains, much smaller than other Grains, were scattered throughout the space.

And.

Among those Grains, there were golden-glowing Grains mixed in here and there.

The number was 998.

[This can’t be.]

The Seeker of Apocalypse trembled as he realized the meaning of that number.

The galaxies and stars floating within his body moved rapidly.

He couldn’t help it.

Kim Songcheol had taken an ‘Official Position’ at the Beginning and end of the world.

It was something even the Seeker of Apocalypse could not do.

[The success rate was extremely low. Yet, the fact that he succeeded means he understood all the principles of Beginning and end? In such a short time?]

“No, that’s not it.”

[Then how in the world…?]

“Well, it’s like human will, you could say.”

Kim Songcheol replied softly, pressing his forehead.

He had taken an ‘Official Position’ at the Beginning and end. That Official Position involved assimilating the first Kim Songcheol into the black mass, which was the Seed from which the New World would Begin.

He didn’t have the time or the means to fully interpret the process, so he pushed through with his Special Ability and Will.

He thought it was worth a try, and the first Kim Songcheol had also agreed.

And that attempt succeeded beautifully.

Breaking through the extremely low probability.

The result was the manifestation of all worlds to which all Kim Songcheols belonged.

When the New World burst forth, all the worlds existing within the first Kim Songcheol burst forth together, and at the same time, all worlds became ‘manifested’.

The Beginning of everything was the first Kim Songcheol.

The first Kim Songcheol was the one who held 998 worlds, and he was the Beginning of all Kim Songcheols.

This time, that Beginning and end were reversed.

The first Kim Songcheol became the Seed himself, meeting his ‘end’, and thanks to that, all the worlds within the first Kim Songcheol were separated and ‘Begun’ anew under the name of manifestation.

Kim Songcheol felt the Sense of Annihilation that had engulfed his body disappear.

This was because the 999th world he belonged to also became manifested, receiving authorization to exist as a single entity, not merely as the magic of the first Kim Songcheol.

[Amazing. It feels as if everything is a meticulously woven destiny. The continuously linked worlds, and the limits from which one cannot escape in those worlds. I thought all of it was a single yoke, but who knew it would eventually become a way to save others.]

“I told you. We’re Mages. We just planted a Flag. In a new, unknown territory.”

Kim Songcheol replied like that.

[Indeed. Now I fully understand the meaning.]

And the Seeker of Apocalypse added.

[The promised time of choice has come. Of course, your choice will be ‘His World’.]

The choice offered by the Seeker of Apocalypse.

Which world would be preserved?

Given the circumstances, the answer was already decided.

“Of course. My world has already manifested anyway. Of course, I don’t know when I’ll get caught in some crappy Flow again, but it should be fine as long as I’m alive.”

[Though the first Kim Songcheol couldn’t be saved, by delaying His World from Apocalypse, his wish was fulfilled, wasn’t it?]

“Huh? Who says that? That the first Kim Songcheol couldn’t be saved?”

Kim Songcheol smiled broadly.

As he always did.