Chapter 1

Chapter 1
## Chapter: 001

### Chapter Title: The Savior Returns

—

A nightmare made flesh: a lion’s countenance adorned with a shimmering crimson crown, feline limbs clutching a staff encrusted with precious stones, and leathery wings wide enough to shroud the entire firmament in shadow.

This was the calamity foretold to wake at the dawn of the apocalypse to consume the very foundations of existence.

—You are truly magnificent.

I spat out a mouthful of gore that could have filled a basin, then ran my palm along the length of the polearm I held in a white-knuckled grip. At my sensation, charcoal-colored embers flared to life across the wood.

The dark fire slithered toward the spearhead, which was currently buried deep within the titan’s ribs.

“Magnificent isn’t the word. And you’re finished.”

—A bit unrefined for my taste.

A ragged chuckle forced its way out of my throat. My torso was a ruined mess of open flesh, one of my legs hung uselessly like a broken branch, and a single eye dangled precariously from its socket, torn from its home.

“I’m the one still breathing. You’re the one being erased. Who gives a damn about style?”

—I suppose you’re right.

I had forged my strength through grueling, relentless labor. My wisdom was bought with the blood of a thousand brushes with death.

For decades, I had tracked and eliminated the zealots who worshipped this horror. That hunt alone had consumed twenty years of my life.

Then, piecing together their fractured scrolls, I spent another fifteen years charting a course through the abyss to find this monster’s sanctuary.

—My thread is snapping. Before the end, I offer a warning. A final gesture of respect.

The lion-faced entity shifted its gaze toward the figures standing in the distance behind me.

—You place your faith in them, but they are not your kin. I fought you as an open enemy, but they… they seem to lack even that shred of honor.

I see. I cast a sideways glance at the trio observing our struggle: a champion of the blade, a weaver of spells, and a holy maiden. Five years prior, a string of “unforeseen events” had tied our fates together.

“I’m well aware.”

—You know?

The dying beast clung to the remains of its consciousness, staring at me in disbelief. Even as we spoke, the void-flames eating my spear were dissolving its very essence.

Yet, through sheer stubbornness, it refused to let go of the world.

Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I wrenched my weapon from its chest and stepped back, making sure my voice carried clearly to the shadows lingering behind me.

“That swordsman carries the only sovereign relic of the empire.”

“That…”

The knight’s expression turned to stone, his knuckles whitening as he gripped his hilt.

“If he had actually drawn upon its true resonance, I wouldn’t be standing here looking like a piece of chewed meat.”

“…”

He offered no defense. I didn’t stop.

“But your sovereign didn’t hand you that blade to help me kill this thing, did he?”

The plan was simple: let me kill the beast, then take my head while I was too weak to fight back.

The motive? A man with my power is a shadow over a throne.

“And that ‘saintess’? She’s been keeping a lover in the capital this whole time.”

Despite that, she had spent five years playing the part of a woman desperately in love with me, using every feminine wile to keep me close.

“All of it was a play to ensure I wouldn’t hesitate when it came time for the final sacrifice.”

Something about needing a divine tincture from her cult to save her dying paramour, wasn’t it?

The saintess—who until seconds ago had been weeping over my injuries—turned a shade of white that rivaled spoiled milk.

I was genuinely impressed that her face, already caked in lead-based cosmetics, could lose even more color.

“The sorcerer simply loathes my stance on the abolition of the lower castes.”

After all, slaves make for the most convenient fodder for forbidden research. And those who hoard arcane secrets, like him, profit most from a world divided by birthright.

—So…

“Yeah. I’ve known for five years that they intended to bury me the second you fell.”

It was the primary reason I never bothered to learn their names. The lion-headed creature looked utterly perplexed.

—Then why go through with it?

“I just want to go home.”

—What could that possibly—

I don’t owe a monster an explanation. With those final, unremarkable words—hardly a fit eulogy for a world-ender—the beast finally went cold.

“It’s done.”

My ambition had never wavered. Kill the creature, stop the end of this world, and claw my way back to the blue marble called Earth.

Behind me, the masquerade finally shattered.

“It’s actually a relief to drop the act. You’ve become far too much of a liability.”

“It isn’t just your strength—it’s your philosophy. You’re a contagion.”

“Do you have any idea how exhausting it was to pretend I was enamored with a man who mocks the holy order? This is the end of the road.”

We were in the bowels of the underworld; there were no witnesses. They would slaughter me here and invent a heroic tragedy for the public.

A genuine grin spread across my face. It didn’t matter. They felt nothing for me, and the feeling was entirely mutual.

“You want to know something? I despise this place.”

A world of fanatics obsessed with bloodlines and gods. A place where hygiene was an afterthought and people threw filth out of windows into the streets.

The elite—the knights and the lords—they wore silk but smelled of rot, masking the stench with pungent oils and poisonous powders. Standing near them was a sensory assault.

Even that saintess, hailed as a paragon of beauty by her followers, held as much charm for me as a brick.

The clergy sold “miracles” that were nothing more than snake oil, leading the desperate to an early grave.

The mages knew better, but they kept their mouths shut to maintain their status.

“Since you knew, I assume you’re ready. Don’t expect an apology from us.”

“Why would I? We were never friends.”

We had trekked across continents together, yet I still hadn’t learned what they were called. I scoffed at the saintess’s coldness and shouted toward the heavens.

“The contract is fulfilled! Honor the agreement!”

Suddenly, the ceiling of the abyss fractured, and a deluge of brilliant white radiance flooded the cavern.

—Excellently done.

“Send me back.”

Return me to the life I remember. To my home. That was my only price.

—Does this realm truly offend you to such a degree? A world of my own making?

Is that a serious question? I could give a three-day lecture on every single thing I hate about this place.

—You possess the strength to challenge even me. But if you return to Earth, every ounce of your power will evaporate.

Even a king in this world doesn’t have the comforts of an average person on Earth.

I had spent years in a living hell just to earn my ticket back. It was like saving up for a high-end computer; once you have the money, you buy the machine. No second-guessing.

—You could reshape this history. Those who plot against you? You could erase them in a heartbeat.

“Drop it. You’re just as relieved as I am that I’m leaving.”

Power that could threaten a creator? I didn’t want it. It was a trap. If I showed the slightest desire to stay, this deity would find a reason to strike me down.

This “divine” voice was as petty and paranoid as the rest of this backward world.

—Very well. Safe travels.

“Don’t screw up the terms.”

Find a human on Earth who was already at death’s door and let me take over.

My status and magic would vanish, but my mind, my soul, and my memories would stay. That was the deal we struck at the beginning.

—Time on your world has moved forward exactly twenty-five years since your departure.

Not bad—shorter than I had anticipated. Twenty-five years? I could adapt to that change. Anything was better than staying here.

I had faith that Earth had only improved in a quarter-century.

“You found a body? Then send me.”

The light swallowed me whole, and as my consciousness drifted, the world I hated dissolved into nothingness.

A sudden, jarring emptiness hit my core. All the authority, the mana, and the raw power that had defined my existence for decades simply bled away.

“Ah.”

I snapped my eyes open and felt a sudden chill. The first thing I noticed: the hum of a wall-mounted air conditioner blowing a cool breeze.

The fact that my body felt as weak as a wet paper towel? I didn’t care.

“More importantly.”

A tray of cold fried chicken sat next to a computer. The dry breast meat that I used to avoid was still sitting there.

With shaking hands, I grabbed a piece and shoved it into my mouth.

“Sniff.”

Why had I ever complained about dry chicken? It was heavenly. Tears actually started rolling down my cheeks.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d tasted something so perfect.

My taste buds were having a religious experience. This—this was actual food.

The chicken disappeared in seconds, as if I feared someone would take it away.

I stumbled to the bathroom. A flushing toilet. A shower with instant hot water. Real soap, real shampoo…

“Destined to die, huh.”

This apartment looked like my old place, but it wasn’t. The original owner of this body was supposed to die; I was just the replacement.

“I wonder what happened.”

The answer came in less than ten minutes. A sharp, chemical smell hit my nostrils.

“Damn it…!”

I lunged for the kitchen, twisted the gas valve shut, and put out the pilot light. Once the danger passed, I slumped against the wall.

“I don’t believe it.”

I save an entire world, cross dimensions to get home, only to nearly die in a gas leak? That would have been a pathetic way to go.

Once my heart stopped racing, I grabbed the smartphone on the desk. No passcode, no pattern—a stroke of luck.

“Twenty-five years later and the tech looks almost the same? Was I imagining things?”

If flip phones were 2004 and the early smartphones were 2013, twenty-five years should mean flying cars, shouldn’t it?

I scratched my head and hit the power button.

A black screen asked for a thumbprint. I pressed it, and the phone unlocked instantly.

“I need to figure out who I am now.”

The god hadn’t given me a biography. I knew zero about this man’s life. I opened the calendar and saw a recurring alert: “Parents’ Death Anniversary.”

“So, a guy who lost his folks.”

I’m sorry, friend—but I’m going to make sure this body lives a long life.

After a thorough scrub in the shower, I flopped onto the bed and started scrolling through the news.

“…”

Within minutes, I was bolt upright.

[13 Years Since the Erosion Zone Appeared: A Retrospective]

[Hunter Steven K of Chronomaker: ‘War is Imminent… We Need National Support’]

[Erosion Zone in North Korea Expanding Rapidly. Association Claims: ‘Situation Under Control’]

[‘Tactical Retreats’—Public Outraged by Hunter Excuses. The DMZ is Lost.]

[South Korea’s GDP Growth Hits 0%. The Final Economic Pillar Crumbles?]

I rubbed my eyes until they burned, staring at the screen.

What in the hell were these stories?

After four hours of deep diving into the internet, I leaned back and covered my face.

“What kind of disaster did I walk into?”

If I had to summarize the Earth I had returned to twenty-five years later:

“It’s a complete dumpster fire.”

It wasn’t just changing—it was a slow, agonizing collapse.