The world disappeared.
One moment Noah was inside the carriage.
The next—
He was falling.
Cold air screamed past him.
Darkness stretched endlessly in every direction.
No sky.
No ground.
No horizon.
Nothing.
Just an endless abyss.
"What the FUCK?!"
His voice vanished into the void.
The force of the fall threatened to tear him apart.
Wind battered his body.
His vision blurred.
Yet even through the chaos, Noah could see it.
Far above.
Watching.
A single crimson eye.
Bigger than a mountain.
Floating within the darkness.
The eye stared directly at him.
Ancient.
Hungry.
Patient.
The Devourer of Fate.
The name alone sent terror racing through his body.
Then the System erupted with notifications.
[WARNING!]
[WARNING!]
[Host Has Entered A Forbidden Domain.]
[Existence Erasure Detected.]
Noah’s heart nearly stopped.
Existence erasure?
What the hell did that even mean?
Another notification appeared.
[Emergency Survival Protocol Activated.]
The broken crown mark on his hand burst into crimson light.
Energy exploded from his body.
For a brief moment, the falling stopped.
Noah hovered in midair.
Then a familiar voice echoed through the abyss.
The same voice from the battlefield.
The one who looked exactly like him.
"You’re disappointing me."
Noah’s eyes widened.
"Ragnarok?"
A laugh echoed through the darkness.
Deep.
Powerful.
Dangerous.
"You survive six Chapters and already almost die."
"Six Chapters?"
"What?"
The voice ignored his confusion.
"Look beneath you."
Noah looked down.
Immediately regretting it.
Something enormous waited below.
At first, he thought it was a continent.
Then he realized continents weren’t supposed to move.
His blood froze.
The thing beneath him was alive.
An impossible creature.
A serpent larger than entire mountain ranges.
Black scales covered its body.
Each scale looked the size of a castle.
Golden eyes opened across its flesh.
Hundreds of them.
Thousands.
Every single one staring directly at Noah.
The sight nearly shattered his sanity.
"What the fuck is that?!"
The voice answered immediately.
"The reason your survival rate is zero point zero four percent."
Wonderful.
Just fucking wonderful.
Noah wanted to scream.
Instead, he focused on breathing.
One problem at a time.
"How do I survive?"
The voice became silent.
For several moments, Noah thought it wouldn’t answer.
Then—
"You fight."
Noah almost choked.
"Fight?"
"Correct."
"Fight THAT?"
"Correct."
Noah pointed at the continent-sized nightmare beneath him.
"Are you insane?"
The voice laughed.
A genuine laugh this time.
The sound shook the abyss.
"You aren’t fighting to win."
"What?"
"You’re fighting to survive."
Before Noah could ask another question—
The serpent moved.
Reality cracked.
The abyss shattered.
A roar exploded throughout existence.
The sound alone felt like a hammer striking his soul.
Blood poured from Noah’s ears.
Pain exploded inside his skull.
The serpent opened its mouth.
Darkness gathered within.
Noah’s instincts screamed.
Death.
Certain death.
Absolute death.
Everything within him knew one truth.
If that attack hit—
There would be nothing left.
No body.
No soul.
Nothing.
The System reacted instantly.
[Emergency Skill Unlocked!]
[Shadow Step]
Rank: Divine
Description:
Move through shadows for a short distance.
Current Efficiency: 1%
Noah didn’t hesitate.
"ACTIVATE!"
Darkness wrapped around his body.
For a split second, reality blurred.
Then he vanished.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The serpent’s attack erupted.
The abyss exploded.
Entire sections of space simply ceased to exist.
Noah reappeared hundreds of meters away.
Gasping.
Sweating.
Alive.
Barely.
The notification appeared immediately.
[Skill Proficiency Increased.]
[Shadow Step: 1% → 2%]
Noah laughed.
Not because he was happy.
Because the situation was absurd.
He was fighting a monster bigger than a continent.
With a skill at two percent mastery.
Fantastic.
Then the silver-haired girl’s words returned to him.
"It has already killed you once."
His expression darkened.
The statement still made no sense.
Yet somehow...
Deep inside...
He felt she wasn’t lying.
Then the abyss trembled.
A new sound echoed through the darkness.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Ancient.
Noah froze.
The serpent froze.
Even the Devourer of Fate froze.
Something else was here.
Something powerful enough to make monsters afraid.
The footsteps grew closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Then a massive gate appeared within the abyss.
Black.
Ancient.
Covered in crimson runes.
The gate slowly opened.
And from within emerged a hand.
A giant hand.
Clad in black armor.
The moment it appeared, every notification in Noah’s vision went insane.
[WARNING!]
[WARNING!]
[WARNING!]
Unknown Authority Detected.
Unknown Authority Detected.
Unknown Authority Detected.
Then one final message appeared.
A message that made Noah’s heart stop.
[Ragnarok Has Entered The Battlefield.]