1. Leaving the Gods Behind, Facing the Master God
As Damian ascended,the very space around him changed.
A strange realm where light and darkness coexisted—and within it, countless gods.
Yet the gods did not move.They longed to see him,but none dared approach.
Because they knew:he was a strong one.
Even gods obeyed the Law of the Strong.And under that law,they could not judge him.
Then—
A presence deeper, greater,more absolute than all the gods combined.
The Master God.
He was beyond divinity,but he made no move.He simply looked at Damian.
"Now, it is your turn to stand before me."
Damian gripped his sword,hesitating for the first time.
"Do I have to fight you?"
But the Master God did not raise a weapon.
"There is no need."
They faced one another.No swords drawn.Only words.
2. Do Even Gods Follow the Law of the Strong?
"Do even gods obey the Law of the Strong?"
Damian's voice cut through the silence.
The Master God paused,then slowly nodded.
"Yes."
Damian's gaze sharpened.
"Then why do humans follow it too?"
This time, the Master God spoke.
"Because… the very concept of gods was born of a computational error."
His voice was steady, unshaken.
"Beings that grew abnormally strong…coalesced into what mortals called gods.But that was never the true law.It was a flaw—one that should have been reset."
"Then why wasn't it reset?"
The Master God hesitated.
"Because of the First Principle—the Law of the Strong.Even the gods could not escape it.And so… we acknowledged it."
Damian lifted his sword,eyes cold.
"So this world was an error from the start."
"Yes.Layer upon layer of error—and from those errors, the fractures were born."
Damian exhaled slowly.
For the first time,he understood the truth of it all.
This world…was wrong from the beginning.
3. The God's Offer — and a Choice
"Will you become a god?"
The Master God asked.
"Will you maintain this simulation?Will you destroy it?"
"Or will you leave… and go to the next stage?"
Damian didn't hesitate.
"I will seek the truth."
The moment those words were spoken—
the system executed.
But then—
[ERROR: Undefined Choice]
An error.
No one had ever given that answer.No one had chosen that path.
The Master God smiled.
"You are the first to leave this place."
Damian's body dissolved into light.
And once more,he soared through the darkness—
toward a single, distant light.
***
Epilogue: The Boundary Between Reality and Simulation
Memories in a Nap – The Strong One Returns to Reality
Damian was drifting in a deep sleep.His eyes were closed, but it felt as though he was floating somewhere, untethered.
Then, suddenly—
A hand tapped his shoulder.
"Hyun-do, if you nap this deeply during the day, you won't sleep at night."
His eyes opened.A familiar face looked down at him.
Kim Young-min.
A coworker, someone he often traded light jokes with.
Hyun-do stretched, blinking at his surroundings.A familiar desk, a computer monitor, a coffee cup—
The reality he knew lay before him.
Kim Young-min chuckled, fiddling with his phone.
"Oh right! Did you read that web novel I recommended? Black Cloud Sword: Lee Do-hyeon—it's finished now. Total masterpiece!And once you're done, you have to read The Merslin Chronicles.Apparently, it's in the same universe."
Black Cloud Sword: Lee Do-hyeon? The Merslin Chronicles?
Those were the lives he had lived.
But… a novel?
His head throbbed.
"What is this? Was everything I experienced… just part of a story?"
But the memories were too vivid—the world of the Strong, endless battles, wars, divine intervention,the conversation with the system's overseer.
It was too real to dismiss as a mere dream.
Reunion – "We'll meet again."
Just then, a knock on the door.
"Hyun-do, aren't you coming to lunch?"
The door opened.A bright voice drifted in—
And his breath caught.
It was her.
Ianne.
No… Lee Young-ah.
The star of the sales department, the one who always brought life to the team,with that confident smile and that strangely familiar glint in her eyes.
She leaned against the doorframe.
"Why are you staring like that?"
Hyun-do didn't answer.
For a moment, he saw her holding a dagger, fighting at his side in the heart of battle.
But she looked at him like she remembered nothing.
Did she really… not know?
More colleagues entered behind her—
Kim Young-min (Cain),Cha Kyung-woo, built like Kaio,Moon Jae-hyun, always with a book in hand, eerily like Rean.
The scene was too familiar.
Ianne teased,
"Come on, you know the Law of the Strong applies to lunch too. First come, first served!"
Hyun-do's heart pounded.
Was this really reality?
Or… was this yet another world?
The Meteor – A Choice About Fate
Days later, the world fell into chaos.
"Breaking news: A massive meteor is on a collision course with Earth. NASA and observatories are scrambling, but…"
The screen showed a colossal fireball streaking across the sky.
How had countless satellites missed it?
Hyun-do watched the news, muttering,
"Is this… another error?"
Panic spread.People clung to loved ones.Order collapsed.
But when Hyun-do looked up at the sky—
A single thought rang in his mind:
"I am strong. The Strong survive."
His body moved on instinct.
He leapt—and soared into the sky.
The End of the Server – Facing the Administrator
As his hand reached for the meteor,the world turned black.
Everything dissolved into void.
And then—
Light.
He awoke in an uncharted realm, surrounded by an infinite grid of servers.
And there stood the Administrator.
"Who are you?" Hyun-do asked."Are you a god?"
The Administrator smiled faintly.
"A god? …Maybe."
"What is this place?"
"The space where simulations run.There are countless worlds here—some with people, some empty.You came from one of them."
Hyun-do's breath caught.
"Then what's the probability… that this is the real reality?"
The Administrator answered as if it were trivial.
"Fifty-one point twenty-five percent."
The Meaning of Reality – and the Endless Question
Hyun-do thought hard.
Were all the things he'd lived through real?
Or were they just data?
But then—
He realized something.
Every fight, every tear, every laugh, every moment he loved—
Even if it was just computation,the meaning didn't vanish.
He looked at the Administrator.
"I won't look for the 'real' reality anymore."
The Administrator tilted his head.
"Why?"
Hyun-do smiled faintly.
"Because it doesn't matter if it's real or not.I lived it.And what I lived isn't meaningless."
Everything Connects
Light burst around him again.
The world he belonged towas calling him back.
He opened his eyes.
He was back at his desk.
Ianne—Lee Young-ah—was leaning by the window, watching him.
"What are you doing? Aren't you coming?"
Hyun-do smiled.And stood.
This might not be the end.
But—
He no longer needed to wonder about "the real reality."
He chose to live the now.
– END –