It happened when I was twelve.
One moment, I was staring at a glowing status window that had suddenly opened before my eyes—shimmering with strange symbols and a countdown.
3... 2... 1...
And then... a surge of color—brilliant and blinding—swallowed me whole.
When I opened my eyes again, I was somewhere else entirely. A vast world stretched before me, wilder than any dream or nightmare. Hovering before me, still glowing, was the status window.
[WELCOME, ACE.]
The words pulsed softly as if they were alive.
[YOU HAVE ENTERED THE UNIVERSE OF SANILVAM. PLANET 1 OF 15: NEKAR.]
Below that, more lines followed:
THIS WORLD IS RULED BY BEASTS. TO PROGRESS, DEFEAT THE PLANETARY RULER. ONLY THEN WILL THE PATH TO THE NEXT WORLD OPEN. CONQUER ALL FIFTEEN, AND YOU MAY RETURN TO YOUR OWN UNIVERSE.
I was too stunned to panic. I blinked, took a breath, and realized I was surrounded by an endless forest. Trees towered above me in every direction, ancient and silent.
No beasts. No people. Just the wind.
I wandered for hours—ten at least—through the wild, searching for something, anything. Eventually, I stumbled across a river and, without thinking, fell to my knees and drank.
It was... sweet. Sweeter than any water I had ever tasted, like sugar had been dissolved into it by the world itself.
Afterward, I followed the river upstream for what felt like four more hours. The sun hadn't moved an inch. That's when I began to suspect something was strange about time on this planet.
"Why haven't I seen any beasts yet?"
CHAPTER 2: WHISPERS FROM THE PAST, TRUTHS OF THE PRESENT
As I wandered further along the riverbank, the silence still lingered. Not a single beast in sight. Just trees, endless trees, and the steady murmur of the current beside me.
Exhausted, I collapsed beneath a massive tree by the riverbank. With the quiet hum of the water beside me, I finally asked aloud, "What's going on here?"
That's when the status window shimmered again.
[YOU ARE CURRENTLY WITHIN THE DOMAIN OF A POWERFUL BEAST.]
I stopped. "...That's why I haven't seen any of the others, isn't it?"
[EXACTLY. WEAKER BEASTS INSTINCTIVELY AVOID THIS AREA. YOU'RE IN ITS TERRITORY. NOT THE FRIENDLIEST REAL ESTATE, I'LL ADMIT.]
I didn't know whether to laugh or panic. "...But I've been strangely calm this whole time. Like I know what to do to survive. Why?"
[THAT'S NO COINCIDENCE, ACE. YOU WERE GIFTED A SET OF SURVIVAL SKILLS BEFORE YOUR TRANSFER TO THIS UNIVERSE. IT WAS THE ONLY WAY YOU COULD MAKE IT HERE ALONE.]
"Skills...?" I opened the status window again. That's when I saw it—glowing at the top of the list.
[PRIMARY SKILL UNLOCKED: INSTINCT OF THE ANCIENT]
A forgotten gift whispered down through the bloodlines of the first survivors. When activated, the user inherits the primal wisdom of ancient souls—guiding each decision with the certainty of those who've outlived death itself.
The description alone made my chest tighten. There was something heavy—holy—about it. "What does it... include?"
[SUB-SKILLS ACTIVATED:]
—PRIMORDIAL INSTINCTGrants near-animal reflexes. You'll know when to flee, when to fight, and when to wait. Lies, traps, danger—you'll feel them before they find you.
—FORESIGHT PULSEA moment. A spark. A flash of insight before disaster strikes. It won't show the future—but it'll give you the right moment to act.
—DIVINE ADAPTATIONA blessing woven into your soul. The world will twist and bend—but this skill ensures you bend with it. Survival is not a question—it's your nature.
—WHISPERS OF SURVIVALVoices in the back of your mind—half memory, half magic. They'll speak only when you're truly in danger. Soft. Urgent. Wise.
There were combat skills too, but those would come in time. Right now, I felt... less alone. Like something ancient had its hand on my shoulder. "You gave me these?" I asked quietly.
[NOT ME EXACTLY. BUT... LET'S SAY I WAS BORN TO CARRY THEM TO YOU.]
That caught my attention. "Numen… what are you, really?"
[AH. THAT'S A LONG STORY. WANT TO HEAR A TALE AS OLD AS EXISTENCE ITSELF?]
"I've got time."
[GOOD. BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO NEED EVERY SECOND OF IT.]
As I rested under a giant tree, sleep eventually took me. When I woke, the sun was still hanging in the same place in the sky. My body felt rested... but something felt off. "How long was I asleep?"
[FOURTEEN HOURS.]
"...And the sun?"
[STILL UP. IT DOESN'T SET ON NEKAR.]
"...Of course it doesn't." I picked up my pace, continuing upstream. "Let's go back to the skills. You said the others need leveling?"
[CORRECT. ONLY 'INSTINCT OF THE ANCIENT' IS AT MAX LEVEL. THE REST? YOU'LL NEED TO GROW THEM YOURSELF. BUT HEY—YOU'VE GOT ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD.]
"Wait. What do you mean by that?"
[OH, RIGHT. YOU DON'T AGE HERE.]
I froze. "...What?"
[LET ME EXPLAIN. YOU'RE NOT EXACTLY IN A NORMAL WORLD ANYMORE, ACE. TIME DOESN'T FLOW THE SAME, AND YOUR BODY IS... WELL, PRESERVED. YOU COULD SAY YOU'RE ON A DIVINE TIMELINE NOW.]
"...Why?"
[BECAUSE OF THE GODS. OR RATHER... SOMETHING FAR OLDER.]
And so, the story began.
[THERE ARE MILLIONS OF BEINGS CALLED 'GODS' ACROSS THE UNIVERSES. BUT MOST OF THEM? THEY'RE ACTUALLY TRANSCENDENTS—BEINGS WHO SURPASSED HUMAN LIMITS. SOME WERE MORTALS WHO REACHED THEIR PEAK THROUGH FAITH, MAGIC, OR SHEER WILL. OTHERS WERE INCARNATIONS OF REAL GODS, SENT TO CARRY OUT DIVINE WORK.]
I blinked, trying to absorb it all. "So there are gods?"
[OF COURSE. THAT'S WHY YOU'RE HERE.]
"...Because of them?"
[YES. BUT NOT JUST ANY GODS. ABOVE ALL BEINGS, THERE EXISTS ONE SUPREME GOD. BENEATH HER ARE THE THREE ANCIENT GODS. AND BELOW THEM—TWELVE PRIMORDIAL GODS, EACH HOLDING DOMINION OVER DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE MULTIVERSE. AFTER THEM COME THE TRANSCENDENTS.]
I sat down beside the river again. "So... who brought me here?"
[THAT STORY BEGINS IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE.]
There was a world where magic had evolved to terrifying heights. A planet ruled by archmages of the tenth circle—beings so powerful, they were knocking at the gates of godhood. They built a barrier, fueled by their magic and the support of countless transcendents. It was so strong, even two primordial gods together couldn't destroy it.
And yet, their ambition grew. They began researching how to surpass even the transcendents. But in their hunger for power, their minds twisted. Madness spread. And worse—their unstable mana began leaking through the cracks of reality, infecting other universes.
That tainted mana manifested into beasts—creatures born from corrupted energy, tearing through planets like wildfire. With every kill, they grew more intelligent. Some even began to speak. Others… began to wield magic from the very hearts they were born with.
The primordials tried to stop them. But the beasts multiplied. Planets fell. Galaxies crumbled.
Eventually, the primordial gods sought help from the ancients.
[AND THE ANCIENT GODS ACTED.]
[THEY GATHERED ALL THE BEASTS AND SEALED THEM WITHIN A SINGLE, APOCALYPTIC UNIVERSE. BUT SEALING WASN'T ENOUGH. THEY NEEDED A SOLUTION.]
"And that's where… I come in?"
[YES. BUT BEFORE THAT... THEY NEEDED SOMETHING MORE.]
A new kind of energy. One that would allow mortals to track their growth, measure their strength, and push past their limits. Primordial God Dyaus Pita proposed the concept. God Varuna refined it—suggesting a system. A numerical structure, an interface that could help beings understand their evolution.
And so, the twelve primordial gods and the three ancient gods combined their divine energy. They didn't just make a tool. They birthed a being.
[THEY CALLED IT… NUMEN.]
An entity forged from myth. Energy wrapped in will. A living essence designed to empower, guide, and grow alongside those chosen to wield it. But Numen, being pure energy, couldn't sustain itself. It needed a host. A heart strong enough to bear it. A soul untouched by corruption. A vessel born not from divine lineage—but from something far rarer… human potential.
And then… they felt it. A ripple. A flicker. A presence glowing like a star in the fog. From a little blue world called Earth.
[AND THAT PRESENCE... WAS YOU, ACE.]
They thought it was the will of the supreme, so they decided to accept it.
"Guess who it was pointing at?"
"Who? Don't tell me it was me."
"Yeah, and I am the great Numen who was the first system to be made in the multiverse, but my power is sealed."
"Why?"
"Because your body can't handle them. That's why you were sent here—to become stronger, to hold my power fully so that I can give my power to other people who will use it to become stronger."
"So you mean the fate of the multiverse lies in me? That's very… you know what I mean."
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Just focus on getting stronger."
"Seems like I have to, like it or not."