Five years had passed since the world veered off its destined timeline.The fallen world had risen again—not with hope, but with magic and fear.
Kaelen was now seventeen. Taller, steadier, and his gaze cut like light through night. Though the world saw him as an ordinary teenager, they didn't know: time was no straight line to him—he ruled over its fragments.
On the other side, Althea, now twenty-one, had become an icon of the new era. Alongside eleven other survivors, she formed the most dominant Awakener guild in the world: The Last Survivors.
The world had changed. Nations lost control as magic systems and dungeons began appearing without warning.Awakeners—humans chosen by the World Will—rose one by one as Earth's natural defense. They gained powers through an internal system that couldn't be hacked or replicated by normal magic or technology.
But not everyone who rose found their place.Kaelen, who lacked an Awakening System, was mocked and deemed weak by those around him. At school, his classmates looked down on him. They called him "No-System," "NPC," and "Burden of the New Era."
"What's the point of hanging out if you can't be a Hunter?""If a dungeon spawned right here, he'd be the first to die."
Kaelen didn't respond.He just observed, committing every face to memory.
What they didn't understand was: Kaelen didn't have an Awakening System—because he didn't need one.He had something far more dangerous: access to Little Garden—a sealed world no one could touch but him.Within it, twenty-four avatars once played under his command—forms of existence, each with their own skills, weapons, and destinies, all fully mastered.
One of Little Garden's exclusive features was the Tag Character system—the ability to link and use abilities, spells, and inventories from other avatars freely in the real world.
But the most terrifying feature was Character Switch—a mechanism that allowed full transformation into one of the 24 characters, including The Empress, the main protagonist and supreme will of the system he once ruled.
He could fight as a dimensional war swordmaster, fire anti-gravity weapons from the Exo-Reaver line, or summon extradimensional beasts as a summoner from a shattered timeline.
Kaelen could access the power of twenty-four distinct identities.They called him weak because he had no Awakening System.They didn't know: Kaelen could become anyone he needed to win.
Meanwhile, the world kept changing.
Dungeons began appearing—towering structures, underground ruins, or frozen battlefields seemingly cut from other realms.But Kaelen knew: dungeons weren't local phenomena.
They were fragments of collapsed worlds—cracked realities from alien dimensions now projected onto Earth.Time flowed differently inside them. That's why slain monsters would respawn—when the flow of time in their realm returned to a fixed point.As if those worlds refused to be forgotten.
And then there were the Towers—massive monoliths that didn't originate from Earth, but from Constellations—outer entities who treated humanity like pawns in a celestial game.
The Constellations wanted to watch humans struggle, fight, and survive—for their entertainment.
In the midst of this chaos, The Last Survivors rose as the dominant force among Hunters.They conquered dungeons, neutralized monsters, and established a new ecosystem where magic and technology intertwined.
Amid the turmoil, one odd sight drew attention: Althea, leader of The Last Survivors, was often seen with an ordinary student—Kaelen.
Some thought they were lovers. Others were suspicious.But one thing was certain: Althea treated Kaelen in a way she showed no one else.
One night, atop an old building overlooking the ruins of the old city, Althea sat beside Kaelen.The night wind carried the scent of ozone and arcane fire from distant dungeon generators.
"Kael," she whispered. "I've found it."
Kaelen turned. His eyes glimmered faintly.
"Yggdrasil," Althea continued. "It's the name of the IT company now leading the global magic network. But it's just a front."
She stared directly at him.
"False God is the owner."
Kaelen showed no reaction. But for a split second, his pupils narrowed.
"They've been here for thousands of years. Disguised as humans, absorbing the system, spreading influence through technology.The world doesn't notice... because they're too perfect."
Althea clenched her fists."I know this is just the surface. But I'm sure... everything points to them."
Kaelen looked up at the sky. The stars seemed unreal that night—like tiny holes through which something beyond the world was watching.
He gave a single nod."Take me to them."
Althea stared at him for a long moment—then smiled faintly."All right. But don't die."
Kaelen didn't respond.Because from this moment on, the hunt for False God had begun.
Days after Kaelen and Althea's meeting...
In the hidden command room of The Last Survivors, five figures gathered.They were the Last Six, minus one—Kaelen, who had never officially joined them.
Arven Deylac sat with arms crossed.Syrra Veltaine scanned the holographic terminal with a wary gaze.Veyra Ashcrow adjusted the sheath of her weapon.Lorrick Fenwald spun a magic coin between his fingers, and Nolien Trask stood motionless in the corner—like a shadow given form.
Suddenly, a system notification flashed before them all:
[You have received a Party Invitation]Sender: The Empress[Raid Authorization: Class Omega. Target: ???][Role Assignment: Customizable. Leadership: Locked to The Empress][Accept / Decline]
Silence.
Five years without hearing that name.Five years without direction.
And now—one message.Like a war bell from a time they had almost forgotten.
No one needed to ask who The Empress was.
Even though they hadn't seen her since time was reset, they all knew the name.The final god of humanity.The leader of Little Garden.The one they had once followed without question——and who now, for the first time in five years, was calling them again.
"This… this is a war call," whispered Syrra."Not just a raid," muttered Arven. "Class Omega. That means the target... isn't from this world."
Lorrick stopped spinning his coin.
"We all know who's the only one who can trigger an instance with that level of threat."
Nolien stared at the screen—then nodded.One by one, they pressed Accept.
In the air, the system icons merged.A single party was formed.A new hunt had begun.
Elsewhere, Kaelen stood atop the ruins of the old world.The wind carried whispers from a system only he could hear.
A red light ignited in his iris.
Slowly, the human face shifted…
Becoming The Empress—the supreme will of Little Garden.
"Let the game begin."