CHAPTER 1
Huff… huff…
His ragged breaths scorched his lungs, and his heart pounded like mad.
With his greatsword jammed into the ground, he barely held himself up, his body slumped over the hilt.
From his fingertips to his shoulders, the trembling wouldn’t stop.
And that wasn’t all.
Blood gushed from the wound in his abdomen like rain.
His vision had already halved, and the only sound left was the ringing in his ears.
The outcome was as clear as day.
“If I survive this too, that’d be kind of ridiculous.”
He wasn’t particularly resentful about dying.
After all, he should’ve been dead ten years ago.
There had just been too many bastards in the world who needed killing. He’d made it this far simply by taking them out one by one.
The only thing that pissed him off—
Was that the last of the four who’d ruined him was still standing in front of him, completely unharmed.
“No matter how many times I see that damn face, I can’t get used to it.”
A pure white uniform. Eyes as clear as ice crystals. An aura so sterile he looked like he wouldn’t bleed even if stabbed.
And finally, the coldly glowing third eye on his forehead.
A being from another dimension, called a Contractor of the Gods.
“Kwan.”
Kwan slightly tilted the sword hanging loosely from his hand.
“You’re an extraordinary being.”
His tone was mechanical, devoid of emotion.
“To think you killed three of our contractors without even being an Apostle.”
How absurd.
Compliments from the guy whose allies he killed?
What kind of fresh lunatic was this?
“You can’t see I’m about to drop dead? What good are three eyes if you’re basically blind?”
Even at his provocation, Kwan simply tilted his head, unfazed.
“How did you use the power of the Core? That shouldn’t be possible without being an Apostle.”
Whether he just didn’t listen to others or had some sort of auto-filter, Kwan’s expression remained purely curious.
Looking at the unbothered freak, Yiwoon smirked.
“What, your dimension doesn’t have the concept of trade secrets?”
What was it again?
Culling humanity to balance the universe?
Bullshit.
If they cared about balance so much, they should’ve offed themselves first.
“But hey, who knows? If you just go back to your world quietly, maybe I’ll tell you next time we meet.”
He was buying time—talking nonsense to stall.
Just enough to swing his greatsword again.
No—at least two more swings. He needed to recover enough for that.
If not…
‘Huh?’
An unexpected development occurred.
Kwan began to slowly lower his sword.
‘Did that nonsense actually work?’
He almost laughed at the absurdity when—
Step—
Kwan stepped forward, locking eyes with him, and spoke slowly.
“Do not degrade yourself with unworthy words, Yiwoon.”
Step—
Another step.
Yiwoon had no idea what he was planning.
‘At this range, reacting in time will be tough.’
Kwan’s Authority of Severance could cut through anything in its path.
If not for his sword’s indestructible status, Yiwoon would’ve died long ago.
Even his superhuman physique was meaningless before Kwan.
‘Still, I won’t die alone.’
He prepared to forgo defense and die taking Kwan with him when—
The bastard said something unexpected.
“Join us.”
“…What?”
“I heard it was a fellow human who did that to your arm.”
Kwan’s gaze shifted to the empty space where Yiwoon’s right arm used to be.
A severed shoulder.
Even after all these years, the phantom limb ache never went away.
“Because of that, you couldn’t become an Apostle during the early upheaval.”
He wasn’t wrong.
The Constellations—once human beings who transcended their mortality to stand against ancient godlike beings and side with humanity—had rejected him.
Because his body was broken.
“Even when your abilities became known, all the Apostles had already been chosen. You were deemed irrelevant.”
They had been arrogant and hasty, scrambling to find suitable candidates and betting on them early.
‘How’d he even know all that?’
Not surprising, though.
Yiwoon had made plenty of enemies—he’d cleared away everyone who got in his way.
‘I was fair about it.’
Villains, hunter associations, guild unions—he’d eliminated anyone who stood in his path.
“In the early days, you were just a porter, scorned and looked down upon. That’s why I’m making this offer. Why fight for those people?”
It was a compelling argument.
“Didn’t know you cared so much about me.”
But Kwan didn’t know one thing.
“You haven’t heard the other rumor?”
He wasn’t fighting these lunatics to save the world or anything.
“My parents were killed by one of your contractors.”
To him, there was no real difference between humans and those contractor bastards.
“That explains it.”
“Explains what, you asshole? I wasn’t done talking.”
Forget what he just said—looking at Kwan’s smug face made his dead humanity flare with new hatred.
“It’s unfortunate, but men like you don’t change their minds easily.”
Didn’t sound like he was actually disappointed.
“Then witness the end of this world before you die. Consider it my final gift.”
The end?
“You’ve already taken over the rest?”
Kwan raised his hand toward the sky without answering.
“You’ve misunderstood something, Yiwoon. One hand cannot hold off ten.”
So that’s it.
“Revenge should be done with a cold head, not a hot heart.”
No matter how hard he struggled, the outcome had been decided from the start.
Then—
“It has begun, Yiwoon.”
Fwaaah!
From the sanctified lands, a glorious light shot into the sky.
“The descent of the gods.”
The light pierced the clouds, creating a divine circular gate in the sky.
“Shit…”
He felt it.
A presence so overwhelming it made resistance feel meaningless.
He had lost.
Regret lingered.
If only he still had his right arm.
If only he had woken up sooner instead of wallowing in despair.
He resented the Constellations who failed to recognize him.
Still—
He had to take at least one more down with him.
‘Two times.’
Three was impossible.
But he had the strength for two more swings.
He raised his greatsword toward Kwan’s unsuspecting neck.
Tsssss…
‘…!’
The world turned gray and froze.
Even time itself came to a halt.
Panicking at the stillness, a cheerful voice came from behind.
“Whew! Made it just in time. That was close.”
‘Who’s there?’
He wanted to turn around, but time had caged him in place.
“Listen up! You’re about to die, as you know. Those damn gods are descending.”
Thanks for the reminder.
“So I’ll make this quick!”
If you’re short on time, don’t say things like that in the first place.
Weird guy.
“You were abandoned by humans and lost your family to contractors, but you made it here alone. That’s why I’ve chosen you.”
Chosen?
Also, correction— he hadn’t been abandoned. He left them first.
“So now, I’ll make you my Apostle—of the ‘Lord of Apostasy.’”
Ah, so he was a Constellation.
“You reminded me of myself, killing anyone who annoyed you.”
Hah…
He’d heard most Constellations were nuts, but this guy took the cake.
“I’ve been watching since your arm was severed. Even the crazy stunt you pulled for a half-baked awakening—very impressive!”
And then—
[You have become the Apostle of the ‘Lord of Apostasy.’]
The message he’d waited his entire life for came only when he was about to die.
This damn Constellation.
He’d just been watching all this time?
Now what was he supposed to do in this dying body?
“One catch—I can’t send you back to the very beginning. Not my original power, you see.”
What? The very beginning?
Who?
Me?
“And you can’t tell anyone you’ve returned. If the ‘Master of Shackles’ hears, they’ll erase you from existence. Contracts are sacred, you know.”
So there was a condition.
“Still, I’ll send you back to when your arm was still intact. Once you return—”
Tsssss—!
“…-live… the… way…”
What? What’d he say?
“…Hey! Yiwoon! Wake up!”
Huh?
“We’re here!”
Someone shook him awake.
“What the hell did you do last night? Why’re you so out of it?”
A short-haired, bespectacled man appeared before him.
“Jung Jiho?”
A childhood friend from the same neighborhood.
He’d died nine years ago.
And Yiwoon owed him a huge debt.
“Dude, call me hyung at least. What’s with ‘Jung Jiho?’ Come on, let’s go. We’ll get yelled at if we’re late.”
Was this real?
Smack!
“Ow—! What the hell, man?!”
Yiwoon punched Jiho in the head.
“Just checking if this was a dream.”
It felt too real.
“What are you on about? Should I punch you awake then?!”
“If you hit me, it’ll hurt.”
“What?! You lunatic. Just get out already!”
As Jiho left, Yiwoon looked around.
The musty smell.
An old, beat-up van used to transport temp workers.
“Did I really go back?”
Regression.
A power he’d never even heard of.
‘He said… Lord of Apostasy, right? What the hell does apostasy have to do with regression…?’
No matter.
There was something more urgent to confirm.
He turned to his right.
‘Even if this is a dream, he kept his word.’
His right arm was there.
‘It moves. Feels awkward still, but—’
He could open and close his fist.
It was too absurd to feel emotional.
Then—
Let’s test something even more absurd.
In a whisper too quiet for anyone to hear:
“Status window.”
Proof of his contract with the Constellation.
[Name: Yiwoon]
[Title: Lord of Apostasy]
[Unique Skill: Cannibalize (0/5)]
[Strength: 5 | Stamina: 10 | Agility: 8 | Mana: 5]
A real status window appeared before his eyes.
‘Just one unique skill for now—Cannibalize…’
The name alone was ominous.
Let’s check it out.
[Cannibalize (0/5)]
You can consume a fellow human’s unique skill if they’ve been dead for less than one hour.
The heart must be intact.
If the corpse had multiple skills, you may choose one.
No other method of skill acquisition is available.
Consumed skills can be deleted.
What the hell?
He could steal others’ unique skills after they died?
With practically no limitations?
“So that’s why it’s called ‘apostasy.’”
And it only worked on humans, not monsters.
‘This could make me the enemy of all mankind.’
Then he checked his Trait:
[Lord of Apostasy]
Allows you to see the ‘value’ of an opponent by looking into their eyes.
Value… most likely the grade of their unique skill.
‘No need to kill someone just to find out if it’s worth it.’
So it wasn’t all downside.
No need to be reckless.
‘They were my enemies in the previous timeline anyway.’
And this life was a bonus—free of charge.
Thwack!
“You little bastard! What are you doing?!”
Pain shot through his head.
Too vivid to be a dream.
[The Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ opens his eyes wide at his Apostle’s sudden appearance.]
[The Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ tilts his head while looking at you.]
Even the Constellation was confused.
“He didn’t expect this regression either? What a mess…”
Still, this wasn’t a dream.
“Move it! Today’s VIP needs to be treated like royalty. Didn’t I say we had to be early?!”
Yiwoon smiled.
This was real.
And so the rest of the episode continues into the first fated dungeon, where everything began…
