Episode 2

It had been a while since Yiwoon had felt this kind of pressure.

Not a metaphorical weight, but actual, literal pressure.

A sense of being watched. An immense, suffocating force pressing down from above.

It felt just like—

“The aura of a Constellation.”

That ridiculous, unquantifiable something that no skill or item could replicate.

‘Lord of Apostasy.’

That was what the being from before had called himself.

The system showed him the same thing.

[The Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ watches his apostle with keen interest.]

He hadn’t paid much attention when the other Apostles mentioned their Constellations back then.

And it’s not like he had one.

But now, he could feel it clearly.

“Constellations aren’t omnipotent.”

He remembered those were the words of the Constellation himself.

And now he understood what that meant.

If he really were some omnipotent being, he would’ve been able to reverse time as far back as he wanted.

There wouldn’t have been any need to caution him about another Constellation—“the Master of Shackles.”

And definitely not this kind of stunned reaction:

[The Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ is deeply moved.]
[The Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ murmurs in disbelief.]
[The Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ flails wildly.]

“What is he even doing right now…”

He didn’t say that out loud, but the Constellation must have heard it anyway.

[The Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ snorts.]
[The Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ looks at you with wide eyes and tries to explain something.]

“…I can’t hear you.”

Apparently, not everything could be communicated via system messages.

[The Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ slumps in disappointment.]

So dramatic. For someone who went on about how little power he had, the guy was sure good at theatrics.

Still, Yiwoon wasn’t too displeased.

“Status window.”

He’d seen it earlier, but he wanted to double-check everything now that his mind had calmed.

[Name: Yiwoon]
[Title: Lord of Apostasy]
[Unique Skill: Cannibalize (0/5)]
[Strength: 5 | Stamina: 10 | Agility: 8 | Mana: 5]

“The stats are all lower than I remembered.”

Which made sense. This was before he’d gone through any awakenings or dangerous missions.

Still, considering how hard he’d trained his body up to this point, his stamina stat was decently high.

“And this skill…”

[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.

“It’s ridiculously good.”

There were a few limitations, sure—but nothing major.

He just couldn’t gain skills the normal way.

That didn’t matter.

Because he could steal them from others.

That alone made it game-breaking.

“Still…”

What worried him most was this:
Why him?
And why now?

“What did he mean by ‘not his original power’?”

[The Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ screams, ‘I don’t know either!!’]

“Oh. So we’re both in the dark.”

He didn’t bother hiding his sarcasm.

[The Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ pouts.]

Despite the strangeness of it all, one thing was clear—

He was back.

He had returned.

Yiwoon clenched his fist slowly, feeling the strength return to his once-lost arm.

He stared at his palm and muttered,

“That means…”

[The Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ holds his breath.]

“…The people who died because of me…”

[The Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ turns his head away.]

“…They might still be alive.”

Jung Jiho. Kim Sungho. Choi Seokmin. Even the security guard ahjussi at the gate.

He’d failed to protect all of them.

But now—
He had a chance to make things right.

“…My life’s a mess, but now it’s someone else’s turn to suffer.”

Yiwoon grinned.

A bitter, almost self-mocking grin.

This time—

He would devour everything.