Chapter 1

Episode 1. Snowfield (1)

Walking through an endless life.

A snow-covered field.

Long footprints stretched across the pure white land, as if painted by a brush.

“Haa, haa.”

Breath rising to the chin.

Staggering steps in the freezing cold that felt like it would freeze the lungs.

In the distance, beyond the blizzard, a faint flame flickered.

“Found it.”

How long has it been since I started wandering in search of the ‘Primordial Flame’?

Hundreds of years? Thousands? Or maybe even tens of thousands?

Time had passed to the point where counting the years was meaningless.

Memories of the past days, wandering alone across the continent with this immortal body, flashed through my mind.

“Haa.”

The first time I realized I couldn’t die was during a training session in my third year as a hero candidate.

A monster suddenly leaped out of the bushes and bit off my neck.

When my head rolled on the ground, I thought, “What a messed-up life,” and closed my eyes.

But then, I came back to life.

Yes.

I lived.

I didn’t die.

My head, which had been torn off, was back on my neck, and my body, which had been shredded by the monster’s claws, was perfectly restored.

That’s when I first realized.

Ah.

I can’t even die when I want to.

‘Well, in the end, this is how it turned out, so I wasn’t wrong.’

472nd out of 472.

Graduating at the bottom of the hero school, becoming a lowly mercenary, rolling through battlefields.

When monsters and demons ravaged the entire continent.

When war broke out between heroes of the Empire and the Republic.

When the ‘Witch of the Night’ turned half the continent into a snowfield.

When I became one of the ‘Last Five Heroes,’ humanity’s final hope.

When I fought the final battle against the Devil God alongside my comrades.

When the curse scattered by the Devil God’s suicide brought about the extinction of humanity.

I survived.

Only I survived.

Bound to this wretched life.

Struggling.

Surviving.

“Now… that’s the end.”

I step toward the flickering flame in the raging blizzard.

The Primordial Flame.

The flame said to have burned the ‘Tree of Creation,’ which shaped the ancient world and gave birth to the seven gods.

How long have I wandered the continent in search of this mythical entity, unsure if it even exists?

As I took that step.

Toward the burning flame.

Kugugugung!

The ground shook, and something massive burst through the piled snow.

A golem made of intricate mechanical devices.

An ancient guardian I had encountered countless times while chasing the remnants of myth.

Whoosh! Crack!

The guardian’s arm swung down, crushing my body.

My head was smashed, my body crushed.

Limbs twisted at grotesque angles, and my spilled organs stained the white snow red.

An instant death with no hope.

Even a ‘Hero’ blessed with the divine protection of the seven gods and possessing superhuman strength wouldn’t survive such fatal injuries.

“Huu.”

The crushed and mangled flesh turned into gray ash, scattering across the white snowfield.

The Holy Mark engraved on my left chest glowed.

From the mark, my crushed body returned to its original form.

In the blink of an eye, I ‘revived’ and drew my sword from my waist in a familiar motion.

A single swing of the sword, cutting through the raging blizzard.

No blinding aura.

No earth-shaking roar.

Just a natural, flowing motion as the sword pierced the guardian’s armor and split its core in two.

Kurururung!

The ancient guardian, who had protected the sanctuary for eons, fell with surprising ease.

-Clap clap clap!

The sound of applause echoed as the guardian fell.

I turned my head toward the sound.

“That was a splendid sword strike.”

“…Yuren.”

A young man with radiant golden hair like the sun.

A slender figure with an androgynous appearance that made it hard to tell if he was male or female, he approached me with a faint smile.

“You used to struggle so much with swinging a sword.”

“I learned a lot from you.”

I let out a soft chuckle and continued.

“Maybe now I’m closer to the ‘ultimate’ of the Sun Sword than you are?”

“Oh, what? Are you challenging me?”

“Anytime.”

As I shrugged and provoked Yuren.

“Hahaha! To take down that huge guardian in one strike! As expected of you, boss!”

A booming laugh echoed as a giant man in a tattered robe approached.

He patted my shoulder with a hand as thick as a pot lid and grinned.

“You’ve been using your sword a lot lately, but I hope you haven’t forgotten the martial arts I taught you.”

“Don’t worry, Berald. I remember everything.”

How could I forget?

The martial arts you stubbornly taught me, even though I was hopelessly clumsy.

“Hmph. And yet, you never use the magic I taught you.”

Following Berald, a petite woman with a large staff appeared.

A woman with a wide-brimmed hat and fiery red hair.

“Sorry, Sophia. Magic is just…”

“I know. With your pitiful magic power, you can’t cast proper spells. Just saying.”

“Ah, but I’ve studied the theory a lot. I’ve solved all but one of the ‘Three Great Problems of the Sage’ you used to talk about.”

“Tsk. Do you think magic is just about theory?”

“……”

You used to say that perfect theory was the essence of magic.

I swallowed the words that were about to come out and chuckled.

Yuren, Berald, Sophia.

As I looked at the faces of my comrades who had fought countless battles with me.

“…Are you feeling alright?”

A warm voice, as if it could melt the frozen snowfield, tickled my ears.

“Iris.”

A woman in white priestly robes with pink hair.

Even though her eyes were covered by a black blindfold, her nose, lips, and jawline alone radiated breathtaking beauty.

Iris approached with a worried expression and gently placed her hand on my left chest, where the Holy Mark was engraved.

“You shouldn’t treat your body so recklessly.”

“I’ll just come back to life anyway, so what does it matter?”

“But you still feel the pain!”

As always.

Iris scolded me with a sad voice.

Instead of answering, I gently pulled her waist and kissed her.

“Hey, really! You always brush things off like this!”

Iris’s cheeks turned peach-red as she scolded me.

With a faint smile, I turned away from her.

I took another step toward the burning flame in the distance.

“…Is that the Primordial Flame?”

Yuren asked as he stood beside me.

I nodded quietly.

“Finally found it.”

“It took a long time.”

An unbearably long time.

“Come on! We’re almost there, boss!”

“Why are you just standing there? Hurry up!”

Urged by my comrades, I quickened my pace.

After a few more minutes of walking.

Whoosh.

In the endless snowfield.

I stood before the brightly burning flame.

“…It’s smaller than I thought.”

A small flame, no bigger than a fist.

But the immeasurable power radiating from it proved beyond doubt that this was a product of myth.

“Isn’t it strange? That this tiny flame holds the power to burn the Holy Mark.”

No answer came.

“What will happen when the Holy Mark burns away?”

No answer came.

“Will I finally die then?”

No answer.

Came.

“Why is everyone suddenly so quiet…”

I turned my head to where my comrades were standing, but only an empty snowfield met my eyes.

A raging blizzard.

A silence like a curtain.

A pure white.

Pure white world.

“……”

Yes.

I knew.

I knew, but I chose to ignore it.

That there was no one left in this world to listen to me.

“Haha.”

I let out a dry laugh and sat on a nearby rock, unpacking the bag I had been carrying.

Countless years.

In the endless time that would wear even a soul away, I had always carried my most precious treasures.

“Yuren.”

I planted an old, worn-out sword into the ground.

“You were the greatest hero and swordsman I ever knew.”

Because of the courage you taught me.

I am here.

“Berald.”

This time, I set down a heavily worn robe.

“At first, I thought you were crazy for being from the Magic Department but throwing punches instead of using magic. But you were right. To reach the pinnacle of martial arts, one must also learn magic.”

Because of the perseverance you taught me.

I am here.

“Sophia.”

I placed a broken staff on the ground.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t use the magic you worked so hard to teach me.”

Because of the wisdom you taught me.

I am here.

“And…”

The last item in the bag.

My hand trembled as I held the black blindfold.

“Iris.”

A memory that will never fade.

I remember the soft touch of your lips.

I recall the warmth of your skin.

“Thank you for loving someone like me.”

Because of the love you taught me.

I am here.

“Haa.”

I let out a low breath.

I grasped the brightly burning flame with both hands.

Slowly, I brought it toward the Holy Mark engraved on my left chest.

“……”

I remember.

The precious ones who became my only family, even though I grew up not knowing my parents’ faces.

The bravest of friends.

The most stubborn of brothers.

The wisest of mentors.

And.

The kindest of lovers.

“…Ah.”

The emotions I had suppressed deep within.

Came pouring out like a torrent.

“Ah, uh.”

There were so many things I wanted to say.

But there was nothing I could say.

In the snowfield, with no one to listen.

Only the wailing, like that of a beast, scattered among the swirling snowflakes.

-Whoosh!

The brightly burning flame consumed the Holy Mark and seeped into my body.

And then.

* * *

“Dale! Dale Han!”

A fierce shout struck my ears.

‘What?’

Who’s calling my name?

“How dare you sleep in my class? You’ve got some nerve, huh?”

Whoosh!

The sound of wind being cut as a hand the size of a pot lid swung toward me.

Before my head could process it.

My body moved first.

-Thud!

I grabbed the swinging wrist, pulled it toward me, and struck the solar plexus with my clenched fist.

As soon as my fist connected, I released the magic power within it, causing an explosion.

Fist Technique.

The martial arts Berald taught me flowed naturally like water.

Boom! Crack! Crash!

With a loud explosion, the unidentified man flew across the room, smashing the teacher’s desk and tumbling to the ground.

“……”

“……”

A silence followed.

I frowned as I looked around at the students, their mouths agape in shock.

“…Huh?”

Where the hell am I now?