Years passed.

As per their agreement, Araxys eventually fell into slumber after Zen sealed it away once more.

By that point, humanity had already suffered catastrophic damage from Araxys’s descent into the world.

Humanity nearly fell into mass extinction after the overwhelming pressure of its existence, while countless mages either died outright or were permanently crippled after being exposed to phenomena far beyond what the human mind and body were meant to endure.

The age of magic itself nearly ended there.

And yet, just as Araxys had stated, humanity was adaptable.

Terrifyingly so.

Despite the devastation, it did not take humanity long to begin rebuilding civilization once again. Nations reorganized themselves, survivors slowly reconstructed what remained of society, and new systems gradually emerged from the ruins left behind by Araxys’s descent.

Of course, a large part of that recovery was only possible because of one person.

Jihyeon.

While Zen disappeared entirely from the public eye following the incident, Jihyeon remained behind and took responsibility for the reconstruction efforts throughout Korea.

Despite everything that had happened, despite losing Melissa and witnessing humanity nearly fall into extinction due to cosmic forces beyond comprehension, she still continued moving forward.

Because someone had to.

Years went by even further.

"Jihyeon..."

Eventually, Zen appeared before her once more.

The atmosphere immediately turned cold.

Jihyeon slowly raised her gaze toward him. The exhaustion visible across her face made it obvious she had spent years desperately holding civilization together while others struggled merely to survive the aftermath left behind by Araxys.

And the moment she saw Zen, her expression visibly darkened.

"The nerve of this bastard to actually show up here..."

"I just... wanted to see how you were doing."

Jihyeon immediately scoffed afterward.

"And I thought I made myself clear before, didn’t I?" she said. "I told you I never wanted to see your face again."

"...."

Zen said nothing.

He understood she had every right to hate him.

"But congratulations to you," Jihyeon said coldly. "You’ve become a living legend now."

"...."

"The great Archmage who saved humanity from what the world believed would be its end. The heroic figure who disappeared quietly after some catastrophic battle against an incomprehensible calamity."

Zen remained completely silent while listening.

To the rest of the world, Zen had become humanity’s savior. The Archmage who stood against the black dragon that nearly destroyed civilization itself before sealing it away through unimaginable sacrifice.

Songs, stories, and myths had already begun spreading across nations regarding the legendary battle that supposedly saved humanity from extinction.

But the truth... was far uglier.

And both of them knew it.

"You’re lucky that I never exposed the fact that you were the one responsible for the catastrophe in the first place."

Zen clenched his fists. "Jihyeon..."

"Get out of my sight. Now."

Silence overtook the room afterward.

As she turned away, Zen reached out and grabbed her hand.

Jihyeon immediately paused. And only then did Zen fully realize something.

Humanity had already crossed the threshold of ordinary aging long ago due to mana’s influence over the human body.

Compared to the standards of the old world before magic fully integrated itself into civilization, humans now possessed lifespans extending far beyond a century while maintaining much of their youth throughout the process.

And yet, despite that, time had clearly not been kind to Jihyeon at all.

Zen’s gaze slowly lowered toward her hands.

They were rough and worn down.

For several moments, Zen simply stared silently.

Because suddenly... the passage of time finally felt real to him.

While he had buried himself within reincarnation theories, dimensional research, and preparations for humanity’s future, Jihyeon had remained behind and lived through every exhausting year of reality itself.

And unlike him, she did not have the luxury of obsession.

"...You’ve suffered a lot."

Jihyeon’s expression immediately darkened afterward.

Then slowly, she pulled her hand away from his grasp.

"Fuck you. You heartless bastard..."

"...."

"What kind of brother..." Jihyeon’s voice cracked. "...What kind of brother would ever use his own little sister like that...?"

Zen lowered his gaze.

Truthfully, Jihyeon did not particularly care about the burden she herself had carried all these years. She did not resent the responsibilities forced onto her shoulders or the exhausting years she had spent.

What she hated was what Zen had done to Melissa.

Because from Jihyeon’s perspective, Zen had sacrificed his own sister without batting an eye.

No matter how he tried explaining it, no matter how much he spoke about Alephs, extinction, or the preservation of civilization, the conclusion itself remained horrifyingly simple to her.

Melissa lost her future because of him.

And perhaps worst of all, Melissa trusted him completely until the very end.

"You know what makes me sick?" Jihyeon continued. "She believed in you. She wasn’t afraid. Because she trusted her brother more than anyone else in the world."

"...."

"And you... You used that trust to turn her into... a monster..."

Yes, it had been for humanity’s sake.

Yes, Melissa herself accepted that burden willingly after learning the truth regarding the Alephs and the inevitable destruction awaiting civilization otherwise.

And perhaps because of that, Melissa would have genuinely been happy knowing humanity continued surviving because of her sacrifice.

But... would she still feel the same if she fully understood what she eventually became?

Would Melissa truly have smiled if she realized the "salvation of humanity" she offered herself toward ultimately transforming her into nothing more than a weapon designed to suppress civilization itself?

A calamity?

A deterrence?

A monster humanity feared?

No, Melissa never agreed to that.

She agreed to help humanity survive. But nowhere within that decision did she knowingly choose humanity’s repression.

And Zen left that part out. Perhaps he had his reasons.

Regardless of the reason, the result remained the same.

Melissa never truly made an informed choice.

And because of that, Jihyeon could never forgive him.

"...I was tricked too."

"That doesn’t change anything!" Jihyeon’s voice immediately rose in anger. "It doesn’t change the fact that you still gambled with her life!"

For a moment, Jihyeon instinctively stepped forward as though she were about to hit him. Her mana even fluctuated for an instant before she forcibly held herself at the very last second.

Because, unlike before, Zen was no longer someone she could recklessly confront anymore.

The man standing before her now had already crossed far beyond ordinary humanity. Even amongst the remaining mages throughout the world, Zen now existed on an entirely different level altogether.

And the last thing humanity needed was for one of its few remaining pillars to die here.

Of course, truthfully, Jihyeon did not genuinely believe Zen would kill her.

But at the same time, a part of her could no longer fully deny the possibility anymore, either.

Because if Zen possessed the resolve to use his own little sister for the sake of humanity’s future...

Then what exactly was stopping him from sacrificing others, too?

"I don’t want to see your face ever again. And God so help me, I’m going to kill myself."

"...."

Zen immediately froze.

After everything, he knew Jihyeon had already long since reached her limit emotionally.

And he understood he was the reason for that.

"...."

In the end, he said nothing.

Because there was nothing left he could possibly say anymore that would repair what had already been broken between them.

Then slowly, Zen turned and left.

After that day, he never appeared before Jihyeon again.

Time continued moving forward afterward.

Civilization slowly recovered. Humanity once again adapted itself to a changing world just as it always did. New generations were born. Nations rose and fell. Magic evolved further. And throughout it all, Zen quietly continued observing humanity from the shadows while pursuing his reincarnation research in silence.

Meanwhile, Jihyeon continued carrying humanity forward in her own way.

Even after everything she endured, she still devoted the remainder of her life toward rebuilding civilization and preserving what remained of humanity’s future.

Though history would eventually remember her as one of the greatest figures responsible for humanity’s recovery following the Cataclysm, very few people truly understood the burden she carried alone until the very end.

Then, eventually, a century passed.

And by then, Jihyeon had already died.

Zen, too, had reached old age by that point.

Yet unlike ordinary humans, even as his body gradually deteriorated with time, Zen’s obsession never once disappeared.

Because while humanity continued rebuilding itself generation after generation, Zen remained unable to forget the sight of those eyes beyond the veil watching reality itself from the cosmos.

The Alephs were still there.

Even after an entire century had passed, Zen could still feel their presence beyond the veil whenever he closed his eyes for too long.

Those incomprehensible entities continued watching from the cosmos beyond reality itself, patiently waiting for the moment humanity finally crossed the threshold Araxys feared so much.

And the more Zen thought about them over the years, the more unstable his mind gradually became.

Because, unlike before, Zen no longer had anything left to distract himself with.

Jihyeon was dead.

Melissa was gone.

Humanity continued progressing far too slowly for his liking despite all the groundwork he had spent decades laying down behind the scenes.

Every passing year only deepened his obsession with breaking the cycle entirely before the Alephs eventually reached humanity once more.

"Fuck... Fuck...!"

...And somewhere along the way... Zen began losing himself.

Eventually, he completely secluded himself from the rest of civilization.

Deep within an isolated region hidden from the world, Zen constructed a cabin where he distracted himself with endless research regarding reincarnation, dimensional theory, soul preservation, and methods of surpassing the Alephs themselves.

At some point, even paranoia came.

Zen no longer trusted ordinary barriers or concealment magic anymore.

As a result, he developed something far more absurd. A structure he referred to as a Fractal Dimension.

A continuously folding dimensional space layered infinitely upon itself, making it fundamentally impossible for anyone to locate his location unless he personally allowed them access.

In simple terms, no one should have been capable of reaching him.

And yet, one day.

To. Tok——!

Someone knocked on his door.

"...."

At that moment, every instinct within his body immediately screamed danger. Alarmed and exhausted, Zen instantly became vigilant while countless defensive formulas activated throughout the cabin around him.

That was impossible.

No one should have been capable of entering this place.

And yet, someone was clearly standing outside.

"Oppa?"

The moment he opened it, there stood a little girl looking up at him with a visibly grumpy expression plastered across her face.

She was not the same girl he remembered, but younger.

Much younger.

And yet, the instant Zen saw her eyes, the way she looked at him, and the way she called him Oppa so naturally, a chill immediately ran down his spine as countless puzzle pieces connected within his mind all at once.

"...Melissa?"

The little girl puffed her cheeks.

"Yep. I’m back?"

"Melissa...!"

Without thinking, Zen immediately dropped to his knees before grabbing her shoulders tightly as though terrified she would disappear if he let go for even a second.

For the first time in decades, genuine emotion visibly surfaced across his face so intensely that even his composure completely broke.

"...."

That was right.

Only now did Zen finally remember what Araxys had truly meant all those years ago.

Melissa was trapped within a reincarnation cycle.