Three years ago...

Lee Gun spoke to his one and only best friend in the world.

- Don’t worry. I’ll be back.

Then he said,

- When I meet you the next time, I’m going to ask a lot of things from you.

“Damn it! My back is going to get blown out before I can ask a lot of things from him!!!”

This was the time when Lee Gun was in the World of Emptiness, which was a world of sinners.

‘Fuck this bitch ass place! Shit!’

When he became a slave in the World of Emptiness, his way of speaking changed. It almost seemed like his personality had turned more coarse, which was understandable.

‘Why the fuck does a shitty place like this exist?’

The monarchs were almost gentlemanlike in comparison. In the World of Emptiness, common sense went out the window. It was a savage world with no law and order.

Everything was shitty. The guards tormented and swindled the slaves to line their pockets. The slaves, who had once been supreme rulers of their dimensions, had capitulated early when they became scared of Universe’s power. So the slaves tormented those lower in the pecking order.

Rules and common sense seemed to change at a moment's notice. Everything was shitty.

- Ha ha ha! You’re the lowest rank now! Follow me!

- Ahhk! No! Please! Just kill me!!

The slaves who were considered the lowest-ranked ones were dragged to the arena. They became eye candy for the nobles from various dimensions and died a gruesome death for the purpose of entertainment.

Of course, it would be great if they could remain dead after being dragged away like that. The dead ones were remodeled into beasts, and they had to live the life of pets raised by Universe and the nobles.

It didn’t matter if one used to be a fierce king of a dimension or a monarch, who was the king of monsters.

[Slave Rank System]

If one fell to the bottom, everyone was treated equally; they were humiliated and abused. They became a laughingstock for the nobles from other dimensions.

In the end, they weren’t even given a chance to put up much of a fight before they were ripped apart by monsters. Afterward, they were humiliated even when they were turned into non-humanoid toys.

Lee Gun hadn’t even sniffed the lower ranks, yet he had several of his organs stolen. This place was that terrible.

Universe, the owner of the slaves, had said,

- Anyone capable of wounding me will be given his freedom!

However, no one dared attack this being. Instead of attacking Universe, the cowardly slaves used underhanded methods to ensure that they didn’t fall into the lower ranks.

If they could maintain their ranking to a certain extent, they would become district leaders and could live decent lives.

However, one among them wanted to take Universe’s life. It was Lee Gun. He ground his teeth; he knew Hailey had been dragged into this place.

He wished Hailey was fine, and he hoped Hailey’s name wouldn’t appear among the lowest ranks, which was updated each month.

He had no idea how long had passed when...

- Hailey!

- Gun!

Lee Gun and Hailey were miraculously reunited in that place. Moreover, Hailey looked shocked to have met Lee Gun there.

- Gun! Why are you here?

She hadn’t suffered much damage, but Lee Gun had been dropped in the trash region directly under the control of Universe—a place where public order was nonexistent.

Hailey touched him all over the place to check if he was hurt. Lee Gun laughed when he saw this.

- I’m fine. I did have a bit of a tough time because I became roommates with your father of all people.

- !

- I came to get you.

Hailey was surprised by his laughter. Her face and neck turn red. In fact, she turned red from head to toe.

It seemed she hadn’t realized that she had basically been pawing at Lee Gun’s body. So when he grabbed her hand, she didn’t know what to do with herself.

Lee Gun mischievously laughed as he refused to let go of her hand. He continued to hold her hand in the morning and night.

Lee Gun had lived with Hailey for a good amount of time before he sent her back to the earth.

Some time later, he was successful in killing the absolute ruler of that world!

“You really were disgusting, bastard!” Drenched in Universe’s blood, Lee Gun was laughing like a madman.

He kept stomping on the groaning Universe. “Just hurry up and die! You have to die for Hailey to be free! Ah! Before you die, you should remember my name and face. I want to go through inheritance with my memories intact.”

Universe, who had lost to Lee Gun, unexpectedly started to laugh. He had never imagined he would be killed by an insignificant creature like him.

[I made it clear. You need to only wound me to gain your freedom.]

Lee Gun’s eyes flashed violently as if Universe were talking nonsense. He ground his teeth when he thought about what he had suffered because of this being.

“Fuck off! Did you really think I wouldn’t know that freedom means eternal death to you? Everything only ends when you are dead.”

Universe laughed at those words.

[Yes. I do remember there being creatures in this universe capable of going through the process of inheritance. It’s possible for you to go through inheritance now that I remember you. However, if you kill me, it won’t all be positive. This is especially true of someone like you, who wants to go back to your birthplace.]

“Hmmph. I decapitated you, yet your tongue is still wagging. Do I have to cut out your tongue?”

[Hmmph. You do have a bad temper.]

“Whatever. Just die! When I go back, I’ll suck Taeksoo dry. I’m going to catch up on all the sleep I missed! I couldn’t sleep for a year because you placed a curse on me! Do you know this? I feel like dying because I’m sleepy!”

Universe spoke.

[When you kill me, you will take my throne. In other words, everything I own will be transferred to you.]

Lee Gun snorted. He wondered what this being was going to say, but he was talking about the transfer of his power?

Lee Gun’s red eyes turned violent. “That’s nonsense. Your death means all the slaves will be freed. It means I’ll be able to return home.”

[Are you sure it’ll turn out that way?]

Universe let out a lazy laugh.

Flash!

“!”

At that moment, light erupted from Universe’s body. This light hit Lee Gun.

“Koohk!”

He heard Universe’s voice.

[Do you understand now? The one who kills me cannot turn down my throne. The ruler of the next generation will be you.]

“...!”

As those words rang out, Lee Gun was put under full custody. He realized why Universe had said he wouldn’t be able to return to the earth!

‘My soul is being tied to this world.’

An unknown power was tying down Lee Gun.

Universe spoke.

[As soon as you killed me, it was determined that there will be a generational shift. You now possess the power of Universe (Overlord of Rules). You can no longer leave this world. You will stay in this world as its new owner.]

“!”

[You may look at me as if I’m a cockroach, but you won’t be able to escape. This world is quite clingy. You should just give up and follow the will of this world.]

Lee Gun looked at Universe as if he were indeed a cockroach. “Have you lost your mind? Why would I do that?”

Universe spoke as if the answer was obvious.

[As the successor, you will soon forget everything. You will lose all the memories you treasure the most. The same thing happened to me before.]

If Lee Gun lost his memories, he wouldn’t have any place to return. He would forget who he was.

However, Lee Gun snorted. “Memories? It doesn’t matter. I would have lost them all if I went through the process of inheritance.”

Universe let out a thin smile when he saw the oddly confident attitude of Lee Gun. It was as if he had expected this.

[You must be banking on your Divine status, right?]

“...?”

Lee Gun’s expression changed when he heard the laughter.

Universe smirked as if he knew this world wouldn’t let Lee Gun do as he pleased.

[Do you still not get it? You will no longer be a god. You will acquire a different body that’ll live forever. It’s the greatest of bodies. The body of a god cannot compare to it.]

“...!”

Lee Gun flinched. It was a body other than that of a “god.” Could it be?

It was rare to see Lee Gun taken aback.

Universe laughed as if he could guess what was going through Lee Gun’s mind. Lee Gun hadn’t been shaken even when he heard about the loss of his memories, yet...

[You planned on storing your memories separately, right?]

“...!”

All gods who went through inheritance lost memories of their past life. However, Lee Gun was different. He had prepared a mechanism that’ll allow him to regain his memories after he was reborn.

This was why, Universe spoke.

[You changed the other Divine statuses into some strange artifacts, and you sent them to the other dimensions... However, you have one Divine status left.]

“...!”

Lee Gun had sent the Divine statuses of Life and Death that Yeonwoo had given to him to a faraway place.

He turned the two of them into the Cradle so that they could watch over the items of the gods (Artifacts). This left Lee Gun’s original Divine status.

[The Man Who Pounds All Creations (Creator)]

It was Lee Gun’s innate ability. It allowed him to make anything into items. It was weak, but it was an innate ability that Lee Gun possessed as a “Manufacturing” god—the Divine status of a Creator.

Lee Gun had planned on using it to preserve his memories.

[You planned on turning your memories into an item and keeping it, right?]

“...!”

Universe laughed in derision as an incredible power entered Lee Gun’s body.

“Kuhk!”

This power was ripping apart Lee Gun’s body by force and evolving his body into something else. Lee Gun writhed in pain.

Universe laughed as he watched this.

[I could pretty much guess what you planned to do. Gods are given their Divine statuses even if they are reborn. If you hid the memory item within your Divine status, you might have been able to recover your memories after the inheritance. You were aiming for that.]

Universe laughed. He considered Lee Gun shrewd, but...

[I’ll tell you in on something. Universe isn’t a god.]

“...!”

It was a much higher existence.

[You will soon turn into a being greater than a god, and your Divine status will disappear. So where will you store your memories?]

Despite suffering through the pain, Lee Gun let out a crooked smile. “Hmmph. You’re going to give me a brain for free, and I’ll be able to experience the best TV shows once again. I really want to thank you for that.”

Lee Gun was being nonchalant, but he ground his teeth as if he was in a pickle. Losing his memories at this stage would be regrettable, but he decided it didn’t matter even if that happened.

Everything would be fine if Hailey and Hugo were able to live. He had nothing more he could ask for.

To be honest, he had only one thing he wanted to do with his memories intact. He had no other regrets.

‘The big problem is that I can’t leave this place even if I die.’

He had promised his friend that he would return. He promised to return even if he had to go through the process of inheritance. It was why Hugo had allowed him to go by himself.

He couldn’t break that faith in him. He couldn’t betray that trust. He didn’t want to betray his friend!

‘The process of inheritance in itself isn’t difficult.’

He had the Faith of Hugo and his nephew and niece. He’d be able to be reborn again as a god. However, leaving the World of Emptiness was impossible for him....

‘Even if I go through inheritance, I won’t be able to return to the earth.’

He wanted to stop the transfer of power, but he couldn’t reject that power.

‘Damn it!’

It was an incredible power. Despite being a Great Spirit, he felt insignificant in front of this power.

‘Damn it! This is crazy!’

At that moment...

“Koohk!”

After the transfer of power ended, Lee Gun screamed. The Divine status of a Creator separated from his body. The Divine status of Creation turned into a small gem and flew into the sky toward an unknown destination.

Afterward, an enormous explosion erupted. The space containing the previous Universe started to cease to exist. When the building disappeared, Lee Gun fell toward the distant ground.

Koo-goo-goong!

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He clearly sensed it as he fell.

‘It’s disappearing.’

The power of manufacturing, which he had always possessed, faded away. His memories faded away as well. Even his implicit memories of his body were gone. At the same time, he heard an unfamiliar voice inside his head.

[Transfer complete. Congratulations on being the new ruler.]

[You will be able to rule over your subjects. You will be able to rule over your space.]

Lee Gun fell from the highest floor, where Universe had resided. The countless beings gathered at the surface of the World of Emptiness became surprised.

“Lee Gun!”

“Hyung-nim!!”

“Elder brother!”

They were the residents of the World of Emptiness, whom Lee Gun had brought to their knees. They were now subordinates of Lee Gun.

The problem was that Lee Gun had brought only the highest-rank beings to their knees. They were all Great Spirit ranks.

Naturally, his enemies were also gathered nearby. They had gathered to attack Lee Gun.

When they saw a defenseless Lee Gun fall toward the ground, they knew it was their chance. Their eyes flashed.

“Get rid of him!!”

“If we kill him, we will be ranked first!”

“I don’t know where you came from, but how dare you aim for the seat of the ruler!”

They were about to attack when....

Kwahng!!!

“Don’t overrate yourselves.”

“!”

An enormous power sent the group attacking Lee Gun flying.

The group looked around in surprise and saw someone glaring at them with violence in their eyes.

“Buzz off! He’s my prey.”

It was none other than the monarch of Abyss. Her eyes flashed as if she would kill anyone who would dare lay hands on Lee Gun.

“Serpent Bearer!” Abyss ran toward Lee Gun, who was defenseless as he fell. She snatched Lee Gun out of the air. As she held him in her arms, Abyss immediately realized the changes that had occurred to Lee Gun.

‘This is....’

Lee Gun’s body was limp as it continued to evolve. It wasn’t the weak body of a god, which the Cluders liked to eat.

‘It’s as if his body is a fusion of god and monster...’

It was the strongest body, so powerful that even she coveted it. However, this power came at a price. It was clear that Lee Gun was in serious condition.

Right now, it seemed as if Lee Gun had no goals, beliefs, or even memories. He lay limp, and his eyes were empty. It was as if he was unable to find a reason to live.

‘As expected, all his memories were erased.’

Realizing what was going on, Abyss asked, “Do you know who I am?”

“You’re the stalker who chased after me... I don’t know where you came from.”

When she was called a stalker, Abyss became angry. However, it didn’t matter in the end.

Abyss had purposefully come to the World of Emptiness to meet Lee Gun, and she had helped him take down Universe. “Don’t forget the promise you made to me, honey. You said you’ll grant me any wish if I helped you get rid of Universe.”

“Yes.”

It seemed Lee Gun remembered everything after he had entered the World of Emptiness. But any memory that would get in the way of him ruling over the World of Emptiness was erased.

“Then you should fulfill your promise. I want your body.”

Of course, she hadn’t meant it when she said it. She expected Lee Gun to get angry, call her crazy, or tell her to buzz off. She thought the anger would make him come to his senses.

“Alright. I don’t care.”

“...!”

Abyss was surprised by the unexpected answer. She looked at Lee Gun.

Unexpectedly, Lee Gun had lost too many important memories needed for him to live his life. To be precise, he lost the memories of the times he had spent with someone.

When he lost all his memories, it seemed Lee Gun had lost the will to live. It was why Abyss wondered if this was really fine.

“Do as you please.”

Lee Gun’s words snapped something within her. Originally, she was going to hold herself back. She merely wanted to snap Lee Gun out of this mental state, but she no longer cared about that right now!?

Lee Gun had given her consent!! She had kept giving and giving, yet Lee Gun had always taken it for granted! He had only used her(?).

It didn't matter how good she was to him. He thought about a different woman! He had always kicked Abyss out!!

At this point, Abyss had lost the ability to reason. She immediately used her shadow ability to move Lee Gun to a different space.

When the two of them were the only ones left, Abyss extended her hand toward Lee Gun. Her eyes flashed as if she had been waiting for this moment. “Thank you for the meal—”

Flash!!!

“!”

However, someone appeared inside Abyss’s space.

“Damn hyena.”

It was Yeonwoo.