His life in another timeline was the same as his current one. The only difference was that Venix in that timeline lacked a system and had no knowledge of the Origin Era.

  A day before the Origin Era began, Venix suddenly became an Awaken and was shocked to discover that he possessed powers far beyond that of an ordinary human.

  At that moment, Venix felt an overwhelming urge to commit crimes, imagining himself stealing money or robbing stores.

  However, doubts clouded his mind, and an uncomfortable feeling spread in his chest. He worried that he might not be the only one with such powers.

  When the Origin Era finally arrived, Venix found himself still an Awaken, but without receiving an Origin Blessing. A hollow feeling consumed him as he realized that his fate would not change as he had hoped.

  Time passed smoothly, at least in the city where he lived. Only a few issues arose in his city, which were quickly resolved by the Police Department.

  Even the war that had occurred in his city, which had led to his death by a missile strike, did not take place in this timeline.

  However, in other countries, nuclear wars erupted, wiping out at least a dozen nations entirely.

  People panicked, fearing the onset of a third world war. But the leaders of the nations assured them that everything was under control and that there would be no further wars after the destruction of those nations.

  Venix continued to hide his powers cautiously, sensing that something was not right. Nevertheless, his power steadily developed and grew stronger each day.

  This version of Venix had no knowledge of Meditation Techniques. He only knew that he had superhuman strength and was unaware of its origins.

  The scene also revealed that Venix often dreamt of brutal acts, such as killing people and draining their life essence until they were dry.

  Although they seemed like dreams, the reality was that the Seed of Chaos took over his body while he slept and hunted its prey.

  This was why Venix felt his strength increasing daily and why he never felt hunger.

  Eventually, Ronan became an Awaken and also became Seedbound. However, Ronan did not tell Venix about this and hid it for their safety.

  One week after Ronan became Seedbound, he confided in Venix about his Awaken status and other matters, which convinced Venix that his decision to remain hidden was the right choice.

  With Ronan’s protection, Venix felt safe in this Origin Era.

  \---

  Two Weeks After the Origin Era Began

  War erupted, and various factions began to emerge. Many Seedbound were born from ordinary humans.

  Additionally, monsters began appearing in greater numbers, causing widespread chaos since the monster outbreaks could no longer be controlled as easily as before.

  At that time, Ronan was forced to fight enemies from other factions and monsters during the war.

  Venix, who was already at the Awaken Middle-Stage, worried about Ronan’s safety and decided to follow him in secret. Perhaps he could save Ronan if he was gravely injured.

  As Venix had anticipated, Ronan was critically wounded, and Venix appeared just in time.

  Carrying Ronan away from the battlefield, they rested in an abandoned house.

  Ronan was delighted to learn that Venix was an Awaken, believing that Venix should be fighting alongside him instead of hiding.

  The atmosphere in the abandoned house gradually became more relaxed. Light laughter filled the air—something rare since the war began. They reminisced about old memories, allowing their anxieties to fade momentarily.

  Suddenly, a tentacle emerged from Venix’s palm, wrapping around the helpless Ronan. It felt as though something was constricting him, pulling him mercilessly. In an instant, Ronan’s body shriveled, drying up as if the moisture had evaporated from the earth.

  Venix panicked and tried to stop it. However, no matter what he did—whether running away or hitting the tentacle—his efforts were futile. He couldn’t even move more than two meters before his body was bound by the tentacle.

  Venix saw Ronan’s incredulous expression, eyes filled with doubt, as though questioning everything that was happening. That face was etched in his memory, a haunting image that would never fade.

  Ronan was killed by Venix’s own hands, and his power surged to the level of Seedbound!

  From that moment, Venix knew he harbored a parasite that needed to be controlled.

  \---

  Guilt and Isolation

  A profound sense of guilt weighed heavily on Venix, making him quieter and more distant from his friend, Rael.

  The murder left no trace—no sound, no evidence. Ronan’s body had completely vanished.

  Venix realized he had to seek answers about the power within him.

  With that in mind, he approached Jasper, the captain of the Police Department at the time, who would later transform it into Sundance City.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  After pouring out his grievances, including the secret of his uncontrollable power, Jasper firmly promised to help him.

  From then on, Venix served under Jasper’s command, relying solely on his physical strength in battles.

  As a Seedbound, Venix gained more control over his power. Yet, he feared losing control, so he refrained from using anything but his physical abilities.

  Rael attempted to meet Venix to ask about Ronan’s condition and, of course, to chat as friends. However, Venix clearly avoided Rael, keeping his distance and even refraining from crossing paths with him.

  This led Rael to believe that Venix had changed after gaining extraordinary powers and had decided to end their friendship.

  Venix felt a sting in his heart. This was not what he wanted, but for Rael’s safety, he believed this was the best course of action.

  Nina, Ronan’s younger sister who had become Seedbound, also approached Venix with red eyes and a weary face, hoping he could help locate Ronan—or at least recover his body for a proper burial.

  Venix nodded and promised Nina, but this only deepened his overwhelming guilt.

  From that moment, strange occurrences began to plague Venix. After deciding to resist the power within him, misfortunes followed.

  During a battle with monsters, his teammate’s attack somehow missed and struck Venix instead, provoking his anger and nearly resulting in a fight.

  Later, when harvesting a Monster Core, it suddenly exploded, injuring Venix severely!

  A Monster Core explosion was nearly impossible unless someone foolishly attacked it with immense force to trigger the detonation.

  Misfortunes piled up one after another, leaving Venix no time to resolve his own issues or think about the Seed of Chaos, as he was too preoccupied trying to survive.

  Three months had passed since the Origin Era began.

  One afternoon, Venix returned to Sundance City, newly formed and inaugurated by Jasper.

  There, Venix saw Nina with Rael at a particular house.

  Nina was gravely injured, one of her arms severed! At that moment, Rael was gently feeding her.

  Feeling guilty, Venix approached Nina to inquire about her condition.

  Rael ignored Venix’s presence, acting as if he didn’t exist.

  After checking on Nina, Venix left three Monster Cores for her as assistance.

  However, Venix did not realize that this would be a grave mistake!

  That night, as Venix slept, the Seed of Chaos took control of his body.

  Under the cover of darkness, the Seed of Chaos quietly went to Nina’s residence.

  The next thing Venix remembered was a sudden scene of chaos: Nina, now emaciated and drained, consumed by the tentacles of the Seed of Chaos.

  Rael arrived, having heard the commotion, and witnessed Venix ruthlessly killing Nina!

  Rael looked at Venix with horror and cursed him with hatred.

  Venix’s vision blurred, his mind confused. He didn’t know what had happened, what he had done, or what had possessed him.

  Rael finally understood why Venix had distanced himself—why he had avoided him. It was because Venix had killed Ronan!

  Venix wanted to plead his innocence, to explain that he didn’t know what had happened. Yet his mouth couldn’t move, and his body was still under the Seed of Chaos’s control.

  The next moment, as the Seed of Chaos controlled Venix’s body, Rael was captured by its tentacles and swiftly absorbed until his body turned to ashes.

  Venix remembered Rael’s expression—full of hatred—as he looked at him.

  At that moment, Venix’s heart and mind shattered into pieces. Frustration, anger, and self-loathing filled his soul.

  Simultaneously, the Seed of Chaos seized the opportunity to take complete control of Venix’s body!

  From that point on, Venix felt imprisoned. He could no longer control his body, only occasionally witnessing scenes through his own eyes.

  In one such scene, Venix recognized someone familiar—Jiyu, the woman who had been close to Ronan.

  Jiyu’s face was still as beautiful as before, but her body was emaciated, reduced to little more than skin and bones.

  In the scene, Jiyu was confined to a sealed room, with an intravenous solution sustaining her body’s needs.

  “You possess extraordinary vitality, capable of rapidly awakening ordinary humans,” Venix’s voice said, though it wasn’t his. It was the voice of the Seed of Chaos.

  Moments later, the Seed of Chaos drained Jiyu’s body until it disintegrated into ashes.

  At that moment, the Seed of Chaos seemed to awaken a tremendous power after absorbing Jiyu’s vitality.

  From then on, Venix remained largely trapped in the depths of his consciousness, unable to resist.

  Thoughts of suicide became a daily torment in Venix’s mind. Yet in the ocean of consciousness, suicide was impossible, and the Seed of Chaos wouldn’t allow it.

  This timeline’s events eventually ended, and Venix’s fate in that timeline came to a complete halt.

  Venix in the present, sitting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them.

  His eyes reflected deep unease, and his heartbeat raced as the memories unfolded.

  “If I were in your shoes... I might have chosen the same path,” Venix murmured, his face showing signs of internal turmoil.

  At least Venix now understood why the future Venix had decided to end his life and disappear forever.

  Living with such experiences would be an eternal torment.

  Venix knew himself well enough to realize he wouldn’t have been able to endure it either.

  Perhaps human nature can change, but those changes occur gradually through time and experience.

  However, the Venix from another timeline was just an ordinary man with a modern mindset.

  Enduring such experiences would leave an everlasting trauma.

  Combined with the solitude and alienation in the ocean of consciousness for so long, it was unsurprising that the desire for suicide became overwhelming for the future Venix.

  Taking a deep breath, Venix whispered, “Fighting the Seed of Chaos in the real world feels almost impossible.”

  Still, Venix began to discern a pattern in the Seed of Chaos’s methods.

  “The Seed of Chaos isn’t very strong at this early stage and acts cautiously. If it were so confident, why would it go to such lengths to bring me misfortune? It seems it deliberately delayed me in that timeline,” Venix mused, furrowing his brows.

  As the future Venix had said, the true power of the Seed of Chaos lay in its advanced knowledge and techniques.

  Though powerful, its unique abilities in the early stages weren’t an immediate threat.

  Instead, it exacerbated Venix’s misfortunes, breaking him down mentally before seizing control.

  This implied that the Seed of Chaos’s virus-like method of control came at a cost.

  On the other hand, Venix remembered the future Venix teaching him the technique to split the Seed of Chaos’s bubble of consciousness—a method that likely came with its own price.

  The cost was... the sacrifice of the future Venix himself!

  At that time, Venix could feel the future version of himself burning brighter and stronger than he could ever hope to be—capable of replacing him completely.

  Yet, the future Venix had planned his demise from the start, using all his power to defeat the Seed of Chaos once and for all.

  Taking a deep breath, Venix felt the heavy burden of clarity.

  The future Venix may not have been strong enough to eliminate the Seed of Chaos outright. He needed the Seed to weaken itself by initiating its virus attack, making it vulnerable to the splitting technique.

  Meanwhile, showing Venix the timeline’s events might have been the final act of assistance.

  At least his situation wasn’t as dire as in that timeline, and his friends hadn’t died at his hands.

  “It’s time to bring Rael back,” Venix murmured firmly.

  “Exit!” Venix commanded the system.

  His consciousness withdrew from the shattered Numan World and returned to his body in the real world.

  Opening his eyes slowly, Venix heard a distant crash.

  Looking in its direction, he saw a barricade surrounding him within a one-kilometer radius—a detail he hadn’t noticed while receiving the Origin Blessing.

  Although puzzled, Venix didn’t dwell on it.

  Accessing his inventory, Venix retrieved a Crystal Teleportation and held it between his fingers.

  “With this, a new destiny begins,” he said softly.

  As Venix crushed the Crystal Teleportation, his body was engulfed by a black hole, vanishing from the spot.

  A system interface appeared before his eyes:

  [ System Shop (Numan World) Unlocked ]

  — End of Volume 1 —