NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: Chapter 1
"Damn, ahem, ahem... My head hurts, and this strange dream."
"-It wasn't a dream, human."
"What? Where is this voice coming from?"
"-Open your eyes and you'll see."
I open my eyes but immediately close them because of the sight I see. I do some breathing exercises and open my eyes again.
"No, this wasn't what I envisioned. Or maybe I'm still dreaming?"
"-No, you're not dreaming. You are now in our inner world."
"What the hell is wrong with me if my inner world looks like this?"
You would have to see it, everything is crimson—the Sun, the sky, the earth, and the lake. And everything smells like blood. But that doesn't matter now. I turn around towards where the voice came from and see a gigantic chain.
"-Look up."
I lift my gaze and see a huge face of some creature with deer antlers and many red eyes on its body, or perhaps on its clothes? It reminds me of someone.
"Hello there, big guy, are you by any chance..."
"-No, I am not Alastor from Hazbin Hotel."
"Then who are you?"
"-I am the one who existed before all the Omniverse, Multiverses, and all other universes. I am the one who absorbed the power of my brothers and sisters, and studied all the knowledge from the Tree of Knowledge. Under me, there is an innumerable army of Leviathans and Gods. I am the one destined to rule all and everything. I am the Tyrant, the Ruler, the Lord, and ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE WILL FALL BEFORE ME. I AM THE SCARLET KING."
"Got it."
"-..."
"..."
"Ah, can I ask one question?"
"-Yes. Though you've already asked."
"Hehe. So here's my question. Why is my reaction so calm? I should have reacted differently when I saw you."
"-It's simple. We have merged into one. Now your mind is like mine, and mine is like yours."
"That... explains a lot. But how did we merge into one?"
"-After your death, a system from one of the pathetic Gods infiltrated you. When the system wanted to merge us into one, I refused and began to hack the system. That's when I saw all of its functions and you. Then I came up with a plan to use the system in my favor so that I could absorb all my scattered parts from the Omniverse and restore my power."
"So, your plan is for us to merge into one so you can break free from these chains and travel through the Omniverse, collecting your parts and restoring yourself?"
"-Yes. And by doing all this, I save you from becoming a puppet of the system's creator."
"Wait. What are you talking about?"
"-Alastor. In the infinite worlds of system owners, many of them own different systems: Player System, Gacha System, Lottery System, Entry System, Meditation System, Cultivation System, Template System, and so on. And all these systems were created because the Gods specially created them to grow their power without invading others' territories and create weak spots, allowing them to safely penetrate into the multiverses and consume those parts that contain owners of their systems. And all system owners are food for the creators of the systems. Perhaps you've read some web novels, fanfics, or something else where the system owner knew about this and was able to defeat or outsmart the system and its creator. Well, that's complete nonsense. No matter how strong the system owner becomes, even stronger than the creator himself, that power will not belong to them—it will automatically be absorbed by the creator of the system. And that's why I despise and consider the Gods who created these systems and their owners to be pathetic cowards. They don't have the courage to wage war in other universes, let alone in the Multiverse and Omniverse."
"-Alastor. As I've already said, we've merged into one, but not completely—only about 80%. I did this intentionally because your mind is too weak to accept all my knowledge. There are only two ways to complete it:
1. Because your mind is still weak, you'll have to travel through the Omniverse to make it stronger, and during this time, you cannot search for my power fragments. And this is because of the weakness of your mind.
2. I complete our merging, and before your body begins to break down, I fully hack the system, find its creator, absorb him, and then our personalities will be erased and merged into a new one.
The choice is yours, Alastor."
"I choose the second option."
After my answer, a creepy smile appeared on the Scarlet King's face, and I think I even heard him laugh. He then said goodbye, and I lost consciousness.
Some time later.
The Scarlet King
"That's it, the system is completely broken, the God was absorbed, and now the process of final merging and creating the new body begins. After that, I will begin se
arching for the fragments."