Thirty years have passed quickly, especially after I killed Gritos, the ruler of the great Navardia Empire. It was a truly horrific period, as Gritos managed to amass 850 million soldiers of the 7-star class and 50 exceptional mages.
Coming from another world, I was forced to participate in this war since I was reincarnated as the first son of the Marovotiara family, one of the 11 pillars of the Kingdom of Marwickos. This kingdom suffered the most losses during Gritos' expansion dreams, located in the center of the Never-Izos continent. To its north lay Navardia, which succeeded in conquering Fronshia and Algeria, and to its west was the once strongest state before the war, Jerakod, whose territory constituted 25% of the entire continent. And I was the hero of this war.
"You're still telling the same story you told your children, but now you're telling it to your grandchildren. Don't you ever get tired, Karo?"
"I suppose the grandchildren should know about their grandfather's great achievements."
"The problem here is that I am the only one who knows that you were just hiding the whole time."
"Do not speak ill of the kingdom's first hero. If you weren't just a figment of my imagination, I would have had the guards take you away."
"Fine, may I ask you a question?"
"Ask away, you heap of scrap."
"Those moments, those memories... where did they go? They were, of course, in the past."
"But where did they vanish to? Were you in that moment? Or are you present now? Are you, at this moment, nonexistent, while it's the future version of you who exists? Who are you? Are you dead or alive now? Where were you before you were born? How can you prove your existence?"
...
....
.....
"What nonsense are you babbling about? This is the first time I hear you speak so seriously."
"Let me ask you again then, Karo. Have you heard of the solipsism theory?"
".....No."
"Solipsism assumes that every individual can be absolutely certain only of their own existence as a thinking being. Everyone else, including parents, spouses, children, all other people, material things, and even the laws of nature, might merely be illusions or deceptive behaviors."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"According to this theory, there's no evidence that your reality is true or exists outside your mind. Everything you live or experience is nothing more than an illusion or deception you feel."
Immediately after the man in Karo's mind finished speaking, reality split apart. Karo stood stunned as all the laws of nature, including the laws of space-time, dissolved. Somewhere in the vast, collapsing universe, three men appeared before Karo, speaking among themselves.
"Should we unlock the seal on his memories?"
"...That would likely be dangerous. He probably won't withstand the enormous influx of information. You, being the wisest among us, should decide, elder brother."
"For his character development, he'll need to go through several stages, each involving a psychological or social crisis that he must overcome. Success in each stage strengthens his psyche. I was against sealing his memories in the first place. The only way for him to rid himself of this curse is by unlocking the seal on his memories."
"Wait, who are these people? Why do I feel pain? More importantly, how did I get here? The last thing I remember was the nonsensical words of that man."
The middle brother stepped forward and said, "I see you're asking many questions. Is this out of curiosity or fear? Or is it just a human habit to ask so many questions?"
"Middle brother, stop. I will speak to him myself. For starters, the world you currently live in is nothing but an illusion—a world where you can live as you wish, without losing anyone, without exhaustion, and without hardship. But it is not the original world. You were transferred here because we pitied you."
"Humans, in the process of understanding life, spend half their lives doing so. Have you ever envied birds and wished to fly freely in the sky?"
"You never truly possessed your freedom. You've always been a slave to something greater. Now, you will know everything."