PART I — THE ORIGIN OF BARAN
There was no light in the CORE laboratory that day. Only distorted warning signals, the metallic grind of collapsing structures, frantic footsteps of scientists fleeing for their lives, and a child's cry echoing through the explosions—an eerie cry, as if resonating from multiple layers of reality at once.
That child… was Hazanaki Baranoko.
The researchers of CORE once believed they were the smartest minds in the universe.
But in that moment, they understood one thing:
They had opened something they could never close.
Project Elysium was never meant to create a being.
It was meant to connect a single entity with parallel layers of existence.
What they tried to control… was the very thing controlling them.
Inside the Omega reaction chamber, as the protective glass shattered under impossible levels of energy, Baran—only a few months old—opened his eyes for the first time.
His eyes did not hold the innocence of a newborn.
They were the eyes of a being who had lived thousands of lifetimes, yet was just born again.
They called that moment the Omega Awakening.
But to Baran, it was only… a cry.
A cry that split space into thin fractures like shards of glass.
---
In the corner of the room, Dr. Kaien—the only one who didn't run—looked at the child and whispered:
"Don't be afraid… I know this is our fault. All of us."
Baran understood nothing.
But a fragment of memory, like a curse, engraved itself into his mind:
"For every life in which I create a new god… a universe disappears."
At that moment, the Omega core exploded—not physically, but in a way only higher beings could comprehend: an explosion at the level of destiny itself.
No one survived.
No evidence remained.
No trace of those who created Baran.
Only… the child.
A strange child found in the ruins.
Not a single wound.
Not a single tear.
And the energy around him… utterly silent, as if holding its breath.
---
FIFTEEN YEARS LATER
Baran grew up as a nobody.
Messy hair, clueless face, working as a delivery boy.
No memories of his past, no special abilities except:
eating well, sleeping well, and… attracting trouble very well.
Baran often wondered:
"Why do monsters keep showing up exactly where I deliver packages…?"
No one ever answered.
Some days he'd turn away after breakfast and find the entire city split in half by some giant monster with hands larger than buildings.
Baran could only sigh:
"Again… seriously?"
---
THE FIRST SNAKE-CLASS MONSTER BATTLE
The Snake-class monster towered above the city, diamond teeth chewing through cars like snacks, smashing everything in sight.
The A-class hero was being beaten senseless.
S-class heroes hadn't arrived.
Civilians fled in panic.
Baran hugged his sandwich box and hid in a corner.
"Don't notice me… don't notice me… I'm just a passerby…"
The monster turned.
Stared directly at Baran.
Roared:
"ANOMALOUS ENTITY DETECTED — TARGET OMEGA IDENTIFIED!"
Baran: "What!? I'm just delivering food!!!"
A-class hero screamed:
"Kid, run!! It's after you!!"
Baran: "Yeah I noticed!! But it runs faster than me!!!"
The monster lunged.
Baran panicked and held up the sandwich box:
"Want a sandwich!!? It's good!!!"
The monster opened its mouth—
—and was blasted back 50 meters, crashing through three buildings.
Baran froze, hand still extended.
Everyone—including Baran—stood speechless.
"…Huh??"
The A-class hero stared at him, trembling:
"You… just… held up a sandwich?"
Baran: "Yeah… I just raised my hand… to protect it…"
The hero swallowed hard:
"Your arm… produced a shock equivalent to an S-class blast."
Baran: "WHAT!?"
From above, a voice echoed:
"Report: Extreme energy detected, wavelength Ω-Prime. Target: Hazanaki Baranoko."
A white-haired girl in a silver-blue cloak descended like a falling feather.
Her violet eyes looked like they didn't belong to this world.
Lysa.
She stared at Baran as if he were a mystery she had waited centuries for.
Baran blurted out:
"Woah… you're an angel or something?"
Lysa: "No. I was sent… to monitor you."
Baran: "Monitor me!? What did I do!?"
Lysa stepped forward.
Placed her hand on his chest.
Energy erupted like rolling thunder.
The entire city trembled.
The A-class hero fainted from shock.
Lysa whispered:
"Inside you… is something the whole universe fears."
Baran: "What? A power?"
Lysa looked into his eyes.
"No."
"It's destiny."