Within the kaleidoscopic Dimensional Gap, Ophis had assumed a human form, loosely wrapping herself in a robe woven from magical energy. Her half-lidded eyes rested on the sight before her.
An enormous crimson head—and a pair of golden eyes.
"Ah… it's big."
Its sheer size blocked out everything behind it. She couldn't even see the rest of its body.
And what was worse—
It had only been a hundred years.
Forget mastery; she hadn't even perfected precise energy extraction yet.
[Ah, right, I forgot to mention. All those tidbits of information you got were just the slightly more probable among countless possibilities—maybe one of those 0.02% cases mixed in with thousands of 0.01%s… or something even rarer. So, y'know, take them with a grain of salt. Was there even a single complete piece of information in your memories to begin with?]
Inori's carefree voice echoed in her mind.
You could've said that earlier…
Indeed, among those fragmented memories, none clearly described how or when "Ophis" was driven out by Great Red. From the vague clues, she'd assumed it would happen only after she'd grown stronger.
Clearly, she'd been mistaken.
No one trying to take your territory was going to politely wait until you were ready to fight back.
So, should she run? Or run? Or… maybe still run?
Her instincts screamed to act, yet she hesitated.
She truly loved this place—not just because the Dimensional Gap offered the silence she adored.
It was her birthplace, her origin.
As an Ouroboros—the embodiment of beginnings—the first place she had ever lived held profound meaning for her.
And that was precisely why she couldn't simply abandon it.
But Ophis knew: she had no other choice.
"Do you intend to drive me out?"
At last, Ophis addressed the being before her—
The True Red Dragon God, the legendary strongest dragon, born from illusion and ruler of dreams: Great Red.
Ophis had never experienced such overwhelming pressure. Even standing still before that presence made breathing feel heavy.
"This is my territory."
Great Red's voice was calm, almost lazy—but its tone left no room for argument.
"Is that so…"
Seeing no immediate intent to attack, Ophis relaxed slightly, meeting Great Red's gaze—or rather, one golden eye.
Too close. It was impossible to look at both eyes at once.
Tilting her head, she drifted backward, putting some distance between them before looking again.
Now she could see it clearly—and yes, it was enormous. Terrifyingly so.
Even after growing over the past century, her full size still amounted to barely one-third of the vast red dragon's form.
Even so, Ophis stared straight into those massive golden eyes.
"One day, I will reclaim my silence… Great Red."
...
[Though you sounded all cool back there, you still got kicked out pretty neatly, huh?]
"It couldn't be helped. The difference in strength was too great."
Glancing back at the slowly closing rift to the Dimensional Gap, Ophis turned away, expression unreadable.
"Inori, you're awake for once?"
[Yeah. With something that massive showing up, how could I not be?]
Although Inori's consciousness always resided within her, she spent most of her time asleep. She claimed it was to "save energy," and her sleep patterns were utterly unpredictable.
Sometimes, Ophis couldn't wake her no matter what she tried. Other times, Inori would pop out on her own.
Overall, Inori slept far more than she was awake. Across a hundred years, Ophis had felt her presence for barely a fraction of a percent of that time.
Even when awake, Inori rarely stayed long—just enough to check Ophis's progress, offer a few short pointers, then drift off again.
But Ophis preferred quiet, so she didn't mind. Having someone constantly chatter in her mind sounded exhausting anyway.
[So, what's the plan now?]
"…"
Ophis fell silent.
Her home was gone. She had no idea what to do next.
Grow stronger and take it back?
That was something for the distant future.
When she'd faced Great Red, she'd felt it clearly—
Unless she broke through an almost unreachable limit, victory was impossible.
That was a realm that transcended the world itself, far beyond her current understanding.
Inevitably, Ophis remembered what her fragmented "knowledge" had said about herself.
Her power was infinite. If she split her energy among others, it would strengthen them without weakening her—a perfect buff.
If she gathered enough followers, maybe… she could challenge Great Red.
It seemed absurdly unlikely—but still, maybe worth trying.
With the knowledge she possessed, she could at least judge who might be trustworthy to some extent.
No, wait…
Those who could be trusted completely tended to lack grand ambitions, which meant their desire for her "snake" power was negligible—and ironically, they were the least likely to help.
Moreover…
Thinking of that Oppai Dragon Emperor from her memories, Ophis's silence deepened.
It felt a bit disgusting… relying on that sort of guy.
Better not to depend on people like that.
Besides, dealing with Great Red required quality over quantity; ordinary cannon fodder would just die gloriously in the first wave of AoE.
Let it all flow naturally…
Shaking her head, Ophis set the thought aside.
[Seems like you're troubled?]
"Hm… Great Red feels difficult to handle."
[Oh, absolutely—she's a rather special existence.]
Ophis sensed that specialness herself, but didn't press Inori. If Inori wanted to say more, she would; asking was pointless otherwise. That was the conclusion Ophis had drawn from the few days in a century when Inori was actually awake.
"Right now, I can't fully control my power."
She glanced around and noticed two humanoid figures approaching.
"Devils…"
No wonder the place felt so gloomy—this really was the Underworld.
Seeing their malicious expressions, Ophis frowned and flicked her hand.
An inconceivably vast surge of energy erupted, flattening the nearby terrain.
The two fodder devils, naturally, were reduced to dust.
[Ah, at this level… it really is pathetic, huh.]
This force could seriously injure a high-class devil if they were caught off guard, but against Great Red it wouldn't even scratch an itch.
Ophis couldn't compress that total output into a single, precise strike.
"It will take… too much time."
She looked at her own palm and shook her head.
[Alright, that ruckus wasn't subtle. The stronger devils definitely noticed. Let's move—you don't want to meet a Maou-class right now, do you?]
True enough… devils weren't friendly in this era.
But where else could she go?
[If it's too troublesome, how about letting me help?]
"Help me?"
[As long as there's enough spiritual energy, I can send you to another world. I've been sleeping to stockpile it.]
"Have you… gathered enough?"
[Not even close… But I do have a bit of special residual power saved up. If I combine it with what I have now, I can give you a special effect—enough to send you directly to another world.]
"What effect?"
Ophis latched onto that word.
[Fate Replacement. As the name implies, you can take another person's original fate and place it on yourself. You completely replace their destiny… though with my current reserves, I can do it only once.]
Ophis frowned.
Replacing someone's entire fate… it felt unpleasant.
Seeing her hesitation, Inori hurried to clarify:
[To be clear: you're replacing fate, not existence. Replacing existence would mean taking a living person's place. Replacing fate just means that person never existed to begin with. If that still bothers you, I can target a parallel world—no one will truly "disappear."]
Not unacceptable… just unsettling.
Ophis thought a moment, then asked the essential question:
"Can I become stronger?"
[I can't control who you replace, but I guarantee the result will benefit your future. Also, Fate Replacement only alters your past timeline—the moment it's done, the future is entirely yours.]
After considering it, Ophis realized there was nothing left for her in this world anyway.
Perhaps Sacred Gears hadn't even been created yet.
And endless training might at best yield the power level of that Ophis from her fragmented knowledge—still not enough for Great Red.
Then she would travel.
The Ouroboros adapted to its surroundings—perhaps different experiences would shape different results.
"Then it's decided."
Ophis nodded.
[Alright, let's begin.]
"Yes… I vow to reclaim my original silence…"
She raised her hand toward the sky like a finger-gun.
"Whatever it takes…"
…
AGE OF GODS, BABYLONIA.