Chapter 0 — The Collapse of the Great Existence
In the beginning, all worlds were born from a single, primordial source.
From that ancient origin, reality fractured—splitting endlessly, branching into countless worlds without end.
Among those branches were the realms of humanoid races: humans, elves, dwarves, fairies, beastfolk, and others who merely resembled humanity. Though their appearances differed, they once shared the same destiny.
Several centuries ago, those worlds made contact with something beyond themselves.
That connection would later be named a Dungeon.
When the first dungeon appeared, it did not simply destroy a city or conquer a nation.
It erased an entire country.
Soon after, the remaining realms of humanoid races stood on the edge of extinction, one after another, swallowed by horrors that poured from those gates.
Yet humanity did not vanish completely.
Among the humanoids, certain individuals awakened extraordinary powers—abilities that defied all known laws. With those powers, they learned to challenge the dungeons, to clear them, and to protect what little remained of their worlds.
Heroes were born in that era.
Countless names were etched into history with blood and sacrifice.
That time came to be known as—
The Age of Heroes.
But no era lasts forever.
Centuries later, during an investigation into unknown worlds, the Human Kingdom committed a fatal mistake. They opened a dungeon connected to a realm far older than any recorded existence.
What emerged was not an enemy meant to be fought.
They were ancient entities—beings that hunted life itself, without reason or mercy. Against them, strength, strategy, and courage meant nothing.
Within mere months, eighty percent of all humanoid life was annihilated.
Those who survived fled desperately, scattering themselves across countless small branch worlds, clinging to existence.
That calamity would forever be remembered as—
The Collapse of the Great Existence.
⸻
Time passed.
But peace never returned.
Unable to live safely in their own worlds, the surviving humanoid races began invading other realms—realms that already had rulers, masters who governed them.
And as always—
The weak were hunted.
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A dark forest lay beneath a moonless sky, its towering trees swallowing all sound.
In the dead of night, several slave traders dragged iron cages along a narrow path. Inside those cages were young girls, their bodies bruised, their eyes hollow with fear.
"Heh… looks like we caught some good merchandise this time," one of the men laughed, breaking the silence.
"Yeah," another replied. "Especially that brown-haired one."
At the rear of the group, a man riding a beast with the body of a horse sneered.
"Think they'll try to run again?"
The man ahead clicked his tongue and glanced back at the cages.
"Hey… aren't there some real ladies in there?"
"Watch your mouth," another trader warned.
"You'll get killed by the boss. He said clean goods sell better."
"What does it matter?" the man scoffed.
"As long as I get a taste first."
Laughing crudely, he stepped closer to the cage.
Inside, the girls trembled. Some sobbed silently; others had already lost the strength to cry.
Among them was a small girl with fox-like ears.
The man's breath hitched.
Drool slipped from the corner of his mouth as he stared at her.
"Hey… you," he murmured.
"Wanna have some fun? I've got something nice for you."
He reached into the cage, gripping her arm and yanking her toward him.
A moment later—
Her scream tore through the forest.
"Hey, wanna do it together?" another trader joked.
"Are you insane?" a second snapped coldly.
"We'll get killed by the boss. Besides, I don't like little girls."
As they argued, the remaining girls sat frozen behind them, fear hollowing their eyes until even terror felt distant.
Then—
Thud.
A head struck the ground.
The slave trader's body collapsed forward, lifeless, his severed head rolling through the dirt.
The girl stared in disbelief, her mind unable to process what she was seeing.
Slowly… she lifted her gaze.
Above her—
A pitch-black figure hovered in the air.
It resembled a human shape, yet it was nothing more than a living shadow, darker than the night itself.
The being said nothing.
Yet the forest trembled.
As if the world itself understood—
Something had arrived that should never have existed.