Chapter 150: Chapter 150 - Origin
On the 10th Life...
Multiracial nations, sects and alliances had begun to rise. Before this life, Lucien had lived as one of the builders who laid the foundations of these grand structures.
He witnessed cities, towers and even unknown engines take shape. Technological advancement surged explosively, fueled by cooperation between races.
Yet the war with the monsters raged on. For the first time, however, victory seemed to lean toward the side of the multi-racial alliance.
In this life, Lucien was born as a Nephralis. It was a race of half-humans, half-dragons. They were a proud and long-lived race.
The Nephralis were under the protection of ancient dragons who had sided with humanity. Within their sanctums, dragons preserved ancient records. Those truths were etched in scales of crystal and stone.
As a High Elder of the Nephralis, Lucien gained access to those archives. They were secrets hidden from ordinary eyes.
And there he discovered it...
The cause of the war between Humanity and Monsters...
It was the Origin Core of the world itself.
The world once belonged solely to humanity. Whoever held the Origin Core held authority over the fabric of the world.
And that Core was being guarded by one figure. An entity revered yet mysterious...
The Human Ancestor.
When Lucien first saw the name, he froze.
"The war of millions... started because of a stone our Ancestor was guarding?"
The thought made him feel foolish. He leaned back in his stone chair, laughing bitterly to himself.
"How absurd... fighting for authority over the world? Those who can’t even govern a village wish to command the world itself? Even I struggle to lead a city and now a world? Who could ever manage such a burden?"
...
On the 20th Life...
By this time, humans had declined into weakness. Though they possessed talent and the capacity for growth, their short lifespans left them unable to master much.
Other races began to forget their roots. Some even denied the truth that all had once descended from humanity.
Humans became the weakest race.
And it was then that the Human Ancestor intervened. From the Origin Core, he forged three Codices. Gifts to his people.
Codex of Skills
Codex of Magic
Codex of Monsterology
These writings reshaped humanity. In them were secrets of growth, patterns of power and knowledge of the monsters themselves. With these tools, humanity rose once again.
They became a force to be feared despite their short lives.
Yet Lucien found something strange. For all his memories, he could never recall the Human Ancestor’s face.
"So these books were meant for humans of that world. Then why are they here... with a different name... And outside of their hands?"
The revelation just brought him more confusion.
...
On the 30th Life...
The actions of the Human Ancestor drew attention. The Primordial Beings who had long watched from the void, turned their gaze toward the world.
In response, they began bestowing blessings upon monsters. From their chaotic grace emerged beings of terrifying power.
Monster Lords
Monster Kings
Monster Emperors
These monsters forged nations of their own. They wielded technology that was completely alien to the world. They were both frightening and incomprehensible to mortals.
That time... Lucien remembered his battles in the present timeline. He realized something.
"That Colossal Hand in Coalheart Dungeon... merely a Monster Lord. Only a Lord, yet he strutted like one who commanded creation. Still... his strength was leagues beyond me."
The Colossal Hand was a Gargoyle Lord.
The Gargoyle Lord was powerful, yes...
...but in the grand scale of the world, it was only a shadow of the monsters that lurked in higher leagues.
...
On the 40th Life...
A twist. This time Lucien lived as a monster on the enemy side.
Not just any... but a Monster Lord.
Through the inherited memories of this monstrous body, he learned truths no human ever could.
The Primordial Beings...
They were not gods nor demons but entities born from the void itself. There was not one, but many.
Some embodied creation. Others destruction. Some balanced existence. Others reveled in pure chaos.
And in that monstrous form, Lucien uncovered a shocking truth.
The Primordial Slime.
It was an ancient entity of creation itself and... It was in contact with none other than the Human Ancestor.
...
On the 50th Life...
Here lay one of the greatest turning points.
This was not simply Lucien reliving a body’s memories or inheriting a race’s history. This life felt... borrowed.
He was not a mortal. Nor a monster. Nor even one of the hybrid races.
He was something else...
An Echo.
It was like he was placed there to witness this exact scene.
And he saw it...
The Primordials wove a trap. A perfect and inescapable snare.
The Human Ancestor knew the truth long before anyone else.
The moment he created the three Codices to raise humanity from despair, he understood what it meant. The Primordial Beings would notice him.
And so they did.
But even with that knowledge, he never hesitated.
"If I had done nothing," he said in the final council of his life, "humanity would have fallen into extinction. Forgotten. Erased. And with them gone, the balance of the world would have tilted beyond repair. There would be no hope. No resistance. No chance of victory."
His eyes softened as he looked upon the world he had carried for so long.
"I know humanity’s flaws better than anyone. Their arrogance, their shortsightedness, their weakness. But I also know this... if there is anyone in this world who can change everything, it will not be gods, nor beasts, nor the mighty races. It will be a human."
When the trap of the Primordials finally closed around him, he did not resist. He accepted death, already having prepared his final act. He handed the Origin Core to his only true friend...
...the Primordial Slime.
"The Origin Core adapts to its bearer."
He spoke with finality.
"In my hands, it birthed stability, giving rise to mana. In yours, it might embody something greater. But should it fall to monsters, it will corrupt into something worse. And when that day comes, this world will no longer belong to man, nor elf, nor any race. It will be a graveyard where only monsters may thrive."
The Human Ancestor’s voice lingered. It was heavy with both sorrow and trust.
"My friend... I leave the rest to you..."
The Human Ancestor paused and looked in a certain direction.
"And to you... unseen one. If you can hear me... then the burden will one day fall to you. Do not... lose hope."
Lucien froze. His soul trembled as if the words pierced directly into him. It tore through the veil of time and memory. His chest tightened and his hands clenched without realizing it.
"...He knew," Lucien whispered. "He knew I was here. Watching."
For the first time in all the lives he lived inside the murals, Lucien felt small. Not because of the enemies he faced, nor the chaos of war... but because a man from the distant past had entrusted him with hope.
And with it, the balance of the world shifted forever.
...
On the 60th Life...
A new force appeared in the world.
Divine Energy.
Its sudden emergence revealed the truth. The Origin Core had passed into other hands.
The Primordials immediately recognized its signature. They knew exactly who held it.
Lucien, in that life, felt the difference instantly.
"The Origin Core... so it was the source of divine energy all along. This must be the change the Human Ancestor spoke of. Whoever holds it, the core adapts to them... Divine Energy, Origin Core... and the Primordial Slime."
When it surged across the world, his heart clenched. To feel it on such a scale... it shocked him.
...
On the 70th Life...
The balance of the world had shifted. Humanity’s greatest shield... the Human Ancestor...was gone.
Other races still bore the favor of Primordial patrons through their monstrous roots. Only humanity stood unshielded.
And though his legacy of the Codices lived on, it was not enough to counter the endless encroachment of Primordials and their monster kin.
It was then that the Primordial Slime acted.
To keep the promise it made to its fallen friend. It turned his power toward creation. From the essence of the Origin Core, it shaped four mighty species.
Each was bound by law to protect the fragile spark of humanity.
The Guardian Beasts were their last gift.
...
On the 80th Life...
Unnaturally powerful individuals began appearing. They were incarnations of the Primordials themselves.
They had only one means of seizing the Origin Core.
To corrupt the world. To sow chaos. And to twist order.
The Origin Core would respond only to imbalance.
...
On the 90th Life...
Millennia of war finally shattered stability.
The endless clashes of races, monsters and Primordial incarnations tore at the fabric of the world itself.
And that’s when it happened...
The Origin Core... fractured into countless shards.
Chaos descended. The very laws of the world wavered.
...
On the 99th Life...
The fragments of the Origin Core had become the world’s greatest curse.
The world tore itself apart as factions fought for the fragments of the Origin Core.
The alliances shattered. The balance was gone. Betrayal was everywhere. What began as a war between humanity and monsters now devolved into a war of all against all.
The Great Upheaval had begun.
•••
Lucien let out a long breath.
The weight of the revelations pressed heavily on him. The truths he had witnessed were terrifying.
It was proof that greed could twist even the noblest hearts and drive entire worlds to ruin.
Still, he knew one thing for certain. The 100th life would hold the resolution. The final answer to what became of the world after all the chaos.
And perhaps... within that last glimpse, there would be a clue. Something that could break through the Black Barrier looming in the Northwest.