THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 304 - 304: The Loop of Sorrow: Awakening in Darkness (2)

"Why do humans live?"

It was a simple question, yet so profound when spoken by Frey, as he

Perhaps this wasn't the answer the creator of the endless loops had wanted…

But it was enough.

The world began to collapse around them.

The ground crumbled as Frey faced the demon.

With a soft, almost amused smile, the human spoke.

"You might be fake… But I wonder if the real one looks just like you."

For a fleeting moment,

the fog masking the demon's face dissipated .. and Frey saw what was beneath it.

"Agaroth…"

The moment he spoke that name,

the demon shattered into countless pieces, dissolving into dust,

and Frey was left alone once again.

He didn't know whether what he saw was real…

but he knew he would never forget that face.

That was the last thing Frey saw—

before the illusion shattered completely.

The trial had ended.

It was time to return.

He had no idea how much time had passed in the outside world, but for him—who had endured that endless loop—

it had been years.

As the world crumbled into nothingness,

Frey's eyes widened.

From afar ...

he saw a familiar figure.

No… familiar figures.

There, in the distance, stood his ideal self…

and behind him, the silhouettes of his entire family.

Frey gazed at them for a long moment,

realizing they were all smiling at him.

A strange force began pulling him backward ..

ripping him away from the vision ..

and he could barely keep them in his sight as they faded.

One last look…

at the life he once had.

He accepted it, finally ..

with a soft, mournful smile.

He knew that once he opened his eyes again, that image would become nothing more than a distant memory,

buried deep in his heart.

And just like that,

Frey Starlight looked toward the future—

leaving the past behind at last.

---

---

Frey Starlight opened his pitch-black eyes, returning at last to the reality he'd tried so long to escape.

As consciousness returned, he realized he was lying in a room he did not recognize.

But those black walls ..

they belonged to the Dark Castle.

Of that, Frey was certain.

It might seem like everything that happened until now was nothing but a bad dream—a long nightmare that ends the moment you wake up.

But the reflection staring back at Frey in those black walls said otherwise.

His sharp features, the ominous aura surrounding him, and the streaks of gray in his hair ... too much had changed. So much, in fact, that going back was no longer an option.

From the moment he awakened, Frey felt something pulling at him.

He let that instinct guide him—deeper into the massive chamber he found himself in.

He had come here for answers.

He had endured unimaginable torment, suffered beyond reason, all for this moment.

His face revealed nothing. No expression, no emotion to hint at what he was thinking.

But deep inside, he had reached his limit.

He wanted the truth.

And he was just about to receive it.

As he moved deeper into the vast room,

his heart pounded violently in his chest ..

as if he had finally found what he was looking for.

The once-empty room…

was no longer empty.

Before him, the system's interface flickered violently.

Of the three objectives on the panel, one had begun to glow with overwhelming intensity: Memories.

But Frey didn't notice any of that.

He was fixated on the object hovering before him.

Floating silently in the center of the room .. no guards, no lights, no divine aura.

Just a presence.

"A mask…"

Frey muttered, eyes locked onto it.

A plain, unassuming mask of black metal,

with sharp, angular slits where eyes should be.

He stepped closer, drawn in as if by some unseen force.

There was no pressure, no divine aura—nothing to warn him.

Which made him wonder if any of this meant anything at all.

But he couldn't stop himself.

Reaching out,

his fingers gripped the mask gently.

He brought it closer to his face, as if he had done this countless times before.

He wanted to place it slowly ..

but before he could, the mask launched itself forward ..

snapping onto his face like a magnetic curse.

And in that instant ..

his reality was torn apart.

He didn't realize it at first .. until the pain hit him.

A scream erupted from his lungs, shaking the entire castle, as Frey collapsed to the ground, writhing violently.

The moment he wore the mask ...

it was as if his mind began to rupture.

A tidal wave of knowledge poured into him—

endless, violent, and absolute.

Memories. Visions. Information.

It felt as if the entire knowledge of the universe was being hammered into his mind by brute force.

But his human brain .. was never meant to contain such things.

It was as if a sledgehammer was crushing his skull over and over again, as visions flooded his consciousness:

Wars beyond comprehension.

Endless armies.

Races he couldn't name.

Planets he had never imagined.

Blood. Death. Destruction.

A war unlike anything he had ever known.

These were not his memories.

They belonged to a king.

To a god of battle.

To the Nameless King.

And Frey…

was intoxicated.

He didn't even notice the blood pouring from beneath the mask ..

from his eyes, his nose, his mouth, and ears.

The mask held knowledge that spanned worlds.

The history of this universe—from its beginning to its end— and all of it was now burning into him.

So much, that the Shadow Adaptation in his body surged forward immediately.

> Shadow Adaptation: 1 ›››› 2

He didn't know what was happening anymore.

He didn't care.

He was too entranced by what he was seeing.

> Shadow Adaptation: 2 ›››› 3

Combat techniques—unlike anything he had ever seen— were being engraved into his soul.

Knowledge. Pain. Power.

None of it mattered.

Frey was drunk ..

completely mesmerized

by the Nameless King.

And as the blood trickled down his face,

he didn't even realize he was on the verge of death.

Because this mask…

held the weight of a universe.

And now,

it was his.

Everything in this world—from its very beginning to its inevitable end—had been embedded within that mask. So much so, that Frey's Shadow Adaptation immediately surged to Level 3.

But in the end, Frey was still just human.

A mind, no matter how tempered by suffering, could only endure so much.

On the verge of death, Frey was forcefully pulled out of those memories the moment a pale hand tore the mask from his face.

With bloodshot eyes, Frey stared at the figure who had appeared before him—his savior.

"You're not ready yet," said the blue-eyed man who had emerged from nowhere, holding the mask in his only hand.

The Engineer had returned.

Standing before him once more, Frey ignored all the pain ravaging his body. His face twisted in pure rage as he recognized the architect behind all the torment he had suffered until now.

With both swords in hand, Frey roared with everything he had, unleashing his full power toward the blue-eyed-eyed entity.

"Ignition!!!"

A furious ignition, one that unleashed the full extent of Frey's strength .. greater than ever before. He sought nothing more than to destroy the being that had twisted his life into madness.

The explosion of darkness that erupted was massive—so much so, it threatened to wipe the entire castle off the face of the earth.

But all of that fury was stopped cold ...

The Engineer caught both of Frey's swords with a single hand, halting his attack completely.

"Damn it!"

Frey cursed and moved to strike again, but the Engineer easily pushed his blades aside with inhuman speed—then drove a single fist into Frey's chest.

With one blow, he knocked Frey unconscious—sending him crashing to the floor.

Standing above him, the Engineer stared silently at the fallen young man. Then, he glanced at his own hand, where a strange blue liquid trickled out.

With a faint, bitter smile, the blue-eyed man gazed at the wound Frey had left—a wound that had drawn his blood.

Holding the mask in one hand, the Engineer carefully lifted Frey. With a voice that seemed uncharacteristically gentle, he placed the mask upon Frey's chest and muttered words in an ancient, unknowable language.

At that same moment, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the castle halls.

Angry had arrived.

The wrathful statue entered the chamber, dragging Snow and Ghost behind him—both bloodied and unconscious. A trail of crimson followed them, painting the floor with the aftermath of their brutal defeat.

The Engineer nodded at Angry in acknowledgment—welcoming an old friend.

"There were many variables," he muttered, as his gaze fell once more upon the unconscious trio.

"But the result will be the same."

And with that, Frey and his team had been utterly defeated.