[Host, do you know the structure of this world?]
Kael blinked.
"…I don't know."
He answered honestly.
Because the truth was simple:
He had lived 99 lives.
Claimed one in this world.
And 97 still slept behind sealed memories.
Farmer…
Scientist…
Soldier…
Hunter…
He had been many things.
But he never once thought about the shape of reality itself.
What the multiverse looked like.
Where souls like his came from.
Was it layered?
Infinite?
Stacked like panels of glass?
Or drifting like bubbles in an endless ocean?
He didn't know.
But the system's voice grew heavier—
as if it were preparing to tear open a curtain meant to stay closed.
[Then let me explain it, Host.]
The world around Kael dimmed.
Not physically—
but like his focus was pulled inward, deeper than thought.
[This world is shaped like a ring.]
A single ring…
expanding outward into nine rings.
One after another.
Each layer further from the center.
Each ring a world.
A universe.
A realm.
[There is the First Ring.]
[Then the Second.]
[All the way… to the Ninth.]
Kael felt his heartbeat slow.
Then the system dropped the real truth:
[…And in the center, Host—]
[is the Real World.]
Kael's eyes snapped open.
The Real World.
Not a realm.
Not a ring.
Not a parallel universe.
The source.
The world all others spiraled around.
[In that world, no one from outside can interfere.]
[No one can see inside.]
[No soul can enter unless born from it.]
Kael's breath froze in his chest.
Then the system delivered the final blow:
[And you, Host—]
[come from that world.]
Kael's mind blanked.
What?
He felt the weight of those words crash into him.
He didn't come from another ring.
Another anime world.
Another distorted universe.
He wasn't just a reincarnator.
He was from the center.
The origin.
The untouchable world.
"…What…?"
The word slipped from Kael's throat like a whisper.
If he came from the Real World—
from the center no outsider could touch—
then why was he here?
Why was he reincarnated 99 times?
Who moved him?
Who gave him the System?
And why were distortions…
other reincarnators…
trying to invade the rings?
Kael's mind whirled with questions he never thought he would ask.
The system continued, its tone heavier—almost solemn.
[Host. Listen carefully. This is the true structure of existence.]
The air around Kael vibrated.
The wind stopped.
Even the cursed energy in the area seemed to hold its breath.
…
[At the core sits the Real World.]
A world no one can enter.
A world no one can spy on.
A world untouched by fantasy, sorcery, distortion, or reincarnation.
A world of origin.
[This is the place where you, Host, were born.]
Kael's heart skipped a beat.
He came from the center of all existence.
…
The system's voice echoed again.
[Between the First Ring and the Second Ring… there is a single world.]
[Called: The Mirror World.]
Kael stiffened.
A thin, fragile layer—
a quiet membrane between the real and the unreal.
A world with no story of its own.
No fantasy.
No heroes or villains.
No sorcerers or curses.
Only reflection.
[The Mirror World's duty is simple, Host.]
[To imitate the Real World as perfectly as possible.]
Kael inhaled sharply.
A world that follows reality…
so closely…
so obsessively…
…
Then the system continued:
[Between Ring Two and Ring Three.]
[Ring Three and Ring Four.]
[Ring Four and Ring Five.]
These zones shared a similar nature.
[These are the Fantasy Worlds.]
Kael's breath caught.
Fantasy worlds?
Then—
[These worlds have no original shape.]
[They are formed from the fantasies of Real World humans.]
The system clarified:
[…What the Host calls manga, anime, comics, manhwa, manhua, novels, movies—]
[—all of them exist here.]
Kael's eyes widened.
So Jujutsu Kaisen…
Demon Slayer…
Naruto…
Marvel…
Every story ever imagined…
They were born here.
Given structure.
Given existence.
Given fate.
The worlds of fiction—
were not fiction at all.
…
The system's voice grew colder.
[And from Ring Five to Ring Six…]
[Ring Six to Ring Seven.]
[Ring Seven to Ring Eight.]
[Ring Eight to Ring Nine.]
These rings held something else entirely.
[These contain the MDA.]
[The Multiversal Defense Alliance.]
Kael frowned.
Defense?
The Multiversal Defense Alliance…
but defense against what?
Before he could speculate, the System responded:
[I don't know, Host.]
[I require more information for that.]
Kael exhaled slowly.
At least he understood the structure now—
the rings, the Mirror World, the Fantasy layers, the MDA…
At least he had a starting point.
But one question remained—
maybe the most important one.
"…So what are you, System?"
The response came immediately:
[I am part of the A.R.C. System.]
[A subsystem created to support the MDA.]
[In long form: Agents, Reinforcement, and Classification System.]
Kael opened his interface.
His status.
His attributes.
His Rank.
His Resonance.
It all had meaning.
Purpose.
"Then… the identity, the Rank, the Resonance… that's because I'm using you?"
The system paused.
[Those are functions tied to the ARC structure.]
[But I do not yet understand the origin of your Resonance.]
[I will need to consume more hostile systems to learn.]
Kael nodded slowly.
Consume systems?
From distortions?
Does that mean… every intruder had a system of their own?
The sky above him was dark.
Cold.
The wind felt thin—like the world itself was strained.
Kael wanted to sleep.
To rest.
But after everything the system revealed…
His mind wouldn't stop racing.
Why now?
Why after 99 lives?
Why was he chosen?
And what did the Real World want from him?
But before he could gather his thoughts—
[Distortion detected.]
[Timeline shift beginning.]
[Changing World.]
Kael's heart froze.
"What—"
His vision twisted.
Not spinning.
No—
The world itself was spinning.
The ground rippled like liquid.
Buildings stretched and shrank.
The sky inverted.
Colors bled into each other like smeared paint.
Reality shook—
as if the ring world was being rewritten.
Trees blinked out.
New ones appeared.
Streetlights warped.
A building folded in on itself, then reshaped with a different architecture.
Kael staggered back.
"The scenery… it's changing—"
No.
Not the scenery.
The world was being overwritten.
[WARNING: Distortion attempting to replace existing timeline.]
[Source unknown.]
[Host, brace yourself.]