Zeke wore an incredulous expression upon hearing Siemens Apollyon's words.
"Traveled back in time?"
The only one who had regressed using the "Irreversible Promised Power" created through the arrangements of the Elder Dragon and the Great Sage was Zeke himself.
But now, as Siemens Apollyon spoke directly to him from the past across the timeline, he couldn't completely deny the possibility.
"Has Siemens Apollyon regressed like me?"
Through his regression, Zeke had lived a different life from before, had changed many things, and had become the savior who would rescue the Phenomenal World.
But unlike Zeke, Siemens Apollyon had allowed the Demon King to descend into his body and had committed the atrocity of betraying the countless people who trusted him.
For Zeke, who had struggled to change the past, the depravity of a regressed Siemens Apollyon was utterly incomprehensible.
As if reading Zeke's thoughts, Siemens Apollyon continued.
"Zeke Draker, while we both traveled back in time, my case is different from yours."
"Different? What do you mean?"
"The concept of time is incredibly complex. Even as the Sage I became, grasping all its secrets was impossible. In my original timeline, 'I' finally glimpsed the mysteries of time after much effort. But the scope I could manipulate was extremely limited."
Zeke couldn't quite grasp what Siemens Apollyon meant by the "I" of the original timeline.
After a moment's thought, Zeke asked.
"Siemens Apollyon, are you the same Siemens Apollyon I know?" The response came again.
"A fundamental question. In a way, yes—and in a way, no."
Zeke furrowed his brow at the ambiguous answer typical of sages.
"Yes and no—what does that mean?"
Siemens Apollyon slowly opened his mouth to answer Zeke's question.
"It's not easy to explain. Zeke Draker, I am a being from a different timeline than the depraved Siemens Apollyon you know. Or rather, from before he became that traitor." It was an even more puzzling response.
But Zeke had crossed timelines multiple times through Chronos's authority, so he could infer a rough answer from Siemens Apollyon's words.
"Another Siemens Apollyon, not the traitor I know. Does that mean timelines branch into multiples?"
Siemens Apollyon's voice echoed once more.
"Yes, Zeke Draker. Strictly speaking, I am the Siemens Apollyon who existed in an earlier timeline."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"In my original timeline, Chronos did not perish. I passed the throne to Sword Saint Shattan Draker, who upheld the Hero King's legacy, and sought to become a sage pursuing truth in the Great Sage's footsteps."
Zeke couldn't help but be shocked by Siemens Apollyon's words.
A being from another timeline that no longer existed.
This was on a whole different level from the fragments of lost time referring to vanished civilizations in the past.
"Then, in your timeline, the second Demon King never descended upon the
Phenomenal World?"
Siemens Apollyon answered Zeke's question.
"That's right. As the successor to the Great Sage's will, I took on the role of guardian managing the sealed Demon King's soul. In my timeline, the Demon King never revived again."
A world without the resurrection of the second or third Demon King.
A world without the War of Liberation, the evil dragon Bahamut, or the Dragon Slayer Terakan Draker.
To think such a timeline existed...
But as Zeke listened to Siemens Apollyon, he sensed something off. "If the Demon King didn't revive, then why did you travel back in time?" Siemens Apollyon fell silent at Zeke's question.
He continued in a pained tone.
"My original timeline was destroyed. Completely." Zeke was stunned by Siemens Apollyon's words.
"Destroyed timeline—what does that mean?"
"Exactly as it sounds. The world I came from met its end, leaving nothing behind.
Because the 'Ragnarok'—the end of all things—arrived."
"The end of the world, Ragnarok?"
Zeke mulled over the word "Ragnarok" that Siemens Apollyon had uttered.
Even Zeke, who knew more hidden secrets than anyone thanks to the Akashic Code, had never heard the term before.
At that moment, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[You have received memories of the vanished timeline from the 'Last Sage.']
[Fragment of the vanished timeline connects to the Akashic Code.]
[Large amount of karma data is updated.]
[Through the data, you acquire information regarding the 'End of the World.']
[System restriction code related to the information is released.]
[Restriction related to the end of the world, , is released.]
[Final scenario mode is unlocked upon condition fulfillment.]
[Final Arc Scenario—Chapter of the End—opens.]
—Final Arc Scenario (Ragnarok)—
[Prevent the end of the world, Ragnarok, and save the Phenomenal World.]
[Final Arc Scenario Reward: Master Code of the Phenomenal World] Zeke's expression hardened as he read the message.
"Final Arc Scenario, Ragnarok."
It was literally a scenario about the end of the world.
Zeke recalled the "final stage" that Harvey Draker had kept mentioning.
"Harvey Draker, did that bastard know about this Ragnarok, the end of the world?"
At that moment, Siemens Apollyon's voice rang out again.
"Zeke Draker, in the end, I couldn't prevent the apocalypse in my timeline." Zeke voiced his doubt.
"If the Demon King didn't revive in your timeline, then who led the world to its end?"
The only entity with the goal of destroying the Phenomenal World was the Demon King.
Other constellations sought to extract massive karma from the Phenomenal World, so at most, they would erase and remake civilizations at their whim.
Siemens Apollyon answered Zeke's question.
"The opposite. Because the Demon King did not revive... my timeline met its end." Zeke's eyes widened at his response.
"Because the Demon King didn't revive, the end came?"
The Demon King, whom he thought would bring the world's end, was actually the key to preventing it—this made no sense to Zeke.
"My timeline faced its end, and I chose the final method."
"Did you use the Elder Dragon's Irreversible Promised Power to go back in time?" Siemens Apollyon replied to his words.
"No, that's not the Elder Dragon's power. It's the ultimate tenth-class spell I created as the Last Sage."
"The Irreversible Promised Power was something you made?"
"Yes. Using that power, I returned to the timeline before the end—to the past Chronos." Siemens Apollyon paused as if organizing his thoughts, then continued.
"But there was a problem. The spell I created wasn't fully complete yet... so my mind didn't fully transfer to my past self."
Listening to Siemens Apollyon, Zeke realized the principle of regression.
"You mean leaving the body of the future timeline behind and transferring only the mind to the past?"
Instead of answering, Siemens Apollyon continued his explanation.
"The imperfectly transferred mind in my past self led to a skipped causality, leaving only the fear of the world's end."
At those words, Zeke realized something.
"Don't tell me... the reason Siemens Apollyon allowed the Demon King to descend into his body was...?"
"...Yes, because he recognized the Demon King's power as the only key to preventing the end. But attempting to absorb the Demon King's power without proper memories and mind intact caused this timeline's 'me' to be absorbed by the Demon King's soul instead."
Zeke let out a low groan upon hearing Siemens Apollyon's words.
"He traveled back in time to prevent the end, but due to the imperfect regression, he failed even more spectacularly..."
It was hard to believe, but it made a certain degree of sense.
Zeke realized that among the messages Chronos left, the one she couldn't fully convey to him was this.
"Chronos knew about this."
Siemens Apollyon answered Zeke's question.
"Yes, the Dragon of Time noticed my anomalous state, where my mind was corrupted by the imperfect regression."
Siemens Apollyon had barely managed to convey the full story to Chronos during the final war.
Chronos informed the Great Sage of his condition, leading him to deviate from the original plan and sacrifice his soul to reseal the Demon King's soul in the Book of the Lion.
"My master, the Great Sage, decided to separate and seal the Demon King's soul from my corrupted one. So, he sacrificed his own soul to bind the Demon King's, creating an opening to seal my corrupted soul in this infinite archive." He continued calmly.
"Afterward, Chronos used my transferred memories to perfect the Irreversible Promised
Power with the Elder Dragon and embedded it into a relic using the power of the Three
Divine Artifacts. That eventually led to you."
Zeke had never imagined such a hidden story behind Siemens Apollyon.
"So, in the end, to prevent the world's end, he traveled back in time and revived the Demon King."
"In conclusion, yes. Anyway, Zeke Draker, there's something you need to know. It's..." But then.
Kiiiiing—
The space domain that had frozen time began to resonate.
Siemens Apollyon's voice grew urgent.
"The karma limit has come already. Listen well, Zeke Draker." He delivered his final message to Zeke.
"What leads the world's end is ■■■. ...You must stop it... the Demon King's soul... the key... Arthur Draker... the twisted causality of..."
Siemens Apollyon's smooth words cut off, making parts inaudible.
Above all, Zeke couldn't perceive the name of the one leading the end that Siemens Apollyon mentioned.
It was as if this world still didn't permit recognition of that name.
Kiiiiing—
The resonance resumed, and the frozen space domain began to shrink.
Siemens Apollyon spoke to Zeke one last time.
"I hope... you... the future..."
Wooooong!
With those words, Zeke felt the purified soul and power of Siemens Apollyon, transferred into his body, fully absorbed.
A message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[Through Unique Authority '???', you fully absorb the power of and Siemens Apollyon.]
[The power of and Siemens Apollyon is transferred to Constellation per his will.]
[Acquire Unique Authority 'Madness' from Siemens Apollyon.]
[Acquire Unique Domain 'Chamber of Time' from .]
[You have fully inherited the power of and .]
[Absorbing the soul of and Siemens Apollyon elevates the Rank of the Soul.]
Zeke felt that he had absorbed all of Siemens Apollyon's power and that his soul's rank had risen.
"The Sage's power and part of the Demon King's power."
Having fully absorbed even the Demon King's power, more points filled up than the karma points consumed for purification.
Zeke sensed his rank had grown even more than when he absorbed the Arrogant Savior's soul.
With that, Siemens Apollyon's voice fully faded, and the frozen space domain vanished completely.
At the same time, the halted Harvey Draker let out a roar and charged at Zeke.