[ — YEAR 2051, VAREN CITY — 4:03 AM ]
Astharist Building Upper Complex —
Inside the dimly lit room, a game controller rested near the edge of the couch while a large screen still displayed a paused game.
Various snack wrappers and empty cans were scattered carelessly across the table, clearly revealing that someone had spent the entire night trying to distract themselves.
And currently lying asleep on the couch—
Was Kyle.
After everything that had happened throughout the day, he had eventually given up trying to make sense of it all and buried himself in gaming until exhaustion finally won.
He had barely fallen asleep an hour ago.
RING— RING— RING—
A sudden notification sound shattered the silence inside the room.
"...The hell..."
Kyle frowned deeply before slowly opening his eyes with an irritated expression.
"...Seriously...What is it now..."
Still half asleep, Kyle slowly pushed himself up from the couch while rubbing his eyes tiredly.
The notification sound continued ringing from somewhere nearby.
"...Seriously... can't this thing let me sleep peacefully for once..."
He let out an exhausted sigh before reaching toward the old phone resting near the edge of the couch.
The moment his fingers touched the screen—
Kyle's movements paused slightly.
A faint silver glow reflected across his face.
"...Hm?"
His sleepy expression slowly faded.
The room itself hadn't changed.
But the light coming from the phone felt completely different from before.
Quiet.
Cold.
Yet strangely beautiful.
Kyle lowered his gaze toward the screen.
And the moment he saw what was displayed before him—
The last traces of sleep instantly disappeared from his eyes.
What appeared on the screen before Kyle was a scene beautiful enough to make him momentarily forget reality itself.
The world of Asteria had completely transformed beneath the night sky.
A silver moon now hung high above the endless world, quietly illuminating the lands below with a pale mystical glow.
The rivers reflected the moonlight like flowing mirrors, while countless glowing particles drifted silently around Yggdrasil, making the massive divine tree appear even more unreal than before.
The entire world felt silent.
Peaceful.
Almost dreamlike.
And at the very center of that sacred world—
Something enormous slowly moved beneath the moonlight.
Kyle's eyes widened slightly.
The white cocoon from before had already disappeared.
In its place...
A massive dragon quietly floated through the sky.
Its scales carried a deep purple color, shimmering faintly beneath the moonlight like polished amethyst.
Around its enormous body, strands of pale white flame drifted slowly through the air, dancing silently like living spirits.
The dragon moved calmly across the night sky above Asteria, its long body flowing through the air with an elegance that felt almost divine.
Not fierce.
Not violent.
Just... majestic.
For a brief moment, Kyle completely forgot to speak.
The silver moonlight.
The silent world.
The glowing World Tree.
And the enormous purple dragon drifting peacefully across the heavens...
The entire scene looked less like reality—
And more like a beautiful fantasy painting someone could lose themselves in forever.
No wonder some people preferred nights over mornings.
Kyle himself had never really been the type to enjoy the night.
Usually, the only reason he stayed awake this late was to play games or waste time online instead of sleeping.
But compared to the night view inside Asteria...
The real world suddenly felt dull.
Looking at the silver moon hanging above the endless lands, the glowing rivers, and Yggdrasil shining quietly beneath the night sky...
Kyle honestly felt that he might start liking nights far more than mornings from now on.
But more than anything else—
What truly captured his attention...
Was the dragon.
"There is actually a dragon here..."
Kyle wasn't stupid enough to question where the dragon had suddenly come from.
By now, he had already noticed that the Golden Fish was nowhere to be seen within Asteria.
And considering everything that had happened so far...
It wasn't difficult for him to guess the answer.
As if to confirm his thoughts, another notification suddenly appeared across the screen.
< The Golden Fish has successfully evolved into the First Primordial Eastern Dragon >
< Species Rank : Primordial Divine Beast >
< Current Status : Newly Born >
< Ability : Control Water, Manipulate Clouds, Spiritual Aura, Unknown>
< Synchronization with Asteria : 21% >
< The world of Asteria has acknowledged the birth of its first Divine Creature >
< Dragon Name : Unnamed >
For a brief moment, Kyle simply stared at the notifications silently.
Then his gaze slowly shifted back toward the enormous purple dragon peacefully drifting beneath the moonlit sky.
"...Damn."
That was the only word he could manage to say.
But somewhere in the corner of his mind, a strange thought suddenly surfaced.
"...Why did it even have to start as a fish?"
Kyle couldn't help but wonder.
Now he could somewhat understand why the price had been so absurdly high.
But what he didn't understand was why the app didn't simply allow him to buy a dragon directly.
Then another possibility suddenly crossed his mind.
What if it wasn't originally supposed to evolve like this?
After all, the evolution notification itself had mentioned the birth of the true World Tree.
If Yggdrasil hadn't existed...
Would the fish have simply remained a fish forever?
While Kyle remained completely immersed in making random theories—some of which might not have been entirely wrong...
RING—
A sudden ringtone echoed from the other side of the couch.
Kyle blinked before reaching for the newer smartphone this time.
The caller ID displayed no name.
But he immediately recognized who it was.
"...Hello?"
"Young Master."
The calm voice of the man in the black suit came from the other side of the call.
Kyle leaned slightly back against the couch.
"So?"
There was a brief silence before the man replied.
"We searched using the description you provided, sir. However..."
"We couldn't find any records matching a similar situation."
Kyle's gaze slowly shifted back toward the old phone still glowing faintly in his other hand.
"...I see."
"There are some cases involving hallucinations, electronic malfunctions, and psychological conditions causing unusual perceptions, but nothing matching your exact description."
Kyle quietly listened without interrupting.
"Understood."
"If anything similar appears in the future, we will inform you immediately, Young Master."
"...Alright. Thanks."
The call ended shortly after.
For a brief moment, silence filled the room once again.
Kyle stared quietly at the mysterious phone resting in his hand.
"...So I really might be the only one dealing with this shit."
A strange kind of excitement slowly filled him.
"...Hehe."
A faint laugh escaped from Kyle before he leaned back against the couch once again, his eyes still fixed on the glowing screen.