The Month of Chaos.
Also the month Kanzaki Rei hated the most…
On this day, the Secret Sea would be destroyed.
Rei stood with both hands in his pockets, gazing up at the murky, distorted sky.
This day was also the one he had previewed the most.
For this single day alone, he had run more than ten previews.
And every single outcome had been completely different.
Even five days ago—
Not one preview had led to this current situation.
A difference of mere inches…
Yet a deviation of a thousand miles.
Perhaps this was the so-called butterfly effect from his previous life.
With his "Future Simulation" talent, Rei had personally verified it—
A single, insignificant action…
Could completely overturn the future.
The trajectory of fate…
Was ever-changing.
Unpredictable.
And in the Month of Chaos—
Previews became the hardest to reproduce.
Random events occurred constantly.
The level of randomness and coincidence skyrocketed.
Even after simulating a result—
There was no guarantee whether it had been caused by some unpredictable variable.
That was why Rei hated this month.
No rules.
No patterns.
Rhein glanced around and said:
"Everyone, this is the ancient ruin."
Rei felt a powerful repulsive force emanating from the ruin.
At the same time—
Multiple marks within his body resonated with the entrance before him.
A total of nineteen God-tier talents responded to the spatial gateway.
At the same time—
The Mark of Reincarnation within him pulsed intensely.
This was the first time he had experienced such a phenomenon in reality.
He had no idea what principle governed it.
If he could replicate this kind of spatial gateway…
Setting traps in the future would become far easier.
"I'll go first."
Yuria stepped forward.
Her long, slender legs shimmered with faint motes of radiant light with every step.
Whoosh—
A violent wind swept her hair back.
She vanished into the entrance.
Rei glanced behind him.
Entering this ruin…
Would likely take a long time before they emerged.
From his previews—
More and more people from the Mishiru Continent were heading toward Loren.
The good news was—
At least for the next month, war would not immediately break out.
As for Yuna, Kiyora, Luluwi, and the others…
Kiyora possessed the God-tier talent Infinite Phantom—
But with her current strength, she was still far from qualified to explore this ruin with him.
Better not involve them.
Whoosh!
The second to enter was Light—
Or rather, his puppet.
Rhein grinned at Rei, then followed inside.
Rei gave one last glance around.
At the entrance, he casually touched the ground—
Activating magic.
Thousands of faint magic circles quietly spread out.
Then—
He stepped in.
Bzzzz—
Inside the ruin—
The first sight was a vast wilderness forest.
Rei expanded his perception.
Everywhere—
There were traces of light.
A battle had already taken place here.
Yuria moved at astonishing speed.
Her velocity seemed unaffected by the usual diminishing returns of speed scaling.
Whoosh—
She returned to the group in an instant.
"Yuria, that was amazing!"
"We didn't even see what the danger was—felt like you handled everything instantly!"
Yuria replied coldly:
"Hmph."
"But this ruin is huge…"
"That forest just now was enormous. Are we in a valley?"
"Which direction should we go?"
"…Forget it."
Rhein picked up a random stick and tossed it into the air.
It fell, pointing in a direction.
"Uh… let's go that way."
Rei said nothing.
Rhein—
The inheritor of Luck.
Other churches had extremely strict selection processes.
The Church of Light required absolute affinity with light, unwavering faith in Zhuya, and at least a Supreme-tier light talent, plus numerous trials.
The same applied to the Churches of Life, Frost, and Darkness.
Even the Church of Death had rigorous selection criteria.
But the Church of Luck?
They drew lots.
On selection day, believers picked a wooden slip at random.
Whoever drew the "lucky number" became the inheritor.
No tests.
No conditions.
It sounded like a joke.
In many of Rei's previews—
He had fought Rhein multiple times.
And every single time—
Rhein died.
Just like that.
No miracles.
No twists.
It made Rei deeply suspicious.
Inside the ruin, it was bright daylight.
Mountains and forests surrounded them.
Nothing seemed unusual.
But as they walked deeper—
The sky gradually darkened.
After about 1,000,000 kilometers—
The world would fall into complete darkness.
From that point onward—
Special means would be required for illumination.
And the deeper they went—
The more light would be suppressed.
Along this stretch—
Rei didn't need to act.
In fact—
Among the four of them, the only one fighting was Yuria.
Every time a monster appeared—
A flash of light would follow—
And everything would be annihilated instantly.
So far, the monsters were mostly Tier 5 and Tier 6.
All four present were already Level 6 class holders.
Given their identities—
Their combat power far exceeded ordinary peers.
Even facing Level 7 class holders head-on—
They wouldn't necessarily lose.
"By the way, Rei."
Rhein spoke casually.
"I heard the Secret Sea is going to be destroyed… that's why you all came to the Moon Sea?"
Rei nodded.
"Yeah. If nothing unexpected happens—today is the day."
Rhein clicked his tongue.
"That's terrifying…"
While they explored this distant ruin—
The people of the Secret Sea were likely waiting for death.
Rei silently reaffirmed his wish:
"I will leave this ancient ruin alive."
He had learned how to use wishes efficiently.
Make a guaranteed, controlled wish.
Once fulfilled—
It would free up the wish slot.
Because Rei's speed was slower than the others—
They traveled for about 8 hours, covering only around 100,000 kilometers.
"Oh—that thing is a mechanism."
Rei pointed ahead.
"That?"
Rhein tapped a massive stone.
"Yeah. If you touch it, it summons a Tier 7 monster."
ROAR!
A massive stone maw erupted behind Rhein—
Opening wide to devour him!
"Holy—!"
Flash!
A streak of light cut through the air—
The stone maw—
And the centipede-like mountain body behind it—
Were instantly severed.
Rei glanced at Yuria, who had just drawn her sword.
Artifact: Blade of Purifying Flame Judgment
A single draw—
A slash spanning tens of thousands of kilometers—
Instantly killing a Tier 7 monster.
…What a weapon.
Though Rei preferred spears—
If that sword ended up in his hands—
He wouldn't mind using it.
"Damn… that was close."
"Thanks, Yuria."
Yuria frowned slightly.
"Rhein… do you actually have any combat ability?"
Rhein wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
"Of course I do! I'm strong!"
…Where?
Rei had never seen it.
Not in reality.
Not in previews.
The only thing Rhein had demonstrated—
Was throwing sticks to choose directions.
…
As they continued deeper—
The surroundings darkened further.
Corpses began to appear.
Scattered stone tablets stood in disarray.
"What's written on these?" Rhein asked.
"Ancient Gumir language."
"It tells the story of a race searching for immortality."
"In ancient times, there was a race almost identical to humans…"
"Except for one thing—their lifespan."
"They couldn't live past twenty."
"By the time human children came of age…"
"They were already dying."
"They fell in love at ten."
"Had children at fourteen."
"And at twenty—despite being in peak physical condition…"
"They died."
"Even as class holders—at Tier 7…"
"They lived only sixty years."
"That was the Gumir race."
"…Seriously?" Rhein was stunned.
"Wouldn't they have gone extinct immediately?"
Rei smiled faintly.
"They did."
"But before extinction, they resisted."
"They sought immortality."
The inscriptions told fragmented stories—
Of their desperate search.
Bodies lay scattered across the land.
Not as dense as the ancient battlefield Rei had seen before—
But still frequent.
Every few dozen meters—
One or two corpses.
Rei casually searched them as he passed.
At one corpse—
He paused.
He turned it over—
And noticed a nameplate at its waist.
"Romosi."
…
So many bodies along the way—
Yet none had identifiers.
And you—
Carried your name.
…Fine.
I'll remember it.
If I ever hear your story again—
I'll see then.
"Something wrong?" Rhein asked.
"Nothing."
Rei pocketed the nameplate.
And continued forward.
The deeper they went—
The darker it became.
Their perception ranges shrank.
Normally, the others had better perception than Rei.
But as darkness intensified—
Rei's unaffected perception became increasingly valuable.
Suddenly—
Yuria stopped.
She looked back at Rei.
Rei immediately understood.
Flash—
He appeared beside her.
Ahead—
Four doors materialized out of nowhere.
Rei frowned.
This had never appeared in any preview.
The doors radiated chaotic energy.
Each door bore inscriptions:
"Gate of Chaos and Disorder""Gate to Immortality""Gate of Ascension to Godhood""Gate of Elevation"
Rei put on black gloves.
He reached out—
Touching the doors.
At the fingertips—
A radiant Core ("Nucleus") flickered.
Information flowed into his mind.
This…
Was not part of the ruin itself.
It was a random chaotic event—
Triggered by the Month of Chaos and Madness.