Silence.
After the fall of the Origin Commander—
Everything stopped.
Not paused.
Not frozen.
Just… still.
Karam stood alone.
But this time—
Not inside the system.
Not inside Origin.
Beyond it.
"...So this is the top."
His voice echoed softly.
No response came.
For the first time—
Nothing answered back.
No system.
No higher beings.
No resistance.
Just emptiness.
Karam looked around.
The endless void from before—
Had changed.
It wasn't empty anymore.
It felt… incomplete.
Like something had left.
"They're gone?"
A soft voice answered—
"No."
Karam turned.
The figure who had guided him this far was still there.
But now—
He looked different.
Clearer.
More real.
"They're not gone."
Karam's eyes narrowed.
"Then where are they?"
The figure raised his hand slowly.
And pointed upward.
But this time—
There was no "eye."
No structure.
No visible presence.
Just… nothing.
"They're not inside this anymore."
A pause.
"They're outside it."
Silence.
Karam's expression didn't change.
But his gaze deepened.
"Outside… reality?"
The figure nodded.
"Everything you destroyed…"
"The system."
"The Origin."
He looked directly at Karam.
"Those were just layers of control."
Karam stepped forward slightly.
"Then who made them?"
A long silence followed.
Then—
The figure answered.
"The Authors."
The word echoed.
Strange.
Unfamiliar.
Yet—
It felt true.
Karam repeated it quietly.
"Authors…"
The figure continued.
"They don't fight."
"They don't control directly."
"They write."
Karam's eyes sharpened.
"Write… what?"
The figure looked around.
At the void.
At the fading structure.
"Everything."
A deep silence fell.
Then—
Reality trembled again.
Not from force.
Not from power.
From presence.
Something new.
Karam felt it instantly.
Different from the system.
Different from Origin.
Higher.
"...So they finally showed up."
The space in front of him—
Opened.
Not like a crack.
Not like a gate.
Like a page being turned.
And from it—
A figure stepped out.
Simple.
Human-like.
No overwhelming aura.
No visible power.
Yet—
Everything bent around it.
The guide stepped back instantly.
"...That's one of them."
Karam stared.
"An Author."
The figure looked at Karam.
Calm.
Observing.
"You've gone further than expected."
Its voice—
Normal.
But absolute.
Karam didn't flinch.
"So you're the one behind everything."
The Author tilted his head slightly.
"Not everything."
"Just your story."
Silence.
Karam smiled.
Cold.
"Then let's end it."
The Author didn't move.
"End it?"
A small pause.
Then—
He smiled.
"You misunderstand."
Reality shifted.
Instantly—
Karam felt it.
His existence—
Paused.
Not frozen.
Paused.
Like someone had stopped reading.
Karam's eyes widened slightly.
"...What did you do?"
The Author looked at him calmly.
"I stopped the narrative."
Silence.
Karam's thoughts slowed.
His movement—
Limited.
"...So this is your power."
The Author nodded.
"I don't need to fight you."
"I just decide what happens next."
Karam clenched his fist.
Even under that pressure.
"Then I'll go beyond that too."
For the first time—
The Author's expression changed slightly.
"...Interesting."
[End of Chapter 37 – Final enemy revealed]