"Criminal, Yudrain Aile, listen."

A stern voice echoed from above.

"As the commander of the cavalry, you neglected your duties and responsibilities. You dared to plot treason under the absurd pretense of acting for the world. You attempted to steal the World Sphere by trespassing into the forbidden sanctuary. You are tied to countless incidents, such as the assassination of Duke Peletta nine years ago, the destruction of the Pearl Tower seven years ago, and the Red Field Rebellion five years ago. Despite being linked to these and many other uncountable crimes, you kept silent. Yet, when the truth came out, you shamelessly tried to flee by allying with a foreign power. Do you admit to this?"

Yuder smiled bitterly to himself. Laying out such a long list of accusations, it seemed he had become a criminal for the history books.

They were only reciting a predetermined conclusion. Did anyone here truly care about the truth?

In any case, what they wanted to believe was not the uneasy reality that the world might soon be on the brink of collapse, but rather the comforting belief that killing a lowborn, half-baked omega who dared to commit treason would solve everything.

All those years, Yuder had wandered the world, searching for someone who would truly listen to him and believe what he had to say. Many signs pointed to something ominous approaching this world, yet no one paid him any heed.

Yuder could sense something enormous, so vast that even he couldn't fully grasp it, slowly drawing near. But no one listened.

With his difficult and sharp personality, no family, and no connections, Yuder had become a drifter, earning the reputation of a madman and being thoroughly isolated.

Even now, in this very moment, he was alone.

If only he had accepted the offer from the neighboring empire, he wouldn't be in this situation. Yuder moved his one remaining eye to look at the distant throne on the platform.

The emperor's seat, visible through his blurry vision, was empty. The emperor, who once whispered that he relied only on Yuder instead of his ministers, had often tasked him with secret missions, things that couldn't be handled publicly. But after Yuder was captured, the emperor turned his back on him.

Instead, by the throne stood a man holding a black thorn-wood staff, adorned with a crimson magic stone.

Not long ago, that staff had belonged to Yuder. The cavalry commander's uniform the man wore, the authority to stand right next to the throne—those had all been Yuder's.

Once, this man had been Yuder's subordinate. Back then, he couldn't even meet Yuder's gaze, but now he had taken Yuder's place. The way he held the staff was almost brazenly confident.

But who could Yuder blame? It was too late for that.

Looking back, he realized how much he had lost under the guise of serving the greater good. He thought he would have no regrets when facing death, but now that it was right in front of him, that wasn't the case. His mind swirled with a chaotic mix of thoughts.

The stubborn pride that had kept him going.

The countless tasks he still needed to complete.

Unanswered questions.

The people he had lost along the way.

The future that would continue without him.

And... the face of someone he had long suppressed in his mind.

"...."

"There has never been a villain as wicked as this criminal in all of history. Despite committing the grievous crime of betraying the trust of His Majesty the Emperor and attempting to manipulate the entire empire, the criminal has shown no remorse. His Majesty fell ill from the shock of having elevated such a dishonorable and irresponsible person to a position they did not deserve. Thus, in accordance with the weight of these crimes, the criminal is sentenced to death, and today we carry out the execution by beheading. May His Majesty's eternal grace be blessed! That is all!"

Cheers erupted as flower petals filled the air. Yuder was dragged up the tall platform by soldiers.

At the top was a massive guillotine, its blade gleaming bright blue, designed so that everyone could witness the execution of the high treason criminal.

Yuder's body, battered and broken from endless torture, was thrown helplessly beneath the blade. A sharp, foreign pain—something he'd rarely experienced when he was always cloaked in pure mana—now flooded his senses, making it impossible to breathe.

As his vision began to whiten, Yuder gasped for air.

Typically, a condemned criminal is given a chance to speak their last words, but of course, Yuder was not afforded such an opportunity. He looked up one last time at the bright, piercing blue sky.

It was strange. He thought he should feel enough bitterness to cry tears of blood, yet his mood wasn't all that bad. In fact, there was a sense of relief at the thought that soon, he would be freed from all these exhausting matters.

Yes, what could be more absurd than someone about to die worrying about the future?

It wasn't Yuder who failed to heed the blood-stained warnings; it was them.

'Ah, I see. I've been tired all along...'

In the moment of realization, the blade above him fell.

Death was neither sweet nor painful.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yuder was born in a small village on the outskirts of the Orr Empire.

After losing his parents at a young age, he was raised by his grandfather. But when his grandfather passed away when Yuder was 13, he had to take responsibility for himself, making a living by gathering and selling wood and herbs.

His life took a dramatic turn when he was 18. One day, a massive red stone fell from the sky, shocking the entire world.

Fortunately, it landed in the middle of an uninhabited mountain range in the center of the Orr Empire, but it instantly upended the land and filled the world with a strange energy.

From that day forward, some ordinary people began to awaken to mysterious powers. A child who had never held a sword could split boulders with a mere branch, and a simple village maiden could wipe out an entire horde of monsters with just a flick of her finger.

The source of all these powers was the strange energy that had filled the world when the red stone fell.

People didn't know how to make sense of the situation, so they decided to believe that the energy now suffusing the world was a new form of mana.

Mana had existed in the world before, but only a select few, blessed with exceptional talent, could sense and use it— and only after many years of rigorous training.

Mages who belonged to towers and spent decades researching, or knights who mastered aura after grueling training, were among that tiny elite.

However, those who awakened new powers needed no such effort, regardless of their age or gender. Just as they could naturally use their hands and feet from birth, they could also wield their powers instinctively.

The fact that people could use such immense strength without training, simply by awakening, left everyone in shock.

As a result, the balance of the world, which had remained unchanged for over a thousand years, began to shift. There was an ever-growing tension between those who had previously held power and those who had newly gained it.

As time passed, it was discovered that those with awakened powers could grow even stronger if they met certain conditions, further escalating the tension.

The rulers of each nation were troubled over how to deal with those who had newly gained powers.

In the Orr Empire, where Yuder lived, the decision was made early on to issue a proclamation across the country, calling all those with powers to gather and form a new organization.

"To those who possess power, come to the capital where the imperial palace resides. If you can prove the truth of your abilities and swear to use them solely for the empire and the emperor, you will be granted the right to join the Cavalry!"

The news spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the land, even to Yuder, who lived alone in a remote mountain.

Yuder was one of those who had gained strange powers after the red stone fell.

One day, he found that he could cut down trees without using an axe. He could cross a stream without wetting his feet. He could light the fireplace without firewood, and he could move stones with a flick of his finger to fend off wild beasts or monsters.

However, Yuder thought there would be no need to show those powers to anyone. He believed he would live the rest of his life alone in the small cabin where he had once lived with his grandfather.

However, when Yuder went to town to sell wood and heard the news, something stirred inside him. The imperial palace was gathering those with powers—an opportunity that an ordinary commoner could never dream of.

His grandfather had left him with a final piece of advice: not to be greedy. But Yuder was still young at the time, barely out of boyhood. To him, the proclamation seemed like a chance for shining success and thrilling adventure.

He didn't yet understand that everything comes with a price, or that he wasn't well-suited for such things.

Yuder packed his belongings and left home. If he didn't pass the test to join the Cavalry, he thought he would simply return right away.

That was how he ended up in the capital for the first time in his life, staying at the cheapest, shabbiest inn he could find. The place seemed on the verge of collapse, yet it bore the incongruous name "The Giant's Sleep."

And in that very inn, where he should have been long dead, executed on the guillotine, Yuder woke up once again.

"...What in the world is going on?"

No matter how hard he stared into the grimy, worn-out mirror, the reflection staring back at him hadn't changed at all. Yuder gazed at his own reflection, finding it unfamiliar.

A face still showing traces of youth. Black hair hanging gloomily over his forehead. His neck, which should have been severed, was perfectly clean without a single scar.

The rough, cheaply patched clothes and the oversized shoes that made his feet uncomfortable—it all felt far too real. No matter where he looked, he saw the version of himself from 11 years ago, when he first left home and came to the capital.