"Noooooo—!"
When Ember reached out to sense his life force, she froze in horror.
There was nothing.
No warmth.
No pulse.
No soul presence.
"Wake up… you idiot…" Ember whispered, tears streaming down her face as she shook his lifeless body.
Her hands trembled.
Her mind spiraled.
If I hadn't forced him… If I hadn't made him merge all the soul fragments at once…
"This is my fault…" she muttered, her eyes hollow, dead.
"I'm so stupid…"
Far away, in an unknown realm—
Two women sat across from each other, sipping tea in a massive garden that stretched endlessly beneath a golden sky.
"That boy…" said the woman in the red dress, her tone casual.
"It hasn't even been a month since we sent him to that world, and he's already dead."
The woman in white slammed her cup down.
"It's your fault," she snapped.
"You sent him to a hostile world—straight into an SSS+ dungeon, no less!"
"I'm sorry, okay?" the red-dressed woman replied, taking another sip.
"I thought it would make him stronger faster."
The woman in white sighed deeply and stood up.
"I'll handle it."
"Why do you have to go?" the red-haired woman protested.
"It was my mistake—I should be the one to fix it."
The woman in white turned, eyes sharp.
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
"If I let you go alone, you won't be able to control yourself."
The red-haired woman clenched her fists… then looked away.
She knew it was true.
In the next instant, the woman in white vanished—
leaving behind a gloomy, silent woman.
In a dark, endless void—
Orion floated aimlessly, unconscious.
Suddenly—
His eyes snapped open.
Yet it didn't feel like opening them.
There was no light.
No up.
No down.
"Did I… die again…?" Orion muttered.
He was at a loss for words.
How stupid does someone have to be to die twice in a single month?
As regret and confusion swirled in his mind, the darkness slowly faded.
A vast ocean of greenery emerged.
Endless fields of life stretched before him.
At the center stood a colossal castle—so grand, so absurdly massive, that even the finest castle on Earth would look like a public toilet in comparison.
Its walls were covered in diamonds, gold, and rubies.
Orion felt as if his eyes were burning just from looking at it.
"…Huh?"
"Am I finally in heaven…?" Orion whispered.
"Not yet."
The sudden voice startled him.
"Wh—who's there?!"
Looking up, he saw a female figure shrouded in blinding light.
"Wait…" His eyes widened.
"You're the woman from my dreams. Did you have something to do with all this?"
"Yes," she replied coldly.
"But that's not important right now."
Her gaze hardened.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused us?"
"What did I do?" Orion asked, genuinely confused.
"You died," she snapped.
"That's what you did."
She sighed, rubbing her temples.
"Now I have to send you back to life—and in the process, break several universal laws."
"…Lord, she won't be happy about this."
Orion's breath caught.
"Send me back…?"
"Wait—are you the one responsible for my reincarnation too?"
"That should be obvious," she replied, giving him a look as if he were an idiot.
Orion seemed to get that look quite often.
A thought struck him.
Wait… can they also bring Ember back to life?
As if reading his mind, she replied
As if reading his mind, she replied, "No."
"Your dragon girlfriend is far too powerful. Her influence is too great—if I revive her, the universe won't ignore it."
Orion wasn't surprised at all that she could read his mind.
"She's not my girlfriend," Orion corrected her.
"… But I guess you are right. She is indeed very powerful."
"Why?"
"Why go through all this trouble for me?"
He didn't know them. They had no responsibility toward him.
So why were they doing so much for him?
He knew there was no such thing as a free meal anywhere.
And not knowing what they wanted from him scared him.
"You'll know in due time," she said softly.
"Now… it's time to say goodbye."
"Wait—!"
Before he could finish, a tsunami-like torrent of light crashed over him.
Orion gasped.
His eyes opened—
And the first thing he saw was Ember.
Crying.
She hadn't noticed yet that Orion was back.
"…Ember?" he whispered.
She stiffened.
Slowly turning, she stared at him as if she were seeing a ghost.
"O-Orion…?"
"Is this real…? Are you really alive?!"
She screamed, her voice shaking as she grabbed him, shaking his shoulders desperately.
"Yes," he said gently, smiling.
"I'm back, Ember."
She broke down completely and threw her arms around him.
He also hugged her tightly.
"Thank the gods…" she sobbed.
"I thought I lost you…"
After staying like that for a while, their emotions had settled a little.
But this cozy moment didn't last for long.
As a cold, mechanical voice echoed.
[You have successfully consumed and merged the Red Dragon Soul Fragment.]
Both of them froze.
[Host has been granted the class: Starforged Mage (F-rank).]
"…Huh?"
There were no words in existence that could properly describe Orion's disappointment.
"…F-rank?" His voice was quiet—but dangerous.
"Wait—what?" Ember blinked.
"Your new class is F-rank?"
Then she burst out laughing.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!"
"Not now, Ember," Orion growled.
He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to calm down.
"…System. Show me the class description."
[Starforged Mage — F-rank]
One of the 20 Universal Classes
Potential: ????
Class-Granted Skill:
• Starfire Magic — Harnesses the power of the sun.
[Due to the host being too weak, all additional abilities are locked.]
[Advised: Rank up the class.]
Orion's eyes widened. He was utterly shocked and couldn't form a single word for a long while.
Universal class.
He couldn't even begin to imagine how powerful it could become.
Ember noticed his reaction,
"Hey… don't worry about it. It's just one class. You still have your Dragonborn class, right?"
She began comforting him. She thought he was sad at the class description.
Orion looked at her and explained his new class.
Ember, too, fell silent.
"Don't you have any skills in that class that are unlocked?" Ember asked after a long silence.
"I do. It's a magic-type skill… 'Starfire,'" Orion replied.
"Well, let's see what it does. Activate the skill," Ember said.
Orion activated it.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
"I guess it needs the sun to work," Orion admitted, defeated.
"Yeah… you're probably right," Ember said, clearly just as clueless.
"…Let's not think about that right now," Ember said quickly.
"Tell me—how did you come back from the dead?"
Then Orion told Ember everything—
how he had met the strange lady,
how she was responsible for his reincarnation,
and how she had sent him back to life.
After a long silence, Ember sighed.
"I don't know whether being associated with you is a blessing or a curse," she muttered.
"In my long life, no one has surprised me as much as you have… and that's in just two weeks."
"I'll take that as a compliment." he said
Then, he frowned slightly.
"Now that I've fully merged with your soul… I don't feel that different," Orion was thinking about it ever since the system's message.
Ember smiled—as if she'd been waiting for that question.
"Open your status."
"… Status. Open." Orion complied.
[Status]
Name: Orion
Race: DRAGON
"… Oh my god."