These people were vicious.
They were all plotting against him.
Felix clutched his head in despair. This world was far too cruel.
He had placed the smaller sandbox near the entrance so he could easily monitor it—how convenient. Yet precisely because of this closeness, the players had begun hatching increasingly absurd ideas.
Technically speaking, they were all born from his spores. He was their father. Their Creator.
And now, they were seriously considering patricide.
Treacherous heretics!
He could forgive Gilgamesh's rebellion. That man had been born naturally in the larger sandbox—a true native of this world. But now even his obedient little worker ants were plotting an uprising?
"I must be the most pitiful Creator in history," Felix muttered. He fell silent for a moment, then steadied himself. "So… you all want to defy heaven and kill God, huh? I thought I made it clear already—I'm not someone you mess with."
His eyes narrowed.
"It seems Akina's Speedster hasn't been beaten down hard enough by society. Fine. You want to play the ultimate badass? Then I'll teach you what a real beating feels like."
But just as his irritation peaked, Felix paused.
…Or maybe it was better to let them try.
After all, pressure bred evolution. As long as they kept creating new species, he could tolerate a little rebellion.
He turned inward. "Hive Mind—does this new species have extraordinary potential?"
The Tyranis Hive Mind replied in its cold, mechanical tone.
"Yes. This species possesses exceptional evolutionary potential."
"It really does…" Felix took a vicious bite of his apple, envy bubbling up. "Some people are just born talented. I can't even compare."
Within the sandbox, the new lifeform had already grown to an astonishing size. To Felix, it was only beetle-sized—but to the ant-scale world, it was a walking catastrophe, like an elephant charging through a village.
It resembled a crimson rooster, feathers glowing like burning embers. Almost phoenix-like.
It looked… delicious.
"How strong is its toxin?" Felix asked carefully. "Could it actually hurt me?"
It would be the ultimate joke if he got killed by a bug-sized chicken.
"This species is comparable to a pufferfish," the Hive Mind replied. "Its flesh is extremely palatable. However, even trace amounts of its toxin can lethally poison a full-grown adult human."
Felix's throat tightened.
This lunatic is actually trying to kill me.
A beetle-sized organism capable of killing humans. That meant the toxin was absurdly lethal.
"If it can kill an ordinary human… what about me?" Felix asked quietly. "I've already undergone genetic enhancement. My body's nearly perfect. I've even started cultivating magic."
If it posed no threat to him, there'd be no point introducing it. The witches would wipe it out instantly.
"Testing is required," the Hive Mind answered. "As the Tyranis Hive Mother, you are immune to all threats originating from your spores. You should conduct the test personally."
Felix's face darkened. "I'm not a woman. Call me Father."
The Hive Mind ignored him entirely.
"Hive Mother, please test the toxin personally. No creature born from your spores can harm you."
Felix sighed.
"So I'm safe, huh? Fine. If it really has that much potential, I'll let Akina's Speedster off the hook—for now. Let's see what it can really do."
He took another bite of his apple.
Perfecting the sandbox's magical civilization was his priority right now. And honestly? He was curious what this second Evil Eye–derived species could accomplish.
Inside the sandbox, the players were whispering excitedly behind blades of grass.
"Wait until he starts eating!"
"Shhh! Poison him quietly!"
"So sinister. I love it."
Recently, Felix had been eating fruit daily for his stomach. As a stomach cancer patient, he couldn't afford to be careless. This was already his second apple.
"He's eating again. This is our chance! If he's offering himself up like this, the least we can do is try to bite him. I bet he tastes amazing."
It wasn't quite five o'clock yet—his usual mealtime. No rush.
Felix flipped open his black notebook, dense with records of evolution and civilization.
It was time to write a new chapter of history.
After the Age of Darkness, the Age of Radiance, the Age of Rebirth, and the Age of Genesis, the Fifth Age would begin.
Even though the Babylonian Age wasn't technically over, he felt compelled to record it.
"This epoch shall be known as…" He paused.
"The Age of Magic."
"In this age, magicians rise in great numbers, ruling the land through wisdom and arcane power. Hermes, God of Wisdom, descended to guide mortals, leading the Three Witches to open the path forward. In the 198th year of Babylon, the witches reached the end of their lives—and the heavens wept, sending miracles in their memory…"
KNOCK KNOCK.
Felix looked up sharply.
Ellie was at the gate.
He stood and walked over to open it.
Below, the tiny creatures watching him erupted into panic.
"Run, comrades!"
"He's heading for the gate! Clear the Path of the Stampede!"
Because the sandbox sat right beside the entrance, every time Felix moved, he unknowingly passed straight through their world. The players had named this route the Path of the Stampede.
"Everyone okay?"
"No casualties! We've got four minutes before he starts eating. Use the time—climb the chair!"
"Stack up! Make a ladder!"
"Charge! Let's kill the boss—first kill's mine!"
A swarm of bizarre, ant-sized creatures began scaling the chair leg like invaders storming a fortress.
The plan was simple: hide behind the backrest, out of sight.
But Akina's Speedster stopped them.
"Wait. Don't rush. Stay calm—this is a boss fight," he said seriously. "I just noticed something important. He didn't just take out food today. He opened a black notebook. That could be hidden content."
The others froze.
Hidden content?
That changed everything.
"I'll go! I've got eight legs!"
"No, me! Four arms!"
"I have five tentacles—with eyes! I can flip pages with my eyeballs!"
A group of confident creatures coordinated, straining together to push open the massive leather cover. The page before them was like a plain of parchment.
At the very top, three enormous words were written:
Age of Genesis
They stared in stunned silence.
"…What is this?"