The Watcher sat upon the ruins of his kingdom, his gaze lost in the stillness of the void. Nothing moved. No voices echoed. No life remained.
He had no power to rebuild it. No way to bring the dead back. And no path to leave this broken dimension.
He sighed… and let his mind drift back to the day it all began.
He had been just a boy then, the youngest ever chosen to serve in the Watcher's halls. Only Dr. Thomas had believed in him.
The Council of Beyonders sat in their vast throne chamber within the Watcher's Dimension. Shadows veiled their true forms, but their eyes — each pair glowing in an unnatural hue — shone like cold stars through the dark.
The Previous Watcher, Andrew, knelt before them, reporting on disturbances in the First Layer of Reality. His voice echoed in the silence.
Then —
BOOOOOOM!
The doors shattered inward, slamming against the obsidian walls with enough force to shake the dimension itself. A freezing wind howled in from the rift beyond, carrying the metallic stench of blood.
A man stepped through. His boots left wet, crimson footprints. His clothes were torn, shredded by battle. In one hand, he held the dripping heads of Andrew's two most powerful knights — beings nearly his equals.
Even the Beyonders stilled. The light in their many-colored eyes narrowed.
Andrew's voice rose in fury.
> "Who dares enter my realm uninvited?"
The man didn't answer. He crossed the chamber slowly, each step echoing like a drumbeat of execution. Then his hand shot forward, gripping Andrew's throat, lifting him into the air as if he weighed nothing.
Weapons of impossible design appeared in the hands of several Beyonders. But before they could strike, the Second Elder rose from his seat, his burning gold eyes locking on the intruder.
> "Stop. Do nothing."
His voice was grim, steady — but there was something else. Something like fear.
> "Do you know who this is?" the First Elder demanded, his eyes glowing a deep blue.
> "I know," the Second Elder replied. "He is Gudango Gonzalez, King of the Outers… and the son of Mr. Gonzalez."
The words were like a hammer blow. Even in their shadowed forms, the Beyonders seemed to shrink back. The Watcher's Dimension itself trembled.
The First Elder tried to keep his composure.
> "So… you are his son. We owe your father a debt. Leave now, and we will forget this trespass—"
In the space between one blink and the next, Gudango was gone from his place.
The First Elder's words choked off — because Gudango was now before him, one hand clamped on his throat.
There was no warning, no flash of light, no great display of magic. Just a single punch.
The sound was not like an impact — it was like the shattering of a world.
The First Elder's body was hurled from the chamber, out of the Watcher's Dimension entirely, past the Second Layer, and into the Layer of the Outers itself. The force of the blow rippled backward, cracking the very floor beneath the Council's thrones.
Andrew tried to attack from behind, launching a full-force kick aimed at Gudango's head.
Gudango caught his leg without looking.
A sickening wham shook the chamber as Andrew was slammed into the floor, hard enough to crater it. Gudango drew his blade in one smooth motion — a black edge that seemed to drink the light — and drove it straight through Andrew's chest.
The silence was total.
Gudango turned to the Council, pointing at the Second Elder.
> "You are the First Elder now. And hear me well — none of you descend to the First Layer again. Ever. This place is the only exception."
Then he turned to the boy who would become the Watcher.
His eyes — two pits of cold, merciless black — locked on him.
> "And you… are the new Watcher."
Without another word, Gudango left.
Legend Town
In a quiet chamber, Aurora studied countless shimmering strands of time. In her hand was a pen glowing with an otherworldly light. With each stroke, entire histories shifted—past, present, and future rewritten in silence.
Locki, watching her work, finally asked,
> "What is that pen?"
> "With this," Aurora said, "I can change anything. I can grant power, take it away, reshape destiny."
> "Then you could beat the Beyonders with it, right?"
She shook her head.
> "The Beyonders exist on a higher plane. They can only enter this reality in human form."
> "Why?"
> "Because if they entered in their true forms, this entire layer would collapse under their presence. Even their gaze shakes the fabric of our reality."
Locki opened his mouth to speak, but Aurora cut him off.
> "Focus on your training. Carter is training with DA. I will show you my path only once you master the Way of Knights and Demons."
> "Who is DA, really?" Locki pressed.
Aurora's eyes softened.
> "He was born billions of years before the Great Wars, back when Mr. Gonzalez forged the separate layers for the Beyonders, the Outers, and us. DA was close with Ricky Racon."
Locki stiffened.
> "That's… the name I gave Ron in the future to hide our identities."
Aurora stared at him for a moment.
> "For you, it may be coincidence. But Ricky Racon truly existed. He trained DA, Black Heart, and one other I can't recall. Now—enough questions. Train."
---
World of Dark Souls
For weeks, Dr. Thomas had worked on a ritual, a red aura swirling around him like a storm.
At last, he spoke:
> "Unseal."
The aura condensed into a sword. With quiet reverence, Thomas carried it to his other half. Tears fell as he looked upon him.
Without hesitation, Thomas stabbed the blade into his counterpart's heart. The weapon dissolved into light, merging with the other's body.
The second Thomas gasped awake.
> "Thomas? Where… are we?"
Thomas smiled for the first time in billions of years.
> "My true self… finally awake."
After explaining everything, the second Thomas asked,
> "When do we start the hunt for the Watcher?"
> "Not yet. You're still wounded," Thomas said. "Someone else… may already be confronting him."
---
Watcher's Dimension – Present
The Watcher lifted his gaze as footsteps echoed through the emptiness.
A figure emerged from the shadows.
The Watcher dropped to one knee.
> "How may I serve you… King of the Outers. Son of Mr. Gonzalez. Gudango Gonzalez."
Gudango only stared
---
Second Layer of Reality – Council of Beyonders
The Council convened once more. The deaths of two lower-ranked Beyonders in the First Layer had not gone unnoticed.
The new First Elder studied the evidence.
> "We will make the First Layer pay… but not yet. The King of the Outers is there. The moment he departs, we strike."
The chamber erupted in cheers.
Only the First Elder remained silent, his eyes fixed on a set of images before him—images of Ron, Carter, and Locki.