"Tell me, Victor…"
Her rose-gold eyes locked onto his soul.
"Why are you here?"
A heartbeat stretched.
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"And most importantly…"
Her lips curved.
"How did you come here?"
The question landed heavier than iron.
Victor opened his mouth to answer why — he knew that part. He'd come seeking power. Answers. Something buried deep inside his chest that refused to stay quiet.
But the second question…
How did you come here?
His thoughts tangled.
A faint crease formed between his brows.
"…Forgive me, Yua," he said slowly, confusion tightening his voice. "But… I don't understand what you mean. How I came here?"
His blue eyes narrowed slightly, studying her face, searching.
Yua didn't answer immediately.
She watched him.
Truly watched him.
Her gaze moved slowly from his eyes to the line of his jaw, the subtle tension in his neck, the way his fingers curled unconsciously at his sides. She read him the way master craftsmen read fault lines in metal.
She saw it.
The real confusion.
No deception. No craft.
She stepped closer.
The chandeliers flickered faintly as if responding to her presence.
"The place you stand in," she said softly, "is not a world."
Her voice gained a quiet weight.
"It is one of billions of dimensions."
Victor's breath hitched.
She lifted one hand gently, palm open.
"And… I created it."
Silence slammed into him.
"…What?"
The word slipped out of him before he could stop it.
Yua smiled faintly.
"I am the Goddess of Forge," she said, her voice calm but endless. "Forging is not simply my talent."
The floor beneath them shimmered faintly — patterns like molten gold freezing mid-motion.
"It is my existence."
Victor swallowed.
A goddess… forging reality itself?
Awesome.
That was the only word that came to him.
Yua continued, her gaze shifting somewhere far beyond the present.
"Millennia ago… in the Divine Era…"
The air changed.
The light dimmed just a fraction.
"A war consumed everything."
Gods. Demons. Devils. Humans. Dragons. Beasts. Forgotten races whose names had been erased from history.
"All supernatural beings turned the heavens and worlds into graves."
Her fingers curled gently.
"I fought on the side of the gods."
The space around them trembled faintly, like memory was bleeding into reality.
"When the demons and devils grew heavy in number… when even the gods began to fall…"
Her eyes turned solemn.
"The Heavenly Father — creator of angels — knelt before me."
Victor felt a strange chill.
"He asked me," she continued, "to forge weapons that could turn the tide."
She raised two fingers.
"I created thirty."
The number echoed.
"Thirty weapons that burned through armies. That split continents. That cracked divine thrones."
Victor's fists tightened.
He could almost see it.
"But… power does not have loyalty," she whispered.
"Some weapons fell into demon hands. Some were claimed by devils. Some were stolen by humans."
Her lips parted slightly.
"The war became catastrophic."
The chandeliers flickered like unstable stars.
"And in the end…"
Her eyes closed for a breath.
"No one won."
Peace.
A fragile treaty.
Ash.
"My work ended," she said, eyes opening slowly. "But the world did not let me rest."
They wanted more.
Gods.
Demons.
Humans.
They all sought her.
"They wanted me to create more," Yua admitted quietly. "More weapons. More devastation."
Her jaw tightened.
"I had seen what my forging had done."
She shook her head.
"I rejected them."
They pursued.
Endlessly.
"I grew tired."
The word wasn't loud.
It was heavy.
"So…" She lifted her hand, and the space behind her twisted like folding steel. "I created this dimension."
Reality bent like liquid glass.
"And hid."
Victor stared.
A self-made refuge.
A goddess… choosing loneliness.
The thought hit deeper than he expected.
"…The weapons you created," Victor said slowly, "those are… the Primordial Arsenal, right?"
Her gaze sharpened.
Then she nodded.
"Yes."
A small smile curved her lips.
"You're right."
Then, more curious:
"You seem to know things… Victor."
He smiled awkwardly.
"…A little."
She hummed softly.
"Hmm~."
Then her expression shifted again.
"But when I hid myself… I left one thing behind."
Her fingers traced a slow gesture in the air.
"A single token."
Space shimmered.
"A key… buried in Earth's realm."
It pulsed faintly.
"Anyone… any soul… who finds it can be guided here."
Victor's blood went cold.
Token…?
His throat dried.
The system gave me that…
That wasn't random?
His heart pounded.
Then where did the system get it…?
His mind spun.
Sana…?
He whispered mentally.
Sana, are you there?
Silence.
No response.
Fortune Devour System?
Nothing.
He tightened his jaw.
Damn it….
Yua's voice brought him back.
"So tell me, Victor…"
Her tone wasn't accusing.
Just curious.
"Where did you get that token?"
He looked up at her.
Her eyes were warm.
Beautiful.
Too intelligent to deceive.
Panic clawed at his ribs.
I can't tell her about the system…
Not yet…
Not a goddess I just met…
He coughed lightly.
Think.
Fast.
"…Yesterday," he said, voice steadying just enough, "I went to a shrine."
Her brow twitched faintly.
"The priest… gave me a charm," he continued. "Said it would bring good fortune."
Good Fortune.
His eyes didn't flinch.
"When I slept… I opened my eyes and I was here."
A clean lie.
Wrapped in calm.
Yua studied him.
Her eyes searched.
Cheeks.
Jaw.
Breathing.
Pulse at his throat.
But his face showed only honest confusion and shock.
She sighed softly.
"…I see."
Her shoulders relaxed.
"Oh… that's okay."
Then Victor tilted his head.
"…Yua."
"Yes, Victor?"
"If you wanted to hide… why leave a token that leads to you?"
His voice lowered.
"I mean… if gods or demons found that, they'd come for you."
Her smile turned… wistful.
"I know."
She looked away for a second.
"But… you see… in the end…"
Her fingers touched her collarbone gently.
"I am still a woman."
Her voice turned softer.
"To live alone forever… is not an option for anyone."
Victor blinked.
"…You mean—"
"You know what," she said, waving it away gently. "I made an oath when I left that world."
He tilted his head.
"…What oath?"
She smiled.
"Hm~. Leave it for now."
She stepped closer.
"Tell me instead…"
Her voice dropped, melodic.
"What kind of weapon do you want?"
He felt a flicker of irritation — playful, restrained.
Her teasing nature was dangerous.
"…A Primordial Arsenal."
Silence.
She looked at him.
Then…
"Well…"
Her hand lifted.
"I have a few left."
She waved her fingers.
The air split.
Behind her, space unfolded like a divine vault.
Weapons drifted forward.
A sword.
A spear.
A bow.
Gauntlets.
Armor.
Shield.
Earrings.
Wings.
Boots.
Gloves.
Eyes.
They hovered — slow, majestic — each glowing with silent, terrifying presence.
Yua's voice resonated.
"You stand under the presence of my masterpiece."
Her eyes burned softly.
"Ten Primordial Arsenal."
She stepped aside.
"I have never shown these to anyone."
She faced him fully.
"And now…"
Her lips curved.
"I let you choose."
The weapons pulsed, waiting.