The Universal Barrier

I was still toying with my new creation abilities when I noticed a change in Soo-Yeon.

Her breathing shifted, becoming deeper and more regular. The slight furrow in her brow relaxed, and her eyelids fluttered.

She was waking up.

I removed the blindfold, letting it dissolve between my fingers as I watched her return to consciousness.

The trance was ending, and with it, her journey through the Shadow Monarch's memories.

Her eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the dim light of the crumbling chamber.

Then they widened dramatically as she took in the devastation around us—shattered pillars, pulverized stone warriors, and massive cracks zigzagging across the floor and walls.

"What... happened here?" she gasped, looking around in disbelief.

I shrugged casually, leaning against a partially collapsed column.

"Just a little redecorating."

"The Architect and I disagreed about his interior design choices."

She scrambled to her feet, scanning the ruins for any sign of our host.

"The Architect—where is he?"

"Gone," I replied simply, gesturing to a particularly large pile of rubble where blue dust still sparkled faintly.

"Permanently."

Soo-Yeon stared at me, her expression cycling through shock, disbelief, and something that might have been awe.

"You... defeated him? Alone?"

She looked again at the destruction—evidence of a battle of epic proportions.

"How is that possible? The System showed me his power. He was an ancient magician who had lived for eons."

I pushed off from the column, taking a few steps toward her with a playful smirk.

"What can I say? I'm just that impressive. Impressed enough to finally go on that date with me?"

She rolled her eyes, but I caught the hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

"This isn't the time for your flirting."

"We're standing in a collapsing dimension and you're asking about dates?"

"No time like the present," I countered with a wink.

"Besides, we've got plenty of time before this place falls apart completely. I'm keeping it stable."

That caught her attention.

"You're what?"

"Keeping it stable. One of the perks of defeating the Architect—you pick up a few of his tricks."

I created a small blue butterfly in my palm, letting it flutter around us before dissolving it back into energy.

"See? Lots to discuss over dinner."

She brushed off my comment with a shake of her head, but her expression remained softer than usual.

Progress.

"The System," she said after a moment, her tone becoming serious.

"It showed me everything. The Shadow Monarch's origin, the war with the Monarchs, his imprisonment, his plan to find a vessel..." She looked at me intently.

"You knew all of this already, didn't you?"

I nodded, dropping the flirtatious facade.

"I did. As I told you before, I've seen how this plays out."

"But not everything," she said, her voice low and certain.

I raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious now.

"Oh? Do tell, Shadow Princess. What enlightening tidbit did the System show you that I don't already know?"

She hesitated, glancing around at the unstable dimension.

"Should we have this conversation here? This place feels like it could collapse any minute."

"It won't collapse unless I allow it to," I assured her.

"But if you're uncomfortable, we can leave." I extended my hand.

"Just say the word."

She looked at my offered hand, then back at my face.

After a brief hesitation, she took it.

"Let's go somewhere else," she decided.

I grinned and teleported us instantly back to the mountainside where we'd entered the dungeon.

The cool night air greeted us, a stark contrast to the stale heat of the pocket dimension.

Soo-Yeon released my hand quickly, taking a steadying breath as she adjusted to the sudden transition.

The city lights twinkled below us, peaceful and oblivious to the revelations unfolding on this remote mountainside.

"Better?" I asked.

She nodded, gathering her thoughts.

"What the System showed me... it wasn't just about the Shadow Monarch or the war between the Rulers and Monarchs."

"It was about why they're fighting over Earth specifically."

I tilted my head, genuinely intrigued. 

Wasn't it just the usual Monarch destroy Ruler protect trope?

They have done it countless times before.

"I'm listening."

"The Absolute Being, when he created this universe, he created a barrier around it to protect his creations from the beings outside of this universe," she began, her voice steady but quiet,

Itarim, huh, I know about them. They are from the Solo Leveling Ragnarok series.

It makes sense that the Absolute Being wanted them out of his universe.

But the barrier? That's new.

"Before disappearing, he left something behind on Earth."

"The Monarchs and Rulers called it the Universal Key."

Now, this was new.

"A key? To what?"

"To the barrier of our universe," she said, her eyes meeting mine.

"The Monarchs don't just want to destroy this world—they want to use the Key to break free from this universe entirely."

"To invade other universes."

I felt a genuine jolt of surprise.

This was definitely not part of the original Solo Leveling lore I remembered.

"And the Rulers?" I prompted, reassessing everything I thought I knew.

"They're trying to stop the Monarchs from finding the Key," she continued.

"Not just to protect humanity, but this whole universe, because using the Key would draw the attention of... external Beings"

'Itarim.'

"Beings from beyond our universe that would see the breach as an invitation to invade."

This paced the entire story—far beyond what I had anticipated.

The Itarim would have eventually come for this universe, but not this fast.

Moreover, there was no mention of this key whatsoever in the story.

"The System showed you this?"

She nodded.

"It was part of the Shadow Monarch's memories—knowledge he gained during his time as a Ruler, before his betrayal. "

"The Absolute Being created the Key as a way to control that barrier."

"With the barrier down, the forces of this world can attack the other universes."

"The Rulers aren't interested in invasion, but the Monarchs definitely want as much chaos as possible."

"When placing the key on Earth, the Absolute Being placed restrictions on earth to prevent anyone searching for the key."

"And that's why neither Rulers nor Monarchs can physically manifest on Earth," I said, connecting the dots. 

"Exactly," Soo-Yeon confirmed.

"The Rulers need vessels—humans who can act on their behalf."

"The gates, the monsters, the awakening of hunters—it's all part of their proxy war to find the Key or prevent it from being found."

"All of these are nothing more than preparing Earth to be able to withstand their descent without breaking it."

I turned away slightly, processing this revelation.

The original story had been simpler—Monarchs wanted to destroy humanity, Rulers wanted to protect it, with the Shadow Monarch caught in between.

This added an entirely new dimension to the conflict.

It also explained why my presence hadn't immediately attracted the attention of either faction.

They were focused on the Key, not on power anomalies like me.