Barbarian in a Failed Game

『Why is a monster like that inside a mortal’s mental world…!』

The Tree of Memories fled with all its might. Though there was little place to run within the small space of a mortal’s mind, the size of this mortal’s consciousness had long surpassed anything remotely ordinary.

『Huff! Huff…!』

The mental entity ran so desperately it nearly felt breathless, despite having no physical body. Should the mental entity face death here, it would mean complete annihilation without the reprieve it currently had.

Desperately evading the owner of the chilling voice, the Tree of Memories dove deeper into the mental world. It delved so deep that the voice eventually faded away.

Just how far down had it gone? Even the Tree of Memories, skilled in navigating mental landscapes, found it difficult to fathom.

『How can a mortal’s mental world be so vast? This… this is impossible…!』

Such an expansive mental world was rare even among transcendents. Particularly those who originated as mortals. But what exactly was this mortal?

Judging by the size of the consciousness, it was akin to a God’s, or perhaps even greater. With a mind of this magnitude, it would be nearly impossible for another transcendent to suppress this mortal through sheer dominance alone, as their mental world was similar in size.

『And the fact that there are separate layers within this mental world… it’s not as if separate personalities exist…』

Regaining its composure from the shocking encounter, the Tree of Memories found itself astonished by the mental world of the new mortal host it had chosen.

Thunk.

The Tree of Memories reached out with its hand, having bumped into something invisible. It was not uncommon for entities adept in handling mental worlds to set up internal barriers. Demons often did this.

『Does this mean something important is hidden within?』

Something central to the structure of this mental world, perhaps to protect the mind’s owner from external attacks.

‘It’s worth checking out.’

Such a situation would be ideal for the Tree of Memories. If the mortal’s mental core was hidden beyond this barrier, taking control of it would suffice in making the host its own. Furthermore, the entity residing on the upper level seemed incapable of reaching this far…

The Tree of Memories carefully asserted its “will”.

It was usually risky to assert one’s will within another’s mental world, but the Tree of Memories had spent millennia manipulating the minds of others.

With expert precision, it created a small opening in the transparent barrier and inserted part of its mental entity through the gap.

And then, the Tree of Memories slowly closed its eyes. It sought to inspect the interior through the perspective of the mental entity it had sent beyond the barrier.

『What the…!』

Suddenly, the Tree of Memories took a sharp breath and hastily turned to flee. The entity inside the barrier seemed poised to leap through the gap it had made, and without looking back, the Tree of Memories distanced itself from the barrier, finally sighing in relief.

It then cursed Khan, the owner of this absurd mental world.

『What on earth is wrong with this damned mental world…!』

The entity coiled beyond the barrier was none other than a demon. A high-ranking demon with a presence on par with the divine upper gods!

While it was said that demons excel at playing tricks within mental worlds, it hadn’t expected an actual demon to inhabit it. Not just any part, but one imbued with the power intrinsic to a transcendent.

『A mad dragon betrayed by dragons nests on the surface of the mental world, and beneath that lies a mortal imbued with the power of a high-ranking demon?』

The Tree of Memories found this both ridiculous and defied common sense.

『Fine. I don’t know what else might come out, but… let’s see this through to the end.』

Yet, it couldn’t stop its search and flee the mental world. Gritting its teeth, the Tree of Memories began to explore the mental world more actively.

In the process, it encountered the power left by divine gods, faced the brink of annihilation, and survived by sacrificing half of its mental entity to escape deeper within.

Now, even the Tree of Memories was curious about what lay at the end of this mental world. And then, the moment for that answer arrived.

Slither.

Without the Tree of Memories realizing it, the mental world had once again transformed. What it thought had been the ultimate depths—home to the dragon’s betrayer on the surface and the coexistence of godlike and demonic powers deeper within—proved to be just another layer.

『Yet another layer….』

This new landscape felt as though various colored paints had been haphazardly splashed onto a canvas and mixed together. It was a tumultuous scene, impossible to define by any single color.

It felt like this chaos was the identity of this space. And the Tree of Memories had seen something similar a very long time ago. On the day it had gained its current identity.

『This is the chaos beyond dimensions…!』

As the Tree of Memories opened its mouth in astonishment to name the place,

“Good work.”

『You…!』

“Your role ends here. Please, exit stage right.”

***

While the Tree of Memories wandered through Khan’s mental world, Khan was peering into someone else’s memories. Memories that featured a very familiar face.

“Tsk. With such naivety… you won’t survive on this continent. Always assume that anyone could stab you in the back.”

“Thank you for the advice, but I believe our kindness will be repaid one day.”

“So frustrating. Haven’t you mentioned that your opinions don’t even resonate among the elves?”

“They are still inexperienced children.”

“Wow… I’m losing my mind here.”

With an air of delinquency, as if about to spit out gum, paired with an appearance so refined it transcended gender, the man’s contrasting characteristics coexisted in a single visage. Karyan, in his human days, eyed the owner of these memories with insolent eyes and sighed.

“Do as you please. While I can’t do anything to help you as the Crown Prince, I’ll personally support your dream. Maybe someday, it’ll be possible to carve out a land for the elves on this continent.”

“Thanks to you driving out the dragons, giants, and demons, I believe that future is not far off.”

“I didn’t do it for your benefit. I did it because it pissed me off. Anyway… get going. An ancient dragon will be passing through here soon.”

“May the blessings of nature be with you.”

“Blessings of nature my ass. Do you even realize I’ve destroyed more land than the dragons and giants combined?”

As Karyan grumbled with a grim expression, the memory’s owner politely bowed and turned away.

‘Reckless back then, reckless now.’

Khan chuckled at the scene, watching young Karyan’s antics. Then his vision shifted.

“Do you think those hypocrites will give us land? We must go to war for the sake of our race!”

“Wipe out those filthy short-lived species and build an empire for the long-lived races!”

Elves screamed at the memory’s owner. Despite the venomous glares and sharp remarks, the owner of the memory smiled and bowed.

“I’m sorry. That’s not possible.”

“Family Head!”

“Skadi! We can no longer follow your ideals!”

After the worst-ending meeting of the elves, those who opposed the memory’s owner formed new families.

‘The Six Families’, Khan reviewed quickly as the memory sped by. The elves, divided in their beliefs, started harboring the idea that ‘short-lived species are inferior’, a concept propagated by the six families. Skadi, the memory’s owner, argued otherwise.

But her words had long lost their power.

“And you are…?”

A mysterious figure approached her. A figure cloaked in a robe favored by travelers, their face obscured in shadow, replied to Skadi’s desperate question.

“Is it true? Can you help create a land for the elves?”

The owner of the memory—Skadi—asked with an urgent tone. Although the mysterious traveler replied, the words were inaudible.

‘I can’t hear it….’

Khan frowned, wondering if there was a glitch. Just then, his vision shifted again. The scene was all too familiar.

‘Of course, it is.’

It was the very place where he had just fought for his life. Skadi and the traveler stood at the summit of the Tree of Memories.

“That our elven sacred tree (神樹) might aid in your ritual… Can something so vast really assist in magic?”

The traveler responded, presumably in the affirmative, as Skadi seemed to smile.

“I’m curious about this spell you plan to cast at the place closest to the world’s exterior.”

The traveler, who had been gazing at the sky, turned to look at Skadi. Skadi, puzzled by the stare, tilted her head, but the traveler soon looked away and pulled out an object from their robes.

It was something Khan recognized immediately.

‘Mortalia’s Void Jewel…!’

Before he could even process the horror, time accelerated rapidly, leading to a new event.

“Wait, wait…! What is this─!”

A hole was torn in the sky. Not metaphorically, but literally. Skadi sensed something amiss and tried to stop the traveler, but it was too late. The moment the Void Jewel emitted a massive pulse, the hole in the sky widened, opening a path to the world beyond.

And what lay beyond was neither the cosmos as Khan knew it, nor the colossal, squid-like outer gods.

“Void…!”

Yes, it was the Void. The words of ‘Alpha’, the servant of the Void, repeated in his mind, screaming that there was nothing beyond the world. Khan felt an overwhelming urge to crush his skull with his fists to silence the infernal voice.

Right now, shut that damn voice up!

But as a mere observer without a physical body, he couldn’t take such an action.

“Please. Please stop! If this continues, Midland will…!”

As Khan struggled with the excruciating pain, the memory continued unabated. Skadi, attempting to prevent the traveler from fully opening the portal to the Void, leapt forward and placed her hand on the traveler’s shoulder.

The force of her movement caused the cloak to fall away, revealing the traveler’s face. Skadi and the traveler locked eyes. And that was precisely when the Tree of Memories encountered the chaos within Khan’s mental world.

“Finally, we can have a conversation.”

The figure within the memory spoke directly to him.

“Welcome, intellect from beyond the Void.”

The figure locked eyes with Khan, who had been peering into Skadi’s memories.

“I summoned you. Everything has been leading up to this moment.”