Chapter 127 - Episode 18. God Without a Vicegerent (9)
Chapter 127: Episode 18. God Without a Vicegerent (9)
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This time, even Jaehwan could not help but listen closely.
There had been a god with a Worldview like his?
“Someone who cleared the final floor of 〈Metaverse〉 700 years ago had something similar hanging in the sky. It was not an ‘eye,’ but it took a different form.”
“Who was it?”
Hope rose in him that it might have been Mulack.
But Ethan’s answer was unexpected.
“The Rupture Master of Rupture, 《Tree of Illusion》’s largest and most notorious terrorist organization.”
Rupture.
It was them again.
“His Worldview was as terribly dark as yours. The difference is... your Worldview is not merely dark. It feels lonely.”
Ethan stared up at the eye in the sky for a long time before asking,
“Are you planning to fight that?”
“...”
“Is that why you intend to destroy 《Tree of Illusion》?”
Jaehwan did not answer.
“If it is a world you plan to destroy anyway, why are you trying to save your friend?”
It was a contradiction.
A man who intended to destroy this world was trying to save someone.
Jaehwan answered.
“Because he deserves to see the end of this world.”
The instant Jaehwan said that, the fog covering the Sanctuary cleared away, and something appeared far in the distance.
This was not the entirety of his Worldview?
Without realizing it, Ethan walked toward where the fog had cleared. Water splashed beneath Ethan’s feet with every step.
Ethan suddenly looked down.
This was the 《Abyss》.
A world of souls that bled silver instead of blood. What could pools of blood mean in such a world? Who had shed this blood?
When Ethan looked up again,
a colossal tower stood there.
It was not 〈Metaverse〉.
Yet Ethan instinctively understood.
This was the tower where Jaehwan had been cultivated.
The tower rose toward the heavens as if it sought to reach the eye in the sky.
Jaehwan had climbed this tower to reach this place.
Rumble.
That was when the Sanctuary began to change.
As though it disliked being confined to such a narrow space, the Tower of Nightmares expanded aggressively.
Like a sword stabbing toward the sky, the tower soon came into contact with the transparent wall overhead.
Crackle.
The ceiling of the cube where it touched Jaehwan’s Sanctuary shook violently. Its particle structure was collapsing as though it felt pain.
“It looks like we found a way out.”
Ethan and Jaehwan looked at each other, then leaped onto the tower at the same time.
<Floor 1>, <Floor 2>, <Floor 3>...
As they climbed, Ethan experienced something strange.
Voices flowed into Ethan’s mind.
「“Jaehwan.”」
「“Mr. Jaehwan.”」
「“Jaehwan.”」
They were the memories of the Companions who had lived in the tower with Jaehwan.
The Companions who had died in the tower or chosen regression.
Han Seoyul, Kim Yoonhwan, Jay, Hiren. The Companions of 《Carpe Diem》.
Names that had become far too old.
<Floor 11>.
「“Those guys are in high spirits today. Some good materials will come up.”」
<Floor 22>.
「“Are you challenging it soon? What is the boss pattern this time?”」
<Floor 34>.
「“Stop by the shop for a moment. I saved a few good items for you.”」
Words Jaehwan had not forgotten a single one of.
Ethan understood.
These memories were not simply fragments of fleeting moments. They intertwined and moved like living souls, like living organisms.
Just as Ethan had created Dolls, Jaehwan had built a tower within himself.
But there was a vast difference between them.
Ethan had distributed memories among the Dolls because Ethan could not bear their weight. This tower, on the other hand, was Jaehwan’s memories themselves.
He was still bearing every memory alone.
Because nothing in this world could share the burden of his memories.
<Floor 46>.
「“Jaehwan, I’m sorry.”」
If even he were to let go of these memories.
<Floor 58>.
「“Please.”」
<Floor 63>.
「“I hope you can reach somewhere higher...”」
All the pain they had endured would become as though it had never happened.
「“Don’t worry.”」
That was why Jaehwan did not forget them.
At least in this world, all of it had clearly happened.
In a world where the System erased humans, Jaehwan still remembered them.
Their rage, their sorrow, their despair. Every moment they had lived.
「“I will make certain to see the end of this world.”」
That was why Jaehwan was running now.
<Floor 78>.
“I do not know whether my Worldview is truly mine or not.”
He accepted this life.
<Floor 85>.
“There is only one thing I can say for certain.”
He chose to become a prisoner of this world.
“I will see the end of this world.”
How could someone keep climbing while carrying such a heavy burden?
Ethan wanted to ask that. At the same time, Ethan felt as though the answer was becoming clear.
How could a mere human become this strong? How could a god with only one Follower possess such magnificent World Force?
This tower was Jaehwan’s Setting and Part.
Setting, Tower of Nightmares.
The memories flowing from the tower were becoming Jaehwan’s World Force.
<Floor 99>.
The memories prayed to Jaehwan like Followers, and Jaehwan accepted those prayers.
「“I am so glad you are in this world, Jaehwan.”」
He had already been a god before becoming one.
In exchange for enduring this terrible nightmare without forgetting a single part of it, he gained power.
<Floor 100>.
At last, they reached the top of the tower. An exit leading outside lay before them.
Yet the view outside seemed somewhat strange.
Ethan, who had peered through the rift first, stiffened.
“It looks like something has happened.”
* * *
The hidden weapons Rakers threw as if playing a game riddled Jihan’s entire body.
Jihan sealed the wounds and glared ahead.
Current Metaverse Rank 4.
Rakers, God of Assassination.
Rakers was unquestionably a powerhouse on another level, an opponent Jihan could never defeat with his current World Force, even if he died and came back to life.
Still, unlike Jin Eunsae of Rupture, Rakers did not feel like some irrational existence.
That meant there was still hope.
“Andersen, please give it to me, quickly!”
Andersen still hesitated. If she gave Jihan the cube here, there was no guarantee Jaehwan and Ethan would be safe.
Rakers crossed the ruins and approached.
[Jihan. I disliked you from the moment you joined the Alliance. Even when the other Six Gods approved, I opposed it to the end.]
“Khuaaah!”
Jihan’s strike was caught effortlessly in Rakers’s hand. Rakers casually tossed aside the staff, then drove his fingers into the area around Jihan’s heart.
[Someone who betrayed once will betray twice.]
“Guaaah...!”
Very slowly, the soul around Jihan’s heart was being carved away in its entirety.
[I have kept a human like you alive for too long. It would be better to turn you into a new Doll.]
Watching Jihan die, Andersen thought,
Could this be the final chance?
Even against the Metaverse Six Gods, if she poured out every bit of her World Force, perhaps she could escape with Runald.
At that moment, a door opened in the sky once more.
An elegant door pouring light from the center of the sky amid a thunderous roar.
Andersen knew that door well.
A door she had often seen 500 years ago.
[Rakers.]
A voice emerged amid dazzling rays of light.
Rakers stopped and looked up.
[I told you Galateon and I would be enough.]
[It is always better to be certain.]
The gods’ words followed.
Andersen’s mouth fell open.
She knew the owner of that voice far too well.
‘You.’
The Companion Andersen had cherished most.
One of the Four Heroes from 500 years ago, who had joined the revolution alongside her.
‘How dare you show your face here...!’
And the first traitor.
[It has been a long time, Andersen.]
A handsome brown-haired man smiled kindly. Seeing that gentle smile, the sort that could make anyone like him, Andersen unleashed her World Force with a scream.
“Aaaah!”
The Moya Moya Crow’s secret Setting, Crow Cannon, activated with Andersen’s World Force.
Yet the man casually deflected that World Force and seized the Moya Moya Crow by the neck.
[Poor Andersen. Have you become this weak?]
Jihan trembled as he watched the scene.
Jihan knew that god wearing the tall brown-haired Doll as well. It was thanks to that god that Jihan had been able to join the Alliance.
‘It’s all over.’
The unceasing trembling proved Justice’s existence. A pressure that surpassed the World Pressure of Galateon and Rakers.
No god in 〈Metaverse〉 failed to recognize him.
A legend from 500 years ago.
One of the Metaverse Six Gods.
The head of Alliance Fire.
The world called him this.
Current Metaverse Rank 3.
The God of Definition ‘Justice’.
“Runald!”
Andersen’s sharp cry rang out.
Then Runald moved.
They were no longer god and Follower, but they had once been bound by a deep connection. Runald knew what to do without explanation.
‘I trust you, Jaehwan.’
Jihan opened his eyes wide and tore free from Rakers’s grasp with every ounce of strength. Then,
“Kuh, kuhuhut.”
The cube that flew in like an arrow landed in Jihan’s hand. Jihan staggered as he clutched the cube, letting out a metallic laugh.
“You are all finished now.”
[Rakers.]
At Justice’s words, Rakers rushed toward Jihan.
But Jihan was slightly faster.
The instant Jihan’s gloved hand touched the cube, the entire cube was sucked into his body.
Kuaaaah.
A fearsome storm of World Force erupted around Jihan. It was power capable of shaking the entire sixth floor. A distant volcano erupted alongside a violent earthquake.
Rakers’s expression froze.
Jihan stared at it all with distorted eyes.
This was the world seen by an Awakened One.
The sight of a ruined world.
Feeling World Force overflow through his body, Jihan burst into laughter.
“Ha ha, hahahahaha!”
Highcircle, Jihan’s Contract God, was screaming. The power was that immense.
Rakers, who had seemed like an unclimbable mountain moments ago, now looked different.
Pathetic. Was that all?
With this power, Jihan could win. With this newly obtained power of Awakening.
“Huaaah!”
A mighty vortex formed at Jihan’s fingertips. A Setting of greater density than any vortex Jihan had ever created.
It was power no one here could dare withstand.
“Die.”
A vortex capable of tearing even gods to shreds swept through the area.
When all became quiet,
[I see.]
Rakers stood there, completely unharmed.
[Is this all?]
Jihan watched with vacant eyes as his World Force dispersed uselessly.
“H-how?”
He had definitely Awakened.
He had surely reached strength from another dimension.
[That is the limit of an insect.]
A casually swung fist struck Jihan in the stomach. With a thud, everything inside him burst apart.
The impact shattered Jihan’s entire soul.
Jihan fell to his knees with a scream of agony. Silver poured from within him. Jihan vomited up everything he had swallowed.
The world that had inverted like a brief illusion returned to normal.
When Jihan came to his senses, the cube he thought he had absorbed was rolling before him amid the scattered silver.
Jihan saw a large hole pierced through the cube.
A hole as if something sharp had stabbed through it.
[Just die already.]
Rakers’s hand fell toward Jihan like a guillotine blade.
Then,
[W-what?]
Rakers staggered and looked down at the dark sword piercing his stomach.
It did not belong to Jihan.
The blade, which radiated pitch-black light, blazed brilliantly as it received lofty World Force.
[‘Anonymous God 94’ opens their mouth.]
[‘Anonymous God 88’ screams that this cannot be happening.]
Messages from 《Little Brother》 struck his ears without pause.
[The God of Flash ‘Rayray’ shouts that they knew this would happen!]
[The God of Mortality ‘Thanatos’ glares!]
[Many gods cannot hide their shock!]
The gods of the 《Abyss》, who had gathered after hearing the broadcast, watched the scene through Rene’s stream.
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ looks at the owner of the sword.]
Rakers hurriedly stepped back, clutching his pierced stomach, and asked fiercely,
[Who are you?]
The man had many nicknames.
Lord Slayer, King of Chaos, founder of the Path of the Wave, Naked Stab.
But none of them were his name.
He had only one name.
The only name spoken by the people who loved him, the people he remembered.
“I am Jaehwan.”
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion