Chapter 134 - Episode 19. War of the Six Gods (7)
Chapter 134: Episode 19. War of the Six Gods (7)
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The first to face Jaehwan’s attack was Galateon, who had been bombarding the front lines.
Galateon’s Setting, 「Final Spear」, was capable of splitting a continent in half with a single strike.
Galateon trusted the power of the Setting that had made them one of the Metaverse Six Gods. The Sanctuary 「Holy Spear of Victory」 had even been deployed throughout the nearby airspace, maximizing the spear’s power.
[What?]
It took less than a second for the golden spear Galateon had thrown to vanish completely, from tip to shaft. The space before them warped. Everything in sight was being torn in two along a pitch-black line.
Destruction approached slowly, but surely.
Galateon flinched and looked down at their body. A black line had already been drawn across their chest.
[Ah.]
Those were Galateon’s last words.
Their Doll split along the black line and vanished all at once. Their shattered Worldview scattered through the air like broken glass, its fragments glinting gold.
Rakers saw the unbelievable sight clearly as well.
In this 〈Metaverse〉, the death of a Follower or the destruction of a Doll was painful, but not a fatal loss. Gods did not die simply because they lost a Vicegerent or Doll.
So why?
Rakers felt an ominous premonition.
[Galateon?]
There was no answer.
Rakers sent messages through the Alliance channel and the 《Little Brother》 network, but received no response.
Even more shocking was the complete absence of Galateon’s presence. Neither their Sanctuary nor their World Force could be felt. No trace remained of anything that symbolized Galateon, the Shining Spear.
When Rakers saw the 「Nebula」 under Galateon’s command split in half, they instinctively stepped back.
[What, what is this?]
A power that annihilated both a god and their Worldview at once.
Very few gods in this 《Abyss》 possessed such Settings. The Seven Divine Thrones, for example. Ignis’s famed 「Crimson Flame Tribulation」 or Droyan’s 「Black Flame Dragon」.
Rakers had heard that the commanders of the 「Rupture」 possessed similar powers as well.
They did not know whether that attack belonged to the same category. All they knew for certain was the horrific sight unfolding before them.
Rakers rapidly pulled back the warship under their command and shouted.
[Retreat! Retreat at once!]
Rakers invoked the Alliance’s authority and opened a ‘Supermassive Door.’
This was no time to cling to a title among the Six Gods. It was not too late. They had to get out, even now. As long as they could somehow escape this world, there was still a way to survive.
Rumble!
Yet the ‘Supermassive Door,’ which had only opened halfway, began to close again.
[What is this? Open it. Open it again!]
[You cannot.]
The voice from the rear of the formation belonged to Justice.
[Justice. What are you doing? Have you still not come to your senses after seeing that? Open the Door again! Now!]
[If you run from here, you will die. Have you forgotten what kind of being Leader is?]
Leader.
The being who had raised the Alliance to its current position, and the strongest god in 〈Metaverse〉.
Rakers’s eyes wavered for a moment. But this was more urgent.
[It is better to die later than die now. Open the Door! Right now!]
Rakers chose to flee.
Justice did not allow it.
Rakers’s warship turned its weapons on Justice.
[Open the Door right...]
Rakers’s voice trailed off.
Their lips moved as they looked down at their Doll with eyes full of disbelief. A thin black line ran across their torso.
A moment later, Rakers and their warship were torn apart together.
Justice watched destruction approach.
The horizon of destruction drew closer, ripping apart two 「Nebula」 warships like toys.
For some reason, Justice remembered a certain 「Setting」 they had seen long ago. Back when they had just become a novice god. The Settings they had witnessed during the Seven Divine Thrones’ exhibition match.
At the time, Justice had thought:
I want a ‘world’ like that too.
Justice had been a novice god overflowing with passion and spirit. Under the guide responsible for their hatching, Justice dreamed of becoming a god.
“You must find something you can think about forever. That will become your ‘world.’”
Justice had met Andersen and Arteina.
They had joined forces with other low-grade gods to seize Sites, and gathered together to recruit Followers. They had celebrated whenever a new Follower joined them.
They had pointed at one another’s crudely made Settings and laughed, then talked late into the night while boasting about their Vicegerents.
Those were the days when they longed for communication despite knowing it was impossible. Days when they could reach out to someone without fearing betrayal.
A pitch-black line appeared across Justice’s outstretched fingertips.
Justice blankly looked down at their fingers.
A black wave covered their vision, accompanied by a sensation like cool air rushing through their ears. Sound, smell, every sense that connected Justice to this world was being severed one by one.
In their final moment, Justice remembered Ethan’s playful words, the words they had hated so much.
「“Hey, Justice, God of Definition.”」
Justice gave a quiet laugh.
* * *
When Ethan opened their eyes again, they realized they were still alive. Their body barely moved, as though every bone had been broken.
Ethan slowly took a deep breath and opened their eyes.
How long had they been unconscious?
As their milky vision cleared, Ethan saw the sky torn in half. Their mind finally cleared.
Ah, right.
They remembered charging toward the warships with Jaehwan on their back. World Bombardment beginning. Their wings being torn apart.
Jaehwan’s Dokbul cutting through the air.
Then came the unbelievable sight Ethan had witnessed afterward.
They had won.
Ethan had never shed tears before, so none fell now. Instead, their whole body filled with the relief that had built up over five hundred years.
They had endured long humiliation for this moment. They had gathered trust and endured life among Dolls.
The sky had been carved apart like a torn canvas. Having used even their last grain of trust, Ethan had earned this view.
Ethan muttered, “What a damn expensive admission fee.”
“Are you awake?”
Ethan turned their head with difficulty and saw the man who had created that sight.
Ethan understood.
That man would become 〈Metaverse〉’s hero. Everyone in the 《Abyss》 would learn of the scene he had created.
A new legend would be born.
Yet the person at the center of that legend looked indifferent. As if defeating three of the Six Gods was not enough, Jaehwan lightly wiped his sword clean before looking down at Ethan.
“Can you stand?”
“I think that will be difficult.”
The Doll was damaged everywhere. Not only its joints, but even the core that controlled its World Force had stopped responding.
Ethan smiled bitterly.
“I will have to apologize to Rachel.”
“Ethan!”
Andersen flew over, Runald dangling beneath her. The path they crossed cracked and crumbled apart. Ethan had felt heat against their skin, and upon closer inspection, the nearby ground was floating atop lava.
[The destruction of the current ‘world’ is underway.]
[Passengers who have completed their Task, please escape the world.]
The dying world was vanishing from its distant edges.
Soon, this world would disappear completely. It would remain in Metaverse history as a few lines of text.
Ethan watched the collapsing world for a moment before speaking.
“Are you going to make every world look like this?”
Ethan clearly remembered Jaehwan’s world, which they had witnessed during Sanctuary Bonding.
A world that was frighteningly true and lonely.
No Follower would want to live in such a world.
“I hope the humans of this world never learn about yours.”
“...”
“I hope the ending you dream of fails.”
“If you have the strength to say such pointless things...”
Ethan swallowed a coughing breath and said, “I hope you are a little less lonely.”
Having seen Jaehwan’s world, Ethan understood.
Even if he broke, Jaehwan would never abandon his path.
Ethan briefly glanced at Andersen, then added, “But whatever I say, you will still achieve what you desire. Then protect Andersen until you destroy the world. This is my request.”
Ethan extended their left hand toward Jaehwan. The instant Jaehwan clasped it, Ethan’s power flowed through their joined hands.
Ethan said, “It should help quite a bit. After all, it is a Setting of the Metaverse Six Gods.”
“I understand, so get up already.”
“There is still something I have to do here. You leave first.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Ethan looked over the fallen Dolls one by one.
“I will leave with these people. Go on ahead.”
“What? Hey, you...”
“Andersen.”
The moment their eyes met, Andersen understood Ethan’s resolve.
A stubborn crow.
Ethan never knew how to yield. Perhaps that was why they could become friends.
“There is something I need to give you.”
The next moment, Ethan’s presence vanished from within Rachel Young.
Rachel Young’s Doll’s eyes went blank for an instant, then light slowly returned to them.
Andersen murmured in shock, “Rachel?”
Rachel Young’s Doll looked up at Andersen. Her lips trembled as if she still remembered her.
Yet before the Doll could say anything, she closed her eyes again.
The next moment, an old Doll lying nearby staggered toward them. It had been one of the Dolls Ethan controlled. On closer inspection, Ethan’s presence had moved into that Doll.
“Ethan, you...”
“Rachel has not completely become a ‘Doll’ yet. I could not save her even with my technique, but I did succeed in putting part of her soul into hibernation.”
Only then did Andersen understand why Ethan had personally controlled Rachel Young’s Doll all this time.
“Ah...”
She could feel it.
Faint, but unmistakable. Rachel’s soul was inside her Doll.
“Take Rachel with you. I could not save her, but there may be someone at the top of this tower who can.”
The Driver of the Metaverse was on the tower’s highest floor, a being who controlled every rule of this tower.
Such a being might be capable of restoring a shattered soul.
At Andersen’s request, Jaehwan opened his Sanctuary slightly and stored Rachel Young’s Doll away like a Part.
Ethan watched it all and spoke.
“Go now. There is not much time.”
“Ethan. You will really follow, right?”
“Of course. Just as I did five hundred years ago.”
Ethan smiled, and Andersen nodded.
[The ‘Door’ to the seventh floor opens.]
The Door soon opened, and Runald and Andersen entered first.
Jaehwan did not enter immediately. He watched Ethan for a moment.
As if knowing what Jaehwan was about to say, Ethan spoke first.
“Do not worry. I still have trust left.”
Ethan quietly smiled with the lips of a Doll that could barely move.
Jaehwan watched Ethan for a long time before speaking.
“Alright.”
Jaehwan turned and disappeared through the Door, leaving Ethan alone.
The Doll’s breathing gradually slowed.
[No trust remains.]
Jaehwan had probably known everything.
Ethan was a God Without a Vicegerent. Once all their trust ran out, they could no longer maintain their existence.
The Dolls Ethan had controlled began to slump to the ground one after another, as though their strings had been cut.
「Ethan-nim.」
Ethan’s last remaining Dolls staggered toward them.
“You were alive.”
「Of course. Who do you think we are?」
“You could have followed Andersen.”
They were the ones who had protected the village alongside Ethan.
Hans, Christian, Marianne.
Followers from five hundred years ago.
「We were once Andersen-nim’s Followers.」
The Dolls gathered around the dying Ethan and held Ethan’s hand.
「But now, we are your Followers.」
They joined hands and prayed.
「For the end, we will pray for you.」
The Dolls’ prayers did not turn into World Force. They had no souls.
Even so, Ethan listened to those prayers again and again.
Whenever Ethan’s World Force decreased, another Doll’s prayer faded away. Five hundred years of history they had cherished and protected was setting, one piece at a time.
It had been a long battle.
Before long, every prayer had vanished, and every Doll had stopped moving.
In the distance, a wave of lava rolled closer.
Ethan slowly closed their eyes.
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion