Chapter 148 - Episode 21. God of Ashes (1)
Chapter 148: Episode 21. God of Ashes (1)
──────
「Not much is known about Leader ‘Eoduksi.’
He appeared suddenly in the 《Abyss》 six hundred years ago. No one but ‘Chronos,’ the Fifth Seat of the Seven Divine Thrones, had ever defeated him. The fact that he had survived after fighting such a mighty member of the Seven Divine Thrones was enough for gossips to rank him among the great Seven Stars. Because of that, some gods doubt his strength.
Still, anyone who has stepped foot in the Metaverse even once would know. He is the strongest of the current Metaverse Six Gods. Even if the other five attacked him together, they could not defeat him.」
Excerpt from 『99 Guides for Gods Traveling the Metaverse, Metaverse Six Gods Edition』
* * *
Jaehwan read the messages floating in the air through Andersen.
[〈Metaverse〉 Seventh Floor’s final settlement is underway.]
[Attendants are correcting errors in the Seventh Floor’s settlement.]
[An emergency inspection of 〈Metaverse〉’s Seventh Floor will begin for approximately one hour.]
It seemed the destruction of the Plants had caused a temporary problem with 〈Metaverse〉’s System.
“Is Arteina trapped inside this Cube?”
“Probably.”
Jaehwan looked down at the Cube in his hand.
At the final moment, Arteina had covered herself in a Cocoon and imprisoned herself in Yesterday.
She was likely still dreaming of Yesterday within this [Time Cube]. Her Yesterday would continue for some time, until her World Force was completely exhausted.
“If you do not mind, may I keep it?”
“Do whatever you want.”
“Thank you.”
Andersen picked up the Cube with her beak, tilted her head back, and swallowed it.
Arteina’s disappearance had been inevitable anyway. It was likely Andersen’s way of seeing her old Companion through the end.
After letting out a small burp, Andersen ruffled her feathers. Then, perhaps embarrassed, she clacked her beak and asked Jaehwan, “More importantly, what happened to you?”
“What do you mean?”
“What happened earlier.”
Jaehwan knew what she meant.
“I do not know either.”
He looked down at Jin Eunsae, who lay on the Plant’s floor.
「World Without Adults」, was it?
It had been a truly bewildering battle. Jaehwan had never imagined an Unique World of that kind could exist.
The last thing he remembered was his soul scattering amid pure white smoke.
Then he had heard a small voice.
「I will borrow this for a moment.」
By the time he regained consciousness, everything was already over. Jin Eunsae had fallen. Yesterday had been torn apart. Arteina, her head shattered, had been screaming.
Jaehwan unconsciously looked down at his palm. It was a hand covered in hard calluses, the marks of relentless training.
Today, it looked somewhat unfamiliar.
Perhaps Catastrophe, with whom he had made a contract, or the other Lords had planted something within him back when he had been a 「Product」.
Yet neither 「Doubt」 nor 「Understanding」 detected anything unusual.
“You did not see it clearly either?”
“My vision was suddenly blocked, so I could not make it out. I think I caught a glimpse of something like a small child’s shadow…”
A child?
Something came to mind, but he could not be certain.
Either way, he had won the battle and recovered his soul. It was not a bad deal.
When he lightly pulled Dokbul from the floor, the sword hummed as though it had been waiting. As Jaehwan fed it several of the Parts he had acquired, a welcome voice called out from afar.
“Jaehwan-nim!”
It was Runald.
* * *
Rene’s Ally group and the surviving gods of Today exchanged healing Parts as they tended to the wounded.
Some wore hollow expressions after the great battle. The Yesterday they had known was now completely gone.
“What was the point of it all…”
A few gods muttered regretfully. Others reddened around the eyes, overwhelmed by uncertainty.
Martis also seemed unable to control his emotions. He had been moved by Jaehwan, escaped Yesterday, and survived the battle. Yet none of them had decided how they would live from now on.
Jaehwan said nothing to them.
Living Today was their responsibility. If someone else interfered here, it would only create another Yesterday.
Rene approached, waving from afar.
“I really cannot call you ‘Beginner-nim’ anymore.”
“I heard you protected Runald.”
“Come on, it was only natural. I wish I could have broadcast this. What a shame.”
With the entire Seventh Floor undergoing an emergency inspection, 《Little Brother》 had been temporarily blocked. Still, it was not hard to predict the gods’ reactions.
Not only within the Eight Sites, but throughout the entire 《Abyss》, Jaehwan’s name would be discussed without end.
“People are saying you should be included among the ‘Seven Stars.’”
“Seven Stars?”
“Seven stars. You have never heard of them?”
“No.”
He had become a well-known figure in the 《Abyss》 through one insane act after another, but in truth, Jaehwan had only entered the Abyss a few months ago. He did not know much about the 《Abyss》’s ecosystem.
Even Mulack’s 『Record of the Abyss』 did not contain every piece of information.
“The ‘Metaverse Six Gods’ are only recognized within the Metaverse. The Seven Stars are on a different level. Becoming one means there is no one in the 《Abyss》 who does not know you.”
Judging by Rene’s fuss, the Seven Stars were famous even within the 《Abyss》.
Jaehwan felt nothing in particular. Humans and gods alike seemed to enjoy giving people nicknames.
“Are there gods stronger than the Seven Stars?”
“The ‘Seven Divine Thrones,’ known by everyone. Then there are the Seven Heavens beneath them. People usually call them the Seven Thrones, the Seven Heavens, and the Seven Stars.”
He felt as if he had seen those names in 『Record of the Abyss』.
The Seven Divine Thrones and the Seven Heavens in particular sounded familiar.
Perhaps the Seven Stars had not existed in Mulack’s era.
“The Seven Heavens and the Seven Stars are all powerful gods. Most of them are connected to the Seven Divine Thrones or lead large factions by themselves.”
“Like the Ten Hall Masters of Chaos?”
“Excuse me?”
“Never mind. Do you know anything about the Leader?”
“Hmm, I suppose you are curious about the enemy you will soon face?”
“It is better to know the bare minimum before dealing with an opponent.”
This battle had taught Jaehwan one lesson.
He could not underestimate the gods’ Worldviews.
He had been lucky in his battle against Arteina, but if another hidden threat like Jin Eunsae appeared, even Jaehwan might have trouble dealing with them.
“I brought up the Seven Stars because of the Leader.”
“Is the Leader one of them?”
“That is right. He is the first star of the Seven Stars.”
That was enough to roughly gauge the Leader’s strength. Rene had said he was far stronger than the Metaverse Six Gods, so it was as expected.
“Leader. Eoduksi, the God of Ashes. Not much is known about him. He is a close confidant of ‘Chronos,’ one of the Seven Divine Thrones. No god other than Chronos has ever defeated him. And… he possesses the ‘Three Divine Artifacts.’”
“Three Divine Artifacts?”
He had heard that somewhere before.
Runald, who had been quietly standing nearby, asked, “Do you mean the Three Divine Artifacts of the ancient gods?”
Rene’s eyes widened slightly before curving into a small smile.
“You know quite a lot, do you? You are different from the god you serve.”
“Hehe.”
“Of course, those are not the Three Divine Artifacts I mean. If Eoduksi possessed the true Three Divine Artifacts of the ancient gods, he would not be sitting among the Seven Stars as he is now.”
The Three Divine Artifacts of the ancient gods.
Jaehwan did not know much about the Three Divine Artifacts, but he knew about ancient gods.
The Sole King, Catastrophe.
The King of Chaos had also been an ancient god. If so, perhaps the Part Catastrophe had possessed, the ‘Void Sword,’ was one of the Three Divine Artifacts.
“Still, Eoduksi’s Three Divine Artifacts cannot be taken lightly. No one even knows whether they are Parts or Settings, and I have heard that no god has seen all three.”
“I see.”
“And the Leader is not the only one you need to worry about. You have already become the Alliance’s greatest enemy.”
Jaehwan roughly understood the situation.
The Metaverse’s Seventh Floor had been one of the Alliance’s largest sources of income. Now that it had been wrecked, the Alliance would be preparing to strike back.
“Still, the Alliance has not only suffered losses. That is thanks to your unexpected actions.”
“What do you mean?”
“Thanks to your outrageous actions, this round in 〈Metaverse〉 has been a huge success. Once people learn that you destroyed the Seventh Floor as well, even more gods will flock to the Tower. With that income, the Alliance can easily restore the Seventh Floor. 《Little Brother》 is also blocked right now, so plenty of frustrated gods will probably climb the Tower themselves just to see you.”
“…”
“They have lost some of the Metaverse Six Gods, but there are plenty of Six Gods Candidates.”
Hearing that much, Jaehwan began to understand why the Alliance had been watching him.
If the Leader truly wanted him gone, every member of the Alliance would have been waiting for him on Arteina’s Seventh Floor. Yet they had not.
In the end, even his ascent to the next floor was part of the Leader’s plan.
“You have become the King of the ‘Seventh Floor.’ Do you have a plan?”
“I will go to the next floor immediately.”
“What about this place?”
“I will shut it down.”
“Do you need to leave so quickly? You may be playing into the Leader’s scheme. How about waiting for the other gods here and gathering a force?”
It sounded reasonable at first.
“But you seem to covet this place. Do you want to become the ‘God of Yesterday’?”
Rene’s expression stiffened.
“This Seventh Floor is the only refuge in 《Little Brother》 where people can become ‘Anonymous.’”
“It seems you have already forgotten what happened because of those Anonymous Gods.”
“They were headed in the wrong direction. The problem was those who used anonymity incorrectly, not anonymity itself.”
It was an unexpected response. Jaehwan had not thought she would say that after suffering such an attack.
“Anonymity is necessary in the 《Abyss》. It is one of the few means the weak have to stand against power.”
“Why should they speak while hiding?”
“Because they will die if they do not hide. Not everyone can live like you.”
A few gods secretly nodded.
“I know the danger of this place as well. Still, the Seventh Floor can change completely depending on who becomes its ‘King.’”
“Do you intend to become King?”
“I have no intention of fighting you.”
“Then?”
“I want you to rule this floor yourself. Build your power here and plan for the future. The Alliance’s great army will be waiting on the higher floors. You do not need to charge in unarmed and destroy yourself.”
“I have no intention of building a force. It does not matter if I am alone. I am going up now.”
Rene struck her chest in frustration at Jaehwan’s refusal to yield.
Just as she was about to speak again, messages echoed through the air.
[〈Metaverse〉 Seventh Floor’s emergency inspection has ended.]
[An ‘Eighth Floor admission ticket’ has been awarded as compensation.]
[300,000 trust has been awarded as compensation.]
[An additional reward will be awarded for achieving a rare achievement.]
[A portion of the World Force stored on 〈Metaverse〉’s Seventh Floor has been converted into trust and awarded to you.]
Then the amount of trust Jaehwan had newly received began appearing before his eyes.
One, ten, one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand…
The endlessly rising amount soon passed ten million.
It was a truly enormous reward.
At that moment, he could feel just how much trust the Alliance had been earning all this time.
“You said the ‘Alliance’ earns enormous income simply because I exist here.”
“Yes.”
“But is not the Tower’s owner the ‘Driver’? Why does the ‘Alliance’ receive the income?”
“Of course, the Driver earns income as well. They have to cover the Tower’s operating costs. But the Driver is always busy, so the Alliance handles event planning instead. The Driver approves the Alliance’s events and shares the profits with them.”
“So the Driver is the one who gives approval in the end. Turn on the broadcast.”
“What?”
Rene hesitated for a moment before turning on her broadcast. With the inspection over, gods began entering her live stream.
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ says they can finally connect.]
[The Dragon God ‘Droyan’ says they arrived first.]
[The Sword God ‘Edge’ grumbles that it took too long.]
…
Before Rene could even greet them, Jaehwan stepped before the camera.
“I am Jaehwan. As you all know, I killed three of the ‘Metaverse Six Gods’ on the Sixth Floor, and I have just destroyed the ‘Yesterday’ of the Seventh Floor.”
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ cheers!]
[The Dragon God ‘Droyan’ looks intrigued.]
[The God of Mortality ‘Thanatos’ looks proud.]
[Many gods are shocked by Jaehwan’s declaration.]
It was the first time Jaehwan had spoken directly through a broadcast, and the gods’ reactions were explosive.
He watched those reactions for a moment before continuing.
“In three days, an event will be held on 〈Metaverse〉’s Eighth Floor. Those who want to come may do so. This is not compulsory, so only come if you truly wish to.”
[The Red Dragon God ‘Drake’ is intrigued by your boldness.]
“Those who come will be paid a small attendance fee.”
As he spoke, Jaehwan showed them the trust he possessed.
The gods became even more excited after seeing his enormous amount of trust.
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ says they want to come even without that.]
[The Dragon God ‘Droyan’ silently looks at Ignis.]
[Some gods express a strong desire to attend.]
[Many gods ask what the event will be.]
“It is simple. You will serve as official witnesses to a match. Such an opportunity will not come often, so think carefully.”
At Jaehwan’s sudden declaration, an unusual message appeared.
[The ‘Attendant’ is flustered by your words.]
It was only natural. This was an event that had never been discussed with the Driver beforehand.
It did not matter.
By the time Jaehwan had reached the Seventh Floor, he had clearly realized something. Everything in this damned Tower ultimately came down to sales.
[The Metaverse’s ‘Driver’ is interested in your declaration.]
The Driver would have no choice but to accept his proposal. After all, it was the passengers who paid this Tower’s operating costs.
Jaehwan drew a quiet breath and spoke.
“In three days, the Leader and I will fight for one of the ‘Seven Stars’ seats. You will serve as official witnesses to that match.”
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion