Chapter 69 - Episode 10. The Rebirth War (7)
Chapter 69: Episode 10. The Rebirth War (7)
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It was probably around the time Cheongheo was teaching Cayman, the South Sea Hall Master. When Cayman asked what Awakening truly was, Cheongheo gave the following answer.
“Awakening is learning how to gaze.”
“What does that mean?”
“You have heard that one’s gaze is power, haven’t you?”
Cayman still looked puzzled, but Jaehwan, who had been listening nearby, understood at once.
Awakening was the ability to see the truth of the world.
Awakened Ones saw the world’s true “numbers” and the “particles” that made up the world. They read data other Adapters could not see. They even came to view themselves in an entirely different way.
This was the stage called 「Selflessness」 in Awakening.
It was the stage where one was freed from the flesh and objectified oneself.
Awakened Ones who reached this stage gained a completely new kind of “power.” Because they saw differently, the very resources of the world they could use became different.
That was why Awakened Ones could wield limitless spiritual power.
And it was not just spiritual power. Through combinations of countless pieces of data and information gathered from all around them, Awakened Ones could fight in entirely different ways. They could use irregular skills and techniques that lay outside the System’s rules.
Yet even Awakened Ones, powerful as they were, had a weakness.
“You must beware of 「Alienation」.”
During his training in the Tower, Cheongheo had repeatedly told Jaehwan that.
“Those who see too much are bound to go blind all the faster.”
“What are you talking about?”
Cheongheo clicked his tongue and said, “It means if you keep your eyes wide open like that, they will eventually grow dim, you brat.”
Back then, Jaehwan had not properly listened to Cheongheo.
What? My vision will grow dim?
“You think I’m an old man?”
He thought that had been his answer. Now, though, Jaehwan realized all over again just how arrogant he had been.
Where am I?
He slowly blinked, but he could see nothing.
He almost wondered if his vision had truly grown dim, just as the old man had said.
His body felt heavy and sluggish, as though he had sunk into the deep sea. He clenched and unclenched his hand. He kicked his feet. He could not feel gravity. He opened and closed his mouth. No voice came out.
Little by little, Jaehwan realized where he was.
This was space.
Why was he floating through space? Had he not been fighting his selves in the seventh gate? No matter where he looked, the selves were nowhere to be seen. Nothing surrounded him but pitch-black darkness.
Then, things glittering in the distant dark came into view.
Stars? No, they were not stars.
Jaehwan sharpened his sight and examined them closely.
They gave off faint light from dozens, perhaps hundreds of light-years away. Only after staring at them for a long time did Jaehwan realize what they were.
They were his memories.
“Jaehwan, are you going to challenge it again?”
His memory of Jay, whom he had met in the Tower of Nightmares.
“What exactly are you?”
His memory of Mino, whom he had met in the Forest Zone.
“What do you think I lack?”
His memory of Meikal, whom he had met in the workshop...
Countless memories, each made up of stories and episodes, shone like stars gathered in round clusters. The memories constantly sent him signals, but they were too far away for him to reach.
After looking at that light for a long time, Jaehwan finally understood what this universe was.
This universe was himself.
Countless memories sent him light and spoke to him. Yet he could neither see nor hear any of them.
He did not feel like doing so.
He was too tired to want to listen.
At that moment, Jaehwan understood Cheongheo’s words.
So this was Alienation.
Those who saw too much quickly went blind.
Those who heard too much quickly grew numb.
Even after realizing that, Jaehwan did not feel like changing it.
Floating through space like a buoy adrift on the open sea, Jaehwan quietly curled into himself. It was comfortable. When he shut out the sounds, weak voices echoed in his head.
...
That’s right. I’ve worked hard enough.
No one else could have made it this far.
...
In the silence, Jaehwan felt endlessly at peace. Then he suddenly realized he was still holding his sword. The familiar feel of the grip against his palm.
In truth, he wanted to say that it was too hard.
The instant he tried to loosen his grip, a ripple spread through the silence.
Hummm.
It was a cry.
Hummm.
It was quiet.
Hummm.
But it carried strength.
The sound was coming from his right hand.
The brilliantly trembling blade.
Dokbul was crying.
Hummm.
Dokbul did not ask him anything or demand anything of him. It simply cried there in silence.
Jaehwan listened to it. For a long time, he continued listening. Then the unsettled thoughts wandering through his mind gradually faded away. For some reason, a yearning rose within him.
Strangely, Jaehwan felt that this cry might give him an answer.
He asked,
Who am I?
Dokbul answered.
Hummm.
It was not an answer. It was not even words. It could explain nothing and tell him nothing.
And because of that, it was an answer.
It might not have been the correct answer, but it could still be a response.
That response made Jaehwan feel less alone.
Slowly, Jaehwan tightened his grip on Dokbul. The instant the sensation of its hilt became vivid in his hand, he felt something new rising from deep within him.
Jaehwan slowly closed and opened his eyes.
The darkness around him rippled for a moment. Countless stars shone throughout his universe. Once again, the stars asked Jaehwan,
“Who are you?”
Jaehwan silently looked down at Dokbul in his hand. Dokbul hummed quietly.
Who am I? Jaehwan did not know the answer.
He could only respond.
I do not know who I am.
But I am here.
Jaehwan walked among the stars. The stars’ gazes turned toward him. Dokbul slowly moved.
It was neither a Stab nor a slash.
It was the one Line at the beginning of all things.
Along the path Jaehwan’s sword passed through, star connected to star.
The severed memories returned to their places. As if traveling between stars, Jaehwan passed through countless memories.
There must have been someone who first drew a constellation.
Jaehwan did not know who that person was, but he thought he knew one thing.
That person must have been very lonely.
As he looked at the countless stars filling the night sky, Jaehwan thought about the first constellation.
Precious memories he had forgotten during two thousand years of Stab returned to him. With his eyes closed, Jaehwan thought,
This was me.
His universe slowly scattered, and Jaehwan opened his eyes amid a swelling sense of fulfillment. Strength overflowed through his entire body. He felt as though he could pierce even the sky.
...Had he reached the next stage after 「Selflessness」?
The fourth stage of Awakening.
The first stage, 「Doubt」, discovered the System’s absurdities. The second stage, 「Understanding」, understood the System. The third stage, 「Selflessness」, escaped the System’s world.
What was the fourth stage?
Jaehwan had not yet found the keyword that represented this stage. He could not know what possibilities it held. He only knew, by instinct, that he had reached a new realm.
I should get out of here first.
Since all the selves had vanished, he had clearly cleared the seventh gate. Since the skill was called Eight Gates of Hell, the eighth gate likely remained.
Jaehwan looked around for a moment, then threw open a door in one corner of the room. Another room appeared beyond it.
This must be the eighth gate.
Jaehwan entered the room cautiously. Yet the inside was so bare that his tension felt pointless.
His strength seemed to drain away.
Then he spotted a table in the center of the room. A single book rested on it.
Its title read:
『Record of the Abyss』
At that moment, Jaehwan realized the eighth gate was not a trial, but a space created as a kind of reward.
He opened the book.
“This is a record of my failure. To you who have passed through every gate of hell, I offer my insignificant story.”
...It seemed to be a record left by the Dream Demon who created Eight Gates of Hell.
Without much thought, Jaehwan turned the page. Yet as he did, he unknowingly held his breath. The contents were completely unexpected.
“I still remember the day the Abyss Expedition first departed.”
This is...
The book contained the expedition records of the Abyss Expedition from nine hundred years ago. Jaehwan quickly flipped through its pages and opened the title page. The author’s name was faintly written beneath the title.
Something like a shudder passed through him.
The name he had searched for so desperately.
At the same time, the name of the being that had led him to this 《Chaos》 was written there.
“Mulack Armelt.”
The one who had created Eight Gates of Hell was Master Mulack, the creator of the Fortress of Regret, the Tower of Nightmares Jaehwan had emerged from.
* * *
Slash!
A sharp strike erased two or three Nether Ghost Envoys in a spray of silver dust. Cheongheo cut down the approaching Nether Ghost Envoys wildly and muttered, “...Hah, damn it.”
With Jaehwan tucked under one arm and the Dream Demon Sirwen tied around his waist, Cheongheo flew through the air.
“Whoops.”
He stepped on the severed head of a Nether Ghost Envoy and leaped toward a nearby high-rise building. Glass shattered, and Cheongheo entered the building and laid Jaehwan and Sirwen on the floor.
“You brat! Wake up!”
The Dream Demon who had cast the technique had collapsed, so the illusion should have broken. Yet Jaehwan showed no sign of waking.
“Hey, you girl!”
The Dream Demon was no different. He had brought the caster with him just in case, but for some reason neither the caster nor the target showed any sign of waking up.
Of all times...
The situation was urgent. The Nether Ghost Envoys were one thing, but beings with powerful Spiritual Pressure had just entered Manticore’s Outer Fortress.
They were from the Palace of Rebirth.
He had already sent an urgent Messenger Hawk to Gorgon. Since the ambush had been exposed, a full-scale battle could no longer be avoided. In a full-scale battle, they could use the teleportation station, so reinforcements would arrive if they could hold out for just a few hours.
By now, several more Awakened Ones should have emerged.
They might stand a chance now.
Cheongheo tried to steel himself. Yet the approaching Spiritual Pressures kept making him uneasy. The closer they came, the more the enemies’ Spiritual Pressure intensified.
...How could they possess such a presence?
Lieutenant General-class?
No. This was not the power of a mere Lieutenant General.
Cheongheo awkwardly poked his head through the shattered window. Lords had appeared atop the Inner Fortress’s spires.
The moment he saw them, Cheongheo’s shoulders trembled.
Good heavens, why is that person in 《Chaos》...?
Someone who should not have been there stood before him.
Those of Warlord-class and above never remained in 《Chaos》 for long, since they influenced the balance of power in the 《Great Realm》. They rarely died, but when they did, they also gained priority over the Fruit.
Yet one of those terrifying Warlords stood before Cheongheo now.
The second of the three commander ranks, a Warlord.
A direct descendant of the Sa Clan, one of the Five Great Families, and among the highest-ranking of them.
The eleventh-stage Adapter, the Dark Fragrance Lord, Samyeong Garam.
Starting with him, two Warlords and dozens of Lieutenant Generals flew through the air and landed in Manticore.
The next moment, Samyeong Garam’s eyes found Cheongheo hiding in the building.
[Are you there?]
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion