Chapter 510: Side Story, Reunion (4)
As Doppy, Ryun, and I flew over Thunder Axe’s garden, I shared my adventures from after the ninetieth floor.
To me, their departure was a thing of the distant past. Thankfully, after returning to Earth and watching recordings from that time, the memories resurfaced with striking clarity, along with any lingering sentiments and emotions.
Of course, Ryun and Doppy listened intently. At times, their mouths fell open in disbelief. At others, they furrowed their brows, sharing in my feelings without needing further explanation.
Just watching their reactions brought me an unexpected sense of comfort. Perhaps it was because we had endured such difficult trials side by side, depending on one another much of the time.
“I’m... sorry... I couldn’t... stay... with you,” Ryun declared in a tone heavy with regret, and Doppy wore much the same expression.
We had climbed the tower together as comrades, and I knew if our positions had been reversed, I would feel the same. That said, being completely honest, I was glad that I had climbed alone. If Ryun and Doppy had accompanied me, they would have died.
I let a small grin slip across my face as I lightly joked, “If that had happened, we wouldn’t have been able to reunite like this.”
Ryun clicked his tongue and feigned irritation. “Tsk... I still... clearly... remember... waiting... for your... moment of... enlightenment.”
“Come on. How long has it been since then?”
“That’s right! It was ages ago! Now Su-Yeok is way stronger than Ryun! No, actually, he always was!”
In response to Doppy’s enthusiastic support, Ryun exaggeratedly scrunched his brow. “You... insolent... brats.”
We laughed together. It was a good time.
We shared a meal beneath Sorien’s shade and lingered a while longer, exchanging small, unimportant stories. Ryun didn’t have any pressing duties, and I had been resting lately as well, so most of the conversation centered around Doppy’s feats.
He spoke about returning to his homeland and helping its people. About moments when he struggled to decide, uncertain whether he was choosing correctly. Without having to coordinate, Ryun and I alternated between offering advice and quietly empathizing.
Eventually, we exchanged farewells and went our separate ways. There were still many people I wanted to visit.
Natalie, along with Gehenna and her daughter. Others I met during trials, along with numerous gods.
I had traveled with some of them in the past, but everyone had their own responsibilities now. Strictly speaking, Ryun couldn’t be called “busy,” but he was with Sorien all the same.
There was another reason as well, something I had realized thanks to Seo Ho-Su and my party members. When meeting those bound to me by fate, I should go alone. After all, time was something I had in abundance. There would be no shortage of opportunities to reminisce together later. Also, after spending such a long time resting peacefully, I yearned to move about in earnest.
And so I did.
I visited Natalie, Gehenna, and Hyang. I met the revived Comet, Kyuntitriache, and Tunyak. I also sought out Thunder Axe, Master of the Five Carriage Wheels, and gods with whom I had formed connections, including Fenrike and Paraktus.
Each meeting warmed my heart, and they expressed their gratitude and acknowledged the hardships I had endured. Well, to be precise, my encounters with the gods were slightly awkward. We had helped one another, but we weren’t especially close.
Still, it was good to see them.
Everyone was living their lives in peace.
Comet and Tunyak had each found partners and even had children already. The others, too, were each walking their own paths. They were no longer tossed about by problems originating from beyond their worlds.
Up to that point, the time I spent with them had been filled with happiness and a sense of quiet restoration.
After being lonely for so long, it felt like the social graces I had once lost were slowly returning, along with a subtle correction to the slightly warped edges my personality had developed in isolation.
On the other hand, whenever I encountered gods bound to me by bitter ties, my mood shifted unmistakably. Moreover, I found it difficult to ignore the unease that followed.
Ugh.
Regardless of my ability to distinguish those capable of redemption from those who couldn’t, a deep-seated anger remained within me. It stemmed partly from what they had done, but not entirely.
What weighed on me the most was that I couldn’t identify a single, clear origin for their failings. Simply put, it could be argued that Aurora and the climbers existed because of them. They had created Kalain. In a sense, they had created me as well.
However, I couldn’t direct all of that anger solely at them.
They hadn’t been born that way. The structure that governed everything had shaped them, as well. I couldn’t exactly place blame upon the Primordial God as the original culprit, either.
That said, I wasn’t extending a blanket forgiveness. Justice had to be served.
The guilty gods came in various shapes, sizes, and personalities. Some confessed their sins of their own accord, repenting and bowing their heads. Others didn’t, while plenty clung to excuses and insisted they hadn’t had a choice.
So many of them infuriate me, and yeah, some of them really are just like that.
Among the gods to be judged were those who had chosen to follow Kalain after estimating that he was more likely to prevail against Thunder Axe’s faction. They had done that for the sake of their own worlds. In an effort to govern their domains peacefully, they carried out only what Kalain explicitly demanded—such as invading other worlds.
Even then, they did so conservatively without excess. Rather than exploiting or persecuting the native inhabitants, they simply maintained those worlds in their existing state.
Unfortunately, they weren’t my largest issue. Some gods refused to communicate, no matter what approach I took. Not only that, but they imposed harsh and merciless restrictions on their citizens. From the outset, they possessed corrupt and malevolent beliefs.
The Primordial God had regarded these gods—proponents of cannibalism, murder, and human sacrifice—as their children, but I didn’t intend to tolerate such beings. Stagnant Terror was a clear example. He was incapable of change, and even standing before me, he maintained a defiant composure as if nothing could shake him.
I could have erased him and all like him in an instant, but I chose not to deal with them in that manner.
“Come in.”
For the first time in a long while, I grasped Soulbound.
***
The social ease I had slowly regained was driven back into the depths of my mind while dealing with these gods. Physically, I felt fine, but fatigue weighed heavily on my mind.
Everyone looked up to me, praising me for having saved the world. They weren’t wrong, but just as no struggle that yields a favorable outcome can ever be perfect, the same held true for me.
I hadn’t saved myself yet. Only time would resolve my wounds, though, sooner or later. Ha Hee-Jeong understood that better than anyone. From the very beginning, she knew me best. That was why I immediately sought her out after handling the nefarious gods. I needed stability, both physically and emotionally.
As soon as she saw me, her expression stiffened for a brief instant.
A moment later, she softened and offered a faint smile as she pulled me into her arms. “What is it? Did it go poorly?”
I stared at her morosely for a second before responding, “No.”
“Seriously, who did this to my boy? I worked so hard, you know.”
A dry, hollow chuckle uncontrollably slipped out from my lips. “Those awful gods. Go scold them.”
“Didn’t you already scold all of them yourself?”
I wanted to fire back with a joke, but there was no arguing with that. “That’s true.”
“Still. You should’ve let me do it.”
Just being close to her made the chill around my heart gradually fade. When I fell silent, she gently ran a hand along my back.
“You worked hard. If it gets tough, just stay on Earth. Meet the climbers now and then, and spend your days with me.”
Those words brought me comfort, far more than any gratitude I had heard until now. Meeting Doppy and Ryun had been the same. Acknowledgement of one’s weariness was far more soothing than a simple thanks.
I preferred being seen as myself rather than as some transcendent being who had saved everything. Even if I had inherited the Primordial God’s power and position, I was still Kwon Su-Hyeok, born and raised on Earth.
“Haaaa. Yeah, I think I will.”
Spending time with Ha Hee-Jeong had tricked me into thinking I was recovering, but that wasn’t quite it. I had only seemed fine because we were together.
Earth contained countless stories about heroes. Some defeated the Demon King, married the princess, and ascended the throne. Others retreated to quiet countryside villages and lived out their days there.
I had always believed that the latter felt closer to reality, and I understood that all the more clearly after having to handle the malicious gods. Like those fantastical heroes, I needed to mentally recuperate for a while—perhaps for even longer than I cared to admit.
I rested my chin against Ha Hee-Jeong’s shoulder. “Shall we go on a trip?”
“Sounds good. Where to this time? Hawaii? Mojito? We could even have a drink in the Maldives.”
Perhaps she wanted to make me smile. She rarely joked, but she had spoken with a playful ease this time around. It wasn’t especially funny, but I still let out a slight laugh nonetheless.
“No. Not on Earth. Somewhere else.”
“Another world?”
“Somewhere we visited during a trial would be fine, or Doppy’s homeworld. I just want to wander around for a bit. Help someone if the chance comes up. Comfortably and freely.”
“Comfortably and freely,” she repeated the words, nodding in agreement. “Alright. But before that, make sure you visit our other party members.”
“Yeah. We don’t know when we’ll be back.”
***
Some time had passed since Kwon Su-Hyeok and Ha Hee-Jeong left Earth.
Meanwhile, Seo Ho-Su remained deeply absorbed in his streams. During the day, he used his abilities to take part in various volunteer efforts. In the evenings, he went live. As time passed, the number of viewers on his channel dropped considerably, more than tenfold.
Of course, considering that his very first stream had easily surpassed one million concurrent viewers, it still meant that around a hundred thousand people regularly tuned into his broadcasts.
However, today was different.
From the moment the stream began, several hundred thousand viewers flooded in at once. The rare occurrence had a simple explanation—Seo Ho-Su had invited Alexei as a special guest.
Since returning to Earth, Alexei had kept a low public profile, aside from when she stood alongside other climbers for notable events. Because of that, while she didn’t draw quite as much attention as Kwon Su-Hyeok or Ha Hee-Jeong, she still commanded significant interest.
“Was climbing the tower difficult? Not at all! Su-Hyeok handled most of it. I never once saw anyone stronger than him.”
- Just a Su-Hyeok simp...
- LMAOOOOOOOO.
- Noona. 😣
- Is Alexei insane lol?
- First interview after coming back to Earth, and she’s a full-on Light Su-Hyeok stan LMAOOO!
- A stan? Are you out of your mind??? Call her a believer.
“ Well, to be fully honest, some moments were difficult. Of course, that wasn’t because the opponents were strong. It was because they fought dirty, avoiding Su-Hyeok and trying to overwhelm us with numbers.”
Alexei delivered her declaration as if it were obvious, remaining completely nonplussed the entire time. Though she had spoken formally and politely, unlike her usual manner, the atmosphere hadn’t shifted at all.
“Thinking about it now just makes me irritated. Seriously. Mother fuckers, ganging up like that.”
- LMAOOOOOOOOOO!
- Wait, lol, didn’t Alexei struggle in a 1v1 on like multiple floors?
- Yeah, not just once or twice either AHAHHA.
- Frfr. 😂
- Facts. LOL.
- God Hee-Jeong literally saved her that one time.
- Alexei said it herself that since they saved each other, it cancels out, right? 😂
- Then what about Su-Hyeok saving her?
- Well, just a Su-Hyeok moment.
- Sumen...
Alexei skimmed the chat and spotted a series of chats that caught her interest. She shrugged casually. “Struggled? Me? That wasn’t the case at all. I was acting like I was struggling.”
- ?????
- ??? “I acted and almost died” storytime incoming.
- 😂
“Of course, I struggled against Su-Hyeok. Sparring with him was the hardest thing I went through in the tower.”
- Just Light himself.
- Light Light-Hyeok.
- Sumen.
- Wait, wasn’t she ranked third out of all the climbers? Thought there’d be at least some rivalry LOL.
- Nope. Literally none. 😭😭😭
- Be real, how could there be?
- Her praising Su-Hyeok with a straight face makes it even funnier lol.
Watching the chat explode, Seo Ho-Su felt a faint sense of unease. Alexei was doing far better on the broadcast than he had expected. Of course, a large part of it came from the sheer mystery surrounding her.
Still, beyond that, her naturally distinctive personality gave her a strong on-screen presence, and her connection to Kwon Su-Hyeok only amplified it further. However, Seo Ho-Su didn’t feel jealous or competitive. As someone still relatively new to streaming, all he could do was observe and learn.
Laughing along, Seo Ho-Su nodded in agreement.
- Didn’t Alexei have feelings for Su-Hyeok?
Reading the comment, Alexei let out her first sigh of the stream. “Yes, I did. Unfortunately for me, they were too close for me to step in. I’m fine now.”
She pushed out her chest slightly, as if showing off her confidence. “I’m a strong woman. I got over heartbreak a long time ago.”
- She is actually strong as hell LMAOOO.
- Fr, mess up once, and a double-edged axe is coming straight for you! 💀
- Second strongest Earthling when it comes to raw strength, btw. 💪
Alexei smiled faintly, then muttered as if she were letting out some personal complaint, “Still, I don’t know. I’m not sure there’s a man better than Su-Hyeok out there. Or even someone who comes close to half of him.”
- Imagine your point of comparison being Light Su-Hyeok lol.
- Breaking news: Alexei has been eliminated from the “potential bride” list.
- Didn’t YOU get eliminated though?
- ... Cold. Damn.
- So to even catch Alexei’s eye, you gotta be at least half of Light Su-Hyeok? Guess I’m starting training today. 😭
- You think “half of Light Su-Hyeok” is light work or what... 💀
- Saying that like it’s easy... it isn’t just easy to say, it’s hard to say too LMAOOOO.
- Fr! 😂
