Chapter 328 – Overseer (2)
On the other side of the Dimensional Gate was a thin looking man wearing rather cheap looking clothes, with his back to Sungchul.
Sungchul could tell who it was without being told.
This thin looking man was the man who had resolved the Calamities before, the Alchemist Eckhart.
“I don’t have much left to live.”
A slightly distorted space, as if looking through faded glass, Eckhart stood at the center of this place as he spoke.
“I’m like a spark giving off its final light above the ocean.”
Eckhart turned around.
Sungchul was greatly surprised to see his face.
He looked so ordinary.
Eckhart looked like a man you could see anywhere.
“Anyone would want to become God. But once they understand what responsibilities, what burdens they must endure, no one would be willing to become one.”
Eckhart stood before a worn out desk.
The desk was faded and stained from so much use and time, and on it were papers containing all sorts of difficult to understand diagrams, words, and algorithms.
Eckhart walked around the desk.
A slow gait.
But Sungchul couldn’t find a moment to interject, because Eckhart was not done speaking.
After a rather long pause, Eckhart finally resumed speaking.
“Since all of those whine and moan about wanting to become god are not gods in the truest sense, but tyrants borrowing the name of god.”
Eckhart created an image of a man in the air.
It was a heroic looking man with a strong build weilding two swords. It was the leader of the Seven Heroes, Desfort.
Eckhart looked at the image of Desfort as he continued.
“This man wanted to become a God. But he did not understand at all what a God even was.”
Six dark silhouettes appeared behind Desfort. Sungchul recognized that they represented the rest of the Seven Heroes.
And then Eckhart stood before the Seven Heroes.
He gazed at the former heroes for a great while with a look of nostalgia before turning around to look at Sungchul.
The environment suddenly changed.
The calm milky background transformed into a savagely whirling blue.
Something was about to happen.
At the center, Eckhart announced loudly.
“The true god of this world is already dead.”
A statement of absolute certainty.
It must have been a terribly surprising revelation to hear.
Had Sungchul not already been privy to the secrets of this world.
But Sungchul already knew this.
There was no surprise to speak of.
And for that reason, he could observe Eckhart closely.
‘How strange.’
There was something strange about this Eckhart.
He couldn’t quite pick out what it was, but he could tell that there was something unnatural about him.
How to explain. As if he was not a human.
Eckhart continued while Sungchul continued to stare at him coldly.
“But the world created by God continues to live on. But the world without God is fated to wither away eventually. And for this, the God of Order… Well, he isn’t a god. That thing thought of a way to prevent the collapse of this world. And that was to find an Overseer to manage this unstable world in god’s stead.”
“…I already know all this.”
Sungchul said.
But Eckhart did not respond to Sungchul in any way.
“…The Immortals initially took it upon themselves for this role. The true, primordial immortals who were raised and picked by the True God.”
Eckhart continued his explanations despite Sungchul’s statement.
And that was enough of a proof.
Sungchul thought to himself.
This was just a fragment of a memory of a being that had no capacity to think for itself.
Whether Eckhart knew what Sungchul thought, he continued to explain about the secrets of the world with a haunting gaze, but all of it was just a slightly more detailed explanation on things Sungchul already knew about.
The boring story continued.
“Desfort had thought that becoming an Overseer must make him God. And he’s technically half right. Since the Overseer’s work was to do god’s work. But whether it be an Immortal or mortal, a being that isn’t a God is unable to do God’s work. Though they might rejoice at obtaining God’s power, they soon become reduced to nothing.”
Desfort disappeared.
And in his absence was a beautiful, wild scenery.
Eckheart looked around the scenery and continued.
“Imagine for a moment. Hearing all the sound all living being hears at any given moment. Some sings of love, other sings the songs of life. But the cries of the dying, the despair, or meaningless words. Imagine hearing everything indiscriminately at all times without rest.”
Eckhart let out a sigh.
“Human mind is not unlimited, so it is incapable of withstanding the infinite. Therefore, no beings that is not a god is capable of taking on God’s role without withering away until they are reduced to nothing.”
Eckhart looked despondent.
Sungchul who had been only vaguely paying attention to the rest of the story listened to this part very closely.
Eckhart was talking about the situation he found himself in.
“Just like me. That’s the fate of the Overseer. Expendable beings who are fated to meander through infinity until consumed.”
Deep furrows appeared on Sungchul’s forehead.
Eckhart disappeared.
More than likely, he has already lost all sense of himself by this point.
‘Does that mean I will never be able to find a way to save Bertelgia?’
If he had been alive, Sungchul wanted to ask him.
More than anything else.
But the truth was cruel.
In the midst of silence, Eckhart continued to speak.
“What is this thing that you see before you? Think of it as a wooden automaton. Though I may look like I breathe and live! That’s due to my incredible ability as an alchemist and have great attention to detail. Well, I’ve become like this, but I’ve made it be capable of simple conversations.”
The environment changed once more.
The environment that was swirling like a hurricane had suddenly changed into a vibrantly colored stage.
And books flew through the air.
They were the Bertelgia types who shared the appearance as the Bertelgia who followed him.
And these orbited around Eckhart, dancing around and fluttering their pages quite wildly.
A rather playful look appeared on Eckhart’s face.
‘What’s going on?’
Something was about to happen.
Eckhart grinned.
“Now that we’ve come this far, as the Overseer greeting you who have become the One King, the so-called Scroll of Calamity Eckhart will give you an opportunity to ask me a few questions.”
As soon as Eckhart was finished, a shining text appeared before Sungchul’s eyes.
[1. Who are you?]
[2. How did you become an Overseer?]
[3. What kind of work did you do as an Overseer?]
[4. What’s your goal as an Overseer?]
[5. Eckheart’s secret ♥ hobbies]
Sungchul opened his eyes wide in surprise.
This situation seemed familiar.
The light hearted and pleasant mood he had felt while going through Eckhart’s quest in the Summoning Palace was being reenacted here in another form.
And this might be Eckhart’s most identifiable characteristic.
Sungchul took a look at the choices.
There were five choices in total, but one was particularly eye catching.
Sungchul noticed that he pressed 5 without a thought.
His finger touched number 5.
But it didn’t respond.
‘What’s going on?’
Sungchul once again pressed on number 5, on Eckhart’s secret hobbies.
But nothing happened again.
Just when he was wondering what was going on, Sungchul saw a warning message pop up.
[Oh my! Why are you in such a rush, friend? Wanting to know Eckhart’s secret hobbies without even knowing who he is is bad!]
“…”
Sungchul’s face went rigid.
‘This guy… He really was like this wasn’t he.’
Another message appeared.
[Go read all the other 4 options! Only then will you be allowed to know of Eckhart’s secret, peculiar hobbies!]
Sungchul broke into a grin.
This playfulness, this appropriate frivolousness.
This might have been how Eckhart had been on a day-to-day basis.
He must have been pushed by this distorted world.
Onto the path of Godhood he did not wish for.
Sungchul had the urge to find out what kind of person Eckhart really was.
Though their personalities or preferences were completely different, Sungchul noticed that he and Eckhart was similar in a subtle, inexplicable way.
For having climbed the same stairway to god.
As someone who fought alone to save the world.
Sungchul calmly selected the first option.
The environment changed once more.
At the foot of the snow-capped mountain was a small village that wouldn’t be amiss in a fairy tale.
From behind, there was a light mountain breeze that carried the fresh yet somehow somewhat spicy smell of verdure to Sungchul’s nose.
Eckhart vanished and a shining text appeared before Sungchul.
[This is my hometown of Kodia village. Everything began after a group of soldiers came to visit the town.]
A group of 300 or so individuals of all different sizes and colors appeared. Warriors, Magicians, archers, servants, bards… they were a truly diverse group of people.
Their destination was the demon realm to the far north.
They were Heroes gathered to defeat the first Calamity, the Demon King.
One boy glanced around and joined this group in the cover of darkness.
[An overworked young apprentice alchemist who lived under a harsh master admired them and decided to join them in secret. That’s me, Eckhart.]
The background changed.
300 or so Heroes that arrived at the Demon realm were slowly lost in the fight against the demons until only eight of them were left.
One boy and Seven Heroes.
But the Seven Heroes kept their distance from the boy.
[The legend of the Seven Heroes began like this. I really did admire them from the bottom of my heart. There was not one person there I didn’t like.]
Of them, one woman became particularly visible.
It was the Echo Mage, Vestiare.
The Vestiare of Eckhart’s memory was far more beautiful and graceful than Vestiare in reality.
[And among them was a woman I had feelings for my entire life. Oh Vestiare, my Vestiare. But she had never once looked at me.]
Desfort appeared by Vestiare. The two of them held hands and walked confidently into a castle.
The boy let his head and shoulder drop. In this position, the boy grew up to be an adult.
Behind him, there was a shadow of a woman who looked like Vestiare holding hands of a small girl, but Eckhart did not comment on them.
Meanwhile, the black silhouettes of monsters increased more and more in the background.
The world became covered in monsters.
[Meanwhile, the Calamities gave the humanity more and more difficult obstacles to overcome. The leader of the Seven Heroes Desfort felt the limitations as a mortal and decided to take drastic measures.]
The environment changed once more.
The stairs appeared.
The stairway that extends endlessly towards the sky.
The stairway that leads to the true god.
Desfort appeared.
He took the first step confidently, but he soon stepped down on his own after only a few steps.
He fell to his knees in great sorrow.
Vestiare came to his side to comfort him.
Eckhart who saw this suddenly began to climb the stairs. Sajators strongly urged him to stop but Eckhart did not.
With the other Seven Heroes mocking him, Eckhart climbed the stairway to God.
One step at a time.
