Chapter 599
“...”
The room fell into a strange silence due to Se-Ha’s suggestion.
After what seemed like a long time, Meirin glanced sideways at Se-Hoon to whisper to him. “Hey, did you do something wrong to make her say that?”
“That’s what I’m wondering.... I never thought I’d hear someone tell me to die in such a roundabout way...”
Looking down, Se-Hoon made a depressed expression—a sight that made Se-Ha jolt and rush to explain herself.
“No! That’s not what I meant! I was talking about the Emperor of Ascension’s funeral! Like when the Pilgrimage Church elected its new Pope, I thought that if we held a large-scale event and gathered everyone’s wishes, we might be able to strengthen the power of Space with the Law of Repentance...!”
“I know. I was just joking.”
“...”
Despite Se-Ha clearly staring at him in dead silence, Se-Hoon turned back to Meirin and acted like nothing had happened.
“What do you think? I think it could work.”
“Hm... the idea itself isn’t bad, but using the Emperor of Ascension’s funeral feels a little inappropriate.”
“In what way?”
“That man was certainly well-respected, but not to the extent that all of humanity would mourn him. If the target of the Ascension Project were just the mourners, maybe. Since it’s all of humanity, though, he’s still not enough of a focal point.”
The sole reason the Pilgrimage Church’s ceremony had worked was because they only gathered the wishes of the believers, who wholeheartedly considered Karl to be their spiritual pillar as Pope.
In contrast, the Ascension Project targeted the entirety of humanity. Neither Karl nor Ludwig came close to being enough to serve as the central axis.
“I guess even my funeral wouldn’t be enough.”
“Not as of now. Maybe in the distant future.”
“Can we please stop talking about your funeral now?!”
Granting Se-Ha’s desperate plea, Se-Hoon and Meirin ended their playful exchange and sank into thought, mulling over what had just been discussed.
A focal point capable of focusing the entirety of humanity’s wishes on, huh...
Se-Hoon considered it. What would happen if he announced the Ascension Project and appealed to the people by talking about the dangers of the Golden Ring and thus the need for a control system? Would everyone support it?
Thinking about it coldly, Se-Hoon made the judgment that the chances were extremely low.
No matter how noble the cause is, it’ll just look like a suspicious ritual to those who don’t fully understand.
From their perspective, the disaster hadn’t even happened. And yet they were being told the best way to prepare was to carry out an abandoned project that had caused countless casualties in the past?
Compared to initiatives like the reconstruction of the Six Great Demon Realms and space expansion already underway, which were full of hope, who would support that?
I would have told us to stop talking nonsense too.
Fine-sounding words like the peace of the future or the prosperity of humanity could not move people who were already exhausted. Se-Hoon himself had been worn down by the endless battle that had continued even before his regression, so he understood their hearts too well.
Well, that was also why he now knew exactly what to do.
“I just thought of something. How about this?”
When Se-Hoon fully explained his plan, Meirin and Se-Ha both made strange faces.
“It’s not bad, but...”
“Would something like that really work...?”
They were doubtful. Rather than acceptance, they thought it was more likely that all Se-Hoon would get was half-hearted backlash.
“It’ll work. Probably.”
Se-Hoon gave the doubtful duo a wry smile.
***
Two days after completing the prototype, Se-Hoon invited the directors of the Human Alliance to Babel and borrowed a lecture hall to explain the Ascension Project.
Naturally, they were all horrified when he told them that the Golden Ring could unleash another global disaster at any time. And when he followed that with an explanation that the Golden Ring could be restrained through a control system, they were relieved.
They also had the typical reaction to the news that the method to achieve that would be to ascend the entire planet to the top of the Tower of Heroes: they swallowed dryly as cold sweat broke out on their skin.
He’s going to send... all of humanity to the top of the Tower?
Is he being serious right now?
Since it would be too absurd if he were serious, they thought surely not...? They paused upon seeing that the expression on Se-Hoon’s face as he explained was far too serious.
Collectively, they all let out an internal sigh. To think that the moment the war with the Demon Force ended, a transcendent being wanted to wreak havoc again.
If they wanted to avoid that fate....
Feeling the gazes on him, the standing chairman—who had only been elected a few days ago—clenched his fist tightly.
“So, in order to enhance Babel’s capabilities as the Ascension Gate, we plan to add two new special districts—”
“Lee Se-Hoon?”
Interrupted by the standing chairman’s call, Se-Hoon paused his explanation and looked over.
“Yes. Please go ahead.”
“First of all, we understand how important this experiment... no, plan is. If support is needed, we are prepared to approve it without limitation, as we have done before. However...”
Glancing down at the proposal for the Ascension Project they had received earlier, the standing chairman carefully asked, “There is one thing under the prerequisites section we do not quite understand.... Here, this part that says, ‘The ritual will not be activated until all of humanity agrees to the launch of the Ascension Project.’”
Was he saying that they should wage a public opinion campaign until everyone voluntarily agreed? Or... was he saying they should somehow handle those who opposed it?
Of course, they didn’t directly voice that concern, so they just tensely waited for Se-Hoon’s answer.
Giving a wry smile, knowing exactly what they were thinking, Se-Hoon tried to reassure them.
“It means exactly what it says. The Ascension Project will not be activated until everyone agrees.”
“...Could it be—”
“No, it’s not some figure of speech and doesn’t have a hidden meaning. Also, I have no intention of giving separate, unofficial instructions. I mean it.”
The standing chairman blankly stared at Se-Hoon.
He’s... serious about getting consent from all humanity?
In a world where even two people could disagree and make unanimous consent impossible, he was saying he would get the entirety of humanity to agree?
Every single director there, including the standing chairman, had experience leading people. They, of all people, understood how difficult such a thing would be. To them, Se-Hoon’s choice made even less sense.
He could push it through by force to some extent...
It’s not like he lacks power or influence, so why choose such a troublesome method...?
No matter how they thought about it, they couldn’t understand—or rather, they were unable to believe—Se-Hoon’s intentions.
“The Ascension Project can only be perfectly activated when every single person gives their consent voluntarily. Therefore, I ask that you do your best to ensure that no atmosphere is created, in any form, that pressures others into agreeing.”
“Ah... yes, yes. We will keep that in mind...”
With that, he had full approval from the Human Alliance’s board, and so Se-Hoon moved forward with the full-scale expansion of Babel at full speed.
Shall I raise them now?
“Yeah. Send them up.”
Rumble-
Enormous shadows fell over Babel’s northern coast and eastern coast, where there had been no facilities at all. Now, though, there were great masses of land which naturally locked into place with Babel once they fully rose.
Fwoosh-
White arrows swirled like a gale in the north.
Crackle!
Iridescent flames burned with mystical brilliance in the east.
The connection of the two new plots of land, bearing the Blessings of Foresight and Sacred Lantern, to Babel made the existing special districts—Gehenna and Paradise—react instantly.
Hummmmm!
Throughout Gehenna, black pillars thrust upward, spreading the scenery of the Netherworld that shimmered like a heat haze. In Paradise, a golden aurora spread outward from the Divine Tree and covered the sky.
Woong-
The four lands bearing the Blessings of the Eternal, Sacred Lantern, Foresight, and the Law of Repentance resonated. Centered around Babel—the previous Ascension Gate—a strange wave flowed out from the Tower of Pristine at the epicenter.
Just like the model, Babel bizarrely looked to be rising upward despite being unmoving. And, like before, right when that feeling intensified and space was about to bend and ripple, Se-Hoon activated the power of Space to sever that connection.
Whoosh-
The power saturating Babel dispersed and vanished in the blink of an eye, making Se-Hoon nod in satisfaction as he watched.
“The overall framework should be good enough like this. You worked hard tuning everything.”
“Ah, uh, it’s only because you guided me so well, Administrator.”
While Se-Ha dealt with the awkwardness of the praise given to her, Se-Hoon looked around over the newly expanded Babel.
Back then, it would’ve taken years just to get this far. Seeing it now, Se-Ha really is incredible.
Normally, creating a zone imbued with a special power like a Blessing required designing and constructing the proper infrastructure, as well as countless preliminary experiments.
Thanks to Se-Ha, all of that troublesome process was now unnecessary. As long as she, in her role as the Tower’s administrator, judged that “land imbued with the power of a Blessing” was needed, the Golden Ring would simply create it on the spot.
It’s certainly convenient at times like this... but the real problem is that it works the other way too.
What if someone persuaded Se-Ha that, in order to gain humanity’s consent for the Ascension Project, they had to create a dangerous disaster like the Abyss of Demons?
Considering how mechanical the Golden Ring was, a new catastrophe would be born just like that, without warning—just like when the Towers of Heroes first emerged.
Swoosh-
A white arrow brushed past the tip of his nose. Seeing the long-unseen Revelation—Baek-Yeon’s warning—Se-Hoon looked up at the sky with a wry smile.
“I was just thinking about it.”
Just as he had told the directors, unless every single person consented voluntarily, the Ascension Project could never succeed. Now he believed that more than ever. \
“The preparations are done, so I guess it’s time to make the announcement. Contact the Dean... no, the Chairman.”
Ah, yes!
The same day Babel’s expansion work was completed, the world’s press organizations received word from Eun-Ha—who had succeeded Ludwig as the second chairman of Babel—that Se-Hoon would make an announcement about a new project he had prepared.
“Lee Se-Hoon is going to reveal some new project...?”
“What are you doing? Go pack up!”
Babel’s sudden expansion work had already started giving off the smell of a scoop, so when they got the news, the media didn’t think twice. Barely any time passed, yet an enormous press conference hall in Babel’s central plaza had already filled fully.
“...”
Overlooking the crowd that was so vast that it brought to mind Babel’s entrance ceremony from the past, Se-Hoon stepped onto the podium where Ludwig had once stood.
“Citizens of the world. Hello. My name is Lee Se-Hoon.”
Through the reporters, Se-Hoon’s image was broadcast across the world, and people who had belatedly heard about the press conference began gathering before their screens one by one.
[Current press conference viewership: 96%]
Upon confirming through the Akashic that people all over the world were currently watching the broadcast regardless of time zone, Se-Hoon began reading from the speech he had prepared.
“The reason I stand here today is to ask for your help—for the sake of humanity’s continued existence and future.”
With the world as his audience instead of the board now, Se-Hoon once again revealed the Ascension Project while projecting the related materials into the air and distributing them online.
“The success or failure of the Ascension Project depends solely on your voluntary will. This is because it is a ritual that can only be completed when each and every person offers genuine empathy. Not submission under pressure; not a decision made by mob mentality.”
Overlooking the crowd after finishing his earnest appeal, Se-Hoon used Akashic to gauge the world’s response.
[Wish Synchronization Rate: 16%]
A low figure, even considering that he had just announced it. Yet, despite that, Se-Hoon did not waver and continued speaking to the people watching him.
“To many of you, this warning may sound vague. After all, the disaster in question is uncertain and may not arrive until hundreds or even thousands of years from now.”
He understood people weren’t refusing because they were optimistic. How many would worry over an uncertain future that might come at any time?
“Still, the reason I still appeal to you is that all of us have helplessly lost friends, family, loved ones to a disaster that arrived without warning.”
That was why, if he wanted to win people’s agreement, he could not speak of the future. He had to turn towards the opposite direction, to speak instead of the past that had already slipped away. By doing so, he would reopen the wounds buried deep inside their hearts—and make them remember the regrets of that day.
“I, too, lost my parents, my master whom I respected... and countless friends. Similar to me, who vividly remembers the pain and sorrow of that day, I am sure all of you remember it as well.”
How many were left after that long, terrible war against the Demon Force? How many wished they could hold someone again?
Se-Hoon was one of those people himself. Thus, with his entire heart, he was convinced that the pain, sorrow, and regret that were shared by all were precisely what could gather the will of all people into one.
“That is why I hope the regret of that day, the tragedy of the past, will never be repeated.”
A heavy silence fell over the world. No matter where it was, there were those watching with tears streaming down their faces, haunted by the pain of long ago that never left. Having their wounds ripped open, there were those who were full of resentment; it was unavoidable.
Yet, still, Se-Hoon did not stop.
“Please remember those who sacrificed themselves so that today could exist. To those mourning their deaths, I earnestly ask once more. Please. Lend me your strength for the sake of the future.”
Se-Hoon stepped back, away from the podium, and bowed deeply. He remained like that for a long moment, only straightening his back to turn and leave the conference hall.
The end of the sudden press conference, leaving the entire world—along with their heavy thoughts and memories—in confusion.
“The Ascension Project...? The war just ended, and now this?”
“But he said a disaster could happen again. Shouldn’t we stop it as quickly as possible?”
“He said it’s something in the distant future. Do we really need to rush that much? Wouldn’t it be better to wait until things settle down a little more...”
Throughout the world, the reactions were sharply divided. There were even quite a few who openly expressed distrust and suspicion toward Se-Hoon. And yet Se-Hoon did nothing. He could have singled out every single person who harbored dissatisfaction with the Akashic, but he simply moved forward with an event the Human Alliance had been preparing in advance.
“That’s...”
“A memorial site?”
Memorial sites were set up all across the world, everywhere, from major cities in every nation to the smallest rural villages. So many lives were lost in the war; there needed to be places to mourn them.
With the current sharply divided populace, naturally, there were those questioning the “true” intent behind them alongside those actively mourning.
“So much for ‘voluntary will’... in the end, this is just pressuring people to take part in his plan, isn’t it? I knew it.”
“They can call it mourning all they like, but it’s obviously just a public opinion campaign to force through the Ascension Project. Tsk.”
Once distrust took root, it always generated new suspicion. Those who already resented Se-Hoon never voiced it openly, but they continued doubting and opposing the Ascension Project in their hearts.
And still, Se-Hoon didn’t interfere. In fact, he even tracked down those who did—those trying to pressure others into agreeing with the Ascension Project—and punished them so harshly that they could never do it again.
Such decisive actions made the doubters conflicted; their uncertainty were growing.
“What exactly is he trying to do?”
“He should just force it through if he wants to do that badly. What is all this...?”
They didn’t understand. If he had the power to punish, then he had the power to force it. So why? Why was he asking for their consent and simply waiting for them to decide?
Now, not just the doubters, even those supporting him from the very beginning began thinking over Se-Hoon’s intentions once again.
Slowly but surely, time passed—and the amount of white flowers appearing at the memorial sites grew one by one.
[Wish Synchronization Rate: 35%]
Why had Se-Hoon held a press conference and publicly asked for the world’s consent? The choice that people could not understand at first, they gradually did.
[Wish Synchronization Rate: 51%]
From the very beginning, he truly had never intended to apply open pressure or stir people into agreement by shaping public opinion.
He had simply believed. To him, it was a certainty that anyone who remembered the regrets of the past would not wish for them to be repeated.
He believed, and so he waited.
[Wish Synchronization Rate: 86%]
If that choice had been theirs and theirs alone—if it had been a decision that felt like it changed nothing—then perhaps there would have been people who would doubt it until the very end and refuse to decide.
But seeing the white flowers slowly increasing one by one at the memorial sites all over the world... that gradually changed their hearts.
And on the forty-third day after Se-Hoon’s press conference...
[Wish Synchronization Rate: 100%]
[Synchronization of all humanity’s wishes completed]
Along with the white flower fields blooming across the world, preparations for the Ascension Project were finally complete.
