Chapter 168: Crockta (1)
He looked down at the palm of his hand. It was a human’s hand. He went back to being Yi-An again. He looked up. This space had not changed since his previous visit. The ashes covering the world, the dark blue night, the faint white dwarf stars filling the sky, and her.
“What happened? Why did you show up again?” Yi-An asked in a weary voice.
“You don’t look happy, huh?”
“Do you think I would be?” Yi-An stared at her.
Everything was caused by her. Because of the Elder Lord that she created, countless people committed slaughter without feeling any guilt. Now, even his companions would die. The power of the Ashen God that he received from her allowed him to see the looming deaths, messing up his vision to the point that he could not open his eyes.
She grinned.
“You’re always working hard, Crockta.”
“Hurry up and stop the war.”
“Why would I?”
“You said that place is your world, right?”
“That’s right.”
She waved. Then, the dark blue night sky and faint stars disappeared, and the landscape of the continent appeared in the sky. Cathalu could be seen, and the citizens were preparing to fight. Everyone was busy.
The point of view moved. It moved through the plains and showed the imperial army’s military camp. The troops were reinforced, and knights under the Emperor’s command also joined in. It was a large army. If they began their march, Cathalu would disappear off the face of the world, just like the deaths he had seen looming over people’s heads.
“How do you feel about the Eyes of the Ashen God?”
“It’s gruesome.”
“That’s right.”
The view displayed in the sky moved. It hovered above Cathalu again. The Eyes of the Ashen God overlapped above the people. Yi-An was flabbergasted. Once again, a death mark rose above the heads of all living beings there. There was not much time left. The enemy would begin advancing, and everyone would die before the day ended tomorrow. The citizens were desperately preparing for battle, not knowing the fate that was to come.
“It is gruesome.”
She picked up a handful of ash from the ground and dropped it mid-air.
“Because it is gruesome, I actually hope that they all die in the war.”
Yi-An closed his eyes. In the end, the destruction of Cathalu was what she hoped for. The Ashen God was still playing her game. She did not reveal her intentions or her goals, and neither could Yi-An figure it out.
“I don’t know what your intentions are, but if you say that you are killing them to save someone, I won’t stand for it.”
“Hoho, is that so?” She laughed.
The view of the continent was erased. A dark night sky returned to this world again, with faint stars flickering. The wind blew and the ash powder was scattered in the air.
Her appearance gradually changed. She looked like a little girl just before, but now, she looked like an adult. Her hair was as radiant as the moving sky at dawn.
She opened her lips.
“Oh, child.”
She spoke to Yi-An with the voice of God.
“Oh child, stricken in fear from the sight of the countless deaths.”
The world transformed. Everything was erased. There was no ash powder, nor was there a sky. Only a deep darkness remained. The two of them faced each other. In the pitch black of nothingness, she was the only one faintly shining.
“Look.”
The scene of Cathalu resurfaced before Yi-An’s eyes. It was the view over Cathalu that he saw when he shook hands with Guardi. Everyone’s death was reflected in his eyes. The entire city died. No one would’ve been able to survive. The dwindling countdown of their lives was displayed above their heads, they were gradually running towards a tragedy.
At some point, he could see their death with a stronger force. He could see a dead body in the eyes of a smiling child. He could see a soldier being beheaded while holding his weapon and praying. In the city, instead of the scent of flowers, internal organs, and a rotten stench were scattered all over.
When he saw the burning ruins of the once beautiful temple, he witnessed the pale sight of a dead body that had lost the expression on its once smiling face. He saw complete devastation in a vibrant city. He saw the end of everything within his view. He retched.
‘This is my view.’
Yi-An wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn’t. The tragedy in Cathalu surged throughout his body. He deeply realized that it was inevitable. They would die. People would die eventually. Inevitable death surrounded that place. He understood that he could not stop it with his own power.
“I see death all the time. Life is the process of converging toward death. So, I am trying to save everyone.”
Yi-An gritted his teeth. For some reason, her words, ‘saving through death’, sounded reasonable. Since no one could be saved, it was only fair to give a reason for death.
“Run away.”
Crockta looked at her.
“I value you. Your work is not done. Hurry up and get out of there. If you run away, you will be safe. Your death does not belong there.”
It was a gentle voice. She came close to Crockta in front of his ear and whispered on his nape. It felt as if she opened up his skull and teased him with her sweet tongue.
“You don’t always have to blame yourself for these ordeals. No one will blame you even If you take it easy sometimes.”
Was that so? Yi-An closed his eyes. He always took the hard path. During his short life, he never took it easy for his own sake before. That was why hardships were rather comfortable for him.
“It’s not time for you to die yet.”
Yi-An wanted to ask her more about it, so he tried to speak. However, when he opened his eyes again, he was now alone in the room. He came back to Cathalu from her ashen world.
“I hope it was just a dream.”
He averted his eyes and saw a bird flying outside the window. The death foreordained for that bird was still a long way off. It was free and looked comfortable. The bird’s wings could bring it anywhere it wanted at any time. It did not have to be responsible anywhere, and it could fly following the wind.
Crockta picked up his greatsword. His face was faintly reflected on it. He was an orc warrior with green-colored skin. He did not see any death mark above his head. He was not able to see his own death.
However, according to the words of the Ashen God, it was still not time for his death.
‘No one will blame you even If you take it easy sometimes.’
He had lived carrying the burden of others. There was no need for him to suffer from every death here. He had put in enough effort. Who would blame him for throwing the towel once in such a hopeless fight?
He could take it easy and think of Elder Lord as just a game, just like everyone else did. He could leave Cathalu and travel around Elder Lord, live as a ranker, and use the income earned to live a comfortable life with her sister in the real world. He could sometimes laugh with Han Yeo-Ri and Yoo Soo-Yeon while running the cafe, watch Yi-Yoo graduate, have coffee with Ji Ha-Yeon now and then, and work out with Baek Han-Ho.
As he lived his life, perhaps he would be able to meet a lover who would be with him forever. He had never imagined it. He tried imagining such a scenario, which he thought didn’t apply to him. In his old age, he might even be sitting around with his children and smiling at his grandchildren.
Krooong.
A sudden sound startled Crockta. It came from the black steel helmet rolling on the floor. It bore a crude appearance that erased all his sweet thoughts. Crockta picked it up. Although cuts and scratches would form over the years, the frame was still sturdy.
Crockta ran his hand through the rough surface. The scars of battle remained. Every cut engraved on the helmet was filled with the memories of the warrior.
***
“Crockta, are you not eating?!”
After eating, Tiyo quickly ran up and opened the door. For a short moment, the wind blew, causing his hair to flutter.
“Huh?”
There was no one in the room. The window was open and the outside air was blowing. The big orc warrior, who would usually be wiping the greatsword diligently on the bed was nowhere to be seen.
“Hmmm?”
Tiyo looked around the room and stepped inside. There wasn’t anyone there. The backpack the Crockta carried during the trip was still leaning on the side of the bed.
“What is going on?”
Where did the orc, who would clean up a whole pot of food easily once his engine started, go? Was he going to skip a meal? There was no way.
“This orc bastard, did he perhaps find a tasty hidden restaurant?”
He might have found a very delicious restaurant without the others knowing.
Tiyo thought that Crockta was acting strange. He clearly went to eat alone.
“I’m going to interrogate him.”
Tiyo jumped up on the fluffy bed. He moved his butt up and down, then he suddenly looked at the window. A crow was sitting by the window staring at him with an insolent gaze.
Tiyo did not back down and stared back at it. Just like that, a bird and a gnome had a staring contest. Then, the crow soon cawed and flew out from the window with a grotesque, almost sneering smile.
“What a foul bird.”
Tiyo got up from the bed. In any case, Crockta was missing.
***
The screen opened and an image popped up. The screens that decorated the streets, and the video panels hung on the buildings, all of them suddenly changed channels.
People walking down the street wondered what was going on. Soon, the channel name appeared on the top right of the screen. It was the Under Games channel.
At that moment, the passersby had a hunch of the content being broadcasted. The faces of the commentators and the castor appeared with a stiffened expression. It seemed like they were in a hurry. They were all staring at the camera for a while, and when the cue sign was given, they all spoke at the same time.
-This is emergency breaking news.
***
Crockta was moving away from Cathalu. Now, he was so far away that he could not even see the outline of Cathalu. With every step he took walking toward the horizon, his heart grew more relieved.
It was not time for him to die yet. It was literally as she said.
There was a path in front of him. Every time he moved, the death marks in his eyes changed color. Every step of the way, the world was distorted and the people’s fate was stirred up.
He looked up at the sky, and there was no crow in sight.
“Is this your choice?”
Crockta looked in the direction where the voice came from. The Ashen God, donning a translucent and hazy appearance, appeared.
Crockta was not surprised. He smiled and continued to walk.
“What a fool.”
Crockta carried his greatsword on his shoulder. One sword was all that he needed. As he walked alone, he began humming. He had things to do beyond the horizon. He felt clearer than ever.
He was a warrior, and he was the greatest expert in combat. In other words, he would be more skilled than anyone in the things he would do in the future. People like him never got nervous. With a calm mind, he would face the most important moments as if he were dealing with an ordinary routine.
His mind was clear, and he distinctly saw the image of the world. Once in a while, his field of view swapped between clear and blurry. His body reached the Pinnacle automatically. As he took a single step while in the Pinnacle-tier which transcended speed, he reached the Hero-tier, and then back to the Pinnacle-tier. He went back and forth. He was in his best condition.
The Ashen God spoke again, “You can still go back now.”
Crockta said in response, “Is today still not the day I die?”
The Ashen God did not answer. Crockta was walking to his own death. If he died when it was not his fate to die, then it would be possible for those fated to die to live. He was trying to defy the foreseen death and the Eyes of the Ashen God.
With every step he took, he was causing a stir toward the world's fate.
The Ashen God said with an angry face, “What a foolish act.”
“Yes. You have always been like this.”
She waved her hand. A hallucination disrupted Crockta’s vision, showing him the distant past.
On a day with heavy rain, he met a man and a woman. They looked down at Yi-An and held his hand. From that day onward, he was to call them ‘Father’ and ‘Mother’.
“You always observe other people’s feelings, walking around eggshells around them, and sacrificing for them.”
His adoptive parents, who were likely permanently infertile, ended up conceiving a child. Even as he felt his parents’ attitude toward him change, Yi-An congratulated them. Everything fun was given to the baby, and he had to shoulder all the difficult things.
“You always sacrificed yourself. For your sister, and for your parents who treated you poorly. When your parents died, you jumped into the battlefield on your own accord for the sake of your sister, who depended on you, acting like a baby. All while not being related by blood.”
The shootings, the silent walking, and the missions in life-or-death situations. The sad and wearisome days passed when he had to kill the enemy and sometimes send his companions to the afterlife without pain.
“You fought for the sake of your sister, you stepped forward to save your companions on the battlefield, and you even took up the most dangerous missions. That’s who you are. Jung Yi-An, your birth was despair for your birth parents. You survived and were born unwantedly, abandoned at the same time as you were born. Nevertheless, you struggled while caring for others. You are a pitiful deviation.”
The Ashen God stood in Crockta’s way and said, “Where did your instinct come from? Do you have any selfish genes at all? In a world where you die if you don’t cooperate, are you nothing more than just a hypocrite adapted to nature? Then, how do you explain your instinct of moving forward without stopping even in the face of death?”
Crockta walked past her. His objectives were visible under the hill.
She followed behind Crockta and whispered, “You can still run away.”
Crockta shook his head. The Ashen God’s expression was distorted.
“Fine. See for yourself. You are just a hypocrite.”
At that moment, something flickered. Crockta frowned. The Ashen God’s appearance faded even more, and an unknown force flowed out of her. The system message popped up.
[Assimilation System Limit removed.]
[Your assimilation is increasing.]
[Your assimilation is increasing.]
[Your assimilation is increasing.]
[Your assimilation...]
Crockta shook his head and turned off the message window. The Ashen God was staring at him.
[Assimilation 100%.]
[You are fully assimilated.]
[Your safety cannot be guaranteed. It is dangerous.]
[Warning.]
[Assimilation 100%.]
[You are fully assimilated.]
[It is dangerous.]
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