Chapter 478: Star, the Emergency Meeting (3)
『Well, it looks like he’ll be useful in the future.』
Perkwunos found Hsan’s quiet laughter a bit surprising.
Noticing Perkwunos’ expression, Hsan asked, 『What’s with the look? I feel a little offended.』
Perkwunos shook his head and gave him a faint smile. “It’s nothing.”
『That’s even more annoying. Anyhow, among all the candidates we’ve found so far, he’s definitely the best. I didn’t expect he’d be able to buy the [Forbidden Fruit].』
“Same. Although he’s aware of his past reincarnations’ existences and even inherited their legacies, his Hounds were far from enough,” Perkwunos said.
Chang-Sun’s myriad of accomplishments and <Myths> were the reason he managed to purchase the [Forbidden Fruit] in the first place, and the increase in his Divine Class, which in turn expanded his vessel, was what allowed him to absorb all of it. Had his Divine Class and vessel been inadequate and weak, his identity could have crumbled down. Considering Perkwunos hadn’t told him about the danger, Chang-Sun had basically overcome a big crisis without realizing it.
“‘Divine Twilight’ is a special case in many ways, especially since he has already died once before,” Perkwunos murmured.
Chang-Sun was sentenced to death in his Divine Trial, and Thanatos had to pay a hefty price to bring him, a death-row convict at the time, to the <Underworld>. Considering going to the <Underworld> normally meant death, should Chang-Sun’s visit be counted as such?
『If we consider it his death, then he’s already living his 667th reincarnation... Perhaps he has already surpassed the <Mark> after all.』
The method was a little unorthodox. No one could be free from the law of causality unless they were Emperors. Since <Marks> left by <Deus Ex Machina> himself were also linked to the law of causality, they were impossible to circumvent. Hence, Chang-Sun living his 667th life held a very significant meaning—one that Perkwunos and Hsan had been desperately looking for.
『He even experienced traveling to another Worldline back in his mortal days. He’s truly special in more ways than one.』
Hsan laughed in contentment. Although born a human, Chang-Sun had long surpassed his limitations and became a Celestial. Now, he was slowly freeing himself from Eros’ restrictions and transforming into a being of Nyx. Hsan couldn’t help but be very curious about what awaited Chang-Sun in the future. Would he be able to fulfill Hsan's and the others’ dreams?
『... It seems Peter’s arduous efforts are finally bearing fruit,』 Hsan quietly muttered to himself.
Perkwunos tilted his head in confusion. “Peter? Who is that? Did you make another ally?”
『... You don’t remember him either.』Hsan chuckled.
Perkwunos bitterly smiled. “... What are you talking about? Help me understand.”
『It’s nothing. Just think of him as a hidden ally. The deterrent force is getting a lot stronger than I expected. That is all.』
Although still unable to understand what Hsan was saying, Perkwunos decided not to pry any further. Hsan was just an ally whom he shared a common goal with. He had no intention of unnecessarily interfering in his business.
Changing the topic, Hsan let out a sigh. 『I hope I can be free from all this. I’m sick and tired of this.』
Just as how he showed up, his energy quietly dissipated without even a farewell.
Perkwunos clicked his tongue. “He keeps doing what he pleases.”
Perkwunos dwelled on Hsan’s last remark. He felt no different from him. Looking down, he found his hands still trembling due to the shock he had received when he parried away Chang-Sun’s Rád?us attacks.
Chang-Sun had made remarkable progress. He could even impact Perkwunos’ Divine Class now, which Perkwunos couldn’t help but smile about.
Perkwunos quietly closed his eyes as he submerged into the darkness. ‘Hold on, Ithaca. It won’t take long now.’
* * *
Exiting Perkwunos’ territory, Chang-Sun returned to his subconscious ocean—the foundation of his soul and the totality of all his memories, accomplishments, and <Myths> that he couldn’t remember.
‘I have to take them all.’
Fortunately, Chang-Sun was almost done with unifying himself. Moreover, eating the [Forbidden Fruit] significantly increased his Divine Class, finally making him feel like he could embrace everything without compromising his identity.
Concentrating on the ocean instead of just crossing it, Chang-Sun projected his energy into a sphere, allowing him to look at his subconscious ocean objectively. When he did, the world before him filled up with letters, eradicating the darkness-like sensation it used to give him.
I. M. S. U. L...
Looking at the ocean with floating letters, Chang-Sun activated his [Wordwielding].
“Everyone.”
Every sound made eventually faded into silence, making it difficult to deliver one’s intention accurately. This often resulted in misunderstandings.
“Come to me.”
In contrast, letters forever remained where they were written, delivering the same message even after generations had passed. That was why Perkwunos and the other gnosticists converted all knowledge in the world into letters. Once stored in their minds, they could easily bring them up to research them.
Those very knowledge, memories, and accomplishments in the form of letters flew toward Chang-Sun.
Woooosh―!
Letters circled Chang-Sun in a rapid whirlpool, crashing into each other. They combined, turning into syllables, words, sentences, and paragraphs. When they finally became one whole writing, Chang-Sun absorbed all of them.
<I am here.>
<I leave all my memories and knowledge to you.>
<I bequeath my inscriptions to you hoping that my dream will finally be fulfilled after I disappear.>
...
Some letters refused to be absorbed, however.
<No! I don’t want to die! Why should I?! Why should I abandon my identity and allow a lowly being like you to absorb me?!>
It didn’t take long for Chang-Sun to realize who they belonged to.
‘Tomte.’
Unlike the other past reincarnations, who had willingly merged with Chang-Sun, Tomte remained out of sight, likely hiding in the ocean. He seemed to have been maintaining his identity, albeit barely, for the opportunity to ambush Chang-Sun, which he believed would come if Chang-Sun failed the unification process or crossed the subconscious ocean while still exhausted.
<I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you, Lee Chang-Sun! The mortals are meant to bow down before transcendent beings!>
‘He sure is noisy.’
Chang-Sun swung his arm to the side, creating another powerful whirlpool to mix up the letters from Tomte’s energy.
<What are you d...o...i...n...!>
The sentences split into letters again. Nevertheless, thanks to his Divine Class, Tomte still managed to maintain his identity.
<N>
<O>
<N>
<O>
<N>
<O>
...
The letters soon scattered all over and lost their meaning, ending Tomte once and for all. Chang-Sun turned his hand upside down and reassembled the letters into an entirely different sentence.
<I respect you so much that I worship you, Mr. Lee Chang-Sun. I swear I will offer you everything I have.>
“That’s more like it.”
Chang-Sun chuckled as he stared at the sentence. It would have made Tomte fly into a fit of rage if he were still alive.
A moment later, he absorbed the sentence and Tomte’s <Myths>.
Ding!
Ding!
[You have successfully merged with ‘Small Elemental and Magical Spirit’!]
[Total past reincarnations integrated: 664]
The only past reincarnations left were Odin and Perkwunos.
[You have successfully embraced all your subconsciousness, significantly increasing your absorption progress of the ‘Forbidden Fruit’.]
[Current progress: 39.2%]
[The meditation has been completed.]
[Returning to the real world!]
Chang-Sun’s exploration of his subconscious realm had ended.
Woosh!
* * *
J?rmungandr, who had put on his glasses, was enjoying a book when Chang-Sun suddenly unleashed a fierce wave of power.
Surprised, J?rmungandr sprang to his feet. “What...?”
Thump!
Thump...!
The wave started slow, but it was intense and reached quite far, traveling all the way to even the faraway meeting room and all of ‘Nastrond.’
Thump, thump.
Thump, thump...
Little by little, the wave grew faster.
Thump, thump, thump!
Thump, thump, thump!
It didn’t take long for it to behave like a frantically racing heart, shaking not only the building and all of ‘Nastrond’ but also disrupting the fixed spatial coordinates of this place. <Supreme Sacred Light> and <Darkness> soon burst out and blended around Chang-Sun, turning into sunset.
Despite realizing that something had happened to Chang-Sun, J?rmungandr couldn’t get through the intense wave of energy. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt crushing pressure on his heart and lungs.
‘Something huge is going on!’
At that moment, Tiamat and all the other Nine Heavens in ‘Nastrond’ came running toward the room.
“What’s going on?!”
“Is Ubbo-Sathla already here? It’s way too soon!”
Fortunately, the phenomenon began around the same time as their meeting ended, allowing them to rush over as soon as they sensed Chang-Sun’s wave of energy.
Their faces soon darkened, realizing what was going on. All of them were renowned, powerful individuals who could have become Celestial Kings if they had been in any other Worldline but #801, yet Chang-Sun’s wave still affected them.
Paah!
Chang-Sun soon opened his eyes, his irises letting out beams of light. At the same time, a powerful lightning bolt struck the ground.
Thud! Thuuuud!
Rummmble...!
“Move away from him!”
Not wanting to get caught in the lightning strikes, the Nine Heavens distanced themselves from Chang-Sun. Meanwhile, J?rmungandr quickly surrounded Chang-Sun with layers of barriers to contain the damage and protect the other inhabitants of ‘Nastrond.’
The lightning strikes turned into an incessant rain of lightning bolts, decimating the area. Searing gales spread all over, erasing every trace of the energy that the Nine Heavens exuded.
The Nine Heavens could only blankly stare at the overwhelming sight, allowing silence to fall upon the devastated area. They all knew that any words they uttered right now would be rendered meaningless.
Among them, Satan had an especially sour expression. For the first time since his bad history with Chang-Sun started, he had lost his composure.
Rummmble―!
After some time, Chang-Sun suddenly absorbed the hot gales raging inside the barriers.
Pzzz, pzzz, pzzzz!
He then turned to the Nine Heavens, his fighting spirit startling them.
Rummmble!
With a swing of his arm, he unleashed lightning energy and fired a lightning bolt toward them. Wondering if he was launching a surprise attack on them, the Nine Heavens tensed up. However, before they could do anything, their eyes widened in surprise.
Smaaaack!
Satan’s head exploded right in front of them.
“I still don’t like your attitude,” Chang-Sun nonchalantly said.
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