Chapter 199: Something That Hadn’t Even Been Started
As the carriage followed Hekab up, a massive castle came into view. It was made up of several tiers. The first tier was a dodecagon with a tower at each vertex; each side alone appeared to be a kilometer long, and the tier seemed to be tens of meters high. Above it were shorter tiers, and the same pattern was repeated six times. The final tier took the shape of a triangular pyramid, with each face decorated with geometric patterns that resembled lightning or tree branches.
Ramin thought that something was odd.
"While the tower is gargantuan, doesn't it seem a bit strange? The castle appears much larger than the diameter of the tower."
"That's actually true," Bion replied.
Ramin waited for further explanation, but Bion didn’t say anything as Hekab continued to approach the castle.
The tower was circled by a garden with individuals of various species walking around, playing ball on a green field or sitting under a small pavilion and playing a game of Go.
"It doesn't look much different from the area below.”
"Of course.”
"It might sound a bit rude, but it doesn't seem that special either."
"That's true."
"Then why take the test?"
Bion answered, "People desire it.”
"There are stories of priests visiting the Afterlife in their dreams and peeking into the Tower of Trials. If those tales are true, it seems odd that people would wish for this."
"It's not strange," Bion responded. "Some people always aspire to become better. But there wasn’t a clear metric to verify that. Not until the Tower of Trials was established."
"So, it's not that they want to ascend by taking the test, but they earned the right to ascend because they wanted to take the test and took it?"
"That's right. Only then can they enter the upper world, the pantheon."
As it seemed like Hekab was going to pass by another door, it began to climb up the wall instead.
"Are we not going in again?"
"This way is faster. Are you curious about the inside?"
"Who in the Empire wouldn't be curious about the Pantheon?"
"The first tier primarily serves as a library. It holds knowledge from the past, as well as the Empire’s knowledge that will be used in the future."
"Knowledge of the future?"
"Due to the law of causality, the knowledge of the Pantheon cannot descend to the real world. On the other hand, those in the Pantheon have already surpassed the knowledge of the real world."
Sairan said, "The power I demonstrated is part of it."
Ramin then asked with interest, "You mean deflecting bullets or sending swords flying? That's the knowledge of the future?"
"Yes. It’s the power of the chosen one, just like you. But how one perceives that power determines its use."
"I don’t know how to do such things."
"You'll eventually come to know."
"Can’t you just teach me? I heard that sometimes people dream of their ancestors and gain clues to unresolved issues."
Sairan shook his head. "That goes against causality. I might be able to share a little with the permission of the gods, but you won't need to wait long anyway, so there's no need to be impatient about it."
Ramin replied, "I still find it strange."
"What part?"
"The gods created such a grand space when the deceased don't even need food, drinks, or sleep. So why gather knowledge and research academics?"
Bion answered, "The answer is the same as before. They don't do these things because they need to. They're here because they sought something better, and they continue to do so because they couldn’t stop. It's not that the gods told them to do so, but they came close to the gods because of their pursuits."
Ramin got lost in her thoughts for a moment.
‘So the closest beings to the gods, the gods themselves, are they the same?'
They ascended another tier, and a different landscape came into view. As they approached, objects should have appeared closer and larger, but for some reason, they seemed farther away.
"That's only a rule of the terrestrial world.”
On the second tier, there were people receiving military training, practicing swordsmanship, and shooting. The third tier was occupied by Wizards, and the fourth tier housed many people gathering around what seemed like a small lake, but it turned out to be a mirror reflecting the terrestrial world.
Soon, Hekab passed the fifth tier, which was an observatory, and began climbing up the sixth tier, which was shaped like a long triangular pyramid.
"What's above this?"
"The gods are there."
"...All of them?"
“Unfortunately, some will be absent due to the ongoing war.”
"I don't get why they'd be waiting for us."
"If you want to be curious, so be it."
"...I’m saying this because we’re almost there, but I think we’re on different wavelengths.”
Bion stared at Ramin and then looked upward toward where Hekab was heading. To Ramin, it seemed like Bion didn't even understand what she meant.
Ramin became nervous and saw the carriage’s wheels pass over the edge of the platform after Hekab went up. Fortunately, nothing appeared right away. From the carriage, they saw what seemed to be tens of stairs.
Hekab said, "This is as far as I can bring the carriage. From here, we must walk."
Bion then said, "Follow behind me. Sairan and Hwee-Kyung first, and Ramin and Juran follow after.”
Ramin put her hand to her pounding heart and slowly went up the stairs.
'What happens now?'
If Hwee-Kyung had to face punishment just as she feared, Ramin thought that would be very sad.
'Could I help Sairan and save Hwee-Kyung?'
The thought seemed absurd. She had just witnessed Night Sky rearranging the world. It was something that no mortal could ever even imitate, so challenging him would be unimaginable.
'But doing nothing would be wrong.'
Hwee-Kyung had suffered enough, so suffering even more wouldn’t be right.
As Ramin looked back, Juran’s concerned eyes suggested that he was thinking about something along the same vein. When their eyes met, Juran slightly nodded as if he’d read Ramin’s mind.
'With the three of us, maybe we could do it.'
As they reached the top of the stairs, they saw a vast floor made of square, light-gray stones stretching into the distance. At the end of it, ten thrones lined up. Three were empty, while the other ones were occupied.
“The four have arrived.”
-Good work.
The one who said this was the one who sat at the very end, an Elf. Their beauty that transcended species was apparent, even more so to Ramin, who was once Human and shared similar standards of beauty with Elves.
‘It’s the Dancing Shadow God.’
Ramin realized that all those who were seated were gods. Limitless God, who had black skin and horns on their head, Bountiful Harvest, who wore a white dress, Binding God, who had a star-shaped head, Concealed Text God, who had their face covered, Overflowing God, who had a Goblin-like head.
‘And lastly, Night Sky.’
Seated in the center, Night Sky said.
-Hwee-Kyung.
Hwee-Kyung, who was staring blankly, replied, “Yes.”
As she awkwardly bowed, Night Sky said.
-No need for that. I'm not interested in royal etiquette.
"Oh, okay."
-Do you know why I've called you?
Hwee-Kyung said with a trembling voice, "For punishment, I assume."
-Why do you think that?
“There are…many reasons.”
-Explain.
Hwee-Kyung replied, "I defied your will and tried to gain control over Automation forever. I also became a Vampire, taking lives from others to survive, and I was ultimately deceived by the Angry One. I was caught by that god and used your name to deceive many into a delusion.”
-You are mistaken.
Hwee-Kyung’s eyes widened at those words.
"Is there another sin?"
-You committed no sin. Therefore, the assumption that I summoned you for punishment is wrong.
Sung-Woon continued to say.
-I called you to apologize.
Ramin felt strange, having never imagined hearing such a word from a god, and it seemed the others felt the same.
Hwee-Kyung asked, "Apologize?"
Sung-Woon replied.
-A child of a Human was needed to continue Automation. Thus, I sent a revelation to Sairan. But Sairan went above and beyond what I anticipated.
Sairan walked next to Hwee-Kyung and bowed to her.
"It was my fault. I couldn’t bear the separation otherwise."
-All of this wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t sent the revelation in the first place. Ultimately, my decision gave leverage to the Angry One. This was my mistake. Sairan, you merely made the best choice between a revelation given by God and the pain of separation.
Hwee-Kyung slightly shook her head.
"So in the end, my virtues..."
-Hwee-Kyung, you are not virtueless. You fought for your lover and suffered for him. You also made the best choice you could make. I should have realized sooner. I neglected the minor feelings of those who believe in me amidst reading the changes in the world. This too is my mistake.
***
"Why go to such lengths?"
Jang-Wan shot back at Sung-Woon when he said he was going to apologize to Hwee-Kyung.
"You've done worse before and didn’t apologize for those. Though, I guess this time it could be seen as a special case.”
"Exactly."
"But will this help our strategy?"
"In the long run it might."
Jang-Wan looked Sung-Woon up and down. "Where did the person who said he’d apologize go?"
“I mean indirectly.”
"Indirectly."
"Rather than feeling guilty about each individual while playing the game, it's better to be at ease. After all, the game is a battle of mentality."
Jang-Wan pointed at Sung-Woon. "Ah, that's it, isn't it? You don’t genuinely want to apologize. You just want your peace of mind."
"You might be right... But don’t people apologize to find peace of mind?"
"How would I know?"
"Well, I guess you wouldn’t know because you never apologize."
"..."
"I’m not picking a fight."
"I know."
"I'm just pointing out a fact."
"...That’s even more annoying," Jang-Wan continued. "But what's gotten into you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You could just ignore it and move on like always."
Sung-Woon put his hand on his chin and thought for a moment.
"It's a hobby."
"What?"
"Like when RD floats in the bathtub, or Crampus drinks alcohol, or AR makes clothes with frills, or Wisdom tries to make a computer with rubber bands, I too am going to have a leisure life."
Jang-Wan was taken aback. The only hobby Sung-Woon ever had was gaming, so it was good that he wanted to take on a hobby, but his new hobby was still essentially a game.
'Does he not understand why people have hobbies?'
***
Sung-Woon continued.
-The war in the terrestrial world is too dangerous and I couldn't go down there myself, so I had no choice but to summon you. I never considered if you'd want my apology, but I did this because I can.
"...That is unbelievable."
-I'm sorry, Hwee-Kyung. Whether you accept my apology is your choice. I can't change the painful times you went through.
"It’s okay. This is more than enough."
Hwee-Kyung blinked to hold back her tears.
Ramin witnessed a god apologizing to a person. It was an unforgettable sight. Now, she felt like she was beginning to understand the relationship between gods and people. She had previously seen the gods as using people as mere tools, and she thought that they would just be discarded once they were no longer useful. However, a god had emotions toward a person. They were beings that could apologize. This meant that when a god pushed people into harsh trials, they would also feel pain. Gods knew pain like they did.
'Our world is moving towards a place it must reach, even while enduring such pain.'
Sung-Woon then said.
-However...perhaps we can finally complete something we couldn't even begin long ago.
"Pardon?"
-Bion, begin.
Bion deeply bowed to Sung-Woon and then stood up.
"We will now begin the wedding ceremony of Sairan and Hwee-Kyung. Guests, please enter!"
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