Became a tyrant of defense games - Episode 408
◈ 408. [Side Story] The other side of the world
……The feeling of floating subsides..
I opened my eyes, my mind blurred..
Shoot ah…….
What stretched out before my eyes was a wide beach..
Pure white sand and colorless, transparent sea water…….
When I looked up at the sky, a curtain of colorful light was unfolding. Is this Aurora??
As I observed the curtain of light as if mesmerized, the lapping waves soaked my shoes..
I muttered blankly..
“here… … the other side of the river?”
This is the spirit world)……?
As I took in the apparently alien scenery, I suddenly remembered the situation just before I came here..
“Salome……!”
She calls urgently, but of course Salome does not answer. The surroundings are empty, it's only me on the desolate shore..
Salome sent me to the spirit world and remained in this world..
I laughed helplessly. On the topic of monsters, you risk your life for me..
My life, my flag, how much debt does it have to move forward?.
“…….”
I clenched my fists and slowly unclenched them..
I don't know if we can meet again.
If I could meet her again... … At that time, I didn't want to hit you, but I wanted to say hello properly..
I want to say thank you in return..
I started walking along the beach.
I didn't know where to go or what to do in this unidentified space, but.
When I saw the scenery reflected not far away, I had a gut feeling that I had to go there..
“that…….”
At the end of this coast - the black thorn tree.
Everblack tree branches were reaching down from the sky to the ground..
***
I walked silently along the vast beach..
My footprints left a long mark on the white sand beach with clear sea water..
We finally arrived at a destination that seemed like we would never reach it. I stopped in front of a place shaded by the branches of a black thorn tree..
“Why is this tree here?……?”
The national tree and guardian tree of the Everblack Empire.).
Always black thorn tree - Everblack.
A magical lighthouse that only four ‘guardians’ in the empire can use..
It couldn't be true that this tree is here…….
“Did you come?.”
Then I heard a low voice..
I guessed it to some extent, but I had no idea it was really here. I smiled bitterly and looked in the direction the voice came from..
“You're always wandering around in strange places and causing accidents, but I never thought you'd end up here in the spirit world..”
A man was sitting on a simple chair on the beach.
A man who seems to have been made by God not from clay but from gold..
The absolute king of royalties who does not lose his dignity and grandeur even here in the spirit world..
Golden eyes shining through disheveled black hair-
“……father.”
Emperor of the Everblack Empire.
Traha ‘Peacemaker’ Everblack was there.
“Even though this is not a royal world, but a spirit world between life and death, I am the emperor. ash.”
The emperor clicked his tongue..
“You should call me Abama, not Dad..”
“…….”
“Well, when did you ever properly follow such manners?.”
The emperor, who had been bragging so arrogantly even here in the spirit world, gestured..
“Anyway, what's going on here? It's a place where even luggage can't find its way without Everblack's guidance. From the looks of it, it doesn't seem to have come to Everblack's India.…….”
“…….”
“Could it be that you lost your way and drifted??”
I hesitated and then nodded..
The emperor laughed and snapped his fingers. Just!
Then the tree branches scattered on the shore weaved themselves together and made a small chair. The emperor placed the chair in front of him..
“sit down You must be tired from the long journey..”
Without hesitation, I sat in front of him. I asked, looking carefully..
“Why don’t you scold me more??”
“Isn’t it the privilege of young people to get lost and wander? If you wander around while you're young, you'll have less trouble later on..”
The emperor leaned back in his chair and smiled bitterly..
“Even so, I think it's a bit too much to wander all the way to the spirit world..”
“……What exactly is this place??”
I looked around and asked.
A place where the aurora shines in the sky and transparent waves constantly move in and out..
Here in the spirit world... … What kind of place is it exactly??
“This is not a space for the living. However, it is not a space for the dead... … To put it bluntly, it could be said to be a gap between life and death..”
“The gap between life and death……?”
“When both the living and the dead are here, the boundaries become blurred and they eventually drift away to the other side of the waves. In the end, those who remain here…….”
The emperor gestured toward the beach..
“Those who have escaped life and death and attained godhood. Or only those who surpass the standards of the soul.”
“……!”
When I looked over there, I saw four gigantic figures approaching slowly, cutting through the sea far away on the sea..
thud… … ! thud……!
Four giants of overwhelming size were approaching with clear hostility. Just looking at it is enough to make you feel dizzy, but the emperor still remained calm..
“A battlefield of ghosts who fight for their race or country even if only their souls remain. That's right here, the spirit world..”
A guardian meeting held in the Imperial Capital in the past. I remembered the explanation I heard from the emperor there. I stuttered and asked.
“Then they are... … Are you a god??”
the emperor nodded.
“Yes. They are the progenitor gods and guardian gods of these races..”
Each of the giant shapes had a different appearance..
They may be short and stocky, have long ears and long limbs, have their entire body covered in fur, or have a streamlined lower body.…….
Dwarf, Elf, Werebeast, Mermaid).
4They were the guardian gods of the tribes called the Great Ijongjok..
“In this world, when their race was driven to the brink of extinction and their respective guardians were uprooted, they came here to fight back..”
The emperor glanced at the thorn tree stretching behind him..
“To eliminate Everblack, the guardian of humanity..”
“…….”
“Okay then. Jim, let’s get ready for today’s battle..”
As he spoke, the emperor stood up and pulled out the long sword from his waist..
This is Ishin Cable.
It is one of the four major fronts of the empire where the emperor himself fights with the sword..
‘huh?’
However, although the Emperor stood up and spoke coolly, his condition did not seem to be very good. His posture is slumped, his legs are wobbly.
“Are you okay? You look a little unwell..”
“Umm… … They say you can’t lie about your age.”
The emperor, who pounded his waist with his fist, blushed and confessed..
“……In fact, right after Jim arrived here, Fernandez disconnected Everblack..”
“yes?”
No, here again, Fernandez?
“I knew he was ambitious, but I never thought he would rebel against me like this..”
“…….”
“Thanks to this, the passage between reality and the spirit world was cut off, and Jim was unable to return and was stranded here..”
The emperor was calmly reciting the story of being stabbed in the back by his second son..
“Since the flow of time here is different from reality, it is impossible to know exactly how much time has passed outside and how much time Jim has spent here.…….”
“…….”
“Since Jim is also a living being, the longer he stays here in the spirit world, the more he will suffer. Besides, there is a battle every day... … I don't deny that it was spent. Maybe I won't last long.”
The emperor chuckled..
“But even so, this is a tough fight. It is a burden that must be carried on as long as there is breath..”
“…….”
“If Jim starts crossing swords with them, this place will soon be devastated. leave quickly.”
The emperor, who was walking to the beach, looked back at me..
“Lastly, if there is anything you want to ask, please ask. Actually, when you're stranded here, there's only one question you need to ask..”
“…….”
What I want to ask?
There were more than a few things the emperor was curious about. But if I had to ask only one question, as the emperor said, it would be…….
“Abama mama.”
……This is all.
“who am i?”
The emperor laughed at my question..
“No matter how busy you are, do you live without even looking at the mirror??”
“…….”
“You are Ash. Ash 'Bonehater' Everblack. He's Jim's troublemaker youngest son..”
I asked once more with a trembling voice..
“I am Ash, Abamama's son... … are you sure?”
Then the emperor scanned me with his shining golden eyes, as if on the ecliptic..
“Even so, why wouldn't you recognize your son? Jim's eyes do not see wrong. you are definitely my son.”
so said.
“Go now. This is not a place for the living to stay for long..”
thud… … ! thud… … ! thud……!
The gods have already reached our noses. The emperor said while pointing his sword at them..
“Remember, you prodigal son. The road is everywhere, everywhere, if you have the will to find it..”
“…….”
“So, feel free to wander around. The road will definitely be at the end.”
Taat!
The Emperor kicked the ground and flew through the air onto the beach. The four gods raised their respective weapons towards the emperor..
The light explodes and the sea evaporates..
I turned away from the scene of the mythical battle..
The trunk of a black thorn tree was hanging somewhere far away..
My intuition guided me. I took a step there.
***
she was there.
The ends of black thorn branches woven like a net.
At the end, her entire body was tied and hanging..
Blood continued to flow from various parts of her body that had been pierced by thorns, and the blood that flowed down fell and set her body on fire..
Bleeding from the wound. Burning alive at the same time.
she had a calm face.
“…….”
The mythical battle taking place on that beach was a surreal scene, but the sight of this woman in front of me was no less surreal..
She smiled softly at me as I opened my mouth in confusion..
“It's been a while, Ash... … no. Was this your first time meeting in this ‘episode’??”
It's the first time I've heard a voice, it's the first time I've seen a face.
For some reason it felt familiar..
I blurted out without realizing it..
“……mother?”
Ash's mother, Dustia.
Because it was a woman who looked exactly like her..
Then the hanging woman laughed brightly..
“Hehe, Dustia does look like me. Of course, that child is my descendant... … Just like you do. ash.”
I got goosebumps all over my body..
I was out of breath from an unknown thrill. I asked, shaking..
“you are… … Who are you?”
“I'm embarrassed to say it myself, but I have quite a few nicknames..”
The woman looked embarrassed, but continued to recite her nickname..
“Thief of Flame, First Witch, Thorn Tree Prisoner, Angel of Ashes, Returning Regret…….”
There were only names that I couldn't understand..
When I showed that I didn't notice at all, the woman looked embarrassed and told me the next title..
“These are all names I was called in the past, and people in the world these days treat me undeservedly.…….”
which,
It was a name I couldn't help but know well..
“……‘They called me ‘goddess’..”
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