Chapter 842 |
They had wanted to save the world.
They had wanted to protect more people, as many as they could.
They had taken up weapons and stood on battlefields. They had given their lives to hold back disasters. Some brought people together with eloquence and led from the front through action. Some devoted themselves to quiet research in places no one ever saw. Some guided from the very top, while others shouldered burdens from the lowest places.
Every one of them had been different.
But the end of the road they looked toward had been the same.
The safety and peace of the world.
Toward a goal they could never truly reach, they kept moving forward. And one day, in the middle of that endless marathon—
– I have heard your wish.
Moonlight descended.
– But every world is moving toward its end.
The moon whispered the secret of the worlds to them. She taught the truth to those who had known nothing of what lay beyond their own world.
– You can save far more worlds.
If they devoured their own world and rose to become Transcendents.
There were those who refused. But there were also those who followed the moon, moved by pity and despair over the countless worlds vanishing into nothing.
– The ends of countless worlds have already been decided. They will either be devoured by the Origin, or disappear together with the Origin.
The Transcendents were holding the Origin back. But that alone did not solve everything. Crescent Moon told those who rested inside her Cradle the rest.
– The Origins that can no longer devour worlds are losing their power. The Origins, too, do not possess infinite creative force.
The more worlds the Transcendents saved, the fewer new worlds were born from the Origins. In the end, even an Origin could not create something from nothing. It needed something to consume before it could make something new. If things continued this way, the Origin would spend all its power and vanish. And the creations born from that Origin would not survive unharmed either.
But they could not simply allow the Origin to devour every world.
– A new Origin, one that will create and protect all worlds.
Crescent Moon whispered to the Transcendents inside her Cradle, those who followed her completely.
If every path given to them led only to ruin, then they had to create a new path by which they could survive. Crescent Moon told her Cradle that she would give birth to an Origin.
– All living things may be called the children of the Origin. If they grow and grow without limit, then one day they will reach their parent.
She did not tell even the Transcendents of the Cradle the precise method. But the Cradle had a vague understanding of what Crescent Moon was raising. They kept absolute silence and waited. Filial Duty Addicts, Unfilial Children, and the neutral faction alike. They closed their mouths and waited for the right time, so that no other Transcendent would learn of it.
A tremendous span of time passed.
The number of worlds born from the Origins dwindled even further. There were even Origins that had nearly ceased creation altogether. The end of the Origin—the end of all worlds—was drawing close.
– The time has come.
At last.
Moonlight descended, wrapping around her Cradle.
– The full moon will rise and be born as a new Origin. The new Origin will devour the old Origins and possess the infinite power of creation.
A perfect parent.
One that would never devour the world, only raise it.
The Transcendents within the Cradle lifted their heads. They rose to their feet and took up their weapons. Now was the time for them to move. Now was the time to open the final door, the one that would allow them to protect every world perfectly.
“Bring down the system and secure the Nurturer.”
Combat boots and hooves rang out. Claws scraped against the floor, and enormous wings stretched wide.
The system’s influence was immense. No matter which side they belonged to, the Transcendents had no choice but to set foot in the system. The creators who could manipulate that system had never entered Crescent Moon’s Cradle. More precisely, only a Transcendent who was not bound to any individual could obtain the official qualification of creator. Rookie, too, had been drawn by moonlight, but he was not a Transcendent who had entered the Cradle.
The chance that the system creators would side with the Cradle was low. If anything, they were the ones who would stand in the Cradle’s way. The threat of the system was one of the major reasons the Cradle had remained curled in on itself. The system was troublesome to deal with, and impossible to destroy.
But now—
“A gap has opened in the system.”
There was a world where the system had been cut away. The world of dreams had blocked it off, and the garden had wrapped around it once more, but now both of them had been pierced through.
“We will break in through the gap and erase the system.”
The Nurturer was there as well.
Crescent Moon’s Cradle began to move toward the world where the moon had descended.
“Rabbit.”
Young Chaos opened his mouth.
Rookie, who had relayed the situation to him, drooped his ears helplessly.
“Yes, Chaos.”
“Set a restriction and create a dungeon. In front of the Firstborn’s world.”
Young Chaos could sense the gathered Transcendents scattering to avoid what was coming. None of them wanted to stand against Crescent Moon’s Cradle. If the Cradle had been openly hostile toward other Transcendents, that would have been one thing, but as things stood, it was difficult for anyone to step forward. Even if a few got involved, the difference in numbers was far too great. And gathering enough force was impossible; there was no center to rally around, and no time.
In the end, the other Transcendents would only feel the danger after Han Yujin’s world disappeared and the system collapsed. Until then, it would be nothing more than a rather confusing incident.
“Make it so that, for those who try to attack the system, they cannot pass as long as I’m alive.”
“Chaos!”
“Can you do it?”
Rookie hesitated. That was the basic shape of a dungeon. It imposed conditions on those who entered and prevented them from escaping. The system’s power to create dungeons was powerful enough to imprison even the force of the Origin that devoured worlds. Stopping Transcendents would not be difficult either.
“With that condition… yes, it’s possible…”
Of course, absurd conditions were difficult. In the case of the Origin’s power, the condition was that either no invader entered within a set period of time, or all invaders were eliminated. Binding something with no conditions at all was impossible. But if Young Chaos himself was the target, and the condition was his defeat, then that was more than enough.
“The easier the condition, the easier the dungeon is to make, and the more stable it becomes. You’re strong, Chaos, but your opponent is… Crescent Moon’s Cradle, so…”
Rookie’s eyes shook violently. According to the system’s calculations, a dungeon with that condition would not hold for long. It could bind Crescent Moon’s Cradle and sufficiently block outside invasion as well. Even so—
“If you can’t hold out, Chaos… then there’s no point.”
In the end, the dungeon would be broken through almost immediately.
Rookie stamped his feet in distress.
“Take Honey and the people Honey cares about and go back to the world of the First Origin instead! You can hold off the Cradle there!”
“If the system is destroyed, even that will not be easy.”
“But right now there’s no chance at all! And your restrictions. The curses are layered on you over and over. Your body was damaged just from attacking a few times!”
How long could Chaos last inside a dungeon against countless Transcendents?
Not very long.
“Before I declared that I would protect the first world.”
Chaos’s gaze turned toward a distant point.
“Before I was bound by countless curses, I made a promise.”
“Before that means…”
“When the system was created.”
Back then, in a past so distant it felt unreachable.
“I promised I would protect them.”
If they slept as the system, then he would take up his sword in front of them.
A deep smile settled on Young Chaos’s lips.
“With the exception of those who belong to a world choosing to leave the system on their own. The system is a shield that was forced over them without permission, so they have the right to kick it off. But those bastards do not.”
It was fine that Han Yujin had cut the system away. If the ones being protected decided they did not need that protection, then they had every right to step out from under it. If they had cut away the system, that meant they had obtained the strength to stand on their own; all the more reason it was acceptable.
But the Cradle was made of beings from outside the world.
And they were not even attempting to clash with it fairly. They were trying to take advantage of a gap.
“The conditions of that promise have been met, so the restrictions placed on me when I leave the first world will disappear. This is doable.”
“Still! The curses are still there!”
“We don’t have time for a long argument. Or.”
Young Chaos turned his head.
His gaze fell on Yu Myungwoo, who had been standing there in silence.
“Can you do it too?”
“Chaos!”
Rookie nearly jumped out of his skin.
Yu Myungwoo, by contrast, was composed.
“It is impossible for me to create a dungeon on my own. But I should be able to attempt modifying an existing one.”
“What do you mean, attempt! Mr. Blacksmith, you’re still only capable of support at best! It’ll strain your body!”
“That does not mean I cannot do it.”
“Why are you both like this!”
Rookie looked between the two of them, almost in tears. Unlike Rookie’s trembling eyes, the gazes of the other two were steady. They were the eyes of people who had already made their decision without needing to think about it.
“…You could go around. Just a little.”
“Tell those bastards to go around.”
“My friend isn’t the kind of person who would do that.”
Yu Myungwoo opened his system window. Rookie’s tentacle smacked his wrist.
“I’ll do it! I’ll do it instead!”
Beneath Rookie’s touch, a dungeon began rapidly taking form.
“I can’t stop Crescent Moon. She’s already seeped in, and the system isn’t her goal. Crescent Moon alone won’t be able to remove the system either. Her immediate target is Chain.”
A dungeon was created to block the world of dreams. A dungeon gate appeared before Young Chaos. Rookie looked at him with a face full of anxiety.
“Chaos, I—!”
Without the slightest hesitation, Young Chaos turned away.
Rookie clutched at his chest, now stained with a mess of complicated feelings, and watched his back disappear into the dungeon.
It was a quiet plain.
A forest grew thick nearby, and mountains rose far in the distance. Though it had been created in haste, the dungeon was vast and enormous, larger than an S-rank dungeon. Young Chaos’s body grew into that of an adult. A moment later, the dungeon gate vanished.
“I’ve lived too long.”
The words came out bluntly.
He had never thought he wanted to end his life. But he had never thought he would go on this long either. He had assumed he would live a suitable length of time, the way others did. He had no children, but he had little ones who were like children to him, and he had thought that as they grew, he would naturally grow old as well.
“…Being forgotten is rather disappointing.”
It turned out that continuing to walk after every last thing his hands had touched disappeared could not help but feel lonely. He had not greatly lamented it. He had not been overcome with sadness or rage. Still, it was simply a little disheartening. As those small things piled up and piled up, one side of his chest had grown considerably hollow.
Young Chaos untied the ribbon from his hair.
The hair that had been neatly tied up spilled down in a long fall. It swayed lightly in the wind. He took the loosened ribbon between his teeth and gathered his hair back with both hands. It was like an old habit. A ritual for settling his mind before battle.
Yet it had also been a very long time.
As an immortal, he had not needed that kind of resolve. After the system came into being, the relationships between Transcendents stabilized as well, and within that order, Young Chaos had never once thought he might lose. No matter which Transcendent stood before him, they had been dull and tedious.
Black hair gathered together and was lifted high. Enough time had passed for even a habit etched into the body to fade, yet his hands were still skilled. He took the ribbon from his mouth with one hand and tied his hair. He twisted it around, tucked it inward, and knotted it into place.
Who had he learned this from?
One long end of the ribbon brushed lightly against the nape of his neck. For the first time in a long while, he felt refreshed.
Young Chaos was about to draw the first sword his hand knew best, then stopped.
“Right. That one left.”
The black dragon had left his hand.
That made him feel even more entertained. The clear sky slowly began to darken. The Cradle was approaching the dungeon. As Rookie had said, the Cradle would be a difficult opponent for him. In his current body, he would not be able to endure for long.
Still, he had no intention of dying.
A new sword settled into Young Chaos’s hand. One, then two, then three—weapons he had forged himself stood embedded in the ground. Jareureu, metal rang.
“When the little ones are holding on.”
The old sword smiled.
Even that outrageous bastard, it seemed, had gone forward of his own will and decided to try holding out. He was a man Young Chaos found deeply unsatisfactory no matter when he looked at him, but if they met now, he thought he might toss him a word of praise. The first, the second, and the third as well. He found himself thinking that he should at least tell them they had worked hard, that they had done well.
Perhaps that was lingering attachment.
He had decided long ago that he had nothing to leave behind and nothing to entrust to anyone. And yet at some point, this sort of feeling had taken root in him again.
It was pleasant.
Jjeong—!
A resonance like a massive gong being struck spread through the air.
Young Chaos’s eyes quietly sank. Every stray thought was cut away at once. A white sword was held loosely in his hand, and yet straighter than anything.
Jjeoong—!
The sound rang out again, and the sky shattered. Moonlight poured through the cracks. The Transcendents of the Cradle all looked at the single sword standing alone to stop them.
One among them stepped forward. Wings that seemed stitched together from spiderwebs drooped and swayed as the Transcendent bowed their head slightly toward Young Chaos.
“I offer my respect to the sword that has guarded a world alone for so long.”
“From the way you talk, I suppose I’ve never beaten you before.”
Was this one relatively young?
Even in the face of that indifferent reply, the Transcendent continued.
“So long as your purpose is also to protect the world, there is no reason for us to be enemies. As Transcendents looking toward the same place—”
“I don’t have grand ambitions like that.”
Young Chaos clicked his tongue.
“Why do you lot insist on attaching meaning to everything anyone does? I’m doing this because I feel like it. That’s all.”
“…”
“I’ve lived doing whatever I wanted, and that hasn’t changed. In other words.”
The sword drew a line.
The end of that light movement spread in an instant, swelling into a vast wave that surged forward. The Transcendent hurriedly blocked the attack. The wings woven like spiderwebs trembled violently, and nearly half of them were torn away.
“Come at me or back off. Pick one.”
No long speeches were needed. Persuasion would not work either. Young Chaos had already decided, and he would not change.
Sharp metal rang out.
And the Cradle came pouring down.
“…Huh?”
I blinked.
I had the instinctive sense that I had forgotten something.
“Hyung? What’s wrong?”
Yuhyun’s voice came from beside me. He was riding on Peace with me.
Yuhyun had returned to human form, and Crescent Moon had appeared. Crescent Moon’s attacks had continued for a while, but they had soon stopped, and we had… gone looking for Chief Song, who had chased after the Gardener.
“No, it’s nothing. I hope he’s all right.”
Why had he moved so recklessly on his own? He wasn’t the type to do that.
Wait.
‘It feels like… he wasn’t alone.’
Something was about to come back to me, then cut off abruptly. There had definitely been someone. I had felt this kind of thing before. How should I put it… it was as if one gear had fallen out from the middle, and because of it, not only the old gears but even the newly formed ones refused to turn properly.
‘Crescent Moon, Crescent Moon…’
What was it?
It didn’t feel as if this ended with finding Chief Song and returning to our world before Crescent Moon attacked again.
‘And pre-regression Yuhyun’s magic stone… is still left.’
The thing I absolutely had to recover.
The present Yuhyun had returned safely, and I had also said goodbye to the twenty-six-year-old Yuhyun. The only thing left at the end was the magic stone, but… it felt as if there was one more thing.
It bothered me.
“It looks like he fell over there!”
Yerim shouted.
Among the familiar scenery, I saw a building whose top had vanished as if it had been sliced clean off. It did not look like the kind of damage that would have been caused simply by the Gardener falling into it. Chief Song could not have done that either, so was it Crescent Moon’s doing?
– Chief Song Taewon is collapsed in front of the building.
Noah, in his electric dragon form, spoke.
Soon, I could see Chief Song as well. On the asphalt, caved in as if he had fallen from the top of the building, Chief Song was struggling to push himself upright.
“Chief Song!”
His violently trembling eyes looked at me.
–TL Notes–
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