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nFinal Battle (9)

n“I knew you’d be here.”

nHearing a voice from behind, Hibiki turned her head. At the end of her gaze stood Nate.

n“What are you doing up?”

n“I can’t sleep.”

nNate sat beside her. They looked forward side by side. The object they had seen too many times those days was emanating light.

nRed Gate.

nHibiki murmured in a weak voice.

n“It’s already been a month.”

nNate nodded. He then threw his troubled glance in a different direction. Aliens who recognized him said hello or pretended to acknowledge him in their own ways. There were many waiting in front of the bloody-hued passageway. He had given up counting how many diverse species groups gathered.

nThere’s one reason why they’re keeping their ground day and night.

nThey were waiting for the entity considered as a “half-god,” the “successor.”

nMany were shocked when the gods revealed Seo Jin-Wook’s identity by the oracle. The priests were baffled and asked why they were only telling them at that point, and the gods’ answer was simple.

nThere was no need to hide who he was anymore.

nNate replied.

n“I can’t believe it. I don’t understand what the successor is yet, but I know what a half-god is. So it makes it feel more like a dream.”

nHe looked at the crimson door and continued talking.

n“To simplify it, it means half of him is a god, right? So, if not omniscient, is he like semi-scient?”

nHibiki grinned at Nate, who was playing with words to loosen the tension. ‘He already knows how to joke around. He’s a human being now, too.’ When she thought about the first time she met him, his progress was leaps and bounds.

nShe finally knew about his past, but at the time that she knew nothing about him, she suspected autism spectrum symptoms. It was to the point that she was convinced that one had to be in such a mental state to Awaken a corpse-manipulating Unique Skill.

nHibiki, who was coloring her lips with a faint smile, realized that she had smiled for the first time that day.

nAnd that Nate’s joke hit the spot.

n“I don’t know about all-knowing, but I knew the Guild Master had a similar ability. You too, right?

n“… Yup.”

nIt was evident from his performance. There were many choices and achievements that would have been impossible without knowing the future in advance.

nThe discovery of Nate and Hibiki alone was hardly a coincidence. Hibiki had vaguely sensed that the reason why Seo Jin-Wook visited her might not be that he saw the newspaper article as he said back then.

nPerhaps he sought her after predicting the future and figuring out her potential.

n“But that doesn’t change anything, does it?”

nIf Seo Jin-Wook hadn’t reached out to her, the future might’ve changed a lot.

nBut would such a future work in a good way for her?

nHibiki didn’t think so.

n“In the end, his actions were meant to save the world. In the process… I was saved, too.”

nIf Seo Jin-Wook didn’t appear, she would have lived in anxiety all her life… With the fear that Mana in her body might explode like a bomb at any time.

nSeo Jin-Wook also removed some of the anxiety of all dimensional residents whose Gates were open.

n– The dungeon breaks are gone!

nAfter the Union won the war against the Adgons, an unexpected change occurred at the Gates of all worlds. The message that indicated how unstable the Gates currently was had disappeared, and dungeon collapse reports had ceased.

nFurthermore, even when entering the dungeon, the monsters no longer charged in a frantic state as before. On the contrary, they ran away, scared just by the Awakened beings showing their strength. Their mental state had returned to that of normal creatures’. Such monsters fled beyond the boundary of the dungeon, making them impossible to be hunted.

nThe gods explained the cause of that phenomenon: The distorted System had returned to normal.

nBut the Awakened were anxious about the change.

n– Then where do we get items and Mana Cores from now on?

nTo that question, the System answered through the Main Quest.

nFor the first time, a quest to eradicate Mercadius had been listed.

nAlso, linked quests such as missions to find an incarnate and contribute to increasing the influence of gods were given, and Cores and items were added to the quest reward.

nBut they didn’t think it was enough. Not all Awakened beings had the capacity to complete such advanced missions.

nAs if the System had even considered that, ‘Tower of Choice’ was summoned once again in each dimension, in a very different look than before.

nThe Tower started accepting the Awakened beings without limitation, and those that fulfilled missions there received Cores based on their performance.

nOnly a small fraction of the mortals knew that all of those was a return to the System of the past.

nAnd it was clear that Seo Jin-Wook contributed to that change.

n“It’s the same for me. I, too, benefitted from Jin-Wook. No, that’s not enough.”

nNate seconded her words softly.

n“If Jin-Wook hadn’t saved me from the lab, I would have been continued to be stuck with my friends’ corpses while impersonating a zombie. I would have never thought that it was wrong since it didn’t hurt anymore, making me feel glad instead. I’m sure I would have been satisfied with that and endured, reminding myself that I’m not lonely since I had my friends around me.”

nThe young man looked away. Then he looked into his shadow.

n“But… actually, I knew. I knew that what I was manipulating weren’t my real friends but the scraps they had left behind. That they’re just their corpses moving by my orders and that their souls had escaped. I wouldn’t have been able to stand it unless I lied to myself. Thanks to that, I managed to live through, but it doesn’t change the fact that I had always been alone in there.”

nThen he added in a vain tone.

n“But now I can’t stand it.”

n“?”

n“Do you remember the last time Jin-Wook made us strong?”

nNate’s spirit was summoned to a blank space when he used his Ordeal for Transcendance skill. And he fought his fantasy for a long subjective time.

n“I was confident. I thought it would be alright even after years of disconnection in there since I’ve already experienced it. But then…”

nHibiki remembered Nate’s face when he returned to reality with his potential Mana grown. He was worn out beyond comparison to what she had seen so far.

n“I thought it would be okay, but it wasn’t.”

nHe realized how scary it was to be left alone.

nThe normal life he experienced after being rescued by Seo Jin-Wook had changed many parts of him.

n“That’s why it was hard, but I think I’m rather grateful. I’m glad I became a person who realized such things are meant to be difficult.”

nNate wasn’t familiar with the exact concept of the half-god and successor. But there was something he knew for sure.

n“That’s the god that people want, right? Answering their prayers and saving them. Someone… Great.”

nHe spoke as if to declare, staring at the red door.

n“In that sense… I think Jin-Wook is indeed a half-god.”

nThat’s why he was waiting for Seo Jin-Wook in front of it. With Hibiki.

nShe brooded on her friend’s hearty talk in her head. She was lost in her own thoughts, and when she was about to say something…

nWhooong!

n“!”

nNate shouted in surprise.

n“Hibiki, did you just see that?!”

nShe answered with tension.

n“I saw it. For sure-!”

nA wave started to propagate on the Red Gate’s surface, which had been inactive.

n“#@$%#@!”

n“email protected^$!!!!$^@#.”

nOther alien species then made a fuss and contacted someone as well. Everyone was tasked with informing the main base if there was any change in the Gate.

nNate also had to immediately inform Secretary Kim of it, who remained on Earth. The person who managed the Celestial Dragon Guild on behalf of Seo Jin-Wook swallowed tears when he couldn’t go with the two and requested them to let him know if there were even just a little news.

nBut at that moment, Nate couldn’t think of that. He could only nervously look at the gate surface.

nAt that moment…

n“Ah!”

nThe first ones to notice another change were the priests.

nThey felt the energy flowing out of the crimson door. The kind of energy the priest reacted most sensitively and promptly.

nThey fell on their knees and cried.

n“Oh, this is… this holy energy!”

nSomeone was approaching behind the red curtain.

nThe moment when the waves became more intense-

n“!”

nEveryone held their breath. The Union officials were shocked, looking down at the Divine Power Detector. The sobbing priests shut their mouths. Hibiki wiped away the bursting tears, and Nate smiled brightly. At the same time, he thought of the god’s oracle.

n– He will return from the Void beyond the Red Gate after completing glorious achievements that no one else can accomplish.

nHe couldn’t imagine what the achievement would be. Nate was just happy that he was back.

nHe called his name with great force.

n“Seo Jin-Wook!”

nFinally back, Seo Jin-Wook laughed.

n*

n“How long has it been?”

nSeo Jin-Wook asked calmly after the people managed to regain their composure and the situation settled down. Hibiki couldn’t reply because she was trembling, swept away by tears. Nate was the one that spoke up instead.

n“It’s been a bit over a month!”

nHe then stared at Seo Jin-Wook.

n“Hey… Jin-Wook.”

n“Hmm?”

n“It’s kind of weird to say this as soon as I see you after such a long time… What on earth happened inside?”

nThe Seo Jin-Wook he was witnessing at that moment was the same as before. It meant that the image that his eyes perceived and his brain recognized wasn’t any different from the last time they met.

nBut something inside Nate kept shouting that the one in front of him wasn’t the same Seo Jin-Wook. Something fundamental about him had changed.

nTo paraphrase it as a visual expression…

n“… Halo?”

n“What?”

n“I feel like there’s a shine behind you.”

nAt that moment, a melody rang out. It was a very holy and majestic tune. Nate thought that he heard sounds beyond hallucinations. But it was a misunderstanding.

nLooking back, individuals involved in each denomination sang the sacred song as if they couldn’t hold back their overwhelming emotions.

nThere was a reason for it. Seo Jin-Wook’s divine power at that point could hardly be explained even by his half-god state. It had reached a point that even Nate, who couldn’t actually feel divine power, felt overwhelmed…

nReligious people felt it and fell into a state of spiritual intoxication.

n‘Well, it’s understandable.’

nHe went through a time that would’ve caused any normal human mind to fragment and collapse. In the process, he stopped reasoning as a mortal. Even if one was a half-god, it was unbearable for them to experience a million years of compressed torrents. In that state, Seo Jin-Wook absorbed shards of the god of the mind spread throughout the Void.

nThe result was the divinity that infested his body. It would take more time again to make it completely his. However, upon completing the whole process, Seo Jin-Wook might become much closer to the next stage than to a half-god.

nSeo Jin-Wook spoke, leaving such things to time.

n“I haven’t seen you in a very ‘long time,’ but I will have to stop by somewhere.”

nNate asked in a daze. He returned after a month, and he wasn’t even going to rest but rather was leaving again?

n“And where on Earth would that be?”

nSeo Jin-Wook replied calmly.

n“The last black hole.”

n*

nIt was said that as the news of my return spread, the Union flipped. The supreme commissioners tried to immediately rush their way in front of the Adgon dimension Gate but quickly altered their route after hearing my destination.

nHence, when I arrived in front of the last black hole, I was met by more people than I expected.

nBachurka shouted in a voice mixed with joy and awe.

n“Mr. Seo Jin-Wook!”

nBehind her was the murmur of the commissioners.

n“I’ve heard about it, but it’s indeed overwhelming.”

n“Couldn’t he already be beyond the ark of mortals?”

nI stood in front of the black hole, having a detailed explanation on hold.

nIt was the last sealed place where the Union won the war and took control of. They didn’t dare touch it and instead waited for my return.

nThe fragments of magic, war, luck, and life had already been returned to the gods.

nFragments of the mind god weren’t in the black hole, nor were the fragments of time since they were trapped in my soul.

nThen only one god remained.

nThe god of space.

n“It’ll finally be completed upon returning the fragments sealed in there.”

nBachurka bowed her head deeply, telling me to do as I wished. The other supreme commissioners and members of the Union, who were in formation behind her, also gave their greatest respects.

nI left them behind as I threw my body into the dark portal.

n“!”

nWhat I saw then was the ‘cut’ property spread out like a spider’s web all around.

n– Space was broken into numerous debris and scattered.

nIn the beginning, there was only one dimension, and all spaces remained connected.

nHowever, as they lost the battle against the Void, the mythological era had been put to an end, and a multi-dimensional system was formed.

nAs a result, a side effect called the Dimension Storm was created, and it hindered the mortals from joining forces. The gap between each dimension intensified during the growth in separation. Battle force mobilization to deal with monsters coming from the Red Gate also slowed and consumed a lot of resources in the process.

n‘There is no more need to do that.’

nI glared at the center of the division. A red wave in it wobbled.

nIf I were in the same state as before, “The Fragment of Space” would have cut off my continuity into pieces and fought back. I couldn’t have avoided that spell since I also existed, having taken up space.

nBut my state was already far beyond the level that it could resist from.

nScreech!

nInstead of attacking, the fragments broke down the surrounding space and fled. But it couldn’t get out of my grasp.

nThere was no longer any need to take out the Holy Sword. Instead, I commanded it.

n‘Yield.’

nAt that moment…

n– …!

nThe red energy’s struggle and resistance stopped. The blood-colored divine power that ruled the god of space’s fragment… its ‘mind’ froze.

nAnd it obeyed my commands that followed.

n‘Come to me.’

nSwoooosh!

nAs if the wind were blowing, a red piece flowed into me.

nThen all that remained was a pure fragment.

nI returned it to its original owner.

n“‘Space,’ I return it to you.”

nBooosh!

nI realized the change in the expansion of cognition.

nThe phenomenon seemed to have been felt by all life besides me simultaneously. I heard the voices of mortals on each dimension. The emotions of astonishment of countless individuals, the waves that resonated in each one were conveyed to me.

nI listened carefully. Everyone was excited, and their thoughts poured into me like waves.

n“!”

nA historical event that everyone was paying attention to was currently underway.

nAt that moment, each dimension that had been fragmented and separated slowly began to return to its original form. It returned to how it was supposed to be.

nAt that moment, the whole world naturally began to reconnect.

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