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‘What?’ Yeon-woo turned to Uranus. It made sense that the Resident of the Border and Uranus knew each other from the Night’s expansion, but Yeon-woo had never heard Uranus being called that before. However, he knew the name. There was no way he couldn’t know.
The name belonged to an Elder God, beings who held secrets of the universe’s creation. And Yad-Thaddag wasn’t simply any Elder God, but one of the leaders of the Elder Gods. Eons had passed, and there were few who knew the gods, so the Elder Gods were fading away as remnants of the past because they didn’t have any will or ego.
Among the creation gods and conceptual gods who existed from the beginning of the universe, Yad-Thaddag stood out. If the Resident of the Border represented the otherworld gods and the Eight Gods of Disorder, then Yag-Thaddag represented the Elder Gods.
‘But Uranus is Yad-Thaddag? From what I know, Yad-Thaddag definitely…!’ Then, suddenly remembering what he saw in the revelations, Yeon-woo quickly turned to Uranus again.
“Yad-Thaddag,” Uranus muttered the name and smiled as if recalling the old days. “There was a time when I was called that.”
The Resident of the Border narrowed his eyes, scanning Uranus up and down with a strange look. “No. You’re not Yad-Thaddag. What you have is too unworthy for that name. You don’t have the omniscience that transcends or the omnipotence that controls all… You’re just Yad-Thaddag’s leftovers.”
The Resident of the Border looked disgusted, judging Uranus as if looking at mere trash. It seemed as if he was being snide, but he wasn’t. The Resident of the Border was denying Uranus’ existence with a gaze of such loathing, signifying that Uranus was like waste that should never exist.
Yeon-woo was annoyed at the Resident of the Border’s attitude, especially since he had Kronos’ face. Even though Uranus had pushed him to the extreme, he was still his grandfather—one who looked at Yeon-woo with warmth.
However, Uranus seemed unaffected by the hateful gaze. “Leftovers… That’s close enough. But as you can see, I have a completely different ego and identity from back then. So what if I don’t have that omniscience and omnipotence?” He wore a cold smirk on his face. “Beings like you stay in such a dark and boring place, and you can’t move freely even with the power you have. What would slaves sucking up to someone else’s ass know?”
“Don’t you dare mock Father like…!”
“Father? Ha. A being who was betrayed by his own subordinates? And he was beaten up by the Heavenly Demon and stuck in emptiness, wasn’t he? That’s why they say he’s dim-witted.”
“…!”
“Father, Father. Aren’t you sick of going on and on about that? He doesn’t treat you as his children anyway.”
Tremble! The Resident of the Border’s face became flushed like he would explode at any moment. He and the otherworld gods had searched to find the being they called “Father” for eons.
The being had existed since the universe’s creation but had been defeated by the subordinates who feared him. Since then, he was stuck in a deep slumber after being shoved into emptiness by the Heavenly Demon… To the Eight Gods of Disorder and other otherworld gods, just “worshipping” or “following” him wasn’t enough. He was their everything. He was the foundation, the roots that allowed them to be. Thus, they called him Father, but they believed even that name was disrespectful and not enough.
Yet, Uranus had reduced their faith to something trifling in a few words. He was cynically mocking them for their idiocy.
The Resident of the Border couldn’t stand by this disgrace. It was a while since he had felt this kind of fury.
『Do you know about the creation of the universe?』Uranus messaged Yeon-woo, who was quietly watching the two, to offer further explanation.
『I know somewhat.』
『It doesn’t just seem like “somewhat.” It looks like you know more about the creatures in the Night too. I guess those creatures are better known in your time period?』
『They’re inscrutable. All we know is what we can observe.』
『Really? Huhu! Guess our hard work wasn’t that useless, after all. That’s a relief.』
The word “our” held a lot of meaning. It didn’t seem like Uranus was simply talking about Olympus. He was speaking of beings who were higher than that—beings who were his comrades.
『Light was first born in a world filled with only chaos and disorder. The universe expanded and countless beings were born, some also dying with the creation of new laws. The few who survived gained sustainability and opened their eyes to holiness.』
The “light that was first born” was the Heavenly Demon. The moment he first said “let there be light,” the creation of the universe began… Order steadily began to take place as laws and concepts were materialized. Although they didn’t have egos, they had the qualities of a god. They were the beings commonly called conceptual gods, and a prime example of these creatures was Mother Earth.
『However, there are a few beings who existed since the creation of the universe. They once ruled the world with “Father,” but they began to feel scared and threatened by him, and they eventually stabbed him in the back.』
A thought flashed across Yeon-woo's mind. In the information window of the Cast of the Black King, there were traitors who were marked as ???s.
The Great Father trembled in fury from the ??? who betrayed him, and he began to resent the Heavenly Demon for putting him in this pathetic state. Despair, grief, and fury are the emotions that now move the Great Father, who is preparing to awaken.
They were the beings who made the sleeping Black King feel despair, grief, and fury. Yeon-woo then wondered if the Black King…
『And that means…?』Yeon-woo’s voice trembled. It felt like he had opened Pandora’s box in someplace he hadn’t expected.
『In return, they were “baptized” by the Heavenly Demon and renounced themselves to light. And as they wished, they were able to create a new universe. They were happy and no longer had to be fearful of “Father.” So most of them found peace and rest and became synchronized to the laws. They didn’t have much strength left at that point, anyway.』Strangely, Uranus seemed to be chuckling.『So there are very few who remember them in your time and my time. Even the gods do not quite remember them.』
『…!』
『However, they are a few delusional guys who think “Father” will return to make them suffer even though they stuck him in that place. They’re such idiotic worrywarts.』
Yeon-woo felt like his eyes were finally being opened.
Yad-Thaddag and the other Elder Gods were most likely exhausted at the beginning of the universe, especially after the fight with the Black King. Thus, they were synchronized with the new universe’s laws of causality. But even then, a few who worried about the Black King’s revival continued to be sustained in weakened forms that couldn’t compare to their old strength. They endured despite being mocked as “leftovers.”
‘Are Pneuma and Quirinale also like Uranus…? But most of them disappeared, so is Uranus the last thing they left behind?’
Perhaps Kronos being chosen as the Black King’s Apostle and Yeon-woo himself being the successor… Perhaps all the things he thought were coincidental and randomly chosen by the system were an intricate result of events from long ago. Then, what was the Black King who knew all these truths thinking?
‘From the Black King’s perspective, I’m the descendent of the beings who betrayed him. Then why did he choose me?’ Yeon-woo's head became filled with thoughts. ‘There’s definitely something to it…’ He was missing something.
『But I feel the scent of our old master from you.』Uranus quickly found traces of the Black King in Yeon-woo. He had read the “death” from Yeon-woo’s left-wing.『I won’t tell you to continue our mission. I don’t even want to know what that dim-witted lunatic is planning, since I know that “sleep” can’t be eternal.』
Uranus said that what happened back in reality was theirs to take care of, and that he was too old to do anything about it.『But this right now is something I… I mean, we should take care of this together. It’s the purpose I must carry to my death.』Uranus’ eyes shone a blinding light.
Sssss. Space was opened in that light before other divine beings began to appear.
“Huh, what’s that? Why is that guy here?”
“Dammit! I was barely holding on to prevent the Night was opening. Captain! What did you do this time?”
“This is why I said we shouldn’t throw Kronos that troublemaker into the Night! He made a mess…! Ahh! I’m done!”
“If something goes wrong, those guys are going to make a fuss to try to find that dim-witted bastard’s traces. This is pretty dangerous.”
“My joints have been hurting every day. Argh. My poor life.”
“Shut up, you idiots! Your loud mouths are the only things that have improved with your age! Get moving!” Uranus shouted at the grumbling gods, all of whom lazily responded with words like “fine, fine.” Their eyes were sharply fixed on the Resident of the Border.
The gods, who had fought on countless battlefields with Uranus and created Olympus, were the comrades who had fought with Uranus to stop the Black King’s domination. They couldn’t hold a candle to their former glory, but that was why they blazed brighter than any star.
『The Night is the territory of the beings who seek their former glory and search for the dim-witted lunatic. They’re dumb and pitiful. And that’s why we have to tear them apart to death.』
The creation of the universe had no use for them, and the only thing they could do was roam around.
『And we protect this universe from their resistance.』Uranus took a deep breath and placed emphasis on his next words.『We call ourselves Day.』
The messages stopped there because the Resident of the Border, who had contained his fury, was exuding a murderous aura. “You insects. I’ll step on you all.” He released his holy power. When he did, the wormhole behind him suddenly became bigger. Night began to spill out of the wormhole and great darkness invaded the world. The Eight Gods of Disorder and the otherworld gods approached the ground.
“You’ve made quite a lot during that time. I guess you still feel lonely, huh?” Uranus burst out laughing.
[‘Day (Eros)’ has appeared!]
Light spread between Uranus and the gods, stopping the expansion of the Night for the first time.
[Metatron descends!]
[Baal descends!]
“…!” Messages that Yeon-woo never expected to see popped up.
From the Day side of the sky, floods of archangels and hordes of demons released an onslaught of attacks onto the Night.