Just how much time had he spent in this dark world? One hundred years? Two hundred? Yeon-woo had given up counting after some time. Time in darkness flowed differently from time outside anyway. The wheels that moved the darkness and the outside were completely different.
Still, one thing Yeon-woo was sure of was that an immeasurable amount of time that most divine beings probably couldnât endure had passed.
[The domain of fight flares!]
[The domain of death quickly winds the two springs!]
[The trait âIntense Lightâ pushes away the darkness.]
If it wasnât for his newly created trait, Yeon-woo wouldnât have been able to continue radiating light. This was Darkness, filled with blackness that swallowed all.
ăSon. You can rest if you want. Leave the rest to me.ăKronos had once said to Yeon-woo. It was a relief that he wasnât alone in this dark world. His father encouraged him and made conversation with him whenever he was feeling worn out so Yeon-woo felt vitalized.
ăI feel this whenever I see youâŠbut humans are truly interesting. How can they continue to fight like this? Whatâs holding you up?ăThe Crawling Chaos never participated in Yeon-wooâs battles with the Demonisms and was always a step away. He wasnât Yeon-wooâs familiar, so he had no need to interfere. Even if Yeon-woo forced him into becoming a familiar, he wouldâve tried to get out of it somehow anyway.
All the Crawling Chaos needed was amusement to satisfy his curiosity. From his perspective, Yeon-woo was the best research subject that heâd ever seen.ăLove for family? Or heroism? I donât understand. Is it something that creatures like us will never get⊠or are those feelings you canât help but have because youâre mortal?ă
The Crawling Chaos always sought the most efficient solution, so Yeon-wooâs challenge just seemed futile to him. He wondered why Yeon-woo dared to attempt to become the Great Fatherâs ego.
No matter how dim-witted the Black King was, that was only due to his colossal body and greedy temperament that even the Outer Gods couldnât understand. Becoming the core of a being who considered universes and dimensions as a simple dreamâwanting to become a creature who treated the emperor-level beneath himâit was something even the Crawling Chaos didnât dare try.
However, Yeon-woo was slowly taking the flag of victory in this futile challenge. So the Crawling Chaos had asked Yeon-woo again and again what it was that moved him. What was it that pushed Yeon-woo this far?
âShut up.â Yeon-woo wiped his mouth as he coughed blood. âYouâre distracting.â That was his answer.
ăâŠI see. Thereâs no specific reason, is that it?ăThe Crawling Chaos contemplated Yeon-wooâs attitude for a while and came to that conclusion. A satisfied smile was on his face. This was the first time he had expressed emotion. It seemed heâd become assimilated to Yeon-wooâs emotions during their time together.ăFine. A good answer. If youâre just doing what you wish and that means fighting with the dim-witted fatherâŠI should give you something back.ă
Fwoosh! With that, the Crawling Chaos released himself. He transformed into his original shape, a clump of vestiges, and scattered into the darkness. Since he had received an answer that satisfied his curiosity, he didnât need to maintain his ego anymore. He didnât feel the need to watch the result of Yeon-wooâs battle either. He could tell how it was going to end. Instead, he gave Yeon-woo another gift: secrets of the Demonisms.
Dim-witted fatherâŠ! Please lead me into your dream and trounce the beings that took my wife and children from me!
There was a person who lived his entire life as a herb gatherer in a mountain. His family barely got by with the herbs he dug up for entire days on the mountain, but he was always happy. It was because he had a beautiful wife and adorable children.
Then, one day, when he returned contently after filling up his basket with herbs, he learned that all his children were dead, and his wife had been taken somewhere. He went down to the village to ask, and after one year, he found out that the lord of the manor who had come to sightsee the mountain had fallen for his wifeâs beauty and kidnapped her. The man protested in front of the manor to have his wife back and visited the capital to plead his unfair case, but no one listened to the words of a mountain bumpkin.
Why are the secrets still hidden?! Dim-witted father, please listen to me! Where is the end of this world?
There was a magician who experimented for over two hundred years to uncover the secrets of the world. It was the mission from generations ago of magicians who shared his ideals. However, he wasnât able to learn anything. No one listened to him.
Father, FatherâŠ
As you said, I see we had no choice but for things to end this way.
Do I have to be defeated like this? Father, I resent you.
A chancellor who desperately wished for his parentsâ affection and tirelessly attempted to receive their acknowledgment tossed himself off a bridge upon realizing he was only a means for his parents to obtain power.
A soldier was taken to war, leaving behind a lover he promised a future with, and only returned as a prisoner of war after twenty years.
A knight who spent his entire life learning the sword eventually became a master, but he was taken to the gallows due to the envy of the lord he served.
Yeon-woo watched all their lives. In some cases, he possessed people and experienced their lives for himself. He became them, and he saw the world through their eyes. He thought according to their mind. Then, when multiple dreams passed, he felt an emptiness in his heart.
Do you understand our pain?
This world is filled with imperfections. No matter how many times you are awakened from a dream, the same world will repeat.
You were also born with bad luck like us, and your shoulders are burdened by your fate.
Can you be free from it?
Demonisms were condensed regrets and sadness. They were what was left behind by those who wearily cried in the worlds that didnât exist anymore and received the care of the dim-witted father.
There mightâve been some reason why Yeon-woo was chosen as one of them. However, Yeon-woo continued to fight, defeat, and swallow them. He understood, experienced, and assimilated with them.
Whoosh!
[âSky Wingsâ react to the Philosopherâs Stone (Superbia·Gula·Luxuria) and blazes!]
I see. Is that your answer? That might be better than a half-hearted consolation. Heehee.
Keekeekeek! How impudent. A mere humanâŠ
Perhaps it was due to this that the Demonisms were split into two groups: one that supported Yeon-woo and one that was hostile toward him.
The group that supported him was composed of Demonisms who believed Yeon-woo could rightfully rule them, while the hostile group had those who looked down on him and wanted to make him like them. They were also the ones who despised being pitied. Naturally, there were way more of the latter, so Yeon-woo continued his isolated fight. Now, although alone, it was a nearly equal battle.
* * *
Uncle!
Then, Yeon-woo heard it. It was a voice that pierced through the world of him and the Demonisms. It had been so long that he almost didnât remember it. He had a hard time recalling the voiceâs owner, but that made the voice sound more clear to him: Sesha. âMy one and only niece.â
Are you leaving?
Yeon-woo turned back. There was a Demonism that was significantly smaller than the other Demonisms. He was the head of all the Demonisms. This was the Demonism that almost succeeded in killing him in the past.
Yeon-woo started calling this particular Demonism Sage from some time. There was no particular meaning to it. The Demonism just happened to speak like a sage.
From some point, Yeon-wooâs battle with the Demonisms ended with a fight against Sage. Yeon-woo thought if he completely defeated Sage, he could become the Black Kingâs real ego. In other words, Sage was the final gate.
Of course, Sage didnât hand over his life so easily. What was ironic was that although Sage blocked all of Yeon-wooâs attacks and occasionally showed a threatening strength, he usually had a light demeanor that made it hard to tell if he was friendly or hostile. So Yeon-woo gave up on trying to understand him.
Instead, they sometimes paused from their bloody battles and talked. They were able to learn many things about each other and discovered neither of them was willing to back up. Sage wanted the dream to end, while Yeon-woo wanted the dream to continue. However, that was why they became what could be called âfriendsââeven now.
Sage asked Yeon-woo if he was leaving based on his reaction, and Yeon-woo just silently nodded. Sage could only release letters, but he sounded as if he was laughing.
Huhu.
You still havenât understood us completely yet. There are some who donât acknowledge you. But is that okay? If you leave like this, the beings left behind will be furious.
âThis fight wonât end anyway, hm? Not until Iâm done swallowing you all. Even if I leave here, the battle will continue in some part of my subconscious endlessly.
Thatâs true.
âThereâs something more important than that, isnât there?â Yeon-wooâs eyes flashed sharper than ever. âThe matter of whether I can keep you all off.â
Oho. Youâre confident. You think you can?
âSomewhat. All I have to do is break this abyss-like egg, right?â Yeon-woo ignored the Sage and the other Demonisms surrounding him like any other time and looked up. To be frank, he couldnât tell if he was really looking âupâ because a sense of direction wasnât needed here. However, he needed something important right now: an escape route.
You spoke as if you were going to fade away with us in here⊠I guess you wonât.
âI changed my mind. Iâm going to stay with my family a bit longer. Letâs finish our fight then.â
Mm. Our conversation⊠the understanding âweâ have⊠itâs not something that can be cut off so easily. I suppose this is fine too.
Yeon-woo got the impression Sage was smiling, even though he couldnât see his face.
Alright. Come back after enjoying the dream some more, âother me.â
But keep in mind.
As I told you again and again, as long as the dream continues, you wonât be set free from your bad luck and fate. You might want to end this dream with your own hands someday.
Yeon-woo scoffed. âSorry, but thatâs not gonna happen.â At that moment, the world around Yeon-woo began to spin rapidly. It was evidence that he possessed claim on more than half of this deep darkness.
[You have completed the 7th-step Dragon Body Awakening.]
âŠ
[Current status: Black God]
[You have failed to transcend due to an unknown reason.]
The unknown reasonâŠwas probably because Yeon-woo hadnât swallowed the final gate, Sage, yet. However, this was sufficient for Yeon-woo right now. He escaped from the darkness he thought heâd never be free from, and extending the dream by a little more was a feat great enough.
Crack! Suddenly, cracks began to spread in the darkness as the spring of time spun. Between the cracks, bright light peeked in. It was reminiscent of a bird breaking out of its egg. It was transcension.
The egg of darkness that had been binding Yeon-woo all this time was broken. And when Yeon-woo gathered his strength, the darkness exploded and the pitch-black world disappeared.
Crash!
âUncle!â
Between pieces of the dispersing crystal, Yeon-woo could see his niece calling him anxiously from far away. She was all grown up into a lady now, but he recognized her immediately. âShe takes after her father quite a bit.â
Crash! Yeon-woo thrust his right hand down with all his strength, and black-red Sword Thunder bolted down, tearing apart all the hindrances that blocked him from his niece.