Jaehwanâs body became tense. It wasnât only because of Mulackâs presence, but his words. 10 billion years? Had it really been that long?
âHow am I even alive?â
Mulack began to scan Jaehwanâs entire spirit with his eyes. It seemed as if he was looking deep into entire cells that comprised the spirit. Mulackâs expression turned serious.
[Wait⊠what is this? Huh? Why are you still at the 5th step of Awakening? Still at the [Proof] step? You should have gotten to the 6th step [Edit] if you moved up the stream of the Fall of timeâŠ]
ââŠâ
[You are still a âbeingâ but you still got here? Hey, Jaehwan. What happened inside the Fall?!]
Jaehwan did not answer. Instead, he pulled out the sword quietly and spoke.
âYou awake?â
The sword spoke up.
[Yeah. Iâve been awake for a while now.]
âWhat do you think of this?â
[What do I think of what? Just do what we always used to do. I felt as bored as hell listening to him saying all that crap.]
âYeah. I guess we donât need to listen anymore.â
[You bet we donât.]
Jaehwan nodded. With the power of the [Fall] wielding the sword, [Parts] of the Three Ancient Gods began to take form in a bright light. Machina covered Jaehwanâs entire body and the Eye of Geshtalt increased Jaehwanâs world power as the Void Sword began to replicate itself in the air, trying to make an attack. But whatever Jaehwan did, Mulack didnât seem to be that interested.
[How can this be⊠how can a lesser being like that manage to come hereâŠ]
Mulack seemed to be in distress. Jaehwan thought this was the only chance. Without him knowing how strong Mulack was, attacking first seemed like only chance to claim victory.
The wave of the [Fall] swept across Panopticon.
It didnât unleash enough world power for Jaehwan to be satisfied with as he had been resting in the Fall of time for too long, but it was still much powerful than the Three Ancient Gods in their prime. The Eye of Geshtalt began to spin, Machina increased Jaehwanâs defense, and the Void Sword exploded in blades.
And in the next momentâŠ
Jaehwan felt the shock of being pounded throughout his entire body as he was thrown back. The entire space was pounding on him. Time was going slow to fast, back and forth.
âWhat is going onâŠ!â
Beastlain began screaming. The sword was being destroyed. Wave of the [Fall] perished instantly, Machina was scrapped to pieces, the Eye of Geshtalt stopped spinning and lost its shine. The Void Sword cracked, evaporating into the air.
And then Mulack appeared through everything.
[Itâs a shame. I guess Iâll have to wait for the next Big Brother then.]
As he looked at Mulack raising his hand, Jaehwan felt the feeling of facing a universe and that he was just dust. It was the first time he felt death so close. In the terrifying fear, Jaehwan begged to an unknown someone.
âHelp me. Please help. Give me strength.â
But no voice came back. The space of Panopticon was eating away his spirit.
âItâs being erased.â The time he had fought, his determination, will, precious memories⊠they were all fading away.
There were no words to describe this death. Jaehwan became afraid. But he still felt that he was âaliveâ. He feared his death, but death only existed when there was life. It had been a long fight, but in the end, Jaehwan finally faced his existence.
âYes, I will die. But I will die as a âbeingâ. I would rather die than become a Big Brother toâŠâ
And at some point, it stopped. Jaehwan thought he finally had died. But he just thought if he had died. That wasnât possible if he really did.
Mulack was right in front of Jaehwan with his eyes opened in shock.
[âŠWhat is that?]
Mulack was glaring at the world protecting Jaehwan. A mysterious power was protecting his body. It was his unique world. But it was actually Jaehwan who wanted to ask the same question. He looked around and saw his unique world surrounding his entire body.
But how?
Even if he was at the [Proof] step, Mulackâs power just wiped out the [Parts] of the Three Ancient Gods. But how could his unique world⊠Jaehwan then stopped at one point of the unique world. There were countless scribbles written. It looked a lot like Jaehwanâs own writing, but it looked like someone else had written on it. It looked like a conversation, but it was actually a proof of extreme loneliness.
87 millionth year.
-HAHA Dammit. Iâm done now. Next up, Iâm counting on you.
-Yeah. Leave it to me.
125 millionth year.
-I feel like dying.
-Me too. Save me. Please.
-Ugh. How did the other guys do this?
-Hey, anyone whoâs going to come later, write down a novel or something so I can read it. Oh, wait. I wonât be here thenâŠ
-You fellas are going wacko.
570 millionth year.
-I shouldâve gotten laid with Sirwen back then⊠or Surha⊠no. I think Runald wouldâve been good tooâŠ
-This one became mad after 2.3 million years! Look at what he said!
-Just think youâre in the military again.
-F*ck you. Thereâs no military service that lasts this long. I donât even know when Iâll be done with this sh*t.
-Haha if you are reading this, youâve gotten through 500 thousand years. Congrats.
1 billion, 530 million years.
-Whoâs next? I feel like Iâm going crazy for 1 million years alone.