Chapter 180

Three years ago.

Fourteen-year-old Baek Jun-woo sat in Arsenal #7, lost in thought.

‘Should I? Should I not…?’

He jumped up from his seat and paced around restlessly.

‘Should I? Let’s do it! Yes. Let’s do it. It’s not like I’d be committing some crime, right?’

After clenching his fists and making his decision, Baek Jun-woo crouched back down again.

“But…”

Jun-woo felt tears threatening to come and quickly took a deep breath.

‘I can’t show weakness. The magical powers are watching.’

Jun-woo forced strength into his trembling legs and stood up, pounding on his chest.

‘Right. Let’s not do it. It’ll just make it harder to endure. Even if I could see Mom and Dad that way… it wouldn’t be real, would it? It would just be deception…’

If he used [Simulation], he could bring the two of them back exactly as they were in life. But that wouldn’t be a person-to-person meeting. It would be a one-sided outpouring of emotions toward an illusion.

Of course, it would be nice to see them even like that…

But the emptiness that would come after?

He didn’t have the confidence to handle it.

Fourteen-year-old Baek Jun-woo stood up weakly and left the room.

To train once again.

* * *

“Read deeper. More deeply. Not just simple simulation… read with the intensity of piercing to the very bottom of the soul.”

The Magic Emperor’s words were meaningful.

I don’t know if he said it knowing, but I happen to know a technique that fits exactly that description.

But…

‘If it’s where the roots of the soul are planted, that’s the dimensional rift… but there should be nothing there now, right?’

The place where the god’s fragment had been sleeping. Ever since preventing the Water’s Destruction and the god’s fragment’s disappearance, it had always been empty. Even my hair turned black.

‘There’s a gift there? It’s a dimensional rift, but in reality it’s the bottom of my soul? I don’t even know how to read the Magic Emperor’s soul, and I don’t know where he went.’

I felt skeptical.

But since that was the only thing worth trying, I decided to follow his advice for now.

“Huff… Alright. I’ll give it a try.”

[Simulation]

[Simulation]

[Simulat…]

[…]

With each repeated simulation, the darkness grew thicker and my body heavier. I sank deeper and deeper into my soul.

Falling down. Falling down.

Toward that blue light faintly visible below…

Huh?

Why is there light there?

My drowsy mind snapped awake.

-You came.

The blue light turned to look at me.

I was shocked again by that voice.

“Magic… Emperor?”

This was different from before. I had never summoned him in the dimensional rift reached through repeated use of [Simulation]. So the Magic Emperor standing there emanating blue light wasn’t an illusion from [Simulation] but the real Magic Emperor.

…Does this make sense? You died, didn’t you? Captured by the Outer God and dying miserably.

But the Magic Emperor spoke without regard for my shock.

-I expected you might be able to, but seeing it firsthand is truly amazing. A 7th Circle like you being able to descend this far. You have a Gift far more remarkable than mine. What’s unexpected is that there was no ‘origin’ of yours in this place. Where on earth did your origin go?

Origin… He was definitely referring to the god’s fragment. But why call it origin?

The answer to my question came from a completely different source.

[He… cannot hear… my voice.]

A voice heard in fragments.

‘You… don’t tell me…?’

[I was… I was. The Watcher Grim Reaper… Nice to meet you. You were the one. The being acknowledged… Cre***r… Lord Che**m*n…]

Just as I thought… it was the god’s fragment. The owner of the blue magical power that the Magic Emperor possessed. The source of the Magic Emperor’s Gift.

By the way… Cre***r… Lord Che**m*n? Who?

[Don’t mind it. He has vanished. From the world, he… You cannot hear that name yet. But… you will be able to hear it. If you transcend the world.]

Ah… So the Grim Reaper god also knew about the god’s fragment that had disappeared after preventing the Water’s Destruction.

Unlike the fragment I had harbored before, the Grim Reaper’s communication wasn’t smooth.

It seemed even speaking was difficult, as he fell silent after just a few words.

[I’ll rest… for a moment. I spoke… too much…]

‘Grim Reaper? Grim Reaper!’

Thinking I needed more information, I called out to him earnestly, but no answer came.

-…Don’t tell me you were having a conversation? With the origin?

Instead, the Magic Emperor, who had been silent, spoke to me. Only then did I remember that the Magic Emperor was standing in front of me.

“Ah… Yes. How did you know? He said you couldn’t hear his voice…”

-That’s right. I can’t understand it. I didn’t even know the origin could speak until now. I just guessed from feeling a strange resonance… Hehe. The more I see you, the more monstrous a child you become. Actually, I never expected to die like this myself… but you were a child worth protecting even in this way.

“What? You were protecting me?”

It had been strange. The Magic Emperor, who had firmly rejected equal relationships with anyone. The Magic Emperor who had achieved transcendent heights by doing so—why he had suddenly formed alliances with the Society and Magic Tower.

And it was because of me?

What kind of talk is this?

We weren’t that close!

The Magic Emperor sighed as he watched my confusion.

-What a shame. If I had met you just a hundred years earlier, I could have changed many things.

He shook his head and looked directly at me. He examined my pale fingertips and slightly bloodshot eyes. Despite achieving the realm I named the ‘7th Step’—integrating 7th Circle and 7-star—the dimensional rift was still a difficult place, and shocks were gradually accumulating in my body.

-There’s much to discuss. Since this will be our last time in this place, I hope you’ll endure the discomfort as much as possible.

“I’m used to enduring in here, so don’t worry and start talking.”

The Magic Emperor smiled faintly. And so we began to reveal all our secrets to each other.

“My goodness… So you escaped with only your soul?”

-Hehe… So you’ve already saved the world once.

I asked the Magic Emperor how he wasn’t dead and how he was here, and the Magic Emperor asked why I had no ‘origin.’

“You stopped time to distribute gifts?”

-Yes… In the end, I only caused trouble for everyone… Still, seeing you, I have no regrets about what I did.

We shared the secrets of each other’s powers and hesitantly discussed the battle with the Outer God and the subsequent situation.

“Hwi Someong will… surely think the same way.”

-You endured well. It’s not just natural talent that matters. I can see why the magical powers love you.

And in our remaining time, we shared stories of our lives. The Magic Emperor told me about when he first met Hwi Someong, and I talked about when only Yuria, Monggu, and I survived together.

To be honest… it was enjoyable.

In the dimensional rift where souls were laid bare, we couldn’t hide our emotions, so we naturally cried and laughed together. It wasn’t even a long time… but he felt as close as a lifelong friend.

And the deeper our conversation went, the more ashamed I became of having despised him, until finally only admiration remained.

“So this is what you meant by the hidden blade…”

-That’s right. The most valuable thing I possessed was ultimately my soul. I came here without letting it be stolen, even deceiving the Outer God’s eyes. That was my goal, and as you can see, I accomplished it all.

“So what happens now?”

The Magic Emperor smiled faintly. He wore that grass-like smile that the most humble nomads of the Star Continent always carried, speaking as one who stood at the pinnacle of all mages.

-I separated the soul’s core from my body and preserved the records while evading the Outer God’s eyes to come here. It was impossible without burning my soul. Now my will shall disappear. This conversation is our last. But the records and origin I brought will remain. That’s the hidden blade. Stabbing the Outer God with it is your part.

His testament to become a hidden blade by burning his soul… was certainly fulfilled.

In a way I never imagined.

Unable to find words, the Magic Emperor chuckled and patted my shoulder.

-The knowledge accumulated over more than 600 years is quite substantial. It might not match your insight of hearing magical powers and seeing mana… but it should be quite useful. If you refine my knowledge, you could advance the development of magic by several stages. At the same time, you become the rightful inheritor of my records. Truth Tower will follow you now, and part of the authority I built will become yours.

This alone was extraordinary. Truth Tower, which would rank at least third among the tower’s forces, came into my hands, and his knowledge became mine.

Even if it was the authority he had built… if it meant the records accumulated over long years with the title ‘Saint of the Tower,’ that was a tremendous gift that could serve as the foundation for reaching 8th Circle.

But the true gift the Magic Emperor had prepared wasn’t that.

-And… I recorded the Outer God.

“Excuse me…?”

-Actually, this is why the time my soul could persist was greatly shortened… I recorded that creature’s data and brought it here.

That meant…

-Haha. That’s right. You can now [Simulate] the Outer God and the minions derived from it. Of course, it’s not accurate. It’s records from what I could observe. Still… it’s better than nothing.

So at least the power the Outer God used when facing the Magic Emperor could be [Simulated].

Goosebumps covered my entire body.

-Uhaha. Even I didn’t expect this. To think your Gift was [Simulation]. I prepared these records just for reference, not knowing they’d be so useful. Uhaha! I’m really lucky. Ah… that’s not something to say after dying.

As the Magic Emperor said, for me this had to be the ultimate gift.

We got excited and started chattering again. We understood each other so well. His insights accumulated over 600 years were incomparable to Refinement, and his every word inspired me anew.

But, regrettably,

The end came sharp as a blade, cutting through our pleasant time.

-Ah… is it time already?

White flames starting from the Magic Emperor’s hands and feet began to gradually consume him, and I began coughing up blood, becoming increasingly bloody. From now on, neither of us could endure much longer.

Suddenly I felt sad.

That this was the end. This was my first time having a conversation with the Magic Emperor. I wanted to learn even a little more from his vast knowledge and wisdom…

As my sorrowful feelings overflowed, my chest felt tight and angry, and I didn’t want to accept it. Instead of a final farewell, mischievous teasing spilled from my mouth.

“Even so, you were too pathetic. If you’re a hero, you should have stayed dignified even as a mere remnant of consciousness, shouldn’t you?”

Of course, I understood the Magic Emperor’s final moments now. The soul is the purest will. Having given most of that will to me… what the Outer God had captured was just an empty remnant of consciousness. There was no way it could have endured the Outer God’s torture.

So I shouldn’t really be teasing him about this. To give me the hidden blade, the Magic Emperor had even accepted such humiliation.

Still, I just teased him with that tone of not understanding.

So he’d get angry and stay a little longer.

But hearing my words, the Magic Emperor just chuckled. He stroked his beard and replied.

-The Outer God is clever.

“Huh. Why are you suddenly changing the subject?”

-It knew that the more pathetic my dying appearance, the more human hearts would break.

Huh?

A memory suddenly surfaced.

Was he saying that those screams were the Outer God’s psychological warfare?

The ‘Wandering Soul’ operation used by American forces in Vietnam. At night, American forces would broadcast eerie voices through speakers. Vietnamese soldiers who heard those sounds thought dead souls wandered the jungle in torment, and their morale eventually hit rock bottom.

The Outer God pulled such tricks too?

“Then… those screams were sounds the Outer God created?”

Then the Magic Emperor, who had been chuckling until now, suddenly sighed.

He looked at me with complicated eyes and slowly shook his head.

-Actually, I don’t know. By that time, most of my will had crossed over here. I can’t know what happened.

“Hmm… That’s pretty ambiguous.”

I chuckled at the anticlimactic conclusion. But the Magic Emperor didn’t laugh. Instead, he said with sad eyes,

-But… just tell it that way. To Someong, to my poor disciple.