Now that Chang-Sun thought about it, the answer was actually very simple and natural.
‘It was strange.’
The suspicious circumstances surrounding Bel-Marduk, Chang-Sun’s mysterious transfer to the <Underworld>... everything happened just so he could return from the dead.
“I’ve always found it odd that everything worked out in my favor. I wondered if they were all coincidences, but... no matter how hard I tried to reason otherwise, they simply weren’t.” Chang-Sun coldly looked down at Bel-Marduk, who had covered up most of the sky.
Thud. Thuuuuud.
Chang-Sun could sense combat underway all over the battlefield. Nevertheless, his expression didn’t change. “Then I reached a conclusion.”
『Hahaha! Did you now?』
Bel-Marduk burst into laughter, causing clouds to dissipate and the ground to shake precariously. His eyes, which were bigger than Chang-Sun, curved as he grinned, seemingly finding Chang-Sun funny.
Chang-Sun looked at his reflection in Bel-Marduk’s eyes. Bel-Marduk didn’t confirm his speculation, but he didn’t deny it either. However, Chang-Sun knew that he should take Bel-Marduk’s behavior as a form of confirmation.
Despite their countless encounters, Chang-Sun had never seen Bel-Marduk’s true face before. During what few direct battles they had, Bel-Marduk always fought in his enormous form, like he was doing right now, or shrouded himself with a pool of light. Either way, he always seemed to be hiding his appearance on purpose.
“You’re trying to become an Emperor, aren’t you?”
Bel-Marduk’s eyebrows flinched at the mention of the word ‘Emperor.’ Such was the word’s significance. Celestials ruled Worldlines, <Stars> could freely travel between Worldlines, and Beasts led Worldlines into <Extinction>. Free from samsara—the cycle of mortals—those three became known as transcendental beings.
Moreover, every now and then, supreme beings—individuals destined to become rulers—-were born. Mortals thought transcendental and supreme beings were from a whole different world that no mortal could reach, but even those beings thought of themselves as halfwits. After all, despite having completed their <Transcendence>, they still weren’t free from the law of casualty. There were beings far superior to them.
Emperors, they were called. Having broken free from even the law of causality, Emperors obtained true freedom, becoming complete and flawless. Nothing was capable of damaging them, allowing them to reign as the rulers of Worldlines and the Great Universe.
<Supreme Light>. <Dull Darkness>. <Deus Ex Machina>. <First Star>. <First Beast>...With less than ten Emperors over the infinite number of parallel universes and multiverses, they were unchallengeable.
“Emperors are complete and flawless. They are the only version of themselves across the infinite Worldlines,” Chang-Sun said.
Chang-Sun had already met an Emperor—<Deus Ex Machina>, the Machine God and Mediator of space and the law of casualty. He was the reason Worldlines could properly function.
“My Divine Name is <Deus Ex Machina>, but biologically speaking, I am the son of Saturn and Ops. I am also Ye-Eun’s older brother,” <Deus Ex Machina> had told Chang-Sun back then. “However, at the same time, I am no longer their son. I became an Emperor when I surpassed the law of causality’s restrictions, severing any ties I had with everyone I knew.”
His position as the Mediator of the law of causality prevented <Deus Ex Machina> from saving Cha Ye-Eun, his little sister. Saving her in every Worldline was impossible. The large gap between someone with only one version and someone who existed in every Worldline raised a new question.
“Every Emperor is the only one of their kind in all Worldlines, but what if one were to meet the requirements to become an Emperor in a reverse order?”
“As it turns out, I can go about it in reverse. I can artificially create an environment that will allow me to become an Emperor instead of seeking enlightenment to become one. That would give other versions of me the chance to replace me, but won’t I still end up becoming the one-and-only, complete, and flawless being for as long as I stop a new me from being created?”
『Whoa?』
“It is impossible for ordinary gods since they normally can’t travel outside their Worldlines, but a <Star> can. After all, they’re transcendental beings artificially made by absorbing an Emperor’s fragment.”
Since <Stars> could freely travel from Worldline to Worldline and devour worlds, they could also eat up the other Wordlines’ versions of themselves.
『That’s an interesting deduction. It sounds plausible enough to persuade me, but what does that have to do with me sneaking you off to the <Underworld>?』
“You wanted me to be tasty prey.” Chang-Sun’s eyes got colder. “You’re not just planning to swallow every Worldline’s version of you, are you?”
Worldlines infinitely multiplied. A new Worldline was created by an ordinary person making a different choice, which meant new Lee Chang-Suns and Bel-Marduks were popping into existence as they spoke. Despite how powerful Bel-Marduk was, he couldn’t run around every Worldline to find them.
“My <Myths> would be very tempting, so you wanted me to serve as the tool that would drastically increase your Divine Class.”
Considering Chang-Sun initiated the <Myth War> and returned from the <Underworld>, his <Myths> were already at the level of a Celestial King. He could even stand toe-to-toe against Bel-Marduk now, his power rivaling even that of the Nine Heavens. If Bel-Marduk ate Chang-Sun, his Divine Class would increase astronomically.
“I look very similar to your true form, don’t I?” Chang-Sun deduced.
『...』
After a brief silence...
『Hehe... Hahahahahaha!』
... Bel-Marduk’s manic laughter echoed.
『Hahahaha! I knew it! You’re amazing, Twilight! You’re too smart! This is why I like you! I’ve met countless me, but I can assure you that you’re different from them all. 』
Bel-Marduk was having so much fun.
『I decided to use you as an ingredient for my Transfiguration. You’ll bring me closer to becoming an Emperor. Your knowledge, way of thinking, behavior... Everything about us is the same. It’s like looking at myself in a mirror.』
Bel-Marduk still remembered the first time he met Chang-Sun. With his back on the sunset, Chang-Sun stood aloof on a barren plain as red as twilight, exuding unapproachable coldness. He was an untamable beast, much like Bel-Marduk.
Holding their horns high, bulls would charge across fields and trample over everything in their path. With Chang-Sun behaving like one, Bel-Marduk was instinctively reminded of himself. Moreover, among his countless versions, Chang-Sun looked the most similar to him. That was also part of the reason he chose him as the ingredient that would get him over his slump and start his Transfiguration, which would increase his level several times.
“You’re not even denying my speculation anymore,” Chang-Sun murmured.
『I no longer have to! You’re right. I’m you, and you’re me. We even grew up in similar—no, the same environment.』
“Are you from Worldline #800 or something?”
『I ate that place up long ago. Was it Worldline #799? Worldline #798? Something like that.』
The closer the Worldlines’ numbers were to each other, the more similar their inhabitants were. Much to Chang-Sun’s surprise, Bel-Marduk was from a Worldline quite close to his. Perhaps Bel-Marduk also used to be a professional gamer who was summoned to a different world.
Revealing the secret he was hiding from everyone, including the Zodiacs, seemed to have made Bel-Marduk very happy. Getting to reveal his true self made him feel refreshed.
『You have fully ripened. If I devour you, I’ll be comple—!』
“You might stand a chance in challenging Hsan,” Chang-Sun interrupted, killing Bel-Marduk’s joy.
Bel-Marduk’s eyebrows flinched. 『...You!』
“You’ll be our only version if you eat me? Bullshit,” Chang-Sun snapped, recalling Ye-Eun’s past, which he saw in the ‘Mirror Maze of Myths.’ “You want to eat me because it’ll increase your chances of overcoming the biggest wall to your goal.”
“Hmm? Do you not know me? That’s strange. I was certain you would recognize me.”
Hsan looked the same as Chang-Sun when Ithaca met him.
“It has been so long. I’m not even sure what I should use from the inner universes to explain... A point of deviation? I’m basically your lover, but I made a different choice in a certain section of time.”
Hsan introduced himself as another Chang-Sun. His name was derived from Sun, Ithaca’s nickname for Chang-Sun. In other words, Bel-Marduk also had to devour him to become their only version, which Chang-Sun thought was easier said than done.
Hsan was an extraordinary being whom not even Mephistopheles knew much about. He was also powerful enough to defy the law of causality and send Ithaca back to a specific time frame. Compared to Hsan, Bel-Marduk, despite being the Zodiacs’ leader, was still lacking.
“Hsan is your final enemy, isn’t he? With your current Divine Class, you will never win against him.” Chang-Sun smiled crookedly. “Our last encounter was in the Nil Domain.”
The Nil Domain. The end of all Worldlines. The Great Universe’s shell... the border that separated the inner and outer universes.
Chang-Sun continued, “You were observing—no, monitoring something. It was as if you were waiting for an opportunity.”
Bel-Marduk seemed confident at the time, but he was actually acting as vigilant as a beast—no, a bull who just came across his natural enemy.
“You were keeping an eye on Hsan, weren’t you?”
『... You know too much. Let me rephrase what I said earlier. You’re no longer interesting. You’re dangerous.』
Rumble...!
Bel-Marduk narrowed his mirror-like eyes as they filled up with fury. The air around him heated up and turned into a storm.
Rumble, thud!
Woosh, swish, swoosh―!
His lightning mixed into the storm and shredded clouds apart, creating a rainstorm in compliance with his will. Chang-Sun believed this to be the difference between them. While Bel-Marduk’s storm was humid, most of his power was fire.
“That was one quick change. Thanks for having a higher opinion of me,” Chang-Sun said.
Rummmmble!
Kieeeeeh―!
Chang-Sun created a storm of his own and made it clash with Bel-Marduk’s, the ghastly wails coming from it sounding especially ominous today. Mixed with <Darkness> and supreme sacred light, the upper body of a Cataclysm Celestial showed up. Its eyes were shining brightly.
“Come,” he commanded using [Wordwielding]. He grabbed his [Twilight Spear] as various weapons flew out of [King’s Treasury], merging into [Gungnir].
Click, click―!
“I have one more question.”
『What is it?』
“Did your Worldline also have an Ithaca?”
『I had.』
“... Do you love her?”
『I did.』
Chang-Sun didn’t miss that subtle difference in verb tense.
“I see. I understand now.”
Click!
With [Gungnir]’s transformation complete, he tightened the grip on his spear so much that his veins began bulging out.
“Even though you knew how much pain she was under, the memories you had with your Ithaca were just a means to achieve your goal,” Chang-Sun concluded.
Woosh!
An Inferno Sight blazed up so fiercely within his [Gnostic Eye] that it looked as if it could incinerate the whole world.
“Die, Bel-Marduk.”
Chang-Sun threw [Gungnir] at Bel-Marduk as hard as he could.
Woooosh―!
A beam of light flew across the galaxy.
Now that Chang-Sun thought about it, the answer was actually very simple and natural.
‘It was strange.’
The suspicious circumstances surrounding Bel-Marduk, Chang-Sun’s mysterious transfer to the <Underworld>... everything happened just so he could return from the dead.
“I’ve always found it odd that everything worked out in my favor. I wondered if they were all coincidences, but... no matter how hard I tried to reason otherwise, they simply weren’t.” Chang-Sun coldly looked down at Bel-Marduk, who had covered up most of the sky.
Thud. Thuuuuud.
Chang-Sun could sense combat underway all over the battlefield. Nevertheless, his expression didn’t change. “Then I reached a conclusion.”
『Hahaha! Did you now?』
Bel-Marduk burst into laughter, causing clouds to dissipate and the ground to shake precariously. His eyes, which were bigger than Chang-Sun, curved as he grinned, seemingly finding Chang-Sun funny.
Chang-Sun looked at his reflection in Bel-Marduk’s eyes. Bel-Marduk didn’t confirm his speculation, but he didn’t deny it either. However, Chang-Sun knew that he should take Bel-Marduk’s behavior as a form of confirmation.
Despite their countless encounters, Chang-Sun had never seen Bel-Marduk’s true face before. During what few direct battles they had, Bel-Marduk always fought in his enormous form, like he was doing right now, or shrouded himself with a pool of light. Either way, he always seemed to be hiding his appearance on purpose.
“You’re trying to become an Emperor, aren’t you?”
Bel-Marduk’s eyebrows flinched at the mention of the word ‘Emperor.’ Such was the word’s significance. Celestials ruled Worldlines, <Stars> could freely travel between Worldlines, and Beasts led Worldlines into <Extinction>. Free from samsara—the cycle of mortals—those three became known as transcendental beings.
Moreover, every now and then, supreme beings—individuals destined to become rulers—-were born. Mortals thought transcendental and supreme beings were from a whole different world that no mortal could reach, but even those beings thought of themselves as halfwits. After all, despite having completed their <Transcendence>, they still weren’t free from the law of casualty. There were beings far superior to them.
Emperors, they were called. Having broken free from even the law of causality, Emperors obtained true freedom, becoming complete and flawless. Nothing was capable of damaging them, allowing them to reign as the rulers of Worldlines and the Great Universe.
<Supreme Light>. <Dull Darkness>. <Deus Ex Machina>. <First Star>. <First Beast>...With less than ten Emperors over the infinite number of parallel universes and multiverses, they were unchallengeable.
“Emperors are complete and flawless. They are the only version of themselves across the infinite Worldlines,” Chang-Sun said.
Chang-Sun had already met an Emperor—<Deus Ex Machina>, the Machine God and Mediator of space and the law of casualty. He was the reason Worldlines could properly function.
“My Divine Name is <Deus Ex Machina>, but biologically speaking, I am the son of Saturn and Ops. I am also Ye-Eun’s older brother,” <Deus Ex Machina> had told Chang-Sun back then. “However, at the same time, I am no longer their son. I became an Emperor when I surpassed the law of causality’s restrictions, severing any ties I had with everyone I knew.”
His position as the Mediator of the law of causality prevented <Deus Ex Machina> from saving Cha Ye-Eun, his little sister. Saving her in every Worldline was impossible. The large gap between someone with only one version and someone who existed in every Worldline raised a new question.
“Every Emperor is the only one of their kind in all Worldlines, but what if one were to meet the requirements to become an Emperor in a reverse order?”
“As it turns out, I can go about it in reverse. I can artificially create an environment that will allow me to become an Emperor instead of seeking enlightenment to become one. That would give other versions of me the chance to replace me, but won’t I still end up becoming the one-and-only, complete, and flawless being for as long as I stop a new me from being created?”
『Whoa?』
“It is impossible for ordinary gods since they normally can’t travel outside their Worldlines, but a <Star> can. After all, they’re transcendental beings artificially made by absorbing an Emperor’s fragment.”
Since <Stars> could freely travel from Worldline to Worldline and devour worlds, they could also eat up the other Wordlines’ versions of themselves.
『That’s an interesting deduction. It sounds plausible enough to persuade me, but what does that have to do with me sneaking you off to the <Underworld>?』
“You wanted me to be tasty prey.” Chang-Sun’s eyes got colder. “You’re not just planning to swallow every Worldline’s version of you, are you?”
Worldlines infinitely multiplied. A new Worldline was created by an ordinary person making a different choice, which meant new Lee Chang-Suns and Bel-Marduks were popping into existence as they spoke. Despite how powerful Bel-Marduk was, he couldn’t run around every Worldline to find them.
“My <Myths> would be very tempting, so you wanted me to serve as the tool that would drastically increase your Divine Class.”
Considering Chang-Sun initiated the <Myth War> and returned from the <Underworld>, his <Myths> were already at the level of a Celestial King. He could even stand toe-to-toe against Bel-Marduk now, his power rivaling even that of the Nine Heavens. If Bel-Marduk ate Chang-Sun, his Divine Class would increase astronomically.
“I look very similar to your true form, don’t I?” Chang-Sun deduced.
『...』
After a brief silence...
『Hehe... Hahahahahaha!』
... Bel-Marduk’s manic laughter echoed.
『Hahahaha! I knew it! You’re amazing, Twilight! You’re too smart! This is why I like you! I’ve met countless me, but I can assure you that you’re different from them all. 』
Bel-Marduk was having so much fun.
『I decided to use you as an ingredient for my Transfiguration. You’ll bring me closer to becoming an Emperor. Your knowledge, way of thinking, behavior... Everything about us is the same. It’s like looking at myself in a mirror.』
Bel-Marduk still remembered the first time he met Chang-Sun. With his back on the sunset, Chang-Sun stood aloof on a barren plain as red as twilight, exuding unapproachable coldness. He was an untamable beast, much like Bel-Marduk.
Holding their horns high, bulls would charge across fields and trample over everything in their path. With Chang-Sun behaving like one, Bel-Marduk was instinctively reminded of himself. Moreover, among his countless versions, Chang-Sun looked the most similar to him. That was also part of the reason he chose him as the ingredient that would get him over his slump and start his Transfiguration, which would increase his level several times.
“You’re not even denying my speculation anymore,” Chang-Sun murmured.
『I no longer have to! You’re right. I’m you, and you’re me. We even grew up in similar—no, the same environment.』
“Are you from Worldline #800 or something?”
『I ate that place up long ago. Was it Worldline #799? Worldline #798? Something like that.』
The closer the Worldlines’ numbers were to each other, the more similar their inhabitants were. Much to Chang-Sun’s surprise, Bel-Marduk was from a Worldline quite close to his. Perhaps Bel-Marduk also used to be a professional gamer who was summoned to a different world.
Revealing the secret he was hiding from everyone, including the Zodiacs, seemed to have made Bel-Marduk very happy. Getting to reveal his true self made him feel refreshed.
『You have fully ripened. If I devour you, I’ll be comple—!』
“You might stand a chance in challenging Hsan,” Chang-Sun interrupted, killing Bel-Marduk’s joy.
Bel-Marduk’s eyebrows flinched. 『...You!』
“You’ll be our only version if you eat me? Bullshit,” Chang-Sun snapped, recalling Ye-Eun’s past, which he saw in the ‘Mirror Maze of Myths.’ “You want to eat me because it’ll increase your chances of overcoming the biggest wall to your goal.”
“Hmm? Do you not know me? That’s strange. I was certain you would recognize me.”
Hsan looked the same as Chang-Sun when Ithaca met him.
“It has been so long. I’m not even sure what I should use from the inner universes to explain... A point of deviation? I’m basically your lover, but I made a different choice in a certain section of time.”
Hsan introduced himself as another Chang-Sun. His name was derived from Sun, Ithaca’s nickname for Chang-Sun. In other words, Bel-Marduk also had to devour him to become their only version, which Chang-Sun thought was easier said than done.
Hsan was an extraordinary being whom not even Mephistopheles knew much about. He was also powerful enough to defy the law of causality and send Ithaca back to a specific time frame. Compared to Hsan, Bel-Marduk, despite being the Zodiacs’ leader, was still lacking.
“Hsan is your final enemy, isn’t he? With your current Divine Class, you will never win against him.” Chang-Sun smiled crookedly. “Our last encounter was in the Nil Domain.”
The Nil Domain. The end of all Worldlines. The Great Universe’s shell... the border that separated the inner and outer universes.
Chang-Sun continued, “You were observing—no, monitoring something. It was as if you were waiting for an opportunity.”
Bel-Marduk seemed confident at the time, but he was actually acting as vigilant as a beast—no, a bull who just came across his natural enemy.
“You were keeping an eye on Hsan, weren’t you?”
『... You know too much. Let me rephrase what I said earlier. You’re no longer interesting. You’re dangerous.』
Rumble...!
Bel-Marduk narrowed his mirror-like eyes as they filled up with fury. The air around him heated up and turned into a storm.
Rumble, thud!
Woosh, swish, swoosh―!
His lightning mixed into the storm and shredded clouds apart, creating a rainstorm in compliance with his will. Chang-Sun believed this to be the difference between them. While Bel-Marduk’s storm was humid, most of his power was fire.
“That was one quick change. Thanks for having a higher opinion of me,” Chang-Sun said.
Rummmmble!
Kieeeeeh―!
Chang-Sun created a storm of his own and made it clash with Bel-Marduk’s, the ghastly wails coming from it sounding especially ominous today. Mixed with <Darkness> and supreme sacred light, the upper body of a Cataclysm Celestial showed up. Its eyes were shining brightly.
“Come,” he commanded using [Wordwielding]. He grabbed his [Twilight Spear] as various weapons flew out of [King’s Treasury], merging into [Gungnir].
Click, click―!
“I have one more question.”
『What is it?』
“Did your Worldline also have an Ithaca?”
『I had.』
“... Do you love her?”
『I did.』
Chang-Sun didn’t miss that subtle difference in verb tense.
“I see. I understand now.”
Click!
With [Gungnir]’s transformation complete, he tightened the grip on his spear so much that his veins began bulging out.
“Even though you knew how much pain she was under, the memories you had with your Ithaca were just a means to achieve your goal,” Chang-Sun concluded.
Woosh!
An Inferno Sight blazed up so fiercely within his [Gnostic Eye] that it looked as if it could incinerate the whole world.
“Die, Bel-Marduk.”
Chang-Sun threw [Gungnir] at Bel-Marduk as hard as he could.
Woooosh―!
A beam of light flew across the galaxy.
