Chapter 458
Ssss...
As the golden wheel disappeared within the white flames, Seong Jihan felt his physical senses vanish for an instant.
And soon after,
'This is...'
The surrounding scenery changed.
From the pitch-dark space to a world bathed in sunlight.
What Seong Jihan first noticed was a gigantic tree.
And beneath it, a man sitting in meditation.
'He resembles Ashoka.'
Though he looked gaunt as if he had suffered a lot.
His appearance was strikingly similar to that of the constellation Ashoka.
Seong Jihan surmised that this man must be 'Siddhartha,' before he received his title from the Martial God.
As he sat there for a long while,
Fwoosh...!
Suddenly, red flames erupted above his head.
"For us, such a thing..."
With a sigh, the closed-eyed Siddhartha gazed at the flames above his head.
Bathed in a subtle golden light, he appeared nothing short of divine.
The flames above his head also emanated an intense aura.
And then,
[Have you realized it? You grasped my existence and escaped.]
Shimmer...
The flames that floated in the air slowly extinguished, forming an eye.
"What are you...?"
[I am your creator. You, who are birthed from me, are my mother.]
"..."
An eye, claiming to be the creator of humanity and calling humanity its mother.
Seong Jihan understood who it was.
'...The Red Administrator.'
Through Gilgamesh, it created humans with the seed of red.
By propagating them, it ultimately aimed to become a permanent administrator.
It seems that the Red Administrator had once appeared before Siddhartha.
[A realized one, you have two paths ahead.]
Swish.
The eye looked down upon Siddhartha.
[Will you cooperate with me or turn your back on me?]
"Cooperation or turning my back..."
[If you cooperate, you will merge with me and enjoy eternal life. If you refuse, you will live as you are and eventually die.]
Seong Jihan considered the choices given by the administrator.
'Both sound bad, but turning my back seems slightly better.'
Cooperating would simply make him a part of the Red Administrator's body.
At best, he might be turned into one of the administrator's eyes.
Turning his back and living out his life seemed a better option.
As Seong Jihan pondered,
"We will ultimately become part of you, the absolute."
[Indeed. That is the reason for your existence.]
"Will the consciousness of 'I' disappear?"
[The realized are respected. You will retain your consciousness.]
"And the unrealized ones..."
[Even becoming a fragment of the administrator would be an honor for them.]
The unrealized ones would just become part of the body.
[So, what will you choose?]
"Between cooperation and turning my back?"
[Precisely.]
The eye's movement seemed indifferent, as if it didn't care which choice was made.
It considered both choices inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.
However,
"I'll choose a third path."
[A third path?]
"I will defy you."
[...]
At Siddhartha's decision, the eye gleamed with interest.
[Defiance... it's akin to turning your back. Because it's impossible.]
"Perhaps."
[Will you still choose it?]
As Siddhartha nodded, the eye flickered.
[Five realized beings before you, all chose to turn their backs. But defiance... interesting.]
"..."
[Fine. Amid long waiting, you've brought me some entertainment.]
The red eye, which seemed to welcome the third path of defiance,
Ssss...
Suddenly began to move through the air.
'What?'
It headed towards Seong Jihan, who was watching from afar.
[What about you?]
The eye looked directly at him.
[Will you be my heart in this generation?]
'What...'
Heart, he said?
What on earth is this eye talking about?
[The heart is the central organ dealing with the administrator's power of red. It's the core within me.]
"And what does that have to do with me?"
[In ancient times, the heart's essence was passed to the most exceptional among humans...]
Swish.
The red eye looked towards Siddhartha.
Was he also a heart's essence?
[However, cases emerged where the essence was discarded upon realization. A side effect of combining it with the most exceptional among humanity.]
"So?"
[Thus, I decided to select the heart at random, rather than the best.]
So, Siddhartha was the greatest of his time, selected as the heart's essence.
But because he realized and defied it, they changed the method to a random selection.
"So, I wasn't chosen because I was great, just by luck?"
[That's right.]
"...Then the reason I could read your texts and use red powers was because I am the heart?"
[That's not all.]
As the eye spoke,
Thump.
A peculiar sensation spread through Seong Jihan's body.
'This is...'
[The heart's essence helped you make optimal choices.]
This intuition, which had always guided Seong Jihan to make the best possible decisions.
Thanks to this, he overcame many crises.
But the moment he took out the ignition device of the World Tree, it warned him intensely that pressing the button was the only way to survive.
'So, this intuition... because I was the heart?'
Now it made sense why the Red Hand kept calling him the main body.
[So once again, I ask. What will you do?]
"Didn't you see me break the switch?"
[I saw it. That was because of your ignorance.]
"Ignorance...?"
[It was a choice made from not understanding the administrator's power.]
Tap!
The red eye attached itself to Seong Jihan's forehead.
Then,
The scenery changed once again.
This time to the moment when Seong Jihan was first summoned to Tuseong.
[Look.]
And again, a combat simulation unfolded.
The Martial God, merged with Tuseong, fiercely pressured Seong Jihan.
But this time, Seong Jihan took out the switch from his inventory and pressed it immediately.
Click.
Then,
Fwoosh...!
Seong Jihan's entire body caught fire, then quickly began to expand infinitely.
His entire being, along with his senses, filled with a tremendous sense of satisfaction.
[To be reborn as an administrator...!]
The shocked voice of the Martial God, merged with Tuseong, echoed.
Boom!
As the newly born Red Administrator, Seong Jihan stomped once on Tuseong.
A crater formed on the planet.
With a wave of his hand, the relics burst into flames.
Even the Martial God, who had accumulated power through infinite regressions, couldn't dare stand against the overwhelming power of the Red Administrator.
Boom! Boom!
Ultimately, Tuseong shattered, and the Martial God vanished without a trace.
[See.]
As the administrator, Seong Jihan leaped once,
Swish!
In an instant, he arrived on Earth.
After pressing the button, the world had been completely incinerated.
Not just humanity, but even Seoul was reduced to ashes.
However,
[Destroyed worlds can be restored.]
With a flick of his finger,
Ssss...
The scenery of Seoul rewound, restored perfectly.
[Those who vanished can be revived.]
Click.
As he snapped his fingers, people began to revive from the restored Seoul.
"...Uncle?"
"Jihan... Jih-?"
Among them were Seong Jihan's family, looking up at him from the ground.
[Even blessings can be bestowed upon cherished ones.]
Flash!
As the administrator's power manifested, a red glow enveloped Yoon Seah and Seong Jiah.
Crack...!
Their bodies transformed, becoming part of the red lineage.
[Wow, Uncle! I'm gigantic!]
[This... is amazing...]
The two women, now with bodies of giants imbued with red eyes,
Were excitedly observing their enlarged forms.
But,
'...Is that what he calls a blessing?'
Seeing his sister and niece transformed into creatures of the red lineage, Seong Jihan felt cold.
Making them into giant monsters filled with eyes...
That would surely haunt his dreams.
Meanwhile,
Buzz...
After restoring the world,
[How do you feel about the administrator's power?]
The red eye detached from Seong Jihan's forehead, asking him.
"It's certainly strong. I think I've underestimated the stat of red."
Though the experience of becoming the Red Administrator was brief, it left a strong impression on Seong Jihan.
Especially the way that form handled the red abilities; it was on a whole different level from what he could currently achieve.
If he could emulate even a fraction of it, he could greatly enhance his current proficiency with the red stat.
As he responded,
[In that case.]
Buzz...
A red light shot out from the eye,
Forming something on Seong Jihan's right arm.
"This is... the World Tree ignition device?"
[Indeed. Go to Earth and press it. What you saw will become reality.]
Swish.
Seong Jihan scrutinized the switch.
The ignition device he had received before had a purple plate with a red button.
This one had a red plate, differing only in that there was no void.
However,
"This design is exactly the same as the last one, too similar."
The button given by the owner of the arena,
And the one crafted by the Red Administrator looked indistinguishably alike.
Only the plate color differed.
"Are you and the arena owner collaborating?"
[No, I simply referenced your switch.]
"Really?"
[Had we received help from the void, there would be no need for such troublesome methods.]
The administrator's calm answer made Seong Jihan feel uneasy.
Did it have to replicate the switch so precisely?
Also, though the administrator claimed no cooperation with the void...
'The owner of the arena did give me the ignition device.'
He might have some leverage to test out.
As Seong Jihan pondered,
[So what is your answer?]
The Red Administrator demanded a reply.
"My answer?"
Spark!
Seong Jihan clenched his fist, shattering the World Tree ignition device instantly.
"I need to see my niece get married. No one would take her like that."
Giant eye-covered Yoon Seah.
Certainly one of the most horrific sights he'd ever seen.
Moreover,
'They were just replicas.'
The people revived in such a manner were clearly different entities from before.
Though it appeared as though time had reversed when the power was manifested,
Those who disappeared from the button press weren't truly brought back.
Just similar entities were recreated.
At Seong Jihan's firm decision,
[Despite experiencing the power... this heart is foolish.]
The eye replied with a tone of resignation.
"Well, thanks to you, I have a much better grasp of the red abilities. Their feeling is remarkable."
[You won't have the opportunity to use them.]
"What?"
[My hand will crush you.]
"Hand?"
[It will burst the foolish heart and attach to the new one.]
Seong Jihan frowned at that statement.
The Red Hand,
It regenerated from his body even after being severed by the Martial God.
It was like having a poison mushroom growing inside him.
His right hand moving on its own would be quite a hassle.
But,
"What is this new heart?"
[It would be someone very close to you, with talent.]
"Close to me..."
There weren't many people who fit that description.
'Come to think of it, the hand kept observing Seahh.'
Could it be that Yoon Seah would become the new heart?
As Seong Jihan's expression hardened,
Swish.
From beneath the Bodhi tree, Siddhartha rose.
"I will sever the connection."
"You will..."
"It's the power I left behind for this."
He smiled as he spoke.