Chapter 188

Training Fight (6)

The light and heat burned everything, and the deadly and invisible neutrinos exterminated the creatures, penetrating all around like a blind bullet.

The starfish-shaped monster attached to the bottom of the sea writhed amid the flames.

I kicked myself off the ground and flew up. The blazing white hell continued to produce heat, but it didn't affect me. Below, I saw bizarre creatures disappearing in ashes along with the boiling sea.

After penetrating the space instantly and standing on top of a starfish monster, I summoned a sword.

I then delivered a direct blow.

Shwoooo!

Boo-boo-boo-boom!

The trace left by the god of the mind, the red monster, exploded in pieces.

"It worked!"

I deactivated the light element magic effect that I summoned, allowing the boiling seawater to find tranquility and begin to calm down. The red "Primordial Sea" quickly flocked to the area where the floor was exposed due to the heat filling the space.

Traces of the devastated collapsed monster soon sunk into huge amounts of water.

In terms of the time it took, it was much faster than during the encounter with the god of war.

I waited for the change I was expecting to follow.

"!"

The foreign energy of a god that filled the surroundings disappeared as the snow melted in the spring sun.

Afterward, Rom's pure influence tingled and filled up intensely and thickly.

'Now it's time for a dedication.'

Although the strong energy of a star collapsing had caused some damage, the sea never completely evaporated. There was still more liquid in front of me than what I vaporized and caused to disappear.

The object to be dedicated to it was the sea itself.

I prayed. That time again, there was no need for a grand rite. I pointed my hand to the waving sea and spoke, briefly, with desire.

'Great being of life. I dedicate the waters to you.'

A reaction came right back.

Booosh!

It was such an instantaneous transformation that it left an afterimage in my eyes.

The fluids that stretched all the way to the horizon had been turned into earth.

The water surface laid out so wide that it would have covered most of any common planet had disappeared without a trace.

The voice of a god who was very satisfied followed, coming from far away. Unlike how it used to embroider the air with sentences using blood-like fluids, it sent its voice directly in my head.

- I express my gratitude and respect to you, mortal.

A jubilant echo.

A vision unfolded in my head.

I was looking at a place filled with red aurora. It wasn't a landscape of the ordinary material world. It was the mental world created by the divine being.

Standing in the middle of it and waiting for me was a creature with a head similar to a mountain goat, its body covered with scales all over. Eight humps were intertwined together in a bizarre form on its physique.

'Rom!'

What I thought was an aurora was closer to a liquid. The Primordial Sea that I dedicated, the red waters. The god of life was submerged in it. The dry outer skin was moistened and tightly revived.

- You have returned my offspring.

Then a huge explanation that was hard to be transcribed into words permeated my mind.

Rom was a god who controlled the patterns of existence, from birth to growth to aging and death. Life, in other words, was a cycle.

However, when it was defeated and exiled in a war against the inhabitants of the void, it lost the power to create and sustain the cycle. The fundamental power of life it gifted to the mortal was lost by the deity that served as the very source of it.

- Now, I shall start the cycle again.

After saying so, Rom's body began to collapse into small pieces.

It was breaking down from the tip of its body into specks of dust-like organic matter, but its mind was shedding a much-satisfied light.

'Does that mean... it's going to die?'

However, even after Rom returned to dust in the red sea, the divine power I felt and the deity of life didn't disappear. Instead, it became stronger than before.

The reason was revealed through the subsequent events.

- I will be born again.

Life began to bloom in the sea.

Those things that began as small dust coalesced in a form similar to Rom just before death, with more intense vitality instilled within. Soon, countless descendants of Rom were born in the Primordial Sea. They swam leisurely and chattered among themselves.

Only then did I realize the true meaning of what Rom had lost and the deity's true identity.

"You are..."

I voiced out my thoughts.

"The deity called Rom was not an entity, but a colony."

Numerous of Rom's offsprings were alike, yet different from the predecessors that had died and disappeared just then. They increased in numbers while inheriting divinity and memory. The expression of spreading rather than dividing was appropriate.

- That is so, mortal.

They answered with countless strands of mental waves. Those slightly differed in meaning from each other yet harmonized to create meaning.

The message, which was delivered with intense divine power, refreshingly filled my mind without confusion.

By turning over the grain, I could see how the world would change in the future. The consequence of Rom's completion would be different from the instances of Igras-Sho and Aden. If the two gods' revival only affected certain groups, such as wizards, warriors, and priests, Rom's recovery would bring about a change for everyone alive.

As if to affirm my thoughts, the divine colony spoke to me once more with many voices, with a unified will.

- Mortal, the power that leads your evolution will become stronger from now on. The diversity of species will be expanded, and the vitality of the individual will be more intense. As a result, the speed at which life spreads will also accelerate.

That didn't mean that death would disappear. The jurisdiction of Rom also included the extinction of life.

However, it meant the color that each life bore within had become more vivid. And within them would dwell stronger vitality.

- I offer you a reward.

Paht!

As soon as it finished speaking, something engraved in my soul reacted. It was the thing that I received when I first met Rom in the Tower of Choice, regardless of my will.

[Orb of Immortality (Rank: ???)]

-Item Description: It is a spiritual artifact that deviates from the constraints of the material world. If it's coupled with the user's soul, forced separation can cause severe damage to the astral body.

- The more the user reaps another life with its own hands, the more energy one charges inside the Orb. After charging it 100%, the user will be able to activate the item at any time.

- From the moment the item is activated, the user is freed from the circle of death.

- Beware that if the user dies while the item is not activated, this Orb will disappear naturally.

- Current spiritual power charge rate: 100%

It's been a long time since I filled 100% of its spiritual power gauge because of the battles that followed after leaving the tower.

However, I hadn't yet activated the item still. It was for two reasons.

As soon as that happened, there was a concern that my soul would be completely subjugated to Rom, and if I didn't die, I wouldn't be able to reincarnate as a successor. I would not be able to clear my next fate.

- Mortal, you no longer have to worry about such things.

Rom continued.

- Now that I've removed my indecency, I can see it.

It told me something similar to Igras-Sho.

- Just as life repeats birth, death, and reproduction... Just as it continues the infinite cycle and evolution, your soul has experienced a similar occurrence. You, the soul who has repeated more regression and reincarnation than anyone- The weight contained in you has reached the point that even we can't easily subjugate it.

He then added.

- I will never command you as a servant. But you will no longer grow old from here on out, thanks to the gift on your soul.

- This does not mean a complete escape from the yoke of death. If for any reason, you suffer enough damage to the point of extinction, the Orb will not be able to save you.

It meant to deter my aging so that I could avoid dying of old age at least.

I thought inwardly. It's a good suggestion, but if I fulfilled my destiny in my current life, I'd have to die anyway and move on to the next life...

- Mortal.

But Rom pointed out something I didn't think of.

- Now that you have escaped death from aging, what need would there be for you to reincarnate for your next destiny?

"?!"

I understood the meaning of those words.

- Seeing the countless traces carved in your soul, now I understand it, 'Successor.'

As if much of his memory had returned, the god of life told me the following.

- You have repeated many reincarnations since you have too many destinies to fulfill, and the time frame in which they are placed is wide. As an ordinary mortal, you would have died and been born with a different body because you could not live that long and bear the memory's weight.

There were also disadvantages to the system of reincarnation.

That was the case for the previous life, the life before the possession, living as Choi Seung-Hyun. I was reincarnated with a body that couldn't handle Mana properly, so I faced great difficulties.

However, in my current body... How was my life as Seo Jin-Wook at the moment? I had Mana that grew limitlessly and gods. In a way, it could be seen as the best condition to achieve destiny.

If it had been in the past, it would have been difficult to avoid aging and death. Hence, I would have had to be reincarnated and concentrated on other destinies. But those restrictions had been removed.

What if I could continue to exist as Seo Jin-Wook and challenge the destinies that should have been solved by other reincarnates?

It wouldn't be impossible, just like the god suggested.

- Everything to be done in the coming future is locked inside your deep subconsciousness... So if you trust your judgment and move forward as you do, you would make the best decision.

"!"

- And you, who have already been honored by three gods, have become something beyond ordinary mortal or incarnation. Should I call your state a half-god?

"Half-god?"

- Your spiritual level also seems to have grown beyond recognition. Unlike before, your mind will never collapse because of the weight of too many memories.

That meant my spirit had all the qualifications to endure a long life as an entity.

The god who explained so sent me off with a blessing.

- I pray that 'luck' is with you on the rest of your journey.

***

The moment the black hole pushed me away, the eyes of the Union's Awakened beings poured out around me.

"He's here! Mr. Seo Jin-Wook, the Awakened, is back!"

"Hooray! Hooray!"

I thought it was surprising that there was an immediate reaction like when the seal of Igras-Sho was lifted, but when I looked around carefully, there was a priest of Rom among them.

They, who had been dispatched to the battlefield together to support the soldiers, ran in tears and bowed their heads.

"The chosen one... We present our deepest respect we can offer to you!"

After reporting to the Union headquarters that I had received back the pieces of the fragment of Life following the war, I decided on the next destination.

'Busy, busy.'

I couldn't even afford to be touched by the feeling that I had gained the state of a half-god.

Again, the operation's result was three wins, one draw, and one loss in five rounds.

The next dimension wasn't where a victory was sown but a draw. It was because the coordinates to connect with the [Door of Hope] were closer than the dimensions we had conquered.

"Then, I'll be departing now."

Leaving the priests and the Union force seeing me off behind, I threw myself into a blue flash.

***

Union headquarters.

Six other supreme commissioners, excluding the Adgon, were gathered to be briefed. The after-measure process and Seo Jin-Wook's actions on each planet were updated in real-time.

"Rom's fragment has just been freed."

Some relief and warmth spread among the supreme commissioners who were waiting in tension. One spoke satisfactorily.

"It's truly swift."

Bachurka nodded and replied.

"It's truly fortunate to have such an Awakened in our time."

At that moment, another piece of information came in.

"We've secured all the Adgons in the Union headquarters."

The commissioner looked at the empty seat and asked a question in reply.

"What about 'him?'"

One of the original seven supreme commissioner chairs was empty. It belonged to the Adgon Commissioner, who kept picking fights with Seo Jin-Wook.

"Unfortunately, he had already fled to his origin dimension."

Even though they tried to proceed in secret, he had run away. Perhaps he sensed suspicion just before the war started. It was followed by reports of the Adgons' movement trends.

"The size of the Adgon troops heading to the planet, the only place where the Union had failed in the assault, is alarming."

The commissioners who saw the following screen groaned in unison.

"What is that? Which god's fragment must it be that is sealed in that dimension-!"

The number of troops gathering there was so large that it left them dumbfounded.