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Chapter 358: Star, the Planet Celestial (8)
Chapter 358: Star, the Planet Celestial (8)
Chapter 358: Star, the Planet Celestial (8)
The explosion was so enormous that it looked as if it would endlessly expand. It could even be easily observed in <Heaven>. After burning through their lifespan, massive stars could explode into a supernova and collapse into a black hole. However, this explosion was incomparably bigger.
[The eyes of the Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ widens as he springs to his feet!]
Of course, the Celestials observing Chang-Sun gave heated responses.
[The Celestial ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ narrows her eyes as she chuckles dumbfoundedly.]
[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ pesters her mother, asking her to step in!]
[The Celestial ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ tells her daughter to stay where she is.]
[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ runs wild while wondering how she can sit still in this situation!]
[The Celestial ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ subdues her daughter with her tail to stop her daughter from bothering her.]
…
[The Celestial ‘Scorpio’ grits his teeth in grave shock.]
[The Celestials ‘Gemini’ are discussing countermeasures.]
[The Celestial ‘Aquarius’ quietly chuckles and says that this incident will make many beings busy.]
[The Celestial ‘Taurus’ agrees with the Celestial ‘Aquarius.’]
…
The responses greatly differed depending on whether or not they were favorable to Chang-Sun.
[Smiling bitterly, the Celestial ‘Tsunami Bringer’ says that he cannot even think about making the Celestial ‘Divine Twilight’ his apostle now.]
[The Celestial ‘Antlered Animal King’ shows the desire to win for the first time.]
[The Celestial ‘Plague Monarch’ nervously fidgets with her fingers, worrying the Celestial ‘Divine Twilight’ might have gotten gravely injured.]
…
[Numerous members of the United Army are astonished by the <Muspelheim> king’s unexpected level of power!]
The members of the <Anti-Star> Alliance seemed to have a lot on their minds.
[The Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ observes the <Saha World> in disapproval!]
[Smiling coldly, the Celestial ‘Malignity-Drinking Saturn’ says that the Celestial ‘Divine Twilight’ may be comparable to the Nine Heavens now!]
<Maleakhe> and <L’Infernal>, the balancing weights of the Worldline, also paid close attention to Chang-Sun.
All <Societies> and Celestials of <Heaven> in Worldline #801 were now busy making calculations of their own. The news about the ‘Divine Twilight’ resurrecting and becoming a <Supreme Light’s Face> was already troubling, but he was now estimated to be as powerful as the Nine Heavens.
Chang-Sun was now an essential variable to consider in the discussion about the state of affairs in Worldline #801, which someone found displeasing.
[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ sighs in annoyance!]
Mephistopheles grabbed onto his armrest and slowly stood up from his seat.
Seriously.
Wooosh, woosh, woosh…!
His real body was so enormous that ordinary sentient beings wouldn’t be able to fathom the size. Standing up from his seat alone caused the Outer Universe to shake profusely.
Always. Start. Troubles.
Mephistopheles was indiscriminately releasing his energy in irritation. In response, the Outer and Otherworld Celestials who usually loitered around him immediately left. They didn’t want to risk getting on Mephistopheles’ bad side, which would result in their obliteration.
However, Mephistopheles’ loyal allies, like ‘Ka’, ‘Nol’, and ‘Yoo,’ just watched him with interest despite their jaws rattling. They were well aware that although Mephistopheles was acting annoyed and grumbled, that wasn’t how he actually felt. As Chang-Sun’s teacher, he quietly sorted out the aftermath of the accident that his student caused. As far as they knew, people usually called a person like him a tsundere.
Heh, heh…
[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ silently stares in a certain direction!]
In the Outer Universe, where no sense of direction existed, Mephistopheles stared at someone. The other party couldn’t afford to ignore him.
[<Deus Ex Machina> grumbles because that damn bastard caused yet another problem, then asks the Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ if he really has to do it right now!]
[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ silently stares in a certain direction!]
[<Deus Ex Machina> says that he will do it later because he is busy as hell right now!]
[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ silently stares in a certain direction!]
[<Deus Ex Machina> says he really is not lying!]
[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ silently stares in a certain direction!]
[<Deus Ex Machina> says…]
[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ silently stares in a certain direction!]
…
[<Deus Ex Machina> springs to his feet, telling the Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ that he will do it so he should cut it out!]
…
[Annoyed, <Deus Ex Machina> asks where ‘he’ is!]
[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ bows in silence.]
[<Deus Ex Machina> gnashes his teeth and says that this is all because of ‘him.’]
[<Deus Ex Machina> reaches out his hand to adjust the Wheel!]
Mephistopheles turned his head toward Worldline #801 again when <Deus Ex Machina> prepared to rewind the Wheel. The explosion continued growing even as they talked, devouring a galaxy group and about to reach an entire galaxy cluster. Before it could, however…
“Be canceled.”
Mephistopheles watched the explosion suddenly disappear as if it never existed. The galaxies that the wave of light obliterated returned to their original forms. Earth and its solar system were intact too.
Before <Deus Ex Machina> could even interfere, Chang-Sun used Causality Cancelation, the ability to directly interfere with the law of causality and negate an event. Through it, he erased the event with the explosion as if he were using a Divine Authority.
Of course, Mephistopheles could do that as well if he wanted to, but he was part of the Outer Universe, <Nyx>’s region. Hence, he couldn’t just directly meddle with the affairs of Worldlines. That was why he asked <Deus Ex Machina> for a favor.
Well aware of that, <Deus Ex Machina> decided to rewind the Wheel of Time. He couldn’t help but grumble, though. During the <Supreme Light> and <Dull Darkness>’ absence, only <Deus Ex Machina> could adjust the law of causality without paying any price, but it seemed another person had to be added to that list now.
[<Deus Ex Machina> lowers his arm, dumbfounded by the sight!]
<Deus Ex Machina> looked away from it, seemingly not wanting to care about it. Meanwhile, Mephistopheles finally realized that his student had really become a <Supreme LIght’s Face>.
He. Chases. Darkness. But. Light.
Rattle…
Mephistopheles’ blue Inferno Sights blazed up in the dark Outer Universe.
If. Night. Day. Mix. Then. It. Is. Really. Twilight.
* * *
Woosh, woosh, woosh…!
With his [Gnostic Eye] wide open, Chang-Sun’s face crumpled up due to the stinging pain spreading all over him. He overworked himself so much that smoke was still rising from him.
‘… I thought I was going to die.’
?… I thought I was going to die.
Chang-Sun gritted his teeth. Although he used the powers of omnipotence and omniscience to their fullest potential, he could still lose consciousness at any moment. His experiment of merging the supreme sacred light and <Darkness> was a monstrosity itself. If he didn’t activate the powers of omniscience and omnipotence as a precaution right before he combined the two… he didn’t even want to think about what could have happened.
‘I won’t be able to do this twice unless I’m in a real hurry.’ Chang-Sun smiled bitterly, fidgeting with [Machina’s Clockwork], which was around his wrist.
Even with the power of omnipotence, it was actually almost impossible to cancel an event that had been ‘confirmed.’ Fortunately, he had the relic that <Deus Ex Machina> gave him.
Chang-Sun had an idea that maybe he could do it using the feeling of transcendence that he felt in the Nil Domain. Luckily, his gamble was successful. After activating the power of omnipotence with the clockwork and his six hundred sixty-five previous reincarnations, Chang-Sun immediately learned how to manipulate the law of causality, which had to be the true power of the <Supreme Light’s Faces>.
Without hesitation, Chang-Sun terminated the explosion event and rewound time to right before it took place. However, in return, it depleted his divine power and put him in so much pain that he felt as if his body was about to crumble down. [Machina’s Clockwork] also heavily loosened. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to use it for a while.
?Don’t ever pull that kind of stupid stunt again or else I’m never going to help you again! What I want is more gnosis, not playing with fire like a child!
Odin, who was always relaxed, appeared to be quite furious.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” was all Chang-Sun could say.
Fortunately, he quickly replenished his divine power, allowing him to regain his stamina.
[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ worriedly asks you if you got hurt,]
[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ lets out a long sigh.]
…
A series of messages he hadn’t noticed before endlessly popped up.
[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ growls that he will really teach you a lesson if you do that again!]
Mephistopheles' message of warning stood out the most. Chang-Sun could even feel his annoyance from it, but he couldn’t help chuckling because he could also sense his concern.
[Frowning, the Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ asks if you are seriously laughing right now!]
‘Does… he have flesh that he can use to frown?’ Chang-Sun wondered, but he didn’t say it out loud. He could sometimes be slow in reading the atmosphere, but he still knew this wasn’t the right time to ask that question.
“I feel like I can use this as a suicide bombing technique on guys I don’t like, though.” Chang-Sun smiled faintly, glancing at some of the Celestials who were likely watching him from somewhere.
[Some of the Celestials fall into silence!]
No one could say for certain that it wasn’t going to work on them.
[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ massages his aching temples with his index fingers.]
‘Well, I just got a way greater technique than I was hoping for. Is there a way I can use this somehow?’
Even at that moment, Chang-Sun was having thoughts that would make Mephistopheles raise hell if he ever heard them.
[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ sighs and says that you are probably up to something right now.]
* * *
D?6.
The time passed by quite fast. Eventually, the message he had been waiting for finally showed up.
[All Dungeons on the Server ‘Earth’ have been cleared!]
[The probability of Gates appearing in the Server ‘Earth’ has significantly decreased.]
[The influence of the Celestial ‘Divine Twilight’ over the Server ‘Earth’’ has become stronger.]
[<Societies> and Celestials are no longer allowed to be involved with the Server ‘Earth’ without the permission of the Celestial ‘Divine Twilight.’]
A complete shutdown of all Dungeons on Earth. In other words, Earth was finally free from the danger of <Extinction>. People from all over the world cheered, no longer having to worry about dying due to the sudden appearance of Gates. It naturally had some negative impact on the economy, but they didn’t have to worry about that issue right now.
[Stabilization progress: 99.7%]
Chang-Sun had perfectly synchronized with Earth.
D?4.
Chang-Sun headed to Choi Bu-Yong’s forge a long time after his last visit. When he arrived, Bu-Yong looked sullen and paid him no attention.
“How have you been?” Chang-Sun asked.
“What brings you here? You must be very busy.”
Bu-Yong was probably sulking because Chang-Sun didn’t even call him once while he was traveling around the world.
Thinking Bu-Yong was the same as ever, Chang-Sun smiled as he handed the [Twilight Spear] to him. “I know it’s very late, but this spear still has one last upgrade, right?”
“So you remember?” Grumbling, Bu-Yong ran his hand through the [Twilight Spear]. “You treated the weapon very harshly. It’s a mess. A mess.”
“That’s why I brought it.”
“You and your mouth…” Bu-Yong grumbled once more. In truth, he was actually quite surprised.
A weapon reflected its owner’s life. Likewise, Bu-Yong could tell how solid Chang-Sun’s life had been through the reflection on the [Twilight Spear], leading him to a level of enlightenment he couldn’t reach before. This level only belonged to Celestials, not the humans that had been limiting Bu-Yong's true potential. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, Bu-Yong spent a long time contemplating it.
Chang-Sun quietly waited for him, curious about how the [Twilight Spear] would change after Bu-Yong organized his thoughts,. He was sure that Bu-Yong would become the new Ou Yezi before long.
“… Phew!” Bu-Yong heaved a sigh after some time, having finished contemplating.
“I have another thing to ask as well,” Chang-Sun casually said, pretending as if he hadn’t noticed the state Bu-Yong was in and that he was waiting for him.
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing big.”
After Chang-Sun explained it to him in detail, Bu-Yong’s jaw dropped to the floor. “You? Are you sure you can handle it with your temper?”
“...”
“… You’re serious, aren’t you?” he asked, having noticed it from Chang-Sun’s silence. Rolling up his sleeve, he nodded. “Alright. I’ll even do that for free.”
D?3.
Meanwhile, Chang-Sun tried his best to get closer to his family. Since apologizing to and reconciling with them, he had been spending as much time as he could with them. He even drank with his Lee Woo-Seon all night, letting their feelings out. It made him feel a little closer to his brother.
Chang-Sun also agreed to give Lee Ha-Seon, his sister, a blind date with Baek Gyeo-Ul, and enjoyed a mother-son date and shopping with So Yu-Ha, his mother. While shopping, people recognized Chang-Sun and swarmed toward him and his mother, forcing them to go through quite a lot of trouble just to avoid them.
Afterward, Chang-Sun followed Lee Jo-Myung, his father, on a fishing trip, which gave him the opportunity to talk to his father little by little. They returned home smiling, causing Yu-Ha to ask them about what happened. However, instead of giving an answer, they simply looked at each other and smiled.
Failing to pry into the situation, Yu-Ha grumbled that she was jealous. Her biggest concern had always been the relationship between her husband and youngest son, so seeing them so close again made her feel relieved.
D?2.
“I would like to say something,” Chang-Sun abruptly said at the family dinner, which was now filled with warmth. where there was nothing but warmth now.
With Jo-Myung’s permission, Chang-Sun told them about every single part of his life, even the past that he had buried in the corner of his heart, for the first time.
By the time Chang-Sun was done telling his story, silence had fallen upon the table. His family were ordinary people from Earth, but even they had heard about <Horoscope> and <Purple Star Astrology>. Chang-Sun, their son and brother, actually having fought those <Societies> sounded unrealistic. Even so, the silence didn’t last long.
“You must have gone through a lot, my baby,” Yu-Ha cried as she pulled Chang-Sun into her arms.
“I can finally understand how you became powerful that quickly. Considering you’re talking about this now, you had a change of heart, didn’t you?” Jo-Myung patted his youngest son’s shoulder to comfort him. He then asked about his next plan, willing to offer him advice if he wanted.
With a serious expression on his face, Chang-Sun quietly nodded.
D?1.
A day before Chang-Sun’s departure, he enjoyed one last date with Cha Ye-Eun. Afterward, she suddenly said, “I’m going to go too.”
Chang-Sun heaved a long sigh. He could tell from how serious Ye-Eun’s eyes were that she had given the matter a lot of thought. Just like when she was still Ithaca, stopping her was hard the moment she started acting stubborn. She was also more active than before, so she was probably more frustrated by the fact that she was stuck on Earth like this.
Ye-Eun probably thought that she was the reason Chang-Sun was heading back to Arcadia, a place filled with bad memories for him. If so, then she would be wrong.
“You know you can’t.” Chang-Sun shook his head.
“But—!”
“No. Never.”
Ye-Eun pouted.
Ithaca was stubborn, but she didn’t insist beyond reason. That left some room to persuade her. Fortunately, Ye-Eun was no different. Although she agreed about why she couldn’t go, she felt sad when Chang-Sun coldly rejected the idea. She was frustrated with her powerlessness.
“Ye-Eun.” Chang-Sun called to console her and talk about the last part of his story, which he had buried deep in his mind.
Ye-Eun looked at Chang-Sun, wondering why he called her.
Chang-Sun knelt down and pulled out a wedding ring from his pocket. “Will you marry me?”