Chapter 46

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Chapter 46

As soon as Andra entered this space, she felt the power of the pattern on her wrist being suppressed. And the realization became clearer over time—the power gained through awakening could not be used here. That’s why Andra was being dragged away by Dustin.

“There is only one option. Either work with me to solve the puzzle and move on to the next one, or be buried here and die.”

You can move on to the next step only by solving the puzzle.

At Andra’s words, Dustin looked down at his hand. As soon as he didn’t really feel any power, he cursed under his breath.

“…Sh*t, damn it.”

“Then let go of me now—”

Before Andra could finish answering, Dustin turned and started heading towards the disk. Andra was draped over his shoulder as they returned to the disc. Dustin placed Andra casually on the disc. Andra stumbled and fell into the water that reached her ankles. You really…!

“It would be better to think quickly before we both get killed.”

Dustin ruffled his hair and grabbed the handle of the disc. Andra stared at Dustin for a moment before getting up. She still had a sore wrist that had been caught by him. At first glance, the handprints were swollen and red. Andra patted her wrist and let out a small sigh.

‘If I leave here, I’m really going to kill you…’

Andra turned her gaze to the disk. She then began to concentrate. What did she miss? Andra didn’t think this riddle was a one that she had seen before. This was, after all, just an puzzle.

‘More than anything else, there must be a reason why the dungeon showed those memories.’

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have deliberately shown those things.

“Andra Avellin!”

Dustin urged Andra. The water was pouring over their ankles.

“Don’t rush me! I’m thinking!”

Andra closed her eyes and she began to organize the memories she had seen. There must have been hidden clues in her memories.

‘Those memories I saw belong to a god named Anat. But the person I know by the name of Anat…’

Suddenly, Andra opened her eyes. When she asked where she had heard the name a lot, that name was also in myths. Of course, as something other than gods.

“Dean and Anat.”

“What are you talking about.”

“It is the story of us humans from the creation myth. Dean and Anat. They built the country and developed the country. Do you know that Dean stole fire from the gods and ran away?”

Andra asked Dustin. Dustin’s face hardened for a moment when she mentioned the stolen fire. Andra did not miss it and urged Dustin.

“Dustin Airak, do you know something? Say it.”

Dustin did not readily answer. Quickly! Can’t you see the water is filling up?! Only then did he reluctantly open his mouth when Andra questioned him with anger.

“When I lost my consciousness, I peeked into someone’s memory. That’s probably Dean’s memory.”

“What did you see in that memory?”

“I met a God. She was a woman… I don’t know her name, but before that, I was stealing fire from the dragon and running away.”

Then it was almost certain. Since the main character of the memory that Andra saw was Anat, Dustin would be Dean. Andra looked at the disc again. Then she tried to clear her mind as calmly as possible.

“Anat was a god. But for whatever reason, she was punished by the primordial god, and she lived with humans. That’s probably Dean…”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a god named Anat.”

“I told you before. She was punished. Perhaps at that time she was deprived of divine power. And just like the myth says, Dean and Anat built a country and developed civilization. That must have been Hazel, the kingdom of magic.”

However, Hazel suddenly collapsed and disappeared. Maybe this also had something to do with Anat? But for what reason? Could it have something to do with Nera getting mad at her? Several questions engulfed her mind.

“So, what kind of god is Anat?”

“In the myths, there is no story of a god who was disqualified as a god. But there is one god who suddenly disappeared.”

Its importance suddenly disappeared near the end of the story, and she has been questioning the whole story ever since she came across the myth. Andra glanced at the one with the fire and crown on it among the nine signs.

“The god of wisdom and ideals.”

The water was already past their knees. Andra lifted her head and looked at the empty golden chair in the middle. She still wasn’t sure. Still, she had no choice but to give it a try. The water will continue to fill up, and it will be difficult to turn the disc once it goes over their height.

‘Anat disobeyed the will of her primordial god and deceived them. So she was punished and lived as a human. But Nera came and warned Anat. If you don’t abandon Dean, that human man, she will be swept away.’

The fact that the golden chair was empty meant that she ultimately chose Dean. So at the end of the myth, she no longer appears? Andra yelled at Dustin.

“Dustin, except for the gods of wisdom and ideals, run the disc sequentially again! Death, earth, sky, greed, neutrality, justice, mischief, day…”

Dustin, who had already turned the disc once, began to rotate the disc by pushing the handle as soon as Andra finished speaking. Claaaang, clink, clink. He gripped the handle more forcefully. It was not easy to turn the disk with the water pressure.

After a while, all the discs returned. Still, the water did not stop pouring. Because of this, Andra’s eyes darkened. This wasn’t it either? The god of ideals and wisdom was disqualified as a god, that’s why she cannot even sit on the golden seat. Andra took her out and turned it around, but it wasn’t the correct answer.

‘What the hell am I missing?’

Andra grabbed her head. The water kept coming up.

‘This is a puzzle. But there would be no way to set the difficulty of the puzzle this high.’

At that moment, her eyes met the stone statue of Nera. It was as if she was laughing at her, and Andra clenched her teeth. She couldn’t die like this. Buried in water nevertheless! It’s such a harsh death that there’s no hope for her, who can only swim like a brick.

‘Think. I must be missing something. Maybe I’m going about it too complicatedly. Nera is the god of greed and conflict. Like this…’

At that moment, a fact flashed through Andra’s mind. The words she saw all the time when she came here.

―The eighth karma has already begun.

“Andra!”

Dustin saw the water now rising to his chest and screamed at Andra. It had now reached the top of Andra’s neck. He hastily pulled Andra. In the meantime, Andra didn’t even consider the fact that the water was up to the top of her neck as she was filled with thoughts.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Again, again… You have to pull the eight gods, excluding the god of wisdom and ideals.”

“We already did that.”

“No. The last order is wrong. I must make the eighth as the god of greed and conflict.”

Andra held her breath and went into the water and grabbed the handle. She can’t even swim…! Dustin wrinkled his brow and followed her, hurriedly into the water, and grabbed the handle with her. The two began to spin the disc. Clang, clink, clink, claaaang…

The last order. Andra glared at Nera’s mark. And she pushed the handle with force, moving the mark. Immediately, the disk rattled and stopped. Then something amazing happened. The disk they were standing on was making a sound and going down. In an instant, Andra and Dustin were dragged under the water pressure.

Suddenly, the disk descended all the way down and led them to another space. The two were thrown to the floor with plenty of water. Cough, cough! Andra, who suddenly drank water, vomited up her cough. How many times did she fall into the water?

‘Nera obviously hates me.’

Dustin first came to his senses and held out his hand to Andra. This time she didn’t ignore his hand. Actually, she didn’t even have the strength to do that. Andra got up, supported by Dustin. Her legs loosened and trembled. Dustin called her as she tried to stand on her legs, trembling like a newborn deer.

“Andra, look ahead.”

When she turned her head, the first thing she saw was a dazzlingly colorful hallway. Of course, it was a Hazelian style of architecture. It wasn’t just that. On either side of the wall were statues with weapons, all wearing the skulls of beasts with horns on their heads. What’s more, the lights on the walls automatically lit up according to their movements, illuminating the surroundings.

“It’s another hidden space.”

“What is this…”

This was really suspicious. Why did the people of Hazel make this place? Simply to worship Nera, the god of greed and conflict? More than anything else, it was the eighth karma that caught her heart. What was the purpose? Did they create a puzzle that would make her life come and go?

Andra looked around. If she looked closely, she could see murals filling the ceiling. It looked similar to the mural she had seen before, but it was a little different. They were talking about something else. Something more important than Hazel’s life…

Before long, Andra knew something.

“This… It’s the story of Dean and Anat.”

“What?”

“How they built a country and developed civilization… It’s about that.”

Andra followed the murals on the ceiling with her eyes, forgetting that her throat stung and moved forward.

First, Dean started by stealing fire. He stole the fire and gave it to the humans, so that humans could get a warm bed and food from the fire. After which, they were able to develop further. But what was important was what happened after that.

A bet between Dean and the primordial God.

According to the original myth, Dean solved the tasks given by the primordial god only with his own wisdom and strength. However, the murals here were telling a different story.

Anat, the god of wisdom and ideals, appears to have helped Dean. Dean was the only one who made the bet with the beginning god, but it was Dean and Anat who were solving the problem.

“I think it’s very different from the myth I knew.”

Dustin glanced at the mural. Andra nodded her head.

“Actually, Dean’s wisdom… Originally, it was Anat’s wisdom. That’s why Dean, who was a human, was able to win the bet by deceiving the primordial god.”

There was a large door at the end. They approached the door side by side, soaking wet. Andra reached out her hand and pushed the door, which opened easily. They cautiously stepped inside.

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