Chapter 323: Star, Gaia’s Curse (5)

Chapter 323: Star, Gaia’s Curse (5)

“He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster.”

* * *

There was a kind of monster called a Hundun. It was an insidious and wicked creature, and whenever it met a good person, it spoke ill of that person and ate them. However, it was friendly and gentle to bad people. A Hundun usually stayed quiet, but it occasionally chased its own tail for a while, then looked up at the sky, smiling. The monster was a good analogy for chaos and a symbol of the space outside of the universe, where the beings of Nyx had settled.

‘When one looks into an abyss for too long, they become a monster... So that means they need to be able to look a monster straight in the eyes first. And that monster is a Hundun.’Witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through Ñôv€l--B1n.

Mephistopheles called the latter part of [Prelati’s Spellbook] the Four Steps of Abyss, which referred to the four steps one had to take toward the <Abyss>.

“Once you climb up all four steps, you’ll be able to become an Outer Celestial,” Mephistopheles said.

Chang-Sun would become an Outer Celestial, not an Otherworld Celestial. In other words, Mephistopheles was saying that Chang-Sun would become like him.

Badump, badump―!

That made Chang-Sun’s heart pound harder as he thought, ‘It was a stroke of genius to become Mephistopheles’ disciple.’

There were also the Ten Elders’ lessons, and he had not yet completed the plan he had made with Thanatos. Thus, Chang-Sun would be able to become stronger without Mephistopheles; still, he could not help but look forward to Mephistopheles’ teachings, as they would no doubt be as great as those of the Ten Elders and the plan. However, there was one thing Chang-Sun had to make sure of first.

“I have a question,” Chang-Sun said.

“What is it?” Mephistopheles replied.

“As you already know, I’m trying to become a <Supreme Light’s Face>, but an Outer Celestial is...” Chang-Sun began.

“An Outer Celestial is a subordinate of <Dull Darkness>, so it would create a conflict of interest?” Mephistopheles finished.

Chang-Sun quietly nodded. The plans Thanatos and the Ten Elders had made for him were designed to let him reach his final goal, which was becoming a <Supreme Light’s Face>.

However, <Dull Darkness> was the opposite of <Supreme Light>. Even though they seemed to have reached an accord(?) through the mediator named <Deus Ex Machina>, their origins remained in conflict with each other. That was why Chang-Sun wondered whether they would be able to unite.

“I don’t know,” Mephistopheles replied casually, crossing his arms.

Not having expected the answer at all, Chang-Sun’s mind blanked briefly. He asked, “...What?”

“You’re the one who came to me to become my student, so you should be the one who deals with the consequences,” Mephistopheles remarked.

“...!” Chang-Sun could not help but feel concerned..

『Hahahaha! You ate everything just because you thought it was good for you! It serves you right! Haha! Hahaha! Hahahaha! Hahahahaha!』

Creeak!

The golden machine eyes on the ceiling now looked like two crescent moons as <Deus Ex Machina> burst into laughter. Perhaps his real self was also rolling on the floor laughing.

Chang-Sun clutched his head, thinking, ‘What... should I do?’

Up until now, he had been learning everything indiscriminately if he felt that it was necessary to become stronger more quickly, but he could not do that anymore. A <Supreme Light’s Face> and a subordinate of <Dull Darkness>... Chang-Sun was at a crossroads between the two incompatible factions of Eros and Nyx, but the problem was that he could not choose one side.

‘If I choose one, I’ll have to give up anything I acquired from the other side and become drastically weaker... It’ll take a long time to make up for the lost power,’ Chang-Sun thought. His mind remained in turmoil for some time, but he eventually wondered about something. ‘What would happen if I continued to be on both sides, if I can’t choose one?’

Choosing Eros or Nyx would cause a problem either way, so would it be impossible for Chang-Sun to stay on the border of both? Mephistopheles had clearly said that anyone with an ego would join Eros or Nyx no matter what. Light or darkness. Order or chaos. One had to choose a foundation in one of them.

However, when Chang-Sun recalled that, he thought, ‘It’s not as if I do what others tell me to do, anyway.’

“Well, who knows?” Mephistopheles continued suddenly.

Chang-Sun looked up in confusion. “...?”

It was still impossible to read what was going on in Mephistopheles’ mind. With his calm, pitch-black eyes, Mephistopheles looked at Chang-Sun and said, “You might be able to become the true twilight by harboring both qualities.”

“...!”

Eros symbolized day, while Nyx symbolized night. Twilight referred to the moment when day and night crossed paths. Chang-Sun’s Divine Name was ‘Divine Twilight’, which had originally referred to a being who killed Celestials, but if he could broaden the meaning and become twilight itself, he would be able to achieve something unprecedented. Indeed, during twilight, all the stars in the sky were obscured. As one of Chang-Sun’s goals was to make all the Zodiacs plummet, there could be no more fitting path for him.

At that moment, Chang-Sun could feel all the fog in his mind clearing up. He ruminated on his future path, gathering his determination as he said, “I’ll become the twilight.”

* * *

While Chang-Sun was brooding over the true definition of a Divine Name and searching for any materials related to [Gaia’s Curse] in the ‘Changgong Library’...

“I never imagined I would be able to read a person—no, a Celestial’s life like this,” Chang-Sun muttered to himself.

The ‘Changgong Library’ was known to hold records of all the knowledge and information in the universe, but that was not all. Records of all living creatures were contained within, as well. Thus, Chang-Sun had tried visiting the sector named #801. There, he had found a whole bookcase of records about all the inhabitants of Worldline #801. It did not matter whether they were humans, monsters, Aberrations, or Celestials.

Just to be sure, Chang-Sun had pulled out the book about Richardus, and was immediately able to see what he was doing.

‘One guy plummeted, so the other one made a move right away,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Richardus would try to fill the Emperor’s Seat in any way possible. Perhaps he would not be satisfied with the position of ‘Tian Shi Yuan’ and aim for a higher goal, such as becoming the sole king of <Purple Star Astrology>. Richardus had always called himself a lion, so he would never remain a subordinate or be happy as a co-leader. It was obvious that he would make his move to take the position of the remaining ‘Zi Wei Yuan’ as he waited for Chang-Sun to arrive.

For a moment, it seemed that Richardus was looking in Chang-Sun’s direction, but it was just a coincidence. Nevertheless, Chang-Sun had a strong feeling that he would have to face Richardus soon enough.

‘I stirred up their nest once, so I should continue to do so until it’s shattered,’ Chang-Sun thought, reaching his hand out to the book of ‘Zi Wei Yuan’, which was beside Richardus’.

[You are not authorized to access this book!]

Pzz!

Sparks flew into the air, pushing Chang-Sun back. He thought, ‘Is the information about ‘Zi Wei Yuan’ so highly classified that I can’t open the book with Grade 1 clearance, just like with Hsan?’

To test out his hypothesis, Chang-Sun reached out toward the books of the Zodiacs, which were in the section named <Horoscope>.

Ding!

Ding!

[You do not have enough Causality!]

[The visitor has not been granted access to the information!]

Just as expected, similar messages appeared.

‘No, it’s not about the level of my clearance. The information isn’t part of the category I asked for.’

Chang-Sun had requested to research [Gaia’s Curse], so he would not be able to read a book unless it contained relevant information. Then, how could he have read the book of Richardus? Before Chang-Sun could think about it further, something else caught his attention.

Cha Ye-Eun, the descendant of Quirinale.

Gulp!

Chang-Sun unwittingly flinched, swallowing down his saliva. He thought, ‘Ye-Eun is suffering from [Gaia’s Curse], so she’s part of...!’

Slap!

As soon as Chang-Sun reached that conclusion, he slapped his cheek firmly, but his eyes were still glued to the book.

‘No, no, stop. Stop thinking about it,’ Chang-Sun repeated to himself several times. ‘I’ll still be able to come up with a fundamental solution after finding out how exactly Ye-Eun got infected with [Gaia’s Curse]’

Once Chang-Sun went down this road, there was no turning back. ‘Y-Yeah, I have to start from somewhere, and this is the right place. This is all for Ye-Eun. I need to know who’s behind her curse, so I can prepare for what happens after I cure it.’

Little by little, Chang-Sun reached out his hand further.

‘I-I’m not trying to take a peep!’

His heart pounded very loudly.

‘A-And I want to... know how I-Ithaca could have reincarnated as her c-current self...!’

Gu―lp―!

Chang-Sun loudly swallowed his saliva once again. “Yes, let’s never read about the other parts and put it back after only checking out the necessary parts.”

Indeed, Chang-Sun made a decision purely for Ye-Eun’s treatment(?) with zero selfish interests and desires(?), but why was he feeling guilty, as if he were reading his girlfriend’s super secret, hidden diary?

[Unbending Spirit]? [Composing Spirit]? Those things were ineffective for a time like this. Chang-Sun slowly reached for the book with a shaking hand.

Creak!

At that moment, the ominous sound of gears turning echoed from upward.

『Ha! Look at this bastard.』

In Chang-Sun’s ears, it sounded like the voice of an older brother who had been shadowing a bum hanging around his younger sister, catching him red-handed.