Chapter 269

Chapter 269

An overwhelmingly massive door.

Seol stood in front of the door, before pausing for a moment.

He then looked back and saw Hye Myeong frozen in place.

‘This must be the power of the mind Watala was referring to.’

While it wasn’t as incredible as freezing time, it did allow him to focus entirely on the door in front of him.

Clatter...

Clatter...

The chains wrapped around the door looked incredibly heavy.

‘Why does it...’

Seol was overwhelmed by a sense of unfairness, as if he were assigned an impossible task.

How on earth was someone as small as him supposed to open that massive door?

However, he kept those thoughts to himself and said something else out loud.

“Hold on, I’ll...”

Clatter...

Clatter...

Seol was overwhelmed, feeling like he couldn’t move properly, like he was trapped in a dream.

Despite the door’s power growing stronger, Seol felt as if his strength was being limited.

“Haah... Haah...”

Seol ran out of breath just from trying to pull on the door’s handle.

“Haah... Haah...”

Seol continued to pull with all his strength, but the door wouldn’t budge. Despite finally reaching the door he had desperately sought, he couldn’t open it.

Fssss...

In the dark space, the Golden Divine Statue’s face appeared from the sky. It was so immense that Seol couldn’t see it in its entirety.

It then slowly opened its mouth.

“You... are not the Immortal...”

“...What?”

Another statue’s face appeared to Seol’s right.

“You are unable to open the door because you are not the Immortal.”

“Shut up! What the hell are you saying?!”

“You will never be able to become like the Immortal... How pitiful...”

“No! I never once tried to become like the Immortal... I... never...”

Fsss...

This time, to his left.

“Only the Immortal can open the door, surely. I’m sure you sense it, too.”

“......”

“The Immortal is stronger than you now. You will only desperately chase after him and fall into despair when you inevitably fail.”

Lower...

Seol slowly let go of the door’s handle.

“You are mentally weak.”

“You are ordinary.”

“They are much greater than you.”

The immense pressure from the golden statues bore down on him.

Seol felt his grip weaken even more. He was unable to hold onto his strength.

“In the end, you’ll never be able to bear the weight of the mind.”

Seol’s head drooped low.

“I-I’m sorry,” said Seol. “I can’t open it now... Once again, could you...”

Seol heard a voice from beyond the door.

- Hm... Could you?

Seol’s eyes weakly trembled, his will completely shattered.

‘Could you break down the door again?’

Seol thought of the sentence he had failed to finish.

‘No... that’s not it. That’s not what I want at all!’

B-Because I... one day...

‘I will have to overcome them.’

Seol finished his sentence to the being beyond the door.

“Could you wait for me a little longer?”

- ......

“I will find a way to open the door, no matter what.”

The individual beyond the door cackled.

- Bwahahahahahaha!

“......”

- Hey, look, Seol.

He asked Seol a question.

- Is that ‘Immortal’ guy you keep murmuring about really that incredible?

The Immortal was a legendary black magician who also founded the Church of Eternal Life. However, that did not mean everyone knew him.

After all, the individual beyond the door also did not know them.

“...I don’t know.”

- But what I am sure of is, I’m not waiting for the Immortal. I’m waiting for you.

“What?”

- So I’ll be patient and give you a bit more time. It’s not too hard to delay something I’ve been looking forward to for a little longer.

As the two finished their conversation, the golden statue asked Seol a question.

“Why do you not give up? You lack the qualifications to open the door.”

“...Because I promised him.”

“Promised him?”

- I will become a god.

- Then you have the right. You have the right to join me on my journey to become king of all beings. I will prepare a spot for you in my glorious journey.

Seol promised him.

Fade...

The golden statues began to disappear.

Thud...

Thud...

The door began to distance itself from Seol once more, leaving him with the lingering words of the being beyond it.

- Have fun floundering. I will be waiting for you.

Crash...

Seol was freed from the black space.

However, something was different when he returned to his conversation with Hye Myeong.

“Just now... What the...” stammered Hye Myeong, as if he had also gone through something strange.

Turn...

Turn...

Seol quickly looked around him.

‘Damn it...’

He then finally discovered the writings on the ceiling.

And not too long after, the Golden Divine Statue spoke once more.

- You may wander, but you must always return to where you once came.

“Haah...”

- Hone the weakness of your mind.

The despair and humiliation Seol suffered just now was a trial Watala had prepared.

‘Yeah, those letters weren’t on the ceiling when we first arrived.’

It was likely they had begun their trial the moment they headed up those stairs.

Was everything just an illusion, then?

Booooooooom!

“Damn it, he’s closer now.”

“Urgh... What happened?”

“Wake everyone else up! We have to run!”

Hye Myeong carried Mi Ah on his back, Chi Woo carried Seol Hong on his, and they immediately began to run.

And then...

- You have overcome the demons of your heart, men of good.

“...What?”

Rumble, rumble...

The ruin began to shift, creating a new passageway in front of them.

- Hurry. Only Watala’s relics are capable of putting the great evil to sleep.

They were in a dire situation, with no time for discussion. Seol and the others quickly followed the statue’s orders.

Sprint!

Hye Myeong glanced at Seol.

“Seol, you...”

“What is it?”

“There’s a strange light coming from your body...”

As Seol looked down, he noticed a faint gold light radiating from his body, as if it were painted on.

No, it was radiating from everyone.

Chi Woo and Hye Myeong’s lights were fainter, but they were definitely still radiating it.

Baaaam!

Baaaaaaam!

The sound of the destruction was drawing closer.

There was no way Shade would have cleared through the trials the way they were intended to be cleared.

He was a monster who would break down walls and create new paths if he couldn’t solve them.

“Run!”

The immense pressure behind them grew stronger, to the point that they feared Shade would be right behind them each time they turned around.

“The road... it’s cut off!” shouted Seol Hong.

She was right.

The distance to the next platform was too great. The passageway had ended prematurely, leaving a gap that couldn’t simply be jumped over.

“No, it’s not,” said Hye Myeong, looking ahead.

There was definitely a path.

And as if to prove it...

The Golden Divine Statue opened its mouth.

- A path prepared for the awakened.

In an instant, Chi Woo, Hye Myeong, and Seol simultaneously leaped forward.

However, they fell far short of the next platform, causing Seol Hong to close her eyes in fear.

“Listen and leave already!” shouted Seol. “Seol Hong! Chi Woo!”

As Seol called out to them, they nodded in response.

“We have to go, Hye Myeong! Now!”

“But Kang Seol is...”

“Trust him!”

Seol and Seol Hong had unwavering faith in each other. To Seol Hong, Seol’s words were as good as fact.

“Let’s go... Hye Myeong...” weakly murmured Mi Ah. “He’s coming...”

“Krgh...”

With Mi Ah pulling on his hand, Hye Myeong now had no choice.

Run, run...

The four quickly ran away from Seol, leaving him all on his own.

A few moments later.

Step...

Step...

A young child appeared at the passageway.

“Have you given up on running away?” asked Shade.

“...I never ran away.”

“All of this was pointless,” Shade mocked. “All I have to do is erase your existence and take Watala’s power for myself.”

Fwoooosh...

Shade’s ghost energy began to overwhelm Seol, demonstrating just how formidable an Immortal-rank being truly was.

While Phantom had been only half as strong as he once was when Seol fought him, Shade was showing just how powerful one of Hwagmu’s Ghost Generals was at his prime.

“Die.”

At his command, Shade’s horrific hands emerged from a void of darkness.

Fwoosh!

It felt as if time was slowing down once more.

Glowing with a swaying golden light, Seol was engulfed by darkness again.

Fwoooooosh!

As the veil of shadows enveloped him, he found himself standing before the door once more.

* * *

Seol’s mental world was only visible to him.

In an instant, he arrived in front of the door.

The Void Door emanated the same overwhelming aura as before.

Seol placed his hand on the door.

“I’m back.”

However, there was no response.

Had they grown weary from waiting for so long?

- If you wish to acquire everything, you must awaken yourself to everything.

Clad in a mysterious power, Seol placed his hand on the handle.

- You who have awakened, continue forward. Watala’s power awaits you.

Despite being just a step away from acquiring Watala’s powers, Seol turned back.

Because that was Hye Myeong’s.

Crackle, crackle...

As Seol's mind slowed down the passage of time, he took a step forward. The once-misaligned balance had finally been restored.

“I will open the door now.”

Hrgh!

Creak...

Creak...

It felt entirely different from before.

This time, the door was definitely budging.

Suddenly, a black, hazy doll appeared from the door.

- You are not me.

It was likely a mental image of the Immortal that Seol had created.

Veins bulging, Seol kept pulling on the door as he responded.

“Yes, I am not you...”

Creak... creak...

Clench...

Clatter...

Clatter...

The chains were breaking.

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

The door began to shake even more violently.

“But so what?!”

Creaaaaaaak!

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!”

Creaaaaaak!

Seol had managed to form a small gap in the door.

Creaaaaaaaaaaak!

Seol poured all of his strength into it.

“Open the door already, you fucking bastarddddddd!”

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

An immense energy exploded as the door burst open.

Thud...

Thud.,..

The door that seemed ever so massive... had finally been fully opened.

WOOOOOOOOSH!

Fierce winds surged from the void, tousling Seol’s hair.

“Ha... Haha...”

Seol had opened the door.

He then looked at the individual standing behind it.

“......”

A giant physique.

Seol saw chains of skulls wrapped around each of his massive forearms, with each skull emitting its own unique energy.

His cool, piercing blue gaze was ablaze with fiery intensity.

“Ahh...” groaned the Great Shaman, Jamad. “Is it finally going to be fun?”

[You have forcibly opened the Void Door.]

[The Void, the Abandoned Paradise, greets its new master.]

[The Void, a paradise for summons and creations, greatly accelerates their growth.]

[The Void grows on its own.]

Instantly, the black space shattered.

Crack...

Crack...

They were brought back to reality.

At first, it seemed certain that the strange hands Shade shot out would crush Seol. Even Shade himself was convinced of it.

But...

“...What?”

They were stopped, and had failed to reach Seol.

All due to a large, black monster.

Creak...

Creak...

With no other options, Shade brought back his hands.

“...Where did you come from?”

Jamad looked very different from how he appeared when Seol last saw him. He was not only radiating far more vitality and adorned with numerous dangling accessories, but he also carried a variety of things Seol had never seen before.

But the biggest change was the aura he radiated.

Seol had never encountered such dark and ominous energy before, and Jamad radiated it in abundance.

- Woah! I can see it! I can see now!

- What did I tell you? I told you the door had to be opened from the outside. We would’ve been in a lot of trouble if we forced it open.

- I know, good job. Can you hear me? Master, can you hear me? Master?

- Hey, can you hear us?

[The Void pulses.]

Seol heard Karen and Ur’s voices.

- I don’t think he can.

- There’s no way...

Seol left them alone as he continued to read the messages pouring in.

[Jamad, the Totality of Nature, occupies your Shadow Space.]

[Shadow Space is completely filled.]

‘...Immortal-rank?’

While in the Void, Jamad had reached Immortal-rank.

Fwiiiirl!

Shadows tangled and wrapped around Seol’s body, thick and sticky, in a way he had never felt before.

Craaaaaaaackle!

“What the—! You...”

Even Shade was taken aback by the power Seol was starting to amass.

Craaackle...

Crackle...

It wasn’t just Jamad’s fang pattern that imprinted itself onto Seol’s Bones of Origin.

Symbols of lightning, sulfur, and mountains also appeared.

As well as a symbol that Seol struggled to discern...

[You enter the Night Crow form with Shaman ‘Jamad, the Totality of Nature’.]

[You absorb Jamad, the Totality of Nature’s stats.]

[Your class is changed to Shaman.]

......

The subsequent messages served to prove just how much Jamad had changed.

“Get out of the way, you lump of steel.”

Jamad had forced Seol to enter the Night Crow form with him.

The fang pattern then pulsated once more.

“That’s my spot.”