Chapter 241: Growth (6)

“Bastard,” Gi-Gyu clenched his fists angrily.

He understood Kronos had also gone insane, but still… to use his son, Jupiter, this way…

“...”

The conversation stopped for a moment to let Gi-Gyu calm his emotions, but he overlooked that. Unhappy memories of the past had already taken over his mind.

The way his father used to look at him, the venom in his eyes could shake him to this day.

“Haa… I’m sorry,” Gi-Gyu sighed deeply and apologized. He gradually got a hold of his emotions.

Soo-Jung offered, “We can take a break if you want.”

“No, keep going. Tell me the rest.” Gi-Gyu knew this story would only end if he finished hearing everything. They were telling him about the past; to learn about his present, Gi-Gyu needed to endure it. He just had to get this over with as quickly as possible.

Soo-Jung nodded. “To Kronos, his belief and victory were much more important than his son. He was so obsessed with his plan that he did the unthinkable: He freed Jupiter and experimented on him.”

Being a test subject like that couldn’t have been pleasant.

Soo-Jung continued, “This was kept a secret from Gaia, of course. I don’t know the details of Project Adam. This was and still is the biggest secret in the universe. It’s not even included in the Tower’s records.”

She pointed at Gi-Gyu once more.

“Only he, the one inside of you, knows the truth. This experiment continued, and in the end, Babel was completed. You’ve seen it in the records, right? Everyone is allowed to see that.”

“Everyone?”

“Well, not everyone. Only those who pass the 50th-floor test get access. And only the players chosen by the ruler can take this test. We can talk more about the Tower later, but… Let’s just get back to the topic at hand. Anyway, the players whom the ruler chose, they…”

“Became high rankers,” Gi-Gyu whispered. He could guess who these special people were.

“That’s right. These people can see the record of how God was killed. Everyone probably sees a slightly different version, but the basic storyline is the same. Anyway, after God was killed, Gaia betrayed Kronos. She didn’t defeat Chaos, deviating from Kronos’ plan.”

“She knew.” Again, Gi-Gyu figured out why Gaia did this. “Gaia must’ve found out about the experiments. She only agreed to help Kronos because of Jupiter, so it was no wonder she betrayed him after learning the truth.”

“Exactly,” Soo-Jung replied simply. “Gaia realized everything. Kronos had broken his promise, and she no longer had a child she needed to protect.”

“...”

“At the time, Jupiter was as good as dead.” Soo-Jung continued, “Project Adam was close to being successful. Kronos wanted to separate Jupiter’s consciousness from his body, sealing it somewhere and using the body himself. However, three people ensured he couldn’t get what he wanted: Gaia, Satan, and a surviving dimensional ruler. In the end, everything became stuck in Chaos.”

It seemed like they were getting close to the end of the story.

Soo-Jung added, “Only Gaia survived. She alone held almost everything, with the leftovers being inside Chaos. In the end, Gaia became the Tower itself. She tried to exclude Kronos and return everything to normal.”

“Because she had God’s power.” As someone who had tasted God’s power, Gi-Gyu knew that was possible.

“But she failed because Kronos escaped from Chaos. This was very unexpected.”

“...”

“At the time, Kronos had already taken over a good portion of Jupiter’s body. When he escaped, he fought Gaia to get revenge and steal God’s power. Although Gaia held God’s power, she belonged to the Tower. Consequently, she couldn’t fight freely, and”—Soo-Jung’s face brightened a little—“that battle between Gaia and Kronos became the reason behind what is happening currently.”

***

“You’re pretty…” Jupiter shook his head and added, “No, I changed my mind. You’re truly impressive.”

This was the first time Jupiter had offered a genuine compliment. Based on his facial expression, Gi-Gyu knew it meant this; he had really inspired Jupiter.

“You may have an excellent physique, but your psyche is far behind. Despite that, you grew this much. I have no choice but to admit that you have improved beyond my expectations. Your psyche developed rapidly too, which is no less impressive.” Jupiter wiped the blood from the cut on his cheek.

Finally, Gi-Gyu had scratched Jupiter’s skin. He was wielding a light ray, and he was surrounded by flames as if he were in hell.

In this ablaze space, Jupiter and Gi-Gyu looked at each other. They were mirror images, but while Jupiter had a mere scratch on his cheek…

“Haa… Haa…” Gi-Gyu panted as he looked at all the wounds on his body. He was in bad shape. He couldn’t even speak until the long gash on his neck had healed.

Grabbing the painful wound, Gi-Gyu groaned, “Finally… I can… fight you for… real…”

The light coming from his fist, the glow of Chaos, became brighter. Finally, Gi-Gyu had tapped into his potential and was using everything efficiently. He had spent a full year in the world created inside his shell. And he had spent all that time learning to control his power and fight better.

“But what’s the point of all that?” Jupiter asked, “You don’t have any more time left. And you still haven’t successfully captured all of your power…”

Jupiter touched his cheek. It looked at the blood drop on its finger as the cut healed quickly. He continued, “And you won’t get any more chances. You shouldn’t have freed me like this. If you hadn’t, you might have had more time.”

“Would that have made any difference?” asked Gi-Gyu.

Gi-Gyu and Jupiter had spent the last four years fighting without a break. It was not an easy task by any means. Eating and sleeping were unnecessary at this point, but fighting without a single break was mentally draining. At this point, just having his eyes open was killing his head.

“I’ll trap you in that seal meant for me. Then, I will do everything you hoped to do,” Jupiter said, certain this battle was nearing its end.

Jupiter wasn’t wrong. Gi-Gyu did free him, and he was now free to do as he wished. He had the opportunity to defeat and imprison Gi-Gyu.

“But I won’t let you do that…” The light from Gi-Gyu’s fist spread to his body. And from his other fist…

“...!” A surprised look appeared on Jupiter’s face.

Gi-Gyu declared, “It is I who will avenge you.”

“Yes, that’s perfect. I wouldn’t want you to give up too easily. Now, it’s really time to finish this. It was such a long battle, and… Don’t worry.” Jupiter said calmly, “You know I can’t kill you.”

“I should be saying that. But I agree, let’s get this done.”

Gi-Gyu clenched his fists and got ready. As if performing a war dance, every bit of his power came together and throbbed. The magic from every being in his gate and his shell coagulated and covered him. Then, Death and Life combined to create Chaos.

And lastly…

God’s power.

A power so bright that it illuminated this pitch-black world burst out from Gi-Gyu.

“You were a substitute and a rotten existence, so I admire you for coming this far.” Jupiter showed his respect. Something burst out from him too, but unlike Gi-Gyu, it was dark gray. It was almost black and gave off an aura of destruction and malevolence.

“I’ll give it all.” There was no more hint of playfulness on Jupiter’s face.

They looked at each other.

Genuine hostility, respect, and sympathy filled their eyes.

***

“Gaia had God’s power, but she wasn’t used to it. And there were a lot of limitations on what she could use. On the other hand, Kronos possessed Jupiter’s body, so he could use avant power. He also knew Gaia and Babel’s shortcomings better than anyone. Their battle was long and boring, but it was also incredibly violent. And in the end,”—Soo-Jung sighed—“Gaia won.”

“I thought so,” Gi-Gyu commented.

“Yes. If Kronos had won, we wouldn’t be in this situation. Things might not have been worse, but they certainly would have been different. Anyway, Gaia won, and Kronos and Jupiter were separated.”

Gi-Gyu realized the next statement would be critical.

“Everything was ruined. Babel absorbed all the dimensions’ essence. No more dimensions were left, and it was the same for the human world. It was nearing its end. The silver lining was that Chaos had calmed down after eating Satan and some others.”

Soo-Jung continued quickly, “Gaia needed to fix everything. She was alone now, and she needed to make a choice. If she didn’t do anything, the universe would end. But if she tried something, she would affect the world. After all, she was now the new God.”

“So I guess Gaia chose to change the world.” Gi-Gyu made a guess.

“That’s right. And this world we live in right now… It is a simple version of the old universe. Gaia created a universe free of all things magic. This was the ideal human world she dreamt of. A world that reflected her strong will and her home.”

Gi-Gyu only listened as Soo-Jung continued, “She created our Earth and protected it, separating it from the dimensions with magic.”

“The Tower. They are all inside the Tower on different floors,” Gi-Gyu whispered.

“That’s right,” replied Soo-Jung.

Gi-Gyu was beginning to understand everything. Gaia had only created one world, a reflection of her desires.

“So I am…” Gi-Gyu trailed off. He was close to piecing together his identity.

But Soo-Jung quickly changed the subject.

“But there was a problem. She couldn’t control God’s power perfectly, hindered by her own limitations. Consequently, unlike God, she made many mistakes. And hell…”

Soo-Jung looked at El, who didn’t say a word.

“...”

“And the place where your angel used to live still existed. Those from hell never stopped trying to take God’s power. Gabriel didn’t stop either. Unfortunately, Gaia didn’t have the strength to defeat all of them. That was why the rulers were created.”

“The rulers?”

This was the part Gi-Gyu found strange. Based on the memory he had seen inside the Tower, Kronos and Gabriel had killed all the rulers. But afterward, he learned that the rulers had fought with the humans. They also forced El into becoming a holy sword.

“Gaia revived the rulers. She molded them to her wishes, going as far as to strengthen them with God’s power. She distributed God’s power to them to stabilize her condition. But this created an even bigger problem. She gave away too much of God’s power, making the rulers stronger than she anticipated. They also developed consciousness and due to this mistake…”

Lim Hye-Sook took over the narration.

“Kronos was resurrected, but he was much weaker now. So, he hid inside the Tower and rallied the rulers on his side. His goal was to steal God’s power and kill Gaia. But, he needed Jupiter’s body for that.”

“...”

“Kronos controlled the rulers from the shadows. The rulers went wild and harassed Gaia. And it was then that Kronos realized that Jupiter’s body was here.”

Both Lim Hye-Sook and Soo-Jung said simultaneously, “On Earth.”

Soo-Jung added, “Kronos got in touch with Gabriel again. After eliminating Michael, Gabriel had conquered the angel world and grown powerful. With his help, Kronos used everything and everyone he had to fight Gaia again. And while she was busy dealing with them, Kronos came to Earth.”

“You mean…”

“You got it. Gabriel lost the battle, but he weakened Gaia severely. Kronos tried to absorb Gabriel and the rest of his forces but failed.”

A short silence fell before El asked, “Is there anything left of my world?”

“No, unfortunately not,” Lim Hye-Sook replied.

“...”

Kronos was also responsible for the destruction of El’s old home. When he first set out, he had firm beliefs and big dreams for the universe. But, in the end, he had only the desire to destroy everything left within.

‘The one I met on the 50th floor…’ 

Gi-Gyu wondered if that Kronos was his father or the madman who treated his son like a lab rat. This meant…

“My father isn’t the Kronos in this story?”

“No.” Lim Hye-Sook explained, “The Kronos you know, and your father are slightly different beings. Just like you and Jupiter.”

The story was nearing its epilogue.

Lim Hye-Sook continued, “While Gaia was in a fragile state, Kronos used the rulers to invade this place. Gaia was helpless against them, and in the end, the rulers successfully opened a pathway to Earth.”

Gi-Gyu rose suddenly and yelled, “The Tower!”

“That’s right. The Tower's abrupt appearance on Earth was a sign of the rulers’ first move to invade our world.”

Finally, Gi-Gyu learned why the Tower appeared on Earth.

“Gaia tried to protect the world she created, which was why…”

“The system and the players,” Gi-Gyu whispered.

“Exactly. She used much of her power to create the system and sent invitations to humans with potential. But she knew this alone wouldn’t be enough to stop the rulers. After all, the human players needed time to get stronger, while the rulers and their armies were already powerful enough. That was why”—Lim Hye-Sook paused—“she used the last of her power to create the Nemesis.”

“The Nemesis?” Gi-Gyu had never heard of this term before.

“The Nemeses were selected to fight the rulers. They were beings connected to the rulers but still under Gaia’s influence. They could use their corresponding rulers’ powers. A few members of the Nemeses were offered a chance to become stronger in temporary dimensions with a different time axis created by Gaia.”

“The high rankers…” Just hearing that was enough for Gi-Gyu to make some guesses about who these Nemeses were.

“Yup. And there were some other special beings who were born unique—for example, your father, Kim Se-Jin, and your mother, Lee Su-Jin. And then, there is you.”

Lim Hye-Sook glanced at Soo-Jung and continued, “Soo-Jung is also one of them. But your family is extra special. Gaia’s yearnings took the shape of a family, a weaker clone of… Well, that’s your family. Among all your family members, you…”

Lim Hye-Sook’s face became taut. It was time to tell him the truth.