The Divine Twilight's Return

Chang-Sun and Yool arrived at the secret chamber of Thanatos’ palace.

“Welcome.” Thanatos greeted Chang-Sun. Instead of sitting on his throne as usual, he was standing, surrounded by footage of a certain place.

Whooosh!

The fire depicted in the footage was terrifying strong, enough to make even Chang-Sun tense. However, the worst part was the punishment that criminals such as Sun Wukong and Richardus went through.

The pain of their souls burning up was not the only part of their punishment. The criminals were duplicated and forced to eat themselves. When there was only one prisoner left, more copies would be duplicated again and made to eat each other... Their gruesome punishment was to repeat the pain of eating their own flesh and being eaten.

This hell’s name was the Negation Hell. Just like the Bloodless Hell, the Negation Hell was barely known to the public, but the criminals trapped within suffered indescribable pain.

『Save me! Please! Arghhhh!』

『I’ll tell you anything I want, so please...! Please kill me...!』

『Urrrghhh.』

Although they were supposed to have no strength left to scream, the criminals still yelled, indicating how horrible the pain was. But...

‘They’re not budging.’ Chang-Sun looked in the same direction as Thanatos.

With disapproving eyes, Thanatos was looking at Sun Wukong and Richardus. Sun Wukong was sitting in the lotus position, relaxed. Other Sun Wukongs clung onto him and gnawed on him to inflict pain, and yet he did not move an inch. In fact, he looked back at Thanatos, as if to silently taunt him by saying ‘Is that all you’ve got?’ It seemed Sun Wukong had noticed Thanatos’ gaze on him with his [Fiery Eyes of Truth].

“People from the side of <Supreme Light> are truly not my cup of tea.” Thanatos revealed his discontentment toward Sun Wukong.

Richardus’ reaction was no different from Sun Wukong’s. While crucified, he kept his head low even though other Richarduses viciously gnawed at him. If Chang-Sun had not noticed Richardus’ chest rising and falling, he would have believed that Richardus was dead.

“It looks as if interrogating them won’t be easy,” Chang-Sun murmured.

“No, it isn’t just difficult. It’s impossible. Tsk!” Thanatos clicked his tongue. “They’re incredibly persistent even for fakes. I can’t talk to them at all.”

“They seem to want their own identities. Maybe you can offer them the chance to reincarnate as different people through samsara.”

“I already did, but they said that it doesn’t change the fact that they’re fakes.”

“This is tricky.” Chang-Sun frowned slightly.

“It is.”

Chang-Sun nodded. He also did not know what the exact goal of Sun Wukong’s group was, but judging from what they had said until now, the sole goal of their scheme was to become the one and only version of themselves among the infinite copies in countless Worldlines.

One and only... Chang-Sun wondered if they wanted to become Emperors, but he was skeptical about the possibility. If that was the case, becoming Star Signs like those in <Horoscope> and <Purple Star Astrology> would have been better. Eating their infinite different selves the way Bel-Marduk had originally planned would leave only one of them someday. However, Sun Wukong’s group did not seem to be hurting their different selves from other Worldlines, even though they seemed to be recruiting or duplicating those other versions.

‘They also have replicas of this key and the [Ruyi Jingu Bang],’ Chang-Sun thought.

Touching his golden key necklace, he murmured, “They must have very firm convictions to be able to remain that silent.”

Thanatos nodded. “I’m compiling information from their disintegrating <Myth> fragments and confessions from other criminals. But... I can’t gain access because of the Lock.”

“Lock?”

The fact that even Thanatos could not undo the Lock meant that the information was very high-level. Nevertheless, considering that Thanatos was the ruler of the <Underworld> and the symbol of <Dull Darkness>... It was preposterous.

For a piece of information to be at such a high level, it had to be one of the most important pieces of information even within the 'Changgong Library', which meant the scheme of Sun Wukong’s group involved more than the Great Universe! An Emperor or someone with a similar level had to be behind Sun Wukong’s group, so it was only natural for Chang-Sun to widen his eyes in shock.

Thanatos tossed Chang-Sun the documents he had been compiling.

<Grand Heaven League>

‘Grand Heaven... It must be named after Sun Wukong’s title,’ Chang-Sun thought.

<The league was founded with Sun Wukong #801 as their leader. By recruiting talented individuals with rebellious temperaments from the Worldlines...

...they like to commit terror attacks on several Worldlines’ important facilities, flaunting their martial prowess.

...Their current goal is to pursue ■■ and ■■■ ■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■■ ■■ ■ ■■■■■■■...

The mastermind ■ presumed to ■■ ■■ ■■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■...>

“It’s too heavily censored.” Chang-Sun narrowed his eyes.

“Someone is tampering with the 'Changgong Library'.”

“I don’t think it’s the doing of <Deus Ex Machina>.”

Thanatos nodded. “His Demiurge Project exists to maintain the order of the Great and Outer Universe, but these people are... pursuing something opposite.”

Chang-Sun nodded in agreement. He was still unsure what the Demiurge Project was, but he knew how much <Deus Ex Machina> valued the balance of Eros and Nyx. Instead of the parts he did not know about, the word ‘opposite’ rang in Chang-Sun’s ears.

“I believe continuing to pursue them won’t be difficult, since we’ve found their Terminals, so the <Underworld> plans to track them for now. I thought we were finally close to eradicating Star Signs, but another greater disaster befell us. It’s giving me a headache.” Thanatos massaged his nose bridge with his hand in deep fatigue.

[Ending the footage!]

Thanatos waved his hand in the air to end the interrogation, then turned to look at Chang-Sun, saying, “Still, this is my job, and you have to do your job, don’t you?”

Chang-Sun nodded with a heavy heart.

Smiling bitterly, Thanatos put his hands behind his back. “Follow me.”

Paah!

Thanatos took one step forward, and the world around them was replaced by an enormous cave. And...

‘It’s cold.’ Chang-Sun felt a chill all the way down to his bones.

A thick layer of ice spread across the ground, and countless icicles hung from the ceiling. In the center of the cave, the Emperor's Seat was trapped inside a large block of ice.

“As you can see, a significant amount of ice energy, as well as most of the power that was granted to Songjae and the Freezing Hell, are being used for the Emperor's Seat,” Thanatos said, pointing in a direction with his chin.

Chang-Sun bowed at Songjae, who was waving a hand to welcome him. As the last great warrior of <Jotunheim> before their <Extinction>, Songjae had to have incredible stamina, but he looked quite fatigued.

“That’s how bad the condition of the Emperor’s Seat is,” Thanatos added bitterly.

Crack, crack!

Chang-Sun slowly walked forward, creating cracks in the ice layer with each step.

Swooosh―!

Several people appeared from Chang-Sun’s shadow one after another; they were the children of the Emperor's Seat.

[The ‘Valhalla’ siblings have appeared!]

After noticing their arrival, Songjae and Thanatos left the cave to give them privacy. Meanwhile, Qi Gong and the others followed Chang-Sun, arriving in front of the Emperor's Seat.

Thump!

All of them got down on their knees and burst into tears.

“We’re sorry, Father.”

* * *

Only after a long time did Chang-Sun stand up, asking Qi Gong to take care of the Emperor’s Seat before he went to find Thanatos.

“Has your reunion gone well?”

Chang-Sun nodded. “You know, I’m always grateful to you. Thank you for everything.”

“It’s interesting to hear that from you. When you came to my palace for the first time, you used to be full of spite, but now... Hmm.” Thanatos smiled mischievously. Chuckling, he stroked his chin as he continued, “You’ve become quite composed over time. It’s nice.”

When Thanatos answered as if it were nothing, Chang-Sun became even more grateful to him. Their relationship had started from a business deal, but only deep affection was left between them. If he had not met Thanatos, Chang-Sun would never have thought to start his life over, considered bringing back Ithaca, reconciled with the Emperor's Seat, or risen above the <Punishment>.

Nevertheless, Thanatos had never made an unfair demand or boasted about everything he had done for Chang-Sun, as if he had only done what was right.

Friend. Yes, that was what Chang-Sun thought of Thanatos. Thanatos was Chang-Sun’s dear friend, for whom he could give his life if necessary.

“How long does Father have?” Chang-Sun asked.

“Hmm, it depends on many factors, but if he hangs on...”

“Tell me the truth.”

Thanatos smiled bitterly, looking back at Chang-Sun’s serious gaze. He glanced at Songjae, who silently protested about being given a hard job. But...

―So what? You should become the boss if you don’t like it.

Thanatos signaled to Songjae with a sharp gaze; in response, Songjae just smacked his lips. Songjae had once been so reckless that he split his king’s head in half with an ax for getting on his nerves, but he knew how to read the room now.

“Cough, cough! It’s about a month in Earth time,” Songjae answered.

Chang-Sun clenched his fists tightly without realizing it. He had a month to come up with a solution. It was both long and short in a way, but it was preposterously brief for a Celestial.

“I’m using my Red Lotus Magic to delay it, but his <Myths> are disintegrating too quickly,” Songjae said.

Thanatos nodded, adding, “Losing one’s divine power organ equals the collapse of a Divine Class, so we should come up with a replacement as soon as possible.”

“I have an idea in mind.”

“You’re going to find the sealed Mother Terra Celestial.”

“Have I already mentioned it before?” Chang-Sun asked.

“No, I discovered that fact when I was interrogating Antares.” Thanatos flicked his fingers.

Flick!

The Bottomless Void opened up in the floor. With the sound of pulleys turning, Antares the ‘Scorpio’ appeared, wrapped up in chains.

“Byeonseong told me that poison and medicine aren’t really different from one another, so they can be used in many ways.”

After seeing Antares disintegrating and recovering like a holographic image that repeatedly fragmented and restored itself, Chang-Sun quickly activated his [Foretelling Eye] to observe Antares. ‘I knew it...! He modified [Gaia's Curse] in several ways and experimented on Antares.’

Byeonseong, Antoine the Sixth Elder, was a mad scientist, so he had to have loved the opportunity he got after receiving an excellent research subject and tools. And as Chang-Sun expected, Byeonseong had to have found out how to restore <Myths> on some level using [Gaia's Curse].

The <Underworld> was not a good environment for research, so it could not have been easy to achieve such a result, making Chang-Sun marvel. However, thanks to Byeonseong, Chang-Sun could now be certain about how to use [Gaia's Curse].

“Take it.”

Chang-Sun received a potion bottle Thanatos tossed over.

[Temporary Antidote]

Gaia's Curse is a lethal poison that Celestials and Star Signs should avoid at all costs, but the antidote allows one to withstand the poison for a brief period. Consumption increases tolerance to the antidote, so one should be careful in using it. The side effects of the poison are currently unknown.

· Type: Medicine, Enchantment.

· Effect: Curse Undoing.

“The antidote will allow you to operate where the Mother Terra Celestial is sealed without a problem,” Thanatos explained.

The antidote had to have been made by Byeonseong too, so Chang-Sun expressed his gratitude and put the potion in his coat pocket. After that, he slowly walked toward Antares, who was drooping like a corpse. No energy pressure from his Divine Class or fighting spirit could be sensed from him, perhaps because his mind had broken down after being interrogated for a long time.

Slash!

Chang-Sun swung the [Dawn Spear] to cut through Antares’s shackles.

Thump!

Antares helplessly collapsed on the ground.

Paaah!

Antares suddenly looked up and disappeared into a pool of light, breaking out from his confinement. Thanatos, who had been watching everything without stopping Chang-Sun, burst into laughter. “You’re truly evil. Despite all your torture until now, you’re using him until the end.”

Thanatos could tell that Chang-Sun was using Antares as a guide toward the place where the Mother Terra Celestial was sealed. Antares would probably head to that place to regain his power, so Chang-Sun was going to follow him quietly and check for possible danger.

Chang-Sun smiled silently, just like Thanatos.

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