A world covered in antiques.
At the top of an eerie fortress made up of piled-up, worn-out items, a gigantic snake with three heads descended from the sky.
[phistopheles!]
At Satan’s furious shout, phistopheles, who was sitting on the throne of the antique fortress, raised his head and smirked.
“Welco to my world, friend. You seem quite angry.”
[You've been up to so very interesting mischief lately.]
Satan did not hide his hostility toward phistopheles. Despite being a fellow lord of the Archdemons, phistopheles had crossed a line.
[I warned you not to interfere with my affairs. Yet you sched behind my back?]
“Hmm. My mory's been a bit hazy lately, so I can't recall what you said.”
[If you're still in the mood for gas, I can help refresh your mory.]
A chilling cold emanated from Satan, covering the antique fortress.
Frost settled on nurous antiques, so of which turned to ice and shattered. phistopheles sighed and lightly tapped the ground with the staff in his hand.
The energy of the stars emanated from phistopheles, pushing back Satan’s cold. Satan narrowed his three pairs of eyes and opened his mouths. Just as a massive chill began to gather in his three mouths—
[Enough.]
phistopheles finally revealed his true form. Shedding his guise of a dieval nobleman, he transford into a gigantic black beast.
[Please, don’t destroy my abode any further. It took a long ti to create this, and it would take ages to restore it.]
[phistopheles!]
[You don’t need to shout. I’m not deaf. More importantly, are you sure you should stay like this?]
[What are you talking about?]
The black beast smiled with slitted eyes.
[I saw that Kang Yu-hyun, the Teller you've been watching, encountered the bookworm.]
[…What?]
[I'm not lying. Just before you arrived, I was watching his narrative. And sothing very interesting is happening on Earth right now. Do you want to see?]
As phistopheles spoke, he showed Satan the current situation unfolding in Gangneung.
Satan, upon seeing the scene, glared at phistopheles with eyes full of murderous intent.
[Is this your doing?]
[Hahaha! You say the funniest things. ? Satan, no matter how much you hate , blaming for this is too much.]
[Then how do you explain the current situation?]
[I told you. The bookworm appeared. And you know, don’t you? It’s all happening because of the Fragnts.]
[….]
[Satan. No, Lucifer. Did you think I wouldn’t know? Like you, I too have the sa ‘origin’ despite living in harmony with the flow of this world. Deep in my mory, the knowledge from back then still lingers.]
[…Knowing that, did you still interfere with ?]
[Interfere? Let’s get the facts straight. I was helping you.]
[What?]
Satan couldn't comprehend what phistopheles was saying.
The one who spread rumors that he gave Laplace’s Fragnt to Yu-hyun and troubled him claid to be helping.
[Think about it. You thought Kang Yu-hyun, the Teller, was the liberator who would break this cycle, so you handed over the Fragnt, right? And it was Laplace, known as the best among the Fragnts.]
[….]
[You’re not denying it. Usually, you would make excuses, but you’re taking this seriously.]
phistopheles laughed as if it didn’t matter.
[He gained Laplace, Maxwell, Descartes, and Darwin. And even awakened a new demon called Aporia, ford by combining four formless demons. Yes, as you said, he surely has the potential to be the liberator.]
[Then don’t interfere with .]
[No, it’s not enough. You know that too, right?]
[After handling the Fragnts like that, what more qualifications does he need?]
[Kang Yu-hyun, the Teller, has indeed gathered many Fragnts and made them his own. And he recently collected a large number of Fragnts again. But it’s still not enough. In fact, it’s problematic because he’s gathering them too quickly.]
[…Too quickly?]
[The completion of Codex with all the Fragnts should be delayed. At this rate, Codex will be completed in less than a month. One month is too short. It’s not enough ti to prepare properly.]
[phistopheles, you…]
[We need more ti. Codex shouldn’t be completed yet. If you truly want to escape this wretched cycle, listen to .]
[There’s no one as capable as him!]
[Too capable, indeed. I understand what you want, but ‘moderation’ is crucial for achieving that.]
Satan, no longer willing to listen to phistopheles, left the antique-covered planet.
[Lucifer. Where are you going?]
[To do what I must.]
[Going against the System’s will? Even you will die.]
Without looking back at phistopheles, Satan replied.
[If necessary.]
[She’ll be saddened.]
At the ntion of “she,” Satan’s movent towards the vast universe halted for a mont.
phistopheles reverted to his avatar form, wearing a bitter smile.
“Hey, you possess imnse power now. Yet, there's no need to risk everything. You could live more peacefully than anyone by just fulfilling your given role. For you, and for her…”
[Stop.]
Satan’s voice, now icy and nacing, indicated that his anger had reached a new level.
phistopheles, understanding the depth of Satan’s fury, fell silent.
[Say more, and I won’t spare you.]
“…Fine.”
phistopheles raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
Eventually, Satan’s colossal form vanished into the vast universe. phistopheles leaned back against the antique throne.
“Nothing will change anyway, my friend.”
* * *
A peculiar barrier had spread across Gangneung. It wriggled and grew in real-ti.
‘What on earth is this…’
Yu-hyun tried to contact Kang Hye-rim and Seo Sumin again, but the telepathic link remained unresponsive.
This ant that both of them had entered the barrier.
The question was what exactly this strange do-shaped barrier was. No matter how much he thought, he couldn’t figure it out.
[Master.]
At that mont, black letters gathered on the ground, and Laplace suddenly appeared.
He bowed deeply before Yu-hyun, trembling with guilt.
[I apologize. I failed to protect the lady. Please punish .]
“Laplace. Now is not the ti for that. What happened here?”
[Following your orders, I fought to protect the lady.]
Laplace recounted everything he had experienced to Yu-hyun.
Kwon Jia fought against three Returnees. Contrary to expectations, she easily defeated them without Laplace’s help.
Then Unleashed's executives moved.
At that ti, Laplace joined in to help her. Kwon Jia was initially surprised by his appearance but accepted it once he explained that Yu-hyun had sent him to assist.
[Initially, we were holding out well. So of them were immune to my eyes, but the lady managed to buy ti by handling them.]
“Were there Fragnt holders? Yet, this happened?”
[That man intervened then. Jin Cheong-woon, the one you warned about. He possessed a vast amount of Fragnts, beyond my sight. And his power was too overwhelming for Kwon Jia to resist.]
Had Kwon Jia been at her full strength, she wouldn’t have lost, but she had exhausted too much power fending off the Returnees and Unleashed’s executives.
Jin Cheong-woon exploited this, deliberately draining her strength before stepping in to completely subdue her.
Yu-hyun suppressed his rising anger and asked Laplace.
“What did Jin Cheong-woon do?”
[Fragnts.]
Laplace shivered, unable to forget the scene.
[He forcibly transferred Fragnts to the lady.]
“What?”
[And he used a black seed simultaneously. When it touched the lady, this gigantic barrier erged. Initially, it was small, but it rapidly expanded, enveloping the surrounding mountains and nearby cities.]
“What happened to Jin Cheong-woon?”
[He is inside as well. I retreated as quickly as possible to inform you, but he didn’t try to stop . It was as if he wanted to inform you.]
“Did you see Hye-rim and Sumin?”
[Yes. Both ladies entered as well. Descartes and Darwin accompanied them.]
Laplace’s account ended there.
Ultimately, the bizarre spectacle before him was the result of Jin Cheong-woon’s scheming.
Yu-hyun had no idea what lay inside. But given that the barrier had reacted to Kwon Jia’s Fragnts and the seed of the narrative…
An unimaginable otherworld must be unfolding inside.
‘I must go in.’
He was certain his companions were inside.
Moreover, ordinary citizens trapped within needed rescuing before anything happened. He had to stop the do’s expansion.
“Young-min.”
[Yes, brother! Where are you?]
“I’m in Gangneung. Is everything sorted out?”
[Yes. I just finished and am heading up.]
“Co to Gangneung imdiately. The situation is critical.”
[…How bad is it?]
“Kwon Jia fell into a trap, and sothing strange appeared nearby. A massive do-shaped barrier, impenetrable from
the outside. It’s more bizarre than the ntal Realm’s runaway state, engulfing the world. Hye-rim and Sumin seem to have entered, and communication is down. I’m about to go in.”
[Understood. I’m on my way.]
“Be careful.”
After ending the call, Yu-hyun hesitated to contact Celine.
‘Right, she no longer manages my study.’
Since his return, Celine had handed over all his study materials, citing the imnse burden. Considering the nurous threats and persuasions she likely faced, Yu-hyun understood her actions.
Celine had promised to return to Earth as soon as possible but was currently at headquarters.
Seeking her help now seed impossible.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Yu-hyun reached out to the strange barrier.
Contrary to his expectation of resistance, the barrier easily allowed his hand through.
It was as if it had known he would co, welcoming him.
Steeling himself, Yu-hyun entered the massive do.
* * *
“…This.”
Just like when he entered the ntal Realm, Yu-hyun felt a sensation of piercing through sothing thin.
Upon opening his eyes, Yu-hyun felt a chill.
Before him was a twisted world. Dozens of world fragnts existed in their separate forms, unable to blend, like a patchwork quilt.
Among them, he recognized so familiar scenes.
‘That’s the Obelisk from the Ninth Trial of the Apocalypse.’
It wasn’t just that.
The swarming insects from the Thirteenth Trial.
The Cross of Destruction from the Seventeenth Trial.
The Bone Catacomb from the Twenty-Second Trial.
Various trials of the apocalypse that were deeply etched in Yu-hyun’s mory occupied parts of this world.
‘It’s not just the trials. So scenes from the ntal Realm are mixed in. Collapsed pavilions, Western-style architecture, and foul-slling swamps. Everything is blended.’
Even the Divine Spirits seed bewildered by the unprecedented sight.
Yu-hyun calmly analyzed the place.
Laplace had said Jin Cheong-woon used a seed along with Fragnts. If he had added more Fragnts, this world was a distorted amalgamation of all 600 cycles Kwon Jia had experienced.
It utilized the seed of the narrative but wasn’t the ntal Realm.
It was far more alien, an otherworldly place beyond Genesis System’s clear definition.
‘Yes. If I had to na it, I’d call it the Nightmare of the Returnee.’
This was a nightmare world, distorted with all of Kwon Jia’s mories from over 600 cycles.
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