Server 4212, Tower's Top Floor.
"...Huh? Where did he go?"
Urd blinked her eyes.
She was definitely fighting Dongbang Sak just monts ago.
But her opponent had vanished without a trace.
'He didn't just conceal his presence...'
No matter how strong Dongbang Sak was, he shouldn't have been able to completely evade Urd's detection.
She frowned as he suddenly disappeared.
What kind of desperate move was this now?
As she looked around searching for traces of Dongbang Sak.
[Player 'Urd' has cleared the Tower.]
[Player 'Urd' has acquired the right to challenge the Tower of Martial Gods.]
A ssage appeared saying she had cleared the Tower.
"...I cleared it?"
No.
Wasn't Dongbang Sak just trying to fight to the death monts ago?
She hadn't done anything yet, but her opponent just evaporated?
Urd wore a serious expression at this sudden victory by default.
If he had at least resisted, she wouldn't feel this uneasy.
Like this, she couldn't understand his intentions.
Then.
[You have cleared the Tower.]
[Would you like to challenge the Tower of Martial Gods?]
A ssage asking if she would challenge the Tower of Martial Gods appeared before her eyes.
'....'
Though Dongbang Sak's disappearance was concerning, she had to go for now.
When Urd pressed yes.
[Player 'Urd' challenges the Tower of Martial Gods.]
Flash...!
Her body was enveloped in light and moved to a new location.
As she was about to draw out her power to subdue the enemies appearing from the first floor of the Tower of Martial Gods.
'Huh?'
She noticed sothing strange.
The Clock of Light inside her body was different from usual.
It was distorted.
The clock hand that should have been at 12 o'clock was pointing to 4 o'clock.
'...4 o'clock.'
Urd's eyes trembled upon realizing this.
She hadn't noticed the clock's distortion when clearing the Tower since Dongbang Sak had disappeared.
But now that she recognized it here.
Various thoughts crossed her mind.
'What... happened? Without knowing.'
The hour hand pointing to 4 o'clock.
For Urd, this was.
The first process needed when attempting to self-destruct and shut down the server.
If she activated the Clock of Light in this state, her body's regenerative power would rapidly disappear and.
'Urd's avatar' would be able to completely vanish from this world.
'Then the main body would detect the anomaly... and close the server's door.'
That was how significant the hour hand pointing to 4 o'clock was.
For Urd, it was a aningful signal.
However.
She had no mory of turning the hour hand to 4 o'clock...
There was definitely sothing here.
Even if her current self didn't know.
Sothing must have happened.
But.
'The Blue Administrator's ability. I must secure it for the main body...'
She hesitated to imdiately execute the self-destruct process.
While suicide wasn't particularly difficult.
The ability shown by the Blue Administrator Seong Jihan weighed on her mind.
If she could just take that ability with her, it would greatly advance the main body's grand plan.
Should she self-destruct here without even eting him?
However.
'...Let's do it.'
After brief contemplation, Urd ultimately decided to die.
The hour hand being fixed in that position was too significant a signal.
Though it was regrettable to waste the Blue Administrator's data like this.
More servers would be created eventually and such opportunities would co again.
Just as she steeled her resolve and reached for her chest to die.
Flash...!
An intense light burst forth from the first floor of the Tower of Martial Gods.
A radiance that would instantly blind ordinary humans.
"This is... White Light?"
As Urd's eyes widened at the sight.
Ziiing...
The light gathered in one place and slowly began taking human form.
And seeing this, Urd.
"...Could it be, Father?"
Said in an unbelieving voice.
She called the form of light 'Father.'
Then.
"First you called brother, now I'm father?"
Swish...
As the light dimd from its initial brightness.
Seong Jihan revealed himself there.
* * *
'Good thing I ca here first.'
Seong Jihan thought this as he watched Urd, who was greatly surprised to see him while attempting suicide.
Though he didn't know how she sensed sothing was wrong and tried to die even after the server rollback.
If he had given her more ti, she would have disappeared from the server before he could extract any information.
"...You. Could you be the Blue Administrator?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
When Seong Jihan pointed at himself with his finger.
Urd's eyes sank deeply.
"How can you possess such White Light...? Just how..."
"Your base was raided."
"What?"
"Your main body is dead."
Ziiing...
As he spoke, Seong Jihan brought up a screen.
And there.
[Just once, just once...!]
It showed Urd's main body being destroyed by Jiang Shang.
Urd's face turned pale white seeing this.
"No...? Im-impossible. This... right. You can create quite elaborate illusions, can you...? Does the Tower of Martial Gods have such functions?"
Even while speaking, she was desperately denying her main body's death and dismissing the scene as an 'illusion'.
Seeing this, Seong Jihan raised the corner of his mouth.
"An illusion... You know this is the truth, don't you? If it were just an illusion, how would I know about things like the Ark or Urd's main body?"
"..."
"And this powerful White Light that made you mistake for your father 'Mitra'. Where do you think I got it?"
Urd bit her lip at those words.
The screen Seong Jihan had brought up.
Even if it were fabricated footage.
The content within was sothing that couldn't possibly be known without entering the 'Ark' and understanding this world's truth.
Additionally, the White Light Seong Jihan possessed was transcendent enough to remind her of 'Father'.
This was too much to be dismissed as a re illusion.
Finally.
"...How could you win in the Ark...?"
Urd abandoned her composure until now.
Asked Seong Jihan in a trembling voice.
"Well. I got lucky."
"Ha. Got lucky...?"
"Yeah. More importantly, there's sothing I'm curious about."
Seong Jihan didn't bother ntioning the process of victory.
And got to the main point.
"Your avatar. Do you know why it kept saying 'just once, just once'?"
"..."
"I showed her operating normally inside the Ark. Then she went crazy asking for a chance."
"You were normal in the Ark...?"
"Yeah. Seeing how she was drawing in all the Isolates, I guess she was trying to absorb their powers?"
Tok. Tok.
Seong Jihan continued speaking while tapping his body with his finger.
"But I've already absorbed their powers sowhat?"
"...So? What are you trying to say?"
"Ah. Shall we get straight to the point? Since your main body is dead anyway. Why don't you just spill everything you were trying to do? Then I'll give you a clean death."
"Ha. Haha. Hahaha..."
What was he saying?
So he was trying to find out how she planned to control the transcendent being?
Urd, who had been laughing incredulously at Seong Jihan's words.
"Is that what you want to know?"
Changed back from informal to formal speech.
"Yeah."
"Then, co closer."
"Closer?"
"Yes. That's my condition."
As she spoke, Urd brought her hand to her neck.
Ziiing...
A golden glowing clock erged from her hand.
"Planning to use the Prison of Ti?"
"My. Are you scared? You who conquered the Ark, afraid of one little clock?"
As she spoke, Urd moved the clock hands she had summoned back and forth.
"If you don't co, I'll just die. With the main body gone anyway, what's the point in holding out?"
Even with her main body dead, sh wa's still using her life as bait.
Seong Jihan smirked and approached Urd.
The mont his feet reached her vicinity.
Flash...!
The clock Urd was holding rapidly expanded.
And touched Seong Jihan.
Then.
Swish swish swish...
The surrounding scenery began to change rapidly.
And seeing the newly appeared space.
'This is...'
For the first ti since coming here, Seong Jihan frowned.
The Prison of Ti that supposedly replays one's most painful mont repeatedly.
The scenery it showed was.
'...Where Seah died.'
In his previous life.
It was the hospital where he had received news of Yoon Seah's death.
* * *
Ziiing...
A phantom of a doctor in white coat appeared and.
[The patient. Has passed away.]
[The cause of death is... falling.]
The scene of delivering the death notice to Seong Jihan in a regretful voice.
Seeing this in the Prison of Ti, Urd.
"...What? Are you kidding?"
Looked back at Seong Jihan in disbelief.
"This trivial thing is your most painful past?"
"...Yeah. The performance is quite impressive. You found it well."
There were countless physically painful monts.
Before regression, when his whole body was being consud by the void.
And all the fierce battles he had fought against strong opponents until now.
There wasn't a ti when it didn't hurt.
'But I've never felt such despair as this ti...'
The mory of confirming Yoon Seah's corpse after hearing the death notice about her falling to her death.
This appeared even in nightmares countless tis while he was in Arica.
And now it would be replayed endlessly.
Though Seong Jihan's eyes sank deeply.
"Ha... You've lived an easy life."
Urd, seemingly dissatisfied with sothing, sneered while watching the scene appearing in the Prison of Ti.
"It wasn't even your own death, yet this is what pains you... Ha. Really. This is ridiculous. The main body, lost to soone like this?"
While saying this, Urd's avatar started blaming the main body for losing to such a being.
Even though she had successfully trapped Seong Jihan in the Prison of Ti.
She was actually getting angry seeing his 'painful past'.
"You must have much more painful mories than ?"
"...Why?"
"Wouldn't it be a sha to only see mine?"
"What...? You, surely..."
As Urd wore a bewildered expression hearing those words.
Seong Jihan, who had been looking at the doctor's phantom.
Turned his gaze to her.
"Good things should be shared."
As he said this and placed his hand on his neck.
Ziiing...
A Clock of Light also erged from Seong Jihan and the hospital scenery around them began to collapse.
"Even my... power...? Really...?"
As Urd's face stiffened.
"Well then, let's switch roles."
Seong Jihan said with a fresh smile while handling the Clock of Light.
"Now I'll be the one doing the evaluation."
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