Chương 669: Witness of Eternity (4)

Seo Eun-hyun is born.

Under the care of his parents, he receives his name, grows up, and gradually establishes his identity.

However...

Seo Eun-hyun doesn't enter the eyes of the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord right now.

'Th-This world is...'

It is far too strange.

Though the world unfolds centered on Seo Eun-hyun's memories and is therefore not entirely accurate, the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord gathers numerous clues and information from within Seo Eun-hyun's memories and is able to reach one conclusion.

'In this world... there are no True Immortals...?'

Of course, there are a few strange traces of transcendent beings.

That is, traces of them can be found in religions, but aside from that, there are currently no True Immortals, no transcendents at all.

Not even cultivators or martial artists who actively use Qi can be seen.

Even observing the stars yields the same results.

At least the sun, much like Mount Sumeru, gives off a similar feeling to that of an innate True Immortal, but even there, the presence of wisdom is faint.

'Can a world like this even exist...? Enders... they don't just suddenly appear in the Head Realm, but rather, they come from a 'different world' through the Head Realm as a middle passage...!'

The Sword Spear Heavenly Lord falls into confusion.

The Radiance Eight Immortals do not believe there is another world outside Mount Sumeru.

Mount Sumeru itself is already vast and endless.

The Supreme Deities and Heavenly Venerables claim there's 'another world' and spout nonsense about wanting to go there, as if they're afflicted with madness.

But that's only because those Supreme Deities have raised their rank and weight class far beyond necessity and thus feel Mount Sumeru to be narrow.

If they only raised their rank and weight class in accordance to their place, Mount Sumeru would have been more than spacious enough to live in.

That is why the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord, as one of the Radiance Eight Immortals, has always despised those Supreme Deities who spout such nonsense.

As one of the Radiance Eight Immortals, the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord has always blocked those mad Supreme Deities who attempt to challenge the Gatekeeper of the illusionary space called the Audience Chamber— That is, the Emptiness Supreme Deity.

Behind the Akashic Records that is the Emptiness Supreme Deity Myeong Woon, there surely lies the Absolute of Fate, and thanks to that Absolute of Fate, Mount Sumeru exists.

Without those Absolutes, Mount Sumeru would be torn apart like planets in a star system losing their central star and flung across the universe, scattered throughout the Outer Sea.

Therefore, the Radiance Eight Immortals have always strived to prevent the mad Supreme Deities from destroying or seizing the Origin Essence of History and the Origin Essence of Fate that lies behind it.

The idea that there is another world beyond the Emptiness Supreme Deity Myeong Woon is nonsense, and the Radiance Eight Immortals, over generations, have infiltrated the Head Realm with Immortal Arts, prophecies, and winged garments to prove it.

The emergence of Enders is simply the overlapping of special information located within the Akashic Records, and the reason they possess unique cultural styles is because they are information bodies born from hidden histories within the Akashic Records.

That has been, until now, the common sense, history, and truth known to the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord.

'Then what in the world does this mean...!?'

The Sword Spear Heavenly Lord feels her entire belief in the world crumbling.

Beyond Mount Sumeru.

Beyond the Emptiness Supreme Deity.

There exists 'another world'!

Moreover, this world seems to operate under laws completely different from Mount Sumeru.

In other words...

There are no True Immortals in this world, and in the era where Seo Eun-hyun lives, no transcendents appear.

'Isn't this... isn't this practically... the utopia of Radiance Hall...?'

A world where everyone lives free from the oppression of fate and the tyranny of transcendents, and can enjoy life.

Though there are dictators, tyrants, wicked rulers, and even a soap company CEO committing crimes here and there, compared to the tyranny and abuse of true transcendents that the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord has witnessed, such things seem more than bearable.

'Beautiful...'

The Sword Spear Heavenly Lord, alongside Seo Eun-hyun, visits the kindergarten, school, military, and society, and marvels at the beauty of this world.

However, amidst all this— That day finally arrives.

Vroom vroom— Seo Eun-hyun grips the steering wheel of a magic artifact called a car.

And then, the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord screams.

[Ah, no!] But this place is merely a world inside Seo Eun-hyun's memory.

There is nothing the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord can do.

The Sword Spear Heavenly Lord must watch as Seo Eun-hyun and the others are helplessly swept away by a landslide and killed.

[No!!! Seo Eun-hyun!!] The Sword Spear Heavenly Lord sinks into grief.

Such a beautiful world.

Such a radiant world...

And yet, he passes away at a young age without even fully enjoying it within the span of his life.

To the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord, that is far too tragic.

And then...

[... Huh?] The Sword Spear Heavenly Lord witnesses [someone] approaching the Enders who are dying in the landslide, disregarding all physical laws.

Immediately afterward, the light in the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord's eyes, her vision, her entire face, and head burst into flames.

The Sword Spear Heavenly Lord, faced with a rank so overwhelming no Heavenly Lord could dare withstand, loses consciousness and faints for a moment.

Thinking, for some reason, that she might have seen a 'familiar symbol'...

Tst, tststststss...

"Ugh... I feel dizzy."

'I' gather my dazed mind and look around.

Whispers of endless stories murmur in my ears.

But at the same time, my reason solidifies, and I recognize that the 'connection' has now been fully completed.

'It's done. I've connected to Mount Sumeru. But...'

I immediately realize that the flow of time between Mount Sumeru and the Outer Sea is different.

'Because the flow of time is different, it's difficult to synchronize the flow of consciousness... This is quite difficult.'

I look at my information body, which has taken the form of my childhood self, and scan the surroundings.

"... But, who was that just now?"

Though I was in a haze, I clearly remember someone hugging the information body from behind.

'It was warm...'

"Was it Kang Min-hee...? Or... the Imperial Venerable? But why can't I see anyone?"

Through stories, I generated twilight true energy, and from that, I created an information body.

But the created information body is currently at a mortal level and cannot escape the Inner Sea on its own.

Someone has to come.

Just then, Tssuaaaaa— A pale mist seems to spread out in front of me, and someone appears.

"...! You're..."

That massive frame and bulging muscles.

This person is someone deeply familiar to me...

It is Oh Hyun-seok.

"Hyun-seok Hyung-nim!"

"Seo Eun-hyun! It's been a while. I heard you went out to the Outer Sea. Is that a clone?"

"Yes, well... you could say that."

"Hahaha, you look all weak and scrawny. You definitely need to be fed and raised properly."

Oh Hyun-seok lifts me up with one hand and places me on his shoulder as he speaks.

"Jeon Myeong-hoon, Kang Min-hee, and the others are currently digesting the rapid increase in rank and strength, so I came. I digested my rank quickly thanks to my master's help."

"Mm... I see."

'... Then, was the presence I felt earlier the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld? The Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld must have briefly protected me until Oh Hyun-seok arrived.'

"About Young-hoon Hyung-nim... I've heard some things, but I was told you know best, so I came to ask. Just what exactly happened?"

"... He..."

I roughly explain his situation.

"... I see. He used the Ender authority to jump to some point in the future... got it. That aside, I heard Kim Yeon and Oh Hye-seo are currently with you. I understand Kim Yeon, but... why did Hye-seo go with you...?"

"That's because Oh Hye-seo... is the medium of the Great Mountain Supreme Deity, and effectively their Immortal Treasure."

I also explain the situation regarding Oh Hye-seo to Oh Hyun-seok, and he nods as he carries me on his shoulder and charges out of the Inner Sea into a nearby Heavenly Domain.

"... I see. So that's what happened with Hye-seo."

"..."

Tuuuung— After flying for a while, we enter the Earth Boundary Heavenly Domain.

Kugugugu!

And there, we come before something like a massive 'egg'.

"That is..."

Two enormous eggs float in the void of the Earth Boundary Heavenly Domain, and countless star veins are tangled like circuits, connecting to those eggs.

"That's Jeon Myeong-hoon and Kang Min-hee. I heard the Liberation Supreme Deity made those for their transformation. Apparently the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld personally requested it... but I don't really know their exact purpose."

"I see..."

"By the time they emerge, they'll have probably fully digested their Ender authority and their suddenly increased rank."

Suddenly increased rank.

It seems to refer to how their rank soared rapidly due to the taenghwa I brought from the last cycle.

"I heard each of them needs to be in there for about a hundred years to awaken, so let's sit and have a talk."

Oh Hyun-seok takes me inside a nearby planet.

A corner of a planet inhabited by the Human Race.

Oh Hyun-seok sets me down on the roof of a massive skyscraper, and, as if he swiped it from somewhere, pours himself a cup of clear wine and drinks.

"I'll take a cup too..."

"Nope. You're in a kid's body."

"What? How is that supposed to work? Do you know how old I am...?"

"Still no."

After drinking clear wine for a while, Oh Hyun-seok speaks with a bitter expression.

"... The foundation, 'Hall of Love'. The orphanage under it, 'Cozy Home'. Oh Hye-seo is from there. It was run by my eldest brother."

"... I've heard about it."

"Did I mention it before? Anyway... When I was young, since the orphanage was managed by our family, I went there to volunteer a few times. Though honestly... it felt more like just visiting my big brother's place rather than volunteering. Anyway... that's where I first met Oh Hye-seo."

From Oh Hyun-seok's mouth, stories about Oh Hye-seo's past begin to flow.

"I'm... not a pedophile or anything. But anyway, when I was seventeen and she was ten, I was kind of shocked. As you probably know... because she was incredibly pretty."

"Mm..."

"So at first, I took care of her the most. But I don't know if you know this. It turned out she had a mental illness."

"A mental illness...?"

"I don't know the exact diagnosis, but... anything she's interested in, she has to figure out everything about it. For example, after she took an interest in me, she searched the orphanage internet and looked up my past, my records, my dental records, and even the condition of my teeth. She figured out everything."

"..."

I'm a little surprised by this unexpected answer.

I knew she wasn't entirely sane, but to think she had such an obsession.

"When I asked her why, you know what she said?

'I'm the type who likes to investigate what I want to have'."

"... I guess she didn't realize that saying stuff like that could get her sent to a psychiatrist."

"Well... at first, I was going to tell my eldest brother to send her to a mental hospital. But then she said this: 'But, Hyun-seok oppa, I'm going to stop researching you now. Because you like me. Because I don't want to possess you, but want to live together with you.' That's what she said. So I just... told her not to do that again, quietly mentioned it to my brother, and buried it as a secret."

His gaze darkens slightly.

"She gave me some chills... but she was a pure and good kid. Oh Hye-seo, that girl... But around that time, I got pushed by the elders in my family to study abroad in Germany."

"... Hyung-nim, you studied in Germany?"

"Why do you ask?"

"It's just... hard to picture you speaking German..."

"... You're not perhaps seeing me as some kind of simple-minded musclehead or anything, right?"

"... Of course not."

"..."

Oh Hyun-seok eyes me suspiciously for a moment, but soon continues explaining.

"Anyway... after finishing university in Germany, I came back to Korea, got my master's in grad school, and stopped by the orphanage, only to find out she had already moved out and was living independently. But from what my eldest brother said, she got scolded harshly after digging into my background again. After that, she apparently stopped talking much... seemed to study hard alone, and I heard she entered the chemistry department on a full scholarship.

"Then not long after, as you know, she joined our company and came looking for me. She smiled brightly and said she joined to repay the kindness she received at 'Cozy Home'... but I could tell. Her expression might have brightened, but the purity that used to be in her eyes completely disappeared."

"..."

"From that point on, you know how it was. She worked decently enough in the company, got subtly involved in office politics, and blended in with the crowd decently enough. But I kept feeling uneasy around Hye-seo. Like... one day she was going to cause some kind of incident.

"But before I could dig deeper into Hye-seo... we ended up coming over to this world."

Oh Hyun-seok looks up at the sky.

"And... at first. When we were betrayed by Oh Hye-seo, I felt betrayed, but also somewhat relieved. Because the unease I always felt while watching her in the company disappeared when I saw her with that Seo Hweol guy.

"The purity and 'happiness' that had vanished from Oh Hye-seo's eyes... seemed to be completely full again when she was with that Seo Hweol guy."

"... Is that so?"

I smile bitterly at those words.

If Oh Hye-seo was happy with Seo Hweol... then I am the one who shattered her happiness.

"It's not your fault. That guy Seo Hweol... even I thought he was dangerous. Even if she was happy with him, eventually he would've dragged Hye-seo into danger for his own goals. You did well to take him down."

"I think so too. Seo Hweol... needed to die, for all of our safety."

"That's right. But what I'm trying to say is... after Seo Hweol died, Oh Hye-seo returned to the same state of unease as before. No, she probably became even more unstable. I... saw the moment of her sealing through Kang Min-hee's history reading. Her eyes back then... They were... incredibly dangerous."

"... You have something you want to say."

I sense Oh Hyun-seok's intention and ask.

Oh Hyun-seok nods and speaks.

"... Could you let me talk with Oh Hye-seo? I... want to speak openly with her. Have an honest, real conversation. I want to help her correct what's gone wrong."

"'Correct... huh?"

I don't know what to say.

Oh Hye-seo doesn't have something like a heart.

No, to be precise... it's faint.

Oh Hye-seo was born as a dull and emotionless creature, like a snake.

So the idea of 'correcting' her simply doesn't exist.

How can you correct something that was never there to begin with?

'Wouldn't it... just be better to just seal her for eternity?'

But I recall Kim Yeon, who is with me in the Outer Sea, and erase that thought.

'... Maybe, this too is arrogance.'

I erase the arrogance that Kim Yeon helped me realize.

A person's heart isn't something I can dare judge.

It is not something I can control.

'If it's Oh Hyun-seok... maybe he can persuade Oh Hye-seo.'

After all, he even remembers her childhood which I don't know about.

Maybe such a thing is possible.

'Besides, there's plenty of time.'

The time until we return from the Outer Sea is uncertain.

If Oh Hye-seo can be persuaded during that time, it might be the best possible path.

"... In that case, Hyung-nim. I'll let you meet her."

Woo-wooong— After syncing with my main body, I ask Kim Yeon for help.

With Kim Yeon's assistance, I extract only Oh Hye-seo's consciousness sealed within me and connect it to the information body.

Tstststststs— In an instant, the appearance of the information body changes.

Just as how the information body manifested the appearance of my childhood because it is weak, When it tries to manifest Oh Hye-seo's form, the lack of power results in the appearance of a young girl version of Oh Hye-seo.

"... It's how you looked the first time we met, Hye-seo."

Oh Hyun-seok looks at the information body with a nostalgic expression, and soon, having come to her senses, she glances around and smiles faintly as if she's grasped the situation.

"... Who's this now?"

And then, at her next words, Oh Hyun-seok, me, and even Kim Yeon who is drawing information from me, can't help but be shocked.

Oh Hye-seo looks at Oh Hyun-seok and gives a weak, mocking smile.

"My foolish first love. Long time no see, Youngest Father Hyun-seok."