Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 237: Star, Mimisbrunnr (2)

Ding!

Ding!

A message suddenly popped up before all the Celestials in the area. The first to become appalled were Uriel and Marbas.

“What in the world…!”

“Wh-why are the barriers disappearing and the sealing spells getting undone?!”

As the ones in charge of protecting the <Star Grave>, Uriel and Marbas were naturally fully aware that the <Star Grave> was being maintained by the magic barriers and sealing spells that Metatron and Baal, who had both gone missing, had cast. Worrying about those barriers and spells malfunctioning, Uriel and Marbas had been regularly repairing and inspecting the place. However, instead of malfunctioning or getting destroyed, the barriers and spells got unlocked instead.

However, it was too late to do anything about it now that the bank of the Spiritual Lake collapsed, resulting in a tsunami raging toward the underground space and cave. Overloaded, the energy site of the <Star Grave> created a strong earthquake. Cracks spread on the ground, and sprays of water shot up like geysers.

Woosh, woosh, woosh…!

The tsunami swept away everything in its path, including the debris and all the Celestials who were busy fighting.

『Arrghh!』

『What the…!』

『Shit! What is going on?!』

The Celestials tried to stop the tsunami using all sorts of Authorities, but they were helpless against it. After all, it was made out of <Asgard>’s spiritual energy, which had agglomerated until it reached a breaking point and turned into water. It could serve as an elixir if one could take their time absorbing it. Otherwise, it was nothing but a lethal poison. Even Agares was helplessly swept away by the tsunami.

Chang-Sun lost consciousness. Although he was the one who started the tsunami, its impact was just far too strong even for him. Moreover, the spiritual water applied pressure so immense that it felt as if he would get crushed to death—no, he was already physically breaking down.

Crack, crack, crack―!

like a marionette whose strings had come loose, his limbs bizarrely contorted, his muscles were shredded to pieces, and every bone in his body shattered. Chang-Sun bled profusely, but the soul water washed it away. His lightning energy, which had been maintaining his body, had already been depleted. Only his [Ferocious Heart] remained unscathed.

Badump, badump, badump―!

His heart raced harder than ever.

Kiyooo―!

Looking at Chang-Sun, Cadmus’ eyes turned sharp.

[Your Subordinate ‘Cadmus’ is sharing your ‘Ferocious Heart’ with great care!]

[Creating more <Darkness>.]

[Your consciousness is sinking into <Darkness>.]

…

[You have successfully found the old grave of <Asgard>, the fallen Society.]

[You have absorbed a part of the hidden <Starlight> within the grave.]

…

[Your second class ‘Einheri’ and the absorbed <Starlight> are a very great match.]

[Reinforcing your characteristic as an Einheri.]

[Reinforcing your characteristic as an Einheri.]

…

[Achievement unlocked!]

“Discovery of the divine ground of <Asgard>.”

Reward: Activation of Einheri Hidden Piece.

[Your subconsciousness has been stimulated, revealing a hidden secret about Einheri, your second class!]

* * *

[The hidden secret will be played in your mind palace in the form of a preview!]

Caw! Caw!

Chang-Sun wanted to sleep some more, but the noises of a crow kept waking him up…

Caw! Caw! Caw!

The crow cawed even louder against his wishes, seemingly yelling at Chang-Sun to wake up.

Caw! Caw! Caw!

As the crow’s ominous caws continued, Chang-Sun heard another voice.

『Child.』

An old man was waking Chang-Sun up.

『Wake up, child.』

However, Chang-Sun really couldn’t open his eyes. He felt sluggish, and his head ached so hard.

『Hmm! You can probably hear my voice… Did you sustain too much shock? You should be more than capable of enduring this…』

The man’s raspy voice was clear and loud enough for Chang-Sun to hear. With enough distance, he would probably sound like a ghost.

『Come on, open your eyes. The things you worked for, the people who honor you even after their death, the people who follow you, the people who want to help you… Everything and everyone would be in vain if you fall into eternal sleep here.』

Hearing the old man’s remark, Chang-Sun… forced his eyes to open.

『You’re up.』

Looking at Chang-Sun, the old man gave him a smile that appeared to be inauspicious in Chang-Sun’s eyes. The old man didn’t look normal or… even alive.

He had a broad-brimmed hat on his head, a black eye patch over one of his eyes, and extremely sturdy-looking armor underneath his ragged clothes. The old man also had a cane in his right hand and two crows sitting on his shoulders, cawing loudly. Moreover, hungry-looking wolves circled him, their red eyes gleaming.

The man’s somewhat gray or faintly silver hair reached down to his waist. Chang-Sun thought that the man’s hair color looked similar to the color that his hair turned into when he used as much mana as he could.

However, what caught Chang-Sun’s attention the most was the wind around the old man. Gusts of gray wind kept circling around the old man. Ghosts with contorted faces were crammed inside them, creating a terrifying sight.

Argghhhhh―!

Kyah, kyah, kyah―!

All the ghosts were in pain and were trying to tell Chang-Sun something, but they didn’t seem to have the ability to do so—no, the old man wasn’t allowing them to. It didn’t take long for Chang-Sun to realize that the old man had collected all those ghosts using force.

The old man had the ability to exempt ghosts from samsara by force and turn them into his subordinates. Although Chang-Sun could also create subordinates out of the deceased using an unorthodox method, he could never do it like this old man. Chang-Sun hadn’t heard about anyone other than the King of the Underworld having such a power.

Those ghosts had probably been exceptional warriors or heroes when they were alive, and some of them could have even been Celestials. The eon-long history of the universe had rarely seen Deity Kings. However, this old man seemed to have exceeded that level.

Chang-Sun finally managed to say, “Who…”

He couldn’t tell where he was right now. Just a moment ago, he was being swept away in the rapids caused by the lake bank’s outburst. Now, he had no idea where he was or who the old man before him was. One of the Celestials who coveted him could have hidden him away amid the confusion of the moment, but… too many things didn’t add up for that to be the case.

“Who are you?” Chang-Sun managed to ask despite his body’s refusal to do anything.

Smiling, the old man answered, 『You know who I am.』

Chang-Sun frowned. What was that supposed to mean? It didn’t make sense. Massaging his aching temples, he then asked, “Where am I?”

『You also know where you are.』

Thinking he would never get a proper answer, Chang-Sun shut his mouth.

The old man grinned.

『A sip from ‘Mimisbrunnr’ is enough to gain great wisdom, but you basically soaked yourself in it. That’s why I’m certain you already know what you’re supposed to do here.』

Chang-Sun couldn’t understand what the old man meant this time either. He assumed that Lie Si and the children of the Emperor’s Seat called the lake ‘Mimisbrunnr’ for no reason, but according to the old man, that didn’t seem to be the case.

『Names aren’t just words. They’re magic spells that materialize nature’s concepts. That’s why the power within a name exists beyond time and space. Naming something only reveals that which already exists.』

The old man’s explanation was hard to comprehend, but Chang-Sun roughly understood it. If someone gave a lake the name ‘Mimisbrunnr,’ then that meant that the lake had been ‘Mimisbrunnr’ all along.

『You gulped down the lake, so you would know—no, you should remember a memory deep in your soul.』

When the old man looked at Chang-Sun with glowing eyes, a ghost floated before the old man and took the form of a rune. Chang-Sun wasn’t sure what the rune meant, but it seemed to be one of the primordial runes.

『So let me ask you in return. Who am I?』

At that moment, Chang-Sun realized how to answer that question.

“This is strange. Celestial, human… Every living being has four destinies—birth, old age, sickness, and death—but one of yours is missing.”

He remembered what Sinmara had said when they first met.

“I can’t see the destiny of your birth.”

“Do you know that your soul already died several times?”

Chang-Sun didn’t know what Sinmara meant by his soul dying several times, but he didn’t really bother to ask her about it. By the time he had become Lee Chang-Sun or the ‘Divine Twilight,’ he had likely already gone through samsara several times, much like other mortals, so he didn’t pay much heed to it.

However, having obtained the old man’s wisdom—no, his gnosis, Chang-Sun could now tell who the old man was. He was one of the lives that Chang-Sun had.

“You are…”

At that moment, darkness surrounded him.

* * *

[You have regained consciousness!]

Chang-Sun opened his eyes again, but for a moment, the vision in his right eye brilliantly twinkled as if his eye was made from jewels. It was different from <Starlight>, which a Celestial obtained as they began to shine. Chang-Sun hadn’t realized that the old man in his dream was wearing the eyepatch on his right eye, but Chang-Sun did feel something settled inside his right eye.

‘Something… settled down,’ Chang-Sun thought.

The world in his right eye, which had gone through an unknown change, was a little different from the world he had always seen. Now capable of seeing the world’s various flows, Chang-Sun noticed numerous new things around him despite the fast currents.

The Celestials were still scattering, so Chang-Sun assumed that he had lost consciousness for just a very brief moment. The memory of the peculiar conversation he had with the old man was becoming blurred. Chang-Sun couldn’t really even remember what the old man looked or sounded like anymore, but he was certain that he had coincidentally learned a great lesson.

[Congratulations! Drinking from ‘Mimisbrunnr’ has unlocked a memory of the forgotten primordial soul!]

[You have learned gnosis.]

[You acquired the ‘Gnostic Eye’ as a reward!]

[Your Class has increased.]

[Your Class has increased.]

…

[Gnostic Eye]

The eye that can see and observe gnosis, the primordial knowledge recorded in Idea. It seems to be an inheritance from someone.

· Type: Unidentifiable.

· Effect: Concept Deduction. Gnosis Analysis.

‘[Gnostic Eye]...?’

The mysterious old man in Chang-Sun’s dream seemed to have given him the eye that he was covering with his eyepatch.

Clink, clunk―!

Chang-Sun heard a part of the Divine Steel shackles around his soul dropping, giving him a boost in energy. The strong spiritual pressure now helped his destroyed body quickly recover—no, he had now molted out of his old skin and was now creating a new skin for his sturdier, perfect body. Having soaked his muscles, bones, and cells in the spiritual water, he gained an incomparably greater physical upgrade than before. Even his racing [Ferocious Heart] had become larger.

Badump, badump, badump―

[You have successfully <Molted> for the third time!]

[The Title ‘Jigwi Giant Incarnation’ has been upgraded to the Title ‘Jigwi Spirit Incarnation’!]

…

[You have completely adjusted to spiritual water.]

[You can now move freely in spiritual water.]

…

[You have acquired ‘Li's Fragment.’]

‘[Li’s Fragment]? What is this?’ Chang-Sun briefly wondered but decided to think about it later.

Right now, he had to come up with a way to escape these rapids. Luckily, Chang-Sun ‘knew’ what he had to do. Chang-Sun infused his mana into the Elfin Root, who was in his arms. Mixing his mana with <Darkness>, he subdued the demonic poison that had been killing the Elfin and replenished its stamina by diluting spiritual water and supplying the Elfin with it. Those were enough as temporary treatments.

Afterward, Chang-Sun synchronized with the Elfin. Since his mana currently had a connection established between them, he thought he could use a part of his subordinate’s ability through their Soul Link.

[Attempting to synchronize with your Subordinate ‘Elfin Root’!]

[Connecting your minds.]

[Your mental barriers have temporarily been disengaged.]

[Synchronizing your minds.]

…

[Warning! Your personalities might merge as well if your Synchronization rate is too high, resulting in a loss of individuality. Do you still wish to proceed?]

Chang-Sun just ignored the warning message and continued, his [Gnostic Eye] gradually shining more radiantly. Through it, he could see the Elfin’s mana flow, allowing him to learn what he should do.

[You have chosen to proceed.]

…

[You have acquired a new type of Divinity. ]

[Attribute: Living Tree.]

[The attribute has been stored in your ‘Stigma.’]

…

[You have successfully synchronized with your Subordinate ‘Elfin Root.’]

[You can now use all your Subordinate’s abilities and Authorities.]

‘<Living Tree>... Did I get Kali’s Divinity?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

This was probably possible because the Elfin used to be Kali’s priest. Chang-Sun thought this was for the better. With Kali’s Divinity, rescuing her other priests would become a lot easier.

[The Skill ‘Vine Whip’ has been activated!]

Chang-Sun used one of the Elfin’s Skills, causing its right arm to turn into dozens of vines. It spread and grabbed all the Gray Elves helplessly getting swept away by the rapids. Moodoo was difficult to reach since she was quite far away from everyone, but she stretched out her own vines as well and grabbed the Elfin’s.

‘Give me a direction, Armand!’ Chang-Sun shouted in his head.

Woosh!

『You…?』Armand’s eyes widened a bit in surprise when she appeared. She seemed to have something to say about Chang-Sun’s [Gnostic Eye] and his faded hair color.

‘Let’s talk later. Find a way out of here first. Go!’ Chang-Sun urged.

『Alright.』

Armand turned into a gust of wind and disappeared into the water, which also helped Chang-Sun breathe underwater. Not long after, she returned.

『I found an escape route.』

‘Where?’

『This way.』

Chang-Sun immediately followed Armand and detected the current that would lead them outside. Fortunately, the <Maleakhe> angels and <L’Infernal> demons couldn’t afford to pay much heed to Chang-Sun and the others.

The rapids naturally made it difficult for him to get to where he wanted to go, but the gnosis at least helped him move relatively more freely. Moreover, Chang-Sun now felt very comfortable in ‘Mimisbrunnr’ unlike the other Celestials, and he also had Armand, who was providing him with great assistance.

Moving with haste, Chang-Sun managed to rescue the wandering Minerva, Mars, and Mercury before he reached his destination. Sensing that he was nearly out of this situation, he started feeling relieved. However…

Kiyoo! Kiyoooo!

[Surprised, your Subordinate ‘Cadmus’ warns you of incoming danger!]

Cadmus, who was on his right shoulder, looked uncharacteristically pale. Noticing something others hadn’t, it frantically yelled at him. Chang-Sun soon realized that what he had thought was a path leading outside the building was actually a wide-opened mouth.

The mouth revealed an abyss-like throat, a tongue as red as an active volcano, and sharp fangs as big as a mountain. The being it belonged to—an unfathomably huge Dragon—was drinking a lot of lake water to swallow Chang-Sun and the others.

Although the Dragon was dangerous enough to scare even Cadmus, Chang-Sun smiled.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ waves her hand, telling you to come this way!]

[The Celestial ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ grumbles that her daughter causes her so much trouble.]

Gulp!

Tiamat, the giant Dragon, swallowed Chang-Sun and the others whole.