Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 321: Star, Gaia’s Curse (3)

Chang-Sun noticed how disapprovingly <Deus Ex Machina> looked at him. Was it because of how he had wrecked the library before?

‘But he looks way too annoyed for that to be the case…’ Chang-Sun thought. He had a strong feeling that his previous mistake was not the real reason. The hypothesis he had formed before coming here came to mind…

“Yes, sir,” Chang-Sun said. He calmly nodded, not revealing his emotions. As he could not yet be certain, he had to refrain from drawing a conclusion.

‘If Ye-Eun and <Deus Ex Machina> are truly related, I don’t get why he’s letting her suffer because of [Gaia’s Curse].’

In any case, there would come a time when he finally received an answer to his question. His current priority was obtaining the information he needed. Perhaps <Deus Ex Machina> had already read Chang-Sun’s thoughts through his machine eyes.

“Machina,” Mephistopheles said, coming forward when <Deus Ex Machina> remained silent.

Tsk…

<Deus Ex Machina> disapprovingly clicked his tongue, then spoke.

『Don’t worry. I’m going to keep my promise regardless of whether or not I like that guy.』

Creak, creak―!

The springs and gears that were part of the machine eyes turned, and the golden eyes pointed downward.

『You currently have Grade 1 clearance, and I’ll allow you to read the books until you create a foundation in the area you want, as long as it’s not a banned book.』

“…!” Chang-Sun’s eyes widened without him realizing it.

A chuckle echoed from somewhere.

『Oh, you know this is going to be a big opportunity that will help you in the future, huh?』

Chang-Sun quietly nodded, as there was no way he could not know.

‘Until I build a foundation… I didn’t know Grade 1 clearance was that high.’

Among the infinite Wordlines, there were no more than five Emperors, and <Deus Ex Machina> was one of them.<Deus Ex Machina> was basically going to give Chang-Sun all the fundamental elements, such as laws and principles, that composed a concept. In other words, it meant he was giving another Divine Rank to a Celestial…!

A Divine Rank was the root of a Celestial’s power. Although the ability of <Deus Ex Machina> to casually hand out such a thing was impressive, the fact that the ‘Changgong Library’ was big enough to have that kind of information was surprising too. It was no exaggeration to say that this Akashic Record was the archive that recorded all the incidents and information from the Worldlines.

‘Odin had a good reason to obsess over this place,’ Chang-Sun thought as his gaze turned sharp.

He had really been at a loss regarding undoing [Gaia’s Curse], but thoughts on how it could be done came to his mind. In fact, Chang-Sun would be able to gain answers to many of his mysterious questions depending on what he chose.

Who exactly was Hsan? Why had he made Ithaca reincarnate? Who was Peter the Apostle? What could Chang-Sun do to overcome Odin and the past reincarnations? What could he do to become a <Star> more powerful than the Zodiacs? There was just so much information he needed at present.

『So what is the category you want to know about?』

<Deus Ex Machina> was asking what Divine Rank Chang-Sun wanted, and he actually had many Divine Ranks he wished to acquire other than brutality.

Remembering all of those things, Chang-Sun slowly said, “I want to know how to undo [Gaia’s Curse].”

『…What?』

Had <Deus Ex Machina> not expected Chang-Sun’s answer?

Creak!

The springs and gears that had kept rotating in the machine eyes stopped for the first time.

“The person I love is in danger because of [Gaia’s Curse], and I also had to go through a lot of trouble because of it. So I need to know how to undo it,” Chang-Sun added.

『…』

<Deus Ex Machina> stayed silent. After a while, the springs and gears turned again, and the eyes looked toward Mephistopheles.

『Did you give that guy a heads-up or something?』

When <Deus Ex Machina> asked, Mephistopheles, who looked almost like him, quietly chuckled and shook his head. He replied, “No, I haven’t.”

『Phew! Then it means he asked for that because he genuinely needs it the most.』

Creak, creak―!

The springs and gears in the eyes of <Deus Ex Machina> spun more quickly than ever.

『Hey, did you understand correctly? You’ll have access to only one category with your Grade 1 clearance. If you’re thinking you’ll get a second chance, or be able to acquire Grade 2 clearance…!』

“I’m well aware of how this is my only chance, but it’s actually what I need the most right now, sir,” Chang-Sun interrupted.

『…You’ll waste this golden opportunity for your lover, huh?』

“I’m not wasting it. Just as I told you, I’ve also gone through a lot of trouble…!”

『I know you’re on your way to making the [Impervious Body], so cut the crap!』

Chang-Sun smiled faintly and replied, “Then I’ll say I’m just using the clearance as an opportunity.”

『You look like you still have a long way to go, but you’re using your golden opportunity like this…? Whoa!』

<Deus Ex Machina> chuckled dumbfoundedly. On one hand, he acted as if he found Chang-Sun’s choice immature; on the other hand, he seemed to find it praiseworthy, having seen an unexpected side of Chang-Sun. Regardless of what the answer was, Chang-Sun could sense that the disapproving tone in the voice of <Deus Ex Machina> was gone.

Creeaaak―!

The springs and gears fiercely rotated, and the machine eyes slowly narrowed.

『[Gaia’s Curse] isn’t a curse that simply dismantles a <Myth>. To be exact, it’s the Mother Terra Celestial’s fuckery. The great mother conceived all lives in the universes and is now trying to restore all those lives to their original forms, so the name ‘Mother Terra Celestial’s Fuckery’ would be a better term than an ambiguous name like [Gaia’s Curse].』

The machine eyes turned cold.

『The Mother Terra Celestial is a concept created by combining fertile land and women’s fertility. Since ancient times, mothers who give birth to lives have been seen as mystical beings and the root of countless civilizations. This is why many see the Mother Terra Celestial as the foundation of civilizations, planets, and planes. Religions about the Mother Terra Celestial can be found in any newly-founded primordial civilization.』

Chang-Sun had a feeling that the explanations given by <Deus Ex Machina> would contain very important clues to coming up with a way to undo [Gaia’s Curse].

『Although the Mother Terra Celestial is interpreted as a benevolent mother in many cases… Benevolent, my ass. Terra gives birth to many lives, but also takes their lives too, like a predator. In the end…!』

“The concept derived from the perspective of a predator is [Gaia’s Curse],” Chang-Sun finished with a nod.

『That’s right.』

Creak―!

『All civilizations gradually worship the Mother Terra Celestial less as they develop over time. Many more philosophical ideas and concepts are established, so people are able to observe the world from various angles, naturally weakening the primordial beliefs… But the Mother Terra Celestial can’t let that happen. When a child becomes an adult, they leave their mother’s arms. It’s a very natural part of the flow of life, but that granny can’t wrap her head around it at all.』

Chang-Sun could sense how angry and annoyed <Deus Ex Machina> was with the Mother Terra Celestial.

『She started all kinds of bullshit, so she was shoved into somewhere that was hard to exit. Even in that moment, she didn’t stop making a frantic last-ditch effort and screwed over so many things… Urgh! I’m sick of her.』

It sounded as if <Deus Ex Machina> was gnashing his teeth in anger, so Chang-Sun assumed that one of her ‘screwing over things’ had to involve [Gaia’s Curse].

『Anyway, you know what I’m trying to say if you’ve listened this far, right?』

Chang-Sun nodded and replied, “I need to understand the concept of Mother Terra Celestial, don’t I?”

『Yes, knowing about the Mother Terra Celestial means…』

Creaaak!

『...you have to learn about a lot of stuff. A loooooootttt.』

Chang-Su smiled bitterly. He had simply wanted to undo the divine punishment that was tormenting Cha Ye-Eun, but it looked as if there were many categories of knowledge he needed to learn from.

‘In order to know about a primordial religion, I’ll have to know about the creation of universes first… Next is the development of civilizations… And I’ll have to know the concept of the Mother Terra Celestial’s predation. There are so many things to do,’ Chang-Sun thought, scratching the back of his head.

Chang-Sun had spent his whole life avoiding studying, but it looked as if he would be making up for it now. Nevertheless, he would be able to automatically accumulate a lot of gnosis as he learned more about the beginning of time. In other words, the more Chang-Sun studied about [Gaia’s Curse], the stronger he would be. Perhaps this moment would be his stepping stone to becoming one of the highest-ranking Celestials, or even a Ruling Celestial.

‘This was why he asked Mephistopheles if he gave me a heads-up,’ Chang-Sun thought.

The amount of gnosis Chang-Sun was about to acquire was so tremendous that several visits to the library would not have been enough, but he was going to receive it in a single visit. Thus, <Deus Ex Machina> was bound to doubt the intention behind Chang-Sun’s choice. However, Chang-Sun was feeling stumped by the fact that he could end up breaking the promise he had made to Ye-Eun about returning soon.

‘But this is still an opportunity,’ Chang-Sun thought, deciding to look at the silver lining. ‘Somewhere higher… This is an opportunity to instantly leap to the level where the Zodiacs are.’

Chang-Sun’s gaze turned sharp.

『Yes, that’s it. I like your spirit very much.』

Chang-Sun could faintly hear Odin’s voice from the corner of his mind, but he pretended not to have heard it.

* * *

From that point on, Chang-Sun cooped himself up in the ‘Changgong Library’.

‘I really have no idea where to start,’ Chang-Sun thought, chuckling dumbfoundedly as he looked at the endless array of bookcases.

In response to Chang-Sun’s question about which book to start with, <Deus Ex Machina> had told him to read everything here first. ‘First’ implied that he had a lot more to read than the books in front of him. Could he really read everything? He was at a loss.

Emerald Tablet. Heavenly Demon Chronicle. Cycle of Darkness. Before the Birth of Eros. Beings of Nyx.

…

Every title was incomprehensible. What was the Emerald Tablet? Who was the Heavenly Demon? The concepts of Eros and Nyx were also unfamiliar to Chang-Sun, so he could feel his head automatically aching just by reading the titles.

Just then, someone approached Chang-Sun and said, “Start with this, then you’ll roughly be able to understand the basic concepts.”

When Chang-Sun looked to the side, he saw Mephistopheles pulling out the book named ‘Beings of Nyx’. He carefully received the book Mephistopheles handed over.

“It contains the information about the beings you people call Outer Celestials, so it’ll have records about me and the being called Hsan or something, whom you want to know about. Once you’re able to understand it, you’ll be able to automatically understand what <Darkness> is,” Mephistopheles said as he looked at Chang-Sun with his black eyes. “I’ll start my lessons when you get there.”

Chang-Sun nodded with determination. Otherworld[1] Celestials existed outside numerous Worldlines and only observed them, and Outer Celestials were their zenith. Thus, Chang-Sun wanted to find out a lot about them.

Although Chang-Sun was unsure what they had to do with the Mother Terra Celestial, the book would undoubtedly help him, since it had been recommended by Mephistopheles. Thus, Chang-Sun sat down on the floor and opened up the book right away. The first sentence of the book was…

Only darkness filled the universe before the beginning of time…

1. Previously Other World ☜