306th Episode
He had seen enough.
After the second shift in scenery following his meeting with Luna, Ray muttered to himself as he observed the landscape changing once more.
In the immediate aftermath of encountering Luna, his emotions were so heightened that he was overwhelmed, but now that they had settled, his thoughts began to organize themselves.
‘If the hypothesis explained by the illusionary Luna is correct… the World Tree’s intent must be about motivation, just as Luna said.’
The World Tree was haphazardly showing glimpses of the future in short bursts.
If Ray had wanted to gather information within the illusion, it wouldn’t have presented the future this way.
‘Is it simply trying to brand me with the fact that the future is a mess to gain my cooperation?’
Or perhaps it merely wanted to torment Ray.
As Ray internally clicked his tongue, he found himself waking up in a new location.
“Ugh…!”
Ray immediately furrowed his brow.
This place was the most extreme environment he’d experienced within the illusions so far.
Ray realized he was deep within the Demonic Realm or a similar locale.
“Oof…!”
Not only was the environment problematic, but his physical form was also in bad shape.
Ray vividly experienced the pain of having his stomach torn apart and groaned.
Cursing his bad luck, Ray couldn’t properly examine his surroundings before letting out another groan as the scenery twisted again.
‘Already?’
It was too fast.
Still, it was fortunate for Ray.
However, the new scenery that unfolded before him wasn’t much different from the previous one—right in the heart of the Demonic Realm.
“…?”
From there, an unexpected change began.
The scenery kept shifting at incredibly short intervals, circling around the center of the Demonic Realm.
Because of this, Ray repeatedly woke up in harsh environments.
A human body barely surviving in the Demonic Realm wouldn’t remain normal.
With each change in scenery and physical form, various kinds of pain poured into Ray.
Thanks to this, Ray felt as though his head was melting into sticky goo.
‘What are you trying to do right now…!!’
Was it an accidental glitch?
Or was the World Tree deliberately playing tricks on him?
Since he couldn’t determine it immediately, Ray gritted his teeth and endured.
Tsk!
The scenery shifted again.
Due to the continuous pain, Ray could no longer clearly discern which body he was currently in.
Amidst the confusion over whether his current form even had proper limbs…
The view toward the sky remained strikingly clear.
As Ray quietly gazed at the sky, he slightly startled.
‘That’s…’
A monstrous creature flew through the sky, which was dyed an almost sticky red.
Its appearance resembled the dragons depicted in books.
Despite its body being consumed by the aura of death and decaying, it soared gracefully through the heavens.
Watching this distorted hybrid defile the beautiful land, Ray felt a surge of intense anger rise within him.
Fury welled up in his chest against the illegitimate beings responsible for the birth of such a corrupted creature.
An unprecedented passion heated his entire body and clouded his consciousness.
At that moment, a thread of rationality that Ray had been clinging onto raised a question.
Why am I so angry?
Why am I ranting about the beauty of the land and spilling hatred like this?
“…”
Fighting off a strong headache, Ray quickly recognized the issue.
These surging emotions… they weren’t his.
Realizing this, Ray panicked and tried to calm his mind.
“…!”
However, the mysterious tide of emotions flooded into Ray’s consciousness like a tsunami, pretending to be his own.
Unbeknownst to Ray, this was the foremost procedure to impose restrictions on an Apostle.
A transcendent being assimilates specific emotions into the Apostle, creating a foothold to erode their spirit.
Through this process, over time, the Apostle loses the ability to distinguish whose emotions are stimulating their mind.
Ray didn’t fully understand what was happening, but he easily concluded that the World Tree was meddling.
“…!!”
Unable to vocalize due to lack of voice, Ray could only curse silently.
You bastards.
Whether it’s a malevolent deity, El-Lam, or the World Tree…
They all treat, control, and use the sentient beings living on the earth as mere playthings.
Ray cursed fiercely.
I’m not a tool for you to toy around with.
With that fierce resolve, he concentrated his mind.
Although Ray had lost his original body and was trapped inside some strange lump of flesh, this too was an illusion.
He shouldn’t trust what he sees; instead, he needed to recall his true body within his imagination.
“…”
Pushing aside all the impulses swirling in his mind, Ray stimulated the core nestled within his heart.
At first, he felt nothing.
But as a familiar energy began to seep out little by little, Ray thrust his fist forward.
KWAHDOCK!!!!!
The massive lump of flesh surrounding Ray exploded instantly.
Regaining his original body, Ray ground his teeth while brushing off the remnants of flesh stuck to his skin.
“Shit…”
Nothing fundamental had been resolved yet.
The World Tree continued to confine Ray within the illusion, attempting to infiltrate his mind.
As he felt the overwhelming power of the transcendent entity raining down upon him, Ray simultaneously activated his Core and Circle.
Mana that distorted space erupted from both the Core and Circle.
TRRDDEEKK!!
For a mortal to continuously resist the power of a transcendent being was nearly impossible.
However, the peculiar flow of mana Ray emitted gradually counteracted even the transcendent entity’s power.
Not content with this, Ray released mana in all directions, aiming to dismantle the illusions surrounding him.
SPARK! TDEK!
Cracks began to appear in the scenery.
But when he hit his limit and entered a state of deadlock, Ray clenched his core with sheer determination.
Ray instinctively understood that remaining trapped within the illusion created by the World Tree could lead to a more dangerous situation.
“Grgh…!!”
Exerting every ounce of effort until his vision blurred, Ray dispersed mana.
Finally.
PAHHDDDEEEK!!!
The fragile illusion of the future collapsed, pushing Ray out of it.
Ray briefly felt a sense of triumph, but he knew he couldn’t let his guard down yet.
Having escaped the illusion, Ray returned to the darkened space where he had faced the World Tree.
“Huff, huff…!”
Breathing heavily, Ray looked ahead.
Beyond the darkened space, fluctuating colors could be seen.
Though Ray hoped the World Tree would stop its antics at this point, it was a complete misjudgment.
“…!!”
Instinctively sensing danger, Ray raised his arms to shield his eyes.
ZIIING!!
A flash of light erupted from the World Tree.
So intense that it momentarily turned the darkened space pure white, the flash swirled around as if about to engulf Ray.
Since this darkened space wasn’t created by the World Tree, the entity’s powers were limited.
On the contrary, it no longer needed to regulate its strength.
ZIIING!!!!
Massive forces erupted consecutively, threatening to sweep Ray away instantly.
The World Tree relentlessly pressured Ray.
Driven by hatred towards El-Lam and possibly feelings of inferiority, the World Tree’s greed for El-Lam’s Apostle intensified.
“Haaah…! Huhh…!”
With the Core and Circle maximally activated, Ray barely resisted the World Tree’s pressure.
Although the emotional assimilation that shook his mind after escaping the illusion had ceased, now an unimaginable force, beyond human comprehension, swept through the space.
Ray didn’t want to imagine what fate awaited him should he get caught in that current.
His whole body started trembling uncontrollably.
Trying to calm his wavering mind, Ray couldn’t stop the shaking.
Ray… felt primal fear.
The power emanating from the transcendent being far exceeded his imagination.
It became painfully clear how insignificant and powerless mortal strength was compared to a transcendent being beyond realms.
The ‘veil’ separating Ray and the World Tree was all that barely held onto his life.
‘It’s okay…! It’s okay…!’
Clutching his chest as if it might burst, Ray repeated these words to himself.
Fortunately, the time Ray could remain in this darkened space was limited.
Though he didn’t know how much time was left, enduring until then would allow him to safely return to reality.
Crouching his body as much as possible, Ray crawled backward.
While crawling backward, Ray prayed for this terrible storm to pass quickly.
Yes, he prayed. In the end, after exhausting all his strength, the only option left for the weak mortal was prayer.
Ray wanted to mock his pitiful state, but he had no leisure time as he constantly suppressed the frightened sobs rising from his throat.
It’s okay. If I endure a little longer, everything will be fine.
Lowering his head, curling his body to its limits, and inching backward, enduring a little longer would suffice.
At that moment, as Ray was doing his best to crawl backward, a whisper reached his ear.
[Pick up your sword.]
Startled, Ray tried to lift his head but quickly cowered further.
He couldn’t afford to pay attention to hallucinations. For now, he needed to focus on surviving and escaping this space.
However, the mysterious whisper repeating in his ear violently shook the fear-frozen mind of Ray.
Had he had even a bit more mental margin, Ray would have laughed at this absurd temptation.
Currently, Ray was alone, stripped bare in a space too unfamiliar for any mortal.
There was no weapon to pick up.
Even if there were, he lacked the will to hold it.
To escape the immediate danger, Ray surrendered to fear.
Rationalizing his actions, he prepared to cowardly retreat.
But someone grabbed his shoulder as he tried to step back.
And whispered again in his ear.
[Do not submit.]
Ray hurriedly placed his hand on his shoulder.
Yet, he couldn’t feel anything by feeling around.
Only the voice continuing to ring in his ear grew clearer.
[Do not forget.]
Forget? Do not forget? What exactly?
Ray unconsciously questioned himself.
The consciousness of Ray, overwhelmed by encountering a transcendent being, gradually awakened through the repeated voice.
[Do not forget what you have inherited.]
What have I… inherited?
Stopping his flailing limbs that were trying to move backward, Ray finally reflected on himself.
Since reincarnating into this world, the only thing Ray could claim to have inherited was the unique swordsmanship gained through reincarnation.
Though forcibly imprinted by a transcendent being, it wasn’t directly created by one.
Clearly, what Ray inherited was the legacy of a mortal.
The voice continued to echo in Ray’s ear.
[If you haven’t forgotten whose swordsmanship you’ve inherited…]
Even if confronted with an unfathomable terror.
[Stand up and raise your head.]
Ray finally sneered.
A derisive laugh erupted at the absurd demand.
While laughing sarcastically, Ray slowly clenched his fists.
No matter how hard he squeezed his heart, courage didn’t emerge.
There was only one driving force keeping Ray moving now.
Shame.
His exhausted body had long slipped out of control.
Still, gritting his teeth, Ray began struggling to rise.
The core and circle in his chest responded to his will, scattering cold air.
The cold spread far across the void of darkness.
The original owner of this cold was a mortal from hundreds of years ago.
He was considered a hero who achieved mythic feats… and also the first and last mortal to point his sword at the realm beyond.
He no longer existed.
His soul had completely vanished, and the final destination of the trajectory his sword sought to draw was never recorded in history.
All that remained in this dark-stained space was a trace so faint it couldn’t even be called a fragment.
Just the footprint etched and faded when he observed and stepped into this realm with a mortal body long ago.
Even those traces reduced to dust…
Began resonating, drawn by the cold emanating from Ray.
It was undoubtedly.
[Prove it.]
A miracle that happens only once in the eternal span of time.
[If you truly inherited my swordsmanship, prove that my Nonagram isn’t false.]
Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of dormant remains forgotten over time began resonating and glowing.
Then, the grains smaller than sand started flowing toward the master of the cold shedding the veil of oblivion.
Ray still wobbled in place.
While trembling uncontrollably due to fear, he nonetheless struggled to stand without fleeing.
The tiny grains of residue covered Ray’s struggling body.
Countless grains coalesced into the shape of armor.
Ray clenched his fists again.
The tremors subsided.
Distant sensations returned.
Bending his knees, regaining balance, and slowly standing up, Ray finally understood the true wish embedded in the swordsmanship he inherited.
He dreamed of ultimate liberation for mortals.
He wished for the destiny of mortals to belong entirely to them, hoping that the world they lived in wouldn’t be swayed by beings beyond.
But before moving forward to achieve his wish…
He chose eternal death to protect the countless mortals living on the beautiful land, abandoning his wish.
Thus, he accomplished nothing and proved nothing.
Ultimately, his ending was no different from the dreamers overflowing in the streets.
Still, his wish wasn’t empty.
Still, his wish wasn’t wrong.
He was no mere dreamer.
The trajectory he drew was destined to touch beyond the stars and achieve miracles…
At least to prove his endless, hollow cries that couldn’t be conveyed to anyone.
“Sword.”
With crimson eyes, Ray moved his lips.
“Raise.”
A streak of lightning shot out from Ray’s clenched hand, forming the shape of a sword.
