Chapter 453: Which World Is This? (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 453: Which World Is This? (2)
Stepping through the Gate of Demons, I found myself in a place of profound darkness and biting cold.
The chill began at my feet, seeping deep into my bones.
For me to actually feel cold was a serious problem.
My Qi should have started circulating by now.
Ever since the seal within me had broken, an inner heat had begun to flow. I shouldn't have been able to feel any cold at all, and yet here I was, shivering.
There was only one explanation.
This place is unnaturally, disgustingly cold.
The temperature here was beyond belief.
As my eyes adjusted to the gloom, shapes began to emerge from the darkness. A few lanterns hung on the distant walls, but their feeble light did little to illuminate what felt like an impossibly vast chamber.
Where was I?
Having come through a Gate of Demons, the most likely answer was the Demonic Realm.
My gaze swept the area before settling in one direction.
First, I need to find the source of this cold.
Where was this frigid air coming from, that it could affect even me? I didn't need to think hard; the answer was right in front of my eyes.
An unimaginably massive ice crystal stood before me.
This is…
I had never seen anything like it. I'd heard rumors of a legendary treasure in the forbidden Ice Palace of the North, something called the Millennial Ice Crystal. Perhaps this was a similar artifact.
I approached it.
Crack.
A sharp, crystalline sound echoed, and the cold intensified dramatically with each step. It was a world of difference from where I had been standing moments before.
This might be a bit dangerous.
It was too cold. How long had it been since I'd felt like this? It was as if the very flame inside my body was threatening to freeze solid.
One more step forward was my limit. Taking it would mean freezing to death.
Just as I prepared to retreat, a voice rang out.
[Nice to meet you.]
I looked up. I wasn't searching for the source; the voice was clearly emanating from the ice crystal itself. Peering closely, I could see something trapped within the heart of the frozen monolith that radiated this abhorrent cold.
No, 'trapped' is the better word.
It certainly didn't look like whatever was inside had gone in willingly.
And then there was…
This voice.
My eyes narrowed to slits the moment I heard that greeting. I'd heard this voice a few times before, and it wasn't one I would ever forget. Given what I'd already suspected, I wasn't even shocked.
I stared up at the ice crystal and answered. "Blood Demon."
Woong.
The moment I spoke its name, the crystal shuddered.
[Oh…?] The voice sounded amused. [You know who I am.]
I observed its reaction, piecing the situation together.
First, this bastard doesn't seem to know me.
If the entity trapped inside was truly the Blood Demon I knew, there was no way it wouldn't recognize me. Judging by that reaction…
…This really isn't my world.
I was certain now. This wasn't the world from my past life, either.
[How fascinating,] the Blood Demon said, its focus entirely on me. [I only knew you were a being from another world, but it's strange for you to have such a presence. And on top of that…]
A mysterious aura brushed past me. I didn't bother to stop it.
[You even have my energy inside you?]
"…"
So, this Blood Demon had sensed the Blood Qi within me.
A being belonging to a different world.
I latched onto those words. Both the Dancer and this Blood Demon seemed to know I was from another world. At first, I thought it was just because I was a dimensional traveler, but now it felt different.
Considering they keep saying I 'belong' to another world…
Did they mean I was a ruler of a world? But why?
Confusion washed over me for a moment, but I quickly realized it wasn't so strange. My body was a prison for all sorts of monsters, to the point where my very vessel was on the verge of shattering. And one of those bastards was…
…The ruler of the Demonic Realm, was it?
That's what the Blood Demon had called the beast inside me that endlessly devoured Demonic Qi without rest. At the time, I didn't understand the term, but now I knew what it meant to be a ruler of a world. According to the World Tree, it meant bearing the responsibility for all the lives within it.
Is that why this Blood Demon mistook me for one?
Because of that damned beast inside me, it wasn't far-fetched for this Blood Demon to think I was a world ruler. But one question remained.
How did such a being even end up inside me?
A ruler of an entire world, living in my body. The World Tree had told me the answer.
My mother was the one who gave it to me.
It was a gift from my mother. I hadn't been able to make sense of it then, but after hearing my mother's voice through the Celestial Sword, I had realized something.
There is something special about my mother.
The World Tree had said it plainly: Mother was the second calamity of the world, the ruler of ten thousand worlds. The sheer scale of that was shocking enough. Damn it… why was everything so complicated?
"…So, why did you want to see me?" I pushed my tangled thoughts aside and asked the Blood Demon.
A soft chuckle echoed from the ice. [I was simply curious. Curious why a being from another world would come to this one.]
"…"
A reason. I wanted to know that myself. Why was I here?
Noting my expression, the Blood Demon added, [Judging by your reaction, it doesn't seem like you came here willingly.]
"…"
Shit, I'd been caught. My shitty poker face always failed me at the worst times. I quickly schooled my features and thought fast.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about."
[It doesn't matter. The important part is your goal in visiting this place.]
"Does that mean you'll do something to me if you don't like my goal?" I'd come here to understand this world, but I had no intention of walking into a trap. My Qi is thankfully flowing, though. Could I use it to escape? I was on my own here; I'd walked in with my own two feet.
[Hehe…] The Blood Demon chuckled. [Worry not. I'm simply curious, is all.]
"How could I not worry in a situation like this?"
[You may carry the great one within you, but you yourself seem to lack much knowledge.]
"…"
He was right on the money.
[I have no intention of harming you.]
"How can I bel—"
[The evidence is right in front of you. You are breathing perfectly fine in my presence. That is what's important.]
What a pathetic attempt at a threat. It was obvious the bastard was powerless, trapped in that ice. So why did it talk as if it could hurt me?
…
Yet, even knowing that, I couldn't bring myself to speak recklessly. My instincts were screaming at me to hold my tongue.
What is it?
I didn't know. I just knew it was something profoundly dangerous.
Ache-!
The scale on my right arm throbbed with unbelievable pain.
Tsk.
It felt the same as when I'd met the Blood Demon during the Orthodox Faction meeting. Back then, I'd felt an uncontrollable hostility toward him. The only difference now was that the hostility was absent.
[It truly is fascinating.]
"…What is?"
[A vast amount of my energy fills your body, and yet you are shedding using your own strength. How could that not be fascinating?]
"Shedding?" I frowned.
The ice crystal vibrated faintly at my reaction.
[Oh… It seems you were unaware of it.]
"Speak so I can understand."
[Judging by how you know of me and how you address me, it seems I exist in your world as well… how envious.]
"What…?" Envious? Of what?
[How could I not be envious of an alternate version of myself who came across someone like you?]
His words reminded me of what the other Blood Demon had said. That one had wanted me to continue what I was doing—to grow even larger, or something to that effect.
But why does the Blood Demon behave this way toward me?
It was obvious the bastard was scheming something, yet this Blood Demon seemed inexplicably fond of me. It was unsettling.
[I'll ask one thing.] The Blood Demon's tone shifted. [Was it I who sent you to this world?]
"What?" I frowned. Was he claiming he sent me here? What nonsense was this?
Seeing my expression, the Blood Demon murmured, sounding disappointed. [I suppose it wasn't. Then I wonder who…]
"What are you talking about?"
[You don't even seem to know your own true nature, so you wouldn't have come here willingly. Then who was it that sent you?]
"…"
His words gave me pause. Why hadn't I considered that? If this was truly a different world, I shouldn't have been able to come here so easily.
But then how did Tang Jaemoon…?
How could a mere remnant of the past like Tang Jaemoon manage to send me here? And what was the Blood Demon implying?
More importantly…
"…Just what is this world?" What was this place?
The Blood Demon let out a soft laugh at my complicated question. [What a strange thing for you to ask.]
"…"
[Haha—!] Bitterly cold air poured from the ice crystal along with his laughter. [So you truly know nothing. How is that possible?]
"Whether it's this world or the other, you never fail to confuse me. It's rather annoying, you know."
Chuckle.
[I apologize. One should come to know these things naturally after shedding, and yet you haven't. That is what I find fascinating. How is such a thing possible… it feels as if…]
Woong.
[It feels as if someone purposely blocked your ears.]
"…"
Someone blocking my ears. Ironically, that made a certain amount of sense. If not for that, there'd be no explanation for my utter ignorance. As my mind grew more tangled, the Blood Demon continued.
[You asked what this world was, yes?]
"…"
[This world is not so different from yours.]
"What…?"
[It is merely an alternate possibility.]
I couldn't understand his answer. I stared at the ice crystal, wondering what kind of nonsense this was. Ignoring my gaze, the Blood Demon went on.
[There is a rock on the ground before you.]
"A rock?"
[To pick up that rock, or not to pick it up. You were given that choice, and you chose to pick it up.]
I wondered why he was suddenly talking about a rock, but I listened.
[What do you think happens because of something so simple?]
"What do I think happens?" Was there anything special about it? Nothing should happen just because I picked up a rock.
Reading my expression, the Blood Demon gave an immediate answer—one I couldn't comprehend.
[It means an alternate universe is created, one in which you did not pick up the rock.]
I let out a scoff of disbelief. There was no nonsense more nonsensical than this.
"So you're saying countless worlds like this could exist? That every simple decision—sleeping, eating, drinking—spawns infinite alternate realities?" How could such a thing be possible…?
[Why do you show disbelief? The fact that you are here right now is proof of it.]
"…" I shut my mouth just as I was about to retort.
[Do you truly find it strange for a world like this to exist, when simple decisions like those form countless alternate universes?]
If anyone else had told me this, I would have thought them insane. But my current situation was different.
Okay. Let's try thinking about it differently. Let's assume it's real. Let's say this world is one of the many created by that process.
"…So, what is this 'alternate possibility' you mentioned?" The Blood Demon had called it that. What was this possibility for? He made it sound like this branching world had a specific purpose.
After a moment of silence, the Blood Demon spoke slowly, its voice deeper than before. [This world you see…]
[It will only become satisfied once it reaches its desired outcome.]
"What the hell are you—"
[If you failed twice already, you wouldn't want to fail a third time.]
"…!"
[The existence of many worlds' possibilities is the same as the world's will to avoid failure.]
My eyes widened. Two failures. I felt I knew what the Blood Demon was implying.
Perhaps…
It's the cycle of calamity…?
The first was the Blood Demon, and my mother was the second. Both had failed to become the ruler of my world. Later, I'd met the spirit of Yeon Il-Cheon, who called me the calamity, though I believed the Heavenly Demon was the true next calamity.
But this Blood Demon spoke of the possibilities of many worlds and their collective will.
Does that mean the world desires to create a reality where a calamity successfully descends? Was that why countless worlds were being created?
"What…?" I couldn't accept this.
I didn't know if the Blood Demon was telling the truth, but if it was, I had to ask one crucial question.
"If what you said is true…" If it was all real. "What happens to all the other worlds that fail to meet the world's conditions?" If one world succeeds in birthing a new ruler through calamity, what becomes of worlds like this one, where that failure persists?
The Blood Demon responded calmly. [Once that happens, the other worlds are no longer needed. After all, there only needs to be one.]
"…"
I was speechless. It meant that every other world would be completely erased. Essentially, a living being in any world had only two fates: to be erased so a new ruler can descend in their world, or to wait for their entire world to be erased once another world successfully produces a ruler.
Wow.
What a shitty universe we live in.
That was the first thought that crossed my mind.