The Eternal Judgment of Wind Star
The war in the Spirit Realm had reached its limit. There was only so far one could retreat. Shhhrrriiiip—! A dimensional gate had latched onto his heel. Through the open gate, the Otherworld stretched into the distance.
‘The Otherworld is a barren wasteland. Even compared to the Machine Empire—where every ability and authority is crippled by a lack of vitality and even the life force of living beings is deemed unprofitable by the Spiritual Beings—it offers less than a tenth the value. To make matters worse, the dominance of scientific civilization has forced Transcendents and Demigods into hiding or outright isolation.’
The gods and demon gods of the Divine Realm had long since abandoned any attempt at governance, choosing instead to create worlds that required only the barest minimum of vitality. ‘If I cross over there, regression is guaranteed, let alone progress. The gods of the Otherworld will suppress me, and I’ll wither away from vitality starvation.’
Creating a Main God Star, populating it with suitable races, and nurturing them until they could generate vitality again might take hundreds of millions of years. Worse still, no matter how powerful he became, the stigma of having abandoned his original world would brand him as nothing more than a lowly human-born god.
‘Unless it is truly the final resort, I must never cross over.’
Yet even as he thought this, the absolute-grade Karma Contract continued to press forward, its power over time and space far exceeding his own desperate attempts to slow and expand the battlefield. The suspicion that this might be the moment everything had already collapsed refused to leave him.
If he were dragged there, he would become an insect—nothing more—and be taken to Wind Star, where he would become part of the lowest rung of the ecosystem. ‘There is only one way to escape the Eternal Judgment: defeat higher beings, ascend through the ranks, and rise until you stand just below the level where you yourself would be turned into an insect. But a single defeat at any point sends you back to the very bottom. All the vitality and authorities you have accumulated are offered to the victor, and you must begin gathering divine power and vitality anew. That is why even the insects of Wind Star are formidable; none of them can be underestimated.’
In the end, across nearly fifty billion years of history, almost no one had ever achieved liberation. This was the fate of Absolute Beings and Spiritual Beings who had failed to fully unlock their titles or satisfy the conditions, or who had challenged him and lost without the strength to become Substitute Gods—the endless abyss known as the Eternal Judgment.
Vrrrrrr—! Vrrrrrr—! Even the sound of insect wings echoing from Wind Star carried a terrifying weight.
‘I would be among the lowest there. I lack the ability to become a Substitute God. The others are the same, yet they have fought and struggled countless times in that place. Now they swarm toward me like a cloud, eager to make me their prey.’
The authorities of Origin and Dimension he had received were transcendent titles—far too great for any single being to hold. Absorbing both would surely grant him the power to escape Wind Star. After all, they had already elevated a mere 7th-circle black mage to a level capable of overwhelming the Creator Gods of the Master Universe.
‘But this power is mine. I accepted Origin, yet Dimension was cultivated through prices and processes you cannot even imagine. Do you know what it took to endure those agonizing battles? No matter the reward, I will never hand it over. And certainly not to strangers who would simply steal it.’
Rrrrrrr—! Vwoooom! The absolute-grade Karma Contract reversed time and space once more, hurtling toward him at terrifying speed.
‘Blocking it is impossible. If such methods worked, past title-holders would never have been dragged away. But I have something they did not.’
It was Divine Spirit Purgatory—the very authority that had earned him the worst reputation among the gods. It was a measure the previous title-holders had never dared to use, a desperate act committed solely for the sake of victory and survival.
‘Everything has gone according to plan so far. Now, a single mistake will condemn me to eternal life as an insect.’
Either his life would end upon reaching only Creator Candidate, or he would spend eternity as a defeated god in the Otherworld. One of the two.
“Ghh—! I pass judgment upon every god sealed within Divine Spirit Purgatory. Victory means release. Defeat means you become an insect alongside me, imprisoned eternally on Wind Star. The enemy is Wind Star itself. Or…”
Jinma shook his head as he watched the Dimensional Mage God defy the absolute-grade Karma Contract by reversing time and space while radiating fighting spirit.
‘Ignorance truly breeds courage. Look at him.’
Among those sentenced to the Eternal Judgment, there were no weaklings who merely failed to become Substitute Gods. The weakest among them were at the level of Creator Gods from the 499th Master Universe. Even transformed into planetary lifeforms, their power remained unchanged.
“Madman. What does he hope to accomplish with beings who cannot even defeat a single insect of Wind Star?”
“He may be a mage god, but he is far too emotional. With this, the matter is settled.”
The Demon Emperor and the highest-ranking Demon God Kings who had rushed to join the battle regained their composure. The appearance of a Creator God wielding a powerful wide-area authority capable of unconditionally raising one’s circle had been alarming, but that threat was now neutralized.
‘If the balance between the god faction and the demon god faction had collapsed before his race-determination war, it would have been troublesome. This outcome is preferable.’
Though it was regrettable to lose a major force capable of opposing the Substitute Gods, the demon gods were not the ruling race of this Master Universe—they existed as adversaries to the gods. Even if they someday achieved complete victory over the Substitute Gods, the cycle of killing and being killed would resume. The emergence of such a being among the gods would have been a significant burden. Yet no matter what authorities or power he possessed, once sentenced to the Eternal Judgment, it was over.
‘Even returning would be a distant future for a Spiritual Being, and the probability would be vanishingly small.’
The gods’ position, however, was far more complicated. ‘A potentially decisive asset against the Substitute Gods is being lost. His actions were more ruthless than even the demon gods’, yet because he is still one of us, we never even had the chance to employ him.’ The highest-ranking Creator Gods watching the scene felt a tangle of emotions.
‘In peaceful times, such a dangerous individual would be eliminated immediately. But now, in an era of racial war where every strong hand is needed, he is a valuable resource.’
Moreover, depending on how his authorities were utilized, their potential was nearly limitless. His human origins and the reckless actions he had taken as a god of light could be overlooked. Most importantly, even a mid-tier Creator God could dispose of him in a one-on-one fight. A “strong one” of such utility who could be so easily controlled was an irreplaceable treasure in the 499th Master Universe on the eve of the Substitute God and Tenth Dominant Race Determination War.
“What do you think of entrusting his disposal to the Creator General’s authority?”
“…I already have. I recommended self-discipline.”
Sangharama answered with a hardened expression. The others hesitated briefly at his face, but there was no time for indecision. If the Dimensional Mage God were turned into an insect and dragged to Wind Star, one of the god faction’s key assets against the Substitute Gods would vanish. Worse, his defiant resistance was only inviting harsher punishment.
“Ah! What was the response? As he belongs to the 499th Master Universe’s god faction, approval was surely granted.”
“I can adjust ordinary Karma Contracts, but absolute-grade contracts lie beyond my authority. That was the automatic reply. At the very least, one must reach the upper echelons of the Absolute Realm with an absolute-grade authority before any adjustment becomes possible. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that no being may be granted an exception. The contract itself—not him—made that decision. The execution of a mere Creator Candidate is not even worth consideration.”
“Huuuh—!”
Within his domain, nearly all decisions in the Master Universe were automatically executed through Karma Contracts. Every being of 8th-circle and above lived and died by these contracts. Punishments and rewards were carried out according to fixed standards, and even he rarely intervened unless the circumstances were extraordinary.
‘The management gods claim it makes their work far easier, yet occasionally they let out truly wretched screams because of cases like this.’
‘Punishments and rewards are executed without mercy.’
Whether one was a god or a Creator God made no difference. Only the special status of being a faction representative warranted any consideration. Beyond that, authority could be delegated according to ability and rank, but this only delayed or accelerated the outcome. The sole way to avoid punishment was to contribute to the world more than the harm one had caused. There were no exceptions.
A famous remark had once been made by a management god upon witnessing a Creator God who broke a Karma Contract lose all divinity and become an insect: “On the surface, what was done matters more than who did it. But in truth, the ‘who’ is what truly matters—and he completely disregards that convention. There is consideration, but never exception. He does not even grant himself an exception. Is this what ‘Truth’ is? In the end, he views all things, including himself, with perfect equality. Before the ‘eternal happiness’ he desires, no being is special. That is why he is invincible. Who could possibly defeat him—an Absolute who does not hesitate to judge even himself?”
Even a Creator General was not special before the pursuit of “eternal happiness.” Only the advancement of the Master Universe that would serve as its foundation mattered.
‘Those who contribute will be employed. Those who cause harm will be disposed of. There are no exceptions—only delays or accelerations of execution.’
Even the Chief God of the God Realm would receive a stay of execution, yet until the damage was compensated, they would inevitably become either a Substitute God or an insect. The result of challenging his standards was Wind Star—a place where even the one who had fully unlocked their title could not guarantee survival.
‘It is the hell of Absolute Beings and Spiritual Beings who challenged him, were defeated, yet failed to become Substitute Gods—transformed into lifeforms and endlessly struggling to grow stronger.’
‘The vitality and strength of those lifeforms already far surpass the Giant God Clan.’
‘They are the ultimate existences among lifeforms whose physical bodies alone can overwhelm even the Substitute Gods.’
‘So how does a mere Creator Candidate who could not even become a Substitute God possibly stand a chance against all of Wind Star?’
Jinmyeol answered that question.
“There is a chance.”
Thud—!
From somewhere, he produced an enormous bed and hurled it onto the highest seat of the god faction right beside Sangharama before flopping down onto it. The highest-ranking Creator Gods, outraged by the sudden cloud of dust and noise, rose to protest—only to falter beneath the overwhelming divine power pressing down on them.
Before anyone realized it, ten Creator General-level Creator Gods, each possessing over ten trillion in innate divine power, had ceased their training and taken their seats. Traditionally, they were modeled after the eight Absolute Beings and one Transcendent of the Absolute Era, along with one Sage—representing the true elite forces of the 499th Master Universe’s god faction, who would not intervene except during the race-determination war against the Substitute Gods.
Two Creator General-level Creator Gods could ignore even the Creator General’s absolute command authority, their combined power amplifying their authorities to that degree. Five could stand against the Creator General himself. Ten, fighting at full strength, could surpass the Creator General entirely.
The Demon Emperor and the highest-ranking Demon God Kings who looked upon them wore expressions of dismay. Even with only the revealed forces, they were already at a disadvantage—Jinmyeol’s power could not even be measured.
‘Due to the demon god faction’s characteristic of normalized insubordination, there are no Demon Gods at the Demon Emperor’s level. If the Demon Emperor does not permit a challenge and victory is possible, a duel will immediately occur. That is why they have been forced to maintain this inefficient system of overwhelming numbers with multiple highest-ranking Demon God Kings against Creator God-level Creator Gods.’
Yet the highest-ranking Demon God Kings gathered here were only a portion of those who had wished to participate. Fighting with these numbers would require them to prepare for near-total annihilation against such overwhelming opponents. Even the Demon Emperor, the strongest individual combatant in the Master Universe, would need to risk severe injury to kill any one of them.
Nevertheless, they all offered Jinmyeol, still lying on the bed, respectful greetings.
“It has been a long time, Lord Jinmyeol.”
“Ten billion years, was it? You’re still alive and well, I see.”
“There were many sacrifices. When might you be able to return officially?”
“Still sleepy. I ate too much back then.”