The Weight of Eternal Slumber
Jinmyeol blinked slowly, his eyelids rising and falling as if testing whether he truly intended to sleep. ‘I don’t know what circumstances brought him here, but if he really falls asleep, there will be no waking him.’ No one present had the nerve to disturb the deep rest of an existence who, with combat ability alone, had held back the entire Substitute God Clan a billion years ago.
Those who didn’t know might laugh, but during the very first Racial Determination War ten billion years prior, the number of Substitute Gods Jinmyeol had slain exceeded nine times the combined total killed by all the God Clan and Demon God Clan forces. ‘By simple arithmetic, that means Jinmyeol is nine times stronger than every Spiritual Being in the 499th Master Universe combined.’
The title Jinmyeol (殄滅) that produced such an absurd result had an ability that grew exponentially stronger the more numerous and powerful the enemy became. ‘The power he displayed against the endless waves of invading Substitute God armies was nothing short of miraculous.’
Planetary bio-armor that had withstood attacks from any god clan warrior was torn to shreds by mere ripples of Jinmyeol’s divine power. Only the Substitute Gods’ Creator Gods could barely endure it. The more the Substitute God Clan concentrated and increased their forces, the more Jinmyeol’s power rose geometrically, until he single-handedly overwhelmed their entire army.
‘Substitute Gods, each possessing over ten times the authority and divine power of ordinary gods, exploded one after another like runaway chain reactions, filling the void of space.’ Meanwhile, the God Clan and Demon God Clan, who had preserved most of their strength, barely managed to defeat the Substitute God Clan’s Creator General by deploying fully awakened Creator Gods and the Demon God Emperor.
Even the Demon God Emperor, currently on forced rest due to the damage suffered back then, could not accurately gauge Jinmyeol’s divine power. ‘He is clearly at least one circle above us, who have reached 12.5 circles.’‘He must be standing right before the threshold of 14 circles.’
That fact alone was enough to make them tolerate any rudeness. After surviving ten Racial Determination Wars, they had long since stopped caring about such trivial matters. What mattered now was securing allied forces capable of securing victory against the Substitute Gods.
Jinmyeol was the undisputed strongest of the God Clan, specialized in large-scale battles and slaughter. There were probably few gods even in the Absolute Realm who could match his prowess in colossal wars of this scale.
“This upcoming Racial Determination War is far too dangerous.”
“Thanks to him, the Substitute Gods have suddenly achieved an impossible ten percent increase in overall combat strength. This is beyond what we can handle.”
“Moreover, the joint ultimate technique Ayuta you provided as a countermeasure—as you can see—cannot be endured by any mid-tier Creator God or below. The power is sufficient, but their bodies cannot withstand the recoil.”
“We humbly request that you bestow upon us a combat authority capable of opposing these strengthened Substitute Gods—for the sake of the God Clan.”
The reason these Creator Gods, who held the highest positions among their kind, had rushed here was simple. Although they had perfectly mastered the joint ultimate technique Ayuta—capable of killing even the strengthened Substitute Gods’ Creator Gods—they could not use it easily.
‘Those who learned its true meaning, the Almighty Hwi who possesses an immortal body and the Sage of Omniscience, can surpass mid-tier Creator Gods despite only being preliminary Creator Gods in terms of physical capability.’
‘Yet even after landing a perfect hit, the backlash nearly destroyed their bodies.’‘At this rate, all Creator Gods below the standard rank may have to be excluded from combat. Then we will be overwhelmingly outnumbered.’
Honestly, they were interested in the Dimensional Mage God’s wide-area authorities, but since the Eternal Judgment had already begun, it no longer mattered. They had seen far too many direct descendants who, no matter what authority support they received, could never become true Creator Gods.
‘In the end, those who survived the battlefield were not the precious heirs we had nurtured like jade and gold. It was the active war gods who had been ignored, given no support, and yet stubbornly survived. And that is who we are.’
From the perspective of those who had survived ten billion years of hellish warfare, such shortcuts might grant temporary strength, but they were ultimately poison.
‘What we need for this Racial Determination War against the strengthened Substitute Gods are true powerhouses. We must somehow obtain or create a decisive technique that transcends the transcendent level so these powerhouses do not die meaningless deaths.’
But Jinmyeol had already half-fallen into slumber. Having forcibly activated his body—which was gradually digesting the excessive vitality he had absorbed from the Substitute Gods—he had rushed over only to find the opponents far too weak, causing his tension to dissipate completely. As a result, his desire for sleep had grown even stronger than usual.
‘Once he enters complete sleep, his fully opened title will reveal its true nature. A title is the very authority of past Absolute Beings, and it possesses a degree of will.’
The will of Jinmyeol’s own title was none other than mass slaughter. If he let his mind go and fell asleep like this, it would immediately run amok.
‘Since he is already peering beyond 14 circles, if he rampages according to his title’s instinct, the consequences are obvious without even thinking about it. He would become a god of destruction surpassing the Substitute Gods, and more than half of the Master Universe would collapse.’
Therefore, he had to maintain his sanity even while dozing. ‘I should hurry back to my own divine realm and sleep soundly while getting nagged by the Demon God King with her murderous aura, right? This is dangerous.’
With his eyelids half-lowered, Jinmyeol glanced at the Dimensional Mage God beyond the screen. ‘These people have already concluded that the Dimensional Mage God is finished. But the Dimensional Mage God I saw with my own eyes never gave up under any circumstances.’
When he had charged alone against a superior Substitute God Lord during a mere mercenary battle in the Main Divine Realm, Jinmyeol had thought him insane. Yet the man had survived and even properly claimed his rewards.
After learning the circumstances of that divine realm later, Jinmyeol couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Forcing him to take over a divine realm composed solely of Spirit Realm-born Lords and gods—amazing that it hasn’t collapsed yet.’
No matter that he was a human-born Lord, handing the Main Divine Realm to a novice Lord was too harsh. Moreover, the divine realm management Lords who acted as proxies for the former Main God were the very Goddesses of the infamous Goddess Blood Alliance. After executing their incompetent husband Lords during the previous Lord War, they had seized the position of Main God themselves and then massacred the male Lords of neighboring divine realms. They were notorious for their cruelty and strength.
They had tried to hide it, but they had killed so many Lords that they all possessed the vicious transcendent authority known as Lord Slayer. And every single one of them had become his concubines. It was simply astounding. ‘He really is surviving remarkably well.’
With a divine realm in that state, the only way to ascend to Creator God was to go outside, risk his life in battle, and earn it himself. When Jinmyeol thought about how the man had even written an Absolute-grade Karma Contract—fully opening his title—in a reckless war where he volunteered to block the entire forces of the 500th Master Universe with a Creator God-level defensive divine realm, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy.
However, there were no mages who would participate in a war with no chance of victory.
“You must supplement the joint ultimate technique Ayuta yourselves. Even if its power decreases as a result, there is no other option right now. It is the only technique that can annihilate beings three circles or higher and works against the Substitute Gods’ Creator Gods.”
“Ugh!”
“Haa…”
The faces of the Creator General-level Creator Gods darkened rapidly. They had spoken in the hope that Jinmyeol, who overwhelmed the Substitute Gods in large-scale wars, might possess another decisive technique.
‘Asking for a transcendent authority like this without offering anything in return is the mindset of shameless thieves, but we don’t have the luxury to worry about that right now.’
Although they were in the middle of training, they were the ones who decided the major policies of all god clans. The damage inflicted by the suddenly strengthened Substitute God Lords was enormous, and they were being completely pushed back in the competition of Creator God ranks. There were many beings qualified for ascension, but not enough vitality to sustain them. That was why they had been driven into a corner severe enough to approve a large-scale invasion of another Master Universe, just like the Demon God Clan.
“There is no way an Absolute Being who activated an Absolute-grade Karma Contract would not have prepared measures to avoid being dragged to Wind Star. Everyone before desperately resisted and was still taken. But isn’t he a mage with Dimensional Authority? He must have some special means. Above all, the creatures of Wind Star are nearly equal to the Substitute Gods. That may be another answer regarding the Substitute Gods.”
Ignoring the Creator Gods who harbored the vain hope of receiving a transcendent authority for free, Jinmyeol slowly sank deeper into sleep. It was time to fiercely battle the past Absolute Being who had once been called Jinmyeol within his own mind.
Since he had achieved full opening through his own power, he did not receive the Eternal Judgment. He simply had to fight desperately against the wills and consciousnesses of the past Absolute Beings trying to restore themselves inside his mind. It had not originally been this severe—merely annoying as they whined inside his head—but because he had devoured far too much of the Substitute Gods’ vitality and authority, his title had become overly activated and nearly reached the point of full restoration. He had almost been consumed by his own title and erased.
‘What freebie? You want to fight the Substitute Gods in that state? Just go die, all of you. Above all, if my nose is three meters long, yours are barely half a meter. If I slip up, I’ll be the first one to die.’
Beyond his consciousness, an enormous army rose as if it had been waiting. ‘Even though this is my mental world, forty percent of it has already been occupied by the title. This is still a stable state—I had lost up to ninety percent after the previous Racial Determination War against the Substitute Gods and only recovered this far thanks to the vacation he gave me.’
It had become routine, but seizing this much dominance required enduring a colossal battle inside his consciousness that never lasted less than a full day. Far away, the will of Jinmyeol’s title, which had nearly reclaimed its sense of self, radiated murderous intent like a final struggle and endlessly summoned more troops.
As always, he watched the battle preparations and began to advance. ‘Now I just need to make the title vomit out most of the accumulated vitality it absorbed from the Substitute Gods over a certain period, then suppress its will once more. That will be the end.’
Because the absorbed vitality was so vast, he could only process it in parts like this. This was Jinmyeol’s daily life. Because he had always lived within such warfare, he overwhelmed even Sangharama and Jinma—who lived relatively peaceful lives—despite their own intense struggles against the Substitute Gods.
On the surface he always appeared to be dozing, but in order to maintain tension he had not enjoyed a proper night’s sleep in a billion years. If not for the tension provided by the outstanding Demon God King threatening to kill the lazy Creator God, he might not have been able to endure it. All of this was the price of overexerting himself during the war against the Substitute Gods, yet he had finally reached stabilization.
Had he not received that vacation from him, he would have become a god of destruction and annihilated most of the Master Universe.
“You should survive well too, young junior. If you get incorporated into Wind Star now, it’s truly over for you. You won’t be able to escape with your current level.”
Separate from Jinmyeol’s encouragement, the Dimensional Mage God’s head was beginning to throb with a headache. The Origins and Creator Gods of the 500th Master Universe that he had imprisoned inside the Divine Spirit Purgatory were rebelling fiercely. Even when told they might be released, they refused to listen. Some had even reached the point of self-abandonment, saying they would rather become insects together with him than accept such humiliation.
“You don’t care if you become insects? You’re saying we should die together?”
‘That’s right. Our position as glorious Origins has already come to an end. You should end as well.’
It was enough to make his insides burst with frustration. “You idiots—! Do you even understand what it means to become an insect on Wind Star? It really is the end!”
‘We don’t know. We have no desire to learn about his policy that speaks of such nonsense as “eternal happiness.” Besides, that would be treason against the God Clan.’
“What? You know nothing about the enemy and don’t even want to learn? How do you plan to win like this? Do you even know who you’re up against? Has a billion years of peace rotted all your brains?”
Persuasion had always been extremely difficult. When the other party was an enemy, no matter how urgent the situation or how few alternatives existed, rational judgment was unlikely. Moreover, trying to explain mutual interests to opponents with zero prior information was nearly impossible.
‘Of course, by the standards of a battle-hardened mercenary god like myself, I would negotiate even with my worst enemy in a crisis like this. But these people are not me.’
Having once again judged others by his own standards, the Dimensional Mage God let out an involuntary sigh. So far, these were undoubtedly the worst opponents he had ever faced among his enemies.
“How can things like this even exist? We fight to survive, not to look cool while doing it.”
A terrifying roar shook the air. The Dimensional Mage God forcibly corrected the space and time he had reversed, accelerating them at a horrifying speed as the Absolute-grade Karma Contract bore down upon him. Through the torn gap in space, the creatures filling Wind Star’s atmosphere radiated killing intent aimed directly at his title, making his skin crawl.
‘Their tenacity is higher than mine.’
They were all strong and vicious. Defeating even an equal opponent, let alone a higher being, would be incredibly difficult. ‘If I get dragged away normally like this, there will be no escape. My original self is merely average or below average among Spiritual Beings. I cannot win.’
Such a sense of crisis had nearly consumed the Dimensional Mage God’s consciousness entirely.