567
Chapter 567
'The Wheel of Fate.'
He recalled what the Elder Dragon and the Great Sage had said about it.
"Does the Wheel of Fate refer to... the constellations of the celestial realm? Those who murdered the Creator, the Primordial Light, and made beings of the material world their slaves?"
Satan shook his head at those words.
"The Thirteen Zodiac. They were once my brothers. But in the end, they too are beings bound by fate."
"If even the celestial constellations are bound by fate, then there must be another being who holds their fate as well."
Satan slowly nodded.
Then, after appearing to think for a moment, he spoke.
"The one who murdered the Primordial Light and stole its power."
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Suddenly, killing intent rose from Satan's body and the entire ravine shook.
His eyes gleaming, he said:
"The Sun God. He is the one who holds the Wheel of Fate."
Zeke momentarily held his breath at the name Satan mentioned.
'The Sun God?'
Zeke also knew about the being called the Sun God.
Geo Lubern, who led the early Holy Empire, worshipped the God of Light.
However, as power shifted from the Lubern bloodline to the Holy Empire, the Order of Light transformed into the Solar Order that worshipped the Sun God.
Later, when the Holy Empire split into the Holy Kingdom and the Rom Empire, their doctrines also diverged - the Holy Palace recognized only the Sun God as the one true deity, while the Rom Empire worshipped all of them as gods: the Sun God, Theia the Moon Goddess, and the Thirteen Zodiac who protected them.
The Elder Dragon had said this was because the constellations who murdered the Primordial Light feared its resurrection and thus diminished its divine status.
'They said the Primordial Light was sealed under the name of Sun God, and the God of Chaos under the Moon Goddess, their divinity diminished... but the Sun God killed the Primordial Light?'
Satan looked at Zeke and said:
"I was the first to rebel against the Creator, but it was the Sun God who used this to murder the Creator and steal their power. He and I were once the most beloved brothers, but afterwards we walked different paths."
His face growing slightly bitter, he continued:
"All of this is ultimately a stage he has set up. We are merely actors moving according to the script called fate on that stage."
"Then why is the Sun God doing this? If everything is determined according to his will anyway, why does he need to keep erasing and recreating civilizations? Wasn't he the one who killed the Primordial Light to prevent that in the first place?"
To those words, Satan replied with a hardened expression:
"The Sun God took the Primordial Light's power but cannot use it fully. He realized that to perfectly wield that power, he needs to understand the Primordial Light. Even he hasn't completely escaped the restrictions of karma."
Zeke clenched his jaw as he heard Satan's words.
"...Are you saying all of this is practice? To attain complete creative power?"
The reality that all this process of destroying the material world and stealing countless mortal souls to exploit as karma was ultimately just practice made this entire reality feel like a bad joke to Zeke.
'No matter how much we struggle, are we nothing more than entertainment for the constellations?'
That's when Satan snapped his fingers toward Zeke.
"Zeke, there's no need for such an expression. Didn't I tell you? That I've been waiting for you for a long time."
He smiled charmingly again and said:
"A perfect stage and a perfect actor. The Sun God wants to become a perfect being through this. However, fortunately before he could achieve that, the Elder Dragon and the Great Sage created a being who could defy the wheel called fate. Because with their power alone, they couldn't resist the Sun God who holds fate."
With those words, Satan pointed at Zeke.
Meeting Satan's eyes, Zeke said.
"Are you saying I can resist fate just because I regressed from the future to the past?"
"You didn't simply travel back in time. You came from beyond the fourth wall, outside the stage the Sun God prepared."
He snapped his fingers once more and lights gathered.
A stage performing a jolly play appeared on the table.
Though the exact content wasn't clear, the actors were doing their best to perform according to the play's content.
Satan inserted his finger between the stage and the audience.
"This is the fourth wall."
Then one of the actors behind the stage turned toward the audience seats, crossed over Satan's finger, and climbed onto the stage.
"You see? You've crossed this wall."
As the actor who had been missing from backstage appeared anew, the stage fell into chaos.
All the actors began to frantically adjust their acting and improvise new content to accommodate the appearance of this new character who had crossed the fourth wall.
Looking at this, Satan said:
"This is the current situation of the material world. What do you think will happen if this state continues?"
Zeke opened his mouth as he looked at the chaotic stage.
"...Either the play will continue improvising like this, or they'll drop the curtain midway when they decide it's unmanageable."
Satan grinned at Zeke’s words.
"That's right. When it becomes completely uncontrollable, they'll drop the curtain. The one who put on this play."
Zeke raised his head at Satan's words.
"You mean the Sun God who holds fate will come down to drop the curtain because of my existence?"
"A perfect stage, perfect actor, perfect script. If that's what he truly wants, then yes. Since right now, nothing is going according to his intentions."
Hearing Satan's words, Zeke began to understand what the Elder Dragon and Great Sage had intended.
'Breaking the fourth wall to throw the stage into chaos. Using this to force the one behind the Wheel of Fate to come onto the stage...'
Satan slowly rose from his seat.
Then he approached Zeke and grabbed his shoulder.
"Zeke, you're not yet ready to oppose him. To become a true defier of fate, you must be more prepared before he comes to drop the curtain."
"What kind of preparation do you mean?"
"You must attain divine status capable of opposing him."
Zeke furrowed his brow at Satan's words.
"Are you saying absorbing your soul isn't enough?"
Satan shook his head at those words.
"After falling to the demon realm and losing my true name, my power declined. My shining wings fell, and now only meager authority remains."
Satan called his own authority meager the same authority that gathered civilizations on the brink of extinction to create cities in the demon realm.
It was hard to even imagine how powerful he had been as Lucifer.
The Sun God had power equal to Lucifer, and on top of that, he had absorbed the Primordial Light's abilities.
Satan stared into Zeke’s eyes and slowly spoke.
"To face him, you must completely absorb the sealed Demon King's soul."
Zeke made a fierce expression at Satan's words and jumped to his feet.
Then he stepped back and drew Leviathan.
"...How foolish of me to have seriously listened to a demon's words all this time."
He had been trying to charm Zeke all along to resurrect the Demon King's soul within his body.
Seeing Zeke's reaction, Satan shook his head.
"Ah, I worried this might happen. Though I'm charming, I'm not good with words. This is something Azazel, no... Mephistopheles would be better at."
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
Satan's body began to blur as he spoke with apparent regret.
He looked at Zeke and said:
"Time's up. Though I used this ravine's power, beings of my divine status consume much causality when manifesting directly."
Satan looked at Zeke and said:
"Zeke, hear the truth from Mephisto before the final chapter approaches. Otherwise, you'll only end up like Solomon of the past."
Satan's form grew faint, about to disappear.
Zeke shouted at Satan:
"Hear the truth? What do you mean by that?!"
Satan smiled seductively and said.
"I will be sleeping within you. Come whenever you're ready. I shall make preparations for you."
With those words, Satan's form completely vanished.
BUZZ! BUZZ!
As Satan disappeared, time in the ravine began flowing again.
Zeke pondered Satan's parting words before shaking his head to clear his troubled mind.
'I can't trust a demon's words. In the end, I must discover the truth myself.'
He gripped Leviathan again and looked at the fog beyond the ravine.
'One by one. I'll forge ahead with my own will, not someone else's.'
As always, Zeke entered the fog of the ravine, emanating an unwavering presence.
* * *
Inside the ravine, the Red King and the Dracula Knights were stationed, waiting for Zeke.
The Red King planned to capture the Knight of Salvation, Zeke, using this ravine's unique power.
Wearing red Hersion and sitting cross-legged in meditation, the Red King was contemplating the secret Zeke possessed.
'He can use the power of dragons.'
The power of dragons, which had already vanished from the central continent, was the true identity behind the countless miracles Zeke had performed.
The Red King's mind was filled with information about Zeke.
The Red King had thoroughly analyzed the countless miracles Zeke had shown to the world, identifying his abilities and preparing traps accordingly.
'I must capture him here.'
In truth, Castro Pollock and Jupiter weren't particularly important to the Red King.
He had deliberately led Castro Pollock to open the castle gates and attack the allied forces out of impatience.
Though the black mages of the Abyss were disgusting beings, they were skilled at drawing out human madness, making it an easy task.
The Red King had meticulously used even these aspects to create the current situation.
And all of this was part of the process to draw out Zeke.
As he predicted, Zeke appeared on the battlefield and stepped into the ravine to capture him.
Now he just had to calmly wait for him to fall into the trap.
SCREECH!
A sharp sound arose from the front of the ravine.
The Red King, who had been sitting calmly, slowly rose.
Simultaneously, the other Dracula Knights adjusted their formations.
A deep, thick voice flowed from the Red King's helmet.
"He has reached the target point."
This ravine had the power to control dragon power and infiltrate the unconscious mind to disturb it.
The Red King didn't know the principle behind this power.
But he knew well that this unknown power was extremely fatal to those who possessed dragon power.
The Red King waited for Zeke to enter with his dragon power restricted and mind contaminated by the ravine's power.
He calculated that with dragon power restricted, Zeke could only manifest the power of a Black Knight.
With the power of a Black Knight, the Red King, with his extensive battlefield experience, had advantages, and with the Dracula Knights present, they could surely capture Zeke.
'There is one factor that defeats those with great power. Arrogance.'
The reason he was able to greatly defeat the Murk Empire 25 years ago was also because he targeted their arrogance.
His calculation was correct, the Knight of Salvation, born with the immense power of dragons at such a young age, would surely rush in alone.
The Red King mounted his beloved red horse while holding his favorite huge red axe.
The Dracula Knights scattered around the ravine, waiting for Zeke's arrival.
And as the Red King predicted, Zeke's figure began to appear beyond the ravine.
"Huff, huff..."
Zeke approached the Red King with wounds all over his body, his face twisted and his eyes glowing red.
He glared at the Red King with fierce eyes and roared.
"YOUUUU!"
In that moment, the Red King retreated on his red horse.
And right on cue, the enraged Zeke raised his sword and charged toward the Red King's position.
That's when the magic circle pre-installed on the ravine floor activated.
WHOOSH!
As the magic circle created by the black mages of the Abyss activated, black smoke rose and enveloped Zeke's body.
"ARGH!"
Zeke quickly tried to remove his gloves to use the Zeke pureblood's ability of magic reflection, but the black smoke wrapped around his hands, making movement impossible.
Seeing this, the Red King gave another signal.
The Dracula Knights hidden throughout the ravine aimed secret weapons brought from Jupiter at Zeke.
When the Red King's signal fell, dozens of shells flew toward Zeke.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Massive explosions and sounds engulfed Zeke, who was bound by the magic circle.