Chapter 411
Chapter 411
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 411
Chapter Title: Racial War (50)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The purified "Abyss of the Forgotten Gods" quietly crumbled away.
The marble floor soaked in curses, the pillars steeped in lingering grudges, the altar stained with the gods' bloody tears—all of it.
Everything that had formed the ruins scattered into the air, not as a handful of dust, but as billions of radiant particles of light.
This was all that remained of the myth.
The gods' final tale, their forgotten glory and endless sorrow, was now being forged into a single divine artifact for its new master.
The particles of light gathered in the air, dancing as they converged.
At their center, two opposing powers began to take form.
From one emanated the scorching dignity of a sun that could burn all things, while from the other flowed the serene, cool silence that subdued everything.
The sun and the moon.
Beginning and end.
Glory and oblivion.
It was the moment the divine armament containing the entire history of the Forgotten Gods, Ragnarok (Sun and Moon), finally manifested in the world.
The newly born divine armament floated gently toward Park Chan-woo, as if alive.
At that instant, the silver-white armor he wore, Ragnarok (Extreme Winter), resonated fiercely.
Primordial frost spewed forth, freezing the surrounding air.
The power of the harsh winter was on guard against this other divine season.
But the powers of the sun and moon enveloped that frost tenderly.
The sun's warmth did not melt the winter's chill; it respected its essence and harmonized with it.
The moon's stillness caressed the winter's quiet, becoming one.
Kwaaaaa—!
The two powers achieved perfect harmony atop Park Chan-woo's body and merged.
The right pauldron engraved with the sun's emblem and the left with the moon's attached themselves over his frosted armor.
The primordial frost did not vanish; instead, it added a mystical sheen to the entire armor, like faint moonlight or dawn's frost.
The wondrous scene continued.
Particles of light gathered on the armor's surface, etching new emblems.
They were the roar of a god summoning storms, the majesty of a god uplifting the earth, the anguish of a goddess seeking the light of wisdom.
The myths of hundreds of gods were now being eternally inscribed upon Park Chan-woo's armor.
Park Chan-woo felt it.
The weight pressing on his shoulders, the weight of existence.
The acknowledgment and will of the gods who had willingly given their last moments.
Their gratitude and peace, freed from the curse of oblivion.
The weight of all those souls dwelled within the armor.
He slowly lowered his gaze to look at it.
Then, the relevant information appeared before his eyes.
Twilight of the Gods. The name signifying the gods' end. It harbors the essence of the gods who fell in the "Golden Age." "Ragnarok" is a name proving that the old world collapsed and a new one dawned. The strongest armament that can exist below Creation, yet so overwhelmingly powerful it was divided into four pieces. The separated pieces are called "Extreme Winter," "Age of the Wolf," "Sun and Moon," and "Giant's Cry."
★ 【Extreme Winter】 + 【Sun and Moon】—two pieces have merged, achieving harmony of powers. Remaining pieces: "Age of the Wolf," "Giant's Cry."
★ Defense increases with each piece merged, adding three top-tier unique options.
"......"
He quietly swallowed.
It was because the completed "Ragnarok" from the two merged pieces was utterly absurd.
The original defense of 5,000 had more than doubled, and the three added unique options were ridiculous.
Especially the last one.
Twilight of the Gods!
For a not-insignificant 10 seconds, he would literally become "invincible."
This was a power on a different level from his hidden trait "Super Regeneration" or overwhelming defense.
Regeneration and defense were about "enduring" incoming attacks, but nullification "erased" the very concept of the attack.
Even against transcendent attacks like those from Dragon God Sepiro that ignored defense or elemental advantages to erase existence, this armor guaranteed at least one survival.
A perfect survival tool usable once a day.
And it even recovered "Vitality."
It meant perfectly restoring the root of life, beyond mere regeneration.
It was akin to resurrection from the brink of death.
The final legacy left by the forgotten gods, the last safeguard to activate in a moment of life or death.
It would allow far bolder, more aggressive engagements than before.
I can't even imagine what abilities it'll have once completed with the other two pieces.
He recalled the remaining two: "Age of the Wolf" and "Giant's Cry."
If two pieces held this much power, what realm would he reach upon gathering all four and completing "Ragnarok"?
...The final Easter Egg.
And what might the "Final Easter Egg" awaiting at that end be?
One thing was certain.
The Creator's footsteps extend even to the Forgotten Gods.
Easter Egg.
The traces left by Abyss's Creator.
And this time, the salvation of the Forgotten Gods was the same.
Their final wills and sacrifices had forged the myth of "Ragnarok," and at its end appeared the clue "Final Easter Egg."
The Creator had hidden traces throughout Abyss, in forgotten and discarded tales.
Granting qualification to reach true power to those who followed them.
The first was Luck.
Moments of miracles Park Chan-woo had walked flashed through his mind.
Easter Egg (001).
When demon Andariel of "Water-Loving Nightclub" imposed unfair rules to corner him, he didn't fight with force but staked everything on the system's fairness via "Abyss's Oath."
Right after the Oath Messenger ruled in his favor and Andariel vanished, the first footprint, "Luck," was granted to the one who opposed injustice.
Easter Egg (002).
When the divine beast's egg devoured Han Min-oh's life, he willingly offered his body as a new "nest."
Assimilating with the mother divine beast Cygnus's soul, persuading her through interspecies empathy and sacrifice to protect the new life, the second footprint "Harmony" descended, forging a bond with the hatchling Cygnus.
Easter Egg (003).
The tragic dragon encountered in the Tower of God, the true dragon Arcana.
Seeing not as mere enemy but conversing with his final will, consoling his noble honor.
Listening to the forgotten being's tale and granting salvation, Arcana's soul transformed into the third footprint "Honor" and dwelled within him.
Easter Egg (004).
In the Black Witch's treasury, with immense power "Baal's Shoes" within reach, he chose "Goddess of Life's Blessing" to save comrade Adora over personal gain.
At the end of that choice of restraint and prioritizing others, the fourth footprint appeared.
Restoring the Forgotten Gods' names and praying for their peace was the same.
All those moments pointed to one path.
Now he understood.
All the puzzle pieces had fit together.
The path prepared by the Creator.
It is the path of the heart.
A path walked not by "power," but by "heart."
Park Chan-woo finally grasped the Creator's grand design.
Abyss.
All thought it a merciless arena or a brutal hell ruled solely by the law of the jungle.
He had too, at first.
He struggled to survive, to grow stronger.
But that wasn't the Creator's intent.
There had never been a plan to make Abyss an arena.
Abyss was merely the Creator's grandest, most intricate "proving ground" and "vessel."
What the Creator sought was not who seized the strongest power.
In the sweetest, most dangerous temptation of "power," who could keep their "heart" to the end.
Levels, skills, equipment, authorities.
All were mere tools to test the participants.
Those intoxicated by power, trampling others, chasing only efficiency and gain, ignoring the forgotten—could never step onto the true path prepared by the Creator.
Wielding power without arrogance (Honor).
Understanding across species barriers (Harmony).
Not giving up before the impossible (Luck).
Enduring endless pain (Endurance).
Recognizing the value of the forgotten (Name).
Only one possessing all could pass Abyss's trial and qualify for the Creator's final footprint.
Yet the Abyss Park Chan-woo faced had strayed far from the Creator's noble intent.
Those drunk on levels and power turned on each other, sacrificing kin for survival—a merciless ecosystem remained.
The culprits who forged this hellscape were clear.
The demons ruined Abyss.
They turned it into a massive arena and gambling den.
Like the "Fourth Night" casino, making participants' lives and coins entertainment, pitting them against each other for despair's thrill.
They were betrayers who degraded the Creator's great proving ground into base amusement for their greed.
Thus, the Creator hid true intent, the "footprints," in the cracks.
Waiting in the hell demons made for one who chose heart over power.
That true purpose was singular.
The Creator seeks a successor.
Not merely strong, but one to right Abyss's corruption, inherit the noble will—a true heir.
Ah.
All puzzles aligned.
Park Chan-woo knew his path was not wrong, but the only answer.
...Only I walk the Creator's path.
Only he was the protagonist of the "true scenario" designed by the Creator. He was certain.