Chapter 457
Chapter 457
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 457
Chapter Title: The New Reaper King
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The girl, the God of Offerings, couldn't continue speaking.
And then, she shook her head.
"I don't know."
It was a lie.
Park Chan-woo read the emotion flickering in her eyes.
She definitely knew.
But it seemed there was a reason she couldn't say it—or shouldn't.
'I didn't think she'd answer so easily.'
Park Chan-woo rummaged through his memories.
From the start of his regression, death had followed him like a shadow under the name "limited lifespan."
And the remaining days...
Even now, at this very moment, after reaching level 0, becoming the Sovereign, and achieving divinity with hundreds of millions of faiths...
'It's the same.'
It hadn't disappeared.
This meant the death of the limited lifespan was a concept far superior to the divinity he had achieved.
His divinity performed miracles within the laws of the Abyss, but "death" overlooked him from outside those laws—or from a place even higher.
He had already used nearly half the time.
Time was running out.
If things continued like this, he would die next year.
Park Chan-woo asked once more.
"Then, is there a way to erase this limited lifespan?"
The God of Offerings answered without hesitation.
"No."
She stated it definitively.
And declared.
"Your time is set."
As if it were an absolute fate that couldn't be defied.
It was like a death sentence.
But Park Chan-woo didn't take her words at face value.
His journey had always been about turning the impossible into the possible.
A predetermined fate was nothing more than a wall for him to shatter.
"The limited lifespan's time shortens or lengthens according to the 'death's' will."
For example, it had once extended his remaining days slightly by consuming Kahnkun's life and being satisfied.
This proved the days weren't absolute.
They could increase or decrease based on death's will.
It meant fate could be overcome.
Moreover.
"'Death' always gave off the vibe of competing with the God of Offerings. If you're truly the God of Offerings, you can't not know death's true nature."
If she didn't know, then she wasn't the God of Offerings.
At Park Chan-woo's sharp point, the God of Offerings' expression shook faintly for the first time.
She glared at him for a moment before sighing and speaking.
"I'm the one trying to save you. Death is the one trying to kill you. Simple, isn't it?"
It wasn't the answer he wanted.
It was a clever evasion.
Park Chan-woo asked.
"God of Offerings. You must have a name too. Why won't you tell me?"
Zero had once said.
The greater the existence, the more unique its name becomes.
Irreplaceable and one-of-a-kind.
Then the God of Offerings must have a name too.
Only then did the God of Offerings sigh deeply, as if resigning herself.
It was as if eons of time were settling on those small shoulders.
"...I've lost my name."
For the first time, thick fatigue colored her voice.
"This resurrection isn't complete. The Destroyer must have noticed it too. We barely protected the primordial light, but now the real war begins."
The God of Offerings' gaze turned to the distant void.
"Sepiro and the Destroyer have joined hands. What we need to do is check Sepiro and the demons while building our strength. Once the Twelve Sovereigns start moving in earnest, the great rift will open, and the Destroyer's full assault will begin."
She shook her head.
"It'll be too late then. We can't win."
This time, she looked at the dazed Reaper King.
"At least Rift King Signus ascending newly has maintained some balance, but the biggest problem is here. The Reaper Realm."
The Reaper King's shoulders twitched.
Regardless, the God of Offerings continued.
"We need to appoint a new Reaper King. The current one's power, as you can see, is far too weak."
The Reaper King couldn't refute and nodded heavily.
[...It's as she says.]
Deep self-loathing tinged his will.
The weight of the throne he had guarded for eons now felt like shackles he couldn't bear.
He felt utterly pathetic and powerless before this small goddess.
[I didn't even notice the Destroyer's seeds planted in the reapers. I'm this frail—in power, body, and even mind.]
The Destroyer sought to seize the rifts and this Reaper Realm.
By dominating these two core domains governing the world's cycle and laws, it aimed to perfectly collapse the Abyss from within.
Due to the world's uniqueness, it hadn't succeeded yet, but it was only a matter of time.
But the Reaper King countered.
[However, who exactly should I pass my throne to? Look at the reapers left here. They're all debilitated, having lost their egos and become puppets. The high reapers barely maintain faint egos, but not enough to fully operate this Reaper Realm.]
Deep helplessness permeated his voice.
But it was the truth.
The Reaper King gazed emptily at his kingdom.
Once, they were great beings who managed the soul cycle with their roles and pride.
But now?
They were mere hollow shells mechanically reaping souls atop the halted gears of reincarnation.
What of the Soul Reaper?
He still remembered his duty.
But his role was limited to "reaping" souls.
Skilled at reaping, but clumsy at ruling.
He lacked the vessel to control the massive chaos souls created, guide their paths, and fight the Destroyer's corruption.
No one qualified to inherit the throne remained here.
Discussing a new king atop the ruins awaiting destruction felt like vain hope.
At that moment, a playful smile tugged at the girl's lips.
Like a child knowing a fun secret while everyone else despaired.
"There is one."
She nodded toward Park Chan-woo.
"The reaper you just promoted to godhood."
The Reaper King's thoughts halted instantly.
Who did she mean?
A reaper Park Chan-woo promoted to god?
No way?
'Chronos.'
A faint error born from the reapers' shadows.
Not a reaper nor a spirit, an incomplete being wandering the cracks of law.
Yet Chronos had been reborn in the "Records of Forgotten Gods" by Park Chan-woo.
Nourished by the last divinities of forgotten gods, the shadow god resurrected from death's ashes.
But the Reaper King?
Discussing the throne?
How could an error from the reapers' shadows covet the Reaper Realm's throne?
It denied the world's hierarchy from its roots—an impossibility.
As if reading the Reaper King's confusion, the God of Offerings continued.
"Dismissing him because he was born from shadows? Tsk tsk. Your thinking is so outdated."
Mockery laced the girl's voice.
"Where Chronos was born doesn't matter. What matters is how he was 'reborn.'"
Her gaze turned to Park Chan-woo.
"The error was purified. The gods acknowledged it. Moreover, he was reforged as a god in this stalled world. Don't you get what that means?"
[...This world permitted it.]
"Exactly. The world acknowledged him as a being forged in new possibilities, not rotting away bound by outdated laws like you."
The Reaper King's will grudgingly admitted the fact.
But his resistance didn't end there.
Of course, it was worth celebrating that Chronos had regained his identity, purified from error, becoming a complete god.
The Reaper King was inwardly pleased too.
But enthroning a king was entirely different.
[His becoming a god is joyous. But the throne is another matter.]
Weight bore down on the Reaper King's will.
[My successor must be acknowledged by all in this Reaper Realm. Would the high reapers bow to one who was an error born from shadows? Their pride is far higher and firmer than you think.]
His words were valid.
A king wasn't one who ruled by strength alone.
It required legitimacy, authority, and the acknowledgment of followers to be complete.
[And one who wandered the Abyss, never in the Reaper Realm—how could he lead this fallen world? He doesn't know this place's despair, the halted reincarnation's pain.]
Then, the silent Park Chan-woo spoke.
"Chronos is a reaper, no matter what anyone says."
His voice struck the Reaper Realm.
"He only left because no one acknowledged him. Even after leaving, he hid himself to avoid burdening the reapers."
Park Chan-woo's gaze pierced the Reaper King.
With the very eyes that had called the names of forgotten gods in the "Records of Forgotten Gods."
He drove the nail in.
"Chronos was a 'forgotten one' too."
The Reaper King's existence shook greatly.
'Forgotten one.'
He now knew that word's weight better than anyone.
Especially in this Reaper Realm.
The Reaper Realm existed to honor and console forgotten souls.
They knew the sorrow of "forgotten ones" best.
Yet they hadn't considered Chronos a reaper.
They hadn't even acknowledged him.
Thus, Chronos became a "forgotten one."
What an ironic situation.
Yet Chronos hadn't judged the reapers' rights or wrongs.
He deemed it natural as an "error."
Park Chan-woo was certain.
"Chronos knows the sorrow of the forgotten better than anyone. He has the most 'excellent' qualifications to become this Reaper Realm's king."
Excellent.
It was Chronos' catchphrase.
He'd thought it merely a habit hardened over long years.
But perhaps.
'It was what he wanted to say to himself.'
To become excellent like the other reapers.
Park Chan-woo asked the void again.
Toward his shadow, the lonely god dwelling within.
"Isn't that right, Chronos?"
At his call, the shadow rippled, summoning a massive reaper.
The Reaper King silently gazed at that Chronos.
......Yes.
What did status or origin matter now?
The most important thing was knowing and embracing the forgotten ones' sorrow.
[......Is that so.]
Deep regret tinged the Reaper King's will.
[Perhaps I am the one least qualified to be Reaper King.]
At the same time, the Reaper King raised his hand and placed it on Chronos' shoulder.
[Chronos, I acknowledge you. Succeed me and become the Reaper King.]