Chapter 115
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: The Four Great Gods
# 115
In the legends of King Arthur, the 'Round Table' symbolized the equality of all knights seated there.
Perhaps the seven stone doors in the circular room followed the same principle, as Sea Emperor Vepar's door was no larger or more ornate than the others.
As Kang-seok approached, Vepar's door opened with the same heavy groan as Allocen's had.
Though they had endured hard labor moving the liquid metal ether, their efforts had paid off, and the faces of Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra were filled with anticipation. Go Min-gu, too, licked his lips in excitement and shook his fists lightly.
Divine Bird Raum's room had been opulent.
Warrior Duke Allocen's room had been filled with weapons.
Sea Emperor Vepar's room was different from both. Despite its vast size, Kang-seok's first impression was one of simplicity and neatness.
It felt like stepping into a modest temple. Other than the blue curtains hanging here and there, there were no other notable decorations.
Go Min-gu, who had practically charged into the room, looked around in confusion before heading toward a stack of boxes in one corner. Choi Yu-ra approached the altar in the center of the room. Seong Yu-jin examined the blue flowers blooming in a small, manicured garden.
Kang-seok stood at the entrance, taking it all in. Finally, he looked up at the ceiling and unknowingly narrowed his eyes.
Instead of stained glass, a series of rather simple ceiling paintings, like those drawn by a child, stretched across it. The lines between the paintings were indistinct, making them difficult to tell apart, but they seemed to be divided into four main sections.
The first painting was nothing but blackness. The second depicted countless demonic beasts, and in the third, the beasts were gathered together, all staring in the same direction.
Facing the demonic beasts were four figures, a man and three women.
A red man and a golden woman. A green woman and a white man.
‘The Four Great Gods?’
Kang-seok shifted his gaze to the final painting. A blue woman, presumably representing Vepar, stood face-to-face with the red man.
What did this painting signify? Did it symbolize the hostility between the demonic beasts and the Four Great Gods?
[Quest Cleared]
[Quest: Investigate the rooms of Demonic Beast Allocen and Demonic Beast Vepar.]
Luminous text appeared. It was a minor quest notification, something that had become almost routine.
Kang-seok spoke reflexively. No, he called out.
“Iris.”
Iris was not always connected to Kang-seok's party. She was a presence that connected only briefly when there was a quest or upon its completion.
He had to talk to Iris now. There was something he had to ask her.
[Mr. Choi Kang-seok?]
[What is it?]
It was Iris's usual voice. The coldness from their first interactions had long since vanished, replaced by a gentle warmth.
Kang-seok didn't answer right away, instead staring into the empty air for a moment.
Iris was a part of System Yggdrasil.
Therefore, it was no exaggeration to say she was a subordinate of the one who had caused the Great Summoning.
Since she began communicating with Kang-seok, many of Iris's memories had been 'erased' under the pretext of information restriction.
It was impossible to know if memories of her 'master' were among those forcibly forgotten, or if she had never had them in the first place.
But when Kang-seok had asked who was behind the Great Summoning, Iris had struggled immensely, and her eventual answer was 'I don't know.'
So Kang-seok had stopped pressing Iris about the orchestrator of the Great Summoning. She truly didn't seem to know, and she suffered whenever Kang-seok asked questions related to the event or her own circumstances.
It might sound ridiculous, but Kang-seok considered Iris a member of the Adamas Guild. As such, he wanted to avoid burdening her if possible.
But this time, he felt he had to ask.
“Iris, from now on, just answer my questions with a yes or no.”
[Mr. Choi Kang-seok…?]
[Understood. Please ask your question.]
Kang-seok took a deep breath. In a low, heavy voice, he asked.
“Was it the Four Great Gods who caused the Great Summoning?”
[Th-]
As expected, Iris couldn't answer immediately. Just as when he'd asked 'who' was behind it before, she only let out a pained groan. Previously, he had stopped there. He had even promised not to press further. But he couldn't stop this time. He specified his target once more.
“And was it also the Four Great Gods who built System Yggdrasil?”
All the circumstantial evidence pointed in the same direction.
Beings with the power to perform a miracle as immense as the Great Summoning.
The faith of Tehenut, the pope of the Yellow God Cult.
The Four Great Gods, who had all but directly intervened in the World Quest.
[I don't… I don't know….]
Iris's voice was tinged with moisture. It was more of a pained sob than a voice.
“Iris?!”
Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra shouted almost simultaneously, looking up at the empty air. A part of the private conversation between Kang-seok and Iris had reached their ears as well. It was proof that Iris was losing control of herself.
Iris was struggling. She let out a series of ragged breaths, then suddenly spoke in a stiff voice.
[I do not know. I cannot know. I do not remember.]
[Information restricted.]
[I apologize. I will disconnect for now. I don't know. I'm sorry. I can't remember. I will see you again later.]
It was a mess. Her stiff words were interspersed with sobs. It strongly felt like she was trying to end the conversation in a hurry.
Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra, not understanding what was happening, looked back and forth between Kang-seok and the empty air. Kang-seok shouted.
“Iris!”
***
[Iris!]
The voice echoed in her mind.
A man's voice. A familiar voice. A voice filled with worry.
Choi Kang-seok.
A man.
A Player.
His original game was God of War Online.
The Guild Master of the Adamas Guild.
She listed the information. But it didn't calm her. So she opened her eyes.
Everything was blurry. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her head ached. Her ears were ringing, and a corner of her chest felt sore.
“Hah… ha…”
She heard a voice. Ragged breaths. They were close. The moment she realized the sound was her own, something came into view beyond her blurry vision. She wiped her face. Wiping away the tears, she looked again.
She saw slender, long arms. Two shapely legs, the color of milk, and pale pinkish-white hair came into view.
Her own limbs. Her own hair.
She, Iris, felt a sudden fear. She curled up and looked around.
It was darkness.
As if she had been dragged into the middle of the night, everything was pitch black.
And yet, she could see herself. Despite the lack of light, despite being in the heart of darkness, Iris could see her own body.
She was naked, but not cold. She felt a comforting warmth in the darkness.
Iris placed her hands on the 'floor'. Though it was all darkness with no sense of up or down, she could perceive a floor. But she couldn't stand. There was no strength in her legs.
Iris curled up even tighter. The thought of fear dominated her mind. Where was this place? Why hadn't she ever wanted to see her own body until now? No, did she even have a body to begin with?
“Poor thing. You could have just said you didn't know, but you tried so hard to figure it out. Did you want to give him an answer that badly? Enough to cause yourself such pain? Waking up must have been agonizing.”
A voice suddenly spoke. A woman stood amidst the darkness.
She had black hair with a faint green sheen. She wore a flowing white dress and a black mask that cut off just below her nose, covering her face. It was a plain, featureless mask.
Even in the darkness, she was clearly visible. The woman in the black mask approached Iris. She stroked the head of Iris, who was huddled like a frightened baby bird, and spoke.
“You will fall asleep again. And you will forget everything you've seen now. You will also forget the conversation you had with that Player, Choi Kang-seok, in Sea Emperor Vepar's room.”
Memories disappearing.
It was a frightening thought. Yet Iris felt a sense of peace. It seemed as if everything would be resolved if she just followed the woman's words.
But why? Without realizing it, she asked.
“Who are you? If I’m going to forget anyway, please tell me.”
At her earnest question, the woman in the black mask paused. A strange light flickered in her eyes as she looked at Iris.
The woman in the black mask caressed Iris's cheek. She raised her other hand and removed the mask.
“Yakin. To you, I am like a mother.”
Iris knew that name.
The White God of Darkness.
A lesser god of the White God, the king of gods.
The woman in the black mask, Yakin, kissed Iris's forehead. She stroked Iris's cheek once more.
“Sleep well, my other self.”
Yakin embraced Iris. Iris naturally closed her eyes and forgot Yakin's voice. She sank into the white darkness.
***
“So the Four Great Gods caused the Great Summoning—circumstantially, that does seem highly likely.”
Choi Yu-ra, having pressed for the details of what happened between Kang-seok and Iris, said with a troubled expression.
It was something she had considered even before seeing the ceiling painting in Vepar's room.
If not gods of this world, who else could possibly perform a miracle as immense as the Great Summoning?
However, unlike Choi Yu-ra, Seong Yu-jin, and Kang-seok, Go Min-gu seemed to be hearing this idea for the first time and was quite flustered. He flailed his arms and legs and asked, almost demanding.
“If the Four Great Gods caused the Great Summoning, why are they hiding it? If they brought us here to fight the demonic beasts, couldn't they just tell the people of this world to help us more actively?”
Take the second World Quest, for instance.
The Red God Cult had hesitated until the very last moment to release the Divine Artifact, Thunderclap. If the Red God Cult had refused to release it, the Players would have been wiped out by the tidal wave created by Sea Emperor Vepar.
Wouldn't things have been much simpler if the Red God had issued a divine oracle for them to actively support the Players?
Listening to Go Min-gu, Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin exchanged glances.
It wasn't that simple. They had discussed it several times before, but Kang-seok didn't believe the Great Summoning happened merely to stop the demonic beasts.
The hypothesis that Players were summoned to stop the demonic beasts was far too inefficient.
Seong Yu-jin's shoulders slumped.
“It feels like we're just going in circles again, but… it's hard to be certain based on Iris's reaction alone.”
“Because 'I don't know' can't be taken as a yes or a no.”
It was only that the circumstances pointed to the Four Great Gods. At this stage, there was insufficient evidence to be certain.
As Kang-seok offered a tentative conclusion, Choi Yu-ra clapped her hands lightly to draw everyone's attention. She pointed to the altar behind her and said.
“Let's set aside the unsolvable cases for now and get back to reality. Find anything?”
Their primary reason for entering this room was to secure items. Go Min-gu answered first.
“Nothing special in the boxes. Half of them are empty, and the rest just have some things like sea prism stone.”
“The flowers?”
Choi Yu-ra looked at Seong Yu-jin. In games, flowers often served as useful items or crafting materials. Seong Yu-jin nodded.
“They seem to be a type of medicinal herb. I don't know how to use them yet, though. What about you, Yu-ra?”
“Well, I don't have item appraisal. Still, doesn't this look special at a glance?”
Shrugging, Choi Yu-ra turned back to the altar. On the simple, neat white altar, which matched the room's atmosphere, rested a blue crystal orb slightly larger than an adult's fist.
Its interior was visible like a glass sphere, and a soft, beautiful blue light spread through it like the Milky Way in the night sky.
Just as Choi Yu-ra said, it was an object that looked special at a glance, and Seong Yu-jin swallowed nervously. After activating her mana armor, Arnak, for full protection, she carefully lifted the crystal orb.
“Sea Emperor's Orb. Contains a powerful force—I don't see any specific stats.”
“Here, let me see.”
Go Min-gu took the orb from Seong Yu-jin and stared into the air as he spoke.
“Sea Emperor's Orb. Contains the power of the Sea Emperor. It could be described as an energy source that replenishes its own lost energy—that's what it says.”
Finally, Kang-seok took the orb. Choi Yu-ra commented.
“Should we think of it as a mini nuclear reactor? Or maybe an insanely powerful battery.”
Based on the description, that seemed like a fair assessment. They would probably need to build a separate energy extractor, but it seemed useful for powering things like the airship or mana cannons.
Kang-seok carefully stored the Sea Emperor's Orb in a leather pouch he had prepared. Go Min-gu packed the sea prism stone, and Seong Yu-jin uprooted the blue flowers and placed them in one of the empty boxes.
The room itself was so tidy that there wasn't much else to search for, even less than in Allocen's room.
After calling out for Iris one more time with a worried heart, Kang-seok soon left Vepar's room. He departed the demonic beasts' domain with Seong Yu-jin, Choi Yu-ra, and Go Min-gu.
How much time passed after the party disappeared?
The most damaged of the seven stone doors slowly opened.
The stone door of Demonic Beast Crocell.
The one room that all Players who visited this place, including Kang-seok's party, had tried to open at least once.
Was it a case of the darkest place being under the candlestick?
Crocell, who had been residing in the demonic beasts' domain since the day of the decisive battle with Sea Emperor Vepar, slowly took a step forward. He caressed Sea Emperor Vepar's stone door, his amber cat-like eyes gazing into the distance.
The Player who had defeated Divine Bird Raum and Sea Emperor Vepar.
The one who had repelled not only them but also Oriax, Andras, and Cimeries.
Crocell remembered that name.
***
Having safely completed their investigation of the demonic beasts' rooms, the party hurried to their next destination. First, they had to return the Divine Artifact, Morning's Glory, which they had borrowed from the Yellow God Cult.
“It's already been over a month since we left the guild. I hope Go-bong doesn't die of loneliness.”
“No way. He's probably having a blast remodeling the base right now, don't you think?”
As Choi Yu-ra muttered, biting her lip anxiously, Kang-seok spoke gently to reassure her. Listening to their conversation, Kim Kang-san narrowed his brow.
“Antonio Choi has been remodeling the guild hideout by himself for over a month—that's a thought that is both exciting and terrifying.”
Recalling their return to the guild hideout after conquering Raum's Tower, Kang-seok nodded his head in vehement agreement.
It was certainly exciting. But at the same time, it was frightening. Just how had he remodeled the base?
Christian had decided to stay on Sicily for a few more days to continue dungeon explorations with other Players, so unfortunately, he couldn't join them. They promised to meet again and wished each other well.
Seven days after clearing the second World Quest.
The Black Dragon soared into the sky, heading for the Great Temple of the Yellow God.