Tearing the Veil
A foul stench like blood hung in the thick air as a veil draped over their heads.
[Be careful. Something's around us.]
Black Eye, empowered by divine beast strength, sensed the shift and spoke in a tense voice.
Ssssss……
As the hazy veil faded, the warm energy from moments ago was gone, replaced by utter desolation.
'What is this place……?'
Powerful divine power presses down on you.
Crackle……! Crackle-crackle-crackle……!!! Along with the red warning window, an inexplicable force crushed his shoulders, forcing him to his knees.
“……Kuh?!”
Hummm……
A sinister, murky aura had already enveloped his entire body. Scanning the surroundings with his awakened divine power, he realized the hazy flows crammed beneath the veil weren't mere natural phenomena—they were drifting spirits.
But they lacked any fixed form, merely undulating like waves, occasionally accompanied by faint, eerie laughter.
[What the hell are those? Not spirits, but not fairies either.]
Black Eye stared at the floating hazy entities, puzzled.
[You idiot! B-Be careful! Those are the shadows of the veil!!]
[Shadows?]
[Of course…… Even with divine beast power, you're still human, so no wonder you don't know. This isn't our continent—it's a completely separate realm. A special space created by the Curtain God.]
[Hmm……]
[Unlike the human world, in a space they create themselves, even gods can fully manifest their power. So…… Master, please don't do anything to piss off the realm's owner, the god himself.]
Yeomhwa-ryeong recalled their earlier talk of the monstrosity, her voice laced with worry that Kim Do-hyun might defy the Curtain God.
'Now I get why Hidden Eater told me to shut up. It meant don't defy the absolute ruler of this space— just grovel flat.'
He gazed at the spirit flows rippling across the sky like waves.
'Would absorbing those boost my divine power?'
[Pfft……]
Black Eye couldn't help but snort at the question.
[Fearless, aren't you?]
Unlike Hidden Eater or Yeomhwa-ryeong's warnings, only one thought filled his mind.
'No holding back when it comes to getting stronger, right?'
[Exactly. Great mindset.]
[Urgh…… What makes that a great mindset?! It's dangerous!! Lower gods like me gain divine power only from the faith of our followers—we can't draw it from nature itself. But upper gods are different.]
Yeomhwa-ryeong shook her head at the pair.
[They possess immense divine power inherently. Those shadows are like scraps of it—refined residues, impurities left behind. And yet, they hold more power than a lower god like me……]
She scratched her head awkwardly.
[You get a sense of how amazing upper gods are. If you absorbed an upper god's power, sure, it might be possible. But not by taking in every shadow. Upper gods have attributes like elements in nature, each unique.]
“The more upper gods you subjugate, the more your divine power grows, and the easier it is to command lower gods.”
[S-Subjugate…… Yeah, something like that.]
Yeomhwa-ryeong answered reluctantly but nodded anyway.
Then—
Crunch……?! Rumble-rumble-rumble……!!!
The space warped like a can crushed underfoot.
[Ugh…… The air……]
Yeomhwa-ryeong flapped her wings harder against the encroaching ominous fog.
[It's…… too cold.]
With those words, his divine power began draining rapidly with every movement.
[Breathing……]
Suddenly, the fog pressed down like a vise, choking the breath from his lungs.
Bang-!!
Yeomhwa-ryeong's summon is forcibly released due to the upper god's intimidation.
“Huh?”
Crack…… Crack-crack-crack……
Cracks spiderwebbed across the warping space.
[Be careful…… Even I……]
Even Black Eye shattered after barely managing those final words under the crushing pressure.
[Who do you intend to subjugate?]
“Damn, looks like it heard me.”
He covered his mouth with a mock-aghast expression, murmuring softly at the widening cracks.
[A mere outsider, not even a pioneer, dares enter the realm of the veil and spew insolence against a god. Did you not heed the rules?]
“I did. But you made a mistake. Humans err—can't a gracious god forgive that?”
[……Mistake? Ridiculous!]
“Quick on the uptake.”
He stared into the rift amid the god's booming voice.
“Yeah. I did it on purpose. Thought the Curtain God ignored the mortal world, but you're quite the chatterbox.”
[Insolent wretch!]
“Come out.”
Crack……! Crack-crack-crack……!!
The rift yawned wider. He slowly drew his sword.
“Before I tear your precious veil to shreds.”
Warning: You have incurred the wrath of the Curtain God.
The veil repels intruders except pioneers.
The Curtain God imposes a trial upon you.
Warning: Unless divine power is of equal rank, you cannot refuse the trial.
The trial of the veil begins.
In that instant, a massive alert window appeared in the sky, unlike any before.
Quest: Trial of the Veil
Difficulty: ?-?? Rank
Reward: Escape the Veil
A trial imposed by the Curtain God on an intruder. Success or failure—life or death. The future is shrouded by the veil, unknown. No one has ever passed a god's trial.
“The reward is just escaping this place?”
He read the alert, staring skyward in disbelief.
“Hey, if no one's ever passed your trials, what about the Veil's successors?”
But no answer came from the thick veil.
“Hup……!!”
He swung his drawn sword with full force into the cracking veil.
Skreeeong---!!
The rift shattered with a sharp sword cry.
The trial begins.
The Curtain God watches you.
A massive eye peered through the shattered gap, fixating on him.
'That the bastard?'
Like a giant peeking through a door crack, it gazed down at him like a toy.
“Hmm.”
He clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly. Despite the god-made space, no divine power gathered in him.
Normally, it should recover over time, but since Yeomhwa-ryeong vanished, it hadn't regenerated. Same for Black Eye.
'A trial I have to clear alone.'
A restriction. No divine or mana power usable—most such trials hinged on mental fortitude.
'The veil conceals truth. A god who unveils reality, yet hides it within.'
He slowly closed his eyes.
Mugeuk Lv2 activated!
But for him, who had shattered realm boundaries before, a mere veil meant nothing.
Pierces the god's rift.
The veiling landscape inverted—the blue sky blackened, trembling leaves glowed. Opening his eyes, he thrust Tesaro's sword at one spot.
Clang-!
A thick tree trunk met the blade, yet it shattered like glass. He dragged the sword downward.
Riiip……!
Something tore, slicing the landscape anew. The watching eye quivered in shock through the gap.
Another rift lay within the opened space—a rectangular black door-like tear. He reached for it.
Pause—
His hand halted just before contact; the eye trembled again.
“Fun if I went in there, right?”
No answer, no glance back, but its dismay was palpable.
Quests always held clues—but not answers; one forged the path from them.
'Pass or fail, live or die.'
He knew instinctively: the veil's trial was a fork. The quest revealed that. Two doors in the veil.
But Mugeuk revealed only this one.
“One path to life, the other to death—who knows which is which.”
Swipe—
He turned toward the massive watching eye, murmuring lowly.
“A shallow trick unworthy of the veil's name. The path was open from the start.”
Step-step-step—
He walked away from the door toward the rift where the giant eyeball rolled frantically.
Squish-!!
Without hesitation, he plunged his sword into the enormous eye.
[KAAAAAAAACK---!!!!]
A piercing shriek tore through the air.
[H-How?!]
Torrents poured from the eye like a waterfall; the veil began melting away.
As it lifted, a one-eyed giant in ragged robes clutched its eye, writhing on the ground.
[M-Master!!]
Yeomhwa-ryeong's voice rang out. With the veil gone and divine power restored, she manifested eagerly.
Boom-!!!
The god-made space brimmed with power; she appeared unbidden.
“That's the Curtain God?”
He pointed at the one-eyed giant.
[N-No. That's just a shadow obeying the god's command.]
“Figures. Nothing special.”
[How did you escape the veil's labyrinth? One wrong door, and it's eternal loops.]
“Simple. It opened the space to watch me—so it must be beyond. I just went there.”
Yeomhwa-ryeong was awestruck.
[A normal person would quake at that shadow's eye…… You really stabbed that monster's eye? I trembled all over the first time I saw that giant.]
“You've seen it before?”
“Yeah. I'm a god born from the Pantheon of Myriad Gods, the only one who can commune with all gods—as their herald. Shadows stand by gods as guards, closest to them, though forms vary.”
“I see.”
[Grrrrr……]
The rampaging giant growled lowly at him. No quest completion—trial unfinished.
“Can't find the path, trapped forever; find it, still must catch the shadow…… What a nasty god.”
[Grrk……! Grrk……!]
The giant snarled, lunging into stance.
“Dogs resemble their masters. Maybe it's watching this exact scene from somewhere, just like that giant.”
Veil lifted, phase two: fight the shadow. Original power restored. For average players, just mana return—but the god overlooked his divine power use.
“Yeomhwa-ryeong.”
Palm up, she alighted on it.
[Yes, Master?]
“You know all gods, so lend me your memory a bit.”
[……Pardon?]
“I hate being played.”
He addressed the watching Curtain God.
Sensory Amplification Lv3 effect activates!
Sixth sense surges exponentially.
Yeomhwa-ryeong's memory fragment 'Pantheon of Myriad Gods' – 'The Veiled God' synchronizes with your present.
Connector Authority (Stage 2) enacted.
Warning: May influence parts of borrowed shared memory.
'The Veiled God's' memory fragment synchronizes with new shared fragment 'Tearing the Veil'.
Warning: Current shared fragment's content may change based on connector's actions.
“I'll reset the board on my terms.”