Chapter 218: 4th Class Dimension Management God Solaris-2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 218: 4th Class Dimension Management God Solaris-2
*
After his meeting with Antonio, Kang In-ho struggled to keep his senses through a high fever.
Perhaps it was because he had been caught in the rain unprotected, but he felt a chill seeping into his bones as his temperature steadily rose.
The image of himself cowering under the Pope’s threats overlapped with the memory of Antonio.
In-ho felt an indescribable emotion writhing deep in his chest.
"I just... took my anger out on Sister Maria...."
[I... I am....]
He remembered Maria, her voice thick with tears as she walked on eggshells around him.
He had snapped at her—the same Maria who always smiled brightly and followed his lead. Her face, etched with hurt as she left the room, flickered behind his closed eyelids.
Kang In-ho collapsed onto the bed and exhaled.
His hot breath brushed against his own skin.
"Is it a cold... come to think of it, have I ever been sick?"
Excluding the times he had groaned in pain while in the old man's body, the instances where he had been bedridden by illness were few and far between.
He eventually succumbed to the heavy weight of slumber.
"What exactly are you?"
At the sound of the voice, Kang In-ho’s eyes snapped open.
He thought he had been lying in bed, but he suddenly found himself standing in a vast, open space.
"Who are you?"
Before him stood a woman with a neat bob, calm golden eyes, and striking white wings.
Ransacking his memories, Kang In-ho recalled an entity that looked similar to her.
"I am the 4th Class Dimension Management God, Solaris. I am the deity in charge of this dimension."
"Ah... a Dimension Management God."
In-ho spoke as the forgotten title resurfaced in his mind.
"Entering a dimension without permission, and even going so far as to ruin the plan I was preparing...."
Though her tone was flat, a faint trace of annoyance seeped through.
In-ho merely shrugged at the deity's irritation.
"It’s not like I came here because I wanted to. Some crazy bitch did something weird to me, and that’s how I ended up like this."
"What are you talking about? ...I see a spell has been carved into your soul."
"Can you Dispel it?" In-ho asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.
"Regrettably, it is a spell placed by a being higher than myself. It is impossible," Solaris replied graciously, despite the mortal's blunt questioning. "It isn't just a simple Possession spell; there are all sorts of miscellaneous things attached to it. I don't know who it is, but... they seem to hate you quite, quite a lot."
"Tell me about it."
In-ho shrugged again.
"But how did you bring me here?"
"I temporarily summoned your sleeping soul to this place."
Quite a convenient ability, In-ho muttered to himself.
Solaris’s eyes flickered at his nonchalant attitude.
"First, let us organize the situation. Due to certain reasons, you are currently under the influence of a spell that moves you between dimensions."
In-ho nodded at Solaris’s words.
"You transferred from your previous dimension to this one, which I manage... and of all things, you possessed the body of the man I had plans for."
"That fake saint?"
In-ho recalled the charge leveled against the sinner Maria had beheaded.
"He was the real Saint."
Solaris let out a sigh.
"What?"
In-ho’s jaw dropped slightly.
"He was the real Saint. My plan was for Maria to strike off his head, and then I would have him resurrected in a burst of light to establish him as the Saint."
"Holy... so he was the real deal."
"I put quite a bit of thought into it. A miracle where his severed head reattaches amidst a brilliant radiance... I intended to show the birth of a Saint through the miracle of resurrection. However...."
Solaris’s tone grew sharper.
"However... because you possessed him at that exact moment, the souls were overwritten."
"I'll say it again: that wasn't my fault."
"I am aware."
Solaris exhaled sharply through her nose.
"If I hadn't been watching him closely, I wouldn't have even realized you had entered my dimension. To think you could enter a dimension without leaving a single trace... that spell is truly terrifying."
"So you're saying if you hadn't been watching the guy you were going to revive, you wouldn't have known?"
"The probability is high."
In-ho felt like he finally understood why he had never encountered a god while traveling through other dimensions until now.
"So... what's the point of summoning me? Is complaining about your ruined plan all you wanted?"
In-ho probed Solaris’s intentions.
"I am proposing a deal. Kang In-ho, possessor of a Noble Soul."
With a snap of Solaris’s fingers, two chairs appeared.
She politely gestured toward a chair, and Kang In-ho took a seat.
"A deal? What are the terms?"
As In-ho asked with his legs crossed, Solaris sat in the opposite chair.
"Please act as the Saint."
"I don't know what that means when you put it so vaguely."
"I intend to tear down the Solarium Church with my own hands. I would like you to assist me in that."
"Can't you just strike them with lightning or something? Ah, I'm not saying I won't do it, I'm just curious why you're taking the long way around. Is there a need to go through the trouble of making a Saint?" In-ho asked innocently.
"If I, as a god, exercise my authority directly, 'Causality' begins to warp. Once or twice is fine, but once it passes a certain threshold, I must stabilize it by sacrificing other souls."
Solaris explained it simply, as if teaching a student.
"So you use indirect methods."
In-ho nodded.
"Correct."
"If the final goal is the fall of the Church, what’s the process?" In-ho asked, leaning forward.
"Maria’s faith must deepen. She must come to question the current Church."
"Will that be easy? She’s an Inquisitor. She’s probably more devoted to the Church than anyone."
He frowned, doubting the possibility.
"That is precisely the problem. Under my original plan, I would have changed that perception slowly over a very long period of time...."
Solaris shot him a sidelong glance, and In-ho cleared his throat.
"Since the situation has been heavily distorted, I have no choice but to use more radical methods."
"For example?"
"A Saint dying unjustly at the hands of the Church? If it is Maria, who holds feelings beyond mere reverence for you, she would certainly turn her hostility toward the Church."
Solaris presented a scenario.
"Well, if it's something like that."
In-ho nodded in agreement.
"If Maria’s faith deepens through you, she will gain the power to destroy the Church herself. For I shall bestow miracles upon her."
"But what happens if Maria denies you in the process? If her faith goes to me instead of you, won't your power weaken?"
In-ho asked, recalling a trope he had read in a fantasy novel once. Solaris burst into a small fit of laughter.
"Ah, I'm sorry. You don't need to worry about that. No matter what name I am called by, or where people's faith is directed, all faith within the dimension I manage ultimately flows to me."
Solaris cleared her throat.
"That's a pretty sweet setup," In-ho grumbled.
"I won't deny that," Solaris replied leisurely.
"Fine. Then if I help you, what do I get out of it? I'll tell you now, I'm not interested in any offer to let me live happily in this dimension."
In-ho pushed his terms for the deal.
"I have no desire to keep you here for long, either."
Solaris swallowed hard for a moment.
"Because of the spell placed upon you, the longer I keep you here, the more Causality becomes distorted. Therefore, I must also send you to another dimension."
"Hmm... there aren't really any conditions that appeal to me yet...."
After agonizing over it for a while, he clapped his hands.
"Alright, let's do this. Analyze the spell placed on my soul and hand that information over to me."
Solaris’s mouth hung open slightly at In-ho’s request.
"That isn't difficult... is that really all you require? I could simply give that to you for the sake of our friendship."
"It's not like you can Dispel it anyway. I'll just set that as the condition. Besides, I dislike the Church just as much as you do. The enemy of my enemy is my friend... so I might as well help."
"An enemy, am I...?"
Solaris laughed, finding it absurd.
Where else would one find a mortal who would refer to a god as an "enemy" to their face?
"Very well. We shall discuss the detailed plan later."
"Do I just see you in my dreams again?"
"No. Once you wake up, you may come to my avatar."
"Avatar?"
"It is a way to interfere with the world without damaging Causality. I have already created a form to contain my will and sent it into the Church."
"Really? Then who should I go to?"
"It is a face you know well."
Solaris snapped her fingers, and her form transformed into a face In-ho was very familiar with.
"This is why I hate gods."
In-ho scowled as he stared blankly at the transformation.