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[The leader of <L’Infernal>, Baal, looks at you with an expression of shock!]

[The Black King wonders what his shadow is thinking.]

As beings of the Day, Metatron and Baal were thoroughly shocked by Yeon-woo’s decision. The two knew that Yeon-woo’s ultimate purpose was to regain his younger brother’s soul, so they were surprised by the sudden turn of events.

However, for Yeon-woo, it was a choice he made to be faithful to his purpose. After skimming through the remainder of Son Jae-won/Vivasvat’s legends, Yeon-woo understood the gist of the clash between Day and Night. Although he still did not know the complete story, he saw enough to understand the rough ‘plot’ of what went on. Thanks to this, Yeon-woo was able to unveil all the secrets from the time the universe was created to the establishment of the Tower.

[You have successfully devoured 60.2% of player Vivasvat’s legends!]

From the creation of the universe to the establishment of the Tower, the Black King had attempted to awaken several times. Each time the Black King attempted to awaken, the Heavenly Demon and those of the Day had been successful in suppressing the Black King. However, with each successive suppression, the Heavenly Demon and those of the Day had become weakened, so the Tower was established to develop a successor, who would continue to suppress the Black King.

Originally, Son Jae-won had been selected as the successor. However, although he had admired his father and wanted to follow in his footsteps, Jae-won had conflicted with the Day, leading his relationship with those of the Day to fall apart.

As a result, the great division occurred within the Tower, wherein the heavenly world and the lower worlds were completely separated. At the center of this great division was Son Jae-won/Vivasvat, who was able to maintain the great division for a long period of time due to his title and power as ‘Allforone’.

Son Jae-won/Vivasvat had worked diligently in his own way to prevent the Black King from waking up. From the beginning, to prevent the Black King from using any tricks, Son Jae-won/Vivasvat removed in advance the candidates that could become the Black King’s successor. Moreover, he had forcibly suppressed any beings that tried to exuviate and transcend, as they may then contact otherworld beings.

Maintaining the great divide and suppressing all options to wake the Black King became Vivasvat-Son Jae-won’s personal mission. However, for others, his actions were seen as violent oppression. In the end, the complaints piled up, and a character like Yeon-woo was born.

「‘There was no other option.’ This was the conclusion I reached after learning about the existence of the Black King and searching for possible solutions.」

「Thus, I conflicted with those of the Day. I argued that we couldn’t beat the Black King following the same playbook. Instead, we needed to find another way.」

「We agreed that the great divide could become a possible solution, but we were conflicted on how the great divide should be established and what it should represent.」

「I insisted that we should just let the Black King continue to sleep. To have the Black King fall into an even deeper sleep.」

「If needed, that should be our approach.」

「In turn…」

「I would carry all the responsibility.」

The remnant thoughts left by Son Jae-won/Vivasvat all contained a sense of deep despair, alongside fear and frustration. He despaired that it might be difficult to continually suppress and resist the Black King.

Son Jae-won/Vivasvat was born as a child of the Heavenly Demon, but he was initially born as a normal being, so his identity as a ‘human’ was firmly entrenched. Son Jae-won/Vivasvat was deeply dissatisfied with the gods who tried to treat humans like livestock. And that dissatisfaction only grew after he entered the Tower. Soon, his dissatisfaction became a deep hatred. Thus, when Son Jae-won/Vivasvat met the darkness, which even the gods were too scared to do anything about, he could no longer contain his anger.

If there was a huge existence that mere mortal creatures could not do anything about, this meant that the mortals had a fixed destiny. And if that were the case, what was the need for free will, and what good would come out of planning for one’s future? Even if mere mortals tried to do something, in the end, if the higher existence coughed, all the mortals’ efforts would end up useless and just become an illusion. Hence, Son Jae-won/Vivasvat decided to take a stand all by himself.

If one meets Buddha, kill Buddha. If one meets one’s Master, kill the Master.

If I don’t go to hell, who will?

As he had always chanted to himself throughout his lifetime, Son Jae-won/Vivasvat decided to take on all the responsibilities himself. No one else needed to know his true intent. All they needed to do was walk their own path without any worries. Even if others pointed a finger at him without knowing the truth, Son Jae-won/Vivasvat would handle it. This was what he thought.

So, Son Jae-won/Vivasvat became Allforone from then on. He tried to keep the balance of the Tower by blocking the gods and demons and sheltering the lower beings.

Son Jae-won/Vivasvat was thus able to maintain a status quo. By allowing everything to continue within their designated places, the Black King’s ‘dream’ was prevented from turning violent. From one perspective, he could be called a great hero, but his intent and actions were not made public, so he garnered no recognition, only constant criticism. In the end, his efforts failed. In front of the Black King’s great presence, Son Jae-won/Vivasvat was nothing more than a firefly that could easily be snubbed out.

You’re no different from me…

In the end, you’ll be thrown away…

We’re nothing but pawns on a chessboard…

In the end, the letters left by Son Jae-won/Vivasvat seemed to convey his last will.

[In the process of reassembling the letters of the devoured legends. Sections that have heretofore been hidden are being revealed.]

[Part of the revelations that you have never seen before have been revealed!]

[The interpretation of the revelations has begun.]

[Fail.]

[Fail.]

…

[Success.]

…

[You have obtained 1 page of the revelations.]

[You have obtained 3 pages of the revelations.]

…

Taking all this in, Yeon-woo came to a certain conclusion. ‘I must break all these absurd chains.’

There should be no more victims like himself, his younger brother, or Son Jae-won/Vivasvat.

Even if Yeon-woo was not able to completely break the chains, and even if he could not put the Black King to sleep forever… Yeon-woo could at least make it so that things did not cycle and repeat. Therefore, this time around, he was thinking of carrying the load, all the responsibilities, himself. But in a completely different way from Son Jae-won/Vivasvat, who had failed.

If I don’t go to hell, who will?

From the start, Yeon-woo was not under the illusion of becoming an extraordinary hero like Son Jae-won/Vivasvat. In the first place, if Yeon-woo had been the kind of person to sacrifice himself for other people he didn’t know, he would not have climbed the Tower to avenge his younger brother.

There was only one thing Yeon-woo wanted: to get his brother back. And to realize that goal, Yeon-woo would use his life as a tool… He did not feel that this was a loss. Thus, for that reason, there was one option remaining for him.

『…dumb bastard.』Kronos, who had guessed his son’s thoughts and intentions, uttered a small whisper.

Whoosh!

[Player Cha Yeon-woo looks up at the Black King’s true body.]

Yeon-woo felt the Black King’s gaze, and he stared straight back.

Meanwhile, the bondage mechanisms that the Black King put on Yeon-woo were getting stronger. The chains that bound Yeon-woo’s hands and feet grew thicker, and the darkness that had encroached on the seventy-seventh floor became even darker. Moreover, the presence of the Black King gradually became clearer. Once Yeon-woo chose Night, Yeon-woo’s exuviation was taking on more of the darkness characteristic.

[A new foreign substance intervened during the exuviation process. New components are being added to your exuviation.]

[Your exuviation is progressing noticeably slower. 44, 45%…]

[Your soul, which was in the Divine Spirit state, has changed. Current Status: Darkness-coated Spirit.]

Although the fundamental change of Yeon-woo’s soul meant that Yeon-woo was gradually becoming part of the Black King, with no way to escape…

‘On the other hand, it also means I can kick up a storm from the inside.’ Yeon-woo reached out towards the black chains with his hands and held them tightly.

[The Black King looks puzzlingly at his shadow.]

Yeon-woo smirked at the Black King, who was still observing Yeon-woo closely. Then, Yeon-woo started pulling the chains inward towards his body.

[The Black King tilts his head, not knowing what his shadow is thinking.]

It was impossible for Yeon-woo to draw out the Black King, who could be considered the entire emptiness itself, with his current power. Thus, the chains only became tauter, as the other end did not budge. However, the moment Yeon-woo called out someone’s name, the story changed.

[‘Summon of the Dead’ has been activated.]

[Who do you want to summon?]

“The Monkey King.”

Whoosh! At that moment, a plume of darkness bloomed behind Yeon-woo, revealing the Monkey King’s exuviate.

『You punk! I’ve been waiting for you to call me!』It was the Monkey King’s exuviate, whom Yeon-woo had absorbed in the Five Element Mountains. The Monkey King’s exuviate stood with a cynical smile on his face and his long white hair fluttering about him.

Next to the Monkey King’s exuviate was a giant dragon that glowed indigo blue, Sheng. Sheng, a being who was once the Heavenly Demon’s familiar and the ego of the Ruyi Bang, was the source code that became the basis of the Tower’s system.

『Do you have any regrets about your choice?』 The blue dragon, Sheng, guessed the thoughts of Yeon-woo, since Yeon-woo was the incarnation of the Tower’s system, so Sheng asked for reconfirmation before executing Yeon-woo’s order.

“None!”

『Not one?』

“No! Hurry it up!”

Once Sheng confirmed that Yeon-woo did not waver, Sheng quietly closed its eyes and nodded.『Good. If you, the new operating system, have made that choice, I will execute your command.』 At the end of those words, the giant dragon shattered into pieces and nestled into Yeon-woo.

No, to be precise, the giant dragon melted into the chains connecting Yeon-woo and the emptiness. In place of where Sheng’s light burst out, all that remained were the Divine Iron fragments of Ruyi Bang. These were the traces left by the disappearance of the blue dragon, Sheng, and were also the key components that made up the Tower.

[The highest-level order has been given.]

[Executing the command.]

[Executing the command.]

…

[All system functions are being focused on the divine iron!]

[The Black King belatedly realized what his shadow was trying to do. The Black King gave a light sigh.]

Yeon-woo clenched his jaw while looking at the Black King, who was still smiling confidently. Wondering how much longer the Black King would have a smile on his face, Yeon-woo kept pulling tighter on the chains that connected him to the Black King. As he did so, Yeon-woo felt the Black King’s presence grow clearer.

[A Channel with the Black King has been created!]

[A Terminal has been created.]

[Outgoing status is good.]

[Reception status is good.]

[It is now possible to recognize the Black King more clearly.]

[A hotline has been opened to directly communicate with the Black King.]

…

[You’ve successfully detected parts of the Black King’s true body!]

Thanks to his efforts, Yeon-woo succeeded in finding the Black King’s true body. This also gave Yeon-woo a confirmation. ‘Now the Black King can’t cut me off.’

Since the Tower’s system was focusing all its functions on reinforcing Yeon-woo’s connection with the Black King, if the Black King tried to force Yeon-woo away, the Black King would have no choice but to take a huge counterblow. This was because Yeon-woo represented the Tower itself. It was as if Yeon-woo himself had become a restraint that restricted the Black King.

[Power, ‘Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword’ bares its vicious teeth!]

[The Philosopher’s Stone (Superbia·Gula·Luxuria) is eagerly trembling.]

[The number of legends is too vast.]

[The number of legends is too vast.]

…

[The nature of ‘Superbia (pride)’ is running rampant…]

[The nature of ‘Gula (gluttony)’ is savagely…]

[The nature of ‘Luxuria (lust)’ is placating…]

…

There was no way that Yeon-woo could defeat the Black King by himself. If the powers he possessed originated from the Black King, Yeon-woo would not be able to go against the origin. But that also meant that, conversely, Yeon-woo could reach the origin.

Furthermore, even though the Black King was preparing to wake up from his ‘dream’, the Black King was not yet completely awake. Also, even if he woke up, it would take him some time to completely awaken and release himself from the Castshe was bound to.

What was more, the current Black King was not a standalone being with its own ego but a ‘clump’ of thoughts and concepts. The Black King was aware of this fact, so he had prepared two successors who would compete to wake him up from his ‘dream’.

Yeon-woo aimed for this very point, since his current status was that of the Black King’s shadow. This also meant that Yeon-woo could become the Black King’s ego at any time.

[Assimilation with the true body is occurring!]

Just like what Vieira Dune did to Mother Earth, Yeon-woo would become the Black King’s ego, and end things once and for all.