Chapter 394:
Chapter 394:
It was an unusually sunny and clear day.
"…Today is finally here."
It was a normal, peaceful day but I knew today was the day everything would change.
"Whew…"
Checking the time once more, I sighed and crossed my legs.
Here we go. I was ready.
Today is the day of the Sun God's announcement of judgment.
God will reappear in this world for the first time, and the people will be thrown into chaos by the announcement of his destruction.
…The very day I've been preparing for all this time.
‘After today, the world will change.’In the original, the world, already creaky as it was, completely collapsed after the god's announcement of destruction.
People began to collapse in fear of death while Cathedral, led by Celeste, began to destroy the planet.
The power of those with abilities went berserk, and at the same time, the holy relics of the sun went berserk and angels appeared.
It was grim, total chaos but I will stop it, for this is what I have been working for all this time.
There were some risks, of course.
Most notably, what if the Sun God discovered my identity? What if he realized that I had been preparing to stop him all this time, breaking his holy artifacts and trying to convert his Saint?
He'd probably try to kill me first.
‘…But that won't happen.’
Of course, I didn't really worry about that. If I had, I would have tried to kill her long ago.
Now I have all the destructive variables in place.
‘The power of the stars, it's still protecting this world.’
Long ago, when Sun God and Star God were together, Star God summoned the last of her power and imposed a boundary of perception on this world so that the Sun God could observe it closely and not interfere.
However it was also to keep his archenemy Stardus hidden from him.
In any case, the binding created to protect Stardus allowed me to hide as well.
Perhaps the best thing Sun God could do with his power right now would be to give it to Celeste.
His last attempt to break through the barrier, I suppose, was negated by our Ex Machina.
In the end, this time, it will be nothing more than a canned speech from a billion light-years away.
‘Of course, the chains will soon be broken.’
But the day it does, it will be the day the Sun God descends, and the world will be destroyed.
So that was not my concern now.
Right now, I must save the world from the chaos that will ensue when the Sun God declares its destruction.
"…I'll take my leave."
With that, I finalized my thoughts, stood up and left the room.
Time was running out and as I trudged to the living room, I saw it.
"Da-in!"
"You're home, Da-in."
" Da-in, you're finally here."
The members of Egostream gathered in a bustling circle.
Yes.
These are our fellow members of the Egostream, who know that the Sun God's destruction is imminent.
[Okay, Da-in, I'll be on it as soon as the announcement comes.]
The other person who knows what's going to happen today is Lee Seola, who, as General Manager, will have to manage the chaos that's going to happen today.
And…
‘Stardus, also knows.’
I thought to myself silently.
…Perhaps by now, she is waiting at the Association, as I said.
To control the world that will soon be in chaos with the Sun God's declaration of destruction.
There was one more secret I hadn't told Haru yet.
‘That she, and she alone, is the agent of the Star God who can stop the Sun God.’
Stardus knows she has the power of stars like me….but she does not know that she has been hand-picked by the Star God herself.
And there's only one reason I haven't told her this story in detail.
"…"
Because today is the day she will meet Star God herself.
In fact, in the original story, the gods weren't introduced in detail until today and with the arrival of the Sun God, this was the day that Star God would descend into Stardus' head and tell her all her secrets.
‘…Not exactly Star God herself, but her residual thoughts.’
I didn't tell Stardus the details since today, she'd learn all about her identity anyway.
‘So…'
For now let's focus on the disaster to come.
"…I see you've all gathered in advance."
With those words, I sat down on the couch where my companions were gathered.
It was time to wait in suspense for what was about to happen.
***
[At this moment, in downtown Seoul, the day is sunny and the outdoors are…]
"Is everyone ready?"
I wonder how much time has passed when I saw a bright living room with warm sunlight shining through the window.
Sensing that the time was almost up, I looked around at my companions and said.
"…It’s time."
"Phew. This is getting a little tense."
They all nodded, looking nervous.
In the original story, it was clearly described as a great burden to hear the voice of a god in a human body.
The pain felt by those who have received divine power is even greater.
That's why they gathered here in advance to prepare themselves. It hurts less if you know what you're getting into.
Anyway, now, the time has come.
The time when everyone's busy, when the last of the normal routine comes to an end.
Just like that.
"…Everyone, get ready."
I silently checked my watch, and when it finally reached the time I had predicted, I said those words quietly.
It's finally starting.
And finally, the moment the hour hand moved to the next space…it began.
[And then we get to see the interviews with the citizens!!! Ewww…]
The pained voice of the anchor reading the story on the news.
[Ugh…]
Scores of people on the screen, holding their heads in pain.
At the same time all of us felt a tremendous force, like a heavy gravitational pull weighing down on us.
"Ugh…"
Even I, who had been preparing for this, was gritting my teeth at the pressure, which was more than I had expected.
Finally…I heard his voice.
[Greetings, humans.]
It was a voice that seemed to speak directly to my brain.
It was in a language I didn't know, but somehow I could understand it.
For a moment, I could feel it.
-Ahhh.
This is God, a being so different from us, so unapproachable.
Perhaps awake, perhaps asleep, everyone in the world is forced to listen to this voice.
Just listening to it was enough to make my heart burst.
Because it was the voice of God, which is completely different from human beings, it was difficult for the body to accept just hearing it.
It was like an ant in front of a giant. The humans who were listening to the voice of a deity with extraordinary power would realize the difference between them.
Ah, I can't resist that thing no matter what.
Like a frightened child, in a situation where they can't get away. That's what people must be feeling.
In a situation where it's hard enough just to accept his power.
His words continued.
[I am the one who once ruled you, the one who was once called the Sun God. It is good to see you again, my children.]
[In my absence, you have indeed, indeed…]
[Grown up horribly and…]
…The god's reaction to the humans was not exactly positive.
[I will judge you, lowly beings.]
[I will judge you.]
I looked up with difficulty at this point, and surveyed the others.
"Ugh!"
"Ugh…"
As expected, those who had received the Sun God's power were more affected.
Unlike Soobin and Seo-eun, who were still holding on in a cold sweat, Choi Se-hee and Seo Ja-young, who were directly receiving the power of the sun, were almost half-collapsed with their heads down.
Well, I'm under less pressure thanks to the power of the stars, but if I'm having such a hard time, what about them?
[In 1̴̧̩̖͔̟̈̎͆̉̊͝8̶̨̥̯̟͕͎́̍̕0̶̜̞̈̓̅͜͡%̷͉̜̝͉͈̈́̊́͊̌͢͡@̷̢̪̗̞͎̊̊̽͋͝!҈̨̭̰̜̾̍͞, I will descend to judge your sins.]
[So until then, spend time atoning and painfully await your coming destruction.]
[Death is the only thing you deserve.]
With those words.
"Hmph…!"
"Hmph, hmph."
"Ha… Ugh, water. Give me some water…"
The feeling of intimidation that had been barking through my body was gone.
Breathing heavily, the Egostream members stood up one by one, holding their heads.
All of them looked quite traumatized.
"Da-in, ouch. Are you okay…?"
"Kuluk. I'm fine. Seo-eun, how about you?"
"I'm fine…I'm just a little freaked out."
"Ugh. I never thought I'd encounter something like this in my life. How could a god be so different?"
Shinryong, who was standing with her hands on the wall, was grumbling.
"Wow…this is really not easy."
Choi Se-hee, who was the first to regain her senses, clutched her forehead as if she were dizzy.
"I'm happy that I knew about this beforehand, but the people who heard it for the first time must have gone crazy."
…Yeah. Probably soon, when people come to their senses, the world will go crazy.
Everyone will be freaking out, that's why it was important to get this under control before it gets out of hand.
First, I needed to meet with the most important person I could convince right now.
"…Everybody stay here. I'm on my way."
"Okay. Go ahead."
As I grabbed my coat, they nodded in agreement. I'd told them that as soon as the revelation came, I had to go to Cathedral.
Right now, meeting Celeste was a priority.
Perhaps, she's the only one who heard special words from the Sun God.
-Buuk.
With that, I tore up the letter, and teleported to Cathedral on the other side of the world.
It must be night on this continent, but the windows are bright as day.
I rushed to Celeste's office, to her prayer room, where I could hear the sound of her praying.
"Hmph…"
From one side of the room I found Celeste sprawled on the floor with her silver hair hanging down and a shocked expression on her face.
"Celeste, are you all right?
I rushed toward her.
"…?"
She looks back in the direction of the sound with dazed eyes, then back at me, her focus returning.
"Ah, eh, Egostic…"
I don't know if it finally dawned on her, or if she was relieved to see me after all the confusion.
She called out to me, grabbed my clothes, and began sobbing and mumbling.
"…Egostic, I, uh, what should I do… God, God…"
"Shhh. Just calm down, calm down."
Seeing her clinging to me with such a broken expression I reassured her and slowly began to open my mouth.
‘Now is the time.’
It was time to reap all that I had sown.