Chapter 397:
Chapter 397:
The day that Egostic told me would be the day that God would declare his destruction.
The Korean Heroes Association had been in a state of emergency all day.
"…I'm sick of this already."
The Hero Association's control center, a small, select group of people with large monitors covering the walls, the President of the Association, sitting in the center, sighed with the words.
Standing behind him were his closest advisors and the A-class hero Shadow Walker.
…And beside him.
"…"
The country's only S-class hero, of course.
Stardus, the only current S-class hero in Korea, stood there with a determined expression.
Next to the control center's monitor, which was showing CCTV footage of numerous cities across the country, the Association President sighed heavily."Hah… What's happening to me in my later years? I'm enjoying a little bit of heaven as the head of the association, but I'm losing more hair every day…"
[Mr. President, Egostic says it's just beginning, so could you please be quiet?]
"Look. Now I'm just being cursed at by a brat."
[….]
Lee Seola, on the monitor right next to the president of the association, is silent as if she can't believe her ears.
She was participating remotely from her office, not from the control center, as she was in charge of the Korean national response to the doomsday revelation.
Stardus listened to the chatter between the president and Lee Seola, leaning against the wall behind her, was alone and silent, lost in thought.
‘…Soon, it's coming, the thing that Egostic told me about.’
A divine revelation that the world would end soon.
…A god.
"No…The Sun God. If it's the sun, it's daytime…I don't like daytime, haha…"
She listened to Shadow Walker, who was muttering to himself.
Stardus was silent, preparing herself for what was about to happen.
Finally,
[Greetings, humans.]
Suddenly, without warning, the voice of the god echoed loudly in her head.
"Ugh…!"
"Loud…"
Along with her, one by one, the figures in the association grabbed their heads with pained expressions.
[Kaaaah!]
[Kkkkkkk…]
At the same time, the screens of the Association's control center were also showing the figures of citizens across the country holding their heads and collapsing one by one.
Of course.
"….."
Somehow, it didn't seem to affect Stardus much.
Aside from a slight headache, she was the only one who was strangely unaffected.
She didn't realize it, but…her power of the stars was almost fully grown, so the Sun God power had little effect on her.
[Aaaaah… Egostic, you didn't say that…]
"Hmm… Is that it?"
Oh, sure…Unlike Lee Seola, who had already collapsed into a bubble on the screen, Shadow Walker was holding his own.
Anyway, in the midst of all the grunting, Stardus listened with a serious expression on her face as the god spoke.
[In my absence, you have indeed…grown up…horribly]
And sure enough, what he said was exactly what Egostic had warned her about.
That he was a god and that he would destroy the world in roughly half a year.
After a short time, which seemed like hours to the listener.
[…The only thing you deserve is death.]
And with those words the divine revelation came to an end.
"Ha, ha."
The sound of gasps could be heard here and there.
…Though it didn't shock anyone here, as they all knew what was coming, she can only imagine how the general public would react by now.
After all, the overwhelming sense of powerlessness and helplessness that the Sun God artist displayed…forced them to admit that he was indeed a god.
"Ugh…my head."
"Ugh….Wow. I knew what was coming, but to actually hear it, that's some serious horror."
"…Yeah. I feel like an ant in front of a human."
Just like that, the others in the Association came to their senses.
Stardus, with a stern look on her face, spoke up as planned.
"Come on. We're running out of time, so I'm going to declare a state of emergency and…"
And that's when she said it.
-Ziying.
"Ugh…"
Stardus staggered at the sensation of a ringing in her head, her hand on the wall.
"…? Stardus, are you okay?"
"…It's nothing, just a little dizzy… Ah."
Stardus replied as best she could.
Suddenly, she felt her head ring once more.
"Stardus, Stardus, hey, wait a minute…!"
With the feeling of being sucked somewhere she lost consciousness.
***
Just like that, back to the present.
Stardus opened her eyes, in an unfamiliar space.
"…Ugh. Where am I?"
She sat up, frowning and what she saw was.
"…Huh?"
An endless, empty, white space.
The floor, the sky, everything was white, and it was only when Stardus opened her eyes properly that she realized what was happening.
"…Uh-huh."
She could see a woman coming toward her from one side.
Just as she was about to take a closer look at who it was, she heard a soothing voice from the woman in front of her.
"…Hello. My child."
A beautiful woman with bright blonde hair that shone as brightly as Stardus' dressed in ancient Greek-style robes of white cloth.
With a thin gown-like robe draped over her shoulders, and her arms wrapped around her collarbone in front of her, she had a mysteriously beautiful body and aura that could be considered a work of art at first glance…
At the same time, she was a fragile and sickly-looking woman, as if she could break at any moment.
"…Who are you?"
Seeing her like that, Stardus spoke cautiously.
She was clearly a stranger.
Yet, somehow, she looked familiar, as if she had seen her many times before.
The woman smiled at her and spoke in a warm voice.
"…I am the one who gave you your power."
"I was once called the God of the Stars."
"…A god?"
"Yes. My daughter, Haru…This is going to be a long story."
Stardus still didn't understand what was going on.
The woman who identified herself as the Goddess of the Stars smiled again, and with a wave of her hand, a white chair and bench appeared in front of her.
"Here. Sit here…and I'll explain everything you want to know."
She said with a warm smile.
-Ah. And don't worry about reality. Time flows differently here.
The Star God added.
‘…Where the hell am I, and what's going on?’ Stardus had no idea.
Somehow, she couldn't resist the blonde woman who spoke to her…and her gut was screaming at her that this woman was trustworthy.
Somehow, there was a warmth about her and Stardus sat down, mesmerized.
Before her, seated at a circular table, was the Star God.
She was more beautiful than any woman she had ever seen, yet she looked so strangely like her that Stardus felt overwhelmed and averted her eyes.
Star God smiled kindly at Stardus, and with one more gesture, she produced a drink on the table.
"Fufu, drink some, calm down, and listen."
"…Ah, yes. Thank you…"
Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Stardus cautiously took a sip of the orange juice in the glass in front of her.
…It was mango juice…her favorite.
‘…Sweet.’
Maybe it was because there was something cool in her mouth, Stardus, whose mind had been foggy from earlier, was able to wake up a bit.
While she was doing so, Star God smiled kindly at her, and then began to speak.
"Well…I suppose we should start here."
"Let me introduce myself once again. I was called the Star God, one of the three deities that existed in this world. My name is Sidus."
"Sidus…?"
"Yes. That's the name you vaguely remember me by when we first met and chose as your hero's name, though you've changed it up a bit."
Star God hummed the words with a wry grin, then met Stardus’ questioning eyes and nodded before continuing.
"When you were a child…The day you lost your parents, to be exact, I went looking for you.
And then I chose you and gave you all my remaining power."
"…."
Star God Sidus opened her mouth and continued.
"You are my chosen one, the only one who can save this world from the Sun God."
"…What?"
Stardus' eyes widened in surprise at the words while Star God smiled benevolently and said.
"Now, I will tell you all my secrets. Listen carefully…"
And so the long story of Star God began.