The Divine Twilight's Return

Chapter 466: Star, Identity Establishment (4)

Clang, clang, clang!

Clashing weapons echoed continuously through the air.

Rumble, rumble, rummmble―!

Thunderclaps burst with every strike, creating sonic booms.

Boom, booom, booom!

A series of lightning bolts crashed down from the sky, creating powerful explosions. The subconscious realm became blindingly bright, devastating the area around the Past Life Castle. New valleys and cliffs emerged, and seawater from who knew where filled up cracks in the ground.

Whoooosh!

Just then, a cloud of dust that was big enough to cover the entire barren sky arose.

Rummble―!

Chang-Sun leaped out from the center of the dust cloud, enveloped in <Duskfall>, the energy he had created by blending the two contrasting Divinities of supreme sacred light and <Darkness>.

Chang-Sun had already opened up the middle volume of [Prelati’s Spellbook] and was in his Anathema state. Every time he took a step, he left a footstep the size of a Giant’s. Whenever he swung his sword, it created a deep furrow, like the strike of a Giant’s ax. And yet, even though most of the changes occurring around the Past Life Castle were caused by him, Chang-Sun still lacked the upper hand in this fight.

Paah―!

Swooosh!

The red and blue lightning guards pursued Chang-Sun, emerging from the dust cloud he had left. Each guard was surrounded by lightning energy, exuding heat that was more intense than most stars.

“He’s really.”

“A rascal.”

“I wish this attack .”

“Would end the fight.”

The guards finished each other’s sentences like twins, thrusting their spears fiercely.

Rummmble―!

Large pools of light burst out from each of their spearheads, unleashing superheated storms that permeated through Chang-Sun’s <Duskfall> barrier and made his skin sting. It was evident that each of the guards’ attacks was strong enough to affect a whole star system, so they had to be capable of fighting on par with most beings in the cosmos.

‘How can such people remain unknown?’ Chang-Sun wondered, quickly crossing the [Yuchang Sword] and [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth].

These guards were Chang-Sun’s past reincarnations, which meant they were also from the <Fire of Origin>. That also meant they had begun to exist before Worldline #801 was divided from the Original Worldline, and remained in the Worldline.

Beings with such long histories should have made lasting <Myths> on several Worldlines. Despite his initial lack of interest in the history of Worldlines, Chang-Sun had developed that interest and paid a lot of attention to Worldline creation after acquiring gnosis in the Changgong Library. That was why Chang-Sun was well aware of how great Bestla had been, and the lasting impact Odin had made in Worldline #801’s history.

No, even if not for that, Chang-Sun had read most of his past reincarnations’ lives, so there was no way he would fail to remember such skilled fighters as these guards.

‘But there was nothing about them,’ Chang-Sun thought.

In contrast, the guards knew about Chang-Sun too well. His techniques, habits, usual attack routes, ways of thinking, gestures... They had been watching everything about Chang-Sun until now, so they had a deep understanding of him, to the point of blocking every attack he attempted even before he executed them. The guards were already skilled to begin with, on top of being able to predict Chang-Sun’s attacks, making the fight even tougher. In contrast, since he knew nothing about them,Chang-Sun’s options for counterattacking were very limited.

Flash―!

Supreme sacred light burst out from the [Yuchang Sword] while Chang-Sun unleashed <Darkness> through [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth]. When the two contrasting Divinities came into contact with one another, a ray of sunset-colored light emerged and transformed into a lightning bolt that dropped on the guards, delivering an overwhelming attack that was as destructive as a Giant’s ax strike.

Booom! Boooom!

Rummble―!

However, the guards abruptly changed the course of their attacks. The red lightning guard redirected his lighting energy upward to lessen the <Duskfall> lightning bolt’s damage. The <Duskfall> bolt was certainly more destructive, but the guard was still able to split it apart along the border of the supreme sacred light and <Darkness> using his red lightning energy, nullifying Chang-Sun’s attack; his counterattack was divinely elaborate. In addition, the blue lightning guard shot down every one of the <Duskfall> bolt fragments that remained with his lightning energy.

Clang, clang, clang!

Rummmble―!

“...Ha!” Chang-Sun could not help but chuckle dumbfoundedly after witnessing what had just happened.

Whirl, tap!

The red lightning guard withdrew his spear, grinning as he said, “You look very frustrated.”

“He’s bound to be. He knows nothing about us,” the blue lightning guard chimed in.

With a shrug, the red lightning guard continued, “You probably won’t be able to remember anything.”

“We reached our current level after arriving at this place.”

Having expected their answer, Chang-Sun nodded. ‘From the reincarnations’ techniques to how they built their <Myths>, they’ve seen and heard many things while working as the Past Life Castle’s guards.’

Chang-Sun’s skills and techniques were more advanced than those of the guards, but he could not defeat them because of his lack of experience compared to them. The guards were practically Chang-Sun’s natural enemies.

‘No, they’re all my past reincarnations’ natural enemies...!’

The longer the fight lasted, the stronger Chang-Sun’s urge to defeat the guards became. His plan was to absorb all his past reincarnations, so everything he learned from the fights against them would be an asset he could use in the future.

“You’ve proven yourself, and have the qualifications to enter the Past Life Castle.”

“If you wish to enter, we can open the gate right now, but you don’t want that, do you?”

The guards grinned, already realizing what Chang-Sun wished for.

Pzz, pzz, pzzzzz!

Chang-Sun unleashed more <Duskfall> energy and nodded, saying, “Of course.”

Most of Chang-Sun’s usual techniques would not work on the guards, so he concluded that he had to change his strategy to win the fight.

‘Let’s focus on offense. Defending myself will be of no use right now,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Chang-Sun’s original plan had been to conserve his power, because he would still have to go up against many more of his past reincarnations after this fight. Even setting aside Tomte, Chang-Sun still had trouble fathoming the depths of Perkwunos’ ability, so he had felt that it would be wise to save his strength to some extent.

However, Chang-Sun was bound to lose a valuable opportunity if he stuck to his original plan, leading him to change his strategy to a blitzkrieg. By using his full power, he intended to quickly secure a victory and prepare for the next trial.

[Reading a verse of ‘Bestla’s Poem’!]

<When the king was enraged, entities in the sky trembled, and beings on the ground hid, waiting for the king’s wrath to subside.>

Rumble, rumble, rummmble―!

Chang-Sun went for the red lightning guard first. The guards’ joint attacks were too much to handle, so he had to take out one of them first as quickly as possible. The Inferno Sight in Chang-Sun’s [Gnostic Eye] gleamed with madness.

“Yes, this is it! This is what I’ve been waiting for. Hehehe!” the red lightning guard exclaimed, his eyes filled with excitement for the first time.

That excitement quickly changed into madness, and the red lightning guard became a beast whose smile was filled with fury. Veins slowly began to bulge all across his upper body, all the way up to his entire face. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he turned so pale that Chang-Sun could see his blue veins pulsating clearly.

At that moment, one of their soul’s secrets was unveiled; the red lightning guard and the other past reincarnations called this moment Berserker’s Fury. Filled with disregard for their very lives, they immersed themselves in battle, becoming intoxicated with a trance-like fury and slaughtering countless enemies.

Roaaaaar―!

Letting out a bestial howl, the red lightning guard fiercely swung his spear, unleashing red lightning energy that soon turned into a destructive ax.

Chang-Sun was also influenced by the guard’s fervor, and aimed for the guard’s neck with the [Yuchang Sword] at full power!

[Inscribing a new volume of ‘Prelati’s Spellbook’!]

Chang-Sun thus initiated a change. ‘I’ve hit my limit with the middle volume of [Prelati’s Spellbook], so... I need to open up the last volume.’

Mephistopheles was the one who had been handing Chang-Sun the volumes of [Prelati’s Spellbook], so with his disappearance, Chang-Sun had no way of opening up the last volume.

‘If there isn’t one, I’ll make one.’

Of course, the challenge was not easy to begin with, as the path to becoming an Outer Celestial was very perilous and complicated, resulting in many rounds of trial and error. Fortunately, Chang-Sun had gone through an experience that would drastically decrease the number of trials it took, even though some would likely call it unfair.

Among the many timelines that Chang-Sun had watched using Sinmara’s foretelling ability, many of them had shown him a pathway to becoming an Outer Celestial, one in which all the stages were tied together by a complex spiderweb of connections. Even though he did not remember all of the trials in detail, he now knew the general direction of his goal, which was very helpful to him.

[You have chosen ‘Bestla’s Poem’ to write in your new volume of ‘Prelati’s Spellbook’!]

The poem for the great old Celestial King would be more than enough to form a new volume. By editing the poem to fit him better and transforming himself with his newly created [Prelati’s Spellbook], the door to becoming an Outer Celestial and Celestial King would be...

‘...opened!’

During the split second in which Chang-Sun’s <Duskfall> lightning bolt and the red lightning guard’s spear crossed paths, Chang-Sun’s [Gnostic Eye] blazed up more radiantly than ever, and his <Duskfall> lightning glowed incomparably brighter than before.

[There is no page to start the inscription on!]

[Canceling the inscription.]

...

[Searching for a new method using the gnosis accumulated in your ‘Gnostic Eye’.]

[Searching.]

[Searching.]

...

[You are able to create a new volume with materials of the same quality.]

[Creating the last volume of ‘Prelati’s Spellbook’ using your Divinities ‘Supreme Sacred Light’ and ‘Darkness’.]

...

[Creating papers using the Divinity ‘Darkness’!]

[Inscribing runes using the Divinity ‘Supreme Sacred Light’!]

...

Rusttle―!

The creation of a new volume began in the corner of Chang-Sun’s mind. He began writing, slowly transcribing [Bestla’s Poem] into his new volume. The process was not hard, as Chang-Sun had been engraving runes on himself using [False Belief]. He simply had to do the same thing in an imaginary book in his head.

[The first verse has been written.]

<At the beginning of time, the king was born with the blessing of all Giants...>

[Writing the second verse.]

<The king has pulled out the sword pierced into a boulder for the first time in front of all Giants, ascending the throne...>

...

[Warning! Your contemplation has accelerated too much.]

[You have immersed yourself too deeply into the inscription, entering the ‘Mad’ state!]

[You have entered the ‘Deranged’ state!]

...

[You have focused too much on your inscription, causing your mind to enter an abnormal Condition.]

[A certain level of madness can temporarily strengthen your ability to focus, but there is also a high chance that the ability will be weakened.]

[If your madness worsens, it can have bad physical effects on you.]

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

...

[You have reached your limit!]

[Warning!]

...

It felt as if Chang-Sun’s brain was melting, causing his heart to race frantically.

Badump, badump, badump!

Badump, badump, badump!

[Laevateinn] and [Fimbulvetr] trembled violently together. As Chang-Sun’s eyes turned bloodshot, veins bulged out from all over his upper body. Immersed completely in delirious focus, Chang-Sun entered a trance and united himself with the outside world, forgetting about himself completely.

[You have surmounted a limit!]

[Your abnormal psychological condition has changed.]

[You are reaching a new stage.]

Just then, an unknown mix of emotions burst out from somewhere within him, overwhelming his mind, divine power, and body. Thrilling happiness and vexatious wrath rushed over him, and Chang-Sun was guided into a new world. His madness became something more than insanity and transformed him into someone else.

Chang-Sun realized that this was his moment to reach a new level as he began to create the last volume of [Prelati’s Spellbook], falling into Berserker's Fury.

[You have completed the first chapter in the last volume of ‘Prelati’s Spellbook’!]

It was the moment of his soul’s reawakening.

[Congratulations! The door to becoming an Outer Celestial has opened, granting you the right to observe Nyx and accumulate new gnosis.]

[The first chapter ‘Sero Diéi’ has opened!]

A sunset-colored ray of light split the red lightning energy in half; it was <Duskfall>.

Slash!