WNC 358

I kept walking on the red carpet, chasing after the young Makrir.

It swerved left and right, and despite having no mouth, it bent and straightened its body intermittently as if panting, buying time. If not for the thorns densely covering its body, its demeanor was so pathetic I almost wanted to hug it tight.

The cavern we arrived at had an incredibly high ceiling.

It was a vast space, large enough to fit three of the Makrirs that had carried us. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all covered in gold, polished to a mirror-like sheen without any ornamentation. A raised platform stood at the far end.

The group followed the young Makrir, and the red carpet. Up close, the throne on the platform also appeared seamless. The entire building seemed to be a single, unbroken entity.

The Sun God was still in the form of a Makrir.

It was peculiar to see a cactus sitting on the vast throne. This time, it was about 3 meters tall, a manageable size. Whether it changed bodies or this was its true form, I couldn’t tell, but its roots were neatly braided and hung down, looking remarkably un-plant-like.

I placed my hand on my left chest and offered a greeting of respect in the Sierran Empire style. Even though the other party was a god, prostrating myself felt awkward.

The mercenaries behind us, who had been preparing to kneel, followed suit.

“Welcome.”

“May my companions speak?”

“….”

This was the first thing I asked. After a moment of silence, the Makrir nodded once. At the force of its movement, the red flower atop the Sun God’s head swayed gently.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“It is nothing. I summoned you because I needed you.”

“You may speak. Let’s talk now,” I said, turning around.

Leon’s wide-eyed expression was quite amusing, but I suppressed a laugh.

Only then did the others one by one offer their thanks. The Sun God did not bother to respond to each greeting individually. Was it naturally taciturn? Well, this was only my second time meeting a god, so I couldn’t possibly know.

I wished the Makrir had eyes, a nose, and a mouth. I was truly curious if it wore a playful expression like the Oasis, or if its brow was furrowed.

Everyone stood up straight. Still, the platform was so high and the Makrir on the throne so large that we had to look up for a long time. If it was waiting there to look down at us, it was fitting. Come to think of it, the Oasis also sat in the air and looked down at us when we first met.

Rubel was the first to speak, his tone calm.

“You said… you needed us?”

“I am the Sun God, the god of decay, and the father of all that dies.”

…This was a non-sequitur if ever there was one.

The voice was grand and noble, but the content of its words was questionable. I was utterly bewildered, but the children around me listened with composed expressions. Only Giselle and Peter exchanged glances of confusion before subtly nodding towards me with their chins, urging me to look ahead.

So I looked ahead again.

It felt as though the Makrir was staring directly at me. Even without eyes.

Hmm, I swallowed a dry cough, feeling awkward for no reason, when it spoke again.

“However, eighteen years ago, the path of the dead became greatly disordered.”

“….”

Eighteen years ago. …Just before I was born. Was it going to blame me?

I clenched my lips shut in tension. The god seemed to read my thoughts and sighed.

“…Because of the Ninth, that damned bastard.”

…So this god wasn’t entirely calm either.

The God of Oasis would answer one question with one answer, and even if we asked five, he’d only give one. He’d easily hum and brush off questions with things like, “I don’t know,” or “How would I know that?”

The Sun God was not like that. Without listening to a single word we said, it began to ramble about what it wanted to say. Every word it uttered was filled with conviction and rage.

“That bastard acts as if it’s all my fault that child died. But creatures rot if they don’t die. Even the greatest transcendent beings are the same. Eternal life? If you were born a frog, you should live and die as a frog. If you were born human, you should live and die as a human. Even if you force it together, the limit is five hundred years.”

Five hundred years.

In the Central Plains, masters of Hwagyeong lived for over two hundred years with ease. Beyond that… I didn’t know. I had never heard or seen of it. Maelo Sanson, even in his mid-fifties, was as robust as someone in his late thirties, but showed no signs of Reversal of Aging.

“What is the point of keeping something alive that should have died? Even water stagnates if left too long. If you tie it down like that, it will just rot while alive. Like the trash wandering this desert now.”

Trash wandering this land.

Was it referring to zombies? My eyes snapped open.

“Are those ‘trash’ creations of the Ninth God?”

“Yes. That is why I wish to ask you for a favor. Please stop this madness.”

A favor, or a command.

I couldn’t answer immediately. Ruben asked cautiously in a calm voice.

“…We are merely mortals and creations, are we not? How can we…”

“Don’t you have a foreigner among you? The only one not born from the Ninth’s hand.”

Me?

The Sun God said that the roots of existing humans were divided into three.

The first group was a fragment of the first human created by the Ninth God. The next was a fragment sculpted from the body of the Eighth God, and the next was a fragment sculpted from the body of the Seventh God.

It was fortunate that when the Ninth abandoned all humans, other gods gathered and comforted them, scattering them. Thanks to that, they were able to prevent the Ninth’s mad act of killing and crushing all creations, regardless of whether they were his own or others’, to gather them into one.

After that, humans reproduced and mixed amongst themselves, and these three became so intertwined that even gods would have to ponder for a long time to figure out which god’s fragment a human was, the Sun God added.

“Creatures… cannot defy their creator. Even if you give them a magnificent, large sword, if you tell them to stab and kill their mother, wouldn’t they generally refuse? This is an action that occurs deep within instinct, making it difficult to defy, no matter how painful the consequence.”

“….”

“But the foreigner is different. If it’s you, you could harm any divine source in this land without hesitation once you touch it. While killing a god might be difficult, stopping them should be possible, shouldn’t it?”

The Sun God let out a great sigh. Yellow pollen puffed from the flower atop its head. Branches, resembling arms, scratched and rubbed against the Makrir’s thickest pillar, and it was quite amazing that not a single thorn broke despite its rough movements.

“How much do you know about the divine realm… No, you wouldn’t know.”

“….”

“We are one and nine, and nine and one. However, each has a different identity and different thoughts. This stems from our origins. Just as you humans have different bodies, we… cannot intrude into each other’s origins.”

“….”

“My origin is the sun, and this holy land. I cannot allow other gods into this origin. That… only causes mutual pain, with no benefit. If we clash like that, the world we painstakingly created will shake and be harmed. That… is a very painful thing.”

“….”

“The Ninth’s origin is humans. He created nothing but humans. But that madman.”

…Madman.

Regardless of the subtle shifts in the children’s expressions upon hearing the grim oracle, the god continued its speech.

“He created thirty Black magicians and planted them in my desert, then made an Origin Proclamation.”

“What?”

“Saying, ‘There are humans here, so this is my land, my territory.’ And then he began to churn out those rotten things.”

Origin Proclamation.

Because the Sun God was a god, it could not enter the origin of another god.

If a domain is veiled, a god cannot peer into another god’s domain. Just as a Sylph does not pry into another’s domain. Therefore, the Sun God could not peer into the origin of the Ninth God, which was right before its eyes.

“…But, humans who possess Sylphs can peer into others’ domains. Why can’t gods…?” Marianne asked, her voice filled with dismay.

The Sun God was one who answered three for every one asked. It continued:

“Well, you cannot contain a divine source within a human body, can you? The Seventh and Eighth abandoned their origins to create you. That is separate from the Ninth. I truly think they did something mad. To abandon their origins just to become like this, even though I tried to dissuade them.”

“Ah…”

“In any case, for that reason, you humans, who possess the energies of two gods but not their origins, and who bear a fragment of the first human, can enter the Ninth’s origin. And the foreigner can harm him.”

“….”

The Sun God stated with certainty.

“I want the foreigner to kill all the Black magicians and give the Ninth a long rest.”

“…Me?”

So that’s why it had summoned us so diligently.

Heat rose to my head, making my forehead feel warm. Bewildered, I raised my hand and pressed my forehead, cheeks, and the back of my neck to cool the heat. My fingertips felt chillingly cold.

“You won’t be able to kill the Ninth. Not yet… Yes, not yet.”

The Sun God acted as if it had already received our consent.

“If I had my way, I’d ask you to kill him, but then who knows what problems might arise, so just giving him a good blow is enough. If you mess up, this world might shatter, so before that happens, just kill him dead.”

“….”

“Wouldn’t that be good for you humans too? It’s better not to have such a crazy parent.”

“…Didn’t you just say I couldn’t kill him?”

“…Put him to sleep. For a long time, if possible.”

“….”

Perhaps it was because the cavern was so vast. The sound of me swallowing echoed far away.