Chapter 380: A Future Without Me (8)
Unchain, Keter’s Authority, possessed the power to remain unaffected by any form of restraint. Because of this, he had been immune to spatial freezing magic like Krona’s Eternity, and he had even escaped Ivan’s ultimate spell, Three Thousand Worlds. As such, it seemed like he should be able to break free from the Heavenly Venerable’s Mandala as well, but…
…It doesn’t work.
His Unchain didn’t respond to Mandala because the slowing of time wasn’t a restraint. This meant Keter had no choice but to endure the full eleven years before he could continue the conversation with the Heavenly Venerable. And yet, he neither despaired nor grew impatient.
Who do you think I am? I’m a secret weapon even gods would fear.
Now that he had realized his true nature, Keter actually felt anticipation about what kind of ability would manifest to help him overcome this situation. Like a child holding a gift box without knowing what’s inside, he found the waiting itself exciting.
Oh?
After what felt like about an hour, he sensed a change. The Heavenly Venerable seemed to notice it too, his brow slightly furrowing.
Originally, Keter could only move his body by the tiniest increments; it had taken seven hours just to move a single finger. But now, it only took two hours. Keter was adapting to the slowed time, and that was extraordinary.
There was a limit to the speed a living body could endure. The faster one moved, the more exponentially the strain on the body increased. Transcendentals were no exception. Even if they were able to move at the speed of sound, their physical bodies couldn’t withstand it. That was why many abandoned their bodies altogether and became purely spiritual entities.
Now, Keter was approaching that threshold while still a human. To move in a world where one second equaled one hundred sixty-eight hours was akin to moving at sonic speed or even comparable to Tachyon, the eighth form of Limitless Archery.
“…Impressive.”
Even the Heavenly Venerable stroked his chin in admiration. No ordinary being, nor even a divine one, could move at a normal speed in such a slowed world. To do so would require energy equivalent to destroying a city every second.
Perhaps because of that, Keter’s speed eventually stopped increasing. He plateaued at a strange, creaking, unnatural pace, like a chair on the verge of breaking. But even that was enough for applause.
Clap clap clap.
“Keter. I was the one who summoned you, yet I didn’t know what you were. But now… I think I understand.”
“Just… wait… right… there…”
Keter slowly approached and threw a punch.
To the eye, it looked slow enough to yawn at, but in reality, it was fast enough that even Transcendentals would struggle to react.
Still, the Heavenly Venerable simply tilted his head and dodged it with ease.
“Alkione seems to think you’re a Pioneer. It’s understandable since regression is their privilege. However, to me, you are not a Pioneer. You are something else… Yes… There is only one being who could create something like you. Akrah.”
Snap.
With another flick of his fingers, time returned to normal. Keter suddenly slammed into the wall, unable to handle the restored speed.
“No matter how much of the blood of the blue blood kin flows through you—those called the residents of space—I am one who was once worshipped by them. Besides, your bloodline isn’t even that strong… not even half of half.”
The reason Keter had been able to adapt to the slowed time was due to the blue blood kin’s genes imprinted in his blood. And on top of that, Amon’s Authority of adaptation had helped push him forward as well.
Keter stood up from the wall as if nothing had happened, straightening his clothes.
“Go on, mess with time again. I’m almost fully adapted to this,” Keter said.
“You intend to fight me? I am time itself.”
If Thanatos, the Ruler of the sixth floor, was death itself, then the Heavenly Venerable, Ruler of the seventh floor, was time itself. But Keter scoffed.
“Quit the bluffing. You and Thanatos both call yourselves gods, but to me, you’re not.”
It was an insult anyone would take offense to, but the Heavenly Venerable only seemed intrigued.
“Why do you think that?”
“To an ant, a human looks like a god because we seem omnipotent to them. You’re the same. You just have abilities that make humans perceive you as omnipotent, but you’re not actually omnipotent. I mean…” Keter gestured around him. “What kind of god traps themselves in a place this insane?”
“…Heh. That’s a good analogy. You’re right—I’m not omnipotent. If I were, I wouldn’t need to call you here or ask what you want. A being with no needs and no curiosity would be a god. So no… I am not one.”
“Then what are you?”
“If you consider what we do… you could call us administrators, or overseers. But those words sound too trivial, don’t they? So we call ourselves gods, or Rulers.”
Surprisingly, he answered so easily that Keter relaxed slightly. Being subjected to Mandala had been irritating, but even if it was some kind of test, the Heavenly Venerable was still a godlike entity.
Keter had used his technique without permission, and ultimately, he had survived the sixth floor thanks to him. There was no reason not to talk.
“Alright, background check’s done. Let’s get to what we want. I want to be sent to the eighth floor.”
“I refuse. What I want from you… is to start over.”
“…Start over?”
Keter frowned, not understanding.
The Heavenly Venerable clarified, “Start again from the very beginning, Keter.”
* * *
Keter was definitely different from other humans, not just the circumstances of his birth, but also his mindset. The Heavenly Venerable realized this because of how Keter pressed him.
“Don’t try to confuse me, and just explain it properly. Do it while I am still treating you with respect.”
Ordinary humans would interpret a god’s words in countless ways, indulging in speculation. They would never dare ask a god to clarify, but Keter treated a god the same way he would treat another human, even though he clearly understood the overwhelming gap in power.
Even if he realizes he’s special… he’s a complete anomaly.
Being special didn’t mean being immortal. If Keter lost his life, he would be dead, just like anyone else. Plus, it wasn’t like he was acting brave out of ignorance.
If you touch me, you won’t walk away unscathed either.
What emanated from him, absurdly enough, was a threat—a threat toward a god. It was ridiculous, yet not entirely without reason. As such, the Heavenly Venerable found himself unable to define Keter at all.
If I had to define him… he’s insane.
One thing was certain: Keter was not someone who could be manipulated like other humans.
“Keter. I’ll explain it simply. You are being used by Akrahh, and she has long dreamed of the end of the gods. You, who carry even the genetic traits of extinct species, are ‘one and all, all in one’—meaning, a being capable of killing gods.”
“Does it have to be me who kills them?”
“Gods cannot truly be killed. They can only be put to sleep.”
“I think I’ve heard that before.”
“But you can truly kill them.”
“How?”
“Hehehe. Don’t be impatient. If it were that easy, Akrahh wouldn’t have invested this much into you. Still, it’s not difficult. You simply need to keep fighting. And you are already doing that, aren’t you?”
It was true, Keter had been fighting his entire life, but he had never intended to fight forever.
“I’d like to take it easy later in life.”
“Do you think the world will leave you alone?”
“I’ll make it.”
That wasn’t just wishful thinking. There were Transcendentals who lived in seclusion, but the Heavenly Venerable shook his head.
“You won’t even be allowed to rest in death because Akrah will keep reviving you. Even if you give up, you won’t be able to stop unless she does. That’s the kind of being you were born as. It may be hard to believe now, but it seems you’ve only experienced regression a few times.”
“I don’t regress by choice…?”
Keter’s eyes widened. He had always thought that he regressed upon death. But during the war, he realized that wasn’t true. He found out that he could only perceive someone turning back time, and what the Heavenly Venerable said was even worse.
The Heavenly Venerable smiled.
“You’ve realized it. You don’t regress by your own will. You are forced to regress until the objective is achieved. Forever.”
“Akrah is the one doing that?”
“Yes.”
“Until I kill all the gods?”
“The pressure on Sefira, the civil wars, the expansion of Liqueur—all of it was arranged by Akrah to foster your growth. She manipulated the world so that you would have no choice but to fight. That way, you would grow. And once you’ve killed all the gods… do you think she’ll just leave you be? A being that can kill gods is more dangerous than the gods themselves.”
There was no manipulation in his words, only the calm truth. Keter closed his eyes. He had finally heard the truth he’d always wanted. He thought he’d feel relieved and happy, but he didn’t. He wasn’t even angry.
It’s even more messed up than I imagined… but I expected it to be screwed up anyway.
Still, he decided he’d deal with his anger later.
“So my real enemy is Akrah.”
“I can set you free. Not just me, but almost all the gods would help you. Akrah has made it difficult for gods to interfere in the human world. She is effectively the enemy of all gods.”
“Now I understand what you meant by start over.”
The Heavenly Venerable controlled time. He could rewind it, just like Akrah, and send Keter back to the past.
“Akrah will notice if the future changes, especially changes involving you. But you can deceive her. There’s no need to fear deceiving a god. As you said, gods are not omnipotent. And…”
“Wait,” Keter cut him off, tapping the table with his finger. “You want me to become a being that kills gods.”
“Yes. That’s the only way to kill Akrah.”
“So you’re also going to keep forcing me to fight.”
“My method is different from Akrah’s. If you face a powerful enemy, even if you kill them, I can simply rewind time and bring them back. That way, you won’t have to bear the guilt of killing.”
The Heavenly Venerable seemed to be accommodating him as much as possible, but that wasn’t the point Keter was making.
“No. That’s not the issue.”
“Then what is?”
“You’re going to pretend you don’t know?”
Keter lowered his right hand beneath the table.
“If I kill Akrah, will the other gods, including you, leave me alone?”
Slowly, his hand rose back above the table. And in it, he held a single arrow. The Heavenly Venerable’s eyes widened. It was Mistelstein, the god-slaying arrow.
