Book 2: Chapter 517
Coming to the World of Void,
Receiving the ‘power to struggle the most desperately’ from God,
Lukas had experienced four such lives by now.
…He couldn’t help but feel that number was much less than expected.
In terms of mental fatigue, it felt like he had experienced at least dozens or hundreds of regressions.
This life,
The fourth life, felt especially longer.
Of course, in terms of actual time, the life where he ate all of the Lukas corpses in the Dump Site would be the longest, but the density of living itself was by far the highest.
He learned a lot of the truths that he had to know.
He also learned about other people’s secrets.
There were also many tremendous accidents.
Slowly immersed in darkness, he recalled everything about that life.
A life that was by no means easy.
‘…’
Then, he suddenly realised.
He hadn’t come back to life.
Lukas’ consciousness was simply trapped in darkness. That fact brought a heavy silence.
Was this the end?
Did he no longer have any more chances?
He had lived every life desperately, but the ending of this particular life was especially desperate.
…After he died, what would happen?
Pale wouldn’t stop her killing spree. It wouldn’t be strange if she completely destroyed the universe where most of Lukas’ acquaintances were gathered.
Would the Rulers just look on?
Pale was right.
The Thunder God, the Demon God, and even the silent Sun God—
Even though they are fully aware of what the Four Knights are, and how strong they are, they were reluctant to fight them head-on.
Why?
Weren’t the Four Knights the beings who were ‘as strong as they are’ and ‘worthy of challenging’ that they longed for?
Lukas couldn’t help but be confused by their contradictory appearances.
…If not the Rulers,
Then the ‘Lukas Trowman’ who appeared at the end. Could he stop Pale?
This was also something he didn’t know. He had wanted to analyse him, but, unfortunately, Lukas, who was about to die, didn’t have any mental strength left.
‘…’
After a while, Lukas came to a conclusion.
The phenomenon he was currently experiencing was not death.
[That is a truth that cannot be known from just one life.]
As if responding to his conclusion, he heard a low voice.
A voice he hadn’t heard in a while.
He knew who that voice belonged to.
“Are you really dead?”
[That is certainly the case now. This voice you’re hearing now is just the last trace I left behind.]
“…”
[I told you. I would give you the power to struggle the most desperately. However, I didn’t tell you what you would struggle against.]
Lukas nodded.
He now knew.
“…the predestined apocalypse.”
[…]
God didn’t immediately continue the conversation.
For a while, silence befitting the dark space fell.
[What do you want to do?]
“That question is too comprehensive.”
[The power you currently have is enough to rank in the top 20 even if both the Three Thousand Worlds and the World of Void are included.]
“…”
Lukas’ expression became strange.
Top 20.
Being in the top 20 in the Three Thousand Worlds and World of Void was amazing. Even if looked at from an objective angle, it was clear that the power he had acquired was tremendous.
However, Lukas was still a step short of the level he was pursuing.
That wasn’t all.
Lukas was surprised to learn that there were still at least 10 beings stronger than him.
Among the beings he’d personally identified, only the three Rulers and Four Knights could be considered stronger than him.
What other beings were there apart from those?
The rest of the Twelve Void Lords that he hadn’t met? The Void King?
That or…
Lukas shook his head.
Since it was a statement from none other than God, it would be foolish to harbour excessive doubts about it.
[You’ve been through several lives, but it wasn’t just a repetition.]
“Right. As you said before, I learned truths that couldn’t be known in one life.”
[No. I’m talking about after that.]
“…after that?”
[For me, the most important thing was your attitude after knowing the truth. Look back on the path you’ve taken.]
Lukas’ figure suddenly appeared in the dark space.
And the lives he had lived so far flashed past like a panorama.
[You were a human, and an Absolute. You communicated with a Ruler, and tried to understand one of the Four Knights. Although you were not the strongest being in my multiverse, you became the most unbiased. And being the most unbiased is not much different from being the most free.]
“…”
The freest being.
It was the first time he’d heard someone say that.
That was what someone thought of him.
Lukas always thought that his life was always tied to something.
Responsibilities, obligations, things only he could do…
It was only relatively recently that he put them all down.
[If there is a virtue that a king needs the most, it is that. The ability to understand various people.]
“…are you suggesting that I become the Void King?”
[Didn’t I tell you? If you go to the Castle, you will know everything. The most standard way to do that is to become one of the Twelve Void Lords, but… You came to learn the truth from a direction completely different from my own prediction.]
“…”
[All of your guesses are all correct. My arrangements were to let you become the Void King, but from now on, everything is up to you. No matter what choice you make, or even if you don’t make a choice…]
He could feel God’s voice gradually growing fainter.
[Because I no longer have the power or ability to force you to make a choice.]
“…you.”
Then, just before he disappeared, God spoke.
[This is the last time, Lukas Trowman. To talk to me like this… and also to regress.]
Words that could never be taken perfunctorily.
[There is no next time.]
* * *
He regressed once again.
That death was also not the end.
That fact made Lukas feel relief as well as faint hope, but he also felt a chill somewhere in his heart.
─The last regression.
No, there was no after.
If he died another time, it would really be over.
‘…as expected.’
Eventually, the accusations built up again.
Lukas realised that the reason he’d died to Pale was also because he had been counting on the regression to some extent. If he had made this realisation at the end, he wouldn’t have gone to his death so obediently.
He felt his consciousness slowly rising from his sleep.
‘…there is no next time.’
He engraved God’s words into his mind once more.
This time, was the last time.
* * *
There was something that God didn’t talk to him about.
That was exactly which point in the past he was regressing to.
As mentioned before, many variables had occurred in the fourth life, and a lot of things happened.
Among them, the thing that bewildered him the most was the fact that he had left the World of Void.
This was because this was also Lukas’ goal when he first arrived in the World of Void.
—Would the life begin from the moment immediately after he’d left the Three Thousand Worlds?
That’s what Lukas thought.
“…”
Even before opening his eyes, he could already tell which point he had returned to.
It had been quite a while by now, but he didn’t miss the feeling of the cool sand at all. The dry, stuffy air which didn’t seem to contain even the slightest trace of life energy.
When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of the sky swirling with various colours.
A scene that he’d seen many times before.
“Huh? You’re awake.”
And a voice that he’d heard many times before.
Standing at his side with a large grin, was Pale.
He could see her slightly malnourished face, long hair, and innocent smile.
“…”
He couldn’t think of anything to say.
Unquestionably, the woman in front of him had killed him at least twice, and at least had a direct or indirect effect on his other deaths.
After turning his gaze to Pale, Lukas stretched out his hand to the sky.
Fwoosh!
The monster which attacked from the sky was burned from its mouth down and quickly disappeared without leaving a trace.
“Heh~”
Pale, who had been quietly watching this scene, let out a sound and clapped.
Again, instead of reacting, Lukas fell into thought for a brief moment.
What should he say?
What kind of relationship should he aim to have with her?
Lukas had experienced a series of failures in his lives.
In his last life, it could be said that he had made the choice that was closest to the answer, but that was also wrong. In the end, it only led to failure in a different form.
However, it could be said that his relationship with Pale was the most advanced it had ever been.
He still remembered her eyes and voice before he died.
“Hello!”
A lively voice that was completely different from that time.
Pale’s eyes as she looked at Lukas now were filled with nothing but curiosity.
He could guess.
Pale at this time just wanted to observe Lukas. To see whether he was really suitable to serve as king.
…It wasn’t just her.
All of the relationships he’d made in the previous life had also disappeared.
‘I can’t keep doing it again.’
It was something he hadn’t realised in the regressions until now. Lukas forced himself to swallow the wave of bitterness that came rushing in.
There was no time to immerse himself in emotions.
As said before, this was his last chance.
‘There are two things that I have to deal with urgently.’
They were the Lightning God in Lee Jong-hak’s body and the Demon God in Sedi’s body.
They were potential threats.
‘There’s a lot of work to do.’
Not just in the World of Void. There were also things that he had to do and find out in the Three Thousand Worlds.
However, he couldn’t go out with Pale. Unless he could find a way to control her, or lose her altogether—.
Suddenly.
[…what the hell is this…]
Lukas couldn’t help but tremble at the sudden voice.
It was a voice he shouldn’t have heard.
‘Lightning God?’
[…]
‘How are you here?’
The voice he’d heard in his head was definitely the Lightning God’s. There was even a hint of shock in his voice that he couldn’t hide.
Of course, Lukas’ confusion was no less than his.
[That is what I want to ask. What the hell kind of phenomenon is this?]
‘…’
[I should have been in the Three Thousand Worlds until a moment ago. However, this place is the World of Void… That’s not all. It’s not just my location that changed. Is this the power of retrogression?](TL: For reference, regress is ‘회귀-hwegwi’, while retrogress is ‘역행-yeoghaeng’)
Had the Lightning God regressed with him?
How could that be?
No. This wasn’t the time to think about the cause.
What mattered now was the result.
‘The Lightning God, found out about my regression.’
…Then what should he do?
Lukas’ expression hardened.
Although he had built a good relationship with the Lightning God in his previous life and even managed to eventually build a united front. The Lightning God was still one of Lukas’ potential enemies. Even if it was all empty words now, he didn’t think that having such a secret exposed to such a guy could be a good thing.
It was quite possible for him to use the truth as an excuse to create a situation that was in his favour.
[Was it on a personal scale… or world scale… If even the residual thoughts of my current self could be involved…]
‘Lightning God?’
[…I…]
In the Lightning God’s voice were emotions that Lukas never could have imagined.
They were bewilderment, nervousness, and fear.
‘You… are you really the Lightning God?’
[…]
The voice cut off.
He tried to call out a few more times, but there was no response from the Lightning God.
Lukas realised that he had fallen into deep, dark contemplation. There were times before when he’d ignored his words, but this time was different from those times.
“Hey? Are you okay?”
Pale approached him with a smile.
Lukas had been forced into silence by the current situation.
He hadn’t figured out everything about what happened, but one thing was clear.
This life would also not be easy.