Chapter 1351: Designed Transcendence (29)
Even with eyes closed, everything was visible.
Even without hearing, everything was audible.
It was as if he was looking out a window through a prism, observing the world with infinitely dulled senses.
[It has been three hours since Adamant Thunder’s Ascension Ritual, officially announced by the Vulcan Central Council, began.]
[The pillar of light piercing through the center of District 49 is expanding in real-time, causing powerful climatic anomalies across the Eastern Continent….]
[Despite the control orders declared around the outer districts, civilians are still approaching the ritual site….]
[Unsettling movements to worship Adamant Thunder are being detected among religious groups, academia, and expert communities within Vulcan….]
At this very moment, he was seeing information pouring in real-time from across the mega-city.
Broadcasts continued, filming a pillar of light that cameras could barely capture.
From various parts of the city, fierce debates and criticisms from officials regarding this Ascension Ritual could be heard.
Even being far away, it felt as if he was hearing their shouts and whispers right beside him.
The ritual seemed to assimilate with the entire world, existing everywhere.
…
The Ascension Ritual of Maleon Gnossis, witnessed in Kundara.
Back then, Lennok had helped the Gemstone Dragon, witnessing the birth process of an Ascendant from start to finish.
A miracle of repeatedly dismantling and reassembling oneself to the limit, continuously destroying and creating until the very end.
In that process, one comes to understand and embody the minimal units of the world concept, reborn as an existence equal to it.
Now, he felt he could understand what Maleon felt and thought back then.
He could guess what level the Silver Dragon, which announced its birth to the entire world upon ascension, had reached.
The ninth represented proof of having gained the qualification to transcend the world.
The true meaning of that statement was—
[Oh God…!!]
[A god is being born in Vulcan… finally…!!]
[Please protect me and my children, and grant us peaceful sleep….]
People kneeling and worshipping him from all corners of the city.
They offered prayers for tomorrow’s well-being, desperately wishing for things they could not achieve themselves.
…
He recalled the day he looked into Jindun’s memories in the Hanghasa Labyrinth.
One day, as he endlessly researched barrier magic and continued his inner struggle.
Jindun, having become an Ascendant, used to feel like a god ruling a small world.
Even though an Ascendant was not a god, and his barrier magic was merely imitating one.
To the people praying down below, what difference could there be between an Ascendant and a god?
…
Within the overflowing halo of light, everything overflowed, disintegrated, and scattered.
It felt like standing beneath an immense, endless waterfall, being struck by its plummeting torrent.
The impact was so immense that human senses couldn’t perceive it; paradoxically, it felt infinitely calm.
Within the eye of the storm, nearly infinite sensations were felt overflowing.
A profound sense of transcendence, as if any normally forbidden miracle could be wrought.
A feeling of omnipotence, as if even concepts that inherently didn’t exist could be easily commanded and manipulated.
Now, it felt like even the faith pouring towards him could be harnessed as power.
If so—
CRRRRAAAACK!!!!!!
The moment he extended a hand, devoid of sensation, towards the ground, the bedrock and crust beneath District 49 twisted.
He melted and combined the lava and rocks existing between the bedrock, transforming and creating entirely different substances.
A new material, incomprehensible even to him despite having forged it directly, was piled up like a tower in the center of District 49.
The magic tower, which had completely collapsed into ruins after the Adamant Thunder Subjugation War, was now being newly created and molded.
At this moment, with a mere gesture and an act of will, he laid the cornerstone for the new construction of the magic tower in District 49.
The process or reasons didn’t matter. He simply possessed the power to do so.
Yes, if he only wished for the desired outcome, at any time—
“…”
The moment he thought that far, Lennok finally became self-aware and awoke from the infinitely continuing consciousness.
In this moment, infinitely splitting and dividing his consciousness, feeling everythingboundlessly within the endless flow of time.
At the end of a long, slow cycle, he felt himself standing before a ‘line’.
Just by taking a step forward, he could cross it.
Just by lifting a foot and stepping on it, he could reach it.
In the profound vastness where everything scattered and disintegrated, he silently gazed down at it.
“I thought you’d come.”
Lennok spoke towards someone who appeared from beyond the shimmering white space.
A mysterious woman with light green hair extending to her feet. A demi-human with protruding ears.
The Ascendant, sensing a change and awakening her will, arrived at the end of the Ascension Ritual just a moment late.
Lennok spoke without even turning to face the Ascendant, Dadam.
“I thought at some point I might have to fight you.”
“…”
“This Ascension Ritual, the more I thought about it, had many strange aspects.”
Only Lennok’s voice was heard from beyond the vast Consciousness Space where everything was splitting, disintegrating, and stretching.
“Even after definite discussions and preparations, things seemed to flow strangely. Even though I was preparing the ritual by my own will, it was still like that.”
“…”
“It felt like I was missing something… even after hearing the divination and sensing déjà vu, I couldn’t be certain.”
The Mirror of the Ascension Ruin. The preparation for the ritual had begun after he became aware of the existence of the Ten Laws of the World.
Even the intentional, forced failure at the end to obtain transcendent magic.
Would it be a mistake to feel that the series of events up to now had felt strangely rushed?
No, would it be a mistake to feel that things had flowed unusually smoothly?
“At first, I thought the cause was you… but now that I’ve come this far, I think I understand.”
Lennok slowly lifted his gaze and mumbled.
“That wasn’t the reason. There was a much grander inevitability at play.”
“…”
“From the beginning, the outcome of this Ascension Ritual was predetermined.”
The story he heard that day when he had a divination regarding the success or failure of the Ascension Ritual.
The [Turning Point] that he couldn’t prepare for, but would recognize when the moment arrived.
Only after reaching the end of the ritual and standing before the line did Lennok faintly understand its meaning.
The true meaning of the divination that said he would kill a god to achieve his desired outcome.
That wasn’t a remark referring to Lennok, but rather—
“Unbelievable.”
Dadam, gazing at Lennok’s back with empty eyes, opened her mouth.
“Are you maintaining your consciousness yourself, without any interference, during the Ascension Ritual? That’s astonishing.”
“…”
The final stage of the Ascension Ritual.
At this moment, when the ritual’s caster was dismantling and destroying himself, constantly remolding himself anew.
In the heart of destruction and creation that continued through an eternity of time, Lennok regained his ego without any external intervention.
This very feeling of omnipotence, where everything proceeded as desired, was the power located on the opposite side of the answer Lennok had chosen.
It was a miracle that stood in stark contrast to Lennok’s answer that the process was more important than the result, and an outcome that should not have occurred in this place.
Dadam, observing the Ascension Ritual, understood why Lennok was awake and was marveling at that fact.
“You regained your ego during the process of endlessly destroying and creating yourself. You are more exceptional than any mortal I have ever seen in my life.”
Dadam said in a low voice, as if stating a plain fact.
“But precisely because of that, you hesitate and agonize at the final moment.”
“…”
“Is it alright to ascend like this? That wouldn’t have been the outcome you desired.”
Lennok remained silent.
Dadam spoke as if understanding Lennok’s thoughts.
“Once you cross that line, you cannot return. Once you make a choice, you cannot undo it.”
“…”
“Wasn’t it because there was only one chance that you wanted to cherish your choice?”
The Ascendant’s question, as if she knew Lennok’s answer to some extent.
The transcendent’s exchange, as if vaguely guessing who Lennok was.
But Lennok found himself not surprised by Dadam’s words.
It wasn’t strange. Those who sought to transcend the world often understood Lennok in this way.
Perhaps through the transcendence she had gained, she had peered into Lennok’s essence, vaguely guessing it by comparing it to the answer she had found.
“If you wish, I won’t stop you, but ultimately, it wouldn’t have been what you truly desired.”
The Ascendant, slowly moving her steps, asked calmly.
“Or, is it just because you can?”
“…Yes.”
Naturally, his voice came out.
Lennok slowly lifted his gaze and replied.
“You’re right. Maybe it’s just because I can. Perhaps it’s something I naturally must do the moment I realize I can.”
“…”
“Perhaps all my days lived were for this very moment. But…”
Lennok closed his eyes.
“I shouldn’t cross the line here. I think I understand even that.”
If you cross the line, you can arrive.
If you step on the line, you can ascend.
Just as things one couldn’t do well as a child become natural upon adulthood.
At some point, Lennok vaguely knew he could do that.
And that precisely because it was so easy and simple, he should be wary of it.
‘Choice’ was Lennok’s power.
Therefore, Lennok’s choices were irreversible and had to be more careful and cautious than anything else.
Wasn’t it because he knew there was only one chance that he could cherish this moment so much?
Having walked this far for the belief that the process was more important than the result, he could now understand, participating in the ritual.
If he crosses this line, everything crumbles.
If he crosses this line, Lennok’s answer distorts.
Just as something he considered insignificant as a child, he later realized was dangerous after becoming an adult.
At some point, Lennok realized that this was a very dangerous choice.
But, even so—
“…”
Lennok’s footsteps naturally moved towards the line before him.
Thump, thump.
From beyond the vast Consciousness Space, footsteps that shouldn’t be heard seemed audible.
The closer he approached the line, the more his senses seemed to recede and fade.
Only the Ascendant’s empty gaze was felt from behind him.
“Even so, do you intend to proceed?”
“…Well.”
Lennok said.
“Perhaps I’m just trying to settle this matter at this moment.”
“…”
“I’ve been contemplating your purpose throughout the ritual’s preparation.”
Lennok replied as he walked towards the line.
“At first, I thought you coveted the Mirror itself. Then, I suspected you might be extracting the Ten Laws of the World to reach a higher state.”
“…”
“But only after reaching this point do I understand. In the end, your goal wasn’t the Mirror, nor magic. Those were merely means to meet someone.”
Lennok lifted his gaze.
“I see a fact I couldn’t perceive even after hearing the divination. That the outcome of this ritual was predetermined from the start… I’ve only just realized that now.”
“…Adamant Thunder.”
“I’ll state it clearly here.”
Lennok slowly turned his body at the line and spoke.
“Even if I cross this line, I won’t ‘arrive’. That’s because someone from long ago already obtained that result.”
“…”
“One inevitably ‘arrives’ when crossing the line through the Ascension Ritual. I’ve only now realized that this very ‘predetermined outcome’ already belongs to someone else.”
He wasn’t trying to cross the line to succeed in the Ascension Ritual.
Nor was he waiting for Dadam to mock or antagonize the Ascendant.
It’s just that, thinking about it, there were inconsistencies in both Dadam’s actions and her objectives.
From offering the Ascension Ruin as compensation to motivate Lennok, to using the Mirror to encourage the Ascension Ritual.
Even the success or failure of the ritual mentioned in the divination didn’t quite align with Lennok himself.
Even the existence of the [Turning Point], which couldn’t be prepared for in advance but was believed to be recognizable when the time came.
Only after reaching the end of the ritual did Lennok realize that the divination wasn’t pointing to him.
The culmination of all events that had continued bewilderingly since the Ascendant’s appearance.
The single key that would resolve all these questions was—
“My apologies, Ascendant.”
Lennok took a step.
“I understand why you orchestrated this, wanting to meet someone, but this is the Ascension Ritual I started and brought to its conclusion.”
“…”
“If so, I don’t think I can hand over this opportunity now that I’ve come this far.”
He slowly turned his body, redirecting his steps towards the line.
Normally, the moment he crosses this line, he should ‘arrive’.
The moment he steps on this line and walks beyond, there is a ‘predetermined outcome’.
But precisely because of that, Lennok was certain that he wouldn’t reach Level 9 even if he crossed the line at this moment.
It wasn’t just because Lennok had awakened his ego within the pure flow.
Nor was it because he realized this moment’s outcome was contrary to Lennok’s answer.
It was simply because he understood that ‘someone else,’ not Lennok, existed beyond this line.
And because he instinctively knew that Dadam had also been aware of it from the beginning.
The Mirror, connecting to one’s past self.
Dadam’s proposal, asking Lennok, not herself, to dispose of it.
Dadam’s true wish, which she sought to achieve through him, was—
“Adamant Thunder, I am—”
WHOOSH!!
Simultaneously with Dadam’s low call, he crossed the line without hesitation.
At the same time, everything that made up Lennok felt as if it was being pulled endlessly upward.
Up, further up.
Not a physically existing sky or universe, but ascending to a higher realm where existence could reach and attain enlightenment.
So far and distant that everything in the mortal world felt meaningless, then so utterly remote that everything was forgotten.
He witnessed a miracle beyond the infinite and boundless transcendence, beyond even Lennok’s own spirituality to perceive.
This was the future Lennok himself would inevitably reach if he used the Ascension Ritual.
It was the ‘predetermined outcome’ itself, so certain that he himself had been convinced of it for a long time.
If so, what awaited above was not Lennok, but—
WHIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRL!!!!!!
An afterimage where everything distorted and scattered into lines of light.
He opened his eyes on an infinitely vast plain.
The back of a man sitting casually before an Endless Wall stretching up to the dark sky.
[You’re late.]
“…Yes.”
‘Someone’ whom he could now only meet in this manner.
All reasons were contained within that empty back, marred by noise and crumbling away.
The reason Dadam, having sought out Vulcan, desired such a large-scale method to destroy the Mirror.
The reason the outcome of the Ascension Ritual flowed smoothly, as if predetermined from the start.
The reason there were subtle inconsistencies in the divination Lennok received.
The Turning Point, which couldn’t be prepared for, but was believed to be recognizable when the time came.
The being who killed a god to achieve a desired outcome.
The Director spoke.
[I’ve been waiting.]