Chapter 456: Pyeonram (2)
Pyeonram, coiled around the colossal altar that rose high, observed all directions.
Above the spiraling, writhing altar’s sky, space shattered and cracked, revealing a glimpse of a vast, dark Outer Sea beyond.
The great Ascendant, awakened from a long slumber and summoned into reality the moment the Well opened.
Simply existing within the same space-time was enough to unleash an irresistible pressure that crushed and bound one’s entire body.
An existence so shocking that even Lennok, manipulating his magical threads in the middle of the stairs, had to hold his breath.
Lennok, intently watching the figure from behind his mask, muttered unconsciously.
“A serpent guarding the Well…”
Who would have thought that wasn’t merely a metaphorical expression, but a stark description of Pyeonram’s true nature?
He thought he hadn’t dismissed a single word the Pontiff said back then… but that thought itself was a misconception.
The Ascendant Pyeonram was not human, but a colossal, intelligent serpent itself.
“Crazy bastard…”
“Did he really awaken an Ascendant?!”
“Is that… the Spirit Serpent of the Southern Continent, once called the jungle’s god…?”
The superhumans, unable to properly form words, gritted their teeth and slowly retreated.
The Redding Revolutionary Army, the Ability Awakening Vanguard, the Headro Warlords. Those who had been rushing at Lennok as if to kill him just moments ago, now created distance as if on cue.
Because the human bodies standing before it instinctively cried out that they were nothing more than prey.
Not even a human or a humanoid race with similar intelligence, but a pure spirit beast itself.
Was it born in the body of a beast, refined itself, inherited a sacred duty, and gained qualifications equivalent to ascension?
Lennok probably wouldn’t understand what happened for that colossal serpent to reach its current position in this human-dominated world, even if he heard it directly.
That’s why Lennok could understand why information about Pyeonram was not well known.
It’s unrealistic enough for a human to reach Hierarchy 9, but who could comprehend a monster, not even a humanoid, reaching that level?
The story that one of the magic beasts living in this jungle broke through astronomical odds to achieve that miracle is simply hard to believe, even if told verbally.
Only those who faced Pyeonram here and now, and recognized its presence, could understand.
The most powerful and greatest predator in this vast jungle.
That an Ascendant, who had not only reached the apex of the food chain but transcended even the basic law of the jungle, appeared before their eyes.
Pyeonram quietly observed the people, then slowly tilted its uniquely sharp pupils downwards.
“A landscape from memory…”
Unlike the other superhumans, the serpent did not use telepathy.
It simply spoke clear human language, to an extent unbelievable for a reptile twisting its tongue.
Lennok didn’t know it, but it was evidence that she had once tried to interact closely and socialize with humans.
“Where am I, right now?”
“…”
Everyone held their breath at the Ascendant’s quiet monologue.
Those who didn’t understand the meaning of the words were terrified, and those who did understand were puzzled.
Lennok, too, realized Pyeonram’s words were strange and listened intently.
‘It’s speaking illogically. Is the timeline distorted?’
According to The Clown, this massive ancient ruin and altar was a place created for the purpose of offering sacrifices to the Ascendant Pyeonram.
Even if a long time had passed and only traces remained, shouldn’t it remember the form and purpose of the plaza?
But the overwhelming Transcendent, crushing the assembly with its presence, seemed to have no grasp of where it was.
“I thought I was having an endless dream… Am I awake from sleep now…?”
Naturally, the direction of the question turned towards The Clown, who was still standing before her.
The individual who seemed to have opened the Well at the end of the altar, with an appearance far removed from human, and the alien magic flowing from its body.
The first being to greet Pyeonram. It was, in a way, natural for the next question to be directed at The Clown.
But The Clown’s subsequent answer was completely different from what everyone expected.
[What’s the meaning of whether it’s a dream or reality?]
Where they were. Why Pyeonram was awakened. Why the Well was opened.
The Clown told Pyeonram nothing. It merely whispered in a slithering tone, its burning eyes oozing light.
[Don’t you yourself decide where to stand on the boundary between dream and reality?]
“You’re trying to mislead me…”
The colossal serpent slowly lowered its head and closed its eyes.
As if trying to retrieve a very old, forgotten memory.
But that was only for a moment; Pyeonram opened its eyes with a regretful look and slowly muttered.
“However, those words are not wrong. Many things I cannot recall… But I know that two are absent.”
[…]
“The previous Lighthouse Keeper and Jindun… I sense no trace of them anywhere on this star. Has the moment we desired and feared finally arrived?”
Lennok inwardly gave a bitter laugh at the transcendent sensing ability, unbelievable even when heard with his own ears.
Did it mean it had confirmed all Ascendants’ life signs while sitting in the middle of the jungle?
The Clown, hearing Pyeonram’s somewhat despondent voice, quietly began to form hand signs.
[In the cycle of life and death, where is the end?]
A truly audacious act: casting a spell right before an Ascendant’s eyes.
But Pyeonram, unmistakably aware of the sight, simply stared at The Clown.
[But if you wish, I might be able to help you awaken from your dream, if only for a moment.]
“…A dream?”
[Heehee, then do you think this pathetic landscape, where the cities and civilizations you cherished and loved have been ruined and abandoned, is reality?]
“…”
Above Pyeonram’s silent head, Reiya’s song still echoed at this very moment.
A melody that shook the entire plaza, yet conversely, quietly seeped into one’s heart, enveloped Pyeonram.
As if all the previous singing had merely been a warm-up, the sound volume decreased, but its density increased.
A quiet humming, resonating as if prepared solely for a single Ascendant.
At that subtle melody, like the sound of a flute, Pyeonram listened as if enchanted.
The Clown didn’t miss the opportunity, whispering as it completed its hand signs.
Crack…!!
[You understand, yet you wish to feign ignorance. Even a lowly creature like myself desires to quickly awaken from a nightmare.]
With those words, a deep green flame ignited from The Clown’s fingertips.
The flame, slowly swaying between its five fingers, was much larger than The Clown’s body, but before Pyeonram, it was as small and precarious as a mere candle flame.
But from the moment that flame ignited, Pyeonram’s pupils began to tremble slightly, following its flicker.
[Once you fall into a comfortable sleep, you’ll awaken from your dream as if by magic and return to reality…]
“…”
The Clown’s actions, whose intent was incomprehensible.
The other superhumans, watching in bated breath, gritted their teeth and cursed.
“Completely insane… What is it thinking?”
“Is it trying to play The Clown before an Ascendant?”
“Does it think it can prolong its life even a little by doing that?”
No matter how deranged, is it truly planning to mess around even before such a Transcendent?
The others, unable to understand The Clown’s actions, uttered chaotic curses amidst their confusion.
Lennok, belatedly realizing what The Clown was trying to do, let out a hollow laugh.
“Is it planning to trick an Ascendant with an illusion… It’s certainly truly insane.”
The Clown’s somehow detached and utterly composed words and actions. Reiya’s voice, echoing without interruption even as the situation escalated to this point.
And, surprisingly, the Ascendant’s seemingly wavering reaction to this sequence of events.
Considering the abilities of the two, only one conclusion could be drawn.
The Clown intended to cast an illusion on Pyeonram, deceiving its perception until Kebaek entered the Well.
The arrogance of daring to deceive a Transcendent challenging ascension with an 8-level Hierarchy.
Who would dare assert that the very idea wasn’t a delusion born of madness?
But what was even more astonishing was the fact that the attempt itself didn’t seem entirely futile.
The serpent’s pupils, which had been quietly staring at The Clown’s flame, at some point began to slowly rotate, then slowly close.
Shwoooosh…!
Simultaneously, the overwhelming presence that had been crushing the entire plaza slowly faded, distorted, and began to loosen its grip.
A miracle: a mere 8-level illusionist succeeding in casting an illusion on a fully realized Ascendant.
It was an outcome almost unbelievable to witness, yet such a thing wouldn’t happen without reason.
Lennok inwardly surmised the cause and effect, and nodded.
‘Pyeonram’s memory is certainly not intact. To this extent, it must be suffering from a curse-like oblivion.’
The Pontiff’s words that the serpent guarding the Well had forgotten its duty.
The Blood Spirit Tribe’s tale that it had forgotten its given duty while engrossed in it.
The message that when the serpent’s time reversed, everything in the jungle lost its meaning.
If all these circumstances pointed to similar information, the answer was clear.
If Pyeonram wasn’t merely suffering from forgetfulness, but had fallen into such a long slumber that it couldn’t even remember what it had been doing.
If The Clown and Reiya were aware of that fact and intended to actively exploit it.
They might be able to turn the delusion of trapping an Ascendant in an illusion on the boundary between dream and reality into a reality.
Through Reiya’s song, Pyeonram’s mind would be forcibly kept in a state of calm, misleading Pyeonram itself to accept The Clown’s illusion.
A reckless gamble that could never be attempted except in this fleeting moment, right after awakening from a long sleep with unclear memories.
The Clown was trying to succeed in a way no one else could have imagined, right here and now.
“I see… Everything was a dream…”
The illusory flame, fully conjured and ignited by an 8-level illusionist.
It was a type of localized Domain, created by compressing The Clown’s distorted Mind Imprint and materializing it.
Beyond merely deceiving and twisting reality, the spell amplified to its limit by The Clown’s own Geas had reached a level where it could manipulate cause and effect.
True illusion is not about forcibly imposing and coercing the opponent.
The epitome of contradiction, so intricately perfected that the target accepts they themselves desired the illusion.
To overturn the perception of illusion itself, making the target genuinely desire it within their heart.
Pyeonram’s colossal pupils slowly closed, and its massive head began to rest between the altar’s structures.
“It was a terrible dream… I don’t want to dream it ever again… I want to wake up quickly and return to my children… to my children…”
[They must still be waiting.]
The Clown whispered softly.
[Once you seek peaceful slumber within the dream, then you can truly return to reality.]
“Yes, I hope so…”
The colossal serpent’s body coiled around the altar and settled down as if falling asleep. A silence so profound that not even a breath could be heard.
A miracle that forced even those who hadn’t understood The Clown’s scheme to deceive the Ascendant into slumber, to finally comprehend it.
Just as Pyeonram’s head twisted and settled as if asleep between the altar’s colossal rings.
The serpent, with its eyes closed, murmured.
“But child, it has been hundreds of years since I last dreamt.”
[…What?]
At that moment, Pyeonram’s tail vanished from its spot, then slammed into The Clown’s body, which was standing on the altar.
Kwoooosh!!!!
The Clown’s long, contorted body was sent flying at supersonic speed, smashing dozens of meters away beneath the altar.
[Cough…!!]
Pyeonram opened its eyes, looking down at The Clown’s trembling body as it let out an incomprehensible shriek.
Simultaneously, an incomparable, colossal pressure began to crush everything around, and the atmosphere began to rupture.
A storm raged.
Kwooooooooooh!!!!
“I loved everything that remained in the flowing river of time.”
The Ascendant, lifting its head from where it had rested on the altar, murmured.
“The children buried in the sands of memory. Everything I couldn’t grasp, everything I let slip away.”
“Did it fail…!!”
For reasons unknown, Pyeonram rejected The Clown’s illusion and rose.
Realizing this, Lennok immediately moved away from his spot, using a flicker spell to put distance between himself and the altar.
He looked for The Clown’s body, which had been struck by Pyeonram’s tail and buried among the debris.
“This is…”
Its long, contorted, devil-like form remained, but its upper and lower body were on the verge of being severed.
A truly horrific sight, making it doubtful if it was even alive.
[Ughgehgehgeh…!!]
As Lennok hesitated, The Clown, eyes blazing with fiery light, let out a bizarre scream.
Crack!
Simultaneously, its elongated body began to reattach and regenerate, as if finding its own place.
“…”
It was almost as if he was looking at a monstrous lump, not an illusionist.
The Clown muttered blankly.
[Time was tight, and I failed… Should I have just waited for backup after all?]
“What?”
Just as Lennok was about to ask again, the jungle sky, which had been turning dark, became completely black.
At the same time, monstrous screams and roars rapidly closed the distance from beyond the dense thicket.
[Haaaaaaaaaa!!!]
A horrifying sensation, as if tens of thousands were screaming simultaneously.
Even having experienced it once before, it was difficult to endure. No, perhaps it was precisely because he now truly grasped its presence.
If Lennok was like this, how the other superhumans would react was as clear as day.
“It’s Kebaek… The corrupted monster has arrived…!!”
“No, no… Already… This isn’t right…”
“It’s different, different from the plan… This sound… it’s calling me… calling me…”
[It’s caaaaalliiiing meeEEE!!!!]
At the same time, the bodies of several superhumans who couldn’t endure it turned completely black, and with chains fastened around their necks, they were dragged into the thicket beyond.
Immediately after, the ground cratered as if the entire earth had collapsed, and a colossal black orb appeared at the outermost edge of the plaza.
[Haaaaaaaaaaaaaahk!!!]
A horrifying appearance of tens of thousands of bodies, all stained black, clumped together and flailing their arms.
No intelligence was visible anywhere in that form; only desperate screams echoed, as if it were draped in all the resentment and hatred of this world.
The moment Pyeonram’s Well opened, it immediately fixed its direction and traversed thousands of meters in a single bound.
In the process, the jungle’s nature was damaged and destroyed beyond repair, but that too was merely a minor issue.
The colossal serpent, having struggled to open its eyes, and the monster, which had become a living mass of Geas, faced each other.
The plaza, which had seemed endlessly vast even when hundreds of people roamed freely, now instantly appeared full and narrow with the confrontation of the two Ascendants.
Pyeonram and Kebaek.
Transcendants who had grasped the qualifications to challenge ascension, now fewer than ten remaining on this star.
One had forgotten its duty in the endlessly flowing river of time, and the other had been driven mad, crushed by an irresistible fate.
Despite possessing the power and qualifications to reach the apex, they were still pitifully alive and moving.
Even Lennok forgot to breathe, simply staring intently at the confrontation of the two Ascendants.
How many had longed for and awaited this moment?
How many were secretly holding their breath, stealing a glimpse of this moment?
With the colossal Well, offering a glimpse of the Outer Sea’s landscape, above their heads,
the two Transcendants, their bodies and minds shattered, faced each other for the first time.
[I’ll have to completely revise the plan…]
The Clown, pitifully buried in a corner of the plaza’s wreckage, trembled and muttered.
[Pyeonram refused to sleep. A war of Ascendants will break out.]