Chapter 466: Where Promises Intersect (7)

After sending Chen back, Lennok closed the door and stepped onto the grassy area where the coffin lay.

As he carefully pushed aside the dusty, old coffin lid, a slow creaking sound echoed.

Creak…!!

A faint crack deep inside the worn coffin.

It wasn’t merely stationary; it subtly writhed and shifted within.

Lennok knew it wasn’t just a flaw in the coffin, but one of the few remaining cracks in this world.

It was the fundamental reason for Palgung Fortress’s existence, a crack in the world still protected within the fortress.

Though not large enough to directly connect to the Outer Sea, it was sufficient for observing, studying, and understanding the fundamental cross-section of the world.

After facing Apostle Walter Martinez, Lennok had devoted himself here to deepening his understanding of space-time and mastering how to manipulate it, but…

‘I couldn’t quite grasp the sensation of manipulating time.’

“…”

Could he now acquire the sense of the timeline he’d given up on back then?

It might not be impossible. The gap between the Lennok who defeated the Apostle then and the Lennok now was almost imperceptible even to himself.

But even with a clear understanding, Lennok had no immediate intention of touching the timeline.

Only after reaching this point, after taking a step forward and looking back, could he truly comprehend how delicate yet relative a concept time was.

He could be certain because he had once taken the Archangel’s Tear, which restored his physical condition.

A terribly inefficient, unfair, and extremely dangerous ability, considering the resources that had to be invested.

It was clear, considering that even Pandemonium’s Director didn’t particularly favor manipulating timelines.

At this point, rashly tampering with it would likely bring misfortune.

So Lennok cleanly shed his lingering attachment to time manipulation, which he hadn’t yet mastered, and focused on his original task.

He ran his fingers over the crack as if caressing it, and deeply flowed magic and consciousness into it.

Kiiing…!!

A closed world where the cycle of causality had stopped. A very faint crack within that world.

But if even a tiny crack existed, could it truly be deemed closed?

In that sense, the Well of the Codex, which served as a [gateway] directly connected to the Outer Sea, was a very peculiar concept in Lennok’s eyes.

Furthermore, if there were several such gateways, not just one well, then why did all the Ascendants claim this world was closed and awaiting its end?

Did the halted flow of causality not circulate through the gateways?

‘A meaningless question.’

Without clear knowledge about the flow of causality or the existence of gateways, only curiosity would lead to endless speculation.

Lennok quickly cleared his mind and resolved to stick to his original goal.

This was, in other words, a cross-section through which the foundational elements of the world could be observed, and in a way, a passage to the Outer Sea.

Of course, with Lennok’s current Hierarchy and physical form, he couldn’t send anything out or bring anything in through this needle-thin crack, but observing was different.

He touched his left eye, activating his purple Mystic Eye, then pushed the shared vision directly into the crack.

Simultaneously, Lennok’s consciousness flickered momentarily, feeling as if it was drifting infinitely far away.

Kiiing…!!

“Ugh…”

Even the unconscious groan stretched out slowly, caught in the flow of time.

Within the crack, moving much slower than his consciousness, he slowly formed a hand seal and drew up magic power.

Woooong…!!

Along with the strange sensation of boiling magic power assembling and stacking like blocks, a series of sounds like keys fitting into locks echoed.

Onto the achromatic wave thus prepared, he slowly poured his own Mind Imprint.

[Domain Expansion: Observation of Divergence Points]

Fwoosh!!!

At that moment, the void that erupted from beneath Lennok’s feet engulfed the entire Bicheo, conjuring a massive dark chasm.

A pitch-black void, devoid of any light.

Only the golden ripples spreading beneath his feet and the coffin next to him remained visible beyond the void.

Fully realizing the insane rate at which magic power was consumed from the moment the Domain was expanded, Lennok slowly stood up.

This was practically the first time he had expanded his Domain without an opponent to defeat since he first awakened it.

The reason he projected his Mind Imprint once more at this point, leaving numerous strong foes and difficulties behind, was elsewhere.

Kebaek’s final Geas, which even The Clown, who spearheaded the plan, didn’t fully understand.

‘Challenge Ascension once more.’

Why did Kebaek, the moment the Geas to challenge Ascension awakened, throw himself out of the Well without hesitation?

Why did he rush out into the Outer Sea, making himself a bullet toward the apocalypse?

Why did such a grand plan proceed without any significant preliminary work, simply by activating the hidden final Geas?

He kept replaying and thinking about it in his mind, and finally, he was certain.

That the method of challenging Ascension wasn’t merely about transcending Hierarchy and seizing qualification.

Kebaek undoubtedly chose the closest method to challenge Ascension once more at that moment and moved according to the Geas.

That method was simply rushing out into the Outer Sea and throwing himself towards an incomprehensible apocalypse.

The more he slowly chewed over and realized the meaning of those words, the more Lennok understood Pandemonium’s true objective.

Not a single word Myeong had told Lennok had been wrong.

The clash of two Ascendants. The opening of a passage to the Outer Sea and the witnessing of the apocalypse.

Amidst that, Lennok had come to understand what Pandemonium’s leadership truly desired.

The ending that comes when the sky opens is not orchestrated by the apocalypses of the Outer Sea.

Only those monsters, possessing incomprehensible power and potential, swimming in the Outer Sea, could avoid the impending destruction and move on to the next.

Pandemonium wasn’t merely trying to save the world by opening a path to the next.

Perhaps, what the Director desired was to transcend the endlessly cycling world and the apocalypse beyond the Outer Sea…

“…”

He stopped his endless thoughts.

Hadn’t he told Hylaea that there was no point in dwelling on unanswered questions for too long?

What Lennok was attempting now was not something that could be successfully done with a complicated mind.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated and projected all remaining Mind Imprint onto the platform he had prepared with all his might.

Amidst the dark void of the Domain, a dazzling golden kaleidoscope began to emerge.

Wooooooong!!!!

A magnificent roar, like dozens of airplane engines simultaneously revving and erupting, echoed through the void.

Dozens of kaleidoscopic patterns began to appear above his head, encircling Lennok as if looking down on him.

But Lennok ignored the scenes reflected within the dazzling golden vista and focused his entire mind on the old coffin at his feet.

To be precise, into the faint trace, not even a handful, of the world’s crack subtly writhing inside the coffin.

The kaleidoscope that projected Lennok’s Mind Imprint was not an omnipotent power that drew in all existing possibilities.

It was a power that manifested by observing and revisiting possibilities and divergence points connected to Lennok himself, the owner of the Domain, from a future perspective.

That’s why the Domains Lennok had used so far were also manifested as an extension of powers connected to or possessed by Lennok himself, wasn’t it?

It was the same now.

Because he had once witnessed the true nature of the Outer Sea, a scene he had only heard rumors about but never directly seen.

Because he had truly realized what the possibilities existing outside this world meant.

Lennok was now able to attempt to expand his Domain based on possibilities related to the power of the Outer Sea.

He was certain that this place, the crack in the fortress, was the most environmentally similar location to the Well of the Codex.

Even if it was a crack too small to directly reflect the Outer Sea, it was undeniably the place most connected to the outside of the world in some sense.

If Lennok could manifest a new Domain through the possibilities of the Outer Sea, as he intended.

If he could confirm his own path and divergence points from that manifested future perspective.

Wouldn’t he also be able to ascertain the fundamental reason why he awakened in this world?

Crossing both hands over the crack, he gathered his Mind Imprint and spread it directly over the crack.

Hwoooong!!

The kaleidoscope that emerged beyond Lennok’s crossed hands instantly turned a murky black and blazed.

The scene inside the kaleidoscope, which had received the possibilities of the Outer Sea using the crack as a catalyst, began to distort.

Zzt, zzzzzzt…!!!

“Could it be…?”

He hadn’t expected to get a meaningful result with just one attempt, yet the scene beyond the kaleidoscope was transforming and trying to reflect something.

Lennok, his face rigid, could barely breathe as he gazed at the kaleidoscope that had absorbed the Outer Sea’s possibilities.

As the pitch-black, speckled scene inside the kaleidoscope slowly twisted and cleared, it began to reflect something in Lennok’s eyes.

It was text.

Bizarrely twisted letters that couldn’t be described by the languages of this continent.

Letters made of jet-black mud writhed like living things, changing their forms and structures, raging wildly beyond the kaleidoscope.

[Where is it.]

Surprisingly, Lennok understood what it meant.

[I cannot see.]

[Call me.]

The sporadically connected letters moved as if alive, changing their meaning and will.

A call as if searching for someone unseen. It seemed to be unaware of Lennok’s presence, even though he was right there.

At that moment, the letters reflected inside the kaleidoscope instantly swelled in number, growing to hundreds, thousands, completely filling the kaleidoscope.

[You are not keeping your promiseWhere is my nameYou defied a great willI am hungryIt is so coldI curse youI am walking a thorny pathWhy can’t I feel itWhere is your consciousnessGive me what you carryOffer what you promised]

Intense letters filling the kaleidoscope and pouring out.

By their sheer power, the boundary of the kaleidoscope, twisting and rotating pitch-black, warped and convulsed as if the letters would burst out.

Craaack…!!!!

“Damn it…!!”

An intense and terrifying mental influence, as if it would immediately overwhelm and invade his mind, trying to devour him in return.

Only then did Lennok begin to understand the meaning of the strange phenomenon unfolding before him, and he gritted his teeth.

What was trying to break through the kaleidoscope’s power of its own volition was not mere text.

It was simply a collection of immensely powerful and transcendental wills, projecting their intent as if creating something out of nothing in the empty space.

This was not the result Lennok had expected or hoped for.

He drew up all remaining magic power, expanded his Mind Imprint with full force, instantly regained control of the kaleidoscope, and rewound and restored it.

This space was a Domain manifested by Lennok’s absolute will and Mind Imprint.

If it was a possibility he had gotten his hands on, it would be stranger if he couldn’t control it with his own power.

The kaleidoscope, twisted into murky black, returned to normal, and the scene inside also began to revert.

As if noticing this fact, the letters reflected inside writhed desperately, spewing incomprehensible messages.

[Don’t go.]

[Why are you going.]

[I already gave it to you, why isn’t it there]

[Something is wrong, something…]

Creak…!!

Fully closing and canceling the kaleidoscope’s gate was several times more strenuous than expanding it.

The moment Lennok, having exhausted all his remaining magic power, barely managed to close the divergence point’s gate, the Domain expansion ended, and Lennok’s body was thrown onto the wide grass.

Thud!!

“Ugh…!!”

Swallowing the nausea rising in his throat, Lennok lost his balance and collapsed.

His fingertips, which had been touching the crack, were deathly pale and cold and stiff.

Lennok stared blankly at the lingering trace of the void on his fingertips, and quietly murmured.

“It wasn’t there…”

Despite using the crack as a catalyst to open a divergence point, Lennok himself was not visible.

Instead, beyond the kaleidoscope were only unknown mental influences, desperately searching for someone.

Who exactly were they searching for?

Who was the person they called out with resentment and hatred, affection and wonder, despair and sorrow?

Lennok already realized, even though he didn’t want to know.

The Lennok who chose the Outer Sea’s possibility as a divergence point and went outside the world no longer existed there.

All that remained were countless emotions and remnants created as its consequence.

Despite observing divergence points many times before, this was the first time something like this had happened.

Was it because the Lennok who chose the Outer Sea’s divergence point and went outside the world was already dead?

Or was it because that possibility already existed in reality, not just in a future timeline?

“…”

A chilling dread. A fear different in nature from death, yet comparable to it.

An unimaginable possibility he vaguely knew but never wanted to consider.

“Damn it…”

Gritting his teeth, Lennok stood up, walked out of the Bicheo, and pulled out his phone.

“…Jenny, it’s me. There’s someone I need to find.”

[That’s what you call me for after a month?]

Hearing Jenny’s voice, muttering incredulously, Lennok gave a weak laugh.

“Can I ask a favor?”

[…Wait, before that, I have a visitor. Can you come to the bar first?]

“What?”

Jenny whispered, sounding slightly troubled, from the other end of the line.

[Aris Richellen is looking for you. Seems she has something to talk about.]