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“That means in order to mitigate the concerns related to Boboris’ prophecy, we need to revive this god named Asha Dubulola.”

“That’s the bottom line, but…there’s a problem.”

In the first place, Chi-Woo didn’t expect this task to be easy. If even the Last Dragon was talking about it like this, he would probably have to go through unimaginable difficulty and hardships to accomplish the task. But if he could first secure Asha Dubulola’s location, reviving the god would be the easy part.

“Currently, it’s considered impossible to revive Asha Dubulola,” the Last Dragon said, and her following words surpassed even Chi-Woo’s expectations. “Because it’s not possible to revive a god that doesn’t exist in the present time.”

Chi-Woo doubted his own ears. What did she just say…?

“Asha Dubulola…isn’t an existing god?”

“Currently,” the Last Dragon replied. “A god’s disappearance isn’t such a strange thing. A countless number of gods have disappeared and emerged since the Age of Gods.” Just like how Kabbalah came into existence from a wish and disappeared after being forgotten, it was understandable that a god that existed in the past would cease to exist in the present. But under their current circumstances, they couldn’t merely accept this fact. They needed to revive Asha Dubulola somehow, and only then would they be able to protect Shalyh.

Chi-Woo would only be able to revive the god by offering merits and whatnot if said god was alive, yet Asha Dubulola had already disappeared.

“That’s why I told you.” The Last Dragon smiled bitterly. “It’s a prophecy that makes no sense.”

Yes, it was as the Last Dragon said. They couldn’t create something out of anything. It was nonsensical.

“…What happened to the god?” after a long pause, Chi-Woo asked.

“…It was a long time ago.” The Last Dragon raised her head and looked up at the sky as if she was recalling the old times. “A very long time ago. Since this is the twenty-sixth time…yes, it was when Liber met its twenty-fifth crisis.”

“Twenty-fifth crisis?”

“What? Did you think this is the first time this planet has faced a crisis since its creation?”

Like how a defeated demon lord could be resurrected centuries later to threaten humanity again, a crisis was never a one-time thing. Overcoming a crisis simply granted them a temporary postponement and time to continue their civilization for a bit longer. The Sernitas was the exception among exceptions, and that wasn’t the case for Liber. Like most other planets, they encountered crises and solved them again and again.

“Well, it might not be comparable to the twenty-sixth crisis, but things were no joke during that time either. I thought the planet was going to be ruined once and for all, and there could be nothing worse than what was happening then.”

The situation was so dire that the unimaginable happened and humanity, the Cassiubia League, and even the Demon Empire joined hands.

“It was then…when Liber was being saved from its twenty-fifth crisis, that Asha Dubulola ceased to exist,” the Last Dragon said bitterly and continued slowly, “Because of one hero.”

***

“…What’s the matter?” Though the girl was pretending to be calm, her voice couldn’t help but tremble. “I did as you told me.” She teared up as she looked up from her seated position. “I did everything you told me until now.”

She asked again. “You said that you’d save me then.”

She received no answer. “You said you’d save me! You hooked your pinky with mine and promised!” No matter how long she talked, her addressee showed no response. He simply looked down at her with solemn eyes.

“…Spare me.” In the end, she begged for his life. “I have to live.”

“…”

“I can’t die like this. I want to live.” No matter how long she talked, nothing changed. Her addressee showed not the slightest change in expression and remained extremely calm.

“Why…!” Yet she didn’t give up, nor did she despair. She continued to plead for her life. Perhaps all of this was a lie or a joke, she hoped, as she longed desperately to stay alive. In the back, a freckled girl with pigtails stood quietly. She extended her hand but stopped because she knew how many miracles and coincidences they had gone through to reach this point. They finally got here after going through experiences they could never replicate. And above all, the back of the figure standing before the girl was telling her that he was tired; he was sick of it all. He wanted to end it now and was telling her to not to step forward no matter what.

As if he was reaffirming the freckled girl’s thoughts, the wordless figure before them finally spoke. “I’ll let you go painlessly.” It was a calm voice without a hint of hesitation. The girl on the ground opened her eyes wider as she looked up. The sliver of hope in her gaze was soon clouded with darkness: confusion, rage, shame, fear, sorrow… All sorts of negative emotions whirled inside, and at the end of it, a curse burst out. It wasn’t simply a curse intended to kill her target, but pure venom, filled with all the vengeance and resentment that existed in the world.

The girl shrieked out this terrible and foul curse, yet it failed to reach the figure looking down at her. And the figure simply moved his hands with unwavering eyes.

***

“…That was the seed and source of the twenty-fifth crisis and Asha Dubulola’s fall,” the Last Dragon said calmly. “It happened because of him. Asha Dubulola poured out all sorts of poison and broke into many pieces…” She had been the freckled girl with pigtails who simply watched the situation unfold. Recalling what had happened always left a bitter taste in her mouth. If she hadn’t turned away and instead had reached out at the time…what would’ve happened then?

“If Asha Dubulola was broken to pieces, can’t we just collect the pieces and revive the god?”

The Last Dragon smiled sadly in response. “Pieces of her resentment probably remain.[1] After all, she poured out a curse deep enough to swallow up a whole world and put it in a crisis. But it’s not such a simple matter.” The Last Dragon sighed. “Asha Dubulola was broken very thoroughly at that time. So thoroughly that their godly existence was completely wiped out.”

“Then…” Chi-Woo was speechless. That meant there was really nothing they could do in the present.

“Yes, in the present,” the Last Dragon said after reading Chi-Woo’s mind. “There’s only one way to revive Asha Dubulola. It’s to return to the past.” In other words, they needed to change the cause of the result. He needed to stop the events leading to Asha Dubulola’s fall before they happened.

The Last Dragon smiled. “Do you think you can do it?”

***

As the Last Dragon had warned him, the story surrounding Asha Dubulola was long, but there was a conclusion in the end. When the Last Dragon warped them back to the Seven Stars office, Yeriel threw a tantrum that she hadn’t finished getting everything she needed. But when Evelyn pointed out that Yeriel had taken everything from the room and had even been crushing the minerals, Yeriel suppressed herself again.

“Remember, the Cassiubia League’s mountain range is always open to you all,” the Last Dragon said. Since she had attended to all the matters she came here for, the Last Dragon got ready to leave. But right before she did, Chi-Woo said, “I have one more…question to ask you.”

“Before we went to retrieve the toharis, you said that you’d tell me the path leading to Asha Dubulola,” Chi-Woo said. That was what was said in the document Noel got from the Cassiubia League. The past and present were opposites of one another, and Chi-Woo didn’t know what the Last Dragon was truly thinking in her heart. The Last Dragon stopped when she was about to take flight.

“I came here as a representative of the Cassiubia League. And…” The Last Dragon turned around and smiled at Chi-Woo. “Didn’t I tell you before? That I’m relaying a prophecy to you and not a request.” With those cryptic parting words, the Last Dragon flew up into the night sky.

When Shalyh became a small dot in her view, the Last Dragon muttered to herself, “It’s surprising.”

She had placed an unbelievable condition: it was for Chi-Woo to go back to the past and undo an event, making it so that it had never happened before. She had told Chi-Woo while being fully aware that she could be treated like a lunatic or a mad person, yet Chi-Woo didn’t say he couldn’t do it; instead, he didn’t appear to oppose the idea. He didn’t necessarily say he would do it, but he didn’t say no either. It was as if he knew a way to surpass time and space and change the past.

“Should I have just told him everything?” The Last Dragon hadn’t actually told Chi-Woo all of Boboris’ prophecy. There was more at the end that she left out. The remaining section was something that nobody else from even the Cassiubia League knew because of how shocking it was.

[If you fail to overturn what has already been turned, wait for your time patiently.]

[You might be able to get the postponement you wished for, but in the end, one that has become complete would swallow everything.]

[But if you manage to overturn what has already been turned, the current four would become three.]

[And not long after, the three would become four again.]

“I’m really looking forward to it. To us from the past,” the Last Dragon let out a short burst of laughter.

***

After being chased for several weeks in a row, Chi-Hyun stopped flying for the first time and landed on the ground. He scanned his surroundings and let out a long sigh.

‘They aren’t following me around anymore.’ When he ruined the Sky Castle and left, the Sernitas had fiercely pursued him. But as days passed, their pursuit slowed down and became less noticeable. It seemed they had a different goal than capturing him or killing him. Regardless, it was impossible for him to run away forever like this. In the very beginning, the Sernitas had mobilized a giant army and launched a siege from the sky to the earth and the waters.

If he was captured like this, even Chi-Hyun wouldn’t be able to escape unscathed. And he already made up his mind to battle in this state. However, his enemy was neither venturing further nor letting him get away. It seemed they were surveilling him so that he wouldn’t escape, which would suggest that they wanted him to calmly stay put instead of going anywhere for a while.

This behavior seemed to mean only one thing, and Chi-Hyun thought his aim was fulfilled to some extent. With this, the choice was passed onto Shalyh. They had to decide whether they would endure with all they had or obediently back away.

‘Please…’ Chi-Hyun looked anxiously in the direction where Shalyh stood.

***

Meanwhile, the Demon Empire was peaceful. The air was chilly and quiet like the calm before the storm. The Demon Empire’s General Assembly finally came to an end. And today, after everything was decided, one great demon walked across the castle alone. She walked down and down until she reached the entrance to a very deep basement. Inside the wide room where there was only one small window, a woman was sitting alone.

The woman sat where the moonlight shone through the window and lit her white hair in mystical lights. She turned around when she heard the door open, and seeing the figure walking inside, Shersha’s mouth opened slightly.

“Bael,” she said.

“Today, the General Assembly came to an end,” Bael said as soon as she came in.

Shersha’s eyes widened. “No.” She shook her head rapidly.

“It was decided that we will respond as soon as the matter is settled. You have to accept it,” Bael said firmly.

“No, Bael. No, please.”

“The legend has jumped inside Sernitas’ territory alone.”

“We—”

“There’s no better time than this.” Shersha was about to say something, but Bael cut her off immediately every time. “I know what you’re worried about, but you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“…”

“That will no longer be enough to shake us.”

Shersha’s eyebrows twitched.

“We’ll soon find the last piece of resentment. Then we will grasp the surest catalyst for our goal,” Bael said calmly and hesitated a bit. “Truthfully, I can’t believe it either, but…I know that guy will come to regret his decision.”

“Regret? Goal?” Shersha said sharply. “All. We Can. Earn. Is postponement.”

Bael’s eyes narrowed.

Shersha said, “We. Can. still. Revert things.”

“…You said it yourself. A prophecy is simply something to bear in mind. You can’t swear upon it,” Bael said coldly and turned away. “So, that’s what I plan to do.”

“Bael!” Shersha cried out pleadingly and shot to her feet, but Bael left and closed the door. She heard Shersha knocking on the door, but she walked up the stairs without hesitation. Even after she passed the basement and reached the first floor, she could still hear the bangs. It was as if Shersha was trying to pull her back somehow.

“I don’t know what she’s trying to hide or protect…” Bael murmured to herself while walking across the corridor. She stopped and looked toward one place. Then she muttered while thinking of one person supposedly with the Sernitas.

“These are the words I need to pass onto you: ‘You should feel the same feeling as we did’.”

Today, Bael made a decision that would decide the fate of the Demon Empire.

“…”

“I’m really looking forward to it. To us from the past,” Bael said. The Last Dragon had told them a path forward after Chi-Hyun jumped in to shake up the existing system. The thoughts, joys, and sorrows of three great existences crossed.

***

Clack. Deep into the night, clacking sounds continued to come out of Chi-Woo’s palm as he contemplated deeply inside his room alone. Every time he moved his hand, something collided against his fingers. Sometime later, the sound stopped, and Chi-Woo gradually opened his hand. The next moment, the die dropped from his palm and fell without stopping.

1. The Last Dragon uses the word sa-nyum here. Rooted in Buddhist theology, when someone thinks something hard enough, it is said that they leave their thoughts and feelings in that location called sa-nyum. It tends to be a negative emotion like vengeance or obsession. ☜