On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 140: #Sun-Engulfing Chaos

Ding!

[Fanatic Sword Demon, has been promoted to S-rank.]

Ding!

[Fanatic Lin XiaoMing’s forced evangelism has turned S-rank Gu Yangfeng and the others in the Three Martial Association into your followers.]

Ding!

[Fallen High-tier God, Cycler of All Things, hopes for world salvation and has become your temporary follower.]

Akdol’s evolution into a true Divine Beast, Sword Demon’s growth, Lin XiaoMing’s evangelism, and the Water Goddess’s cooperation had granted me Faith.

Tzzz!

I, who had depleted all my divine power to help my followers and apostles, were being rejuvenated. Omniscience was the symbol of a god—and the renewed power awakened a fragment of that omniscience within me.

Ding!

[The innate power Blind Eyes of God has been activated.]

Even though my eyes were still closed, I could still see everything that was happening, as if dreaming.

In Antrinia, God-Maker’s world...

-Kyarr! Kyarr!

The sight of the burning sky made Akdol, Anty, and the people of Antrinia flee underground in terror.

In the Forty-Second Floor of the Tower of Warriors, Waternia.

“Hyaaa! Muuuuscles!”

-Warrior, stay strong for a bit more!

Il-Ho’s veins seemed about to pop as he struggled to draw the bow, which was imbued with the Water Goddess’s divine power. His nose was also bleeding profusely.

On Earth, a beautiful woman with long, black, and white hair stared in disbelief at the sun, which tried to emerge from the huge gate in the sky.

I recognized those faces from Kang Woo’s memories: SSS-rank Hunter Royce and Jack White.

“How could the Harbinger of Doom be here already?” @@novelbin@@

“That... isn’t the God of Destroyer. That’s a malevolent god from another world.”

The black and white-haired beauty, Royce, bit her lips, extending her hand. “White, quick, the Artifact of Life Creation!”

In the Sun God’s temple...

Kwaaaa!

My Alter Ego wielded a crescent-shaped, golden scimitar against the endlessly growing sun. A frosty aura poured from the blade, seemingly freezing everything in its path. Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough to stop the rampaging sun.

-Mwahaha! Your struggles are futile, you lowly wretches! My power will burn all of you to ashes!

“Wake up, you bastard!” My charred Alter Ego yelled.

“Who’s the alter ego, you stupid bastard?!”

***

Deep down, I knew that no matter how much we struggled and resisted, the flames of the wicked Sun God would eventually reduce everything into ashes. How could we hope to rise against him? The same god had grown in power by devouring other gods in the guise of the God of Destroyer for a millennia.

Even if I joined the fray now, destruction was inevitable. What should I do? How was I supposed to save our worlds from that rampaging sun?

Ding!

[Infinite Abundance advises to awaken the true power of the divine sword.]

A message came from one of my stalkers.

The true power of the divine sword?

[She says that this divine sword, Moonlight Sword that Illuminates Evil Doers and their Sins Committed in the Darkness of the Night, will definitely be able to stop the berserking sun.]

Was she talking about the crescent-shaped scimitar that my Alter Ego borrowed from the Heavenly Sword Treasury?

Ding!

[Silently Crawling Nightmare spends causality for you, saying that time is running out. She urgently leads you into the divine sword’s memories.]

Flick!

The vines wrapped around me, pulling myself in deep slumber.

***

Then, I found myself somewhere else. A mythical era where gods didn’t watch over men from the skies, but lived among them in harmony.

There was a temple made of gold, owned by the being of the highest divinity, also known as the god of gods.

Her hair was as dark as the night, while her eyes were a shimmering gold that could light up that same darkness. The title Goddess of Beauty would suit her more than the Goddess of Sword.

Before her, White Knight kneeled, imploring with anxiety, “O’ Almighty Goddess, are you really not going to change your mind?”

The goddess parted her gold lips, and a voice that sounded like jade beads rolling on a gold plate resonated throughout the room.

-That's right. I must go.

“Why does it have to be you?!”

Woooong!

Outraged, the eight swords slung around White Knight’s waist rang fiercely.

“Even the other high-ranking gods are protecting themselves, so why does it have to be you?! Please, change your mind, Goddess! Please depart with me!”

The Goddess looked at the knight like a mother looking at her child.

-My Knight, who am I?

“God of Gods, Moon Incarnation, the beautiful and great Goddess of Sword.”

She shook her head.

-That's not enough. Announce my God Name.

The knight bit his lips softly.

“...Moonlight Sword that Illuminates Evil Doers and their Sins Committed in the Darkness of the Night, the noble Goddess of Justice.”

-Yes. I am Justice. However, enemies won’t fear or retreat from justice.

The goddess who called herself Justice stood up. She stared at the God of Destroyer that was descending upon their world even at this moment.

-I shall execute my justice even if it means destroying my body. That is the purpose of my existence. But should I fail, please keep my legacy going.

She approached the knight, who was still on his knees.

-Will you do that for me? My First Apostle and Great Grandmaster—a human who ascended to the realm of a Sword God.

The knight sobbed, realizing that her words were her last will for him.

“...If that is your wish, I shall gladly abide by it. But I will do everything in my power to do so.”

-That will suffice. I believe that you will eventually be able to slay the God of Destroyer once and for all.

The goddess gave a gentle smile, touching the knight's tear-stained face.

-My...Beloved.

A flash of light erased the memory of the past. The resplendent goddess and the knight were no more, and in their place was a scimitar embedded in the ruins of the same temple.

That divine sword was the main sword of the Goddess of Justice, who challenged the God of Destroyer alone and got defeated.

I walked toward her sword.

Woooong!

-Young God, why did you enter my domain of regret?

The scimitar vibrated, and she responded to me.

I knelt, crying out in despair, “Infinite Abundance and Silently Crawling Nightmare said that I could stop the Sun God if I unleash your true powers! Please lend me your divinity!”

-Only the most righteous of beings can bring out my true power. However, your other self doesn't seem to be a righteous man.

The Goddess of Justice fought a losing battle and gave up her life for the sake of the world. The same goddess then asked me.

-Are you righteous?

I remained silent. Who would dare claim to be so before her?

“...No. I am but an ordinary human—a coward who was lucky enough to attain divinity and become a god. Honestly, I’m dying to escape even at this very moment.”

My hand, which held the sword, trembled slightly. Nevertheless, I looked her in the eye.

“But, even I have something I wish to protect!”

Anty and my followers in Antrinia, who were relying on me. Aside from them, I also wanted to protect the wish of a certain man—a regressor who redid his life over and over again just so he could protect the people and the world he loved so dearly. I still saw it as my duty as a god, even though I became one purely by chance.

-I’m not sure if you’re righteous, but you’re definitely benevolent.

Tzzz!

Instead of the strong sunlight from the rampaging sun that nearly blinded my eyes, her moonlight shone on me softly, warmly, as she whispered advice in my ears, which I engraved deeply in my heart.

-...Draw me, and vanquish the evil, Yu Il-Shin.

***

Sss—

“Aaaah! Everyone, run!”

“Dear God! What on earth just?!”

“Hahaha! The gods are finally punishing this corrupt world! It’s time to repent and meet your maker!”

The streets were pure chaos. There were people who were terrified, running in all directions, and there were also cultists who were rejoicing amidst the chaos.

I looked up to the sky.

Riiip! Baaam!

Another sun was descending through the huge crack in the sky, ready to set our world ablaze—the great evil of avarice, seeking to devour and burn everything in its path.

-Mr. Sword God! I’ll return your sword! Hyaa! Take it!

My fanatic’s voice echoed in my head. Then, a black kitchen knife cut through the air, flying toward me at a tremendous speed.

Swoosh!

I kicked the ground, catching Demon Lord in the air.

“Elder, I’ll leave this to you!”

-...I’ll do what I can, but can we really stop this thing?

For the first time, I heard the lack of confidence in Demon Lord’s voice. The divine power exuded by the descending sun couldn’t be compared to the fire apostle we encountered before.

“Let’s give it everything we got!”

I landed on the roof of the tallest building in the area, then pointed the kitchen knife at the rampaging sun.

I wasn’t the only one facing the Sun God at that very moment.

-Kyaaaa!

“Akdol! Come on!”

In Antrinia, Saintess Anty put forth all her power to heal Akdol. Then, he let out a huge breath at the Sun God once more.

In the Forty-Second Floor of the Tower of Warriors, Waternia.

Il-Ho had finally succeeded in drawing the bow imbued with the power of the Water Goddess despite all the blood spurting from his nostrils. Despite being blind, he didn’t miss his shot, since his target was too huge to miss.

“Aaaargh! You evil god! Take this! Muuuuscles!”

Swoooosh!

The massive water arrow shot through to the sky, striking the Sun God.

-Aaaargh! You lowly worms! How dare you!

The Sun God’s deafening scream rang simultaneously across all three worlds, and his crazy rampage seemed to slow down at the same time.

It was time.

“Alter Ego, are you ready?”

I whispered to my alter ego, who was battling the Sun God at his temple.

-Shut up and do it, you fool!

His yell pierced my eardrums. At that moment, I recalled the words left to me by the Goddess of Justice.

-Don’t forget, the moon can only shine in darkness. Don’t shy away from your darkness, Yu Il-Shin.

Her words sounded like a riddle to me back then, but looking back now, she could be referring to my Alter Ego all this while. I retrieved Demon Lord.

Tzzz!

A blinding white light exploded all over me, which I channeled into Demon Lord. Then, I swung the kitchen knife at the sun. There was no technique at all, I was just focused on pouring all my divine power at the sun.

“Fuck you! Die!”

At the same time in a different place, my Alter Ego did the same, pouring his divine power onto the Sun God.

The light and dark divine powers pierced through the rampaging Sun God simultaneously. Other than omniscience, the miracle of omnipotence was also the symbol of a god.

-Aaaah! You bastards! W-what did you do to me!

The fearful Sun God screamed at the top of his lungs.

As neither light nor darkness, but an ashen chaos slowly began engulfing the Sun God, bringing about a solar eclipse.