Luciel’s Soulstone. ‘Didn’t Vieira Dune take that?’ A long time ago, Luciel, who hadn’t been able to become either a god or a demon, had fallen to the lower world after both gods and demons tore his wings off.

The Soulstone was created by his fall. It had entered his brother’s possession by coincidence, but after Vieira Dune had taken it and disappeared from the lower world—or so everyone believed. But the Soulstone was right there.

‘Is it the same one?’ If the three Apostles had failed in their tasks, then it made sense that the stone would fall into his brother’s hands. ‘But something doesn’t make sense.’

Yeon-woo’s eyes narrowed. The shape and feeling of the stone that he saw in the diary was different from the one Brontes had. The stone in the diary was squarer and its energy was duller. However, the Soulstone in Brontes’ hand was round and glowed with light. It blazed as though it were truly fire.

『Yes. The previous owner called it the Soulstone, but we call this “Fire” or “Light”.』

Light? Yeon-woo realized Luciel’s other name was Lucifer, which meant “bringer of light.”

『We also call it the “Fire of the Beginning.” Luciel was like a beacon, but all those legends aside, it was something that Lord Hades needed desperately.』 Brontes was trying to talk about Hades, but Yeon-woo wanted to know more about the Fire of the Beginning.

“No. Please tell me about the Fire of the Beginning first.”

Brontes frowned. He couldn’t stay in his vestige body for long. There were too many things he had to relay to Yeon-woo, such as the threats he was facing or how to help them complete their mission. However, Yeon-woo’s eyes made it clear that he would quit the quest if Brontes didn’t answer his question. Yeon-woo was desperate for information about the Soulstone.

Eventually, Brontes sighed and gave in. 『All right. But I don’t have much time, so I can’t go into much detail. The Fire of the Beginning is now ancient history even among godly societies, and we can’t speak of all things related to Luciel because of a pledge.』

Yeon-woo nodded with expectant eyes.

『In the beginning, there was Fire, and Luciel was the one who watched over it. Then, he became a superior entity by swallowing the Fire of the Beginning. He became Lucifer.』

The lowly light keeper, Luciel, had become Lucifer, who had hundreds of wings.

『However, this power wasn’t bestowed upon him, and the Fire of the Beginning was something that all gods and demons treasured. It was the spark that legends and myths originated from, and they couldn’t allow Luciel to keep it for himself. Everyone ganged up to tear his wings off.』 Brontes spoke quickly. 『Lucifer didn’t die easily. He didn’t want to return the Fire to the gods and demons, so he split his soul into several pieces as he fell to the lower world. These pieces are the Soulstones, which have the Fire of the Beginning inside them.』

Yeon-woo’s eyes widened.

『The gods and demons tried to retrieve them, but they couldn’t find them all.』

Yeon-woo was silent.

『The only Soulstone that’s been kept intact is Castitas.』

Many things were going through Yeon-woo’s mind. ‘So there’s more than one Soulstone?’ That was a significant piece of information. “How many stones are there in total?”

『Fourteen. Seven virtues and seven sins. This is because Luciel had affinity for both light and darkness. The upper world has nine of them. Five are roaming around the lower world. This is one of the five.』

‘Then Vieira Dune has one of the five, too.’ Yeon-woo felt some things click into place. Why had he believed there was only one stone? At the same time, he felt surprised. ‘With that one Soulstone, Vieira Dune managed to swallow up Mother Earth and ascend to the heavenly world. Then if I can gather the rest…?’ Yeon-woo could gain all the power he needed.

『It’s strange that you’re curious about this.』

Yeon-woo snapped to attention at Brontes’ words. “What do you mean?”

『You and I both have Soulstones, but you don’t know anything about them.』

Yeon-woo was shocked. He never imagined that he would hear something like this. His eyes became bigger. “What are you…”

『Isn’t that a Soulstone near your heart?』

Yeon-woo pulled the pocket watch out of his pocket. The hands of the watch were trembling.

Brontes nodded. 『Yes. That. It’s an item that has refined the Soulstone very well. Even I can’t make anything like that. I never thought there would be a blacksmith that talented in the lower world. It’s a shame I can’t observe them.』

Yeon-woo’s hands shook. For a moment, he was completely confused.

『Its functions seem to be paused for some reason I cannot discern, but it will still be a great help to Lord Hades, so that’s a relief.』

It seemed like Brontes thought that he was taking the pocket watch to Hades.

“I…” Yeon-woo tried to ask a few more questions about that, but Brontes raised his hand and cut Yeon-woo off.

『No. Enough with the questions. I must tell you what my mission is. I don’t have much time. If you don’t want to listen, I’ll just disappear.』 His single eye had a fierce expression, as if he wouldn’t budge.

Yeon-woo bit his lower lip. Brontes was as desperate as he was. In the end, Yeon-woo nodded and took a step back. He had to listen to what Brontes had to say, and he could ask his questions later.

Brontes began to speak after a nod. 『I was moving to Tartarus with my brothers at Lord Hades’ orders with the Stone of Castitas. According to Lord Hades, a force of darkness was invading Tartarus.』

“What is the darkness?”

『I don’t know. I was only following his orders. But I know one thing for sure: the Titans and Giants locked inside Tartarus have somehow regained their strength and are trying to escape. Lord Hades was trying to prevent that.』

The Titans and Giants had been locked up in Tartarus after fighting with the gods of Olympus. The fact that they were now rebelling was big news. It seemed like the strange occurrences that Hades had sensed were related to this.

『Lord Hades needed the Stone of Castitas as well as our abilities.』

Yeon-woo nodded. The three Cyclops brothers would definitely be able to create outstanding weapons to keep the Titans and Giants under control.

『But at some point, everything fell apart. I don’t know how they found out after we moved so carefully, but something began chasing after us.』 Brontes clearly thought that someone was connected to Tartarus from the outside.

“You were chased by the ghost monsters.”

『Yes. We were tied down at the sixth gate. I stayed behind to stall for time.』 Brontes’s eye narrowed. 『I believed someone would come to help one day, and they would need a guide. And thankfully…even though I’ve lost my level, my sacrifice paid off.』 Bronte began to fade away. He had lost a lot of his holiness from being stuck at the sixth gate. He would become an ordinary soul and join the cycle of reincarnation instead of being locked in this gate.

The gods feared mortality the most, but Brontes didn’t seem to be scared of it at all.

『It’s a long way to Tartarus, but I entrust the final steps to you. It seems like the darkness hasn’t been pushed back just yet. My brothers will need help, too. The only regret I have…』 His image crackled with static. 『Is that I cannot help them despite being the eldest.』

[The sudden quest (Persephone’s Long-Held Wish) has been updated.]

[Please check the quest window.]

Brontes’ soul was fading more quickly.

‘No!’ Yeon-woo felt frantic as he looked at Brontes. He still hadn’t asked about the pocket watch yet or the Black King’s weapons and why they swallowed up Astrape and Triaina. At that moment, Yeon-woo was suddenly reminded of something: he had power over death and souls.

He had already bound Brahma to himself. If this god had already lost his level and was filled with regrets…“Brontes!” Yeon-woo looked at Brontes. Only his head hadn’t completely vanished.

『What? Do you want to say farewell to me?』

“You said you wanted to help your brothers, right? Do you still want to defeat the Titans and the Giants?”

『Of course…they’re my enemies.』

Back when the Titans had ruled over Olympus, they had locked the three Cyclops brothers up. Zeus who saved them then, and the three Cyclops brothers had created great weapons for him in gratitude: Astrape, Triaine, and Kynee.

However, the Titans and Giants were trying to escape from Tartarus now, and the three Cyclops brothers had helped Hades because of their grudge.

“If so, please become bound to me.”

『What?』

“I’ll help you resolve your regrets.” Yeon-woo tried to hold onto Brontes. It was impossible to forcefully bind souls that size like he had with the ghost monsters. He had to persuade Brontes to agree.

『What…!』 Brontes’ eyes narrowed. He couldn’t understand what Yeon-woo was saying. Asking a god to bind himself to a human was disrespectful, and he didn’t even know what it would change. However, Yeon-woo stretched his hand out.

『That’s…』 Brontes’ eyes widened. The black manacle and fetter that he’d thought were ordinary artifacts trembled and his eyes quivered as well when he realized who Yeon-woo was. He was the successor of the one they called “him” because of the pledge of the Styx.

“Bind yourself to me.”

The fading world around Brontes paused.

* * *

『Impossible.』 Brontes’s face was full of incredulity as he looked at his arm. Creutz looked equally shocked.

“Impossible.” He thought the same thing when Yeon-woo had taken control of thousands of souls, but he never imagined that Yeon-woo would bind a god’s soul to him. He had never heard of a mortal doing anything like that. Creutz’s eyes filled with disbelief, especially since his training with a holy sword meant that he knew a lot more about holiness than ordinary players.

No matter how much damage had been done to a divine being’s level, it didn’t make sense he could still be bound like that.

『I suppose it’s to be expected.』 Brontes looked at Yeon-woo with serious eyes. He hated the Titans more than anything in the world, and he was flabbergasted by the situation. Yeon-woo was now his master, and his successor. There was no escape for him. He realized that he had fallen for the mortal’s smooth talk.

‘Still, if he can help me meet my brothers and stop those guys…this might be fate.’

Did Yeon-woo see the look in Brontes’ eyes? “I want to ask something I didn’t get a chance to ask earlier.” Yeon-woo held out the pocket watch.

『Speak, Master.』

“Can you fix this watch?”