When his title changed from “successor” to “shadow,” Yeon-woo felt threatened by the ringing voices. It spoke as if it had completely decided its use for him. At the same time, it occurred to him that the voices were not just of one being. Parts of the Black King were probably split, moving like they had egos while the Black King was asleep.

‘Demonism!’ Yeon-woo finally realized that the thing speaking to him was the original Demonism, the Black King’s exuviae. But he couldn’t ignore it either, because it was representing the slumbering Black King right now. This was why the Black King had said he talked in his sleep.

『Father!』Just then, the Crawling Chaos shouted excitedly. Only Yeon-woo could hear his voice, but he didn't seem to care. He seemed confident that somehow his voice would reach the Black King.『I’ve come all the way here in search of you! I did what none of the other children who followed you were able to do! Only me! So…please allow me to stay by your side! I wish to be by your side when you open your eyes…!』

Wake up…

The Crawling Chaos was forced to stop his passionate wooing of the Black King. The moment a new voice started speaking, all the darkness surrounding Yeon-woo broke apart. As if he had never sunken down toward Earth’s core, Yeon-woo was now standing in the middle of the ocean. The events that had just happened were becoming faint, almost dreamlike. There was no trace of the vast powerful presence that had approached him just now.

Urrrng, urrng, urrrrng! However, Yeon-woo’s hand was still connected to the core by the invisible chains. He didn’t feel any pull like he just had, but it was still unpleasant because it made him feel like a marionette with strings attached.

But Yeon-woo didn’t have the mind to be concerned about such things. The ocean was now thrashing to soaring heights. The hefty amount of thoughts and holy power coming from the core was shaking the Earth.

[The ‘Promised Land’ is rising!]

Land suddenly appeared through the whirling ocean and began to float up. It was something that shouldn’t be able to happen considering Earth didn’t have any land during this time period.

『Could that be…?』

『Is that what was prophesied to rise the day “he” wakes up?』

『I never imagined I’d see the Throne of Might that voids all laws and abilities that was set to appear on the promised day.』

Unlike Yeon-woo, the gods and demons weren’t able to push back against the Black King’s thoughts and were watching from above. However, even they could see that the land was massive. It was almost the size of a continent. As they watched, their eyes flashed with madness.

‘The Throne of Might and Void is the throne that “he” would awake to sit in when the universe is going to end. Is he going to open his eyes now that his successor is here?’ The gods and demons of death were excited at the thought that the moment they had been so desperately waiting for was here.

‘No. That’s not land. That’s…!’ While the gods and demons were joyful, Yeon-woo’s expression stiffened. As the land floated up, the chains were being pulled along with it, which meant they were connected. Yeon-woo was able to know what the identity of the land was due to this connection. He couldn’t allow this to go on any further. Perhaps he had woken up something that shouldn’t have been.

『Keekeekeek. I see. So that’s how it is. I already knew…and I was going to pretend not to know… But Father, did you only think of us as tools for this? You might have treated me well because you knew I’d someday bring this egg to you.』The Crawling Chaos muttered to himself like a madman and giggled.『Fine. If that’s how you’re coming out… If you choose to be negligent to your family, Father, I have no choice but to become a bad child. Isn’t that right, dim-witted Father?』

The Crawling Chaos then spoke to Yeon-woo as if he had made up his mind.『You realized it, didn’t you?』

Yeon-woo felt the Crawling Chaos’ attitude had changed quite a bit. He spoke in the same tone, but the emotions beneath it were entirely different. Yeon-woo wondered what had the betrayal of the being he had sought for so long brought about in the Crawling Chaos. ‘So it is.’

『Yes. That’s ‘flesh.’』The Crawling Chaos’ voice was filled with mockery.『It’s only a small part of what made up our dim-witted Father… but it’s also a cell that can become anything. I never imagined the Heavenly Demon would have brought it here. That’s why we were never able to find it.』

The land, no, the continent, had floated past the ocean’s surface and was climbing for the sky. Rumble! The Earth shook even more turbulently. No, the entire universe was shaking with Earth at its center.

[Space is crushed!]

[Coordinates are deleted!]

…

[The legends are being destroyed!]

[A being who cannot be played in these legends is attempting to appear. The destruction of the legends is speeding up!]

[Warning! Escape!]

[Warning! Stop the playback of the legends!]

[The ‘Promised Land’ has completely revealed itself!]

『R'lyeh. That’s what we call it.』

Space was twisted and curved from the pressure of the land. Then, when the concept of coordinates collapsed, darkness spread from the land and slowly stained the Earth.

[‘Night (Nox) is blooming!]

Father.

Father.

Father.

Waited for you.

Long time.

Oooooo! The voices that were becoming louder echoed sadly in the Night. Hundreds of tentacles shot out to grab the land.

Confusion overflowed. Disorder exploded like ink and took apart the laws of the world. An ominous but inexpressible feeling vibrated throughout the air, and fear began to creep in. The entire universe was shaking… Only then did the gods and demons of death realize that something wasn’t right. They stiffened. Things were going differently from what they expected.

[The headquarters of appear!]

[The headquarters of appear!]

…

[The headquarters of appear!]

[‘Day (Eros) reveals itself!]

Of course, the gods sensed the strange phenomenon. They stopped fighting the Heavenly Demon and chased after the point where the destruction of the universe began. The pressure on Earth was too much, and the planet could be destroyed. However, strangely enough, Earth was fine other than a few turbulent quakes.

“Huh…!” Uranus, who had been frantically searching for Yeon-woo throughout the universe, became speechless at the unfixable situation.

“Uranus, it seems your temperament becomes squared as it's passed on through the generations. What do you think?” Baal took a big bite of a cookie as he sniggered next to Uranus. He seemed composed, but the hand holding the cookie was shaking. He had already half given up.

Metatron looked blankly up at the sky. “Baal.”

“What?”

“Shut up.”

“…”

Rumble!

[The Heavenly Demon manifests!]

Appearing with a ray of golden light, the Heavenly Demon described the situation in a single sentence. “This…motherfucker…!” He had worked like a dog to contain that thing, but Yeon-woo pulled it out.

The Heavenly Demon glowered at Yeon-woo. He wanted to beat Yeon-woo to death, but the gods and demons of death had started to surround him. He felt frustrated. Even the three leaders of Day stood in between him and Yeon-woo, obscuring his vision.

The Heavenly Demon’s face was crumpled like a tin can. “Old man! Are you going to leave that son of a bitch even after he’s created this situation? He ruined what you were trying to protect, but you're still going to shield him?”

“What can I do? Even if you call him a son of a bitch or bastard…” Uranus smiled bitterly. “He’s my grandson.”

“Fuck!”

“You recently had a son, didn’t you? You’ll know what I mean after some time.”

“Whatever. I’ll see you when this is all over. You’re all dead!” The Heavenly Demon gripped his Ruyi Bang and turned toward the land again. Although he spoke crudely, his gaze was sharp. Putting aside the fact that the “flesh” had popped out from the core, the expansion of the Night was too fast. At this rate, Night would swallow all of Earth, and the end would really come. If the Black King woke up, everything was over.

“Haa…!” The Heavenly Demon sighed. Tightening his hold on the Ruyi Bang, he hoisted it on his shoulder and prepared to throw it. His target was R'lyeh. He only had one chance. He had to put asleep all the confusion and the Black King again. And after that…

‘I thought my body was finally coming back. I’ll have to be half-disabled again.’ The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue and narrowed his eyes.

Whoosh! Fiery Golden Eyes opened.

* * *

[The Black King looks at his shadow. He whispers for you to take the ‘flesh.’]

Something squirmed on the surface of R'lyeh, and they slowly began to stand. They were creatures made of thoughts, who could someday become otherworld gods if they were given enough time. They came pouring down. Everywhere they touched became a territory of Night and caused greater confusion.

The chains connecting Yeon-woo to R'lyeh became tighter. The Black King was urging him to come and take all the “flesh” to become the vessel to birth him.

『If you take that, you’ll become a true shadow of dim-witted Father. You might even become the ego-less Father yourself. You can be the master of Night and control the world as you wish.』The Crawling Chaos snickered.『Of course, it’ll be debatable whether or not that’s really ‘you.’』

Still, if Yeon-woo wanted it, he should take it. That was what the Crawling Chaos was saying.

“…” Yeon-woo wordlessly rubbed the chains. If he pulled them, he’d gain indescribable strength like the Crawling Chaos said. He’d have more than just the concepts of death, dreams, disorder, and confusion, and he would become a part of the true Black King. This was an opportunity for him to surpass the limits of Kronos’ legends and become anew.

『Didn’t I already tell you? Legends are stories with the same theme. Those themes are the achievements that you’ve accomplished. So if the achievement meets its end well, the story will become the same, and the legends will be safe. But…there are exceptions.』The Crawling Chaos read Yeon-woo’s deliberation and whispered in his ears to make him more curious.『What if those achievements are greater than the already existing ones? If the new end of the story is similar but greater? What will happen then? Couldn’t that also be called a new legend?』

What Yeon-woo originally wanted was to complete Kronos’ legends by awakening the Black King to stop the Heavenly Demon. His intent was near finished. However, he was being given new choices. He could become the Black King’s shadow. He’d be a part of him and awaken as a new Demonism. He could be an avatar.

The problem was that Yeon-woo’s existence could be erased whenever the Black King wished, and he didn’t know how he’d be used, but there was a merit that nullified all these disadvantages. ‘I can find Jeong-woo’s soul that’s bound to the Black King…’ That had been the single purpose that drove him all the way here, so he wasn’t able to reject the Black King’s offer so easily.

Perhaps the Black King had calculated this as well.

[0:04:15_12]

[0:04:15_11]

…

『What will you choose?』

Yeon-woo, standing at a crossroads, looked at all the gazes surrounding him.

“Go. Ruyi.” In the meantime, the Heavenly Demon threw the Ruyi Bang with all his strength toward R'lyeh. The Ruyi Bang instantly became a ray of light and pierced through R'lyeh, reaching the core of the Earth.

Flash. The light shining from the core swallowed the Night and all the godly societies around it, as well as Yeon-woo. It was a single flash, but Yeon-woo couldn’t shake the feeling that the enlarged Ruyi Bang resembled the Tower.

[All of Kronos’ legends are destroyed!]

[The playback is stopped.]