ALL NOVEL Chapter 46
It’s hot.
My body.
My bones.
My insides.
No, deeper still.
My soul.
A flame that can be said to be the essence of my being rises and engulfs everything.
The searing sensation felt deep within my soul shakes my mind.
The price paid for daring to covet the power of a [God] as a human.
My mind and soul are being burned…
“Dammit!”
I suppress it.
The spirit that has even overcome death tramples upon the [God] that seeks to be born, igniting the human spirit in flames.
Grasping at my fading consciousness, I reconstruct my body, which is turning to ash.
Crack—
I start to hear something breaking.
And at the same time, a sensation begins to emerge.
I spread out into the world.
Crackle—
From [Human] to [God].
Sensations limited to my body extend into the world.
Feeling the world like it feels me.
Me and [the world].
The line dividing us starts to blur.
“Ah.”
I see.
The egg is the world.
The world is the egg.
Those who seek to be born must break the egg.
Those who seek to be born must destroy their own world.
Creak—
The cracks etched into the egg grow.
It shatters.
Creak-!
“This is…! Everyone, get back!”
The sound of the [Musician] rings out.
And at the same time, everything begins to erupt.
My body.
My world.
I and [the world] become one.
Burn everything hotly.
Even more fiercely.
Burn it all without leaving a trace.
“I shall rise from the ashes of all that has been incinerated.”
There was no loud noise.
Not even a tremor in the air.
Even the faint sounds seeping out are consumed by the flames.
Hatch.
The world shouts blessings at the birth of a new [God].
The earth rises to honor him.
The air bows down to him in praise.
Though he has done nothing, simply being born in that place makes the world surrender before him.
The world burns.
“Well then… let’s see what you’ve got.”
Among the same [God]s.
The expression of the [Musician] who watched Han Yu-seong emerge through the fire stiffened.
*
The [Musician] was appalled at the sight before him.
A human possesses the power of a [God]?
Ridiculous.
As a [Artist], the [Musician] knew how absurd the situation before him was.
The deification of a human.
If that were easy, the leaders of the [Artist] would have already ascended long ago.
Since it couldn’t be done, all but one, who was called a [God] in life, remained in the position of a [Demon]!
“What the hell.”
But as a [Musician] wielding the same power of a [God], he understood.
Overflowing [Divinity] stains the world.
“What are you…!”
His cultivated [World of Music] begins to get engulfed by the [World of Fire].
“What the hell are you?!”
A desperate cry.
Or rather, it was closer to a scream.
Among the screams mixed a blatantly sticky emotion.
Jealousy.
For the [God] of Music to express such a grotesque and blatant scream, Han Yu-seong replied.
“What the hell is this bastard saying?”
Crack—
Boom—!
The [Musician] whose face was struck by Han Yu-seong’s punch couldn’t even scream, bouncing off the ground.
“Hmph….”
It’ll take some time to get used to this.
The flesh of a [God].
Unlike the human who only moved his own body, this body with indistinct boundaries between [me] and [the world]…
“This is damn uncomfortable.”
It was uncomfortable.
Though it’s undoubtedly strong.
Simply moving lightly causes the world to push back on its own and add acceleration.
As a result, even when using the same power, the outcomes differ drastically from before.
But there was a significant drawback that came with it.
Crack—
I strain my arm, which is trying to scatter into dust, to maintain its form again.
The boundary with the world has become so vague that if I don’t hold it with my mind, my body will start to blend into the world.
Just as [the world] is a part of [me].
Am I also a part of [the world]?
If I lose my focus, my body will assimilate into the world and disappear.
I was caught off guard as things moved too quickly, more than I anticipated.
As a result, the buildup in my punch weakened just before impact, so I couldn’t exert proper force.
‘I was planning to end it with this one strike, if possible.’
Boom—!
“Is it still intact?”
As I crashed into the building I was thrown at, an invisible shockwave began to pour out.
An attack that imbues physical force to the sound created by the [Conductor] using numerous instruments.
There’s no way the [Musician], an even more elevated being of the same class as the [Conductor], wouldn’t be able to use the power the [Conductor] employed.
It’s the same attack as the [Conductor], but its power and range are on a whole different level than what the [Conductor] used.
It’s more than simple destruction—it’s a wave close to decomposition.
Bang—
Boom—
Boom—
That power bursts Han Yu-seong’s flesh.
Without even being able to resist, his body burst apart.
If it were the solid body of his human days, a straight hit might just leave a few scars on the skin…
But even if it’s been reinforced, it’s still a body that requires focus to maintain, and now it simply crumbled away.
Of course, it held little significance.
“Is he dead? No, his [Divinity] is still intact.”
The [Musician] observed the scene of Han Yu-seong’s body bursting.
Though it appeared dead, his [Divinity] still filled the air.
There’s no way he could maintain his [Divinity] without a master, so he must still be alive.
The moment he was struck by a sound wave attack, the [Musician] felt a part of Han Yu-seong assimilating into the world.
He wasn’t yet accustomed to the body of a [God].
If so, it was undoubtedly the perfect opportunity to kill the monster!
First, he needed to regain control over the world displaced by flames and begin the search.
The [Conductor] was utterly obliterated, but considering the characteristics of the [Sculptor], his revival was possible.
In that case, it shouldn’t be too difficult to capture a monster that was rendered useless by mere wounds.
Just then, as the [Musician] prepared to tune his violin again, something happened.
Whoosh—
Ash began to spill from a part of the violin, forming the head of Han Yu-seong.
“Hello?”
“What, what the…!”
Crack—
While the [Musician] was in shock at Han Yu-seong emerging from his violin, Han Yu-seong reconstructed his upper body and threw another punch at the musician.
“Oh! This time it really landed!”
Han Yu-seong had pieced together his lower body and stood naked, looking down at the [Musician] squirming on the ground.
You see.
Physical body bursting apart means nothing to Han Yu-seong now.
Of course, he was surprised when his body suddenly blew apart due to an insignificant attack.
But think about it—right now, the [Divinity] Han Yu-seong uses originates from the [Ashen King].
Comparing an unhatched creature to Han Yu-seong now is like comparing a fly to a pterosaur…
But fundamentally, they are the same, right?
This means the power he possesses is the same as Han Yu-seong’s, and whatever he can do, Han Yu-seong can also do.
So, what’s the [Ashen King]’s biggest trait?
Fire?
Firepower?
No, if that were the biggest trait, he would be called the [King of Fire], not the [Ashen King].
Yeah.
The greatest feature is [Ash].
Formless remnants born from the amalgamation of dozens of resentful and anguished thoughts, twisted and unable to retain proper shape.
The ashes of those who burned into nothing.
Even if it’s due to assimilation with the world, there’s a reason why Han Yu-seong, who is skilled at moving and controlling his body, struggles to maintain it.
From the start, the [Divinity] that makes up this body is exceedingly unstable.
It’s only natural that ashes gather together, only to scatter when blown away.
But as long as the mind is maintained, no matter how many times the body breaks or deteriorates, it can easily be reconstituted.
This is what you might call conditional immortality.
A body similar to the natural enemies of a certain pirate manga.
Whoosh—
Sounds of wind come from the [Musician] buried in the ground.
This is….
“A whistle?”
Kugugugugugu—
As the [Musician], stripped of his instrument, started to play a whistle, the earth began to respond.
Starting with the three representative works of the [Sculptor]:
[David Statue]
[Pieta]
[Moses Statue]
Dozens of massive statues look towards Han Yu-seong.
Though the [Sculptor] is dead, the lingering thoughts respond to the [Musician]’s [Divinity] and rise again.
They are [Artists].
As long as humanity achieving immortality exists through their works, they will never vanish and will be eternally mentioned.
“A mere pile of ash that burned away…!”
Spitting words filled with hatred, the [Musician] rises.
“Don’t underestimate art!”
The statues imbued with [Divinity] begin to move.
Filled with the hatred and anger of the long-deceased [Sculptor].
To kill the monster!
Whoosh—
Kuwahhhhh—!
Fire engulfs the statues.
From the earth, from the walls, from the sky, massive pillars of fire rise, beginning to consume everything.
In an instant, the molten statues dry again, turning into nothing but ash.
Everything begins to ignite and vanish in an instant.
“Art, you say?”
When has it even been relevant for that anymore?
“You’re so out of touch.”
Modern art isn’t grand or magnificent; it’s just a white canvas with a single line drawn on it—modern art, you know?
Old artists and old heroes.
There’s simply no place for such things to stand in today’s world.
And you know.
You should speak plainly, you know?
“You’re the one desecrating art from the start.”
You impostor!