Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chang-Sun smiled coldly. In truth, he had expected Audumla to try to take advantage of the moment of Ymir’s death despite the [Mana Pledge] made between her and Chang-Sun. Audumla had been trying to defeat Ymir for a long time, so there was no way she would not exploit that chance.

‘[Gaia's Curse] was bound to go wild after Ymir’s death,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Audumla’s blood weakened the curse, so it was only natural for Ymir’s blood to work in the opposite way. Since Chang-Sun would be directly exposed to Ymir’s blood, he was bound to fall into danger, so Audumla had thought she would have a window of opportunity even if Chang-Sun had [Audumla's Origin Blood]. It had been her belief that it would be enough to finish absorbing Ymir’s energy and subdue Chang-Sun.

However, Audumla did not know that Chang-Sun had already experienced [Gaia's Curse] several times. On top of that, Chang-Sun had the product from the research of the <Underworld> with him, so he could resist the curse on some level. In other words, the window of opportunity that Audumla had sought never existed in the first place.

[The ‘Mana Pledge’ has been violated!]

[Imposing a penalty on Party B of the ‘Mana Pledge’.]

…

[The soul of Party B has sustained significant damage.]

As a penalty for breaching the [Mana Pledge], Audumla’s Divine Class was damaged when she was already fatigued from the long battle. Of course, she was unable to fight back against Chang-Sun and was killed helplessly. The blood that poured out from Audumla’s corpse came into contact with [Gaia's Curse] and the two reacted against each other.

Rumble! Rumble! Rummmble―!

Big and small explosions spread everywhere. Superheated gales wiped out the spawning ground and accelerated the world’s collapse. The cracks on the celestial sphere spread in all directions, and fragments of it fell down like rain. The superheated gales were as powerful as the Eon Wind that blew in apocalyptic times, strong enough to push away anything.

Pzzzzzz!

Chang-Sun drew up his divine power in full to resist the gale and moved toward the bottomless pit located under the spawning ground, thinking the Mother Terra Celestial’s remains were there. But…

‘…It’s pretty violent.’ Chang-Sun narrowed his eyes.

…Chang-Sun could not approach the pit after a certain point; the explosion in the spawning ground caused the curses in the bottomless pit to run wild. From the deep and dark pit, various curses creeped out and hindered him. [Gaia's Curse] was one of them, and the other curses were also similar. Thinking it would become dangerous for him too, Chang-Sun pondered about whether to drink [Audumla's Origin Blood].

Just then, Chaque li Omeister’s faint voice spoke. 『Thank you, Twilight. You are the reason why I can finally be freed from these shackles and go back home. I want to express my gratitude with this gift, so please take it.』

Thump!

The [Shengxie Sword], Chaque’s favored sword, fell in front of Chang-Sun.

[You have received the ‘Shengxie Sword’ as a gift!]

[Shengxie Sword]

One of the Nine Fine Swords forged by the first Ou Yezi, who was called the Divine Blacksmith. Just as its name describes overcoming wrongdoing, the sword has the power to destroy evil and uphold righteousness. It is also a very effective talisman.

· Type: Relic.

· Effect: Battle for Righteousness. Misfortune Protection. Summoning Dharma.

All the Effects were about defeating evil and setting them straight. The moment he grabbed the [Shengxie Sword], Chang-Sun could feel something entirely different from Ou Yezi’s other divine swords. It felt as if a part of his soul—no, <Duskfall>—was advancing endlessly.

[The 'Shengxie Sword' is responding to <Supreme Sacred Light>, enhancing its Effects many times over!]

[The ‘Shengxie Sword’ has started to fight against the curses tormenting you!.]

Chang-Sun swung the [Shengxie Sword] forcefully, splitting the storm of curses in half and opening the pathway to the bottomless pit.

‘I know that it’s also an effective talisman, but it can even fend off [Gaia's Curse]?’ Chang-Sun gaped slightly.

Although [Gaia’s Curse] was actually responding to the divinity of <Supreme Light>, it was a great help to Chang-Sun, who was trying to recover the Mother Terra Celestial’s remains. However, Chang-Sun was not yet done.

Rip!

He bit off the bottle’s lid and drank half of [Audumla's Origin Blood]. ‘I might have to give the rest to Ye-Eun.’

[You have absorbed ‘Audumla's Origin Blood’!]

[You have acquired a powerful resistance to ‘Gaia's Curse’ which will last for quite a long time.]

Paaah―!

Chang-Sun threw himself into the bottomless pit. As someone who had feared [Gaia's Curse] a lot, the sight of the curse brushing past him was astounding.

Tap!

The darkness in the pit seemed to extend without end.

*

‘So this is the famous <Ginnungagap>,’ Chang-Sun thought.

In the creation myth where Odin and Ymir were featured, <Ginnungagap> represented a primordial world before the beginning of light. It was also called the Gaping Abyss or the Yawning Void.

‘Then, light was created. Accordingly, the worlds of ice and fire manifested above and under <Ginnungagap>.’

The world of ice had become today’s <Jotunheim>, and the world of fire had become <Muspelheim>. It was the starting point of the Giants’ birth. Audumla was the first lifeform. In her cow form, Audumla had licked the block of ice from which Ymir had been born.

However, Ymir had grown without end, threatening the world’s entire existence, so Odin and his brothers had killed Ymir and used her corpse to create a new world. Even after that, more than half of her corpse had been left.

Odin had tossed the corpse into <Ginnungagap> to fill it up. In other words, <Ginnungagap> was from before the world’s creation, and a pathway that Ymir had entered through. Yes, a pathway. Ymir was a being who was from outside. In that case, where was this ‘outside’?

Tap!

After walking through the darkness for a while, Chang-Sun came to a halt upon seeing an enormous egg far in the distance. The egg shone with white light; it was alive and tied up in Divine Steel chains. There was even a lock atop the egg to secure the chains. All of the bindings seemingly existed to stop the egg from hatching.

Thump, thump.

Every so often, the egg shook faintly, creating a powerful wave that Chang-Sun could detect from where he was.

Badump…! Badump…!

Chang-Sun’s heart beat with the same rhythm as the egg’s throbbing, as if they were resonating.

[The <Myth> of the ‘Unbegotten Source’ is responding!]

Ubbo-Sathla’s divinity was shouting inside Chang-Sun’s mind that he had to go and recover her lost half.

‘This is to… stop the Mother Terra Celestial from resurrecting and keep her sealed.’

Just as the <Serpent>, Chang-Sun’s symbol, signified resurrection and immortality, the Mother Terra Celestial’s ‘terra’ represented the cycle of death and rebirth, because all things that grew in the ground continuously withered and regrew with the seasons. It seemed the Mother Terra Celestial was also trying to be reborn using Chang-Sun’s divinity and the egg as the medium. The problem was that the chains and lock, which seemed to have been installed by <Deus Ex Machina>, were stopping that resurrection.

‘I can’t recover the remains like this.’ Chang-Sun frowned.

Chang-Sun was at an impasse. If the Mother Terra Celestial’s remains were all inside the egg, he had no way of getting only a part of it out of the egg.

“I didn’t expect this when I made my plans,” Chang-Sun murmured.

The Mother Terra Celestial had lost every bit of her power, so it was unclear how she could have become an egg. With his [Foretelling Eye], Chang-Sun quickly took a look around. Assuming that his speculation was right, there had to be a supporter from the ‘outside’ who was helping the Mother Terra Celestial. Just as expected…

‘There is another pathway.’

Beyond the Mother Terra Celestial’s egg, there was an area in <Ginnungagap> where darkness undulated unnaturally. The darkness contained a small crack that could never be found without close inspection.

It was impossible. <Ginnungagap> was the realm of nothing that had existed before the world creation, so how could a crack be left in such a realm? On top of that, the crack was actually connected to an ‘outside’ that was not Eros or Nyx.

‘A block of ice came into this world from the unknown ‘outside’, and Audumla licked it, waking Ymir up… It would make sense if the ‘outside’ is where the crack is connected to.’

At this point, Chang-Sun could tell what the Mother Terra Celestial’s plan was now.

‘She’s trying to resurrect with the help of the ‘outside’ and undo her seal completely.’ Chang-Sun groaned, unsure if it was even possible.

As far as he knew, the universe was divided into Eros and Nyx, and that was all. Eros encompassed infinite Worldlines, and Nyx embraced those Worldlines like a shell. <Supreme Light> and <Dull Darkness> had long been at war to acquire control over each other’s domains.

Thus… Chang-Sun had trouble wrapping his head around the possibility of something more existing beyond the universe. However, the Mother Terra Celestial, who had been shunned by the entire universe, was receiving their help, so powerful forces had to be out there. What in the world was this ‘outside’?

‘It’s where Ymir came from… so that’s possible.’

Audumla was the Mother Terra Celestial’s symbol. After Ymir inexplicably entered from the ‘outside’, Audumla had woken Ymir up; thus, the Mother Terra Celestial had made Ymir her subordinate. That had to be how the Mother Terra Celestial had discovered the ‘outside’. If so…

“...I should sever it so that she’ll never be able to find them again.”

Pzzzzz―!

The [Dawn Spear] shone radiantly again. Chang-Sun focused the energy of <Duskfall> and Rádĭus into his spearhead. The moment he pointed the spear at the link to the ‘outside’, however, a question flashed through his mind.

―Did <Deus Ex Machina> know about the existence of the ‘outside’?

Chang-Sun had a feeling that <Deus Ex Machina> knew about it without a doubt, leading him to a different question.

―Ubbo-Sathla was the Mother Terra Celestial’s other half, and Chang-Sun had recovered Ubbo-Sathla’s remains. Had <Deus Ex Machina> entrusted Chang-Sun with the matter of the Mother Terra Celestial on purpose?

Paaah―!

Rrrrumble.

With those thoughts in his mind, Chang-Sun fiercely swung the [Dawn Spear] and powerful Rádĭus sparks flew up. His strike terminated the invisible link between the Mother Terra Celestial and the ‘outside’. A powerful explosion erupted and filled <Ginnungagap>, striking Chang-Sun too. The last thing Chang-Sun saw before he lost consciousness was…

… another Emperor, looking at him with a deep frown.