Тэнгэр Сорих (3)

I feel as if I have fallen into an ice cave.

Why on earth did she call my name three times in front of the Owner of Heavenly Punishment?

I swallow hard.

"..."

[...]

"..."

[...]

And then, nothing happens."...?"

It's when I look at her with curiosity.

She turns her head away from me and once again takes a praying posture towards the sky, facing the Owner of Heavenly Punishment.

And then.

Kwarururung!

Lightning falls from the sky, striking towards Zhengli.

Clank!

Along with that, I feel as though the invisible chains that were binding Zhengli have been broken.

She rises to her feet and exclaims.

[On behalf of my master, I, the Essence of the Great Heavenly Punishment, shall judge the descendants of the Golden Deity...]

Crack...

I grit my teeth.

[Be annihilated.]

Flash!

The sky brightens, and a golden lightning descends.

"...!"

But, it's different than before.

If the golden lightning that struck Thunder Spirit Island before was terrifyingly large and could be seen from far away,

The golden lightning falling now is noticeably smaller in size and feels weaker in energy.

The power of each strand of lightning feels no more powerful than the full-force strike of an Integration stage cultivator!

"Kugh...!"

The light of that power shines brilliantly above Thunder Cloud Peak, boasting of its presence.

Kurung, Kurrurung!

The sky vibrates and gradually begins to boil.

I realized what I have achieved with the Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens Technique.

By sacrificing myself, I had changed the immediate annihilation of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect by the Great Heavenly Punishment into a much slower destruction, starting with those closest to the Owner of Heavenly Punishment, in order.

"Kugh...!"

Wo-woong!

Dark clouds begin to gather in the sky once again, starting to catch the falling golden lightning.

The golden lighting tries to descend but is caught by the dark clouds and is unable to descend further.

While many strands of golden lighting are caught by the dark clouds, it eventually becomes impossible to hold back its entirety.

And one of them eventually falls towards Thunder Cloud Peak.

"...!"

I grit my teeth.

Kwarururung!

Light envelops all four directions.

Jeon Myeong-hoon fails to understand the situation.

Within the golden light, everyone except him is turning to ash.

"Myeong-hoon..."

Even Jin So-hae, whom he is holding, is the same.

No matter how much he protects her, no matter how much he holds her, Jin So-hae is burning.

Kugugugugu!

Even with the power of the Heavenly Being stage, trying to absorb the Heavenly Tribulation into himself is impossible.

This overwhelming power seems to infinitely pour from the sky, and the speed at which it pierces through Jeon Myeong-hoon's defenses and strikes Jin So-hae is faster than he could absorb it.

"Ah, ah, aaaaah! No! So-hae! So-hae!!!"

"Myeong...hoon..."

"Uh, aaaaah! Don't go! Please! No! So-hae, just hang in there, just a bit longer! It's almost over! Just a bit more. Please, just a bit longer...!"

But that is only Jeon Myeong-hoon's wish.

Jin So-hae slowly turns to ash.

Fading into a pile of ashes, Jin So-hae tells Jeon Myeong-hoon.

"I love you...Please, protect...our family..."

With those words, Jin So-hae disappears from in front of Jeon Myeong-hoon.

She has become a pile of ash.

However, Jeon Myeong-hoon does not die.

The power of the Heavenly Tribulation flows endlessly towards Jeon Myeong-hoon, causing him to grow stronger even though he wishes not to.

As his family dies, Jeon Myeong-hoon alone survives and becomes stronger.

"Ah, aaaaaah..."

In a situation where he feels like he is losing his mind, Jeon Myeong-hoon screams.

"AAAAAH! AAAAAAAAH! UUUUAAAAAAAH!"

As if he had forgotten how to speak, he is in a frenzy.

"UUUAAAAAAAH!!!"

And then, a massive [will] flows into the crazed Jeon Myeong-hoon's mind.

―PitifulthisandimmortalyoungwillEnderjoyfullyblamewatchtheovermiracleyouryougrowthhaveyoureceivedshallthismeetimmortalthisshallimmortalbewhenliberatedtheastimethuscomes.

(Decoded in TL notes)

"AAAAAAAH!"

The massive [will], incomprehensible, violently forces its way into Jeon Myeong-hoon's mind.

He screams.

The truly terrifying part is that this [will] is causing the celestial energy to change in real-time, moving,

And resetting fate.

Following the words of this [will] he could not understand, he will be moved to fulfill the fate laid out by the [will].

Being caught in an incomprehensible fate terrifies Jeon Myeong-hoon more than anything.

Soon.

The hellish Heavenly Tribulation ceases.

Wo-woong, Wo-woong...

Jeon Myeong-hoon looks around with a vacant gaze.

The sky still shows strands of golden lightning and the dark clouds binding them.

And, even higher up.

There, the barefoot Zhengli is being drawn towards [that being], letting out an ecstatic exclamation.

Pazijijik!

Zhengli turns into a bolt of lightning and is sucked into the giant [eye].

Blink.

Subsequently, the giant [eye] covering the sky closes.

"..."

The terrifying pressure disappears, but Jeon Myeong-hoon looks around.

It's ash.

Everything has turned to ash.

Jin Byuk-ho, Jin Rin, Jin Jin-chan, Jin Hwi...

And.

Thud...

Jeon Myeong-hoon is startled as something in his hand falls onto the ashes.

It's a [hand].

Jin So-hae's hand, fried to a crisp by the lightning.

"Ah, aaaaah, aaaaaah...!"

Jeon Myeong-hoon starts to scream.

"Huuuaaaaaaah!"

Only the hand of Jin So-hae. which was perfectly, seamlessly covered by Jeon Myeong-hoon's own, remained not turned to ashes but just fried by the electricity.

"Uaaaaah! Aaaaah! Aaaaaaah!"

Drip, drip...

Tears of blood begin to flow from his eyes.

Jeon Myeong-hoon wails.

"Aah...aaaaaah..."

Weeping tears of blood, Jeon Myeong-hoon hears a whispering around him.

The 'voice of lightning,' which had been calling out in distress until just a moment ago, had returned to normal.

He listens closely.

The voice of lightning is imparting knowledge to him.

Perhaps because he had directly faced [that being] just before, he can easily accept the knowledge conveyed by the voice of lightning.

"...The great..."

Jeon Myeong-hoon holds his head and laughs.

[He] is watching over me!

[That being]!!!

The image of that [eye] does not leave his mind!!!

Jeon Myeong-hoon rolls his eyes, shouting the knowledge the 'voice of lightning' is telling him.

No, it's closer to being engulfed in madness, screaming in agony.

"The great God of Heavenly Punishment resides in the distant Heavenly Domain. They sit upon a throne at the center of the universe, secluded by light. They are waiting for me. They call me. They beckon me. They...to me...They...!"

Kwaang!

After a moment of frenzy, Jeon Myeong-hoon suddenly begins to pound the ground with his fists.

Kwang, Kwang, Kwang!

With the force of a Heavenly Being stage cultivator infusing spiritual energy into his strikes, the ground rumbles, and Thunder Cloud Peak begins to crumble.

Kugugugugu!

Jeon Myeong-hoon, along with Thunder Cloud Peak, crashes to the ground.

"...They, They, They, They, They took...my...my family...everything!"

He rages at the sky, howling in agony.

"That bastard, took my everything...my all...! Ah, uuuuaaaaaaah!"

And then it happens.

The eyes of Jeon Myeong-hoon, which had been filled with madness, are now filled with rage. All madness disappears from his gaze.

Simultaneously, Jeon Myeong-hoon realizes that [the eye] remaining in his mind has vanished.

"Ah...I see."

Grinding his teeth, Jeon Myeong-hoon stands up, his eyes rolled back.

"This is...my fate..."

Drip, drip...

With tears mixed with blood, Jeon Myeong-hoon, speaks while crying with a trembling voice.

"This rage...I must quench it..."

Realizing his fate and having removed the influence of 'the gaze,' Jeon Myeong-hoon grits his teeth and says,

"Everything...everything in my way...even if I have to kill..."

Clench...

"I will have my revenge...!!!"

Picking up the fried left hand of Jin So-hae, Jeon Myeong-hoon cries out for revenge.

Then, a familiar voice comes from behind him.

"Revenge is not what you should be seeking now."

"...!"

Jeon Myeong-hoon turns around.

It's Seo Eun-hyun.

With a bitter expression, I approach Jeon Myeong-hoon, who is crying bloody tears with a crazed expression.

"You..."

Jeon Myeong-hoon, looking at me for a moment, begins to emit red lightning.

"You...!!!"

I calmly look at him and say,

"Calm down. I have something to tell you."

"If you, if you, if you just spoke properly..."

"Fury has made you incoherent."

Nothing can be done in his current state.

In an instant, I approach him and grasp his head tightly.

'Because I limited the Heavenly Tribulation with the Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens Technique, the amplification rate of the Heavenly Tribulation's power was not high.'

At best, he is slightly stronger than in his past life.

"Now, come to your senses, Jeon Myeong-hoon."

I breathe a dense curse into his head.

The curse I imbue him with is the pain replicated from the sensation of 60,000 times that even Seo Hweol couldn't bear, forcing him to disintegrate his consciousness.

Such immense pain tears through his mind.

"―――――!"

Jeon Myeong-hoon flays senselessly, unable to even grasp his thoughts.

But I do not stop.

Until his intent turns from red to pure 'pain', symbolizing his agony.

Until he is so overwhelmed by pain that he forgets even his rage, I pour the curse into his mind.

After a while.

Finally, Jeon Myeong-hoon's mind goes blank from the pain, and he reaches a point where he even forgets his rage.

"Reversal."

Tstsstsst!

I reverse all the curses I had imbued into him with the White Orchid Blessing Incantation, nurturing Jeon Myeong-hoon's spirit.

Soon.

"...Are you coming to your senses?"

I ask, looking at Jeon Myeong-hoon as clarity returns to his eyes.

"...Uh..."

And as his consciousness returns, so does his memories.

Slowly, rage begins to fill his eyes again.

Before he could be consumed by rage again, I bring up an important fact.

"Listen well, Jeon Myeong-hoon. Due to the recent Heavenly Tribulation, more than 60,000 disciples of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect perished. Not just at Thunder Cloud Peak but also in other places where I couldn't stop the lightning tribulation from falling. But you see..."

My words make Jeon Myeong-hoon's face stiffen.

"Several Core Formation disciples and Qi Building disciples...and the absolute majority of Qi Refining disciples, the vast majority survived!!!"

"...What?"

Strangely, the Heavenly Tribulation struck more heavily upon those with higher cultivations.

Thus, despite using the Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens Technique, the main force of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, so to speak, had mostly died.

However, those not considered the main force,

Those whom even the Heavenly Tribulation seemed to show little interest in.

The Qi Refining disciples, or those who were not inside Thunder Spirit Island at that point, have not yet died.

Of course, they have not died "yet".

I read the celestial energy.

'20 years...All disciples of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect are fated to die within the next 20 years due to the Heavenly Tribulation.'

But it isn't like my past life.

In my past life, even though it was said to be 20 years, they all perished within a few months due to the Heavenly Tribulation.

But this time is different.

Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens had succeeded in delaying the celestial energy!

'There's at least a year or two's worth of' time.'

Kururung...

I see the golden lightning and the dark clouds binding them gradually become transparent and then disappear.

It's a phenomenon visible as the situation shifts from the plane of Qi to the plane of Fate.

The golden lightning I had captured will continue to cry out to kill the remaining disciples of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect in the plane of Fate.

But, I had taken all the calamities of Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens upon myself.

"Listen, Jeon Myeong-hoon. I understand how you feel about losing your loved ones. No, actually, I might not be able to understand since I can't presumptuously speak about your heart. But, Jeon Myeong-hoon."

I look at him and say,

"I too lost my Dao Companion, Hong Su-ryeong. Yet, there are things that still must be done."

"..."

"From now on, we will take the disciples of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect and flee from the Heavenly Tribulation."

"...What do you mean?"

"It is just as I have said. We will go to a place where the Heavenly Tribulation cannot follow."

"A place where the Heavenly Tribulation cannot follow?"

I recall Zhengli's words.

A treacherous world where even a distinguished being who threatened the Owner of Heavenly Punishment, a world where even their friend, had died.

"There exists a place where even the Owner of Heavenly Punishment cannot follow."

The Head Realm.

"From now on, we'll gather the surviving members of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect and descend to the Head Realm!"

A dreamlike world where the boundaries of everything are hazy and countless lights traverse.

In a certain area of that world,

A white-haired woman with bare, white feet kneels before a massive wall.

The wall is an endless barrier made entirely of thunder and lightning.

It is so vast it might as well have been considered a sea of standing thunder and lightning.

The white-haired woman, Zhengli, speaks to the wall.

[I was able to know its name because it revealed its name to me.]

―――――.

Something metaphysical is conveyed to her.

Zhengli accepts this will and continues,

[However, as the Lord has seen, it did not respond to my voice, even though I am backed by the authority of the Lord. Despite calling it three times, there was no response. Being by its side, I observed and realized one thing.]

Zhengli lets her white hair cascade onto the hazy ground.

[Its name is shrouded in death. It is already a dead being. A deceased walking in the realm of the living. Calling the name of a living to a dead being is bound to fail. Its name is likely already owned by the Heavenly Venerable of the Netherworld.]

――――――!

The wall of lightning flickers momentarily.

[Yes, perhaps the God of the Netherworld intends to act through it. Maybe it is even a candidate for his immortal treasure.]

――――...

[The Ender? What is that?]

―――――――.

[I have overstepped my bounds. Nonetheless, it was indeed a chilling being. It was extremely unpleasant and terrifying, so much so that I would have destroyed it immediately after regaining my power. However, after considering the Heavenly Venerable of the Netherworld, if by any chance it is their pawn, then I thought it best not to interfere rashly.]

―――.

[Thank you. That is why I pleaded not to attack it rashly. And...now that I have returned, the Lord can be at ease. Even if the God of the Netherworld seeks to take control of the world again, with my return, the Lord will be able to extend their power outside the prison again.]

――――.

[Ah, Lord. I am grateful...]

Having finished speaking, Zhengli, with an ecstatic expression, stretches her arms towards the wall of thunder and lightning and approaches it.

Swoosh!

Shortly after, the wall moves, engulfing her as if it is alive.

For a moment, the wall of lightning writhes.