Chapter 352. Choice (4)

Intense heat blazed, and it felt as if the air was boiling. The heat seemed to choke the breaths out of them and stood as proof that the toharis they had been searching for were here. Yet the whole team, including Chi-Woo, was too distracted by the scene around them to think of retrieving one. That was how shocking the s.p.a.ce lit by the dancing firelight was.

Gla.s.s containers hung down from the sky with dozens of tentacles attached to them. The containers were filled to the brim with semi-transparent bluish liquid, and each had a humanoid figure floating in the center. They stayed locked inside, unmoving with their eyes closed. And there were more than a couple such gla.s.s containers; there were hundreds and thousands of them…! Like a fierce waterfall that had suddenly stopped in time, the containers filled up the s.p.a.ce from corner to corner. It was so packed that some of the tentacles intertwined in complicated patterns. The sight was so shocking and vivid that everyone stood frozen for some time.

“Not all of them are humans…” Yunael murmured to herself in a daze. As she said, there were creatures besides humans in these gla.s.s containers. Some looked to be part of the Ca.s.siubia League, others were demonic creatures and even creatures they had never seen before.

“What is…that?” Yunael felt an instinctive repulsion and frowned.

Chi-Woo shook his head. There was no way he would know what these creatures were. But for some reason, Chi-Woo felt a strange sense of déjà vu. He’d seen this before.

‘Was it the time I went to the future? No, not that time…’ After humanity fell to ruins, they became livestock and slaves in the Demon Empire. Thus, they had been kept in a place that looked like a ranch. What he was seeing now was more like a large-scale experiment site.

Chi-Woo soon regained his senses. He was curious about the purpose of this place, and he thought he could learn more about the Sernitas if he investigated further. However, there was a more pressing matter for him to address in this instance.

“Ms. Hawa?” Chi-Woo called out, and instead of answering, Hawa pointed at one spot. There was a sun—at least that was what it looked like as it radiated brightly in a clear sky without a speck. Tremendous light poured from the fire pot so gigantic that it looked as if it was going to swallow up this entire s.p.a.ce. The expedition team hurriedly headed there. The closer they got, the clearer they saw the toharis.

The blinding fire light obscured their view, but they could make out the outline of the toharis, and they looked like the marbles Chi-Woo used to play often in his youth. The heat and light they poured out were so intense that it was mind-numbing, and there weren’t just one or two of these marbles. Five gathered together and burned in unison.

Good. Now it was simple. The expedition members thought they could just take these and find the exit to return home, but they had to quickly back away when they were a couple steps from reaching the pot of toharis.

“The fire is…!”

“Ow, hot…!”

The heat felt more intense than before, like beasts locked in a cage warning pa.s.sersby to not get any closer.

“What? How are we supposed to take these things with us?” Yunael asked the question everyone was wondering.

“How arrogant.” Eshnunna stepped forward, looking determined. “The way to deal with an arrogant fire is ice. Don’t worry, everyone. Put your trust in me.”

“Ohh! That’s right. As expected of the ice witch…!” Yunael quickly forgot how she had bickered with Eshnunna just before and cheered her on. But she stopped clapping when Eshnunna’s ice melted as soon as they were formed.

Then the toharis burned brighter as if they were saying, ‘Is that all you can manage? Kuhahahaha!’

“…” Eshnunna hung her head and retreated while looking ashamed. Chi-Woo thought he could use his item, Armed with the Sixth Element, to take the toharis, and he changed his weapon to a hook-shaped item and pushed it inside the fire pot. It seemed to work in the beginning, but as soon as the hook touched the center of the fire pot, it disappeared with a trace. Chi-Woo was shocked. He didn’t think the toharis would be able to destroy what he had mentally conjured. At this point, the toharis seemed like a great weapon in and of themselves. Chi-Woo looked around nervously and turned to Steam Bun. Steam Bun noticed the gaze and madly shook its head. With its entire body, it exclaimed that it would melt immediately before even reaching one of the toharis.

Boom! It was then they heard something drop from above. Chi-Woo clenched his eyes shut. He knew that they were being chased, yet he had wanted to secure at least one tohari before meeting the other party. He didn’t expect such a hurdle when the tohari was right in front of him. Chi-Woo turned around and saw a human—no, it was something in the form of a human.

The being looked like a human, but they didn’t give the feeling of one. Again, Chi-Woo felt a strange sense of déjà vu. It was a different feeling from last time because he was now also uneasy and nervous. Nevertheless, the figure gradually raised their head while kneeling on one leg. They spotted the expedition team and got to their feet. Chi-Woo gulped. There was just one guy, but for some reason, Chi-Woo felt the eyes of hundreds and thousands watching him.

Countless emotions—happiness, rage, fear, curiosity, antagonism, fear, and more—flowed out from just one pair of eyes. Then the figure shuddered after raising themselves up.

“I-It…I-I-I….Itt…” Their body cracked all over like a rusty machine.

—…Why?

A powerful voice boomed then.

—For what reason? Kill. Their story. Not yet. Already.

Disjointed words and sounds tumbled out of their lips. The expedition team flinched when they were already on high alert. Chi-Woo hadn’t imagined it; it sounded as if dozens of voices were coming from the figure at once and interrupting each other. Their opponent shuddered once more, stronger than last time. Then, he seemed to calm down a bit and looked toward Chi-Woo.

—State the reason for trespa.s.sing.

They spoke like they were reading out loud a report without any filler words or embellishments.

—Recommend giving a precise answer.

The discomfort of hearing them talk lessened significantly. Many voices were still speaking at once, but it sounded like one person was relaying everyone’s opinions. Chi-Woo wondered whether he should give them an answer, but in the end, he decided to do so. For some reason, Chi-Woo felt a strong urge to talk to them at least once.

“It’s nothing major…we just want to get this,” Chi-Woo pointed behind him with his thumb. “They belonged to someone else.”

Of course, Chi-Woo didn’t expect the other party to simply go, ‘Ah, is that so? Sorry we didn’t know. We’ll give it back to you.’ The Sernitas would probably refuse since the toharis were an important core of this unbelievable castle. Yet the figure didn’t respond immediately. They stared intently at Chi-Woo and maintained their silence; judging by the way they kept shuddering with their joints clacking, it seemed there were many opinions clas.h.i.+ng inside them. Seeing this, Chi-Woo was sure that the figure in the shape of a human was nothing more than a doll. The real body that was pa.s.sing on their opinions was somewhere else. In the end, Chi-Woo couldn’t wait any longer and asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Then, the figure’s shuddering suddenly stopped, and they opened their mouth again.

—Give time to organize thoughts.

—Replying. Giving away the fire that doesn’t go off…about 55% agree.

Chi-Woo’s eyes widened. It sounded like the response he got was favorable. Though 55% won by only a small margin, the response wasn’t negative.

—To force the movement into action, at least 70% are required to agree.

— If you accept our extra conditions, 27% of the 32% undecided ones will agree.

If that happened, 82% of the Sernitas would be for Chi-Woo taking a tohari—that was way over the 70% needed for the action to be taken.

“What are the extra conditions?” Chi-Woo wondered if the Sernitas wanted to make an alliance or something

—Asking you to leave this ground immediately upon receiving the fire that doesn’t go out. There must be no conflict in the process.

“That’s…” Chi-Woo eyes s.h.i.+fted. That was exactly what he wanted. He wanted to accept the deal with open arms, but he didn’t know what they were thinking. There was no way that the Sernitas were just a bunch of pushovers who would let the other party do whatever they wanted. Chi-Woo looked around, and his companions had the same reaction. Everyone looked taken aback by the Sernitas’ proposal.

Chi-Woo spoke after organizing his thoughts. “I 100% agree to do that. I can act upon it immediately if that’s what you want.”

—Ag…

The figure was about to say ‘agree’, but stopped. After a bit of a pause, they continued.

—…Furthermore, we hope to establish a more cooperative relations.h.i.+p with this deal.

“A cooperative relations.h.i.+p?”

—You must ignore us and stand by.

“…What?”

—End date is until we leave this planet. Regardless of each party’s length of stay, we request to not interfere in each other’s matters for at least three years.

Chi-Woo had to rack his head to interpret the Sernitas’ words. Rather than an alliance, it appeared that the Sernitas were asking Chi-Woo to remain neutral. They wanted him to not care about whatever they did on this planet, and likewise, they wouldn’t bother him. Since they had given an exact end date of 3 years, they were most likely to have their own goal. This proposal was too dangerous for Chi-Woo to simply accept. He needed to hear more.

“What do you mean? I know you are trying hard on your end, but the communication is not exactly going through. I would like for you to explain in more detail.”

The figure looked intently at Chi-Woo for a bit, and after a brief pause, they continued.

—We think it’s too early for us to clash with you. We are not complete yet.

—It is our judgment that it is the same for you.

Chi-Woo flinched.

—It is our conclusion that if we clash right now, it will end in irreversible mutual ruins.

The expedition team looked confused. They couldn’t really understand what the Sernitas were saying. Did they mean it was too early for them to stand on the same stage yet, and each side should back away for now? In the end, everyone turned to look at Chi-Woo.

“…Who are you?” Chi-Woo asked and glared at the figure. His gaze looked fiercer than before.

***

The universe was infinite. There were numerous galaxies, countless star systems, and an unimaginable number of planets… And among them, there were many planets that teemed with life. Flowers bloomed and wilted, while their roots stretched out until they formed a sanctuary like a flower bouquet. And like that, living creatures came into being on many planets and blossomed their own civilizations.

Some civilizations flourished for a long time, while others fell into ruins after a short period. The Sernitas was one of the former. Among the flouris.h.i.+ng civilizations, they could be considered the very peak. They didn’t see any fall or decline and only thrived and prospered. Their economic and state power only became stronger, and every leader was recognized as the best and wisest superior anyone could hope for. From the past to the present, bright talents bloomed in great numbers; and everyone acknowledged each other’s differences, made up for what the other lacked, and didn’t fight but gathered their strengths to work for an ideal future in a singular mind. It was a civilization belonging to the dreams. And such days continued without a stop, for centuries and millennia.

Eventually, they stood at the top of the Middle World with no rival. They faced no risks or dangers as a result. The last demon lord was subjugated in five minutes, and no beings from other words dared invade them afterwards. Instead, the reverse happened. They went across the Middle World to get to the Demon World and successfully captured the demon lord. They stomped down the Demon World’s order and erased all potential threats there. After they finally achieved an ideal situation with no cause for worry, however, they felt an unexpected thirst.

They were all amazing, and each of them was outstanding without a doubt. Furthermore, they knew how to collaborate and yield to one another. And instead of despairing that they couldn’t progress beyond their current states, they turned their eyes elsewhere—not to the Middle World or the Demon World, but to a higher dimension. They challenged the G.o.d ruling over their planet and succeeded in the end. And after making the G.o.d kneel, they planned to make themselves G.o.ds. Without any interference, they tried to establish their own order, but they couldn’t become G.o.ds in the end.

Perhaps it was decided at birth—the difference between a mortal and an immortal. There was something fundamental in this gap that they couldn’t bridge. Yet, again, they didn’t despair. Instead, they rejoiced that they still had room for progress and celebrated. And after gathering their minds together, they thought about what they could do to overcome this hurdle and identified the reason they couldn’t become G.o.ds. After much discussion, they concluded that it was because the individual was lacking. They were able to rise to their current position because they collaborated with one another; it was something they wouldn’t have been able to achieve alone.

They were perfect as one, but lacking as an individual. Thus, they gained a new goal to become perfect and complete beyond any room for improvement together. They decided to become one not just in their words and actions, but in body, heart, and mind. They threw away individual shortcomings and only kept each of their strengths as they merged.

But even that wasn’t enough. They still felt something was lacking and realized that they needed much more information than they had. Thus, they decided to go on a journey and visit places all over the universe to find something that would make up for what they were missing. They were multiple and one at the same time; singular and plural; I and we. And they hoped that at the end of this continuous journey, they would become an existence that transcended not just G.o.ds, but one who could establish a new order in this entire universe. That was who the Sernitas were.