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That was the view that Odin had on his throne, which he called the Argentum Throne, before his death. He was always looking at <Asgard>, which had taken up the largest part of the vast Worldline. However, it was nothing but a mere part of the past that only a few remembered now after so many years.

“Remember, Odin,” Bestla said with sharp eyes.

“Save your strength. Let’s do something about your wound—!”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“But—!” Odin shouted in an attempt to argue, but he was shot down once more.

“Look at me! I know how I’m doing the best. I don’t have much time left, so don’t make me waste it.”

“…”

“Answer me, Odin,” Bestla urged.

“... Okay.”

“Now, look around you. What can you see?”

Sitting on his Argentum Throne, Odin closed his eyes. The memory, one belonging to the past far before the golden era, played below his feet. It showed an event that took place before Odin became a Creator Celestial and took the seat of a Celestial King.

Bestla was his blood relative[1], but she acted as his parent, teacher, and anchor. Odin always believed that his title of Celestial King was one of Bestla’s legacies that he inherited together with her Argentum Throne. For Odin, Bestla was the only real Celestial King.

‘I’m just following her footsteps…’ Odin thought, which was only natural. After all, Bestla was the ruler of a large faction that became the foundation for <Niffelheim>, <Muspelheim>, and <Jotunheim>. Matchless in this Worldline, it seemed as if she would reign forever…

‘But even she couldn’t overcome Emperors.’

“Everything is unraveling right now. In the end, everything we made is just a joke to them.” Bestla bitterly chuckled.

“That’s…”

“Become stronger. Try your hardest and then some to become stronger and gain true freedom. That is the only way to remain yourself.”

“Remain myself…” Odin blankly murmured.

“Yes, that’s it. Once you acquire true freedom, you will never find yourself in this kind of mess anymore!”

At that moment, as <Asgard> fell, Odin decided to voluntarily join samsara. He could lose his ego, but at the time, he was determined to accumulate as much gnosis as possible and become a wizard that could fool even this damn universe.

“Odin.”

Paah!

Hearing his name, Odin opened his eye, which momentarily emitted blue light. Balor was standing in front of him with a deep frown.

“What is it?” Odin asked.

“What? Did you really just ask me that?” Annoyance was evident in Balor’s eye. “Until when are you going to stay cooped up in here?! You, me, and the others have all recovered their egos, so why should we keep waiting here?! I demand an explanation!”

Balor gritted his teeth. He had been waiting for a chance to get his revenge on Chang-Sun for the devastating loss that he suffered in the subconscious realm a while back. However, when Odin and Perkwunos persuaded him to wait until Chang-Sun accumulated enough gnosis in the ‘Changgong Library,’ Balor had no choice but to hold himself back despite how hard it was.

Chang-Sun was out of the ‘Changgong Library’ now, yet Odin still hadn’t done anything. It made Balor so anxious that he practically protested to go out now, revealing his desire to eat Chang-Sun’s ego and have the body all to himself. He stayed submerged deep in the subconscious realm before because they still didn’t know who they were back then, but their egos had fully manifested now.

Hence, Balor now found the realm suffocatingly frustrating. It was too small for him, the ‘One-Eyed Magic Giant,’ to stay locked up in. However…

“No, not yet.” Odin calmly shook his head.

“But why?!”

“It’s still not enough.”

Odin didn’t give much of a context, but it was obvious what he was talking about.

“How is it still not enough?! We have so much gnosis now!” Balor pointed at the empty sky. Old messages hidden in the galaxy appeared.

[You have acquired more gnosis!]

[Your Divine Class has increased.]

[Current status: Apotheosis.]

…

[You have acquired more gnosis!]

[Your Divine Class has increased.]

[Current status: Supreme Ascendancy.]

…

[Current status: Harmonious Dominion.]

…

[Current status: Pure Azure.]

“It’s Pure Azure! He did not just completely change his divine power but merged it into one quality related to his Divine Ranks. He even purified it as if it was origin energy!”

Origin energy was the primordial energy that came into existence when order settled into the universe. Considering Ancient Celestials originated from it, only a few <Heaven> Celestials could control it.

Chang-Sun had just acquired a Divine Rank that essentially made him comparable to a Great Celestial, not just any high-ranking Celestial. However, his exceptional martial prowess, which was more outstanding than his Divine Class, made him far more fearsome than his Divine Rank could.

Chang-Sun could probably survive a fight against a Ruling Celestial of a <Society> now—no, considering he had singlehandedly eliminated Sangwon of the <Purple Star Astrology>, it was safe to assume that he was already as strong as one.

That was why Balor was getting impatient. The stronger Chang-Sun became, the less likely it was for him to get an opportunity to usurp Chang-Sun’s body. Unfortunately, much to his frustrations, Odin just silently listened to him.

“Wait, it can’t be…” Balor frowned.

“What is it that you want to say?”

“Are you leaving him alone because you got scared of—!” Balor stopped and gasped, realizing a bit too late that he had crossed a line.

As Balor expected, Odin glared and narrowed his eyes at him. “I hope you be more careful with your mouth, Balor.”

“Th-that’s…!”

“You and I are close, but we still have some manners to practice, don’t we?”

“… I’m sorry. My anger got the best of me,” Balor apologized.

Odin quietly closed his eyes again, making Balor more anxious.

“Odin…!”

“My decision remains unchanged. We still don’t have enough gnosis.”

“… Ah.” Balor’s shoulders drooped.

“But that is just my opinion.”

“Huh…?” Balor quickly raised his head.

With his eyes still closed, Odin continued, “Other people might have different opinions, and I believe I have no right to stop them by force. Don’t you think so?”

“Y-yeah! Of course!”

“We’re all equals here—partners working together to accomplish a common goal. We are not the subordinate of another.”

“Th-that’s right! We’re partners!”

“They have the freedom to make their own decisions.”

Balor’s face brightened up. Smiling slyly, he asked, “Does that mean that you won’t interfere no matter what kind of decision the other partners make?”

Odin noticed how Balor used the word partners instead of just partner on purpose, but he didn’t say anything. “Of course.”

“Hahahaha! You and I are definitely on the same wavelength! I expected no less from the Celestial King of <Asgard>.”

Balor’s laughter was so loud that even Odin’s Argentum Throne faintly shook.

“But…”

“Hm?”

“... Our partners will have to take responsibility for decisions and actions they take without our alliance’s consent.”

Balor’s expression subtly changed, but he soon scoffed as if it wasn’t a big deal. After all, that also meant that if he succeeded, all the rewards they could gain would also be distributed according to his orders.

They were equals, but Odin and Perkwunos were basically the leaders of their alliance. Now that Odin had agreed to turn a blind eye, nothing could stop Balor anymore.

“Let’s discuss that after we’re done with everything,” Balor said, disappearing into the wind.

“Fool,” Odin said, voicing out his very acerbic assessment of Balor. Odin’s eyes were half-opened now, but he wasn’t watching the galaxy around him or his past memory. He was looking in an entirely different direction. “Why can’t he understand that dwelling on the past makes one repeat history without gaining anything?”

It wasn’t just Balor. All the past reincarnations acted the same way. They had all died before, but instead of trying to become better, they were obsessing over their glorious past. Odin was different, however, because Bestla’s last words were still engraved deep in his heart as if she had used a branding iron.

The future, the sky outside the sky, the universe beyond the universe… Odin looked at things that were invisible to the naked eye. Those were the reasons he had given himself a death sentence and waited for eternity by living new lives. He accumulated a considerable amount of knowledge as a result, yet he still hungered for more.

“Sky outside the sky… Emperors… How much longer do I have to endure to reach where you people are?”

Odin patiently waited for the day he could finally be truly free.

* * *

[Requesting to return to the Server ‘Earth’ of Worldline #801!]

[Reconnected to the server.]

[Calculating the difference between the time spent in the ‘Changgong Library’ and the time that has passed in the Server ‘Earth.’]

[The calculated time difference is 192 years, 9 months, 21 days, 5 hours, 47 minutes, and 11 seconds.]

[Proceeding with your return now will badly influence your future performance as a Player.]

[Searching for another method.]

[Decreasing the time difference.]

…

[Successfully decreased the time difference to 112 years, 6 months, 16 hours, 4 minutes, and 58 seconds in the time of the Server ‘Earth.’]

[Proceeding with your return now will still badly influence your future performance as a Player. Attempting to further decrease the time difference.]

…

Click, click―!

While getting propelled from the ‘Changgong Library,’ Chang-Sun could feel the world around him quickly changing. The clock hands rotated counterclockwise, rewinding Worldline #801’s timeline like a videotape.

[Successfully decreased the time difference to 89 years, 12 months, 42 minutes, and 33 seconds.]

[Unable to rewind the timeline of the Server ‘Earth’ due to entropy imbalance.]

…

[The ‘Deus Ex Machina’ clicks his tongue and says that you are annoyingly high maintenance.]

[The ‘Deus Ex Machina’ interferes, changing the worn-out clockwork.]

[The broken ‘Wheel’ is turning again.]

[Rewinding the ‘Small Wheel.’]

…

[Successfully decreased the time difference to 1 day, 16 hours, 8 minutes, and 6 seconds in the time of the Server ‘Earth.’]

[Logging into the Server ‘Earth.’]

[Synchronizing with your current body!]

Woosh!

When Chang-Sun opened his eyes, he thought he would immediately see Cha Ye-Eun, but he ended up meeting the gaze of a strange old man instead.

“…”

“…”

Chang-Sun blinked, not knowing who the old man was.

The old man grinned from ear to ear, seemingly having fun. “You slept in an uncomfortable position for quite some time. Do you not get backaches when you sleep like that? Is it because you’re still young? When I sleep like that, my back hurts for a week. It happened around… twenty-one years ago? When I was in San Francisco…”

The old man was as talkative as <Deus Ex Machina>. Chang-Sun tried to interrupt him to stop him from talking, but he frowned instead, having noticed the presence behind the old man. It belonged to someone Chang-Sun had been well acquainted with in <Heaven>.

[The Celestial ‘Teacher of All Sentient Beings’ looks at you and gives you a mellow and merciful smile.]

“Stop snickering, Avalokita[2]. I still don’t like you,” Chang-Sun snapped.

[The Celestial ‘Teacher of All Sentient Beings’ droops her shoulders like a scolded puppy.]

1. Bestla is Odin’s mother in the actual mythology, but she’s just a relative in TDTR. ☜

2. The shortened version of Avalokitesvara. ☜