Necromancer Of The Black Bible (182)

There was no pain.

Rather, it was comfortable.

Countless senses receded beyond my consciousness, and at the same time some stray thoughts rose above it.

-Was that your choice?

-Are you sure it was the best option?

-Was there no other way than to take your own life?

I answered that it was.

Then another whisper reached me.

-It’s not too late.

-Right. With your power you can be reborn even here.

-Even without a form, you can recreate one.

-You can inhabit another form.

-Isn’t your power too precious to waste?

-It’s the power everyone in this world covets. Why would you give it up?

-Don’t give it up.

-You can do it.

I snorted and laughed.

Power?

Surely everyone in the world would covet it.

But precisely because of that, it’s right to lay that power down.

A power no one can bear only brings tragedy the more it’s wielded.

This power can only kill more people or endlessly raise cold corpses.

So I answered them like this.

“I won’t do that.”

Even after I answered like that, they did not give up.

-Think it over once more.

-You’ll regret it?

-Are you satisfied with such a death?

-Of course not.

“I’m satisfied.”

I actually felt relieved.

It felt like finally settling a debt I should have repaid long ago.

‘I’m glad I can meet Master again.’

At least in that regard, I was grateful to Equinox.

Whatever his scheme was, I had fulfilled my life’s desire.

That was enough.

I had done as much as I could.

I have no regrets.

Then someone appeared before me.

Someone surrounded by thick darkness.

I thought I could tell who it was from their face.

“Equinox?”

-Hehehe….

He was smiling as if something amused him greatly.

I did not like his laughter.

He circled me and then spoke.

-Who on earth told you that?

A strange question.

I chuckled, and he asked again.

-Could it be that Balthazar told you?

“You should already know the answer.”

If Equinox had lured my Master, he would have nested in his mind and whispered.

Then he would know my Master’s innermost thoughts and every move.

After staring at me for a while, another figure appeared behind him.

Someone surrounded by bright light.

It was Kallios, the God of Light.

Kallios approached me with an intrigued expression and said,

-Remarkable.

It was an unpleasant reaction.

Like the look one gives a child who has accomplished something.

-Yes. Exactly that feeling. But put it more precisely: it’s like watching a child who has realized something they absolutely needed to know on their own.

Kallios pinpointed exactly what I was thinking and continued.

-I didn’t expect anyone who could solve this problem after my death to appear.

His words were not easy to understand.

Solve the problem?

Strictly speaking, I had given up. It would be more accurate to say I entrusted it to the Master I trusted most.

I looked at Kallios and said,

“Don’t pull tricks. I want to be done now. I want to enjoy eternal rest.”

Kallios grinned. Equinox, standing beside him, wore the same expression.

Kallios said,

-There is no eternal rest in this universe.

“But I’m dead!”

-Death is….

To Kallios’s words Equinox added.

-It’s only the beginning, Master.

Although I had no body, it felt like goosebumps rose on me.

They soon overlapped and continued speaking as one.

-You solved the problem set by the Gods of this world.

-As promised, the Gods will grant you omnipotent power.

What?

What on earth are they saying?

I wanted to tell them to stop spouting nonsense, but no words came out.

A powerful force grabbed me, and I was helplessly pulled into it.

‘Ugh…!!!’

I couldn’t resist.

It was hard to keep my wits; it was hard to shout anything.

Only their voices echoed in my ears.

-To sacrifice yourself for your Master.

-A choice no one else could have made.

“Don’t be ridiculous! He was the one who sacrificed himself! Not me! I only repaid what I received!”

I shouted with all my might, but they laughed and replied.

-That is Love itself.

-You possess an even greater Love than that.

-You understood that this world needs Light.

-Do not forget what that Light was.

-Take good care of this world.

That was all the voice said to me.

With that, I was drawn into a distant power and lost consciousness.

When I came to, I was seated on a throne.

A pure white throne at the Ethereal Gate.

Before it, countless ministers bowed their heads.

“We greet the new God.”

Ceres and Eliastra.

I saw many other familiar faces.

What on earth is this?

I was definitely dead.

I had renounced my body myself, so why had this happened?

Then a voice came from within my mind.

-It seems that Equinox has chosen you, Master.

It was Nocturne’s voice.

Even then, it was held in my hand.

I asked it.

-Where is Equinox?

-It has left. It asked me to tell you it has gone to take eternal rest.

I snorted with laughter.

Hearing that, I could roughly grasp the situation.

‘So it dumped everything on me and ran off.’

I clenched my fist unconsciously and power gathered naturally.

At the same time, energy stirred within me.

A powerful force I had never felt before.

I had been strong before, but not to this extent.

‘It’s not just an increase of a single circle.’

I closed my eyes and inspected my body; dozens of Mana Rings were rotating in their places.

They each had different natures, and whenever I desired power, the appropriate Ring spun.

With that power I checked the state of the Ethereal Gate.

‘The position is the same.’

The Ethereal Gate was orbiting the continent, separated from the Ethereal Realm.

I moved it back to where the Ethereal Gate should originally be.

Goooo-

A low vibration reverberated quietly through the inside of the Ethereal Gate.

But only for a moment.

As the Ethereal Gate drew near the Ethereal Realm, it touched its entrance, and I aligned the gate’s entrance with the matching groove.

Kiiik- Kwoong-

The stronger-than-expected resonance startled the subordinates inside, but it normalized immediately.

Actually, I was more startled than they were.

‘Such power.’

I had only thought it, and the entire Ethereal Gate moved with ease.

After connecting with the Ethereal Realm, even more astonishing things happened.

Rooms that had until now been inactive all started operating at once, and various alarms began to sound.

[The Wheel of Eternity is being connected to the Ethereal Realm.]

[Functions that were previously disabled are being restored.]

[Life circulation system activated.]

……

In the past, because of Illinas, the functions of the Ethereal Realm couldn’t be used.

With the recent movement, it seemed almost all functions had been restored.

Then Ceres spoke.

“The reincarnation system has been restored. We can now send prepared souls back to the surface.”

“Is there a body for them to go into?”

“There is.”

Ceres activated the crystal orb and continued.

“There are many corpses from the last war. We can send them all into those bodies. Shall we proceed as is?”

Originally I intended to select souls and form an army.

But now an army is not needed.

The enemy is gone, and there’s no longer any need to fight.

‘What is needed now is…’

Life.

Life that will newly live on this land.

Life that can share Light with one another is needed.

To that end, corpses must not be raised.

I gave the order at once.

“Do not raise corpses. From now on, send souls into babies.”

“…What?”

“Send souls into babies in their mother’s wombs.”

Ceres looked briefly puzzled, but then smiled and nodded.

“Understood.”

“And…”

I recalled a memory for a moment.

A memory I had completely forgotten since regaining consciousness here.

‘I was definitely dead. What happened after that?’

Suddenly a face flashed past.

It was the face of my beloved Master.

“Balthazar—no, Sanchez—what happened to him?”

“He…”

Ceres answered with an embarrassed expression.

“He is dying. Since you disappeared, that has been the case.”

I used the crystal orb to locate my Master.

As Ceres said.

My Master’s soul-light was gradually dimming.

The cause was that his soul was incomplete.

‘But with my power…’

I focused my mind.

Then I sought my Master and approached him.

My spirit found him like a swift specter, and soon I could stand before him.

My Master lay in bed, sweating.

He did not want to die.

He did not want to leave his wife before him and the daughter in her womb.

I decided to grant his wish.

Hwaaak-

For a brief moment.

An unknown power from me touched his soul, and that power stitched together the shredded pieces of his soul.

I restored the missing parts and excised the corrupted portions.

Thus my Master’s soul became whole.

Then my Master sensed that I had returned.

-Damian. So you have returned.

-I have come.

-Thank goodness.

It was a short sentence, but it conveyed much.

He looked at me and continued speaking.

-You have become what I wanted. Well done.

-No. This is not what I wanted.

-It suits you well. That is enough.

I touched my Master’s face.

Feeling the warmth, he closed his eyes and spoke.

-I have one wish.

-What is it?

-Erase my memories.

After a moment of silence, he spoke again.

-I want to live this life given to me to the end.

-Memories of a past life might lead to better choices.

-No. It’s better not to have memories filled only with pain. I just want to live anew in this state.

The earlier me might have stopped him to the end.

But not now.

I could feel his mind, thoughts, and feelings in full.

My Master feared his memories stained by Darkness.

He feared that Darkness would taint his life again.

It was a reasonable request.

Such thick Darkness will taint itself simply by being encountered.

-Very well.

I granted my Master’s wish.

This was the greatest thing I remembered since I became a god.

Equinox and Kallios.

I still wasn’t sure whether their choice had been right.

But the world was certainly turning differently than before.

Those who desired Darkness and Chaos remained, but they were all subject to the judgment of death.

Because the demons underground had come under the command of the new Demon King Erisia, and Erisia still pledged loyalty to me.

Demons can no longer individually contract with humans.

‘What else does this world need?’

So far, the only Light I had found was one.

But might there not be others?

I closed my eyes again, gauging another Light I felt within my heart.