C362
"Is he alive?"
It was an ambiguous expression.
"Well, I'm not sure about either."
"…?"
If he's alive, then he's alive; if not, then he's not.
He wasn't sure which was the answer.
YuWon's expression still showed a complexity that seemed to ask, "What are you saying?"
Mimir had a complicated expression because there was something he didn't know in this Tower.
It was a moment when YuWon was thinking about what it could be...
"It can't be..."
Even Mimir, who could see everything in the Tower, didn't know.
That was just what YuWon knew.
"Is it about what's outside?"
What's outside the Tower.
Regarding those existences, Mimir's eyes couldn't exert their full power.
Indeed.
"It's inside."
Mimir's response to YuWon's question was affirmative.
"Inside."
"It seems he was expelled once, but managed to enter. And I also don't know why or how, but he became a completely different existence."
Limited information.
However, there was no doubt about the certainty of that information.
That was because Mimir was the source of that information.
So, really...
'Chronos was expelled to the outside.'
That meant Chronos was no longer an inhabitant of this world.
What's outside this Tower.
The Outer Gods.
In an instant, YuWon's mind recalled the situation when Zeus had encountered Chronos.
'When Foolish Chaos opened the door for a moment?'
If Chronos was expelled to the outside from this Tower and entered between the cracks of the door, then the situation made sense.
The problem was one.
'He couldn't have opened the door by himself.'
How, in what way, did he break through an unbreakable wall and get out?
At that moment when his thought reached there...
"It seems we're thinking the same thing."
Mimir smiled slightly.
Maybe because his memories of Chronos weren't as strong.
He didn't seem to be as saddened by Chronos being expelled from this world.
If it had been the Mimir YuWon knew...
'He would have been crying his eyes out, right?'
All that came back were the memories.
The memories of being with Chronos and emotions like camaraderie didn't return.
That seemed to be the limit of Mimir's eye power.
'Anyway, thanks to this...'
Thanks to Mimir's words, YuWon was able to gain a small profit.
He felt a sense that he had discovered some clues about the Outer Gods.
-------------
The conversation between YuWon and Mimir continued for quite some time.
They decided to let the topic of Chronos rest for now. Discussing extensively about unanswered questions was a luxury that Mimir, who had little time, couldn't afford.
"Well, then, let's focus on the Shiva part."
"There won't be many changes in that aspect. Ultimately..."
YuWon talked about the situations he had changed so far. Then, he reassembled the changes that would occur due to those situations and the necessary modifications in his plan.
It seemed like his head was going to explode.
YuWon paused for a moment and scratched his head while tilting his stiff neck backward.
"You should have come earlier."
Then, it wouldn't have been necessary to plan as intricately as now.
"I haven't found a way to break the curse on my end either."
"I see..."
It got even worse.
YuWon couldn't say that out loud. He knew how much Mimir and Odin had struggled for a long time to break the Curse of Knowledge.
But Mimir couldn't deceive the heavens.
"Yes, our side is the same. If we continue like this, the curse will only get worse."
"..."
Mimir's curse intensified more and more as he used his knowledge.
At first, it was 50 years out of 100. Then, 60 years, 70 years...
Gradually, he sank into a deeper and longer sleep.
"Next time, it will exceed a hundred years."
"I'm sorry."
This time, Mimir had wasted more time than he had used until now. The side effects of overusing his eyes resulted in spending more time in a deep sleep, and the curse was accelerating more and more.
If Odin found out, he might become furious and erupt in anger.
"It doesn't matter. After all, if it's not this, won't we all die?"
Mimir snapped his fingers as if it were no big deal, but for YuWon, it wasn't like that.
The Curse of Knowledge.
If they didn't find a way to undo it, Mimir would likely fall into eternal sleep at some point. Neither dead nor alive.
"I will do my best to free you from that curse."
Normally, it would be an empty promise.
YuWon would only think something like that inside, not casually say it out loud.
Still, YuWon said it.
'Absolutely.'
And that was like a promise YuWon made to himself.
"Yes, I would like that."
A tone that didn't have high expectations.
Mimir was already willing to sacrifice his time, even if the price was eternal sleep.
Mimir finally opted to strengthen the plans laid out by his future comrades.
"Well, let's leave the story here."
With very sore eyes, Mimir closed them tightly, pressing his eyelids with his ring and index fingers.
And the next moment...
Swish, swish...
['Mimir's Illusion' begins]
['Golden Cinder Eyes' resists 'Mimir's Illusion']
['Golden Cinder Eyes' fails to resist 'Mimir's Illusion']
A new illusion began, and the world reflected in YuWon's eyes changed again.
It was exactly the same as the first time.
Suddenly, YuWon found himself inside a small cabin with Mimir in the form of Thor.
"I see we've been here a long time, my friend. They have too."
Mimir's gaze turned outside the cabin.
Towards Hargan, who was standing next to Hercules.
Almost half a day had passed. It was really a long time.
"What do you plan to do now?"
At Mimir's question, YuWon hesitated for a moment.
He would never have imagined he would meet him at this moment.
Originally, he should have acted according to the newly established plan.
But...
"First, I have to go to Asgard."
YuWon changed his direction for a moment.
Under normal circumstances, there was no reason for YuWon to go to Asgard in this meeting with Mimir.
But a problem arose.
"I have to resolve the issue of Chronos first."
Whether it was Chronos or something else, that wasn't the biggest issue.
What was more important was that it might have been Foolish Chaos who brought him into the Tower in the first place.
Why exactly did he let Chronos in?
Was it just a coincidence?
'No, that's impossible.'
There were countless numbers of Outsiders who could have entered the Tower. However, it being precisely Chronos who crossed the door meant that, right now, he would be the best resource for YuWon.
"If that's true, I'd like to help... but..."
Mimir, who looked like Thor, frowned. At that moment, his head throbbed with a sharp pain.
"For now, I need to rest a bit."
"Don't worry, take a break."
He had already used too much knowledge.
Mimir couldn't afford to push himself further. If he tried to use more knowledge and ended up falling into sleep, YuWon couldn't avoid Odin's spear.
Even YuWon wanted to avoid that.
"It will be hard to get much help from Mimir regarding the Outsiders."
If Chronos had become an Outsider, Mimir's power wouldn't have much effect on him.
So, from now on, the problem would be YuWon's responsibility.
'Fighting against them is my specialty.'
He might not know about other areas, but YuWon was confident he knew more about fighting against the Outsiders than Mimir.
That's why he didn't need much help from Mimir in that aspect. Just confirming that Chronos had become an Outsider, his work was almost done.
"Let's go out and see."
He had already made Hercules and Hargan wait too long.
The next destination was already decided. It was time to move on.
'It will be nice to see him after all this time.'
It would probably be the first time after Ragnarok.
The most powerful Magic Warrior of the Tower.
The absolute leader who founded the Great Guild called Asgard, without suffering a single defeat.
The strongest of the Rankers that YuWon knew.
'Odin.'
------------------------
100th floor.
A world without night with a sky bluer than any other floor of the Tower.
Under that sky, blue waves turned into bluer ripples than the sky itself.
Chaa!
The waves broke and gently caressed the grains of sand. The beach gleamed like a jewel under the light.
Amidst all of that, there was a man with a serene look on an elegant bed.
"... So, it was real."
The blue-haired, bearded man, Poseidon, got up and looked around.
Being in the water was the most comfortable condition for him. The beach with the breaking waves was like his private bedroom.
How had he ended up here?
Swish!
He reached out for the trident that was stuck next to where he lay.
"I don't need it anymore."
Bam...
A drop of water appeared in Poseidon's hand and began taking on a defined shape. The water droplet formed into a long, solid, blue spear. And in an instant...
Thwack!
With force, Poseidon threw the spear into the sea from his seated position.
Pwooosh!
The sea where the spear fell rose into a huge blue pillar. With an explosion enough to easily crush a small city, hundreds of waves were created and spread around.
It was truly a terrifying power.
Although he had made the spear effortlessly.
"It really... was a success."
A spear created by compressing the strength of the immense ocean.
Poseidon felt that this spear resembled Zeus's Lightning Bolt.
It had the same shape as the spear, and its power was not inferior.
Chirk...
"Triaina."
The name of the spear he wanted to make using the Divine Sea Crystal if he ever got his hands on it.
Poseidon gave the spear he had just created that very name.
And that also meant that Poseidon was confident he had reached the same level as Zeus himself.
'With this power...'
He could return to Olympus and start anew.
Kwak...
Poseidon clenched his fist tightly and stood up.
The trials of this new power were already over.
Now he was an entirely different entity.
Just then...
Splash...
The sea in front of Poseidon began to rise and take shape.
This wasn't something Poseidon was doing.
"Who are you...?"
Just as he was about to ask what was going on. The figure of the sea began to take the form of a person, and Poseidon's eyes gradually widened.
Though it was made of the clearest blue sea water, the color of its hair or eyes couldn't be discerned properly.
"Zeus?"
Definitely, it had the same face as Zeus, just as Poseidon knew him.
Tags:
LWTG (Novel)