The World on the Other Side (1), The World on the Other Side (2) and The World on the Other Side (3)
The point at which the war in Carinta Island ended.
The private room of the Regressors Guild was enveloped in a calm atmosphere.
“I thought I got it right this time… .”
The low voice of guild leader annihilation rang out.
At one time I thought I had driven the strings perfectly.
The knights inside the ruins and the forces of light outside were besieging Carinta Island.
The Regressor Guild handed over all the preoccupied information to the NPC.
It was the result of giving up many of the benefits we deserved.
“Was this not enough?”
The problem is that the opponent also moved NPCs like they did.
Somehow, Hyeon escaped the crisis by drawing in the forces of Heaven and Abyss at the same time.
After that, the balance of war completely tipped, and the members of the regressors guild had no choice but to run away.
Thanks to secretly logging out in an empty place, there were few actual deaths, but the pride of the guild members was already smashed.
“There was a problem.”
Berard opened his mouth.
He was one of the few who died, so he was more heartbroken than the rest.
“Because the Darkness Guild was acting with Hyun.”
“Darkness?”
“Yeah, we couldn’t play properly inside the ruins because we were trying to keep them in check.”
“Was there another guy besides Mayday with Hyun?”
“I don’t know if there will be or not… . But because I didn’t know, I couldn’t move quickly.”
“that’s right!”
Poseryeong agreed with Berard.
It was because she felt the same frustration.
“Because there is May Day. There was a high possibility that other Darkness Guild members were also with Hyun. I couldn’t properly pursue it because I was afraid someone was ambushing me.”
“Big… .”
Annihilation let out a drool.
That’s a reasonable enough opinion.
Mayday was a user representing the Darkness Guild, so it was not strange to bring subordinates or attendants.
An unknown enemy is more terrifying than a revealed enemy.
It was not wrong to prepare for an invisible enemy.
“I didn’t expect Hyun and Darkness to hold hands… . Is that our defeat?”
“I don’t know how far it went, but it’s certain that it had an impact.”
“Besides, if it hadn’t been for Mayday, the war might have ended before Hyun could act!”
It was at that moment that Steel Rock, who had been quietly listening to the guild members’ stories, came up with a new opinion.
“Then wouldn’t it be one way for us to join hands with Darkness first?”
With everyone’s eyes turned around, the annihilation asked.
“Darkness and us allies?”
“yes.”
“But, given the current situation, wasn’t Darkness having a friendly relationship with Hyun?”
“I’m not sure about that.”
Iron Rock explained his guess.
“In the end, other Darkness guild members other than Mayday didn’t appear, did they?”
“surely… .”
“Then it’s not guild to guild, but individual to individual… It’s more natural to see that only Hyun and Mayday have a point of contact. Or a temporary partnership.”
“… … .”
“That’s why it doesn’t hurt if we propose an alliance with Darkness first.”
There was a short silence in the private room at the explanation of the steel rock.
After a while, I received a horse.
“Not a bad idea.”
It is Darkness that has been consistently ranked #1 since the early days of Assrian.
He would have ambitions of ascending the throne one day, so he wouldn’t want the power of the Shade Guild to become too powerful.
In particular, if you felt a sense of crisis due to this incident, if you wanted to stop Hyun’s solo, there would be no reason to reject this offer.
“It’s well worth a try.”
***
Meanwhile, the Darkness Guild.
The minds of the guild members who watched this incident vividly through Mayday’s broadcast were complicated.
It was a situation where Hyun’s performance was not easily forgotten.
It was then that a significant message arrived.
“An alliance proposal has come from the Regressor Guild.”
“… … ?”
“They say let’s fight the Shade Guild together… What do you all think?”
X-Large immediately held a guild meeting and summoned everyone.
It was to get various opinions on whether to accept or reject the alliance.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to form an alliance for the time being?”
“I think the shade is more dangerous than the regressor.”
“Darkness doesn’t have the strength to withstand that monster’s army yet! If the Shade Guild invades the realm of Darkness, we will be defeated without even using our hands!”
“I also don’t think it’s a bad choice to join forces with other guilds to keep Shade in check.”
After the broadcast of May Day, many people had a fear of the Shade Guild in their hearts.
They were the ones who thought they had no enemies.
It was natural to feel a sense of danger when he saw Hyeon, who was controlling the army of monsters at will, in such a yard.
“It is not a matter to be taken lightly.”
But there were also other voices.
“Those guys have the worst image, right? There are rumors that he monopolizes good hunting grounds and kills users he doesn’t like… Could this be a ploy to stab us in the back?”
“that’s right. We don’t need to be impatient, we just go our way!”
“Eventually, there will come an era when the influence of users is greater than that of NPCs. At that time, there will be no need to worry about regressor or shade.”
Even for image management, you can’t cooperate with the regressor’s guild.
You don’t have to get caught up in other people’s fights.
Right now, Darkness seems to be a bit behind the Shade, but after a long time, the situation will reverse again.
There were quite a few people who opposed the alliance with the Regressor Guild for their own reasons.
“Mmm, that’s right.”
After hearing all the comments, X-Large fell into thought.
The ratio of pros and cons was boiling at 5:5.
At first glance, each opinion seemed to have its own rational basis.
‘It’s an alliance.’
However, X-Large realized that someone’s argument was flawed.
The guild members’ insistence that they form an alliance.
What they unfold is the logic of the Three Kingdoms.
In order to contain the growth of one force, the other two forces must join forces.
‘Would it be possible to join forces… ?’
For a moment, I thought of a certain future in my head.
X-Large, who analyzed Mayday’s broadcast screen, was able to judge the power of the string more accurately than others.
What if you can’t beat the Shade Guild even if you join forces with the Regressor Guild?
Then it would be like going against the planting of the prefecture. The neutral relationship that has been maintained so far will be destroyed at once.
‘Don’t get swept away by emotions, you have to judge objectively.’
Even in Assrian’s history, there was no case where two weak countries joined forces to oppose the Empire.
Many of the lesser countries all paid tribute to the empire, and the empire awarded them in return for their generosity.
‘There is no point in joining forces!’
Judging by X-Large, the current Shade Guild was an empire.
It would be a wiser choice to become a weak country and wait for the times to change, rather than spending energy against the empire.
However, spreading such logic to the executives of Darkness is to undermine one’s self-esteem.
“I also think it’s good to reject this alliance.”
XLarge pretended to agree with one of the objections and concluded.
“There is no need to interfere in other people’s fights while shaving the image of Darkness.”
“I think the same way!”
I heard Mayday’s voice at that time.
X-Large turned to the side and Mayday’s eyes met.
“Darkness does not have to ally with the Regressor Guild.”
Even though they hadn’t spoken to each other, the two could sense that they were thinking the same thing.
“hmm.”
“indeed.”
In fact, when the two with the biggest voices spoke the same opinion, those in favor of the alliance were forced to add their own.
The emergency meeting of the Darkness Guild ended like that.
***
‘thank god!’
Seohyun brushed her chest as she got out of the capsule.
‘Thanks to Ain, the work ended easily.’
Will there ever be a time when the inability to access penalty after death is so welcome?
After experiencing the ‘can’t die situation’ once in Asura Online, a trauma occurred.
It was Seohyun who promised to be careful not to let this happen again.
“Ain?”
Seohyun looked back at Ain’s capsule.
Why? Ain hadn’t come out of the capsule even though a lot of time had passed.
Could it be that even with the determination to perish, he did not die? So what’s the big deal?!
Seohyun was worried and looked closer.
‘Eh? The capsule is off.’
jump.
I opened the capsule door and looked inside.
For some reason, Ain had a flushed face inside the machine that had stopped working.
While breathing a little harder than usual.
“Why aren’t you coming out… ?”
“… … .”
“Ouch… !”
Ain suddenly rushes in and stabs his stomach with his finger!
Seohyun jumped up.
“Wait, that hurts!”
“Huh, how was it, Hyun?”
“what… ?”
“You’re asking how I feel.”
“Do you still think you are an Assrian? Stop talking like a game addict and close the capsule door properly. Then you will get hurt!”
Seohyun managed to separate Ain from clinging to her.
“Let’s think about what we will do for the day.”
“day? Isn’t it two days?”
“ah… yes.”
For a moment, Seohyun felt a little sorry for Ain.
It was because she realized that she would not be able to log in for the next 48 hours because she had not received the Prayer’s Priestly Uniform buff.
But Ain didn’t really like it, he said with a smile on his face.
“It’s okay, Hyun will take care of everything, right?”
“okay. what. It is also my fault.”
Seohyun smiled and nodded.
After all, these two days are weekends.
Although the boundary between weekdays and weekends has disappeared at some point, weekends still come with a different feeling.
I decided to eat first and think slowly about what to do.
While the delivery food arrived, Seohyun took a look at the community she frequented.
The bulletin board was in an uproar with the suddenly added ‘History Quest’.
It was full of articles guessing when it happened and who made this history.
Ain, who was looking at the phone together over Seohyun’s shoulder, asked subtly.
“Isn’t Hyun the main character?”
“Me and you, maybe even May Day.”
“Huh… .”
“Rather than that, I haven’t cleared the main quest yet, so I guess the history quest could be added first.”
Except for the history quest, there was no particular topic in the community.
Seohyeon’s interest went back to the 13th district of the historic site.
Using the capsule interlocking function, I played the play video a while ago on my cell phone.
[Final Awakening Quest: Transcendence]
-Are you a person of deep faith?
-If not, you will never find the entrance to the second world.
‘Faith is… After all, you mean prayer, right?’
It was almost certain that prayer was the key.
However, I still had no idea how to use prayer.
As he himself knew, prayer was a means of traveling back and forth between the two worlds.
above ground and underground. Or, a symmetrical world with reality.
However, it was the first time that he said that he could use prayer to go to the Nether.
‘Wait, then.’
It was at that moment that Seohyun fell into doubt.
‘What happens if I pray in the nether?’
I remembered Lutia’s words I saw in the Temple of Twilight.
Lutia, no, Caidrial said that there is a symmetrical place in every world.
Just as the underground exists on the other side of the ground, and the demon realm exists on the other side of the heavens.
Then one question remains.
<Demon World>-<Underground>-<Above Ground>-<Heaven>
What position does the Nether belong to in the above world?
‘It’s on the other side of the nether.’
Seohyun was in trouble.
I searched Interloop but didn’t find much success.
Since the word Nether had never been mentioned in the first place, there was no way to know what the world on the other side of it was.
“What was the opposite of nether?”
It was Ain’s voice that answered Seohyun’s self-talk.
“Hyeon, you suddenly say something stupid. That’s right, it’s the real world, right?”
“is it… ? No, no!”
At Ain’s answer, Seohyun shook her head.
“It’s the opposite of a slightly different feeling. Ain, do you know much about Buddhism?”
Seohyun explained, citing real religions as examples.
“buddhism… ?”
“The concept of being resurrected at the end of the nether world is very similar to the concept of reincarnation in Buddhism. And if I had to find the opposite of reincarnation… .”
Seohyeon didn’t know much about Buddhism either, but she had very little knowledge.
“It’s Nirvana.”
According to a story I heard somewhere, in Buddhism, every soul is born, dies, and is reborn, repeating the cycle of reincarnation.
However, if you reach the state of nirvana, you can break the cycle of reincarnation.
A world on the other side of the hill that ordinary souls cannot reach.
Seohyun wanted to know if a world similar to that existed in Assrian.
Momentarily, Ain suddenly added a word.
“If that’s the case, isn’t hell the same?”
“hell… ?”
“Yeah, they say that if you fall into hell, you won’t be able to come back to life and you will suffer forever!”
Seohyun, who stopped talking for a moment and fell into thought, nodded and muttered after a while.
“Well, that makes sense.”
A world from which there is no escape.
It was the exact opposite concept of the nether where the destination of ‘the end’ exists.
Conceptually, it wouldn’t be strange to say that hell is the world on the other side of the nether.
Hyun nodded his head at the plausible reasoning.
“No, I think you are more accurate. The fact that the thirteenth district was a closed place might imply a hell from which there is no escape.”
“Yes… ?”
At Seohyun’s murmur, Ain tilted his head.
Even bringing up the word “hell” didn’t mean much, but Hyun seemed to have found a clue from the word.
“Well, you’ll find out for sure when you go there yourself.”
Seohyun shook her head and brushed off her thoughts.
Whether it’s Nether, Hell, or Mureungdowon, it doesn’t matter.
As long as the next list does not disappear from the quest window, you must go there.
[Final Awakening Quest: Transcendence]
-Are you a person of deep faith?
-If not, you will never find the entrance to the second world.
‘The key is prayer.’
Prayer is probably the only way to enter the second world.
There are two prayer experts that Seohyun knows in Assrian.
First of all, one is Cadrial, but… She won’t meet me again, saying she needs to conserve her strength.
Even if they do meet, it is certain that they will end up with only ambiguous Seon dialogues.
What about Louise?
Although the power he possesses is insignificant, he is a transcendent with no restrictions on the exercise of his power.
She has a good understanding of prayer to the point of earning the nickname of a priestess, and thanks to the return of some memories after her last awakening, she knew quite a lot.
Maybe you can learn ‘how to skip the world’ from Louise!
‘Yes, I’ll have to meet Louise first.’
That’s how Seohyun decided what to do as soon as she connected to the next Assrian.
***
After a day spent just the two of us.
While Ain fell asleep without knowing the world, Hyun connected to Assrian and resurrected in the slightly bustling city of Carinta Island.
“Hyun, what the hell happened… ?!”
As soon as Louise met Hyun, she made a fuss and shouted.
The darkness can know the state of the shadow anytime, anywhere, so it also knew the death of Hyun.
“It’s nothing. Because he is a user, he revives so quickly.”
“… Still, I was surprised!”
“sorry. Next time I think it’s dangerous, I’ll tell you in advance.”
While Hyun apologized to Louise, he remembered the title of the status window.
shadow of darkness.
Like the minions of darkness, if my soul is connected to Louise… Every time I die, Louise might feel a sense of loss.
Hyun thought that he should not take death too lightly in the future.
“Rather than that, is things going well?”
“It’s not as easy as you think… .”
At Hyun’s question, Louise put on a troubled expression.
“Oh, and I have one request.”
“what?”
“Because waking up my men caused some problems… .”
Louise, who was wiggling her fingers, soon began to explain the situation she was in.
“It seems that the magic stones I have prepared are not enough.”
The first problem is that there are too many subordinates sleeping in this ruin.
In order to make the spirit that had stopped moving a long time ago reactivate, Louise had to inject power into her subordinates, and what she needed was a magic stone.
However, he didn’t expect that many of his subordinates were sleeping in the ruins, so the magic stones he prepared soon ran out.
“So that’s what… Can you lend me a little bit of the magic stone you have?”
“borrow… ask for it?”
“No, of course! I will pay the debt somehow later!”
“No, there is no need for that… How much do you need?”
Hyun took out the magic stones he had collected in his inventory.
Half of what she had was enough to meet Louise’s requirements.
After all the magic stones were handed over.
“And the next one is really shameless… .”
“huh?”
Louise murmured as she glanced at Hyun.
“How many god stones can you give me?”
“Shinseok? why?”
“Because there are a few guys who seldom wake up.”
There were several special subordinates inside the ruins.
Even if Louise borrows the power of a magic stone and pours out her power, they are monsters that can hardly be awakened.
Some of the subordinates with great power remained silent despite the pitiful call of darkness.
Louise was trying to reap all the monsters in the ruins, including those subordinates.
“Now here.”
Ohh, after handing over a few god stones, Louise opened her mouth wide.
It seemed that he was very concerned about the existence of his subordinates who could not be awakened by his own power.
“How much longer do you think it will take?”
“Ugh. We need about three more days.”
“Is it taking longer than expected? Is it because there are a lot of guys in tricky places?”
Hyun nodded, recalling several places in District 12.
Well, they said that Louise’s men are asleep inside the mighty waterfall, in the middle of the cliff, or even under the torrent.
It will take that much time to search all the hard-to-reach places.
“Do you need anything more?”
“No problem now!”
“Then, this time I also have one favor for you.”
After accepting Louise’s request first, Hyun revealed the purpose of visiting her.
“Can you give me just one day?”
***
A world colored in red.
On the day he first witnessed the symmetrical world, Hyun learned how to pray from an odd priestess.
If you continue to learn prayer, you will be able to reach this world someday.
‘I already know the trick to pray… .’
Hyun recalled the explanation he had heard from Lutia in the past.
Prayer is the art of dealing with empathy. He said that it is important not to fall into unconsciousness while emptying consciousness.
Hyun has always practiced prayer while remembering that advice, and now he can lower his consciousness quite naturally.
In other words, the tips of prayer learned from Lutia had been thoroughly mastered a long time ago.
If there is anything left to develop here, there is only one means.
‘The next step is to raise the level of prayer.’
The proficiency remaining until level 10 was about 15%.
Hyun knows how difficult it is to raise this 15 percent proficiency by yourself.
The 9th level of prayer was achieved when I faced Shakron in the Land of Darkness, and after that, I raised my proficiency in my spare time, but even before entering the ruins, the figure was only about 35%.
If he hadn’t been praying with Louise for several days while making the map, he wouldn’t have filled even half of the skill level.
‘I must get Louise’s help!’
In other words, more than half of the prayer proficiency was Louise’s achievement.
Like this, if she prayed while assimilated with Louise, her proficiency would rise incredibly quickly.
He couldn’t even figure out how many days it would take by himself, so Hyun decided to enlist Louise’s help this time as well.
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
“No, I don’t mind. I’m just borrowing my body for a while.”
“I see… .”
After assimilating with Louise, Hyun manipulated the settings to block his vision.
It was to create a state similar to closing your eyes.
I ignored the occasional chatter.
It must have been Louise’s self-talk, or she was waking up her subordinates and having small conversations with them.
How many hours had it passed since you lowered your consciousness like that?
Tring! The cheerful sound of the alarm pierced my ears.
When Hyun opened his eyes, a message from the system was spread out in his field of vision.
[Skill proficiency has reached 100%!]
[Prayer level has risen to 10!]
[Be the first user to reach the limit level of prayer, and empathy will increase by 10 permanently!]
[The final seal of the ‘Praying Priest’s Robe’ has been released!]
[The item grade has risen from ‘Legendary’ to ‘Epic’!]
<Prayer is a means for human beings to approach the transcendent. May the power of the transcendent always stay by your side.>
– In the future, you can deal with the power of ’empathy’.
‘… … .’
The string that finally came out of Louise’s body.
After reading all the messages pouring in, his eyes were locked in many thoughts.
***
What is Empathy?
This is a question that no Assrian user can answer.
The power to balance the self, transmitted through prayer.
A power granted only to angels and demons.
Except for this extent, Hyundo had no idea what empathy was.
So, even if he had developed a skill that handles the power of empathy, he felt more bewildered than happy.
First of all, I couldn’t even figure out how to use that power.
“A transcendental person exercises power by will. No matter what nonsense, cause and effect are reversed in the face of strong will… .”
“what… ?”
Even after hearing Louise’s explanation, it was impossible to understand.
“Tell me more precisely.”
“Actually, I don’t even know. It’s just that I pulled out the knowledge beyond my memory… In the first place, this body can’t handle empathy, so how exactly can I explain it?”
“hmm… .”
“Then why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“No, nothing… ..”
Do you know Caidrial?
She had urged me to learn to pray before.
Maybe I was predicting all of this from then on.
Hyun decided to forget about empathy for a while.
Trying this and that to no avail, so I figured it would be better to ask Caidrial the next time I see him.
‘Yes, I have other things to do now.’
After some verification.
Hyun returned to District 13 again.
Under the softly shining purple light, I quietly closed my eyes and put my hands together.
Pod! It was at a certain moment while continuing to pray that the surrounding background changed.
‘Okay, I can come back once!’
Seeing the magic lanterns change from purple to blue, Hyun called for joy.
As expected, when prayer reached level 10, he also gained the ability to cross worlds.
But this is not the end.
The soul is said to move in the same direction as consciousness.
The reason why those who pray thinking of devils go underground, and those who pray thinking of angels go to the ground is because each place is close to the realm of the devil or heaven.
Then, in order to reach a special destination, neither above ground nor underground, what should we remember and pray for?
‘Next, to go to the Nether… .’
Hyun swallowed a gulp and started praying again.
Thinking of death this time.
I was thinking of using the lowering consciousness trick, but I didn’t have to.
As soon as I started praying, the lantern on the wall turned purple.
Whoaaaa-!
As time went on, it became more and more intense.
Before anyone knew it, the hallway where Hyun was standing was filled with goblin fire.
belt ring.
It was at that moment that a new line of message came to mind.
[This is a space that cannot be entered alone! Come back with the soul that serves you!]
The swirling purple fireworks stopped in an instant.
All of the magic lanterns also turned blue.
In the real world that came back like that, Hyun couldn’t hide his blank expression for a while.
‘Can’t I go in alone?’
Hyun couldn’t help but be taken aback by the sudden message.
Thanks to Caidrial’s oracle, he found the destination of the quest and even figured out how to skip the world.
The moment you thought that everything had been resolved, you ran into a new challenge.
‘Take the soul that serves me with me?’
A soul that serves itself. Was there anything like that?
Does such a guy even exist?
‘perhaps.’
I did have one guess.
Shiina, the face of a white-eyed girl who had no feet like a ghost passed through Hyun’s mind.
He is now in a state of possessing the power of chaos.
In addition, the message that popped out immediately after getting out of the nether referred to her as a ‘servant’.
‘Damn it… ?’
Hyeonu’s heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that Shiina was my servant? This might be a place you can only enter if you come with Shiina.
But Shiina disappeared then.
So, isn’t the way to the second world also buried forever?!
“don’t worry.”
The moment Ain’s voice was heard, Hyeon couldn’t hide his nervousness.
She quietly watched Hyun’s broadcast from the outside and muttered as if something was wrong.
“I will help you.”
“you… ? how?”
“Yeah, it’s a bit embarrassing to say this, but… Actually, I have a little respect for Hyun.”
“… ?”
“A person who serves the prefecture. Since I also meet that condition, can you take me with you?」
“What is that… .”
Hyun’s voice naturally started to grow louder at Ain’s absurd logic.
“No, do you know that the system is so easygoing? Would that work?”
“Hachiman, you won’t know unless you try it!”
“I know that even if I don’t try,”
“How do you know?!”
Afterwards, Hyun sighed and calmed down.
I know that arguing with Ain who is stubborn will not bring any results.
Also, she doesn’t want to be left alone, so she wants to go with her for any reason.
“… Okay, if you try it once and it doesn’t work, you give up right away?”
Hyun had no choice but to say so.
It was because it was obvious that Ain would not give up his stubbornness until he showed him what he couldn’t do.
Fortunately, now I can cross the world with prayer.
It meant that even if Ain was locked in a secret room again, he could return him to his original world.
‘Summon a partner!’
The 13th district arrived after assimilating with Ain again.
Under the brightly shining purple light, Hyun continued to pray again.
Hwaaak. As time passed, the lights on the wall danced like wisps of fire.
A precursor to the opening of the door to the second world begins.
and the next moment.
Tring!
[You have found ‘1’ soul serving you!」
[Condition satisfied! Enter the second world, the Corridor of Eternity!]
“what… ?”
Hyun’s eyes widened at the unexpected message.
“This kind of trick really works…” ?”
Hyeon, who couldn’t hide his absurdity, looked at Ain’s expression.
Look at that, I knew he would be elated that he wasn’t wrong, but… Ain was quieter than expected.
“Hyun, look at that.”
Hyun followed Ain’s gaze.
The strong walls erected on all sides were completely demolished.
The ceiling and floor disappeared in an instant, and the world soon turned into a space like the universe.
However, as in the real universe, whether or not gravity disappeared, his body was constantly falling downwards and downwards.
Looking at the purple lights quickly passing by, Ain muttered quietly.
“Where are we going?”
“huh? I’ve seen it before… .”
Hyun answered after checking the log window.
The message kindly informed us of the location of this place directly.
“Eternal Corridor… It’s a place called.」
“Is this a place you know?”
“no.”
Hyun shook his head.
A quick search showed that no such place was mentioned in Interloop.
If such a unique place existed in the first place, I would never have forgotten it.
“This time, too, it must be a place related to chaos. Then it’s only natural that you come and see it first.”
Hyun stretched out his hand into the air.
What is the identity of the things that look like fireflies floating around the universe emitting purple light?
I thought it was a fragment of a broken magic lantern, but upon closer inspection, I realized that it was not.
They were gears that glowed on their own like fluorescent material.
charrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
The gears formed a wriggling wall, sticking together as if they were the particles that make up the world.
charreuk, charreuk.
Amid the sound of metal friction echoing from the wall, a huge ‘passage’ appeared in front of Hyun’s eyes.
“At first glance, it’s not an ordinary place.”
A huge corridor created by the interlocking of small and large teeth.
The endless scenery of the universe was revealed through the cracks of the cogs that were drilled here and there.
I looked at my feet again.
I felt a bumpy texture rising from the rotation of the cogs on the floor.
Whoops. Whoops.
In the midst of metaphysical patterns appearing and disappearing in the corridor of constantly moving gears.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Master.”
Hearing the girl’s low voice, Hyun was startled and turned around.
A sight that is still unrealistic.
There, a girl whose entire body was made of metal was kneeling on one knee, wearing a dress full of frills.
***
Hyun was amazing.
The fact that such a dreamy place existed in Asrian, and the girl I met there.
How can a girl who is like a robot have such a natural human voice?
The movements of bending her back and lowering her head were so smooth that Hyun almost didn’t notice that the girl’s body was made of metal.
If the hole in her right pupil hadn’t existed, she would have looked nothing but an ordinary girl wearing a maid cosplay.
“you… .”
who… ? didn’t ask the question.
From the moment he heard the name calling himself, Hyun intuitively sensed the identity of this girl.
Probably something similar to Shiina.
It is said that Shiina lost all her memories due to learning her emotions, but the girl in front of her did not seem to do so.
That’s exactly what he calls himself ‘Master’.
“What is your name?”
The moment Hyeon’s question fell, the girl’s eyes started to click.
The girl’s mouth opened after about 3 seconds.
“There is no name. I’m the second servant to guide the master’s path, so I don’t need a name.”
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Each time the girl uttered a syllable, her right eye lit up bright purple.
Those eyes that were broken for some reason were the only part that proved that the girl was a machine.
The scars on the perforated pupils were composed of very complex looking minute parts.
“But isn’t it troublesome if you don’t have a name?”
“Call me whatever you like. I won’t care.”
“Because you call me master… hmm… Can I call you a slave? laugh… !”
In an instant, Hyun, who met the girl’s gaze, flinched.
The right eye that was staring at him was flashing as if he was angry.
“… You meant that it was okay to name it whatever you wanted, didn’t it mean that you should reveal your taste?”
“Sorry, I was just joking… .”
“It’s not such a funny joke.”
Hyeon apologized to the girl, ignoring the nonsense of Ain who asked, “Is that so?!” from the side.
Even though it’s a machine, it doesn’t seem like it doesn’t have emotions.
The girl who asked for a name of her own, was already saying the name she wanted to be called.
“If you can’t remember anything, call me ‘Nevia.’”
“Navi… ?”
“yes. I am a Navigator to help Master.”
“Oh oh… .”
Hyun shook his head.
It was a little embarrassing when she was dragged into outer space full of cogwheels, but looking at it now, it seems like this mechanical girl named Nevia will lead her.
As soon as the word of help was over, Hyun started pouring out questions to Nebia.
“Where are you? I don’t think it’s the nether for now.”
Hyun asked while checking the status window.
Judging from the fact that there was no change in physical strength, he and Ain had not yet ‘dead’.
Is it because it’s the entrance to the nether? If you pass through the entrance, Ain’s connection might be cut off just like that time.
Nevia’s gaze was shot at Hyeon, who was thinking of such a thought.
“Netherworld, are you serious?”
“… ?”
Nevia’s gaze was stinging.
Her left pupil narrowed, and her right pupil shone brightly.
“You came in here without knowing where you were?”
“uh… why… ?”
Is something wrong?
Hyeon, who tilted his head, asked Nevia in a low voice.
“no way… Didn’t you hear anything from the first attendant? What the second world is like and what to do here.”
“Yeah, I didn’t have anything special to say… .”
Hyungwon nodded quietly.
The first attendant probably refers to Shiina.
All Shiina told me was how to reach the end of the Nether.
Other than that, I had nothing but useless chatter.
At Hyun’s bewildered reaction, Nevia slightly bit her lip, and soon her eyes brightened.
“It’s negligence. What did the first attendant do?”
“They say he lost his memory… .”
“Excuses mean nothing. The important thing is that the first servant did not fulfill his role.
Realizing Hyun’s ignorance, Nevia sighed lightly.
“I wonder how the master was able to reach this place.”
“It is also the role of the first attendant to inform them… ?”
“Again, you are asking the obvious. That’s right.”
Hearing Nevia’s explanation, Hyun realized the whole situation.
According to her words, it seemed that Shiina had to tell her the location of the second world.
Because Shiina’s memory disappeared due to some reason, a lot of information was lost, and she had no choice but to reach this place through Caidrial’s oracle.
“If you don’t have any knowledge, you don’t even know where this is?”
“huh… . yes.”
Hyun scratched his head and replied to Nevia’s fierce atmosphere.
“Originally, it wasn’t my role… I can’t help it because the owner doesn’t know anything. I will teach you the basics.”
Nevia started to explain several things with an expression of disapproval.
“The name of this place is the world of eternal life.”
“Eternal life… ?”
“It’s a place only allowed to transcendentalists.”
Humans, animals, small creatures, and even golems, all beings with souls have a finite lifespan.
The soul repeats the cycle of life and death infinitely, but it never disappears except in special cases such as when it touches a white belt. But why is their lifespan finite?
The reason is that the ‘memory’ of the soul disappears the moment it reaches the end of the Nether.
The soul that builds new memories goes back to the age of one.
“To put it simply, it is a place where transcendents stay to retrieve their memories.”
But transcendentalists are different.
After reaching the end of the nether world, their souls roam the eternal world again and regain memories of their previous lives.
Only the soul that has regained all its memories in this way is resurrected to the world again, so it can be said that all transcendentalists continue their eternal life.
“So, it’s not the nether?”
“Did you not understand what I was saying until now… ? The world of eternal life is another world that is neither here nor in the nether world.”
Nebia continued one more lengthy explanation for Hyun.
Hyun listened quietly to the story.
According to her story, the world of Asrian seemed to be largely classified into three types.
1. Two worlds (underworld, underground, terrestrial, celestial world)
2. The Nether (the path of dead souls)
3. The Realm of Eternal Life (where the transcendental person recovers the memories of his previous life)
Ordinary souls reincarnate only in this world and only in Hwang, but the souls of transcendentalists go back and forth between three worlds, including the eternal world. It was here that the transcendentalists enjoyed eternal life.
