Ch.161Closed-Door Training Is Dangerous (4)

‘Is this the throne.’

It’s definitely different. I can’t quite explain it, but the feeling was fundamentally distinct.

Like finally returning to a place where I belong.

Like a puzzle piece that fits perfectly, the scene evoked a strange sense of fulfillment within me.

“So, what do I need to do now?”

“We must proceed with the succession ritual. However, since this is my first attempt as well, I cannot guarantee what will happen next.”

Hearing those words suddenly made me feel a bit skeptical.

Serejia seemed to feel the same way, as she asked in a somewhat anxious voice.

“You said I need to participate in the ritual too, but what will happen to me?”

“I don’t know. This is such an unusual case that no one could give you a clear answer.”

“No matter how I look at it, I can only envision myself being used and then dying…”

Serejia trembled and stepped back from the throne.

I wanted to reassure her, but honestly, I thought she had a point, so I couldn’t say anything.

“I suppose that’s the way of kings, isn’t it?”

“…Can’t I just not do it?”

As Serejia’s eyes began to waver, I quietly offered her a word.

“If you don’t want to do it, then don’t.”

“What?”

“Your life is essentially at stake here, so from this point on, it’s your choice.”

I’m good at repaying both favors and grudges.

And when I think about it, Serejia had done more good than harm to me.

Because of that, forcing her against her will didn’t appeal to me at all.

Serejia looked at me strangely and trembled with fear.

“You’re not the type to say such things…”

“Ah, whatever, just be the sacrifice then. We don’t have time, so decide quickly.”

Serejia’s expression hardened as she began to seriously contemplate.

She had a duty to protect Thebes with her life, but that had now lost its meaning.

In other words, this was truly a moment where she had to make her own decision.

And soon, Serejia nodded and stepped forward.

“I’ll do it. Having come this far, it wouldn’t be dignified to back out now.”

With that, everyone steeled their resolve.

We gathered in front of the throne and followed Rama’s instructions.

“Then, let us begin the ritual.”

It was extremely sophisticated, but less complicated than I expected.

As Rama said, the ritual was simply pressing the start button for succession. Ultimately, everything depended on me as the subject.

“…It’s coming. Don’t resist, just surrender to it.”

And so, as I slowly sat on the throne, I sank into the realm of unconsciousness.

#

“…What is this place?”

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a desolate wasteland without a single blade of grass.

Sandstorms swirled here and there, and all I could see was vast expanses of yellowish earth.

I was the only one present. I immediately realized this wasn’t reality.

‘So this is how it works.’

This must be some kind of process or test.

The moment I complete whatever I need to do in this space and exit, I will break my vessel, obtain divinity, and become the true king of the netherworld.

I quietly circled around, surveying my surroundings, and soon came to a conclusion.

‘This isn’t a problem with a predetermined answer.’

I need to create and cultivate the answer myself in this place. That intuition penetrated my mind.

“Sigh, there’s no easy way even at the end.”

I plopped down on the ground and began to contemplate what I could do to create the right answer.

However, it didn’t take long to reach a conclusion.

“No, how am I supposed to know something like that?”

No matter how much I thought about it, what I didn’t know, I didn’t know. Even Rama hadn’t given me any hints about this situation.

Therefore, the only option was to try things one by one.

‘A space with nothing in it.’

Such a setting must have meaning. So filling this place with something might be one approach.

I slightly stirred my death energy and attempted to summon the most basic undead, a skeleton, from the ground.

Rustle.

But for some reason, despite perfectly completing the spell, there was no response.

Facing a summoning failure for the first time in a long while, I finally truly understood the meaning of this space.

“…I see, I shouldn’t do things as I’ve done until now.”

That makes sense.

Would a god typically bother with crafting spells, gathering power, and troublesomely casting incantations?

No. At least, the ones I’ve encountered so far didn’t.

They freely wielded their divine powers and easily caused inexplicable, mysterious phenomena that couldn’t be explained theoretically.

In other words, from this moment on, I too needed to handle power like them.

I recalled those experiences one by one, and then quietly opened my mouth.

“Rise.”

Whoosh.

Poof!

Poof!

I didn’t use death energy.

Nor did I craft a spell or deploy it.

I just casually uttered a word with intent.

But that was enough.

Thousands of skeletons instantly appeared before me, all kneeling and bowing their heads.

Boom.

Click.

Creak.

At that sight, I felt an intense satisfaction. I even smirked as if it were the most natural thing.

“Well, what do you know.”

Now I understood.

At this moment, in this place, what I build becomes my divinity.

The values and will I’ve pursued until now. All of it fills this vast wasteland and becomes my source and symbol.

“……”

There are many options.

I could summon hundreds of thousands of undead to fill this place with my army, or even call forth the entire netherworld.

However, after contemplating, I returned all the summoned soldiers to dust and called forth just one undead.

Whoosh.

Poof!

Creak.

Click.

It was a rather shabby and pitiful skeleton.

Like a blade missing teeth, it had dents here and there, its frame was small, and its posture was even hunched.

Nothing special about it, rather, it was full of deficiencies.

But I can’t express how much strength and courage that weak creature gave me back then.

“Then as now, you alone are enough for me.”

At those words, the skeleton clicked its teeth together as if pleased.

I don’t know if it has memories or emotions, but if it does, it must be filled with great sentiment right now.

Thinking about how that weak creature has now grown so immense.

As I reminisced about the times gone by, I gently waved one hand horizontally.

Then, my vision changed, and I could see myself sitting on the throne.

Whoosh.

Crack.

“…Congratulations on the king’s return.”

The vessel lost its form.

And something else completely filled that empty space.

“……”

Personally, it felt like I had shed a heavy layer of clothing, but I could be certain of at least one thing.

‘Refreshing.’

I had become stronger. Incomparably stronger than before.

Right now, I felt like I could tear apart a truckload of Tindalluses in an instant if they came at me.

“Is this what they call a sense of omnipotence?”

As I flicked my finger, the surrounding space enveloped in mist rippled, and intense waves surged.

Dark blue mist spreading in all directions, with purple currents flowing between.

Even if this was simply a god’s dwelling, it was undoubtedly the appearance of the netherworld.

“Now this is more like it.”

Satisfied, I smiled and rose from the throne, opening a door back to Earth.

“How much time has passed?”

“We’ve just passed one day.”

I had roughly expected that.

After all, Thebes was the same, and I had felt that time in that wasteland flowed differently from the outside.

“We need to hurry.”

So we entered the door, and as I achieved perfect accomplishment, the training space I had created immediately disappeared.

‘…Well, I could just eliminate it now if I wanted to.’

Waiting for us as we finally emerged was Shin Doyun, wearing a rather perplexed expression.

“…You’ve done something outrageous.”

“Why, is there a problem?”

“No, you did well. But with this, the situation will begin to change rapidly.”

That was something I had anticipated as well.

Since I had obtained power beyond expectations, naturally the energy concentration on Earth would increase significantly.

In other words, our enemies no longer needed to be cautious.

“I’ll move up all the plans. Are you mentally prepared?”

“I never needed that from the beginning.”

“Good. That’s reassuring.”

With that, Shin Doyun steeled his resolve and immediately disappeared.

The decisive battle that might determine the future of all this was now right before us.