Ch.231The Empress (2)

The Empress was silent. Her eyes, filled with countless colors, quietly gazed at Llewellyn, and Llewellyn met those eyes in which not even his own reflection was visible.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t afraid. Though the gap between him and the Empress had narrowed, the “Death of the Star” he had used recently had severe repercussions.

Not much divinity remained in his body. If he were to fight now, defeat would be inevitable.

But why?

Llewellyn didn’t feel like he would die today.

A soft chuckle was heard. A pleasant laugh, different from mockery.

“How did you know?”

The Empress asked. Llewellyn gave a faint smile.

“I was suspicious all along.”

Llewellyn had cut off the Transcendent’s arm with the power borrowed from his sister and the Sword Saint.

It was something difficult to do again. And as if it were a reward for accomplishing such a difficult feat, he glimpsed the universe beyond the severed forearm.

The countless visions that passed before his eyes then. The truth of the Great Ascension.

While only the Transcendents would benefit from the Great Ascension, no one could know about beings even the gods were unaware of.

It’s impossible unless one is also a Transcendent. Llewellyn had to acknowledge the fact he had only been able to speculate about for a long time.

“Netel.”

The corners of the Empress’s lips turned upward. She had once said that she too might be an enemy. From what she mentioned then, it seemed as if Netel and she were adversaries.

But that was merely the Empress’s confusing behavior. Deliberately creating confusion and clouding Llewellyn’s judgment… or testing him.

Knowing this, Llewellyn voiced the fact he had long speculated about.

“Netel is a Transcendent too, isn’t she?”

The Empress affirmed with silence. Only the corners of her mouth, rising as if about to tear to her ears, filled the silence.

‘I thought so.’

Llewellyn sighed. He had suspected it.

Even the gods vaguely knew of Netel’s existence but were wary of her.

They wouldn’t have been wary if she were of the same divine rank. Rather, Netel’s image seemed almost demonic to the gods.

But recently, when fighting the God of Night, Llewellyn saw it.

Netel possessed power that could block the invasion of Transcendents, power that was, albeit limitedly, equal to theirs.

She appeared to be not the planet itself, but the will of the planet, or a transcendent personality managing it.

While much more godlike than Llewellyn, the God of Dreams, or the God of Fire who had become a star after participating in the Great Ascension.

Yet there was something strangely unfamiliar about her.

And this Netel consistently wanted one thing.

Llewellyn’s body.

At first, it was difficult to understand her purpose. He thought she might simply want to manifest in the world.

Because of this, he had classified Netel as an enemy and was about to actively intercept her, but as soon as he harbored such thoughts, Netel disappeared.

She didn’t show even a trace of herself.

Until now, he didn’t know why, but now he does.

Netel didn’t want to fight Llewellyn.

She considered fighting Llewellyn a waste.

Of course, questions still remain. For instance, why she killed Selma, Isla’s younger sister, in that form, or why she made Selma attack Llewellyn.

The latter could be understood as having an intention to provoke Llewellyn to take his body, but the former was completely incomprehensible.

There would have been no reason to kill Selma.

That’s why he recently suspected she was a Transcendent. The incomprehensible and inscrutable methods reminded him of the nameless Transcendent he had seen when trying to save the God of Dreams.

The God of Night was the same.

“If Netel is indeed a Transcendent, it explains her actions so far and why she wanted me.”

There was another moment of realization. Just before, when Yak-yeol-gong conveyed the Star’s proposal.

Llewellyn didn’t value himself that highly, but when the Star said it would consume Llewellyn and protect the world, he knew.

That he clearly had the power or qualification to make it possible.

“Both Netel and the Star, with me, could protect this world more efficiently…”

The Empress’s eyes gazed at Llewellyn intently. They felt somehow warm.

“Or completely block the approach of Transcendents.”

The Empress smiled with those eyes. An expression of approval. A hand extended without a sound, caressing his cheek.

“So, how did you know that I serve Netel?”

“The power you showed then was similar to the Mourners’, yet also similar to those who received Netel’s blessing.”

Whether it could be called a blessing was uncertain, but Llewellyn had seen Selma’s transformed state.

A tree made by twisting and reinterpreting a human. The heart or fruit that formed on it.

The power the Empress showed contained both of these elements.

The explosive enhancement of physical abilities from the Mourner’s grief and that unique feeling, the inhuman output that transcended physical laws.

And the power to freely twist the body.

He wished it were just a wild guess, but the Empress had already admitted it.

“If they’re Mourners… weren’t they powered by the entity known as ‘Father’?”

Melody spoke up. Llewellyn looked at her, and Melody, holding Llewellyn’s hand, spoke with a tense expression.

“I understand that ‘Netel’ is called Mother. But… if the three clans originated from ‘Father’, wouldn’t Father be the Transcendent rather than Netel?”

“Perhaps it’s both.”

In fact, Llewellyn had suspicions about this aspect as well.

Where on earth did ‘Father’ disappear to?

A being with power cannot hide no matter how hard they try. This was evident from how Valterok, the Sword Saint, and Yak-yeol-gong had all come looking for Llewellyn after he first acquired divinity.

And that wouldn’t be all. Even now, there were many powerful beings heading toward the Pantheon, according to the Sword Saint’s words.

But could a being like ‘Father’ completely vanish?

As far as Llewellyn knew, there was only one way for a being with such immense power to disappear.

“‘Father’ chose ascension and became a Transcendent.”

Melody flinched, and the Empress widened her eyes as if surprised.

“If that person could replace me, Netel would have taken his place long ago, or he would have taken Netel’s. There would have been no middle ground.”

Father, the Steward, the Son of Fire.

The rightful owner of the Pantheon and founder of the Nest.

He had completely vanished. He lived in the world as the last legitimate descendant of the gods.

He created the beings known as the three clans.

He took in dragons that had reached their limits and made them necromancers, and created the shapeshifters.

Still not satisfied, he created the blood clan. The intention behind all of this was clear.

Because he lamented the death of humans.

Wishing humans wouldn’t die, wishing humans would detach from the concept of death.

Wishing for life and death to be as they were before they were grafted together.

That was ‘Father’s’ strongest desire and wish. Even after becoming a Transcendent and departing beyond the world, he still bestowed power without cost to those who mourned the death of humans.

It was no longer Father, but ‘Father’s’ influence remained strong.

Just as the Star intended to continue protecting the world, succeeding the ‘God of Fire’.

The fact that there was an absolute being who readily bestowed power simply because humans mourned the death of other humans was a very good story, but it was uncertain how long that purity would last.

Llewellyn had already seen the harm of Mourners through ‘Ajae’.

A Mourner who lost reason and went berserk. A specter who killed those who chose revenge against their will and continued to mourn.

It wasn’t just Mother Netel’s influence. It must be because Father’s purity had diminished.

“For reasons I don’t understand, the Steward, the Son of Fire, chose ascension. Like all gods who chose the Great Ascension, he was devoured, and like my father, he left his consciousness with the Transcendent, creating beings known as Mourners.”

And that story returns to the present.

Llewellyn was facing the Empress. A member of the three clans and their leader.

The three clans she belonged to sought to rebuild ‘Father’.

They did so by any means necessary.

They strived to create divinity and even created divine bodies.

They also guided legitimate humans to transcend heroism and become gods. The empire’s attack seemed like that.

They even created an ‘Emperor’ by borrowing the body of the most suitable hero.

But among all those attempts, only Llewellyn succeeded.

That’s why Mother wants Llewellyn. She wants Llewellyn to resist this endless despair, the impending doom.

She wants everything from Llewellyn’s skin to his marrow, his mind, his brain, and even his soul.

Because of this, Llewellyn felt that the destruction of this world had been determined since his appearance.

Even if it was just an illusion, once the thought of inevitability arose, it naturally led to such associations.

Llewellyn sighed anew.

‘A butterfly dream with a butterfly effect…’

“So?”

The Empress asked expectantly, and Llewellyn, drained, leaned slightly on Melody.

A small “eep” sound came from Melody as she struggled with the weight, but he didn’t mind.

“What does Netel want to do using me?”

The Empress’s disappointment was faintly perceptible, but Llewellyn had no time to worry about such things.

“Your Transcendent, Netel, how exactly does she plan to stop the Transcendents using me?”

The Empress’s disappointment faded, and she eventually smiled with a satisfied expression.

What came from her lips was not much different from what Llewellyn had already anticipated.

“Mother wants to make you ascend, Llewellyn.”

It was no different from what he had already heard from the Star. It meant that even the Star couldn’t think of any other method, and that this was the easiest way.

“After that… she will use the qualification within you to place a great curtain over the world.”

Her outstretched arms drew a wide circle encompassing the surroundings. The hem of her dress fluttered as she twirled.

Llewellyn was sweating coldly as he watched the Empress laugh innocently.

“And Mother will no longer have to worry about the ‘outside’, so she can peacefully rule this world. Isn’t that wonderful?”

What should be where it should be.

Reclaiming the stolen throne and returning it to its rightful owner.

The Empress was genuinely smiling with joy, then suddenly bowed.

“…That’s roughly what Mother thinks.”

Although Llewellyn wasn’t someone who easily detected women’s lies, he could tell one thing.

Right now, the Empress didn’t truly think it was ‘wonderful’.

She hoped for the unexpected. The unexpectedness that Llewellyn had shown during his not-so-long journey.

“Now, will you tell me what you’re thinking?”

The Empress smiled as if intrigued.