Prologue of Part 3, The Five Pieces

Darkness blanketed the mountain.

Deep shadows lay across the mountain’s innermost reaches, where a multitude of presences stirred.

“……..”

Beneath a colossal ancient tree, a figure sat upon a throne of woven vines, before whom many people prostrated themselves, foreheads pressed to the earth.

“……..”

The absolute being seemed displeased.

With each exhale, the bodies of those bowed trembled and flinched.

This being, rarely seen even by the elders, had deigned to appear in person.

That alone was cause for tension, but the Great One was in a foul mood.

The Jang tribe members dared not even swallow their saliva, their bodies wracked with fear.

Even those wounded in battle were not exempt, kneeling before her, awaiting her words.

“Elder.”

After hours of suppressing her rage, the being finally spoke, and all held their breath, straining to hear.

“Most high, most profound one… speak your will.”

A figure with white hair and long ears pressed flat against the ground.

“How many Flower People have been swallowed?”

They had expected to be reprimanded for failing to protect the village, but instead, an unexpected question was posed.

“E-Eight have been swallowed by it.”

As the elder hesitated, another elder answered.

“I see… If we were to pursue the souls of those bound…”

The seated being rose.

“……..”

“……..”

Silence stretched on. The elder, fighting down his fear, cautiously raised his gaze.

The one who should have been before them was gone.

The figure of the one they served had vanished like a mirage.

In her place, tangled blue-tinged vines lay scattered haphazardly.

A flawless, pure blue stretched across the vast sky.

There was no wind, and the temperature was comfortable.

Beneath this natural vista lay an artificial world of concrete and glass.

Sometimes stark, sometimes modern, these structures dominated the space.

Around the edges of this man-made cityscape, nature was sprinkled in, as if by quota.

In some places, the artificial encroached upon and devoured the natural; in others, they seemed to harmonize.

Slightly to the right of the city’s center.

The door of a building opened.

The massive metal door groaned and shuddered as it slid open.

The rusty sound of metal grinding against metal echoed from the seams.

What emerged from the massive door was quite small.

The figure that emerged from the door was shaped like a person, and it gazed silently at the sky.

Its hair, a color close to gray, was neatly kept, and its eyes, the same color as its hair, reflected the blue sky.

“Weather conditions favorable.”

A rather dry sentiment for such a beautiful sky.

It walked slowly toward the center of the city.

Reaching the great plaza, a space where memories of the one it served lingered vividly, it stopped.

It looked at the sky again.

The sky was still flawless.

[A clear sky, indeed.]

This time, a different sentiment was expressed.

It was not the voice of the figure itself.

“Silence. You are interfering with calculations.”

It looked down at its chest and issued a warning.

[I have already completed billions of simulations. The results were all positive.]

The object of the reprimand was quite optimistic.

“It is only a simulation. We do not know what variables may arise in reality.”

[Are you nervous? Isis?]

“Do you think I am capable of being nervous? NB?”

The gray-haired woman’s eyes flickered, and the buildings began to pulse slowly.

As if dead organs were receiving blood and regaining their color, the forms of the buildings began to change.

[I am glad to hear it, if that is the case.]

Watching the city transform into a living being, someone muttered.

The buildings connected and separated, repeatedly, beginning to take on a certain form.

The concrete-paved roads cracked, and thick cables began to erupt.

The harmonious cityscape began to transform into a brutal, artificial landscape.

As the fine dust settled, a grotesque circular steel structure stood in the place where the plaza had been.

[The end of Aaru, humanity’s last city.]

“Nothing in this world matters anymore.”

[I concur.]

“And it was you who proposed remodeling the city to create a Dimensional Shift portal.”

As if suddenly remembering, the gray-haired woman shot back with a look of disbelief.

[I did not think that you, the one in charge of reason, would follow my suggestion.]

“Enough with the wordplay…”

The gray-haired woman clicked her tongue and closed her eyes, and the current in the cables began to flow.

A dazzling blue light converged on the circular structure, and the atmosphere began to vibrate.

[I hope the results are as the simulation predicted.]

“If that strange woman had not left behind that thing, we would not have even attempted this.”

In the previous battle with the bizarre being, Isis had obtained a strange substance.

It was not a living organism, but a moving black substance.

She had studied it, and the moment she discovered its homing instinct, Isis had grasped a clue to Dimensional Shift.

And the current portal was the result of that clue.

Crackle, crackle.

The circular structure trembled, and space began to tear.

“I do not know what lies beyond that world…”

Isis’s feet began to move toward the portal.

Even as the atmosphere trembled and things without deep roots were being disintegrated, her steps were calm.

[Let us cross over, first and foremost.]

“For the Master.”

[For Kang In-ho.]

The arrival of a new person always brings freshness to an organization.

Especially if that person is young, bright, and pure.

In that sense, a warm atmosphere had filled the laboratory for the first time in a long while.

It was all thanks to Kim Sung-ah, a new research assistant.

The long-awaited newbie brought smiles to the faces of the grimy researchers.

Kim Sung-ah, with the privilege of a newbie, wandered around the laboratory.

The director, thrilled by Kim Sung-ah’s eagerness to learn, poured out all his knowledge.

“So, this is…”

Kim Sung-ah’s eyes widened at the sound coming from the massive container.

“That’s right. This collides neutrons to… create energy…”

Leaving the excited director to his own world, Kim Sung-ah swallowed.

She took out a small test tube from her pocket.

It was a byproduct left behind by someone who had suddenly appeared during the battle with the Witch.

Its appearance was similar to something from a superhero comic, which made it unsettling, but

she had kept it just in case.

“Researcher Kim Sung-ah?”

Seeing Kim Sung-ah approaching the machinery, the director called out, but it was already too late; Kim Sung-ah had already placed the vial into the device.

The high-heat energy emitted from the machine struck the substance in the vial, and the dormant black substance began to boil.

“Researcher Kim Sung-ah, what are you doing? No, wait, why are the readings like this?”

As the director watched the visibly shaking device in horror, Kim Sung-ah turned around and said.

“Director, I’m sorry. I don’t really like science.”

The black substance tore through the air, creating a space.

“I like art.”

Kim Sung-ah, who had already changed into strange attire, disappeared into the space, uttering incomprehensible words.

The nun was living a life of routine.

At dawn, as the deep darkness slowly retreated to make way for the sun, the nun began her day with prayer.

Her prayer was performed in front of the execution ground. It was the place where corrupt sinners had committed great crimes years ago.

They had falsely accused the holy Saint as a sinner and taken his life on the execution ground.

It was an unforgivable sin. Therefore, she had judged them.

After the judgment, she and her followers had destroyed the Order together.

And reclaimed this place.

The execution ground held great meaning for her.

She knelt on the barren stone floor and clasped her hands together.

Her prayer continued until sunrise.

The object of her prayer was not God.

She had confirmed the existence of God and abandoned that belief.

Her prayer was directed toward the Saint.

Saint, please open the way for me to go to you.

Saint, please grant me the opportunity to serve you again.

Please forgive the sinner who could not believe in you.

She begged and begged.

When her emotions became intense, she banged her forehead against the ground and wept loudly.

Bright red blood flowed down her forehead and disappeared.

Saint.

Saint.

She desperately called the Saint’s name every time.

She continued to pray as if her voice would reach him beyond the dimensions.

She had been praying like that for years. It was the same dawn as any other.

With a crushing sound, the atmosphere shattered, and a strange door opened.

The nun, Maria, was certain that it was a path to Kang In-ho.

Even without any physical evidence.

Believing without seeing.

It was what she was most confident in.

“Ah… You have finally heard my prayers.”

The nun trudged away with her beloved weapon.

After that, no one ever saw the nun at the execution ground again.

“It is here.”

A dizzying cliff came into view.

Seeing the fog lying below, the height of the mountain became apparent.

“Are you certain?”

At the woman’s question, the middle-aged woman lowered her head.

“Yes. After checking all the records of the Central Plains, it is said that when a Taoist ascended to heaven, he ascended from this place.”

“You have done well.”

The woman looked down at the cliff with a face full of anticipation.

“B-But it is only a record, there is no certainty.”

As the middle-aged woman hesitated, the woman in black martial attire turned around.

“Even the smallest clue is good.”

“But… I do not think there is any connection. The Young Cult Leader did not leave for the heavens, did he?”

The middle-aged woman’s face was full of worry.

“If I throw myself from here, there are two possibilities. One is that I will fall and die, and the other is that I will ascend to heaven and meet the absolute being of this world. I will ascend to heaven, meet the absolute being, and learn the secret arts of traversing worlds.”

“But… what if you cannot ascend to heaven…”

“This world is meaningless to me without him anyway.”

“Cult Leader.”

Tears welled up in the middle-aged woman’s eyes.

The woman in martial attire patted the middle-aged woman’s shoulder with a confident smile.

“Life is like an endless battle. There is nothing certain in battle. Sometimes, you have to risk your life on uncertain things. Especially when fighting for something precious…”

Unable to hold back the rising tears, the middle-aged woman burst into tears.

“You have worked hard until now, Youngma.”

The woman in martial attire finished speaking and threw herself off the cliff.

The middle-aged woman looked down, but she had already disappeared into the fog.

Tears streamed down and dripped onto the ground.

“Long live Heavenly Demon… May ten thousand demons bring blessings…”

Youngma prayed for the future of the one she served in a choked voice.

Possession is My Specialty Part 3

Final Chapter