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Chapter 422: Star, the Parallel Universe (7)

[You have absorbed ‘Xeres’, the personality of the old Celestial ‘Wandering Shadow’!]

...

The more Chang-Sun absorbed the shadows, the deeper his understanding of Xerxes grew, allowing him to quickly locate Xerxes’ vulnerabilities.

Paah!

Rumble...!

Clang, clang, clang―!

Xerxes’ movements progressively resembled Chang-Sun’s more over time.

‘He’s learning from me,” Chang-Sun realized.

The shadow that made up Xerxes belonged to ‘Divine Twilight’ before he had gone through the Divine Trial. In other words, Xerxes’ skills could not be compared to Chang-Sun in the present as he had improved himself a lot. However, Xerxes quickly bridged the gap in skill between him and Chang-Sun in about two hours.

[The old Celestial ‘Wandering Shadow’ has activated the Authority ‘Shadow Extortion’!]

[You have lost part of your shadow.]

[Your dominance over your shadow is weakening little by little.]

[The old Celestial ‘Wandering Shadow’ is quickly reading your Data from your shadow.]

...

‘If you can do it...’

[Your shadow has been tightly entangled with the shadow of the old Celestial ‘Wandering Shadow’.]

[The old Celestial ‘Wandering Shadow’ is bewildered!]

‘...then I can do it too, of course.’ Chang-Sun grinned.

[The two shadows are mixing together, making it hard to distinguish one from another.]

‘Bardiya,’ Chang-Sun said.

Badump!

His heart pounded intensely, and the shadow around his feet lengthened, reaching Baek Gyeo-Ul.

―...So this is why you called me.

At the same time, the voice of Bardiya the Usurper echoed in Chang-Sun’s head. Bardiya had once been one of Xerxes’ personalities, but he had flowed into Gyeo-Ul at his birth. Gyeo-Ul’s [Shadow Armor] was made from Chang-Sun’s shadow, so he could summon Bardiya as he liked.

‘Bring it,’ Chang-Sun instructed.

Among Xerxes’ numerous personalities, Bardiya was the one who had attempted to be the main personality the most, and he had nearly succeeded several times. If not for Chang-Sun, Bardiya would have been the main personality long ago. As if he wanted to have his payback, Bardiya coldly smiled and quickly moved.

―Ha, I don’t like you... but okay. I’ll show you why I’m called the Usurper.

[‘Bardiya’, the personality of the old Celestial ‘Wandering Shadow’, has activated the Authority ‘Shadow Extortion’!]

[Identical Authorities have been activated, starting a shadow battle!]

Chang-Sun’s and Xerxes’ shadows mixed chaotically, making it impossible to distinguish them from each other. It was like a tug of war as Chang-Sun and Xerxes continued to gain and lose control of the battle over and over.

Chang-Sun knew that Xerxes would become the real self and he would become the false one if he lost this tug of war. That meant Xerxes would have all of Chang-Sun’s Faith and Divine Ranks, and Chang-Sun would become Xerxes’ shadow instead. A Celestial who lived on after losing their body was normally called a False Celestial.

‘I can’t let that happen,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Of course, he had no intention of going down easily; he continued to absorb Xerxes’ personalities even at that moment.

Clang, clang, clang!

Chang-Sun marched forward. The more he attacked, the more menacingly skilled Xerxes became with the spear, but Chang-Sun paid that no heed, as he just had to deliver strong attacks to corner Xerxes...

Tap!

...and eventually put his back against a wall. When he felt that wall behind his back, Xerxes tried to move away, but Chang-Sun cornered him even more fiercely, not giving Xerxes the slightest opportunity to gain some distance. After parrying Xerxes’ shadow replica of the [Twilight Spear] using the real spear, Chang-Sun quickly thrust it into Xerxes’ chest.

Splaaash!

Xerxes’ chest plate shattered, its fragments flying in the air along with Xerxes’ shadow blood. As the amount of shadow Chang-Sun absorbed increased drastically... the world around him changed a little.

Paah.

―We can never be together.

―Do you... not care for me?

―There’s no way I wouldn’. I blindly came here in search of my friend, but you became my home. I’ll never get to meet someone else like you for the rest of my life.

―Then why...?!

―I’m a False Celestial who could perish any day. Besides, I’m cursed. If you... If you let me inside you, you’ll die.

―It’s okay.

―But...!

―Just leave your trace in me instead. Let me bear your child. That’s all I need.

Chang-Sun could see Xerxes and a woman plaintively watching each other. In contrast to Xerxes, who seemed at a loss, the woman—who resembled Gyeo-Ul—looked resolute. She showed no intention of going back on her decision and seemed to want Xerxes to accept it no matter what. Xerxes heaved a very long sigh.

‘...Did this happen before Gyeo-Ul was born?’ Chang-Sun wondered, realizing that he was watching a nostalgic memory that had been burning deep in Xerxes’ mind. It seemed he could see a part of the memories stored in Xerxes’ shadow after extorting it.

Meanwhile, the footage continued to play.

Paah.

The world around Chang-Sun changed once again.

―Here I am in the end.

Running through a forest, Xerxes was being hunted... by a bull surrounded by lightning energy.

‘Bel-Marduk? No, is it his avatar?’ Chang-Sun thought through gritted teeth.

He had thought that Antares was the one who had hurt Xerxes, but it seemed there was more to the incident.

‘How did he locate Xerx?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

Xerxes had lost almost all his presence at the time, so even the Zodiacs would have had difficulty finding him. Since Xerxes had been well aware of that, he had gone all the way to Worldline #801 to look for Chang-Sun... However, Bel-Marduk had caught Xerxes regardless. Had Bel-Marduk used a method not known to others?

Things had taken an unexpected turn, but one thing was certain. Gyeo-Ul’s mother had been Xerxes’ host, so the moment he left her, it would have inevitably meant her death. A shadow could never exist without a host, and... indeed, Xerxes looked as i f he could die at any moment.

Paah.

Nevertheless, Xerxes seemed to have succeeded in throwing Bel-Marduk off track, because he had been able to meet Crom Cruach, who had come to Worldline #801 using a different method.

Even after that, however, Xerxes had never been able to forget about the lover he left behind.

―I’m sorry.

Still, he had prayed for his soon-to-be-born son’s safety.

―I’m sorry...

He had desperately wished that his wicked curse would not pass on to his lover and son, but...

Paah.

―Ahhh...

Xerxes had belatedly found out that the trace he unwittingly left in his lover had been passed onto his son; Bardiya was with Gyeo-Ul.

The moment of that discovery was very sudden. Upon meeting the Heavenly Dragon Emperor with Crom, Xerxes had read the shadow of the Chang-Sun from another Worldline, and at that moment, he could instantly see what Bardiya was looking at.

Xerxes had been unsure about the exact mechanism, and only assumed that some sort of connection had been made by meeting the Heavenly Dragon Emperor, who was Chang-Sun in the other Worldline.

Regardless, Xerxes had been able to see Bardiya through Chang-Sun’s eyes and Gyeo-Ul through Bardiya’s. That was how he had witnessed Gyeo-Ul fighting for his life in his subconscious realm where Bardiya was slowly taking over. Standing alone in a snowfield, Gyeo-Ul had called out for his mother as he shed a flood of tears.

It had broken Xerxes’ heart to see all his worries come true. His lover had already passed away, and his son had been subjected to severe discrimination and disdain because of the half-spirit curse. The emotional wounds his child received had turned into trauma, nourishing Bardiya.

Xerxes had bawled his eyes out on that day, blaming his pathetic self for doing something he could not take responsibility for. Still, in spite of being pathetic, he had managed to survive...

The guilt from his inability to stay by his lover’s side in her final moment, and the sadness from leaving his son all alone, contrasted with the memory of him briefly laughing after meeting the Heavenly Dragon Emperor, who reminded him of Chang-Sun.

Paah.

―It’s because of me. Because of me...

After that day, Xerxes had been unable to go outside, and had cooped himself deep in Crom’s [Dream Realm]. The guilt, sadness, and regret had made his curse, which he had suppressed with great difficulty, run wild again.

―Ah, for crying out loud! You fucker, you’ve started up your moping all over again!?! Arrrghhhh! I thought I had finally turned you back into a decent being!

Crom pulled out her hair. The psychological therapy that had been progressing by letting Xerxes meet the Heavenly Dragon Emperor suddenly became meaningless. Seeing Xerxes mumbling as he hugged his knees close to his chest nearly drove Crom mad with frustration.

―Because of me...

―It isn’t because of you.

―If it hadn’t been for me...

―Your son would be more depressed if he found out you were doing this.

―If she hadn’t met me...

―Urrrggggh! You wuss!

Crom cursed despite the fact that she was not usually prone to anger, but Xerxes’ endless spiral of depression stumped her, practically driving her insane. If Crom were to leave Xerxes be, ending his Overflood would become impossible, as all the other suppressed personalities would continue rampaging.

―Phew. Yeah, what can I do? I’ll just have to think of you as my karma. Urgh, what a headache.

Crom had taken Xerxes into her arms and returned to her [Dream Realm], massaging her aching temple. Her lair was where her magic was always active, so perhaps she would somehow be able to subdue Xerxes’ Overflood.

―It hasn’t been long since we met, but I still had fun. I’ll come back after he calms down a little.

After bidding the Heavenly Dragon Emperor farewell, Crom had gone dormant again.

Whoosh.

When Xerxes’ memory footage finished playing, Chang-Sun returned to reality.

[You have successfully gained dominance.]

[Congratulations! You have won the shadow battle!]

[You have successfully subjugated the old Celestial ‘Wandering Shadow’ and absorbed him into your shadow!]

[The old Celestial ‘Wandering Shadow’ has become your subordinate.]

......

[The Divinity of your Subordinate ‘Wandering Shadow’ has been restored using the Data stored in his shadow!]

[The Myths of your Subordinate ‘Wandering Shadow’ have been restored!]

[The Divine Ranks of your Subordinate ‘Wandering Shadow’ have been restored!]

...

[The Divine Essence of your Subordinate ‘Wandering Shadow’ has been restored!]

A stream of congratulatory messages popped up before Chang-Sun, but they did not catch his attention. When he looked down, Chang-Sun saw Xerxes sitting there, hugging his knees and burying his face between them,

“...That bastard is doing it again,” Crom grumbled.

“I want to pretend I don’t know him at times like this,” Kali remarked.

“He looks exactly like Twilight, so he looks like a bigger wuss when he acts like that,” Crom added.

“You can say that again,” Kali said with a nod.

Crom and Kali heaved a sigh and shook their heads, as they were all too used to it. There was no way to soothe Xerxes when he was down in the dumps like that. Except for one...

Smack!

...Chang-Sun quietly approached Xerxes and smacked him in the back of the head.

“Nice hit,” Crom exclaimed, feeling refreshed.

Grabbing the back of his head, Xerxes screamed, “Arrrgh! What... What are you doing, Twilight?! It hurts! You’re so mean!”

Xerxes looked up at Chang-Sun with teary eyes. Chang-Sun genuinely did not want to see Xerxes acting pathetic while looking like Chang-Sun himself, so he smacked Xerxes’s forehead again in annoyance.

Smaaaaack!

“Arrrgghhh!”