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Chapter 454: Star, Peter (4)

“You’re ...!”

“The connection to you is very unstable, so please understand if our conversation isn’t smooth or it becomes a monologue from me,” Peter said, holding up his hands.

Pzzz, pzzz―!

Chang-Sun noticed the spatial distortion around Peter. It was unclear whether the moment Chang-Sun had just finished watching was in the past or the future; it was an undefined moment in time. Thus, the connection was not stable enough to ensure a proper conversation.

‘It’s... incomplete,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Above all, Chang-Sun sensed that Peter’s presence was very precarious, as if he was using an indirect method to manifest in the physical world because he was being rejected from this world. Peter was like a wandering ghost whose existence was not secure.

“First of all, I would like to apologize for surprising you, Father. To be honest, I considered hinting to you about my existence, but I believed it would be better to disclose the truth after the connection to you stabilized to an extent,” Peter said as he bowed slightly.

“I understand.” Chang-Sun nodded, as Peter was right.

If Chang-Sun had discovered right after he acquired [Peter’s Key] that Peter was the son he would have in the far future, he would have failed to embrace the truth properly. In fact, Chang-Sun could have been so caught up in that fact that he would have failed to execute his newly-started contract with Thanatos.

“I knew you would understand. You may be cold to others, but you were always soft-hearted around me and Mother,” Peter remarked with a nod.

“...”

“I actually have a question... How is Simon?” Peter asked.

After recalling Simon Magus, who was helping him using Sinmara’s ‘Future-Seeing Eyes’ and ‘Past-Seeing Eyes’ with [Wait], Chang-Sun chuckled and replied, “He’s very angry at you.”

Peter bitterly said, “I thought so. From his perspective, I forced him down a path without giving him any proper explanation.”

“He no doubt feels that way.”

“But it was necessary to change the history of this world you know as Worldline #801 in the way I intended to.” Peter flicked his finger.

Flick!

The world around the two changed. A dark teleportation gate opened up in the sky, and black tentacles poured relentlessly out of it; it was Ubbo-Sathla’s descent.

“This is how the world I lived in faced <Extinction>. It just happened without any detected signs. Ubbo-Sathla showed up, the same way you met the Outer Celestial, and everything unraveled,” Peter explained.

The world around them changed once again into a devastated city. It was similar to Chang-Sun’s Seoul, but the sky was red and not a single living creature could be seen within it, making it look like a city from an apocalyptic novel. Chang-Sun was familiar with it, as it was the ‘Doomsday City’, the Dungeon where he had first run into [Wait] and reached the ‘Mirror Maze of Myths’ and ‘Abyss Gate’.

“That’s...!” Chang-Sun gasped.

“It’s Neo Seoul. That’s where I used to live, and I think you’d be familiar with the place too. It’s where Heoju traveled to reach his destination.”

The report that [Wait] had previously given after Chang-Sun ordered him to track Peter in the Outer Universe came to Chang-Sun’s mind.

『Speaking of which, I’ve been looking into Peter like you ordered, but I found some questionable things... I’ll investigate this part further before I make my report. Kyoo!”』

It seemed [Wait] had found Peter’s connection to Neo Seoul during his search, but had not reported to Chang-Sun right away as he could not be certain.

‘...Did he also plan for [Wait] to work with me?’ Chang-Sun wondered, feeling as if almost everything he had right now was from Peter’s preparations.

Whoosh!

The world around them changed once again. While they were still in Neo Seoul, it was now the outskirts of the city. Under a scarlet sunset, a man sat by a scrawny tree.

“I wanted to show you this place, Father. I know you very well, but it’s not the same for you. That’s why I wanted you to know my regrets and anguish,” Peter murmured blankly.

The man sitting by the tree was Chang-Sun, who seemed to have aged even more than the version of himself from the year 2088.

『Honey.』

The old Chang-Sun spoke bitterly, stroking the old scrawny tree.

『I’m sorry... for letting this happen again...』

Chang-Sun had a feeling he knew whose tree burial pod it was.

『So I’ll set things right... I’ll succeed this time, by any means necessary...!』

The bitterness in the old Chang-Sun’s voice was gradually replaced with fury, just as Chang-Sun the observer had become a monster who was hell-bent on taking his revenge after losing Ithaca in Arcadia.

“As you can see... In my world, you failed in the end. The fact that you were the number one Player in the world and had a Divine Essence was meaningless in front of the Outer Celestial. And I continued to watch by your side,” Peter explained calmly.

However, Chang-Sun could sense how difficult a time Peter must have gone through. Chang-Sun had already experienced his friends leaving him because they could not endure his vengeance-fueled rampage. A person whose heart was being eaten away ended up eating away other people’s too.

“When you died and the <Extinction> quickly worsened, I wondered how to set everything right. Fortunately, I’m Quirinale’s descendant, and learned how to observe the Great Universe thanks to Mother. That was how I found out about various <Extinction> events in many Worldlines.” Smiling bitterly, Peter continued, “<Extinction> is a <Fate>, a fixed outcome... It wasn’t something I could straighten out on my own, so I needed to find a different way to change a <Fate>.”

The world around them changed again. In the collapsing city where it was unclear if any other survivors existed, Peter was observing, writing, and calculating something alone in his lab.

Chang-Sun nodded. Ubbo-Sathla had brought down Bel-Marduk despite how powerful he was, so there must have been little Peter, a mortal, could do.

“And I found a method that would have a slight chance of success,” Peter said.

“Is that why you made a contract with an Outer Celestial?” Chang-Sun asked.

Peter looked surprised for the first time, asking, “...You knew?”

“Not from the beginning, but it wouldn’t make sense otherwise,” Chang-Sun replied.

Chang-Sun had realized after observing various timelines that his past, present, and future were intricately entwined. Changing a <Fate> was not something a mortal or a Celestial who was bound to a Worldline could do. It took a being who could rise above Worldlines and reach beyond the Nil Domain where Bel-Marduk had once stayed. Only the Outer Celestials of faraway Nyx could do that, and the Outer Celestial had to be comparable or stronger than Ubbo-Sathla, a high-class Outer Celestial.

“It’s not Ubbo-Sathla. The Outer Celestial is called the Threshold Lurker, or All-in-One and One-in-All...!” Peter said.

“It’s Yog-Sothoth[1],” Chang-Sun guessed.

Peter nodded, saying, “You must know that Outer Celestial from your visit to the Changgong Library.”

“Out of all the people you could have made a contract with...” Chang-Sun murmured.

Whoosh!

The world around them changed once again, revealing Peter solemnly praying on his knees. An enormous eye that made Peter look like a tiny dot was above him, filled with a strong desire.

‘My skin is stinging,’ Chang-Sun thought.

He was simply watching a memory, but his hands still trembled. It was only natural, in a sense, because Yog-Sothoth, the Threshold Lurker, was more than an Outer Celestial; he led the Eight Gods of Disorder, the strongest Outer Celestials.

In other words, he ruled over all the Outer Celestials and Otherworld Celestials in the Outer Universe on behalf of the dormant <Dull Darkness>. Just like his Divine Name, Yog-Sothoth lived on the border between Eros and Nyx and managed the gate between them, monitoring both sides.

That was why Yog-Sothoth existed in all timelines and Worldlines, and held all their knowledge and truth; it was similar to the Changgong Library. No, considering that Yog-Sothoth had the knowledge of Nyx, he was superior to the Changgong Library, so the fact that Peter had made a contract with Yog-Sothoth stunned Chang-Sun.

‘...Is he searching for the missing <Dull Darkness> like Teacher?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

Had Yog-Sothoth chosen Peter to be his pawn, as Peter’s interests happened to align with his? It was unclear what Yog-Sothoth was planning, but Chang-Sun now knew how Peter freely traveled across timelines and Worldlines without a complete Divine Class. Forming a contract with someone who existed everywhere and had all knowledge, and becoming his apostle, would make that possible.

‘Yog-Sothoth’s apostle...’

Peter was already in a position that made him incomparable to most Celestials or Star Signs.

Peter the Apostle. Many people on Earth had the title of an apostle because all it took to become one was to be chosen by a Celestial or a <Star>, but Chang-Sun now realized that Peter had that title for a good reason.

“Fortunately, he likes me...” Peter trailed off.

“He’s too powerful, so you can’t handle his power right now,” Chang-Sun finished.

“That’s right.” Peter repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists.

Pzz, pzzzz!

The spatial distortion around Peter worsened. After using Yog-Sothoth\'s ability, Peter had traveled countless timelines and Worldlines, his soul destabilizing in the process. That was why the space around him kept distorting.

Sensing that he could still hold out for now, Peter clenched his fists tightly and said, “In any case... The conclusion I reached after becoming his apostle was that it would take a lot of preparations to stop <Extinction>.”

Peter had seen many Lee Chang-Suns. Many of them had also reached a high level like Bel-Marduk, but had fallen in the end.

“That’s why you wanted to change the course of history.”

“Change doesn\'t happen overnight,” Peter answered.

Various memories flashed before them one after another.

Amid many Giants, Peter gave a golden key to Bestla as a present, after persuading her that the key would be a new start if she failed to achieve her dream someday.

That was how Chang-Sun had obtained the right to access Bestla’s power.

Peter befriended Simon Magus and made Jacque Valentine, the Immortal Overlord, his student.

That was how a significant turning point had occurred in the history of Earth, transforming their civilization into a harmonious fusion of magic and science. Following Peter’s will, Jacque had lived for over a thousand years and occasionally intervened in history to redirect it. In addition, the System had been applied to Earth, so the planet could overcome the crisis of Dungeons and Gates emerging much more easily. It was also the reason why Chang-Sun had been able to adapt to Earth more quickly after his return from Arcadia.

Believing the Heaven Link [Wait] had settled in would be helpful to Chang-Sun, Peter had turned the ‘Doomsday City’ into a Dungeon. He had also met Hsan, another version of his father, and received the [Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan] to create a path on which Chang-Sun could improve step by step.

Aside from the cryptical books, Peter had made many preparations even in illicit places; he had often ended up running into other Celestials, resulting in Agares the Grand Demon Duke coveting him. Peter had managed to break free every time to reach where he was now.

After all of Peter’s hard work, Chang-Sun was finally facing <Extinction>.

“These are all the preparations I can make,” Peter said.

Peter had planned for two more things: A meeting between Chang-Sun and Bel-Marduk, and a connection being established between Chang-Sun and Hsan.

“The father I knew always found solutions, no matter what hardship he encountered. If one of you can’t do it, two or more of you working together has to produce a much better result... so I believe you can change the <Fate> in the end,” Peter continued.

There was technically one last thing, which was to make many Chang-Suns meet each other. The united resolve of so many determined beings was bound to create a significant turning point in a timeline.

“So please...” Peter began, smiling faintly.

Pzzzzz!

The spatial distortion was affecting his entire self.

“...save Mother, Father.”

“Of course I’ll save Ye-Eun,” Chang-Sun replied. After watching Peter for a moment, however, he quietly asked, “But who will save you?”

1. A god from the Cthulhu Mythos. ?