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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Asura]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Side Story 46
It took much longer than expected for Seong Jihan to pass on everything he knew to the Taiji's Lost Souls, his other selves.
And in that process.
[Is this... really what you know?]
[You. It seems you've turned a blind eye to the White Light too much.]
[Was it to avoid being swept up by the Transcendent?]
Seong Jihan realized that he didn't know much about the White Light.
Although he had researched it quite meticulously in the Ark,
Was it because he had restrained himself too much, fearing he might be swept up by the Transcendent if he immersed himself in this power?
"Let's research together. We need to utilize this power well to save your worlds too, right?"
[That's true...]
[Let's analyze the power of light by dividing it up.]
The time it took to thoroughly analyze and utilize the power of light was a total of 100 years.
[At this rate...]
[It seems we've analyzed it to some extent.]
With a thousand Seong Jihans analyzing it as if it were their own task, the efficiency was very high.
However.
[The numbers are small now so it's not a problem, but...]
[The possibility of being swayed by the White Light still exists.]
[Even though the Transcendent's power has weakened, the probability of being swept up by it is high.]
[Should we use Blue?]
[As expected, the White Light is not an easy problem to solve...]
The analysis of the White Light was complete, but its dangers had not yet been completely eliminated.
No matter how much they analyzed and learned about the power of light,
If they used it deliberately, there was a risk of being corrupted as Mitra wanted.
'Even with a thousand of us working on it, it's not easy.'
Deciding to stop the analysis of the White Light at this point,
Seong Jihan moved on to the next step.
"We should challenge Infinite."
[Will you recreate the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams?]
"Yes. This time, each of you needs to be inside it."
Squirm. Squirm.
[Just as Jiang Shang completed Infinite at the end of despair...]
[You want us to continuously feel that terror we experienced in front of the Taiji Sword...]
[...Alright.]
Those who sensed what Seong Jihan's plan was through the shared senses,
Began to recreate the worlds within the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams, each at their final moment.
-This is...
-How foolish. How could you lose all your money while having the Wanderer’s eye?
-That's what happens when you bet everything, tsk tsk.
Starting with the Seong Jihan who died miserably after getting caught up in the Taiji Sword while only gambling,
Ziiing...
In the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams where Seong Jihan and Lee Hayeon were married,
"Honey? You know today is the day we have to do it, right?"
Even to the world where Lee Hayeon was trying to carry out the deed, saying it was the day they should conceive their second child.
The Taiji's Lost Souls entered their respective worlds.
-Are you going to do it?
-Are you really doing it? With 999 of you watching?
-Well... Maybe this will make us more attached to the current world?
-This despair might be the most helpful in realizing Infinite.
-Alright then, shall we watch?
And the world of Lee Hayeon, which was of greatest interest to the Taiji's Lost Souls.
"Ah. Shut up! I'm not doing it!"
"...Honey? Are you saying that to me right now?"
"Uh, that's not what I..."
"No. How could you do this...? Do you know how hard it's been for me lately? I've been waiting for this day, squeezing out time..."
"It's really not like that!!!"
"Then do it! Take it off right now!"
-This is a mess...
-Dongbang Sak needs to come out quickly, doesn't he?
-We created this world to realize Infinite. Let's not keep confusing the order of things.
-We've only been training for 100 years, we need some small pleasures like this.
-Still, worlds with precious things definitely have more vitality... The previous one was so gloomy.
And Seong Jihan, who continuously recreated the destruction of his world.
Being helplessly caught up in Taiji.
His body was being completely torn apart inside it, when he had fully adapted to it.
[A clue...]
[I think I can see it to some extent.]
Just like with the White Light, after about 100 years had passed,
Seong Jihan was able to complete Infinite,
Going beyond Unity.
The time that passed until he obtained Infinite and awakened to the White Light was several hundred years.
This much progress was thanks to a thousand Seong Jihans helping in every way.
He wouldn't have come this far if he had done it alone.
And.
[Infinite and White Light...]
[In a way, aren't they opposites?]
[Could we... intertwine them?]
Seong Jihan, who had awakened to both powers,
Proceeded to the next step.
* * *
Infinite, which returned everything to nothingness.
White Light, which extended the power of light to reach creation.
Creation and destruction.
The two were looking in completely opposite directions.
[If we offset the directionality of the two powers...]
[We might be able to control them both.]
It might have been impossible before,
But now that they clearly understood both powers, it was a feasible attempt.
'At least it has a much higher possibility of implementation than... creating something entirely new that surpasses both Infinite and White Light.'
Suppress White Light with Infinite.
Control Infinite with White Light.
If he could make the two powers control each other,
He would ultimately achieve the goal he had been aiming for during his secluded training here.
"Let's do it."
[Yes.]
[This seems to be the answer.]
And so began the final training.
Seong Jihan, together with a thousand of himself,
Poured out everything they knew.
Making Infinite and White Light keep each other in check,
While still being able to use both powers.
[We must maintain balance between 0 and infinity.]
[Let's use Ashoka's mixed defiled world. His enlightenment will keep us from wavering.]
[We need to control each other but still be able to use the power...]
[What a difficult task.]
[But shouldn't we be getting out soon?]
Controlling Infinite and White Light by using them against each other was much more difficult than anything they had done so far,
But now that they could see where they needed to go, there was no need to wander anymore.
No matter how far the destination,
If you kept walking, you'll eventually reach.
Seong Jihan kept trying with a thousand of himself, and
[Has it... worked?]
They were able to produce a result.
Swish...
What Seong Jihan held in his hand was a single sword.
On the edges of the transparent blade,
Pure white light was circulating, flashing intensely.
Containing Infinite inside,
The light of White Light on the surface seemed about to be sucked in, but it was a circulating structure.
Looking at the sword that sparkled on the outside but was transparent inside, Seong Jihan
Looked at the surrounding Taiji's Lost Souls.
"You know how we made it, right?"
[Yes.]
[It's a sword we all created...]
"Then enter the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams again. Defeat Dongbang Sak with this sword."
As the surface of the sword flashed,
Ziiing...!
The pattern of the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams appeared instantly.
The Taiji's Lost Souls each entered inside,
And faced their 'end' again.
"Honey. Today..."
"Wait. I'll be back after finishing some urgent business."
Shaking off Lee Hayeon's grasp, the Taiji's Lost Soul stepped out of the building.
He, like Seong Jihan had created,
Generated an Infinite containing light and stood before Dongbang Sak.
Then,
Fwoosh...!
Taiji shattered.
Dongbang Sak's form was instantly buried in light and disappeared.
"Ha. So easily..."
The Taiji's Lost Soul sighed dejectedly as the despair-inducing being that had tormented him countless times disappeared as soon as he drew his sword, but,
"No. This is good..."
Gathering his thoughts again,
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Asura]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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"Hey, you bastards. I'm going to make my second child today, so don't watch. I'm warning you!"
He shouted at the empty air.
[Even if you told us to watch, we wouldn't...]
[Why don't you look behind you?]
"Why?"
At those words, when the Taiji's Lost Soul turned around,
Not only the large building he had come out of,
But the entire world was disappearing in an instant.
[This is, after all, a hastily created world.]
[If you really want to make your second child, Seong Jihan needs to go outside and end this.]
[After that, make as many second or third children as you want.]
"Hah..."
Right.
This stage was, after all, just a place to test whether the Infinite containing light could overcome Dongbang Sak, who was imprinted as trauma.
The Taiji's Lost Soul put down his sword, looking dejected.
A thousand Lost Souls all went through similar processes.
[We've overcome Dongbang Sak...]
[But is this really enough?]
[In the world we created. Aren't we just comforting ourselves...]
[Could he be overcome so easily?]
Even after defeating Dongbang Sak,
The Taiji's Lost Souls were anxious about whether this would work or not.
That was how much of a strong trauma 'Dongbang Sak' was to them.
'I guess the real proof needs to be done outside.'
Swish.
Seong Jihan stood up after hearing their words.
"In the end, you want to see if it really works, right?"
[Yes...]
[Even if we've won in the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams we created, it doesn't feel like we've really won.]
"Alright. Let's go out."
Fwoosh...!
As Seong Jihan drew his sword and thrust it into the air,
Rumble...!
The underground of the Abyss.
This space where he had been with the Taiji's Lost Souls for over five hundred years,
Began to collapse in an instant.
"Come in. To me."
Swoosh...!
Then the Taiji's Lost Souls were all absorbed into Seong Jihan at once.
After all the fragments had entered him,
Seong Jihan twisted the sword once more.
Then the world was completely sucked into the sword.
As the world within the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams collapsed,
"Ah..."
Seong Jihan,
Returned to the place where Dongbang Sak and Yoon Seah were.
* * *
Swish.
Dongbang Sak stroked his beard while looking at the sword Seong Jihan held.
"Infinite containing light... Is that your answer?"
"Yes."
"Controlling light with Infinite. Controlling Infinite with light... And at the center of it all lies your authority."
Dongbang Sak nodded several times as he looked at Seong Jihan's sword.
"This is a sword only Seong Jihan could make. A power that only you, who has mastered light and Blue and reached the pinnacle of martial arts, can wield."
"But there's still something I need to overcome."
"Hoho... Is that me?"
When Seong Jihan nodded,
Dongbang Sak smiled broadly.
"I'm honoured."
Swish...
As he said this, Dongbang Sak generated a sword.
Unlike Seong Jihan's, it was the original Infinite that didn't contain white light.
"This sword doesn't fully embody the real Infinite."
Swish.
Dongbang Sak spoke while looking at his own sword.
"Since even the Transcendent couldn't fully analyze Infinite... It would be infinitely lacking compared to Jiang Shang's sword."
"Yet it was a sword that couldn't be broken with Unity."
"That's right. If you've created Infinite... You should be able to break this sword."
Whoosh!
As Dongbang Sak's sword moved,
White Light flashed from Seong Jihan's sword.
The two swords clashed in an instant.
And.
Fwoosh...!
Dongbang Sak's sword,
Disappeared after just one clash.
"You really have completed it..."
Seeing his sword break in a single exchange,
Dongbang Sak smiled brightly.
It was a refreshed smile, as if he had put down all the burdens on his back.
"My role ends here. It's been truly enjoyable being with you..."
As Dongbang Sak's body gradually became transparent,
"Where are you trying to go?"
Swish.
Seong Jihan twisted his sword.
Then a pure white radiance burst forth.
When that light touched Dongbang Sak,
"Hmm...?"
His body, which had been becoming transparent,
Immediately returned to normal.
The power of creation that Seong Jihan had tried so hard to control,
Had manifested on Dongbang Sak.
"You... Why..."
"First, please accept my bow."
"Bow?"
"Yes. Aren't you my master?"
"Master...?"
As Dongbang Sak's eyes widened in surprise,
Seong Jihan knelt before him without hesitation.
[Master...?]
[What are you saying?]
[That man is our enemy...!]
[Didn't you feel all we suffered in the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams?]
The Taiji's Lost Souls inside Seong Jihan's body,
Were greatly agitated seeing his actions, but,
'He might be your enemy... But to me, he's a master.'
Seong Jihan ignored the Lost Souls' words and made a deep bow.
To Seong Jihan, Dongbang Sak was the biggest benefactor compared to anyone else.
Not only had he come this far through his teachings,
But also because he had given him the opportunity to train by putting the Taiji's Lost Souls together in the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams.
He had received countless things from Dongbang Sak.
To him,
Seong Jihan wanted to fulfill at least the minimum courtesy.
And.
"The master of the world's greatest... Throughout my life, I only aimed to be the world's greatest."
Stroking his beard and looking at Seong Jihan,
"This isn't bad either."
Dongbang Sak smiled more deeply than ever before.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Asura]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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