"Let's follow that conman's words just this once!"
Sky Eating Water accepted Dominating Aura's plan.
To infiltrate the grey cloud.
To achieve that, the water needed more strength immediately.
"We just need to release a bit more power."
"To infiltrate, we first need to make a hole."
It was exactly as she said. Cale closed his eyes. And he concentrated.
‘Water.’
He devoted his mind to all the water present in that space. He had no choice but to close his eyes. It was not a sensation that could be understood with sight.
‘The water is everywhere.’
Even in the air, there is moisture.
‘Now that I think about it-’
The power Cale possessed is present in any space.
‘Perhaps-’
Cale's expression changed slightly. The Dragon Lord who controls time. To face him,
‘Wouldn't it be space?’
Time exists through space. But even so, don’t humans exist within space?
‘Ah, never mind.’
First, he discarded the complicated thoughts. Cale focused on his sensation.
"Yes, that's it!"
Because Sky Eating Water had taught him to do it this way.
"I've been thinking."
"I am water, how can I capture the sky?"
"How can I capture a God?"
She thought and thought. She had commanded herself that her reason for being was to devour the sky.
"And suddenly I had an idea."
"What is the space like where a God lives?"
"And when I saw the Blue Wolf and the God of Chaos partially descend to this earth, I thought."
She couldn’t hide her excited smile.
"Why should I go up?"
"Wouldn't it be enough to wait for the sky, the Gods, to come down and then devour it?"
Then, she thought.
"Oh, right. I also exist in the sky, right?"
"Why did I think I wasn't in the sky?"
"I am everywhere."
The water that devours the sky began to find answers little by little.
"And I am not alone."
The corner of Cale's eye twitched slightly. Even though he had already given his consent.
"I'm a little worried."
Ignoring Super Rock's words, Cale concentrated on the water in the space.
"Ah."
The World Tree saw.
"The water-"
The snow in the space, the water, everything was being absorbed toward the sky. It infiltrated like a great arrow. And the arrow grew smaller and smaller.
Although the enormous body was shrinking, its appearance was less fierce than before.
"What kind of power is that?"
But the concentrated force contained a different terror than before. The World Tree thought that any place where that small arrow fell, whether land or sea, everything would turn over.
‘Is he really human?’
Can a person with such power really be human?
‘No.’
Isn't he rather nature?
Even the World Tree is just a small creature before nature. Nature, a collection of many lives. Even Gods cannot control all of nature at will.
‘Maybe-’
For this matter involving the God of Chaos, could that person be the answer?
Since he is not a God, but a person who contains nature. If Gods represent concepts, this human, by containing nature, can face them.
The young one engraved Cale in his mind as a being who is in itself a world and nature.
And the young one instinctively shrank.
"Hole."
Following Cale's command, the arrow moved. A trace of dark red blood slipped from his mouth. But Cale swallowed the blood and opened his eyes. He pointed to a spot in the grey clouds.
"As ordered."
Sky Eating Water, in the form of a small arrow, approached.
The arrow rose slowly. In this vast and infinite space.
The grey clouds that spread across the sky. The arrow that approached a point in those clouds looked like a small speck.
And finally, that speck touched the sky.
------!
A huge rumble that couldn't be described resonated.
"Ugh!"
Cale, caught by the wind, instinctively raised both arms to protect his face.
"Recover!"
Sky Eating Water shouted.
"It has touched!"
"It is piercing!"
Yes, it had touched. No, actually, it had barely made a small dent. The arrow had barely grazed the clouds.
"This is just the beginning!"
As she said, this was just the beginning. He had to regain composure. But the moment the cloud had a small dent, a wind blew from that dent.
"Haah. Haa."
The young World Tree fell to the ground. The fire that almost burned him, the chains he had been untying. The water that protected him from the fire and the chains. Everything lost its strength suddenly.
A grey wind. The primordial terror it contained descended to the earth.
"Damn it!"
Sky Eating Water shouted, full of frustration.
A primordial terror. An instinctive fear.
The void that wind contained swept the land. And the arrow that had touched the origin point of that wind. Feeling the void surrounding the arrow, Cale ran his hands over his face.
Again feeling the terror. The oppression that seemed to dominate him.
The power of the God of Chaos found in Dragon Ryan's Lair.
He was especially vulnerable to that power.
"Haa."
A deep sigh came from his mouth. Sky Eating Water spoke to him hastily.
"Cale, are you going to give up?"
And Cale opened his eyes.
"What are you saying?"
Dominating Aura reacted.
"I knew I was right!"
"This is not the God of Chaos, it's the power of the Saint!"
A primordial terror and an instinctive fear. Like a herbivore before a predator. The despair of prey about to be caught by a predator.
‘It's weak.’
But the intensity is weak. Last time, the power of the God of Chaos started with a follower, the Two-Star Dragon. Then countless eyes appeared, and a part of the God of Chaos descended to the earth, dragging the Two-Star Dragon with it.
"It's not the direct power of the God."
Or maybe he has gotten used to it?
"Infiltrate."
The arrow, the water, lost its form. And it infiltrated through the small opening it had created.
"Ugh."
It wasn't easy, of course. A darker trace of blood flowed from Cale's mouth. He closed his eyes.
The grey clouds. Inside them,
‘Void.’
It seemed like there was nothing.
Even though his eyes were closed, it seemed as if he could see inside the grey clouds in his mind. The void that enveloped him made him tremble.
‘It's not all.’
There wasn't just void.
‘It's full.’
Cale felt a barrier preventing any power from infiltrating.
The void and fullness. Everything coexisted, that's why it was Chaos.
"Ha."
And Cale smiled. Inside Chaos. In the empty wind that brushed him...
"Found."
"I found it."
Dominating Aura and Cale found something more. The water that had infiltrated the clouds finally found its prey.
"That is the power of the Saint!"
The trace left by the one manifesting the power in these grey clouds.
"Let's eliminate that trace that maintains these clouds!"
Sky Eating Water shouted. And the aura continued.
"Eliminate it! Let's devour it!"
And Cale spoke.
"We can devour it to eliminate it."
It wasn't a matter of fighting. It was doing both.
Cale's body trembled. It was a physical reaction to the domination of instinctive terror. Even so, Cale's mind did not let itself be consumed by terror and fear.
Dominating Aura and Sky Eating Water. Even though he didn't know all the secrets of their origins, this combination was definitely-
"We can get used to the power of the God of Chaos!"
Moreover, we can take advantage of that breach!
There was a visible path.
Cale's smile grew wider. And more dark blood soaked his clothes. But Cale did not stop. Even though his body trembled, he moved along with the water and aura to the end. With his eyes closed, he reached out to the sky.
"There's something."
With his eyes closed, he felt a perception.
Somewhere in the grey clouds. Probably in the center.
"Damn it! The water is running out!"
Sky Eating Water had lost a lot of water on the way to the center. But thanks to that, the path was created.
"Done!"
They arrived.
"It's an eye."
Even though his eyes were closed, Cale saw an eye. It wasn't like the countless eyes that had appeared on the grey wall. There was only one eye in the center, with its eyes closed.
And that eye opened.
A golden eye.
Yes, it was a beautiful gold reminiscent of the shining sun.
The bright eyes were pure and transparent. It was like the only light blooming in the midst of chaos. And facing that beauty, Cale thought.
‘It's the Saint.’
"That's the Saint! Ha, ha, ha!"
Moreover, Dominating Aura was so excited that he didn't know what to do.
Of course, Cale was also laughing while bleeding profusely. His lips curved into a wide smile.
It couldn't be otherwise.
"He's scared!"
As the aura said, the moment the golden eye looked at Cale, its pupil trembled. It was a fear similar to that felt in an unimaginable situation or great astonishment.
"Exactly! Ha, ha, ha! Do you think we can't do the same just because you used the cursed power of the God? Hey, pretentious aura! Make that guy kneel!"
The momentum of the water that devoured the sky, which was about to extinguish, revived.
The power of Dominating Aura began to spread from Cale's heart to his entire body.
"Ha, ha, ha."
The young World Tree, panting, lifted his head. Another presence filled the space. It had pushed away the wind.
An energy different from the void.
What resided in it was-
'Yes, reverence.'
Facing the void and fear had revealed the true nature of that energy. At first glance, it seemed like a powerful presence instilling fear or dread.
But-
'It's different.'
This fear and dread were different from those felt when facing the void and instincts, the primal fear.
'Awe.'
It's the fear and dread felt when witnessing the wonder and grandeur of nature. The fear felt when realizing that only nature can dominate nature. The awe-inspiring sensation that makes you realize the folly of trying to dominate nature and makes you venerate it. The awe-inspiring sensation that, upon surpassing certain limits, is simply perceived as fear.
"Ah."
The young man let out an involuntary sigh.
Cale Henituse, whose shirt was soaked in dark blood. He looked up at the sky and slowly opened his eyes. His dark brown eyes somehow seemed warm. Like the ground that, even in winter, felt the warm sunlight. Or like the ground, damp yet warm, heralding the end of winter and the arrival of spring. The young man clenched his fists.
He felt the warm ground. He realized.
Ah.
Finally, this space is disappearing.
No.
The space remains, but the cold and flames disappear.
Finally, it's returning to its original form.
I, the World Tree. The earth where my roots are planted is finally appearing.
Yes, I can return to the earth.
Home.
In the end, faced with the wonder of nature, I can't help but bow down and live within it.
The young man slowly got up.
Although he had no feet, it didn't matter. The clouds were dissipating.
As Cale Henituse looked up at the sky, a golden eye appeared amidst the gray clouds. Cale smiled upon seeing it.
"Devour it!"
What covered the trembling eyes of fear was the water, persistently wearing down, which had created a path to reach its target.
The golden eye couldn't escape the aura of the water. It could only feel more awe. The water touched the golden eye.
It was then...
The golden eye looked down at Cale. Cale also looked up at the golden eye. An unfamiliar voice was heard.
"How, how is this possible, this power-?"
It was the voice of the Saint. Cale recognized that the voice belonged to the Saint who had left that trace.
"How can a human overcome the void-?"
But he couldn't continue speaking. The water touching the golden eye sharpened again like an arrow. And it pierced the eye.
"Ah, aaaaah! My mind, my mind-!"
The desperate cry of the Saint was heard. But soon it disappeared.
BOOM!
With a roar, a massive explosion occurred. The golden eye and the water exploded together. The gray clouds scattered or were devoured by the explosion and disappeared.
Cale watched silently. He had not only managed to partially expel the power of the God of Chaos according to the original plan but had also devoured the trace of the Saint, causing the gray clouds to vanish.
But there was something more important. Just before the explosion, Cale had achieved what he desired.
The moment the arrow pierced the golden eye...
"Now we can perfectly mimic it."
The Dominating Aura savored it as if it were satisfied.
"I devoured what resided in the Golden Eye."
"Now we can create something similar to that eye."
That was enough. Cale could see the multicolored light falling as the gray clouds dissipated.
It's...
"It's beautiful."
Truly, that light was beautiful. It seemed like an aurora in broad daylight.
Cale bowed his head slowly. And he looked ahead. The multicolored light illuminated the land.
"That's right."
At Cale's words, the young World Tree wept.
The young man had feet again. Those feet were planted on the ground like roots. Finally, the young man had risen again.
Cale observed this and wiped the blood from his mouth halfway. Fortunately, he managed to control himself and not vomit, only bleed.
Moreover, he had gained a lot.
"The original power of the God of Chaos will be difficult to mimic, but now I'll be able to at least create a copy of the Saint, right?"
The Dominating Aura responded to Cale's question.
"Of course!"
Cale nodded in satisfaction.
"Is this really true?"
The space where time was bound had disappeared. In its place appeared a new space.
War and Chaos.
The remnants of these had vanished, leaving only Cale's energy, the energy of the World Tree, and the light descending from the Source of the World.
Crack-
The space began to crack. Time couldn't stop the cracked spaces.
"Ah."
The World Tree suddenly knelt.
At that moment, Cale saw how the multicolored light shone even brighter. This was the greatest flow channel of the world's source. Therefore, it was natural for the owner of that channel to appear.
"Lord Celestial!"
It was the voice of the Source of the World.
"Thank you! Truly, you are an angel!"
The channel that had been chained, upon the space breaking and regaining its original form, began to flow again naturally.
Time couldn't stop this.
Crack-
Cale's smile grew deeper.
'I've found another way to face Time.'
Although not all Times, he had now found a way to escape this prison.
Destroying the prison itself.
"We'll meet outside."
The young World Tree spoke. Cale nodded without saying anything.
"Yes. That will be."
Although the young World Tree used formal speech, Cale didn't care much.
He felt his body starting to rise. His eyes closed on their own. He felt like he would naturally exit this space. Therefore, Cale surrendered to the warm energy.
"Now, outside, I'll have to deal with things one by one."
He needed to talk to Exion. Connect the portal to the Central Plains. Before that, welcome Raon, Choi Han, and other companions.
There are many things to do.
"Well, they can be done."
Cale felt satisfied for having obtained many useful things for the future. He let the blood flowing from his mouth continue without bothering to clean it.
"First, I should practice with the eye."
Would it be useful to use it against the Dragon Lord?
At that moment, the Dominating Aura spoke in a nonchalant tone.
"Ah, but it'll be difficult to use the power immediately."
Eh?
"First, we need to digest what we ate. We devoured what resided in the Eye of the Saint, so we have to digest it, right?"
...Is that true?
"Yes. Besides, we've exerted a great effort today."
...What?
Something felt uneasy. Cale, feeling his body rising and moving somewhere, heard the Dominating Aura laughing.
"Haha."
Instead of responding, the Dominating Aura just laughed.
And Cale thought.
'How are we supposed to digest that?'
The aura didn't respond to his thoughts. Instead, the World Tree spoke.
"When you open your eyes, you'll be back in your original space."
Cale felt his feet touch the ground and opened his eyes.
And he startled.
"You, why are you here-"
Right in front of him was Clopeh Sekka. Surprised to see her, Cale couldn't complete his sentence.
"Ugh."
This, could it be?
Eli desperately tried to contain it.
"Ack!"
But she couldn't.
Clopeh's white hair and beautiful face were covered in dark blood. Cale vomited blood onto Clopeh's face.
"Cough! Cough!"
As he tried to breathe, watching the endless flow of blood, he had no time to worry about Clopeh.
The Dominating Aura spoke.
"I'm so full I'm sleepy."
"When I wake up, everything will be digested, right?"
Damn it!
Understanding the meaning of those words, Cale tried to keep his consciousness. And so, he could see his own condition.
"Eh?"
Dark, dried bloodstains covered his clothes. His torso, soaked in blood, as if he had been bleeding for a long time.
Blood scattered on the ground.
"Ah."
Could it be?
"Have I been bleeding here like I did in the prison?"
That thought was the last thing Cale thought before fainting for the first time in a long time. Therefore, he didn't realize how the backyard garden was, nor how the people around him looked at him with great astonishment and surprise.
