Thump, thump...
Oh Hyun-seok looks around.
A strange pulsating sound echoes.
'This is...'
He instinctively understands.
'Inside...Master's body...?'
A world filled with vapor.
There, he realizes his body has melted, and he opens his eyes in a daze.
Then, he notices he can't recall his own [name], shocking him even more.
'What...? My [name]...was taken by Master...? Why...? Isn't this something Master only does to those he determines as enemies...?'
Outside, his name is probably perceived as something like ■■■.
'Have I become Master's enemy...? No, that can't be... Why in the world...?'
Flustered, Oh Hyun-seok tries to find the reason, and after some speculation, one possibility comes to mind.
'Could it be that my comrades outside...have become hostile against Master...? So Master captured me, someone who could be their weakness...?'
He thinks in disbelief of his comrades outside.
'Seo Eun-hyun... Is it Seo Eun-hyun? If there's anyone Master would go this far to take me hostage for, it can only be him.'
That must be it.
And so, Oh Hyun-seok clenches his teeth in this world that feels like inside Hyeon Rang's body.
'Master...damn it. Even so, how could Master do this to me...?'
Kugugugugu—
Oh Hyun-seok feels even his consciousness within the vapor starting to scatter.
'Is this...is he trying to erase me completely...? Damn it... No...I can't die like this...'
Inside the world of vapor.
Oh Hyun-seok gradually dissipates into the vapor, slowly closing his eyes.
'Ah...is this how I die... Master... Seo Eun-hyun... Young-hoon Hyung-nim... Dear...'
In Oh Hyun-seok's vision, people precious to him flicker like a flashback.
'...My child...'
The deeper his consciousness sinks, the more he feels the presence of those dear to him flash in his mind, and he recalls those most precious and painful to him.
Oh Hyun-seok's miscarried child.
And the new daughter he had once again lost in Penglai Island...
As he recalls those lost children, his consciousness fully fades away.
While unconscious, Oh Hyun-seok senses a ripple of violet energy.
For some reason, he reaches out toward that violet energy.
It is because from it, he senses a familiar throbbing.
A heartbeat he once heard by pressing his ear to the belly of his pregnant wife.
The heartbeat of his miscarried child...
It now faintly echoes within that purple Primordial Chaos.
'Ah...'
And when Oh Hyun-seok reaches that Primordial Chaos—
Tsuuaaaaat!
'Uh...?'
Oh Hyun-seok realizes his mind has reached somewhere.
At that moment, he comes to his senses.
"Heheouk...!"
The surroundings remain unchanged.
'Th-That just now...?'
Still the world of vapor.
It is still somewhere inside Hyeon Rang.
'Did I just die...? No, I didn't. Why...? I had my [name] taken by Master with my existence fading and nearing erasure...'
Having regained clarity within Hyeon Rang, he reflects on the bizarre phenomenon that allowed his survival and realizes that in the moment of death, he accessed 'a certain domain' which let him survive.
'That domain of Primordial Chaos...when I reached that place, my mind returned. What is that domain...? How did it restore my mind when even my name was...taken...?'
And as Oh Hyun-seok thinks this, he notices once more that his consciousness is beginning to blur.
'Damn it...there's no choice.'
His consciousness has returned briefly, but nothing has changed.
Once again, Oh Hyun-seok is about to melt away and vanish within Hyeon Rang.
'Let's try reaching that domain again. If I can, I should at least be able to survive.'
To avoid dissolving inside Hyeon Rang's belly, Oh Hyun-seok closes his eyes and focuses on the sensation he felt when he entered that domain.
Oh Hyun-seok melts again, and gradually senses the power of that Primordial Chaos, concentrating on it.
And as Oh Hyun-seok completely dissolves, he senses the Primordial Chaos again and wakes up.
"Heheok...heok..."
'As expected...I could survive again.'
Feeling the strange phenomenon of the Primordial Chaos, he instinctively realizes.
'If I want to escape Master's power...I need to borrow the power of this Primordial Chaos!'
With eyes shining, he concentrates once more.
'There is...hope! So let's hold on!'
Tsuaaaa—
Oh Hyun-seok, in order to escape from within Hyeon Rang's body, endlessly sends his mind towards that domain.
Over and over, tens, hundreds, thousands, hundreds of millions of times his consciousness melts and awakes. His mind grows weary, but Oh Hyun-seok does not give up.
Because his first master, Azure Tiger Saint, once taught that his disciple must not give up over something like this.
Recalling Azure Tiger Saint's spirit, Oh Hyun-seok continues to feel the pulse of that domain of the Primordial Chaos with an unyielding mind.
Once, ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times, a hundred million times...!
And when Oh Hyun-seok's efforts, nearly ten billion in attempts, finally come to an end...!!
'Huh?'
Oh Hyun-seok suddenly realizes that at some point, he has arrived in a new space.
"This place is...?"
It feels similar to the world of vapor inside Hyeon Rang.
But when he looks closely, it's different. Instead of a world of vapor, a dull, ashen world makes up the Heaven and Earth.
Not clouds of vapor, but a dull, ashen nothingness!
It is emptiness, and it is chaos.
Seeing that chaos, Oh Hyun-seok trembles.
'I see... From the moment I lost consciousness, I wasn't actually surviving inside Master's body. I was slowly moving to this domain all along.'
His consciousness hadn't survived within Hyeon Rang. Rather, it had been slowly shifting, through repeated cycles of death and revivals, to a place overlapping with Hyeon Rang's inner dimension.
'Then just what is this domain...?'
As Oh Hyun-seok is taken aback and looks around—
"...Huh?"
He suddenly senses something calling out to him from within this world of nothingness.
"This is..."
A throbbing sound.
The faint heartbeat of a child.
Yes...
It is the heartbeat he once heard inside his wife's womb.
"..."
As if entranced, he flies toward the throbbing sound.
He feels no energy at all, but somehow, just by willing it, he is able to fly.
It's as though he is in a spirit form.
How long does he fly through this space of nothingness? Eventually, he reaches a place where there is something like an [egg].
From within that egg, Oh Hyun-seok senses the pulsing sound of a beating heart.
And then, for some reason, Oh Hyun-seok kneels before the egg and looks up at it.
It is because of a certain divinity emanating from the egg.
"Who...are you...?"
Is it because of that divinity? Oh Hyun-seok naturally speaks in honorifics as he asks the egg,
Then, a reply comes from the egg.
[ I am...■■■■■■■... A being whose true name you can neither hear nor withstand. ]
"Then...what should I call you?"
Normally, he would ask who the being is or why they brought him here, but for some reason, Oh Hyun-seok prioritizes asking for the being's name.
This is partly thanks to Hyeon Rang's teachings, but also due to the pressure that if he does not define the being's existence, he feels he might be crushed to death within this divinity.
In response to Oh Hyun-seok's question, the egg replies.
[Silver Basket (銀籃). In this world, I was called Silver Basket.]
Shiver!
For some reason, Oh Hyun-seok feels a horror and fear that pierces to the level of his essence.
Just hearing that name makes it feel like his heart might stop, and he is overwhelmed by a reverence that makes him want to rip out his own heart and offer it up.
"...Silver Basket...why have you called me here?"
Within that reverence, Oh Hyun-seok slowly asks the purpose of the being called Silver Basket.
Then, a brief reply comes from Silver Basket.
[I did not call you. You have come to me.]
"Pardon...?"
[You, O mortal being.]
Though Oh Hyun-seok has clearly reached True Immortality, the being still addresses him as 'mortal being' as if it is only natural.
[Why have you come to me? Speak the reason you have sought me out...]
"Reason..."
Oh Hyun-seok thinks in front of Silver Basket before opening his mouth.
"If I tell you the reason...will you help me?"
[If you please me.]
"..."
Oh Hyun-seok lets out a bitter smile at those words.
He has rarely been someone who pleases others.
He has always had a straightforward personality, charging ahead like his appearance suggests, and because of that nature, many have spoken ill of him.
'Will I be able to please that being?'
For some reason, he lacks confidence.
Rather...
'Rather, Seo Eun-hyun. If it were him...he might please that being.'
He falls silent, recalling his comrade who, since arriving in this world, has always stood ahead of everyone else, shining brilliantly.
But after some time, unable to endure the silence himself, he opens his mouth and begins to explain slowly.
"First...let me explain everything from the beginning."
For some reason, instead of addressing the immediate problem, he begins to confide his entire life story to Silver Basket.
He does not know why.
He just feels like he must.
Anyone standing before this being would likely feel the same.
Oh Hyun-seok begins from the day he was born to his growth, his relationships, his experiences at the company, the events in Mount Sumeru...
He pours it all out before Silver Basket.
For a long while, he speaks of countless matters to this being, explaining every experience that has brought him to this place.
"...And so, I have arrived here."
[...]
"...Does my story...please you?"
Oh Hyun-seok cautiously asks Silver Basket.
Then, a strange reply comes from Silver Basket.
[You have not yet told your full story, so how can you ask such a question? Tell me your entire tale.]
"Pardon...?"
Oh Hyun-seok does not understand those words.
He has already told everything from the day he was born until now, so what more could Silver Basket possibly want?
"I apologize, but that is the end of my story. I do not really know...what more I should say."
[I see. I understand. So you do not know, for you are a mortal being.]
"Pardon...?"
[I shall help you, so begin your story again from the beginning. I shall listen.]
"...What does that...understood."
Though confused, Oh Hyun-seok follows Silver Basket's words and begins telling his story again from the very start.
And finally, when his story reaches the point where he arrives at 'Mount Sumeru'—
Something changes.
'Huh...?'
"I then entered the Azure Heaven Creation Sect, lost my master Azure Tiger Saint to the Devil Race, and became a broken man..."
Why is it?
Under Silver Basket's gaze, he is spilling out stories about himself that even he does not know.
'What is going on?'
"...So, I indulged in male and female pleasures, drugs, and the like, and then was killed by someone named Seo Hweol...?"
Oh Hyun-seok finishes the story in confusion and looks up at Silver Basket.
Then, Silver Basket speaks again.
[Continue. There is still much left. I am listening, so you will be able to tell everything.]
[Pardon...? Uh, ah, and...if I were to start again...]
At some point, Oh Hyun-seok begins to endlessly repeat the story of Mount Sumeru.
And each time he repeats it, everything is exactly the same.
'What is this...?'
Yet Oh Hyun-seok feels that each of those identical stories are entirely different.
And at some point, the stories begin unfolding in a different direction.
It starts when 'Seo Eun-hyun' appears in the story.
'Huh?'
"...Then, together with Eun-hyun who also entered the Azure Heaven Creation Sect..."
"Master self-destructed while charging at the Black Dragon King..."
"Eun-hyun also self-destructed toward the Black Dragon King, who was defiling Master Azure Tiger Saint's corpse..."
As he speaks, Oh Hyun-seok feels stories he never knew pouring out of him, and he falls into a state of panic.
But at a certain moment, Oh Hyun-seok realizes.
'Ahh...could it be...'
He realizes why Seo Eun-hyun stands at the center of every story, why he is at the center of every change, and he finally understands why Seo Eun-hyun has always seemed to shine the brightest, why he has always seemed to be ahead.
And when Oh Hyun-seok's story reaches the 2011th telling—
"...And so, I conveyed my heart to Master, who awakened as the Zero King, reminded him of the heart of a person...and then died."
Only then does Oh Hyun-seok become aware that the stories flowing from his mouth have come to a stop.
'I see. 2012 times. Seo Eun-hyun...has turned back time 2012 times...!'
Under Silver Basket's gaze, having realized a staggering truth, Oh Hyun-seok suddenly feels a tear fall down his cheek.
[Why do you cry?]
"...I cry...because of the countless truths I did not know."
Seo Eun-hyun, who struggled endlessly to save him.
Oh Hyun-seok and the comrades, who died again and again within Seo Eun-hyun's regressions.
And...
Everyone who appeared in Oh Hyun-seok's story and had formed relationships with him.
Their stories ache his chest so deeply.
Azure Tiger Saint, who died over and over again trying to save Oh Hyun-seok.
The people of the Azure Heaven Creation Sect, who shared affection with Oh Hyun-seok over and over again.
And...
Oh Hye-seo, Oh Hyun-seok's family who suffered again and again under Seo Hweol's bridle.
"To have not been able to do anything for them...to have spent every moment in vain...it is unbearably painful and heartbreaking..."
[...]
After shedding tears before Silver Basket for a while, Oh Hyun-seok wipes them away.
"...I want to save my master. I want to save Seo Eun-hyun. Please, let me borrow your strength."
[...]
"O Silver Basket. Have I...gained your favor?"
Oh Hyun-seok instinctively realizes that to overcome the current situation, he must borrow Silver Basket's power.
And standing before Silver Basket, he wipes away his tears and speaks as confidently as he can.
"Have I...met your standard?"
To this, Silver Basket replies.
[You have failed to please me. Nor have you met my standard.]
"..."
[Rather, the one I find pleasing is that one called Seo Eun-hyun. That existence would gain my favor, and meet my standard. For that one shows a [sprout].]
"A sprout...?"
[Something you need not understand. What is clear is that you have not pleased me, and by my standard, you are an insignificant existence. Your presence is so faint that, even if my traces remain in Mount Sumeru, had you not sought me out, we would never have met.]
"..."
Oh Hyun-seok feels his heart grow heavy at those words, but he does not lose hope and speaks to Silver Basket.
"...I cannot give up hope. Please, lend me your strength!"
[...Hope, you say?]
As if Silver Basker recalls something from Oh Hyun-seok's words, the smooth surface of the egg ripples like the surface of water.
[How unpleasant. You remind me of them.]
"Pardon...?"
[You need not know. It is not that I do not wish to tell you this time, but that I am being considerate for your sake.]
Muttering incomprehensibly by themselves, Silver Basket continues speaking to Oh Hyun-seok.
[You do not please me.]
"...Then..."
[But you have offered me your story. Through your story, I have experienced something new. So I can pay the price for your tale.]
Woo-wooooong!
The form of Silver Basket, shaped like an egg, expands.
What was once a silver egg the size of a palm now expands rapidly, becoming the size of a large house.
[Ask what you are curious about, or ask about the path you must take. Then I shall answer, to the extent of your story's worth. When the worth of your story is paid in full, I shall return to my original size. So think carefully and ask only for what you truly need.]
"...O Silver Basket..."
Oh Hyun-seok asks in a trembling voice.
"Who...are you? Please tell me, even just briefly, your story..."
It seems like a foolish question, but Oh Hyun-seok instinctively feels he must understand Silver Basket's identity.
And, upon hearing Silver Basket's response, Oh Hyun-seok's eyes widen.
[I am the Creator God of another world. Yet, an incomplete creator who has not yet created a world... I, through my incarnation, stole a fragment of the Absolute that flowed out of Mount Sumeru and used it to infiltrate Mount Sumeru before being temporarily slain.]
Before Oh Hyun-seok's eyes, the life story of a divine being flashes by like a shooting star.
A divine rank of another world secretly entered Mount Sumeru, took the place of an Ender to carry out their fate, and absorbed the power of Mount Sumeru.
They reached Heavenly King, and just as they tried to escape beyond Mount Sumeru...
They were pierced by a [black something] thrown by a [being wearing a black mianguan] and flung out to the Outer Sea of Mount Sumeru, where the silver giant god was impaled at the boundary known as Cakravāda.
Even in that state, the giant god borrowed the Creator God main body's power to tear open a hole in the boundary and tried to escape, but in the end, they were slain with even the main body being torn apart and killed by the [being wearing a black mianguan]. As Oh Hyun-seok watches this story unfold, his eyeballs and skull burst and he dies.
"Keheok... Keeeoooookh..."
Oh Hyun-seok barely rises, letting out a voice full of blood.
"Kurlulukuk..."
His head is dizzy and full of pain.
Before him, the house-sized egg has shrunk slightly, if only by a little.
Oh Hyun-seok realizes the source of the divinity radiating from Silver Basket.
"Keok... Keheok..."
The 'wisdom' of divine beings threatens to kill him at any moment.
But he clenches his teeth.
There is someone who died over two thousand times trying to save him and the comrades.
There is someone who exploded their one and only life and died for the sake of his disciple.
There is even a child who could not be born because Oh Hyun-seok could not protect that one and only life.
'Wisdom' is giving him strength.
Power originating from 'wisdom' seeps into Oh Hyun-seok's entire body, and a power of silver light blooms from him.
"...I will ask...the next question."
Oh Hyun-seok, realizing that there is much pain, much wisdom, and much strength to be gained from this divine being, smiles madly amidst the wisdom still crashing through his mind.
"O Silver Basket, if you are one who can even steal the Absolute of an Ender, then our end...our conclusion...please, reveal it to me. For what purpose are Enders born, and what end awaits us?"
[All Enders are, after death, taxidermized by the Future King. That is the end of all Enders.]
Once more, new wisdom pours down, and countless 'wisdom' rain upon Oh Hyun-seok.