WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 194: Beyond the Darkness
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The first time Kyle had felt its gaze and heard its will had been at the Central Branch's Third Research Building.
After it devoured the demon that had emerged from the Black Cube, before it departed.
Cute, lovely child.
Come here.
It had spoken exactly the same way then.
At the time, he had been able to refuse. The mana that had consumed the research building had returned to the Black Cube, and that rift had only appeared to swallow back the demon that had crawled out from its stomach and escaped through its mouth.
But things were different now. He had been seriously wounded then too, but plainly speaking, his injuries now were far worse.
Kyle did not even have the strength to move a finger and lay slumped across Jor's back. His contracts with the Spirits had ended, and the endless intent from earlier had left him as well.
His mana was nearly depleted, and his intent had run dry. Meanwhile, what about that thing?
Even in death, Velatus had sprayed death blood everywhere like she had diarrhea. The blood she had gathered from across the East. The power she had held until the very end. None of it had fully evaporated yet, and it remained pooled in the air.
The rift sustained by all that power showed no sign of closing. And the being within it had no intention of withdrawing its terrifying affection for Kyle.
"No."
Still, just in case, Kyle forced out an answer. Back at the Black Cube, it had let out a plaintive sigh after hearing his refusal, then left.
::Come here::
Damn it.
Kyle's bloodied face twisted at the will he heard.
::Come::
Just as he thought, that being did not seem willing to accept Kyle's refusal this time. As if taking Velatus's soul had merely been a bonus, while its true purpose had been to take Kyle away. It sent out a powerful will as it evaporated the blood and mana Velatus had left behind.
"Jor!"
It had already made its decision. Just as Velatus had not reconsidered a decision she had made, neither would it. That was only natural. Why would someone with the strength to carry out their decision bother with second thoughts?
"Run!"
Kyle shouted again. To begin with, he had no idea why Jor was standing still. He had clearly ordered Jor to run without looking back, yet Jor remained motionless with their back to the rift.
"M-Master."
Jor spoke in a trembling voice.
"I, I'm trying to run... but my body... won't move..."
Even without Kyle ordering them, they knew. That thing must not be faced. They must not be caught by it. Nothing born and living in this world could oppose it.
It was like how one could not fight the sky, the sea, the sun, the moon, or the stars. If a dragon regarded humans as ants, then that thing regarded dragons as ants. Even natural disasters were trivial to it. That was what beings from outside the world were like.
So they had to run. They wanted to run. Jor desperately tried to move their body. But it would not move. No matter how much strength they used, their body remained still.
What drove Jor even more insane was that, despite being this terrified, they could not even tremble. The will that thing emitted no longer allowed Jor the freedom to shake.
::Quickly::
The voice whispered.
Wooooo!
The world rang out like a scream. An enormous invisible current pulled Jor and Kyle toward the rift.
"F-Fragment! Do something!"
Kyle grabbed Jor's horn and shouted. No answer came.
The Fragment had no resistance to a being like that in the first place. Just thinking about it had made it break out in cold sweat and tremble. The instant the rift appeared and its gaze and will reached them, the Fragment could no longer endure it and fainted.
In short, the conclusion was simple.
Kyle, as he was now, had no means of resisting its summons. He had no choice but to draw closer as it called him.
::Quickly::
The voice whispered. The speed at which they were pulled toward the rift grew faster and faster. Kyle barely, truly barely, raised Fenris and Baal, which he had only been clutching until then.
What should I do?
He felt like he would faint if he relaxed even slightly and closed his eyes. No matter how much he squeezed himself dry, nothing remained. Kyle's body had already exceeded its limits several times and truly reached its end. Exceeding those limits again was impossible, even if he died and came back to life.
Judging calmly, there was no way out.
"Kyle?!"
Katarina, who had been inside the Iron Dragon waiting for Lucia, rushed out in shock. Kyle had said he and Jor would get away on their own, so she had intended to flee with Lucia alone. But Lucia stood there as if nailed in place, while Kyle and Jor were being dragged toward the rift.
"I'm fine, so don't come!"
Once he accepted that the impossible was impossible, his mind settled coldly.
That thing held no hostility toward him. All it overflowed with was affectionate feeling, calling him cute and lovely. Therefore, even if he was caught and sucked inside, the worst possibility of death would not happen.
"Run!"
It was rude and curt to shout that at an aunt much older than him, but he had no time for a longer explanation. Kyle had resistance to the magical energy of the outer gods, and he was even receiving its affection, so he would not mutate. But Katarina and the knights were different.
No matter how strong Katarina was in the Boundary Realm, something strange would surely happen if she came too close to an outer god.
"I'll come back on my own...!"
Katarina's face twisted as she heard him. He would come back on his own? How? Could he return after being captured by that thing? At least, Katarina thought it was impossible. She did not stop running. She intended to take Kyle and flee somehow.
"Lucia!"
First, she called out to Lucia, who was still standing there blankly. Why was she standing there like that?
How could she even stand like that? Katarina could not understand. It felt like her stomach had turned inside out. Like her brain was melting into mush. She was clearly running across the ground, yet somehow it felt as if she were swimming underwater. Her body would not obey her. Her senses tangled together, and her vision shook.
In the end, Katarina collapsed onto the ground. Lying there, she kicked her legs as if she were running, gritted her teeth, and raised only her head to look forward.
Kyle felt a small measure of relief at the sight. Katarina did not look well, but she could no longer get any closer. It was better for her if she stayed collapsed over there.
"Lucia, you too..."
Kyle turned his eyes toward Lucia. Closer than the fallen Katarina, Lucia stood blankly.
Near Velatus's corpse. The Sand Sea's sand, affected by the magical energy of the outer gods, was changing grotesquely just as the Third Research Building had. Red grains of sand turned into small pieces of flesh. Something like minced meat spread broadly across the ground, and plant-like growths made of meat rose in places.
Lucia stood in the middle of it all. That space had been warped by magical energy, yet strangely, Lucia showed no change at all. Only her red eyes had lost their focus and gone dim.
"Lucia!"
Something was wrong. Feeling a chill run down his spine, Kyle called Lucia's name. Soon, focus returned to her eyes. She flinched, drew back her shoulders, then quickly looked around.
"Uh... huh?"
The scene before her. She could not understand the situation very well. It felt as though she had fainted while standing for a moment... no, perhaps she had fallen asleep standing up. Her head felt heavy with the same grogginess as waking up in bed in the morning.
"Run!"
Seeing Lucia move, Kyle shouted. At his call, Lucia looked up at him. Riding on Jor's back, Kyle was now on the verge of being swallowed by the rift.
"K-Kyle?!"
Lucia kicked off the ground in shock. Her thoughts slowly connected. Dragon Queen Velatus had died. Too much blood had poured from her corpse. The blood had boiled, and an utterly ominous rift had appeared. The instant Lucia saw it.
She felt the Demon King's Inscription carved into the center of her chest grow hot. Just as when the Inscription had first been carved into her. Just as when she had been affected by it while swinging her sword. Since learning Demon King Astaros's cultivation technique, she had never felt heat from the Inscription. But now, it was as hot as if it were being burned by a branding iron.
There was nothing wrong with moving her body. Even if there were, she had to move. Watching Lucia rush over with a desperate expression, Kyle shouted with a twisted face.
"Don't come! That's an order!"
Normally, Lucia believed and obeyed anything Kyle said. He did not even need to stress that it was an order. But if Kyle emphasized the word order, then it meant she had to obey no matter what, regardless of trust.
"I won't!"
Lucia refused his order. Given what she understood of the situation, unconditional obedience was impossible. Leaping high, Lucia reached Kyle and Jor. She placed a hand on Jor's stiffened head and landed directly in front of Kyle.
"Kyle, take my hand..."
"Why won't you listen at a time like this?!"
Kyle shouted in frustration. Lucia's hand approached before his eyes. He grabbed that hand, that wrist, and pulled Lucia's body into his arms instead.
"K-Kyle?"
Lucia stammered in confusion. Kyle was incredibly weakened right now, so she could have pulled away whenever she wished. But she could not bring herself to do so, and remained in his arms. Kyle spoke to Lucia as she looked up at him with startled eyes.
"Don't leave my arms. Stay still. Just stay still."
"Yes...? What do you..."
There was no time to explain why.
::Quickly::
::Come::
Whispers full of affection.
Kyle, Jor, and Lucia were swallowed by the rift.
That was the end of it. The rift, like someone had carelessly dragged a brush soaked in black paint across a finished landscape painting, vanished cleanly. The flesh that had covered the ground disappeared as well and returned to red sand. The boiling blood dispersed into smoke.
As if everything that had just happened had been a momentary dream. Everything ended and returned to its original form. Only the corpse of Dragon Queen Velatus, drained of all blood, remained there.
"Hah... ngh...!"
Katarina's senses returned. It felt terrible when they did. It was like the insides of her body, twisted, folded, and crumpled layer after layer, were slowly unfolding. Her vision, which had lost all sense of up and down, returned. Her melting brain recovered.
"Blegh..."
How long had it been since she had vomited? Katarina braced herself against the ground, feeling humiliation, fury, helplessness, and guilt. Her golden eyes, once as sharp as a beast's, shook as tears filled them.
"Kyle...!"
Boom! Katarina sobbed and slammed her fist into the sandy ground.
"Lucia...!"
Boom! She struck the ground again. Tears spilled from her eyes and fell below.
"Jor...!"
After crying out Jor's name too, Katarina staggered to her feet. The rift was gone. Kyle, Jor, and Lucia were nowhere to be seen.
She had watched it happen right before her eyes, yet she could do nothing. She could not save Lucia, whom she had taken in and cared for. She could not save her beloved nephew, the likely next Family Head. She could not save Jor, who played with Kaya either...! That reality, that dreadful helplessness and guilt, weighed heavily on Katarina's shoulders.
What in the world...
Katarina covered her face with trembling hands.
What happened? Did they... did they die? Or did they go somewhere else, somewhere that isn't here?
She did not want to think they had died. Had her clever nephew not said so? That it was fine, that he would come back on his own. Katarina knew that Kyle received special attention from sky gods and outer gods. So, so... Kyle could not be dead.
Calm down, Katarina.
Katarina steadied her sobbing breaths and desperately controlled her emotions.
What she needed to do now was not wail and regret.
She had to return to the Sword Tower as quickly as possible. Report what had happened here, then search for Kyle, wherever he had gone.
* * *
Where is this...?
Kyle could not even tell whether his eyes were open or closed.
There was light. There was darkness. The two could not be distinguished. Somewhere far away, a river of light flowed, but that river did not flow straight. It drew an enormous whirlpool and was sucked toward some center, while the edges of its bent streams of light looked like rubber bands stretched long.
There was no up or down. Kyle was floating. No, even floating was not an accurate description. It felt like he was falling, like he was standing still, and like both were happening at once.
Space is tangled...?
The scenery ahead of him was simultaneously behind him. When he turned his gaze left, he saw the back of his own red head. If he stretched out his hand, it appeared impossibly far away, then enormous as if it were right before his eyes. The concept of distance was as jumbled as folded and crumpled paper.
What happened?
Kyle looked down at Lucia. He could not even tell if his heart was beating right now. A single beat stretched out like eternity, then thousands of beats gathered into one point.
Everything was abnormal. Space, distance, even time were jumbled together.
"Kyle...?"
Lucia whispered like a groan from within his arms. Kyle covered her eyes with his forearm.
"Don't open your eyes."
After whispering that, he pulled Lucia closer. Jor flinched and moved. Jor's stiff body slowly curled around Kyle and Lucia, embracing them. That was the best Jor could do.
...!
He felt gazes. Kyle trembled and swallowed hard. Beyond this tangled darkness, there were things.
Things?
There was not just one. He could not see them. Even if he could, he should not look. Simply directing his gaze toward them would make his eyeballs boil from within. Merely trying to comprehend their forms would rot his thoughts away. Human eyes were not made to contain them. Human brains were not made to understand them.
So he only sensed their formless scale. Even enormous mountain ranges were specks compared to them. So were the sky and sea. Something that joined every star in the night sky together. Something that had made even the darkness between those stars into its body. Something like that existed beyond the darkness.
Outer gods.
Things beyond the world. All of their gazes were directed at Kyle.
"Ugh...!"
There was not a speck of hostility. That made it even more horrifying. What those enormous things poured out all at once was infinite affection.
Cute, lovely, precious.
Like children looking at newborn puppies or kittens. Those nebula-like beings surrounded Kyle, looked down at him, and smiled with endless tenderness.
Their gazes were too immense for a single being to bear. Kyle's body began to shake. He tried to endure it by gritting his teeth, but a groan slipped through them.
"Urgh...!"
Something began to run wild inside him. No, inside his soul.
It was his Spirit Root. Kyle's awakened Chaos Spirit Root. Possibility that could become anything and contain anything, where mana of every nature mingled and swirled. As if responding to those gazes, it writhed.
His nearly empty dantian twisted. The Circuits that began from his dantian and spread through his entire body ignited. Something was filling his dried-out dantian anew.
The power of beings from beyond the world that filled this space. Magical energy flooded into Kyle's body as if it were its own home. The Chaos Spirit Root did not reject this enormous infusion of magical energy.
The Spirit Root was not an organ that physically existed in the human body. Three hundred years had passed since every human awakened a Spirit Root, yet all interpretations of it remained limited to a spiritually existing organ, or perhaps a sense.
An organ mixed into the soul rather than the body. That was why Kyle felt as though his soul were swelling enormously, ready to burst. At the same time, he felt every kind of abnormality in his body. His blazing Circuits swelled as if they would tear apart. The blood vessels throughout his body heated from within, and it felt as though hundreds of thousands of worms writhed beneath his skin.
It felt as if his soul and body would burst apart. His battered body, which had exceeded its limits dozens of times, could not possibly endure this.
The gazes...
From within his consciousness, which was fading white from pain, Kyle understood. Those gazes were doing this. They were not trying to hurt him. They were merely looking at him. Yet simply by looking, the affection they conveyed flowed into him.
It was fortunate that Jor, who wrapped around him, and Lucia in his arms were safe. Those gazes were focused only on Kyle.
"Fuck..."
His teeth ground together. He had already been on the verge of death, and this hurt even more than dying. He had no means to resist. But the emotion boiling inside Kyle was not fear or despair. Before those overwhelming beings, the emotion Kyle felt and spat out was the same as always.
Kyle opened his mouth, bubbling with bloody foam.
"Just..."
His bloodshot eyes glared beyond the darkness.
"What the hell are you staring at?!"
At that moment, light burst from Kyle's neck.
The Angel's necklace. It had remained silent since they came to the East, emitting only coldness, but now it blazed white. The light from the necklace shot toward the darkness beyond like a signal fire.
Then, a slash flew in from beyond the darkness.
Footnotes:
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