WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The World After the Fall ◈
Chapter 197: Episode 26. Great Forest (3)
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Perhaps Karavan enjoyed talking even under normal circumstances, because he rambled on in an oddly excited tone. Thanks to that, Jaehwan heard detailed stories about the Seven Divine Thrones for the first time since arriving in the 《Abyss》.
The seven rulers of the 《Abyss》, the seven stars that ruled the darkness of the 《Phantasmal Tree》.
The System’s Big Brother.
The Dragon God Droyan.
The God of Flames Ignis.
The God of Pestilence Pest.
The God of Time Chronos.
The God of Reincarnation Buddha.
The God of Madness Nameless.
They were famous enough that there was no one in the 《Abyss》 who did not know them.
They were the Seven Divine Thrones.
“Some of them left for the 〈Great Forest〉 with Ignis-nim. Droyan, Pest, Chronos, and Buddha.”
Runald, who had been listening beside them, asked, “They all rule major Sites, right?”
“That’s right. But back then, they were all brats too. That’s what Ignis-nim said.”
“Ignis-nim ruled the Third Site, right?”
“Yep. Have you been there before?”
“Yes. It was a really scorching place.”
Tropical Night, the Third Site ruled by Ignis, had one of the highest average temperatures in the entire 《Abyss》. It was so hot that people said sleeping outdoors in another Site was better than staying in the Third Site.
“But Big Brother was one of the Seven Divine Thrones too? I thought Big Brother was not considered a Divine Throne.”
《Big Brother》.
The being said to have created the System of this 《Phantasmal Tree》.
Karavan scratched his chin. “Hmm. Big Brother is certainly beyond the norm. There are some people who even exclude Big Brother from the list of Divine Thrones.”
According to Karavan, some gods of the 《Abyss》 believed that Big Brother had transcended the very concept of a 「god」. They grouped the other six together and called them the Six Divine Thrones.
“I’ve visited every other Site, but I’ve never been to the First Site, where Big Brother is supposed to exist. I wanted to visit at least once.”
“You want to visit the First Site?”
“Yes. I’ve been to every other Site, but never there…”
Karavan burst into cheerful laughter.
“Why are you laughing?”
Karavan stopped walking ahead of them, quickly looked around, and left a marker to keep them from getting lost in the Black-Leaf Forest. A branch snapped with a crack.
“Big Brother isn’t in the First Site.”
“What? Big Brother isn’t there?”
“He’s at the highest level of the 《Phantasmal Tree》, a place called the Nest. What was it called again? The place where the First Nightmare or something is supposed to be… Some people mistake that place for the First Site, but it isn’t. There are no Followers or Vicegerents of Big Brother there.”
“Huh?”
Karavan’s words caught Jaehwan’s interest as he listened in silence.
“Then where exactly is the First Site?” Runald asked.
“The First Site isn’t in the 《Abyss》.”
Runald’s eyes widened in surprise.
First Karavan said 《Big Brother》 was not in the First Site, and now the First Site itself was not in the 《Abyss》.
“The First Site grew too large and slipped out of the 《Phantasmal Tree》.”
Runald looked as if he had just heard complete nonsense, but Jaehwan’s expression had turned cold. A question flashed through his mind.
It was something Jaehwan had wondered about for a long time.
If 《Big Brother》 was a god, and his 「Setting」 was this 「System」...
Where did his world begin, and where did it end?
As if Karavan understood his thoughts, he grinned and nodded.
“The 《Great Lands》 are the First Site of the 《Abyss》.”
Silence fell for a moment. Only their footsteps, arriving in a steady rhythm, broke it.
Unlike Jaehwan, who had somewhat expected Karavan’s answer, Runald needed quite some time to put his shock into words.
“Big Brother’s Site is the 《Great Lands》?”
“Looks like you really didn’t know anything.”
“I’m still a kid, so of course I didn’t.”
“Where are there kids in the 《Abyss》? Even ten-year-olds are all hardened by the ways of the world.”
Perhaps Runald was irritated by that, because he started a petty argument with Karavan.
While the topic drifted elsewhere for a moment, Jaehwan alone pondered the subject Karavan had raised.
‘Just as I thought, the god of the Adapters was 《Big Brother》.’
《Big Brother》, ruler of the First Site, the 《Great Lands》.
The meaning of that fact was clear.
‘The 《Great Lands》 are not the realm of the living.’
Until now, most humans had understood the 《Great Lands》 as the realm of the living. They believed that souls who died in the realm of the living went to the realm of the dead, and that the realm of the dead was the 《Chaos》 of the 《Phantasmal Tree》.
But that was not the case.
The 《Great Lands》, which they had thought was the realm of the living, was only one Site in the 《Abyss》. 《Chaos》 was merely a kind of waiting room for moving between Sites.
Humans alone had been dividing the realm of the living from the realm of the dead from the start.
The 「Fruit」 was no different.
The 「Fruit」 the Abyss Expedition had searched for so desperately.
The miraculous Fruit said to return true life was not a 「Fruit」 that resurrected them. It was only a kind of pass that allowed them to enter the First Site of 《Big Brother》.
The “true life” humans had desperately sought was nothing but an illusion created by the gods.
Humans cultivated in the Tower died in the 《Great Lands》, longed for life in 《Chaos》, despaired in the 《Abyss》, then ultimately returned as nutrients for the 《Phantasmal Tree》.
Jaehwan thought of the being that had created this endless cycle of life and death.
Runald and Karavan returned to their original conversation.
“Just how strong is 《Big Brother》?”
“Who knows. At the very least, you’d have to say he’s stronger than the 《Great Lands》.”
The unit of comparison was not an individual or a god, but a world.
A being stronger than the 《Great Lands》. What kind of strength was that?
“There are Great Lords in the 《Great Lands》 too. Is he stronger than all of them combined?”
Just as the 《Abyss》 had the Seven Divine Thrones, the 《Great Lands》 had the Twelve Great Lords.
If one Great Lord possessed power comparable to, or slightly less than, one of the other Seven Divine Thrones excluding 《Big Brother》, then 《Big Brother》 already possessed a “Unique World” equivalent to the 《Abyss》 as his Site.
“That’s what I think. Nobody knows exactly how strong 《Big Brother》 is. They only make rough guesses. And I’ve never seen 《Big Brother》 myself. Honestly, I don’t really want to.”
Karavan looked afraid just thinking about that being.
There was nothing shameful about it. A being who had surpassed even gods, one equal to a world in itself. It was natural to feel a distant fear from the thought alone.
Karavan glanced awkwardly toward Jaehwan.
“Come to think of it, you were aiming for the ‘end of the world,’ weren’t you?”
Since there was no reason to hide it, Jaehwan nodded.
Karavan gave a bitter smile, as if Jaehwan’s attitude stirred strange feelings within him.
“You should be able to feel Big Brother’s power well enough at your level. Seeing that you still talk like that, I can’t tell whether you’re immature or brave.”
“That is none of your concern.”
“You really are prickly. Just the kind Ignis-nim would like. Anyway, you know this too, right? At your current level, you don’t stand a chance against 《Big Brother》. Unless you collect all Three Divine Artifacts.”
Jaehwan had certainly felt the power of the Three Divine Artifacts through this battle. Even for a powerhouse like Maiad, the difference in World Power between using the Three Divine Artifacts and not using them was immense.
Runald asked, “If someone gathered all three Three Divine Artifacts, could they fight 《Big Brother》?”
“It’s possible. They say the power of the Ancient Three Gods was enough to make even 《Big Brother》 fear them. If the Three Gods had joined forces to fight 《Big Brother》, the ruler of the 《Abyss》 might be different by now.”
The Ancient Three Gods. Gods who had ruled the 《Abyss》 210,000 years ago and could contend with 《Big Brother》.
Hearing it put that way, Jaehwan could understand the might of the Three Divine Artifacts. That was why so many gods had ventured into the 〈Great Forest〉 one hundred thousand years ago, and died there.
Karavan wrapped up the topic. “Anyway, getting back to the point, the 〈Great Forest〉 is famous because the final traces of the Ancient Three Gods remain here. It’s an old rumor. ‘If you want to know the Three Gods, seek the Mad God of the 〈Great Forest〉.’”
“Does this ‘Mad God’ possess the Three Divine Artifacts?”
“Maybe. Ignis-nim mentioned it before, and your friend said something similar, so I think there’s a good chance. More than anything, Andersen was the successor of the Ancient God Gestalt.”
“Gestalt?”
“Yeah. But I think we should talk about that later.”
At the same time Karavan spoke, Jaehwan noticed something as well.
The two concealed their presence and surveyed their surroundings. Behind them, Runald asked tensely, “What is it?”
Karavan put an index finger to his lips and made a quiet shushing sound.
Before long, Runald could sense an unusual presence too. Something was approaching slowly with a rustle.
World Power spread ominously through the forest. Growls followed one after another.
Runald’s face gradually filled with fear.
There was a simple reason the 〈Great Forest〉 was considered a forbidden region. Almost no one who entered it came out alive.
And the gods who did escape all said similar things.
One warned people to beware the Mad God.
The other was...
“Lost Ones. Be careful.”
A chill ran down Runald’s neck, then something charged at them with savage force.
Jaehwan’s sword light and Karavan’s fist struck at the same time.
Slash! Thud, thud, thud!
The first monster was sent flying after taking both attacks at once.
But there was not just one monster. Dozens emerged from between the black leaves of the 〈Great Forest〉.
Jaehwan examined the monster that had fallen.
Surprisingly, it was a form he knew well.
‘A Forgotten One?’
A monster covered in tentacles, with a grotesque mouth.
It was unmistakably a Forgotten One.
Yet the monsters charging after it were familiar to Jaehwan as well.
Rooooar!
Monsters with more than ten horns.
Beasts that Adapters in 《Chaos》 would drool over and covet stood before them.
‘Horned Beasts?’
The Horned Beasts charged, swinging their sharp horns.
There were dozens of them at a glance. Since they each appeared to have at least seven or eight horns, they were powerful creatures, no weaker than Seven-Horned Beasts. Some ignored Jaehwan and instead fought the Forgotten Ones.
As he watched the monsters swing horns and tentacles at one another, Jaehwan realized something.
I see.
Lost Ones.
The name for those who lost their god during life, then had their souls collapse as time passed.
Those were the Lost Ones.
Footnotes:
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