Chapter 382

Several days passed, and one by one, the dimensions thought to have been consumed by the Encroachment began reappearing.

Kiriel returned to his homeland, the Raden Continent, and soon it was confirmed that the other dimensions were accessible as well. Adventurers who had believed that the Encroached dimensions were erased forever and that anyone who died in the Core could never be seen again were finally able to set foot on their home soil. They reunited with family, lovers, friends, and comrades they had longed for all this time.

Although the people they met had lost their memories of the Core, none of that mattered. These were the same adventurers who’d been transferred to the Core by the Encroachment of their dimensions and had fought desperately to survive. Everyone had predicted that only destruction lay at the end of that path. No one had dared to hope.

“Who could’ve imagined a day like this would come?” Solomon commented.

“Your plan was to become the King of the Dimensions and wipe everything clean to start anew.” Tusitala’s voice was full of anger, and Solomon knew very well the source of that fury: Cecilia—his first and last comrade.

In the beginning, they had fought side by side to survive the harsh reality of the Core. But eventually, ideological differences drove them apart, and they hurt each other deeply. Unable to reconcile, Cecilia was ultimately sealed inside Baal’s body by Solomon.

He had believed that as long as he had the Keys, he could use Ouroboros to access the Path of Dimensions and claim the throne. It was said that becoming the King of the Dimensions granted the power to erase and recreate all things. It would be a small sacrifice for the greater good. It was the natural law.

In a world where order and structure had collapsed, adventurers followed only their most primal instincts. They did whatever it took to survive. The Core, where self-interest reigned and others were pushed aside, was a world that deserved to disappear.

“I was blinded by my arrogance,” Solomon confessed.

He had convinced himself that his way was absolutely right and that in this world, harmony was impossible. Those who were altruistic simply vanished without a trace. Survival of the fittest was the perfect way to describe the Core, and Solomon had believed only the selfish could survive here. That belief of his had begun to change, thanks in part to a baby named Byeol.

But the person who truly moved his heart... was someone else. Whether he liked it or not, the phrase “King of Earth” kept reaching his ears. Everyone followed that man wholeheartedly and, most importantly, genuinely respected him. That sincerity was unmistakably real.

From what little he saw on the message boards, Solomon realized that the King of Earth wasn’t preaching to people about “respect” or “compassion.” He didn’t need to. His actions alone influenced people in quiet, lasting ways.

Solomon found it baffling and, perhaps, even a little uncomfortable. Maybe it was jealousy.

“You could’ve chosen to stand with the King of the Dimensions,” Tusitala said.

Solomon couldn’t have taken the throne himself, but the outcome he and the King of the Dimensions sought wasn’t all that different. They both wanted to lead the world toward destruction. If he had chosen to act and stirred up the factions directly, the Core would’ve suffered tremendous damage. That much was obvious.

“But the King of Earth said something. That maybe you, Solomon, wanted to end the world for the sake of... a comrade. That even if others called you selfish and evil, maybe you weren’t doing this just for yourself. Maybe it was for one person. Just one.” As Tusitala muttered, a spark from the campfire shot up and briefly lit Solomon’s face.

His eyes were clear, revealing the face of a man who had cast aside the form of a demon and returned to his human self. A soul had separated from Baal’s body. Beside him, a sleeping girl lay under a blanket, leaning against a gnarled tree.

“You didn’t kill Cecilia, even though she stood for everything you opposed. You sealed her inside Baal’s body instead. Maybe... because she meant that much to you,” Tusitala commented.

“You’re dressing it up too nicely. I didn’t kill her because she knew where the key was. I sealed her because she wouldn’t stop nagging. If not for that... then, I would have definitely...” Solomon trailed off.

Of course, it wasn’t the truth. He looked at Cecilia, still sleeping peacefully. When she opened her eyes, what would he say? Where would he even begin to apologize? Could they ever return to the way they were, when they were each other’s support?

With a crackle and a pop, another ember flew.

At that moment, Cecilia’s eyelids slowly fluttered open. The first thing she saw was Solomon and Tusitala, sitting quietly around a campfire. She took it in for a moment, then closed her eyes again.

A faint smile crossed her lips, and she murmured, “You know, sitting like this... It really feels like the old days. The three of us used to sit together like this all the time, didn’t we?”

“C-Cecilia? Y... you were awake?” Tusitala flinched, flapping her wings in surprise.

Solomon, too, twitched slightly. Had she heard everything they’d just said?

Cecilia yawned and stretched with a long groan, then pulled her knees up and quietly stared at the fire.

“Now that I think about it, you never once tried to kill me, Solomon,” she said, as if reflecting on the earlier conversation, and spoke as if it had just dawned on her.

Before she gave the Origin to Do-Jun, she had looped through countless Returns, trying to stop Solomon. No matter how hard she tried, the world always fell to ruin at his hands. Each time, she went back again. But now, thinking about it, she couldn’t recall ever being killed by Solomon. Never once had he forced her to Return that way.

“‘Never once’...?What do you mean by that?” Solomon asked.

“That’s a secret.”

Solomon and Tusitala stared at her.

“A secret between the King of Earth and me. Oh, and Ouroboros makes three!”

Though she called it a secret, Tusitala and Solomon could guess what she meant. It had to do with her Returns. And from the fact that “he never killed her,” they could deduce that she had used the Return herself each time. The King of Earth was likely part of that journey, too. That could explain, at least in part, why he had grown so strong.

“Hey...” Cecilia dusted off her clothes and stood up. “I want to thank the King of Earth. Will you guys come with me?”

***

Do-Jun pulled out another floor table and placed it next to the one already in the living room. With three guests visiting today, they had no choice but to gather around the floor tables in the living room.

In the kitchen, Yoon-Hee was preparing braised chicken for Cecilia. As always, Karsiel was helping by her side, and Cecilia had also joined in, eager to learn how to make the dish herself.

“If you cut the potatoes into quarters like this, it’s perfect. Want to give it a try?” Yoon-Hee offered.

“Yeah! I want to try! So this is a potato, huh? It tasted amazing!” Cecilia looked absolutely delighted at the idea of learning the recipe and then eating the dish afterward.

Seeing that expression, both Yoon-Hee and Karsiel couldn’t help but smile. The original dinner plan had been tofu stew, but they were glad they took Yong-Yong’s strong suggestion to make braised chicken for Cecilia instead.

“Byeol, can you grab the gochujang from the fridge?” Yoon-Hee asked.

“Yup!”

“Me too! I want to help teach her, too!” Yong-Yong exclaimed, all excited.

Ignoring Yong-Yong, Karsiel said, “C-Cecilia. Thinly slicing the carrots gives a better texture.”

“I want to teach her tooooo!” Yong-Yong said again, persistently.

This time, it was Yoon-Hee who said, “Oh, right. And for sugar, just add about this much.”

Yoon-Hee and Karsiel effortlessly blocked Yong-Yong’s attempts to butt in on the cooking. Cecilia, perceptive as ever, noticed what was happening and chose not to respond to Yong-Yong’s interruptions. Solomon, watching Cecilia’s radiant smile, turned to Do-Jun.

“Want a beer?” Do-Jun asked.

He grabbed two cold cans from the fridge, cracked one open, and handed it to him.

Solomon took it, quietly impressed. He hadn’t even said why he was visiting, and yet Do-Jun had welcomed him in naturally, as if they had been doing this for a while. He took a moment to think, then downed a long swig. The cold carbonation refreshed his throat. It was his first time drinking something like this, but it wasn’t bad at all. He felt... just a little lighter, like the edges of his mood had softened.

Solomon stared at Do-Jun, who was sipping his own beer. “Hey, King of Earth...”

“

Hmm?

”

“I just wanted to say... thank you.” Solomon’s tone suggested he knew something. “If it weren’t for you, King of Earth, Cecilia wouldn’t be able to smile like that right now.”

Do-Jun guessed that Cecilia must have told him about the past. Even if she hadn’t, he had planned to explain it eventually.

Solomon recalled the day clearly, the moment of the final battle beneath the sky of the Deep Realm. The moment he saw the King of the Dimensions, he knew that even if he’d obtained the power of the Keys, he wouldn’t have stood a chance. In the end, Cecilia and everything else would have been wiped out, leaving not even ashes behind.

“King of Earth, I don’t know how many times you went back or how many years you’ve lived. I can’t even begin to imagine how much hardship you endured to become this strong. But all those years—you lived them. If it were me, I think I would’ve lost my mind.”

Returns always came with severe side effects. The more times you repeated it, and the longer you stayed in the loop, the more it felt like being trapped in a timeless spiral, spinning in place. Do-Jun understood that feeling well. As Solomon said, keeping one’s mind intact through endless Returns was nearly impossible. He had instinctively dulled himself to survive. He suppressed emotion, erasing joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure from his vocabulary, all just to keep from going insane.

Well, thankfully, all of that was in the past now.

“Hey, Solomon!” Cecilia’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

She pointed toward the balcony and said, “They said the perilla leaves are out there! Can you go pick some?”

“Sure.” Solomon opened the balcony door and looked out at a rectangular planter box.

The perilla leaves were lush and overflowing.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Baal used to plant stuff like this, too.

He realized.

What was Baal doing now that he was free?

As he absentmindedly picked a few leaves, his eyes fell on something sticking out of the planter. It was a small garden shovel. However, something about it felt... familiar. Strangely so.

“Huh... this... is this...?”

When he pulled it free, there was no doubt in his mind. It was Apophis, the Demon Sword. He had forged it himself, infusing some of his own power into it. Solomon examined the blade from every angle. “Byeol’s” was engraved on it with a Sharpie. Solomon stared at the writing, dumbstruck.

“Solomon! What’s taking so long with those leaves?” As Cecilia called out, Solomon quietly stuck Apophis back into the soil.

—Enjoy the braised chicken...

“Yeah...”