Chapter 342: River of Blood, Mountain of Screams (5)

In Keter’s mind world, Paratul staged a spectacle—dropping the moon on Keter—to subdue him. Keter, however, shocked Paratul by proposing something even more extreme: dropping the sun.

The sun had drawn only slightly closer, yet the surface below began to boil. Its gravity tore everything from the ground, ripping and lifting the landscape into ruin.

Keter did not know what would happen if the sun approached, but Paratul did. That was why the consequences manifested within this mind world.

Paratul altered the moon’s trajectory. He hurled it toward the sun, attempting to twist its orbit. Even a dragon could not remain unharmed if struck by a falling sun.

At that moment, Keter, arms raised, dropped to one knee.

“Huh!”

At the same instant, the approaching sun stopped. No matter how powerful Keter’s mental force was, no matter how difficult it was to move the sun, the overwhelming presence of the sun itself could not simply be denied.

Paratul exhaled in relief, then was startled by his own reaction.

Did I... just feel relieved?

When Keter moved the sun, Paratul had thought it impossible. Even dragons could not do such a thing, yet Keter, a human, had just accomplished that. This didn’t change the fact that Paratul thought moving the sun was impossible, and yet, somewhere deep inside...

Maybe it’s possible with Keter.

That flicker of anxiety had made him redirect the falling moon toward the sun. Though the attempt failed, the mere fact that he had felt fear struck Paratul as profound humiliation.

Moving the sun had grave consequences. Keter gasped for breath, struggling repeatedly to steady himself.

“Ha... I didn’t realize it’d be this exhausting.”

Paratul watched him closely. It was the perfect moment to attack, but he sank into thought instead. After some time, Paratul nodded to himself and spoke.

“I believed I knew everything about you. But while I knew much, I seem to have underestimated your potential.”

It was praise and respect from a dragon, but Keter wasn’t happy about this.

Tsk. That means he’s going to get serious now.

Keter had long acknowledged Paratul. He didn’t care whether Paratul was a real dragon or not. Keter already knew that he was a demigod-like being. Paratul was a powerful being far beyond Mad Saint King Kron, who had reached eight-star. Keter was able to at least resist Paratul because this was the mind world. Had they met in reality, he would have died without a sound.

Still... I can hold out here.

Even Keter could not easily claim he could win. No path to victory was visible yet. But he was certain that if he endured long enough, an opportunity would come. And that was precisely what Paratul feared.

“I intended to subdue you in this mind world and claim everything you are. Yet you resist to the very end.”

“Fighting for thousands—tens of thousands—of years sounds tedious, but if it means screwing you over, I’m happy to.”

“I have no desire to look at your face for tens of thousands of years. So I will make you a proposal.”

“Don’t. Waste of time,” Keter replied.

“Then I will tell you what will happen next. I will go to the world of your unconscious. I intend to shatter your mind there.”

“The unconscious world? Sounds familiar.”

“If your mind breaks, I will suffer damage as well, so I wished to avoid it. But your resistance is fiercer than expected. You refused even to hear my proposal. Thus... this is farewell.”

Paratul vanished without looking back.

A sharp chill ran up Keter’s spine. It was not merely the sensation of danger, but a true electric shiver spreading from his spine through his entire body.

“I need to follow him into the unconscious world...”

He knew the concept, but not how to enter it. It was not something he could simply force his way into by instinct.

Paratul had declared his intent, but how long it would take was unknown. One thing was certain: there was no time to spare.

“Guess I have to try something.”

Standing still would yield nothing. Just as he resolved to begin by becoming aware of his unconscious...

“Keter. I told you, didn’t I?”

He heard a woman’s voice from behind him.

Keter’s eyes widened. But when he turned, the emotion on his face was not alarm but joy.

“Serena...?”

Serena, the Witch of the Stars and the woman Keter had married second, had suddenly appeared within his mind world. She wore the same attire as when they first met: a fortune-teller’s uniform, her eyes and mouth veiled by flowing cloth.

“I’m not hallucinating because I’m dying, am I?”

Keter poked her cheek. His finger passed straight through.

“Ah. Fake.”

“You’re the same as ever. That’s what I like about you, but now isn’t the time.”

“You sound like the real Serena.”

“Keter, I taught you how to reach the unconscious world. I clearly told you to practice, but you forgot.”

“I guess it didn’t seem important back then. You should’ve pushed harder.”

“I anticipated that. So when you slept, I left a part of my soul in your mind world to prepare for the day your unconscious world might be attacked.”

“You could’ve told me earlier.”

“To reveal the future is a grave violation of Causality, all the more so if that future could change the world.”

Serena clasped her hands. A glass orb appeared between them.

“Keter. I can only send you into the unconscious world. After that, you must proceed on your own.”

“What do I do there?”

“As you always do.”

“Ah, got it.”

Keter reached for the orb without hesitation, but just before touching it, he paused.

“Why did you leave me? And where are you now? What are you doing?”

“You were never the type to ask such things.”

“People change. Life does that.”

Serena smiled softly.

“...Keter, I can’t tell you much. But please know this one thing,” she said before leaning forward and kissing his cheek. “I was happy with you. It was fun.”

Keter understood her, but he wanted to ask what she truly meant. However, he never got the chance. Even without touching the orb, his body began to be pulled inward. It was an irresistible force dragging him away.

* * *

The unconscious world: the first mage to discover it defined the unconscious like this.

“Everything I know yet what I am not thinking of at this moment. Everything that was once conscious to me, but is now forgotten.”

Paratul, who had entered Keter’s unconscious, felt his eyes grow tired.

“I have seen countless unconscious worlds, but this is chaos itself.”

Pigs and cows were sunbathing on a beach made of gold. Winged turtles were dancing in a sea of lava. The sun floating in the sky was actually bread with apple jam, and the clouds were made of candy.

“It doesn’t seem dangero...”

Click.

Paratul took a step forward. The sound of his foot on the ground felt strange.

Booom!!

An explosion erupted beneath his feet, and a rose-shaped cloud formed. It was Rose, a technique of Ragnon the Bomber from Liqueur. It was a rose bomb powerful enough to kill a Master-level warrior in one blow. However, Paratul emerged unharmed except for some slightly singed clothing.

Looking down, he saw the ground was patterned in a grid of red and blue tiles. This wasn’t a trap Keter set for intruders. It was merely one of his childhood games made manifest.

“So red is the trap, I suppose.”

No matter how powerful the rose bombs were, they meant nothing to Paratul. He could ignore them, but out of curiosity, he stepped onto a blue tile.

Boom!!

Another explosion, and it was twice as powerful. He brushed his hair aside and stepped back onto a red tile.

Boom!

Another blast.

Paratul started to become irritated.

“So the grid and colors are merely a mockery. There is no pattern.”

Keter could not enter the unconscious world, so time was infinite for Paratul.

Even Transcendental beings could not perceive the unconscious world, and entering it directly was impossible. To enter, one must both not perceive it and perceive it simultaneously. Only an extremely small number of beings, even among gods, could accomplish this.

Paratul floated upward, intending to travel through the air.

Then a pig sunbathing on the beach said, “You might want to stay down here. The sky is more dangerous.”

“...?”

Paratul’s eyes widened. Creatures existed in the unconscious world, but they did not speak. Yet this one had, clearly and directed at him.

When Paratul descended, the pig approached on two legs. It walked along the grid lines, and no explosions occurred.

“Mind introducing yourself?” the pig asked casually.

With time to spare and curiosity piqued, Paratul answered, “Paratul. A dragon.”

“Figured. You sounded like a jerk.”

“...Who are you? You are not a construct of Keter’s unconscious.”

“Me? I’m a white blood cell, here to eliminate things like you.”

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“...?!”

Rip.

The pig’s body split open. From within emerged a strange girl. She had stitch marks all over her body and an androgynous face.

“I’m Franken,” she[1] introduced herself. “The chimeric healer, master of the Gray Tower, and Keter’s teacher.”

Paratul knew of Franken and recognized her immediately.

“You knew I would come? And you hid yourself here, beyond Keter’s conscious awareness?”

“It’s been a long time. One thousand seven hundred seventy-two years—that’s the last count I remember. I wondered if you’d never arrive, but you finally did. Now I can leave this place.”

“In Keter’s memories, you went to the underground of Liqueur.”

“That was to deceive you and the world.”

“You....”

Paratul could not hide his astonishment. Not only had someone arrived before him in Keter’s unconscious—they had been waiting for him. But astonishment was all it was. He was a dragon, and his opponent was merely a modified human.

“Planning to fight immediately? Before that, won’t you listen? While operating on Keter, I learned many things. When I discovered he contains the components of countless lifeforms, I was bewildered. Medicine can transplant traits, but to be born appearing entirely human, both inside and out, while holding unrealized traits like that... neither medicine nor magic can achieve it.”

Paratul frowned. “I fail to see what that has to do with you. To remain here at the cost of your soul’s dissolution for Keter’s sake... Human foolishness is beyond comprehension.”

“It’s not for Keter. It's a scholarly curiosity about what kind of being could have created something like him. And if I help him this much, won’t he repay me? He’s the type who always settles his debts.”

Paratul sighed. Even after thousands of years, humans remained incomprehensible.

“If you seek cooperation, cooperate with me. I will grant what you desire. At best, you can only buy time.”

“You’re right. Even if I’ve lived in his unconscious longer and know it better than you, we’re both intruders. One intruder cannot expel another. And you’re a dragon. No matter how impressive I am, that’s a tall order.”

“Are you saying you will accept my offer?”

“Haha. Not a chance. I told you—I’m only buying time. The only one who can expel an intruder is the owner of this world.”

“If you’re waiting for Keter, it is meaningless. He cannot come here.”

Franken shrugged.

“I agree. The unconscious isn’t reached through effort but meditation. Keter can do almost anything, but doing nothing is the one thing he struggles with. Actually, there are many things he can’t do, yet he accomplishes them anyway. Know why?”

“I told you that stalling is meaningless.”

Paratul raised his palm. Black light gathered in his hand. It was Black Crown, a nine-circle dark magic. Even before a nine-circle spell, Franken continued smiling.

“Keter’s a good guy. Plenty of people want to help him.”

Voong!

Just as Black Crown was about to activate, space split open beside Paratul, and Keter’s fist slammed into his face.

1. With the new reveal, Franken will be referred to as she from now on. ☜