Chapter 277: #Author of All Phenomena

A chill ran down War God’s spine. Was all of this a mere fantasy? Did he just imagine everything?

Since when?!

Was it when he slit Yu Il-Shin’s throat? When they began testing each other’s strength? Or did it all begin the moment Yu Il-Shin pointed the pen at him?

Scritch scritch!

The annoying scribbling sound rang once more in War God’s eardrums.

...War God finally realized that the Yu Il-Shin he’d been fighting wasn’t real. He, who had experienced countless wars and battles, had never been toyed to this extreme before. Ah, conflict was meaningless. And thus, War God finally realized the impermanence of life and repented...

“Don’t underestimate me!” War God gnashed his teeth and looked up to the sky. “I have experienced this ability before!”

Indeed, he had experienced it during his battle with Silently Crawling Nightmare. Her ability to conjure nightmares annoyed him to no end. And to escape the world of nightmares, where the boundary between reality and dreams blurred, War God had to sacrifice an arm.

Things were different now.

“I have surpassed even the Top-tier gods!”

He had absorbed the divine powers of two Top-tier gods, Silently Crawling Nightmare and her sister, Infinite Abundance!

“Rage! Roar! Flames of War!”

Kwaaaa!

Red steam erupted all over War God as he channeled all of his divine power into his sickle.

“Such illusions are useless in the face of absolute power!”

Then, War God struck down his sword.

Tsss!

With the sound of paper tearing, the world of black and white that imprisoned War God was torn apart.

***

Swish—

War God opened his eyes. He caught sight of his temple, then of a sorrowful Yu Il-Shin clutching a torn piece of paper.

Yu Il-Shin flinched at the sight of him.

“Ah! He’s back! We’re doomed! It’s your fault for distracting me with your nagging!”

“It’s because the plot makes no sense! Don’t just change your mind out of nowhere?!”

Moreover, there was another man identical to Yu Il-Shin, crossing his arms.

Yu Il-Shin scratched his pen with his golden-nibbed pen. “I-I know, but I felt in such a rush that...”

“

Tsk, tsk!

And you call yourself a writer?! Regardless of how close the deadline is, you should still dedicate your entire being to submitting a good-quality manuscript! And

on time!

The readers criticized you because your story doesn’t make sense and falls flat!”

“Hey! You’re going too far! You’re me as well, so shouldn’t you side with me?”

“It’s because I’m you that I can make more objective judgments!””

War God directed his sickle at the twins, growling like a beast. “So, which one of you is the real Yu Il-Shin?! How dare you sully my sacred temple and put me in an illusion! Unforgivable! I’ll rip you to shreds!”

The two Yu Il-Shin flinched and pointed at each other, shouting in unison, “He's the real Yu Il-Shin!”

They glared at each other in silence, then clicked their tongues.

“Wow, Main Body, do you even have a conscience?”

“Alter egos don’t die anyway. You should sacrifice yourself for me once in a while.”

“Dying is painful! Didn't you hear what that old man said? He's going to tear us into pieces!”

“You’ll die if I die!”

Clicking his tongue, Sa-Shin shook his finger. “

Tsk, tsk.

What an outdated standard. Yi-Shin, Sam-Shin, and I have achieved independence. We’ve all become Top-tier gods as well, so aren’t you underestimating us? We’re fine even without you around! The days of you boasting about being the main body is over!”

“Y-you! You're worse than Yi-Shin and Sam-Shin combined! Just who did you take after?!”

“Who else, you moron. I was originally as innocent as a blank piece of paper, yet I was tainted because of you.

Hic...”

“

Ha!

Blank paper my ass! More like a moron!”

“What did you say?! Do you want me to show you why I’m called Sa-Shin?!”

“That name is just cringe! The fuck is ‘Sa-Shin’, anyway?!”

War God finally roared in rage, “Silence!”

Seeing two Yu Il-Shins bickering gave War God a headache. He was so ashamed for shedding tears for such a man!

“Fine. It doesn’t really matter anyway.”

Woooong!

Dense bloodthirst resonated from War God’s sickle.

“

Kekeke!

I can just kill both of you at once! Die, you bastards!”

Kwaaaaa!

Enraged, War God sent a wave of red sword aura toward Yu Il-Shin and Sa-Shin.

“It’s coming! Quick, Main Body!” Sa-Shin clapped his hands and summoned a large piece of paper.

“Alright!” Yu Il-Shin rushed to move his pen, etching black text on the blank piece of paper.

At the same time, a sacred light struck War God’s eyes.

...The first time Yu Il-Shin was inspired by that power was in Eight’s world. The origin and essence of Soul Mecha Lazenca was like a game made up of 0s and 1s. Yu Il-Shin thought, if such a world made up of 0s and 1s actually existed, then couldn’t a world like a novel, based on the concept of paper and pen, be created as well?

Scritch scritch!

The sound of pen scribbling on paper struck War God’s ears once more. By then, he wasn’t in his territory, but in the vast universe. In the boundless dark of space stood the alien army—humanity’s archenemy as portrayed in Lazenca’s world. With Yu Il-Shin’s fate alteration, they lived in harmony alongside humans in their original world. However, these ones were different.

-

Kyaaaak!

-

Kyaaaa!

With intense bloodlust and malice, hundreds of millions—no, billions of the alien army charged toward War God.

War God was facing the entire universe alone.

Tzzz!

“

Kekeke.

” More red steam came out from his head. “Know your place, Cretins!”

***

After sending War God into the world of aliens, Sa-Shin wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. “

Phew.

Is it over?”

I let out a huge sigh of relief. “Hey, don’t jinx it.”

“A true writer must know how to break cliches!” Sa-Shin shouted triumphantly, balling his fist tight.

A wave of conflicting emotions washed over me.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

He wasn't like this at the start either...

Sa-Shin first appeared when I cleared the Twentieth Floor of the Tower of Gods, earning over twenty Fate Alteration points.

“Proliferating Thumb of God!”

To clear the trial more effectively, I summoned my alter egos as usual.

Tzzz!

“...Who are you?”

That was when Sa-Shin appeared. His appearance was similar to Sam-Shin, but his gaze was much more naive and innocent. Moreover, he was carrying a bundle of blank papers in his arms.

He felt all too familiar. Wasn’t he the same unknown kid I met in my previous life, just as I was about to be killed by Ant Emperor? I also met him when I changed Eight’s world.

“Hello, Il-Shin. I’m glad you’ve finally grown strong enough to summon me.” My younger self smiled brightly, like the sun, as he handed me the stack of papers. “Let’s create worlds together.”

He was such a cute and innocent child back then...

“Why are you looking at me like that? It's making me uncomfortable.”

Now, he had become a jerk who had a knack for teasing me.

Haa...

was it really because of me? Somehow, guilt filled me. However, Sa-Shin seemed to misunderstand my expression.

“Hey, I told you not to worry!” He flapped the stack of manuscripts, puffing out his chest. “I wove the plot out so thickly, not even that crazy War God could escape—”

Tss!

Suddenly, his papers ripped apart, and a red sickle pierced through Sa-Shin’s torso.

“

Cough!

He crossed it...” Sa-Shin coughed up blood and said to me, “I'll... leave everything to you...”

Psss!

Sa-Shin collapsed like a sandcastle swept away by a huge wave, turning into pale green smoke and returning to its owner.

Swoosh!

I stared at War God as he reappeared where Sa-Shin was. My eyes were black-white, red-green eyes, representing the powers of benevolence, malevolence, God of Destroyer, and creation.

Ding!

[The Clear Eyes of God sees War God.]

Indeed. I was no longer the blind god. The moment I summoned Sa-Shin, my eyes were finally

clear

.

I perceived War God as a gigantic fire demon. A pitiful existence consumed by vengeance. Only after burning everything in its path—enemies, the world, and even himself—would he finally be satisfied.

His lifespan is nearly over.

He’d probably burned more than half his causality to break through the world that Sa-Shin had created. However, that was precisely why he was that threatening.

Tzzz!

War God’s hair stood on ends like a hedgehog, showing how furious he was. More crimson steam bloomed from him, forming a huge storm.

“The price for daring to insult me will be great, Yu Il-Shin! I’ll kill all of you! The goddesses you love, and even your followers! I’ll kill them all!” he screamed.

Crack!

War God burned his lifespan and causality, unleashing steam that condensed into a giant over a thousand meters tall.

Rooooar!

Mountain-Gnawing Titan was like a child when compared to that thing. That had to be the full extent of the power and causality he’d spent eons accumulating to get his revenge.

War God’s eyes glowed red, and the sickles in each of his hands were set ablaze like the sun.

-Be reduced to ashes by the Flames of War!

Kwaaaa!

The sickles, containing enough divine power to obliterate several worlds at once, poured down like a huge catastrophe toward the bound goddesses.

War God thought,

There’s no way Yu Il-Shin can stop this alone.

It was impossible to confine War God into the fantasy world like before, especially when he’d surpassed his limits and disregarded his own life. Therefore, in order to stop him, I had to steel my resolve. I had to expend the divine power, causality, and titles I’d earned from climbing the Tower of Gods.

“Yu Il-Shin’s True Demon Lord’s Descent.”

I trusted my pen toward War God’s sickles.

Then, a blinding flash, akin to the primordial light, erupted from the pen.

“False Creation.”

The activated power wasn’t

mine,

but the unique ability of All Phenomena Author, who was born in the Tower of Gods.