Chapter 279: #The Child Leaves the Cradle, And

Looking at Yu Il-Shin’s warm smile reminded Nightmare of her vague memories at the cradle.

Back in the chaotic era, when the world hadn’t yet taken shape, countless seeds of god and origins of life were born from God of Creator’s cradle, and Silently Crawling Nightmare was no exception.

A blinding white light engulfed a red flower bud, from which a palm-sized girl emerged. Her eyes fluttered open.

“

Hoahm~

”

She raised her short, plump arms high, stretching herself. Then, while arrogantly placing both arms on her hips, she arrogantly declared, “I’m born!”

Hoho, praise me, world! Praise this cute, charming, and beautiful goddess!

Though newly born, she instinctively knew that she was a divine being destined for greatness.

Zzz zzz~

Just then, a jarring noise caught her attention, and she turned her head slightly in that direction. Amid the wheat field was a blonde girl curled up in a ball, so vast asleep that her snot was dripping.

Nightmare instinctively realized that the girl was her twin sister, born at the same time as her. How unfortunate.

“

Tsk, tsk.

Pathetic.”

How could she still be sleeping after being born? Nightmare, who was going to become a beautiful goddess, considered herself unlucky for having such a sleepyhead as her sister! At this rate, she might as well become the goddess of sleep!

Clicking her tongue, Nightmare turned her attention elsewhere. She wanted to look at the cradle where she was born.

Ruuumble!

A thunderous roar echoed as light and dark swirled together, giving rise to a tumultuous sea that could be called the primordial chaos. Above it was a gigantic tree, floating like an ark—the very essence of her cradle.

The tree was so huge that the rest of the world seemed small in comparison.

“

Waaah!

” Nightmare couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.

However, it wasn’t just the size that amazed her, but also its beauty. Its branches stretched out as if holding up the sky, adorned with leaves in the colors of the rainbow—colors that would one day become a symbol of dreams and hope.

At the tips of those branches hung fruits so rich in life force they could create entire worlds, glowing brilliantly like what would one day be called the sun.

That tree was called the World Tree.

How satisfied she was with her cradle! After all, she was created by such a beautiful and great being to become the goddess of beauty!

Swoosh!

Suddenly, a disturbing sound caught her attention.

“W-what’s that?” Nightmare was startled.

Squish squish!

Then, she saw a creature made of sticky, tar-like darkness, with a grotesque, insect-like appearance.

What was such a hideous monster doing in this beautiful cradle? It had no place here!

Nyam nyam nyam!

The creature roamed around the World Tree, gnawing on the colorful leaves and dazzling fruits. Not her beautiful and precious World Tree!

“W-what are you doing?! Stop right now, you wretched monster!” she screamed at the monster without realizing it.

The monster seemed to have heard her, as it stopped gnawing on the fruits.

Nightmare felt triumphant, thinking that the monster had heard and obeyed her commands.

Shaaaa!

A maddening red glow flashed from the monster. Tar-like darkness oozed out of its mouth like saliva, crawling toward Nightmare. She could tell that it intended to devour her. As if it could resist eating such a cute and beautiful goddess, anyway! Ugly as it was, the monster actually had good eyes!

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“

Kyaa!

Stay away from me!”

However, as much as she wanted to flee, her essence was a flower. Her lower half was firmly rooted to the ground, unable to move an inch.

“I said don’t come near me, you filthy monster!”

Terrified, Nightmare instinctively activated her defense mechanism.

Claaaang!

Sharp thorns grew from the surrounding vines.

Swaaa!

They flew like whips in the air, yet they couldn’t even touch the monster. As their life force was sucked away, they withered away rapidly, crumbling helplessly to the ground.

Sss—

The monster’s shadow engulfed the flower that carried the helpless Nightmare.

Trembling violently, Nightmare pleaded for help from her twin sister. “

Waaah!

Save me! Wake up! Please help me!”

Zzz zzz~

However, her twin sister, goddess of abundance, seemed oblivious to her cries. She was still curled up in the grains, sound asleep. Just as it took time for grains to ripe, it was still too early for her to wake up.

“

Krrr!

”

Tar-like drools continued to drip from the monster’s mouth, falling onto Nightmare’s head.

Sss—

Then, her once vibrant red petals turned black. Growing desperate, Nightmare waved her hands wildly, pointing at her twin sister, Abundance.

“

Eeek!

Monster! Eat her instead! Yes, her! D-doesn’t she look fatter and tastier than I am?!”

However, the monster didn’t even bat an eye. Instead, it opened its jaw wide at Nightmare, beyond which darkness writhed fiercely like a black hole, capable of swallowing her whole.

“

Aaaah!”

Nightmare shut her eyes tightly, unable to look at what would come next.

“No, Destroyer. You mustn’t eat this child.”

A clear, holy voice rang in the air, and Nightmare cautiously opened her eyes.

A being was holding the monster in their arms. It stood on two legs with two other limbs resembling beings that would later be called humans. However, their face was too holy and dazzling for Nightmare to discern.

“

Kyaak! Kyaaaak!

”

The monster thrashed, flashing brightly, hellbent on devouring Nightmare. The being’s hands glowed green as it gently caressed the monster’s head.

“You’re good aren’t you? It’s not your job to destroy a newborn. You wouldn’t disappoint me, right?”

It worked like magic, and the monster seemed to have calmed down, staring at the being with red eyes. Finding the monster cute, the being let out a low chuckle.

“I know. You never intended to eat her, did you? You just wanted to scold this rude child?”

The monster nodded in response.

“This child should understand her actions now. Here, on your way.”

The being let go of the monster on the ground.

Sss—

As if granting Nightmare one last mercy, the monster glanced at her, before crawling up the World Tree’s trunk and chewing on the withering leaves.

The being knelt before Nightmare, meeting her gaze. “Are you okay? He’s a bit rough, but he means no harm, so you don’t have to be afraid.”

Nightmare thought that this being seemed to resemble someone. Besides, he appeared to carry the great, beautiful World Tree’s energy. No, he was the World Tree himself—God of Creator, her parent.

“How clever you are. Yes, I’m World Tree’s cradle, and the God of Creator, who created all of you.” Then, he pointed at the monster eating a fading fruit. “And that rough woman is both my alter ego and partner, God of Destroyer. She’s the mother of you twins.”

“Huh?” Nightmare was speechless.

How could a goddess of beauty like her be born from such a hideous monster? It was outrageous! She could accept that the God of Creator was magnificent and divine—but

that

thing, her mother? That was simply too much to bear.

God of Creator smiled as if reading her thoughts. “Both of us were originally one, but we divided ourselves for efficiency. I draw energy from this chaos to create. She’d destroy my failures and return them to nothingness.”

Then, they pointed to the chaotic sea raging outside the cradle.

“Do you see that? It was a meaningless world—brimming with energy, yet filled with nothing but chaos.” He then whispered to her, “I want to change it. I want to turn this chaos and nothingness into countless worlds brimming with life. You twins are the beginning of it.”

He caressed Nightmare and Abundance with love. The monster watched them from afar, glaring with malice, but the God of Creator didn’t notice.

“Grow up quickly, make the worlds I’ve created prosperous and beautiful.”

Abundance remained sound asleep, unwilling to wake.

Cursing her sister inwardly, Nightmare answered at the top of her lungs, “Of course! You can count on me, the goddess of beauty! I shall become your greatest achievement!”

“Goddess... of beauty?” God of Creator curiously tilted his head for a moment, then laughed heartily, “

Haha,

alright. I’ll be waiting, my beautiful rose, Goddess of Beauty.”

“Yes! Look forward to it!”

Both their laughter rang out in the cradle.

Later, God of Creator’s wish was fulfilled, but his abrupt end made him unbefitting of the glory as the primordial god. The loss of her partner drove the God of Destroyer into a rampage, like a wild beast without reins. She destroyed the worlds her partner had painstakingly created, becoming a real monster. Nightmare fell into corruption, turning into the pinnacle of malevolent gods that ruled over nightmares—a far cry from the goddess of beauty.

She chose the path to find her parent, God of Creator, who had perished. All sentient life forms dreamed. Nightmares were much more intuitive—a symbol of fear—just like the fear she felt when God of Destroyer crawled toward her when she was a newborn.

Though commonly employed by apostles, the method was ideal for cultivating divine power befitting a god. After countless eons of struggle, she finally found his reincarnation. Though his appearance had changed dramatically, his divine power was undeniably the same.

Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes as Nightmare gazed at Yu Il-Shin, who held her in his arms.

Ding!

[Congratulations. The Ninety-Ninth of the Tower of Gods: Trial of Wind has been cleared.

[You have been rewarded with 1 Fate Alteration point.]

[Fate Alteration points: 99/100]

A door appeared before them, leading to the final floor of the Tower of Gods. No, it was more than just a door.

Ruuumble!

Like the chaotic sea in the primordial cradle, light and darkness surged, as if beckoning to Yu Il-Shin. Seeing that, he put down Nightmare and got up to his feet.

“Don’t... go...” Nightmare said desperately with her dry lips, extending her pale hands with withering leaves. “Your power... is a forbidden force that consumes the causality of your existence... If you continue to use it, you’ll vanish... Please. I don’t want to lose you again...”

As if reading her mind, Yu Il-Shin shook his head. “I’m not your God of Creator, Ms. Nightmare. Also, I’m sorry, I understand your feelings, but I must go.”

He took her hand, pressing his lips against it as if it were a precious treasure.

“Abundance noonim, please take care of her.”

“...Don’t worry about us.” Abundance hugged the sobbing Nightmare, bowing her head. Hot tears were also trickling down her face.

Leaving the two goddesses behind, Yu Il-Shin placed his hand on the door, where chaos was boiling beyond it.

The Hundredth Floor of the Tower of Gods.

Creaaaak—

Moments later, chaos split apart, and he faced the final trial that awaited him.

***

“...So.” After poring over the manuscript for a while, the middle-aged man, with an even rounder pot belly than before, frowned. “What’s the ending of this novel, Mr. Yu?”