Chapter 219: A Great Path Has No Gate (2)

Around the Temple of the Fallen God, where the Ashen God had descended, a powerful barrier was set.

It was impossible for most beings to even approach it.

The forces that had arrived to stop her were also unable to cross the barrier and were halted in their tracks. Crockta and the gods had swung their weapons, trying to create a fissure, but none of their attacks seemed to even scratch the Ashen God's barrier that stood unharmed, blocking their path.

Time passed.

Every minute and every second was a countdown to the survival or doom of their world.

"This barrier cannot be overcomed with physical force," the Goddess of Magic declared after examining the barrier.

The gods were still residing in the bodies of their avatars, as their true forms were supporting the world from the gods' dimension. Since they couldn’t just abandon their primary duty as gods, they had no other choice but to borrow their avatars for the time being.

That meant that their divine power was weak compared to the fully descended Ashen God.

"If we had our full divine power, we might have been able to force a fissure, but at this moment, there's nothing we can do. It's a power that spans through space and time, so even I do not know how to dispel it. Beyond this barrier lies essentially another dimension. What kind of knowledge has she gained over time...?"

"Kraaaaaaaaaah! Do something, gods! Krrng!"

Kumarak vented his anger, swinging his giant axe wildly. Despite striking the barrier numerous times, it remained perfectly intact.

"Dammit!"

Kumarak swung his Mountain Slasher with all his might once again. An explosion sounded, but still, not a scratch appeared on the wall.

Everyone murmured among themselves.

"We're running out of time."

"We have to find a way..."

Everything up until that was going smoothly, including the elimination of the unidentified demon Dantalian. However, the barrier presented an immediate obstacle.

Crockta glared at the white sphere floating inside the barrier.

That was the entity of the great magic that would lead the world to its end.

"We don't have time for this."

Crockta grasped God Slayer and lunged at the barrier. There was only a clang, and the barrier remained unyielding.

According to the Goddess of Magic, they lacked the power and divine strength to force it open, and they lacked the information to dispel it through knowledge. The Ashen God had fallen to earth and acquired its scientific knowledge, which likely enabled the manifestation of such a barrier.

Time continued to pass.

Crockta furrowed his brow. He couldn’t find a way out. Then, someone behind him said,

"Do not rush."

* * *

The sun rose and set, repeating its usual cycle. Time passed. They could not find an answer.

The white sphere of doom that had risen in the sky gradually swelled until it was big enough to fill the majority of the sky.

"We don’t have any time left."

Even the gods, initially calm, were gradually losing their composure. Kumarak had already exhausted himself from pounding on the walls like a madman, and the other orcs charged with their weapons. Some even fell injured after punching the barrier until their bodies literally broke down.

"Everyone, get out of the way!"

Fireballs began to fall from the sky.

It was the ultimate magic of the Goddess of Magic that had annihilated most of the orcs, the Meteor Shower.

Meteors poured down, hammering the walls. Flames spread, and debris scattered. The earth shook with each collision of the barrier and the meteors. The force was easily powerful enough to obliterate a decent-sized city without a trace.

When the flames died down, and the barrier reappeared, it was...flawlessly intact.

"Shit!"

Even the Goddess of Magic cursed.

The army, which had lain prone to avoid the aftermath of the Meteor Shower, now rose, covered in ash and dust.

They despaired upon discovering the translucent wall still standing firmly before them, unscathed.

"How can this be..."

"Are we just going to get blocked by this thing, without even getting to fight?"

The War God stepped forward next.

The War God summoned his power, enveloping himself in flames of war, becoming a giant clad in armor like when he was delivering the final blow to Crockta. He lifted his enlarged sword.

"Woooooh!"

With a roar, the War God swung his sword.

The barrier was being torn apart.

Everyone clenched their fists, watching. For the first time, the barrier was being damaged.

The War God slashed at the barrier with all his might again.

"Woooooh!"

His blade penetrated the barrier, reaching the other side of it. Everyone cheered.

But...

"Kahhhh!"

The War God was repelled by some sort of force and was sent flying. His sword flew through the air, and his massive form staggered before crashing to the ground.

A tremor followed his impact.

Being all skilled individuals, no one was crushed or injured by him.

Yet, the sight of the War God sprawled out in defeat shocked everyone.

"The barrier..."

Even worse, the damage the War God had inflicted on the barrier had healed. As if nothing had happened, the barrier returned to its original state and stood firm, blocking them once again.

It was unbreakable.

"Everything is going according to the Ashen God’s plan," Crockta sighed.

Time kept passing.

Now, the gods as well as the mortals who had gathered to fight alongside them took up their weapons and charged at the barrier again. But it was the same.

Although the barrier occasionally parted under powerful attacks, like with the War God, those who delivered the attacks were repelled, and the barrier maintained its original form. Frustration led all to hurl themselves against the barrier.

Like that, the wave of rage passed.

Then, despair followed.

And finally, resignation.

The Eternal Sun decreed by the Ashen God was gradually approaching.

"Is there really no way?"

Crockta closed his eyes.

* * *

More time had passed.

They had done everything they could.

But in the end, they couldn't breach the barrier.

The dawn warned by the Ashen God was rising.

Light drove out the darkness, revealing its form from the horizon.

"Everyone did their best," the War God said.

"Sometimes, all you can say is that it is what it is. Both the Ashen God and we ourselves clashed with our own beliefs, and she just happened to win."

Everyone held their breath, watching the sun drive away the darkness.

Crockta was no exception.

Many thoughts passed through his mind.

"Tiyo. Anor."

He called out to his two companions.

They stood by Crockta's side, together admiring the rising sun.

Even though it was the last sight heralding the end, it was beautiful.

"It was fun being together," Crockta said to his companions.

Tiyo and Anor smiled.

"Likewise. Thanks to meeting you, I had a lot of fun. No regrets!" Tiyo exclaimed.

"Without you two, I would still be in that village, the same as always. Thank you. If only you had come a bit earlier. Hahaha, damn it," Anor also commented.

They stood shoulder to shoulder with their arms around each other.

They looked at the sun together for one last time. It was dazzlingly, painfully beautiful.

That sun.

It was the last scenery they ever saw.

Then.

The world crumbled away.

A vast expanse of the universe appeared. Darkness upon darkness, and nothing but darkness. An endless void without light or warmth unfolded infinitely.

Within it, the sun of Elder Lord was nothing but dust upon dust, a speck upon a speck. A tiny ember unseen to the eye. It was merely a handful of ashes briefly flaring up before fading away in the endless void.

However.

That handful of a sun blazed white. Planets were drawn in. The galaxy of Elder Lord crumbled all too easily. The vast universe turned into a white light.

The grand magic conjured by the Ashen God condensed the world's time and pulled its space into a single point.

Entropy was reversed.

Forces scattered chaotically were crumpled toward a single point. The universe condensed back to its original point.

Within it were Crockta, Tiyo, and Anor. All gods, all lives, every galaxy that had existed in the universe, and their corpses.

What once was life, and what had become eternal death, everything was converging into a single dot.

Without time or space.

A speck.

That was all.

Since there was no time, how long the process took was meaningless.

It was there.

And it exploded.

Time and space poured out.

Matter was propagated.

The nothingness of the void was erased, and darkness formed over it. Over the darkness, there was heat, and that heat turned into light and swept away the darkness. There was force and heat. And then, the laws that constitute the world were woven together again.

The first sun ignited its fire.

Soon, one by one, sparks began to light up the vast universe. They were stars. They gathered planets and settled them into their orbits. Countless galaxies rose.

And somewhere there was the very first life.

Initially, it was merely futile and crude organic matter. But as time passed, and passed, and passed again, as the entities stretching from the original point were creating new galaxies in the far distance.

It became life.

That life replicated and spread, seeding other lives on its planets. In the ceaseless flow of time, they branched into countless species.

And soon.

The first flower of the universe bloomed.

Its petals opened and it was looking up toward the sun.

'This is the beginning,'

a voice said.

'Life will spread throughout the universe again. This flower will scatter seeds, and many more flowers will come to life, and someday, the flutter of life will rise above the flowers. Thus, life cycles again.'

The universe that was on the brink of destruction became a brilliant universe born anew.

New lives were born throughout the vast universe. They soon developed intellect and became civilizations, eating, praying, and loving as the past world did. They knew that the end would eventually come again, but until then, they would eat, pray, and love just like before.

‘What do you think?'

And Crockta saw all of it.

He saw what the Ashen God truly feared, as well as the new cycle of life she sought to create.

It was beautiful.

'The universe that was forever cooling has thus embraced warmth again. Is it not beautiful?'

The voice said.

Crockta knelt on one knee toward the newly born first flower. He touched it with his fingertip.

It was beautiful.

'It is beautiful indeed,'

Crockta answered to the voice.

'Is that so? Good.'

'But in this world,'

Crockta continued.

'There's no one to receive the flower I give.'

He shook his head.

'I do not wish for this.'

'You will sink into oblivion forever.'

'I don’t care.'

‘It will be futile in the end.'

'That’s fine with me.'

Crockta thought of the world.

There were too many things he couldn't afford to lose.

Yes, Tiyo and Anor came to mind. He had faced and overcome death with them. They were always reliable friends. They were infinitely more precious than some new world.

Then, the many connections he had made came to mind. It all began with Orcrox and the orc farmer Grant. He had learned much from him. He protected Thompson's family with Hoyt and accomplished Lenox’s revenge with his cheerful friend Jeremy. The people of Arnin, the villains of Maillard, the battles in the north with Quantes, the battle against the empire in the faraway southern part of the continent, and fighting the war against gods alongside orc warriors after crossing the Great Sea.

All of them were there, breathing and living.

Above all.

'I have somewhere I have to return to.'

If it was for that.

Such grand plans held no value to him.

Crockta lifted his foot and crushed the first flower.

It perished instantly.

Crockta spoke toward the voice.

'So, help me, Antuak.'

Before him.

Stood the shaman Antuak.

'Is that so? '

'Yes. Don’t you also have something more important than the cycle of the universe?'

'I do?'

'Yes.'

'Ah... You’re right, I have something as well.'

Antuak smiled.

'I too have such a being. A being that should not meet its end like this.'

'Then help me. I will stop the Ashen God.'

'Are you confident?'

'Of course.'

'The apprentice from then has now become a great warrior.'

He raised his staff. A mysterious energy flowed from the great shaman Antuak's body.

Gradually, time began to rewind.

Crockta and Antuak vanished. The lives disappeared, everything returned to the first organic matter, and the world eventually became a mere spark again. That too extinguished, and the universe rewound back to before the initial explosion.

'Please, stop the Ashen God. I too have found something I must do in this world.'

'What?'

'I am going to...'

There was the seed of the universe.

And it spewed out again.

'Wake my wife Aruna and give her a flower.'

* * *

Someone said from behind.

"Do not rush."

Crockta opened his eyes.

They had just arrived here moments ago. The Goddess of Magic had mentioned that the barrier was made using the power of space-time, and Kumarak was wildly swinging his axe around.

He looked back.

There was no one there.

What exactly had he just seen?

That illusion and voice were certainly...

"The barrier is disappearing!"

"What's happening, who did it?"

"It must have run out of power! Let’s just go in!"

The people gathered there cheered. Crockta turned his head toward the source of the cheering again.

The barrier was gradually fading. Gods and warriors were passing through it. Crockta also got caught up in the march, hesitantly stepped into the Ashen God's barrier.

"It doesn't make sense. Who could... manage a spell intricate enough to manipulate the power of space-time... Who could it be?"

Only the Goddess of Magic stood where the barrier had disappeared, admiring the gap that had been created.

Whoever was responsible for the deactivation of the barrier, they were short on time. There was no time to figure out what phenomenon this was or whose power it was.

They all entered the barrier.

Inside the domain of the Ashen God, her power felt significantly stronger.

It was almost thrilling.

Everyone was tense. This was the enemy they had to fight against. Crockta too clenched his fists, warming up his body.

Crockta suddenly looked back one last time.

"......!"

Then, in the distance, he saw a familiar face.

The old shaman, Antuak, was looking at him with a weary face.

It was indeed him. As he had done before, Antuak showed Crockta the future as a vision and posed a question. With Crockta’s answer, he neutralized the barrier himself.

Their gazes met.

He weakly waved his staff, and Crockta bowed briefly in respect.

To protect this world and return to Earth. And so, Antuak could give a flower to Aruna.

Once again, Crockta advanced toward the Ashen God.