Chapter 343

Ding!

[The King of Giants and the Monarch of Domination has been born.]

“System, record this as one of my achievements. Looks like I just completed another vessel.”

Suho grinned as he spoke to the system, which was still calculating his actions. As if in response, level-up notifications began appearing in rapid succession.

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[...]

A flood of experience points surged in, as though they had been waiting for this moment. Suho’s level skyrocketed. There hadn’t really been any special quests, and he hadn’t even personally slain any magic beasts, and yet it still happened. It was almost as if he’d threatened the system into compliance. However, this was no blackmail, no negotiation.

Just as Suho had said, these promotion points were the rightful reward for his accomplishments. He no longer thought of levels or experience points as important. They were simply numbers, indicators which the system used to categorize his existence. To be more precise, the system wasn’t even the one calling the shots. The system was just an auxiliary device, a simple calculator that helped measure his growth in simpler terms.

This begged the question—who, then, actually decided Suho’s level? He’d been piecing together the answer for a long time. At first, it had been nothing more than a vague guess, but now that he was strong enough to complete a job change quest, he felt certain.

Right then, at that very moment, he could feel a certain gaze on him. It was a presence that was no longer measuring numbers, but assessing the entire path he had walked in order to decide on a suitable

name

for him. Suho grinned confidently back at the gaze that studied him.

“I’ve always wondered about that one skill. The one called

Unknown

.”

Unknown.

It was the mysterious skill that had forcibly stopped time and dragged his soul to unknown places. Because of that, he’d been through a great number of experiences, including functioning as a shaman for dead Monarchs and aiding new Monarchs with their succession. All of those things had had something in common.

The nothingness.

Each time the skill activated, Suho found himself in that same place—a world of endless pure white. It was a realm where, apart from Suho, nothing else existed. A place so alien, even the Monarchs who had fully returned to nothing, leaving not even their souls behind, could briefly awaken and speak. Now, at last, Suho understood what that place truly was. He felt the eyes gazing at him from beyond that place, gauging him, and he could finally follow them to their source.

A slow smirk formed on Suho’s face as he looked up at the colossal presence beyond.

“The World Tree has a shadow too, doesn’t it?”

No sooner had he spoken than a shadow—pure white, as contradictory as it sounded—fell over him. A notification appeared.

[Passive Skill: “(Unknown)” has been activated.]

As always, the job change quest space melted away, and his vision was consumed by whiteness. Just like every other time, the endless white horizon stretched before him. This time, however, there were no dead Monarchs waiting for him. Today, things were different. Something else awaited him, something that seemed perfectly natural now that he thought about it.

[The World Tree]

The World Tree stood tall, towering above him.

“Now it all makes sense,” Suho said.

He’d encountered the World Tree several times before, but this time felt different. This was the

opposite

side of the tree. The blinding white filling his vision was what lay behind the tree, nothing more than the pale shadow it cast.

“Hello there,”

a voice called out from beyond the horizon. At the same time, a ripple ran through the white shadow, and a figure mimicking Suho’s form began to approach.

Suho met its gaze and returned the greeting.

“Yes, hello. Have we met before? I think we have.”

“You could say that,” replied the figure. “I’ve always been beside you.”

“What should I call you? The World Tree?”

The figure shook its head quietly. “No. The World Tree is dead. It withered away after the death of its creator.”

“Then who are you?” Suho asked.

“I am its shadow. The great current of souls left behind when the World Tree died.”

Ding!

A skill information window opened automatically. Something had changed in Suho’s passive skills.

[Skills]

[Passive Skill: (Unknown) - Max Level]

The letters shifted.

[Skills]

[Passive Skill: World Tree’s Shadow - Max Level]

The mysterious skill finally had a name.

Suho checked the window and asked a question. “The World Tree’s Shadow... I didn’t know plants had souls.”

“Not usually, no. But the World Tree is no ordinary plant.” The World Tree’s Shadow, wearing Suho’s own face, answered as it met his gaze. “The World Tree is the origin of this universe, a cyclic system that returns dead souls to the living. If you were to categorize it, you could say it is one of the creator’s tools, much like the Cup of Reincarnation. And as for what I am now... I am the shadow, the soul, cast by the death of that tool.”

Even recently, the Apostle of Domination had sensed the World Tree’s energy during his battle with Suho and had been overjoyed. It just went to show how much influence the World Tree had on the universe, an essential part of its inner workings. If nothing else, it was a wellspring of tremendous energy. That fact remained unchanged, even if the current World Tree was dead.

“There was a time when the fruits of the World Tree birthed the soldiers of the Rulers. It has long since lost that function. As time passes, the tree will wither further and lose even more of its capabilities. What do you think will happen to the universe then?” the shadow asked calmly.

It was more of a rhetorical question than one seeking an actual answer. It continued on without waiting for a response.

“It won’t just be the Rulers’ soldiers. No other lifeforms will be born, either. That includes humans. No more children will be born, and the world will become one where existing life slowly grows old and dies.”

There was such finality in its tone that Suho’s eyes widened.

“Nothing will be born?” he asked.

“That’s right. And the signs have already begun. The universe is gradually becoming a place where death outpaces birth. One might say the end is coming. That is how it ends if the universe has no god. However, I am here to tell you that you have a choice.”

“A choice?” Suho asked.

“Yes. The father you are so proud of.” The shadow pointed at him. “Your father, the Monarch of Shadows, could raise every soul in this universe as part of his army. Then this universe will be completed, as a dimension of death. No new life will appear, but death is also eternal. It will be a new beginning as well as an end. Objectively speaking, it’s not such a terrible outcome. Certainly better than being devoured by the gods of the outer universes.”

“I... don’t think that’s something my father would ever want.”

Suho’s expression hardened. The World Tree’s Shadow simply nodded.

“I agree. I know your father well. He is a king who rules over death itself, and yet his love for life is greater than any other. Such irony is a core quality of the human race. Therefore, the World Tree has concluded that there was only one other choice.” It smiled faintly and pointed to itself. “And that choice is me. Use the World Tree’s Shadow to somehow bring the World Tree back to life.”

“Use you? Does that mean using the shadow power on you?” Suho asked.

“No. If it were that easy, I would have asked your father long ago,” the World Tree’s Shadow said with a bitter expression. “Let me begin with a proper explanation of the World Tree. This should be more convenient than words.”

With that, new knowledge poured into Suho’s mind. He now understood the flow of souls that circulated around the World Tree. The World Tree was a conduit through which every soul passed, a vast universe of spiritual bodies in its own right. By its very nature, it stood in perfect contrast to the Sea of the Afterlife.

The Sea of the Afterlife was the abyss, an endless ocean of spirits. Standing tall above it was the World Tree’s Shadow—the complete opposite. Rather than an army of death raised by the shadow power, it was a spiritual universe formed from the vast souls seeking to be born anew.

“The World Tree’s Shadow is a natural body of spirits. It does not oppose the flow of death. It is not a single soul, but a river of many. A gateway in its own right.”

As a result, the “pale shadow” of the World Tree extended far beyond the dark shadow’s reach and connected to the entire universe. It was simply too massive for anyone to see it.

“It’s for that reason that the Monarch of Shadows can never reach it. By its very essence, it is oil to the water ruled by the king of death.”

In other words, not even the Monarch of Shadows could resurrect the World Tree’s Shadow. Still, the World Tree had been created to maintain the universe. Even as it withered and died, it reached outward desperately with its shadows, desperately seeking someone who might be worthy. Its hopes had not been wasted.

“And so we found you, Suho.” The World Tree’s Shadow once more pointed a finger at him. “The son of the Monarch of Shadows. The new lifeform born from the king of death. One who carries the polar opposite properties—life and death—in a single body. Perhaps someone like you could create a new opening. In its final moments, it was the best idea the World Tree could conceive.”

This did not, however, guarantee a perfect solution. Not even the World Tree could foresee what Suho might accomplish. Because of this, it had chosen to nurture him slowly, like a sprouting seed.

“So it started with helping you grow. No one could know what kind of fruit you would bear at the end of that growth, but at the time, it was the best option. When necessary, it involved actively using the system of growth attached to you.”

Suho exhaled. The knowledge the World Tree’s Shadow had imparted now rested fully in his mind. He slowly opened his eyes. Deep within them, a silent darkness mixed with light. In that stillness, Suho looked back on his past.

He was young, hardly someone who could claim to have lived long. Still, so many things had happened in that short time. So many trials and experiences had passed through his life. All of it had shaped him into the person he had become. He turned his eyes on the shadow before him, which mirrored his current self. His gaze was calm and measured.

“So, what’s the result?” he asked. “Are you satisfied with who I am now?”

“I am not sure. Actually, I wanted to ask

you

that,” the World Tree’s Shadow replied. “All I have done is observe your growth. What you do now is up to you. So I will ask you. What is it you wish to achieve? Put aside the fate of the universe or reviving the World Tree. What kind of being do you want to become?”

“You want me to ignore the fate of the universe and the World Tree? Is that even allowed?” Suho asked.

“Yes. As I said from the beginning, I am simply the shadow. The World Tree had a duty to uphold the universe and maintain the cycle, but I do not. As such, I do not think it would be such a terrible outcome if everyone became immortal shadow soldiers. There are many universes out there. It would be all right for one dimension out of many to end up this way.”

The World Tree’s Shadow gave Suho a somewhat mischievous smile, the expression exactly like the one Suho wore when making a joke.

“So, it is pure curiosity on my part. I want to know where you stand.”

Its lips smiled, but from the very beginning, its eyes had never wavered from Suho’s soul, unyielding and focused.

“To me, you are everything.”

“I’m... everything?” Suho asked.

“That’s right.”

The declaration left Suho with a strange feeling, the words carrying an odd resonance. The World Tree’s Shadow nodded and introduced itself in a new, more meaningful way.

“I am the World Tree’s Shadow. But my only purpose for existing is to reach you,” it said, smiling faintly. “In other words, I am an anomaly. You are my entire reason for being. My name is the Pale Shadow.”

Suho was silent.

“I have been looking forward to this meeting with you.”