Chapter 105
Chapter 105. The Sower
For an instant, it felt as though the world had stopped.
The past fed back.
Now. Just earlier, when they had sailed out together. When the university was attacked. When he received the Polymorph Fruit. When he first saw baby Lucian. When he was bickering with Tuania. When he had become a jelly octopus and fought a turtle amid storm-lashed waves. Then, when he became a Xenoia and consumed nutrients to survive. And finally, when he reached the origin.
A memory that should not have existed-one he could not possibly know-surfaced.
It looked like something akin to a grim reaper. A being wearing a massive black hood, strolling leisurely through the Deep Sea.
Even when gigantic Deep-Sea creatures passed by, it simply brushed past them indifferently. Of course, they too passed by as if they could not even perceive its existence.
After drifting for a while, it discovered a Deep-Sea crucian carp swimming leisurely along the seabed.
-Shall I put the new Xenoia in there?
It caught the Deep Sea fish, slit open its belly, and released a large number of Xenoia inside.
The split belly slowly sealed shut again. The fish resumed swimming, as if it had completely forgotten that its stomach had ever been cut open.
-Xenoia are truly fascinating creatures. The most insignificant of life forms in this sea, yet a species whose potential is set to the maximum.
Of course, only the potential was at its maximum. The starting point was so insignificant that they died almost immediately.
Thus, they were placed inside visible Deep-Sea creatures like this to ensure their survival.
But even the Xenoia inserted this time would not live long. Only a few individuals might survive through extremely improbable odds.
It counted each Xenoia one by one, distinguishing them carefully, and engraved a separate factor into each of them.
-Record of the 38,000,000th sowing complete.
And Yul awakened from that memory.
‘What… in the world was that!?’
Yet the world still did not move. His body remained completely still, and everything around him was frozen.
And yet time passed.
More time passed.
Thump.
At last, his heart pulsed once.
His cognition was accelerating. At this moment, Yul was perceiving one-thousandth of a second.
An extreme acceleration of thought caused by an unknown factor.
And after he had counted roughly a hundred of those thousandths of a second—
Something beyond the dimensional gate descended.
It possessed a fresh, deep green hue. It shone brightly enough to be visible even in this cold Deep Sea, and the surrounding space began to twist violently.
Seawater infused with pitch-black magic gradually turned emerald.
As the sea was slowly eroded into a brilliant emerald glow, the Sower soon awakened.
-It has been long……. Truly, a very long time. So it has finally been born.
-Who are you?
-You saw it yourself, did you not? I am the Sower. The right hand of Creation, the ring finger of that hand. The one who sows irregularities into the world for the sake of imperfection.
-Are you the one who created me?
-All things were created by the Creator God. I merely introduced a slight irregularity.
-For what purpose?
-Follow the course of your destiny, and you will soon find out.
-……?
The Sower was a deep emerald form. A shape that could not possibly be “recognized” as real raised a finger and pointed.
-Mother Nest No. 776. So this child discovered it. Then it has value. I shall adjust its position before it is killed.
With a flick of the Sower’s finger, the Mother Nest was instantly teleported to a distant place.
Nothing remained where the gigantic flower had been.
Watching the Mother Nest vanish as space itself split apart, Yul felt a shiver run down his spine.
He could sense a mere fragment of the Sower’s overwhelming power.
If this being simply flicked a finger, it might tear open space itself and crush even Yul’s true body.
-Do not be afraid. I cannot interfere with you. That is the role of the left hand that supports the world. I merely adjust irregularities… in an irregular manner.
-What are you trying to do?
-I will do nothing. I am simply instilling tension into your senses, which have grown lax.
-What?
This was hardly the moment to crack a joke about how it sounded like rap—the situation was far too urgent.
-Has it not been far too easy for you until now? The creatures of the land were so weak that they must have felt like toys to you, even when they were desperately trying to kill you.
-……?!
-But what about now? You have faced a being that could eliminate even your true body with the movement of a single finger.
-……I am afraid.
For the first time, he truly felt something called “fear.” This was not something that could be described with the word “god.”
He felt once more the threat to his life that he had known when he was a frail creature.
-Yes. You will now use that fear as motivation and become a little more active in all matters. And thus the irregularities of the world will increase.
He spoke as though gazing into the distant future.
-Instead of taking your life, I will impose a single compulsion.
-After completing everything currently given to you,『go to the Moon or go to the Deep Sea.』 Your destiny will be waiting there…….
Those words struck him sharply, as if they had been engraved somewhere deep within Yul’s heart.
Then, the emerald-colored Sower vanished in an instant.
And the world began to move again.
-What?! What was that?! Something just descended from beyond the world. Huh? Where did the Mother Nest go? What happened?
Yul did not answer.
The Mother Nest’s lair, which had vanished in an instant, now stood empty and hollow.
[『Compulsory』 Quest]
[After completing all quests, proceed to the Deep Sea or the Moon.]
[Success: ?]
[Failure: Impossible]
‘The system window…….’
Just what kind of being was the Sower to force a quest in such a manner?
Fear rose within him once more.
How could he possibly resist the Sower, even struggle a little against it?
He had not even fought the Sower. The being had simply shown him mercy.
‘Just to give me tension…….’
Yul thought that this was something he would need to consider very carefully, with time.
At that moment, Kaiman appeared, weapon in hand, tense and alert. He was still wearing the gloomy clothing that concealed his entire body.
After seeing the emerald Sower just moments ago, Yul felt a slight easing of tension at Kaiman’s appearance.
-You’ve come back to your senses.
-What happened?
-Something that should not exist appeared for a moment. And then it disappeared without even staying in this world for an instant.
There was no need to mention that, to Yul, that brief moment had felt like an eternity.
-I knew something was strange. The Mother Nest had taken control of the research facility’s energy propulsion device. Do you see it over there? That giant pillar.
A massive pillar that pierced straight through the Deep Sea floor could be seen standing there.
-That’s a device the Turusain installed to extract energy from inside the Volcanic Crab. The Mother Nest used it to siphon energy from the crab’s interior.
-And?
-For years, it drained that enormous amount of energy, yet I had no idea what it intended to do with it. At first, I thought it might be creating Parasites to expand its forces, but that alone couldn’t possibly consume such a vast amount of energy.
-So it used it just now?
-Yes. When it opened that gigantic dimensional gate…….
-Did you also see that deep-emerald being?
-What are you talking about? All I saw from the screen was a brief flash of light. Though… come to think of it, it might have been green.
The Volcanic Crab—a creature from the Mythic Age.
And even the portal opened with years’ worth of stored energy extracted from that crab had not remained for even a single second.
That was why Yul had needed that acceleration of thought……
Yul began to feel as though this entire area had been a massive trap.
What would have happened if he had never come here?
-So what happened to the Mother Nest?
-That being split the space apart and sent it somewhere else.
-That’s at least a relief. I was worried the Mother Nest might struggle or damage the energy drill during the battle. But it looks like it’s still intact. At last, we can properly operate this facility. Though… it was removed so cleanly. There’s not a single trace of all those countless tentacles or biological tissues.
Kaiman headed toward the facility control device next to the energy drill to activate the system.
Yul stood blankly for a moment, then suddenly remembered Puyo, who had been captured and brought here. Had the Sower sent that guy away as well?
-Aaaagh! What the hell?!
-G-get away from me, you monster!
-Idiot! I’m your companion’s helper! I told your companion to help you! And monster? Who do you think you’re calling that?
It seemed Puyo was over there.
-What, you were over there?
-Ah!! Isn’t that Sir Yul? I knew you would come to rescue me.
Yul stepped in while Kaiman and Puyo were bickering.
-You blabbed everything immediately. About the UV Thermal Gun and my abilities—everything
-That’s because the Mother-f*cking Nest tortured me...!
-What? You were clinging to the Mother Nest earlier and telling it everything, and now you’re betraying it already?
-It was our enemy from the start. Aren’t we on the same side? Hehe. Anyway, the Mother Nest has disappeared now.
At that moment, while Yul and Puyo were talking, Kaiman, who had been fiddling with the equipment, spoke to Yul.
-Hey, give me a hand. I need to lower that device up there. Slowly. It won’t operate right now since there’s no power.
A massive piece of equipment was suspended directly above the energy drill.
-Is that the weapon you were planning to use?
-Yes. I left it there in case I might have to use it if your fight with the Mother Nest forced my hand. It’s the device that connects the facility to the energy drill. If I had used it, I figured it would truly be the last resort.
Yul helped Kaiman slowly lower the massive machine. It was heavy, so heavy that even Yul found it difficult to lift.
After connecting the drill and the equipment, Kaiman manipulated several levers, and lights began to turn on around them.
Yul felt the entire facility brighten. His vision flared as if struck by a flash, but he adapted instantly.
-I finally did it!! The energy drill isn’t in great condition and needs repairs, but the facility now has minimal power.
As soon as the facility started operating, Kaiman approached Yul.
-First, I want to thank you. Thanks to you, we’ve reclaimed the facility.
-I came here to deal with the Mother Nest anyway.
Even without Kaiman’s help, Yul would have attempted to eliminate the Mother Nest.
Though it was true that Kaiman’s assistance had made things easier.
-And I’ll tell you my original objective.
-What is it?
-Finding my people.
-……Didn’t you say all the Turusains were dead?
-That’s right. Right now, I’m the last Turusain. But a few decades ago, all Turusains were already dead.
-What do you mean? Weren’t you asleep for thousands of years?
-It’s a bit complicated. I’ll explain.
Kaiman began to talk about the Final War in which the Turusains had been completely exterminated.
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(T/N): I’ve been busy with my full-time job and haven’t really had the time to update. On top of that, I’m currently sick, what the fudge. *sigh* Anyway, I’ll try to be more consistent with the updates.