SHADOW BEFORE CREATION

The One Who Wanders in the Darkness

Arthur's aura gradually faded, and the weight of his power withdrew from around his body as though the world itself had finally caught its breath. He silently looked around, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Damn… I really almost lost myself."

Every time he merged the power of darkness with the power of an entity or a Great Ancient, something unnatural happened.

When he merged the darkness with Cthulhu's power, he summoned a fragment of his soul.

And now, after merging it with Bokrog's power, a pure… ridiculous… version of himself had appeared.

Arthur slowly sighed, then lowered his gaze to the bottle in his hand. It was completely filled with Baston's power, pure and heavy, as though its weight pressed against his palm alone.

He shifted his gaze toward the ground, toward the place where Baston's corpse had disappeared, and noticed the bone ring lying there quietly.

He smiled faintly, picked up the ring, then raised his head.

High in the sky, a dark hole slowly opened.

"Wings of Darkness."

Black wings burst out from behind him, striking the air with tremendous force as he entered the hole without hesitation.

But the shock came immediately.

It was morning.

Arthur froze in the air for a second and looked at the blue sky surrounding him.

What? Didn't I leave only minutes ago? It was night…

In his battle with Bokrog, he had left and returned within only three minutes according to Earth's time, despite the difference in the flow of time there. He had assumed that this applied to all the Great Ancients.

But he was wrong.

Arthur slowly took out his phone and looked at the time.

"…Three days?"

It was not an hour, nor ten hours, nor even a single day.

Three entire days.

Arthur sighed deeply and stared at the sky.

What if… in the future… I enter a battle with a Great Ancient and end up being gone for a year? Or even longer?

He landed in front of Sung's house, and the moment his feet touched the ground, the door opened.

"Yes? Who are you?"

That was the second shock.

Arthur looked at Sung's face and furrowed his brows.

"I… It's me, Sung. What are you talking about?"

"Sorry, but I don't know you."

"I'm Arthur Narin… you bastard."

Sung froze in place, staring at him without moving.

Damn, why is he staring at me like that?

Arthur lowered his gaze to his body… and his expression immediately changed.

His skin was slightly pale.

The burns had disappeared completely.

His body was no longer as muscular as before, but thinner and more streamlined.

Dark, twisting lines stretched across his skin like living tattoos.

"Wait… wait… wait."

He raised his phone and opened the front camera.

"Fuck me… who is this sissy?!"

He shouted loudly as he stared at his reflection.

---

"So… you really are Arthur?"

"Yes, for the thousandth time, I'm Arthur. Arthur Narin."

Sung nodded in astonishment.

"I just can't recognize you. Look at yourself… You look like you walked straight out of a Chinese manhua or something. Your hair, your face, your body… everything has completely changed."

Arthur sighed, then said coldly:

"I was training… and damn… things happened."

"I don't understand how or why, but I'm certain you're Arthur. And that's enough for me."

Arthur put on his black clothes, then looked at his reflection again.

He was completely different.

Even his ears had become longer and sharper.

"Damn… right, where's Rath?"

The moment he asked the question, Sung's expression changed.

His head lowered, and the silence grew heavy.

"Sung…"

His expression was now the same as Kim Dokja's expression on the day he had told him about the deaths of Lee Jihye and Shin Yoosung.

The harsh memories struck Arthur's mind all at once.

His body trembled, his black-and-white hair fluttered, and the wind violently rushed through the room.

"Arthur, lis—"

"Where is Rath, Sung?"

He interrupted him in a low voice, but it was saturated with anger.

"Where is my son, for the Creator's sake?"

Energy began leaking from his body, and the sky trembled as though it were screaming in protest against his existence.

Then… suddenly… Arthur lowered his aura.

He forcibly stopped the flow of Bokrog's power.

Calm down… If I don't, I'll become a target of the heavens.

And if that happens… I'm dead. And I'll never find my son.

He remembered the world he had nearly destroyed.

He remembered Azathoth.

Anger meant expulsion… or death.

He breathed slowly.

"Where is Rath, Sung?"

This time, he said it with deadly calm.

"I… don't know."

"What do you mean?"

"After you left… on the first day, he was normal. On the second day, he started acting strangely. And on the third day… yesterday… I was holding his hand… and then… he disappeared."

Sung raised his head, his eyes filled with tears.

"I sent soldiers. I informed Chairman Go Gun-Hee. I searched with everything I had… but he disappeared from existence."

Arthur closed his eyes.

Disappeared…

Was it because of me?

Because he couldn't adapt to his human body?

Or because I wasn't by his side?

Then… the thought struck him.

"…Azathoth."

"Who?"

Arthur struck the air beneath his feet and shot into the sky at a terrifying speed.

He stopped in the middle of the sky.

He stood there like a pure, beautiful heavenly ruler with a dark heart in the center of the sky, his long hair flowing wildly in the air.

Then he shouted with all his strength:

{Azathoth, you damned bastard! Did you send your men after my son?! Didn't you say you don't go after the weak, you bastards?!}

His voice resounded across the entire Earth, and the sky trembled.

{So you are Arthur Narin…}

{I am Atlach-Nacha, God of Spiders, the One Who Wanders in the Darkness.}

{If you want your son to return—}

"Then it really was you. Shut up and open a portal, you damned crawler, and I'll come teach you some manners!"

Arthur interrupted him with a roar.

{Good… but don't forget to bring…}

{Bokrog's egg…}

{And Baston's power.}

---

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