The Place Called Sanctuary (3)

4.

[Constellation Killer is annihilated.]

Thud.

Having lost, Constellation Killer buried himself in the trash heap. The silver hair fluttered as if spreading across the surface of water.

It was as if one was looking at a pile of cut strings from a puppet.

[This world does not possess a Constellation.]

A still voice echoed throughout the world.

[World destruction's condition 1 is satisfied.]

[There are no apostles in this world.]

[World destruction's condition 2 is satisfied.]

[There are no believers in this world.]

[World destruction's condition 3 is satisfied.]

From somewhere, the growling of a beast could be heard.

[Warning.]

[All conditions have been met.]

Initially, the beast's growling only echoed from the outskirts of the world. But soon, it closed rapidly from all directions. The ground shook, and the mountains of trash rising on the horizon trembled. The trash from the mountain peaks tumbled down with a crashing sound.

It was not the sound of a beast.

It was the sound of this place collapsing and sinking.

[The world will be destroyed.]

The sunset shattered into pieces.

The sky turned into a sheet of glass and shattered as soon as it became glass. The fragments of glass, still imprinted with the pre-split sunset, fell down.

Kwuuung!

A piece of glass, quarter the size of the sky, fell far onto a trash mountain. The trash mountain collapsed, spewing countless plastic bottles. The glass also shattered into pieces. Billions of glass fragments scattered, each still marked with the sunset, making the pieces appear red.

So the garbage dump seemed to be sprinkling blood droplets in the air.

"…It's beautiful."

It wasn't hard to understand why Crusader muttered this absentmindedly.

Covered in cuts from fighting a slaughter puppet, Crusader looked up at the broken sky, clutching a wound on her forearm.

"It's like the world is blessing its own destruction. If destruction come like this, it's not too bad. If this is the scenery I'll see at the end…"

"What are you idly critiquing here for!"

The Black Dragon Master shouted angrily.

"Hurry up and run away, you fool! Unless you want to die crushed under glass fragments!"

"But Anastasia. Look. To run away from such a spectacle, it would be too inhumane..."

"Stop spouting nonsense! I was forced into a promise by Nisha! If I don't bring you back safely, my remaining life will be joyless!"

The Black Dragon Master forcibly grabbed Crusader's wrist.

"Kim Gong-ja, I'll note down help as a debt. But first I'll take this fool back to Babylon, so do as you please!"

"Ahh, it's such a pity. Think about it. If I must die, I want my cause of death to be stabbed to death by the sunset. If I could just stay a bit longer..."

"Transfer!!"

A white light enveloped the two. The Crusader, filled with regret, soon disappeared engulfed in the radiance.

"Hmm! Then I will take my leave as well, Master!"

"Father. I will retreat first."

Pop! Flash!

Other companions and vassals also escaped from the collapsing world.

In the next moment, only Kim Yul and I remained.

"...."

We silently watched the world crumble into red.

Suddenly I realized that there were only 2 people in this world now.

I wondered if Crusader's oddity had been passed on to me. Thinking that the world had barely left anything to still be called a world, yet for some reason, I wanted to linger here a bit longer.

"Why was it a landfill?"

Kim Yul's voice was heard beside me.

I did not turn my head. I simply looked up at the redness of the world side by side.

While some relationships require eye contact to communicate, others are content with merely sharing breaths in the same air.

"Why was it here of all places?"

"...."

"I have no fond memories of home. I lost my indoor shoes on Wednesday and had to wear outdoor shoes to school until Saturday. Right after class on Saturday, I came back and searched through the trash around the house to see if someone had thrown away the indoor shoes."

In the world that only Kim Yul and I were left, his tone was — a bit different.

Maybe it hadn't changed, but rather momentarily returned to normal.

"I found one shoe, but couldn't find the other. You can't exactly go to school wearing only one indoor shoe. I couldn't find it even after Sunday passed, so I was about to give up, but on Monday morning, the remaining shoe was there. My father had found it overnight."

"I see."

"Yeah. But they didn't match. The sizes were different. I don't think my father stayed up all night worrying and caring for me. He probably felt like I was trying to get his attention by roaming the trash all weekend."

Kim Yul muttered.

"That's the best memory I have related to my father."

Kim Yul moved his hand. Only then did I turn my head to look at him. He was undoing the hair tie from his hair and putting it back into his pocket.

"Constellation Killer must have discarded all memories of Kim Yul's past. Why he chose this place as the scenery of his sanctuary, how he could have chosen it, I don't know."

As the hair tie was removed, Kim Yul's tone returned to normal during those brief moments.

"Maybe even if forgotten from the mind, it's engraved in the soul. What a silly notion."

"But like this, it has adorned a corner of the Tower. Including you and me, thirteen people have seen this place."

"...Yeah."

And then, I thought I saw Kim Yul smile very faintly.

"After that day, a few pairs of unused indoor shoes began to pile up in a corner of the house. When I think about it, it doesn't seem like such a bad memory."

Thump. Kim Yul elbowed me gently.

"I will go ahead, Family Head. This is no longer my home."

With the word "Transfer," Kim Yul was enveloped in a light.

And thus, I was left alone in the world.

The horizon had completely collapsed. Stripped glass pieces from the sky had all crashed to the ground, and plastic and scrap metal scattered through the air. A pitch-black darkness swallowed the world from its edges.

I finally looked down at the remains of the slaughter puppets for the last time.

"...."

After capturing the sight of thirteen decapitated puppets one last time, I let out the last voice to be recorded in this world.

"Transfer."

[You are being transferred to the 81st floor.]

Thus, the world closed its eyes.

Welcoming the pitch-black darkness.

5.

As soon as I returned to the 81st floor, I was greeted by the somewhat listless voice of a magician.

"Good job, Screaming Sky. Even though it was you, I thought you might lose this time. But annoyingly, you killed Constellation Killer."

[The Wand of Ages] stood there, leaning on a broken wand.

In this stage still enveloped in darkness, the magician looked like a white orchid blooming this future sanctuary of mine.

"You were out of options fighting, weren't you?"

"It was more than just my mind. If Raviel had hesitated even slightly, I would have been forever preserved here."

"Yes. To give you an update, since you wouldn't know, all the constellations residing in the tower are in an uproar because of you. The death of Constellation Killer was just announced a moment ago."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Honestly, it's not the first time I've caused a commotion among the constellations. They should be getting used to my existence by now."

"How annoying… Do you only act particularly annoyingly in front of me, or is it just my imagination?"

"Anyway, there's something I want to consult with you about."

"Look at you shamelessly changing the subject."

The magician sighed.

"Well, losers must graciously endure their humiliation. What consultation? Is it perhaps a question related to your sanctuary?"

"Yes. It's about the skill [Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation] that I possess."

I opened my palm.

"Skill card, open."

Whoosh-.

Golden sparks overflowed from the center of my palm, soon forming the shape of a card.

+

[Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation]

Rank: SSS+

Effect: Summons those you have directly killed. The dead do not inherit their abilities from when they were alive. However, if you wish, the summoned can inherit their memories and appearance from when they were alive. If you do not wish, they are summoned as mere monsters.

+

The magician nodded after looking at my card.

"Right. It's your trademark, isn't it? The skill you've used most and owe the most to. So is there anything left to consult about it?"

"Yes. Especially this part… [If you do not wish, they are summoned as mere monsters]."

"What about it?"

"Can I decide what type of monster they will be summoned as?"

The magician blinked.

"That is… hmm. Wait a moment. Let me think."

He paused, resting his chin in his hand, then glanced at me.

"First of all, I don't know why you asked such a question. Normally, when you summon the Hundred Ghosts as monsters, they take the form of skeletons. It's to maintain balance, of course. Imagine if they were all summoned as Bone Dragons instead. It would be disastrous. So, you can't really choose the type of monster…"

"Ah, that part is not a problem."

I waved my hand.

"I'm thinking of summoning them in a much weaker form than skeletons."

"…Even weaker than skeletons?"

The magician furrowed his brows. He seemed unable to fathom my intentions.

"If that's really the case, then it's fine. But why? What are you planning to do? The only thing weaker than a skeleton I can think of is a slime. And what does this have to do with building your sanctuary?"

"You'll know when you see it."

I smiled.

"Let's start by defining a monster. How about [a being without reason]?"

"I don't particularly mind, but… don't play any tricks with this. Don't forget that the Tower Master has already shown you favor regarding your skills once. Not again."

"Of course."

"Alright. I'll temporarily modify the skill for you."

The magician tapped the ground with the end of his wand.

[The authority of the skill 'Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation (SSS+)' is being modified.]

[Warning. This modification is temporary.]

Even though he lost to me and his wand was broken, it seems he still has the authority to handle such matters independently.

I half-closed my eyes,

Feeling my mind settle, I clasped my hands together as if washing my face.

"...."

What came to mind were the 13 murder puppets that had just been abandoned and shattered in the world.

The more precisely I recalled the murder puppets, the darker the ground beneath my feet became. It was a shadow.

Just like when I invaded Constellation Killer's sanctuary, arms, identically painted black, were crawling up my ankles.

Perhaps the only difference from that time was that there were thirteen pairs of arms.

'Come up a little more.'

I left the arms alone.

Whether it was because it understood my intention, or because it was the original instinct of the shadows, the arms kept struggling and crawling up my body. I focused all my senses to guide these arms to one place.

The shadow arms grabbed my hips, climbed my elbows, passed my wrists—finally crawling into the palm of my hand.

The moment all thirteen pairs of shadows gathered in my palm.

"...Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation."

I spoke with intent.

[Activating the skill.]

Squirm,

The arms, extending from the shadows at my feet, gradually sucked into my palm. They converged. The pitch-black swirled into a point, slowly taking shape.

[The Wand of Ages], watching what I was doing, parted its lips in puzzlement. He must have been curious about which monster I intended to summon, but what reflected in his eyes was something entirely unexpected.

"...A flower?"

It was a Lily of the valley.

The Lily of the valley locked in my palm was withered. It stretched out its head, with thirteen faded bell-shaped white flowers hanging from its stem.

"Yes."

I carefully placed down the withered Lily of the valley so as not to damage it. Squelch. The soil of the 81st floor, covered in mud-like darkness, gently accepted the Lily of the valley.

"This child is Constellation Killer."

"If the condition is [a being without reason], there's no need to summon it only as a beast."

I planted the flower with thirteen bell-shaped white flowers hanging in this world. I transplanted it from the world that had just been destroyed to this world, which was still shrouded in darkness.

"From now on, I will either revive the ghosts in human flesh, or simply transplant them as flowers."

I turned to look at the magician.

"So this world will bloom with flowers that couldn't bloom in other worlds, with flowers that have withered and crumbled away. Right now, only one has been planted, but soon hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of withering flowers will be planted here."

"....."

"A garden of withered flowers."

I smiled.

"That is my sanctuary."

Perhaps the magician was not the only one who heard my vow.

[Your skill is being renamed.]

Always watching over me, the Tower Master seemed to reach out to bless me this time too, wrapping my skill card in white light.

When the light subsided, the final destination my skill had reach was illustrated there.

+

[Hundred Flowers Reincarnation]

Rank: SSS+

Effect: You summon those you have directly killed. The dead do not inherit their abilities from when they were alive. However, if you wish, the dead can inherit their memories and appearance from when they were alive. If you do not wish, they are summoned as merely flowers.

+

Someday.

This place will become where millions of flowers dream of being reborn.