Chapter 543: Chapter 543

After pa.s.sing the trial on the 215th floor, Su-hyeun and s.h.i.+va enjoyed a brief break before they were ready to move on to the next floor.

They had been moving forward constantly without rest for half a day already. Even if his magical energy reserve was infinite, and therefore didnt require time to recover, Su-hyeun still had to exert his physical strength and needed a break as a result. It was the same deal for s.h.i.+va.

They took about one hour of rest for every floor or so.

The break itself wasnt that long. Still, Su-hyeun had been waiting for this moment to get his question in.

Explain properly what you told me earlier, Su-hyeun said while sitting down in front of s.h.i.+va after they met up in an agreed location. Are you really telling me to take over Vishnus role?

Well, your face is the same as ours, and you do have the ability, so why not? s.h.i.+va replied and then laid down on his back to make himself comfortable. Youre still some ways off in the latter department, though.

You mean compared to you, right?

Correct. And thats why I said you need to be strong enough for the job. You need enough strength to stop me.

s.h.i.+va was saying that Su-hyeun needed to stop him? What a laughable notion that was if you heard it out of context. Nonetheless, it seemed somewhat understandable.

Didnt he say dying causes his memories to get wiped out? Su-hyeun inwardly pondered.

Probably, not all of his memories would get lost in the process. Things like his basic knowledge should still be preserved, for instance. At the very least, he would be aware of the reason for his existence, which was to destroy the universe.

s.h.i.+va was different from Brahma. He experienced death at Vishnus hands and rebirth repeatedly.

I thought the reason for your whole existence is to destroy? If so, why do you wish me to stop you?

Destruction is the reason for my existence Well, thats technically correct, sure. However, its only for the sake of an even better universe, you know.

An even better universe?

Thats my role. Brahmas job is to create a better universe, but when that universe becomes corrupted, its my job to destroy it. s.h.i.+va brought his hands under his head to support its weight and continued to mutter with a tone containing just a hint of emotion. As for the order of things, its gone completely out of whack.

The order he was talking about, of course, was Vishnu.

Su-hyeun made a surprised and complicated expression. What he heard just now made him view s.h.i.+va in a different light.

I always thought he was just an insane murderer, though

From Su-hyeuns perspective, s.h.i.+va sounded like an evil being that wrought destruction. A crazed ma.s.s murderer who enjoyed destroying and killingthe worst ma.s.s murderer imaginablethat was how Su-hyeun thought of s.h.i.+va until now.

You sound like youre not confident about that.

Even now, Im not confident about it, and more so when it concerns the next version of me.

The next version?

Dying will change me, after all. Who knows how Ill end up as. Will my personality be the same as now, or will I become a madman blindly pursuing the path of destruction?

The latter possibility was what Su-hyeun initially believed s.h.i.+va would be like.

What do you see yourself as now?

Now? Im pretty normal, I think.

In that case, why do you wish for destruction? From what I can see, this universe is still quite livable.

Until now, Su-hyeun thought saying these things were unnecessary. Even so, he chose to say them out loud now. He figured that it might be possible to change s.h.i.+vas mind here.

Well, sure, that might be true. If thats what you think, I fully respect that. Even so, my thoughts are different from yours.

Does it have to be this way?

Even if this universe is fine, the next one could be even better. Thats what I think.

Peoples lives werent significant to s.h.i.+va. It wasnt even the process of destruction or the continued existence that mattered to him, either.

An even better universe, hmm

As he said earlier, he wished for a better universe. Brahmas creation and s.h.i.+vas role of destruction were all a means to achieve that end.

It didnt matter what the current universe was like. Once s.h.i.+va decided that the next universe could be better, he would start moving without hesitation. However, he was not an existence that desired wanton slaughter for no reason whatsoever.

Even so, I cant back down here.

Su-hyeun now understood s.h.i.+vas intention.

He now knew that s.h.i.+va was not a simple monster. He even thought that, just maybe, s.h.i.+vas goal could lead the universe in a better direction than what he could ever do.

Even so, nothing had changed.

Not sure if I can humor your request there.

Why not?

Because I will never be able to go along with your plan. Id rather search for another way, instead of agreeing with the idea of wiping out the existing universe to rebuild it again.

Meaning youre denying Brahma and me then.

In a way, yes.

Hmm

Whats up with that? Sounding like an old man all of a sudden.

s.h.i.+va sat up then began rubbing his chin. He seemed to be pondering something.

He finally got up before waving his finger around in a circle. Then, an enormous magic circle at least dozens of meters in diameter was created around Su-hyeun and s.h.i.+va.

An illusion-type magic circle?

It seemed that s.h.i.+va wanted to show something.

Su-hyeun didnt try to reject the effects of the illusion magic coming from the magic circle, but a magic formula of this degree was easy enough to break if he wanted to.

The surrounding scenery gradually changed. s.h.i.+va began floating in the air next. See for yourself first and make up your mind afterward.

A blue planet could be seen below Su-hyeuns feet.

Is that Earth?

The planet he called home?

That was what he initially thought, but it wasnt Earth after all when he took a closer look.

It does resemble Earth, but the outline of the continents are completely different.

It was indeed a spherical blue planet.

However, only the outer shape seemed the same, while the continents making it up were quite different from what Su-hyeun remembered. Meaning this planet merely resembled Earth and nothing more.

This is a small part of the previous universe that I destroyed, s.h.i.+va explained what was going on, prompting Su-hyeun to take another look at the planet below, his expression now changing.

It was so far down below, and he couldnt see much. Even if he used Insight, this was still an illusion at work. He couldnt see anything as a result.

Now, take a good look at what kind of world it was.

Fuu-wooook

Along with some noise reminiscent of winds blowing, the surrounding scenery changed once more.

This time, it was a village populated by people.

Drip

Su-hyeun felt sticky wetness underfoot.

Blood?

The ground was soaked in blood. He scanned his surroundings and discovered people fighting without screaming or yelling.

While wielding swords and spears, sometimes even farming tools, people attacked each other with these deadly weapons. Why they were fighting like this was unclear.

What was evident, though, was that their crimson eyes were filled with only hatred and desire to kill.

Can you guess why they are fighting?

No, of course not.

Even if its unpleasant, you need to keep watching. You can see that they are divided between those with farming tools and those with proper weapons, right?

When s.h.i.+va said that, Su-hyeun more or less figured out the overall situation here.

Are they trying to take away another villages land?

Correct.

So what? Fighting over territory is nothing new. It happened all the time throughout history

Thats not the main issue.

When s.h.i.+va replied like that, Su-hyeun frowned a little and looked back at the Primordial G.o.d, silently asking for more clarification.

If its merely a fight over some land, then sure, its nothing special. However, what if that wasnt the real purpose?

Okay, what then?

Tell me, does it look like thats their true objective to you?

Su-hyeun heard that question and began observing the peoples expressions a lot closer than before.

If it was a battle over some land, then the eyes of the aggressors should display some signs of the fervent drive. On the other hand, those defending their land should show desperation to survive.

I dont see any of those in them.

Despite the messy, b.l.o.o.d.y battle, those two emotions were nowhere to be seen on their faces.

The whites of their eyes were dyed crimson as sheer madness burned in their irises. Only one thing could be sensed in those eyes.

Delight hmm

Feeling such a thing while taking another persons life?

This couldnt be normal. This was what Su-hyeun initially imagined s.h.i.+va would be like: a crazed ma.s.s murderer and a b.a.s.t.a.r.d that derived much entertainment while killing others.

All these people were behaving like that.

Taking over their land is no longer their goal. Its just a pretext for them. It doesnt matter what excuses they couldve come up with; as long as they can kill someone, its all good for them.

A war where the real goal was never about taking over the land: what they wanted was not some delicious food, warm clothing, nor even nice houses to live in.

They are not normal.

Correct. This isnt a normal world.

Su-hyeun muttered in dismay, to which s.h.i.+va promptly replied.

Although he muttered that without realizing it, Su-hyeun didnt get fl.u.s.tered. After all, he was being honest, and s.h.i.+va agreed with him, anyway.

Not an ordinary world, he said.

If they were not under some mind control, if this were their true selves, then it would be more fitting to call this place h.e.l.l.

And thats why I destroyed it.

Oh.

Still think Im in the wrong here?

Thoughts tangled up messily inside Su-hyeuns head.

What was right and wrong here?

Even now, the people before his eyes were fighting madly away. Su-hyeun knew that this was not a simple illusion.

It was easy enough to figure that out by studying the type of magic circle on the ground.

This was not a spell for creating fake images but for displaying someones memories. The spell simply used the medium of illusion to show them. It was not meant to harm someone.

These were memories inside s.h.i.+vas headthe previous universe, already destroyed and gone.

Consequently, Su-hyeun reflected on the things he had gathered so far. If its a world like this

Maybe, it was better to destroy everything and create a new universe instead.

Sometimes, its better to throw away the old and start with something new. Not to forget, Brahma has been preparing for that new start for a very long time already. So, theres a higher chance of a better universe being created, too.

Youre surprisingly rational, s.h.i.+va.

Well, thats my role, after all. And Brahmas, too.

Su-hyeuns thoughts were more or less made up now.

He also confirmed how sincere s.h.i.+va was. s.h.i.+vas way could be the correct answer if the world were really like this.

Keeping the order, huh?

The unavoidable fate of all the Primordial G.o.ds was undoubtedly a heavy burden to bear.

One such fate was order, and s.h.i.+va wanted to leave that up to Su-hyeun.

For the sake of this, he did not fear Su-hyeun surpa.s.sing him at all. As for why s.h.i.+va chose to show the old destroyed universe? It could only have been one reason.

He wishes to be understood. Probably.

Maybe, this was s.h.i.+vas way of explaining to Su-hyeun that the current universe must be destroyedthat the next universe could be even better.

It wasnt as if Su-hyeun completely sympathized with that idea, though. The universe was unimaginably vast, after all. What he was shown today amounted to nothing more than a tiny part of it.

Still

Even after seeing this, I still feel that I need to stop you.

The time wasnt right.

Su-hyeun could see why s.h.i.+va went ahead and destroyed the previous universe. He wasnt sure what his actions would be if he found himself in s.h.i.+vas shoes. Still, he had a feeling that s.h.i.+vas decision had been the right one.

If he were Vishnu, he probably wouldnt have stopped s.h.i.+va from destroying a universe like the one in the illusion.

However, the current universe had not reached that point yet.

If its later, then maybe.

At least, he learned one thing: that time could change not just people but even the world they lived in and also the universe itself.

s.h.i.+va, Brahma, and even Vishnu existed to change those universes.

That alone is enough for me, s.h.i.+va nodded in satisfaction as if he liked that reply.

Soon afterward, the surrounding scenery disappeared. Su-hyeun and s.h.i.+va returned to the world before the illusion.

s.h.i.+va waved his hand around to erase the magic circle, For now, lets worry about stopping Vishnu first.

Right.

For now, Vishnu came first.

Su-hyeun wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment.

Whatever s.h.i.+vas goal was, dealing with it had to come later. If Vishnu succeeded in erasing this universe and killing Brahma, then all these conversations would be rendered pointless.

It should be soon, Su-hyeun thought.

What a long and arduous battle it had been from before the regression when he was still Kim Sung-in. He then went on to kill Fafnir, defeat Ura.n.u.s, and annihilate Osiris. He overcame one challenge after another.

He could feel that the end was almost around the corner.

[The 216th floors trial will now commence..]