826——————==

True Martial Home

You mean humans from the future?

I glanced at Master of the Twelve Joules, struggling to wrap my head around his words.

Then, with a hint of disbelief, I asked him, “…Are you saying you traveled through time?”

Time travel! The ability to move to the past or future beyond the current Time Axis!

It was considered the ultimate skill and a theoretical concept by most. If one could rewind time and manipulate the past as they wished, wouldn’t that be akin to being a god!

However, among the knowledge I’d acquired, the only beings that could actually time travel were the Prophets, while all other Otherworldly Races, no matter how advanced their science or magical power, never achieved it.

Once, while learning the Demon Path from the Zhuge Clan, I had asked Zhuge Sa if I too could time travel, but he firmly replied:

[Your rebirth cannot possibly be explained by an ordinary regression. It’s not certain, but if we label your ability as such, it would lead to significant logical contradictions. You need to accumulate more experiences.]

In other words, he subtly implied that my rebirth ability likely wasn’t a regression, and it might not even be time travel. I wasn’t fully sure about what Zhuge Sa intended, but as I studied the Demon Path, I had indeed heard many unorthodox opinions.

Master of the Twelve Joules smiled wryly.

“That’s impossible.”

“…….?”

“You’ve heard of the paradox of time travel, right? If the one who developed the first time travel technology messes with the past, the present is altered, resulting in contradictions.”

“I know.”

The only ones who truly understood the outcomes of time travel were the Prophets and their race. The rest could only make guesses, but one thing was certain: altering time creates contradictions spanning the vast circle of present, past, and future.

Master of the Twelve Joules continued, “The principle of time travel humans envision is about touching the Great Cycle, making it impossible. Why can’t the Old Ruler, who possesses such immense magical power and divine authority, freely toy with history? It’s because the Great Cycle is a supreme law they cannot touch. Even gods can do nothing about time that has passed…”

“But the Prophet race….”

“They’re the exception. The most scientifically and magically advanced race in the entire universe, considered to be among the Rulers themselves. The reason they can time travel is….”

Master of the Twelve Joules briefly paused, then changed the topic.

“Anyway, while I may be a human of the future, I didn’t travel through time.”

“So, did you manipulate the Great Cycle to come here?”

“…Not exactly. Hmm, how should I put this….”

Suddenly, as if an idea struck him, Master of the Twelve Joules snapped his fingers.

“Right, I got another shot at a new opportunity! And I now have a chance to challenge the Last Supper.”

“The Last Supper?”

“I refer to the event where the Old Rulers gather as ‘Revelation.'”

At that moment, my expression sharpened.

“So you do know something about the end times and Revelations. Please tell me what you know about the Revelation.”

“Honestly, I don’t know the details. What I do know is merely what happens when the Revelation begins.”

“And what happens then?”

“When everything is consumed, the land is transformed into the throne of the gods. Specifically, the entire Earth will shift to the edge of the universe. Assuming we survive, all humanity will be invited to the throne of the Absolute God, ‘Father.'”

“……!!”

“Naturally, all rulers gathered on Earth will be drawn there as well, like guests at a feast. The reason the rulers are on Earth is simply to obtain an ‘invitation’ to the throne.”

What the hell?!

My surprise led me to exclaim.

“That can’t be…. So what happens next?”

“I don’t know.”

“…….”

“I can’t say what happens after that. It’s because I couldn’t get that far.”

“You couldn’t get that far?”

“Yeah… I couldn’t go…. I could only watch….”

Despair and lament seeped into his voice. It was such poignant emotion that I could feel his fervor even from beyond his skin.

After a brief silence, Master of the Twelve Joules spoke again.

“The Coming Chaos is what will ultimately destroy future humanity, the Outer God…”

“……!!”

“While it hasn’t directly brought about destruction, its Apostle and Avatar orchestrated the entire process. At first, I thought it began moving right before the Revelation, but that’s not the case.

It was manipulating this world from long ago… hundreds, no, thousands of years ago, only revealing its true nature at the end.”

“Do you know what its Avatar looks like or what its identity is?”

“It’s human.”

“What?”

“Its Avatar always disturbs the world in human form. Moreover, as an Outer God and Old Ruler, it rarely uses its immense power, relying instead on cunning wisdom and silver-tongued tricks to toy with everything.

It possesses disaster-level magical power but chooses not to use it. It sometimes lets it be killed by the powerful humans deliberately. That’s what makes it truly terrifying.”

From the back of Master of the Twelve Joules, fierce light radiated like lightning.

“And what it loves most is to plunge humans into despair when they finally overcome their struggles.

It understands humanity better than any Old Ruler. It knows how to exploit human strengths and weaknesses.”

“You speak as if you’ve met it personally.”

“…….”

Master of the Twelve Joules did not respond to my question. Instead, he said,

“I actually had my doubts about you being the Avatar of the Coming Chaos. But I’ve changed my mind; you likely aren’t.”

“Is it because of the memory of Obsidian?”

“Yes, at the very least, you can’t be the Coming Chaos or its Avatar. This is because the existence of Heavenly Secret, the movement of the Great Cycle, and all the ensuing events are not its ‘taste.’ At least, these are not actions it would take proactively.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Everything you do causes chaos, but on the flip side, it’s just you being a fool. You become the centerpiece of the conspiracy, tossing mortals and Old Rulers around like playthings—that’s completely opposite of its taste. So I think you’re not.”

“That sounds quite definite. There’s no reason the Coming Chaos couldn’t develop new tastes.”

“There isn’t. It plays only by its own rules. I can say that with certainty.”

“Uh-huh.”

The clarity of his conviction left me speechless.

What on earth has Master of the Twelve Joules experienced in the future?

Curiosity gnawed at me, prompting more questions.

“So what role did you play in the future? And how did you come to the past?”

“Before I answer that, could you reply to my question first?”

“What question?”

Master of the Twelve Joules spoke as if mocking me.

“Why did you go into hiding for 500 years until the end and the Revelation? Why didn’t you try to learn about the future?”

“……”

“You claim you wanted to know about the end and the Revelation, yet you’ve never attempted it. As a Reborn Person, acquiring the magic to live for 500 years would have been a breeze if you set your mind to it.”

I hesitated at the unexpected question. Regaining my composure, I replied:

“If you received the memory of Obsidian, you would know why. I couldn’t abandon my companions living in this era. Moreover, if I peered into the Revelation and lacked the ability to see it through to the end, the time wasted would be too great.”

“So you planned to try only once you had enough power?”

“That’s correct.”

“Ha ha… How enviable. You truly can attempt it until you succeed, but I had only one chance…. Rebirth… an incredible ability indeed.”

With a tone of lament, Master of the Twelve Joules spoke.

“Fine, follow me.”

“Where are we going?”

“I’ll teach you how I arrived in this world.”

“Got it.”

Finally!

The thought of uncovering Master of the Twelve Joules’ secret excited me. What other secrets could this future-being hold? Hearing his testimony about having witnessed the ‘end’ suddenly brought back memories from the past.

[Master of the Twelve Joules, do you know about the end yet remain unconcerned?]

[Hoo hoo… Concern? What concern?]

[Is it not alarming to say such things while foreseeing the chaos when the Old Ruler rises to obliterate everything, leaving neither flesh nor spirit, submerging into that living hell?]

[Ah ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!]

[As you predicted, the night sky with the boiling constellation is not far off. The day when everything crumbles into the madness… I have been preparing for it from long before.]

[Now, stop the chit-chat and come to a consensus. I have no energy to waste here.]

At that meeting organized by the advisors, where discussions were made for a temporary peace regarding the three major forces – talk of the ‘end’ arose, and Vermilion Bird Zhuge Yulong and the Master of the White Lotus Sect agreed that the end must be prevented.

However, Master of the Twelve Joules’ unusually cynical reaction had seemed strange.

But I now understood why he could only be cynical.

The constellation boiling in the night sky.

That was the view of the end that Ha Eun-cheon, Master of the Twelve Joules, had personally witnessed.

Being a ‘future person’ who literally has seen the ‘end,’ it must have seemed laughable to him that those few influencers from 500 years behind were even talking about it.

It was only now that I began to grasp the significance of the actions and words of Master of the Twelve Joules so far.

Yet, I couldn’t claim to know it all.

Master of the Twelve Joules still regarded me with suspicion, clearly hiding something. I couldn’t allow myself to relax and trailed after him.

Whoosh

The earlier silver plate flew over automatically, and we hopped onto it. The plate moved at an extraordinary speed, yet remarkably, those riding on it felt no shake or movement.

In awe, I asked Master of the Twelve Joules while riding, “What’s this plate?”

“How about I call it a future tech plate with a recoil-less anti-gravity control device? It was made because of the silver plate’s illusion during the days when aliens were somewhat believed to exist.

In reality, the unidentified flying object was merely surveillance gear created by Dr. Faust, but it can still reach speeds of fifty times the speed of sound.”

“….?”

“We’ve arrived.”

Not sure what he meant, I figured we had come to our destination.

After disembarking the plate with Yu and Yun Sa, I looked around nervously. Master of the Twelve Joules stepped ahead and reached out into the empty space.

Moments later, a massive tree materialized in hologram form before us, one I recognized all too well. I uttered involuntarily.

“The Sacred Altar Tree.”

“Right, that Sacred Altar Tree you know.”

“What is this image?”

“It’s showing the growth process of the Sacred Altar Tree, no, the World Tree.”

Screeching sound

After a moment, the hologram began to expand slowly, revealing cracks in its form.

The massive roots of the Sacred Altar Tree grew even larger, eventually reaching a size that appeared to consume the entire continent, while branches that had originally stretched into the stratosphere looked like they would extend to the moon.

Seconds later, the World Tree seemed to absorb power from the mainland before suddenly erupting with white light.

Boom

The light exploded forth, and soon after, tiny fruits began to grow at the tips of the Sacred Altar Tree’s branches. Master of the Twelve Joules, watching these fruits, asked,

“What do you think those fruits are?”

“They must be seeds of the World Tree.”

“Nope.”

“Not so?”

“The World Tree, no matter how many nutrients it absorbs, doesn’t reproduce or propagate; it’s a chaos body in itself.

While it looks like a living thing, it’s not alive; it’s an unhatched Old Ruler. Therefore, the seeds of the World Tree randomly appear in the world per quantum laws.”

Is that so?

Even when it feeds on the planet, it remains a being that cannot propagate, it seems.

I gazed curiously at the fruit before speaking.

“So what are those fruits?”

Swoosh

Moments later, the Sacred Altar Tree grew even larger, suddenly engulfing the entire Earth, before its trunk burst forth with an astounding vigor.

The tree itself grew tremendously, capturing all seven planetary bodies within its branches.

Then, new branches sprouted again from the trunk, as if it intended to consume the entire solar system.

After watching all this, Master of the Twelve Joules stated,

“The fruit of wisdom that traverses the Multiverse, the Fruit of Good and Evil.”

“The Fruit of Good and Evil?”

Master of the Twelve Joules nodded and continued.

“The Norse myth of the World Tree Yggdrasil stretching across nine realms symbolically depicts the phenomena occurring when the World Tree has fully matured.

Those nine realms represent the number of multidimensional universes humans can traverse using the Fruit of Good and Evil. It was the last desperate struggle of me and Dr. Faust….”

Swish

Master of the Twelve Joules touched the illusion of the Fruit of Good and Evil. As he fiddled with it for a moment as if it were real, he said,

“I think your rebirth will be akin to moving through the Multiverse using the Fruit of Good and Evil. This is because using this method transfers qi. It means that the lineage of the Primordial Void continues.”

“……..”

“You might even extract your rebirth ability. If so, not just you but your companions would also acquire rebirth abilities. Though I’d have to gain it first.”

“So how do we extract it?”

At his following words, I felt a sudden jolt.

“Give me the Grimoire Heavenly Secret.”

“What will you do with it?”

“I’m going to conduct an experiment where I send out the pure pulse just before it becomes Primordial Void. If we can identify its nature, the rest will be simple…

It just needs to be confirmed that the Grimoire Heavenly Secret is the terminal manipulating the Multiverse.”

“…….”

Is that really the case?

I was surprised by the unexpected request for the Heavenly Secret, totally not expecting it.

So I attempted to discuss it with Zhuge Sa using the Suspicious Fishhook, but oddly enough, the Fishhook didn’t respond.

Our communication was completely cut off.

‘W-What’s going on?’

Could it be that the seal of this Old Continent base is blocking all chaos artifacts?

Feeling increasingly anxious as I couldn’t discuss with Zhuge Sa at such a crucial moment, I endeavored to regain my composure and thought deeply.

Ah, I see.

Having reached a judgment on the situation, I declared,

“I decline.”