전생검신 96권 01화

I flinched at Solomon’s words.

Demiurge!

That concept, which I’d surprisingly heard often, came unexpectedly from Solomon’s mouth.

…That monster I encountered not long ago in the Reincarnated Role… Yaldabaoth…

Even that creature, the Third Seat of Le Rue, once referred to itself as the Demiurge.

I felt the need to clarify what the Demiurge was, so I asked Solomon.

“Solomon, have you ever heard of someone named Yaldabaoth?”

At my question, Solomon’s eyes lit up with interest.

“Oh! Quite an unusual being, indeed. To mention Yaldabaoth right after hearing about the Demiurge! That’s a secret even among the Landlord Doctrines, with very few knowing about it.”

“I faced that guy Yaldabaoth in Le Rue. He called himself the Demiurge.”

“……”

“I have a rough idea about the Demiurge, but I want to hear it from you. Do you know anything about it?”

“I want to hear more details about how you ran into Yaldabaoth.”

“Alright then…”

I recounted the entire situation of my fight with Yaldabaoth in Le Rue.

At that, Solomon burst into a hearty laugh as if he expected this.

“Hahaha! Just as I thought. A false model garden… it was the essence of the Sephiroth world, wasn’t it?”

“Now it’s your turn to answer my question. What is the Demiurge…?”

“Heh. Don’t you already have a hunch?”

Solomon’s eyes sparkled as he pointed his index finger at me.

“You, yourself, are the Demiurge.”

‘……!’

“And… those not in the Landlord Doctrines would refer to the Demiurge as reborn persons. Am I wrong? Reborn Person Baek Woong.”

I couldn’t help but be shocked by Solomon’s words. He instantly recognized my identity the moment I shared my story.

“How did you know?”

I had no intention of hiding it, but he figured it out from my words without me saying it directly!

Solomon replied to my question.

“I reasoned it out in reverse. I already knew that the Demiurge is characterized as a reborn person. And you, in the story, share so many traits with that Demiurge. Surviving a meeting with the Third Seat of Le Rue, negotiating with external beings to break my seal—do you think that’s something a typical existence could achieve? However, if we assume that all those absurd feats are from a reborn person, they all make sense.”

‘…….’

“Heh. This is rather bittersweet. I came back to the past by surpassing the Great Cycle, all to become an existence like you… and yet, that Demiurge saved me from external seals.”

Solomon wore a genuinely bitter expression. I thought his wisdom was remarkable, but it also confused me, so I spoke up.

“Hey, what’s so great about being a reborn person that you’re envious? As you can see, I’m in a crazy trial where I’m essentially a body without a body, caught up in a never-ending adventure… Are you really envious of this state of affairs?”

To that, Solomon chuckled softly and replied,

“Even if you go through a horrendous trial, you won’t meet the absolute limits of existence and despair.”

‘…….’

“To vanish as an utterly commonplace existence within an imprisoned cycle… Do you realize how terrifying that would be? The existence of a reborn person, the Demiurge, can seek their own path within the infinite repeating cycles… they are levels apart from mortal beings.”

I addressed Solomon.

“You are the emperor of a great cosmic power and could wield all the magical power, strength, and authority in the world, yet you still found that lacking? If you hadn’t asked the external beings for the test to become a Demiurge, you might have sat on the throne for countless trillions of years.”

“Perhaps.”

Solomon shrugged.

“But, Baek Woong. There is a threshold for all happiness. Even the gods cannot avoid that law. I’ve already enjoyed all the pleasures and luxuries this world has to offer at least once.”

‘Hmm…’

“And as one climbs to higher existence, the desires diminish, leaving only the desire for ascension. When one confronts their own mortality, the value of all life becomes nebulous.”

Solomon narrowed his eyes slightly.

“You, as a reborn person, must already grasp what I mean, don’t you? You, who regards the value of life as faint and seeks transcendence more keenly than anyone else. Perhaps even more intensely than I do.”

‘…….’

I couldn’t think of a response.

I felt somewhat struck at the core.

Solomon chuckled lightly.

“Heh. That’s enough of that. I can guess what else you want to ask me.”

“What?”

“You must want to ask me about [Aion], right? Isn’t that so?”

I flinched at his words and nodded.

“That’s right. How perceptive of you. What is Aion?”

The fact that the Demiurge is a reborn person has now been confirmed.

Thus, my only remaining mystery was to understand what those higher beings in the Sephiroth world are so desperately seeking in [Aion].

Solomon spoke.

“You might already know this, but according to legend, the creator of the Sephiroth world was originally the Demiurge. He learned about the existence of Aion while adventuring with several companions during his time as the false creator god, and together they challenged that throne.”

‘…….’

“Although the details are not known, all his companions perished, and only the creator god reached Aion. Once he arrived there, he made a wish for himself, and according to that wish, he became the creator god. Truly, the creator god of yet another [Great Cycle]…”

‘Could it be that the Yaldabaoth you mentioned…’

“Is the Demiurge and a former comrade of the creator god? Hehe… Can you not imagine what transpired before Aion?”

‘…….’

As I fell silent, Solomon continued speaking.

“Yes. What you suspect is correct. [Aion] is the [Throne] referred to in this world.”

‘……!’

“And the reason the higher beings of the Sephiroth world are searching for Aion? Simple. Because there is no [Throne] called Aion within the Sephiroth world. One must surpass the [Great Cycle] and enter this primal world of outer dimensions to gain the minimum qualification to reach Aion.”

[Aion] being a throne!

I had somewhat guessed this, but to confirm it from Solomon’s mouth left me in a daze.

Could it be that the very thing that completely different cycles and outer-dimensional beings yearn for is the [Throne of Chaos]?

In that case…

“What I’m trying to reach right now, the [Throne], is ultimately akin to the Demiurge’s pursuit of Aion.”

“Indeed. Since you’ve been reincarnated, you must have naturally felt the necessity to attain the throne. The [Throne] is the final destination of ascension that all mortals across three thousand worlds absolutely crave!”

‘……!’

“I find myself getting curious instead. What do you know about the [Throne]? What happens when you reach it?”

“I know a bit.”

I stared intently at Solomon and said.

“It seems I will need to use your power as I wish, so…”

“Fine. I will fully devote all to you, the reborn person, but in return, I’d like you to share what you know about the [Throne]. It’s my lifelong curiosity.”

‘Hmm!’

I was taken aback as Solomon yielded so easily.

“…Isn’t this all happening a bit too fast?”

Solomon had the look of someone who was completely natural.

“Heh. Why would I negotiate with a reborn person? The moment you decide I’m no longer necessary, everything I have will lose its meaning… That’s the power unique to the Demiurge. I won’t foolishly resist that power. Besides, having freed you from the external seal, I have to repay that debt.”

“Alright. I guess I can appreciate the quickness of the conversation…”

There was no doubt that Solomon was the renowned Mage Emperor. Even in the brief exchange, it was clear he possessed intelligence on par with the Zhuge clan. I felt at ease as if I’d gained a new advisor here and continued speaking.

“My goal in this trial is to obtain [Chi You’s Body]. So I need to head to Earth first.”

I explained my situation to him. After about half a moment of explanation, he seemed to grasp the situation to some extent, and after a moment of contemplation, Solomon said,

“Chi You? What is that?”

“Huh?”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing…”

I was taken aback by Solomon’s reaction.

“Hey, you might be a demon sorcerer of the western world and not know, but Chi You was a divine being who fought evenly against Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen, the leader of the Three Sovereigns!”

“Hmm… That’s odd. Even if I’m a sorcerer of the west, having reigned as the king of Israel for over one hundred years, I’ve collected all the legends and magic of both East and West. Yet, I’ve never heard of any legend regarding Chi You.”

‘…You don’t know about the Takrok War?’

“What is that? No idea…”

‘…’

What… what is this? Given the time period, this Solomon is assuredly a figure from far after the establishment of human history, so it’s entirely natural he would exist much later than Chi You’s time from several hundred thousand years ago. There are humans that surpass Solomon in age, and how could he not know Chi You?

As I felt something was off, Solomon remarked,

“Based on your reaction, it seems that the moment I used means beyond the divine sitting, I slipped into a [Cycle] different from you as the Demiurge. That means you might actually be beginning your own grand cycle.”

‘…?’

“Heh… Doesn’t matter. Anyway, what I need to do doesn’t change.”

Solomon said that and waved his hand.

“Awaken now. Belial.”

Boom!

At that moment, a massive tremor began to resonate beneath my feet. It felt like the planet itself was stretching! The Demon God Belial, who was using the planet as his body, was awakening at the command of Mage Solomon. Solomon summoned his royal scepter and said,

“Did those insignificant beings say it would take hundreds of years for you to be summoned to Earth? I will send you there right now.”

“What? Is that even possible?”

“You have already acquired powers equivalent to that of an emperor like me. That means you can use all the legacies of the Eastern Evil, the Malicious Celestial Refinery, as you wish…”

Solomon’s eyes sparkled.

“That also means you can freely activate the Door of the Demon Gods.”

Boom!

The instant Solomon’s royal scepter struck the ground, a dark dimension door appeared before me, large enough for a single person to pass through. I looked at the dimension door and said,

“Hey. Is this the Door of the Demon Gods? But as I said earlier, there’s a barrier set up by the Three Sovereigns near Earth…”

“It doesn’t matter. This Door of the Demon Gods can completely ignore any barrier that’s not of external origin and allows instant movement anywhere in the universe.”

‘…! What?! Are you saying such an absurd demon artifact exists?’

I couldn’t believe it! That the Door of the Demon Gods could even ignore the barriers set by the Three Sovereigns!

As I was taken aback, Solomon grinned.

“Belial contains a vast amount of magical power amassed over trillions of years. The Door of the Demon Gods is directly connected to Belial’s power… It has enough magical power to reach the edge of the universe. Moreover, since the Door of the Demon Gods contracted with the Northern Star, it can easily penetrate the barriers of those Three Sovereigns.”

‘…!’

“Even if I were to battle the Three Sovereigns directly, I wouldn’t be too scared. While they are indeed powerful gods, I have fought against such beings while dominating the universe before.”

Boom…

Solomon dismissed his royal scepter and extended both palms upward.

“Now, getting to Earth will be a simple matter. However, according to you, simply heading to Earth won’t easily lead you to find Chi You. I also lack information on Chi You, and likely, the Three Sovereigns don’t know who Chi You is either.”

“That’s true.”

“Therefore, I would like to propose one thing to you.”

“What kind of proposal?”

“How about conducting the Thousand Sacrifices? Since we have no information, you’ll need time to mobilize the Malicious Celestial Refinery for gathering information, and the more lacking your information is, the more absolute ‘power’ itself you will need.”

Thousand Sacrifices?

I frowned at this suggestion.

“Are you telling me to conduct human sacrifices? I detest human sacrifices.”

“You certainly seem that way. However, the Thousand Sacrifices don’t have to be strictly in the form of human sacrifice.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You can impose restrictions and wishes upon yourself, thus realizing it as a kind of training.”

‘…?’

“In simpler terms… the Thousand Sacrifices is a way of offering a prayer directly to the World Tree of this universe. Since you’ve already reached Sephira once, you must understand what I mean.”

I found Solomon’s explanation complicated and pondered over it for a while.

Only after some time did I comprehend its meaning and replied.

“You’re saying I should use Thunder Soul.”

“Exactly.”

“But simply purifying life force with Thunder Soul won’t yield results, will it…?”

“Hehe. That’s why the Thousand Sacrifices are special.”

Solomon smiled and said.

“The Thousand Sacrifices allow you to speak directly to the [Will] of the World Tree. You should be able to utilize that quite well.”