Ranker Who Lives Twice

Stone Monkey, Bimawen, Monkey King, Great Sage, Victorious Fighting Buddha… He had as many nicknames as he caused trouble, and he made countless achievements and legends. Even people who didn't know about the Heavenly Demon's faces knew the name "Sun Wukong." Naturally, his level was as high as how famous he was because of the faith that went into him. He began as the youngest among the Seven Demon Kings, but they said only the Bull Demon King could stop him now.

However, the troublemaker Sun Wukong suddenly disappeared one day. Some said he had become one with his origin, the Heavenly Demon, which allowed the Heavenly Demon to collect all the pieces of the soul—known as Li's Fragments—and transcend to the emperor-level… But there wasn't any proof, and the Heavenly Demon didn't speak of this, so everyone thought these were just rumors. Most people thought Sun Wukong was hiding his identity in the heavenly world or the lower world in search of amusement.

『Puahahaha! Almost no one knows about that. How did you find out?』The Monkey King's exuviae chuckled.

Yeon-woo widened his eyes. "Are you saying that's true?"

『Yeah. To be exact, the Heavenly Demon gathered all the pieces of his soul to become an emperor…so he just retrieved a piece called Sun Wukong.』

"Then…!"

『But my real body is alive.』

"…?" Yeon-woo wondered what that comment meant.

『The cycles have repeated many times, and countless dreams have appeared then disappeared as a result. There were dreams very similar to this one, but there were also dreams that were very different. Wouldn't there be a dream that potentially has an alive Sun Wukong?』

"So you're saying…?"

『My real body was a past life of the Heavenly Demon, but it was also his teacher. That's why he put me in the Tower—so we could be together. He also needed someone who could represent him because he was becoming weaker as the cycles went on. Anyway, so for a bunch of complicated reasons, I was put in the Tower.』

"What about what you said earlier?" Yeon-woo asked how the Monkey King's real body was at Li's grave.

『It's not well known…but my real body feels a sense of guilt toward the Heavenly Demon. That's why he's protecting Li's grave, which hasn't been retrieved yet… But to think it's not just the Tongtian Jiaozhu but also the Bull Demon King who's after it! Hm!』The Monkey King's exuviae scratched his cheek.『That geezer Bull Demon King and my other brothers should know my real body's circumstances… It's strange that they're with the Jie Sect.』

Yeon-woo's eyes flashed. "So we can divide them if we learn the reason why."

The Monkey King's exuviae looked at Yeon-woo with an appalled expression.『You already made plans to drive them apart?』

"There's nothing better than internal fights to weaken the enemy. Also…" Yeon-woo's voice trailed off.

They had lost many laws of causality due to the battle with many beasts. At most, only twenty percent was left. Yeon-woo had attempted to replenish their supply by swallowing some beasts, but they didn't have much because they had fallen from their dreams. Yvlke also took the beasts that remained, so it was impossible.

If they were to fight the Bull Demon King and the others, their laws of causality could reach the limit, so they needed to save as much as possible. A plan for them to use the smallest amount of laws of causality as possible…was all Yeon-woo was thinking about.

The Monkey King's exuviae nodded, knowing Yeon-woo's situation. There was no need to mention something that could be a weakness in front of Erlang Shen and the others.

"Hmm… But we've never seen the Great Sage there. What happened?" Erlang Shen furrowed his brows at the Monkey King's exuviae.

Among Sun Wukong's legends, there were sections where he fought with the Chan Sect. His relationship with Erlang Shen was a strange one—neither good nor bad.

『Is the real body you know someone to stay in one place just because he's told to?』

"Ah… That's true." Erlang Shen smiled wryly. The name "Stone Monkey" didn't come from nothing, since Sun Wukong wasn't someone who could be reigned.

Yeon-woo recalled how the Monkey King's exuviae had said he didn't know where his real body was when they first met. At the time, he didn't think too much about it, but looking back now, it seemed the exuviae had been somewhat telling the truth.

『If he wasn't there, he was probably playing around somewhere… I just don't know where. Since the suffocating Tower was finally crushed, he must've wanted to roam around, wouldn't he?』

"But that could create problems…!"

『And he's probably playing somewhere in that vicinity』

"…Indeed. Even though he seems free-spirited, he was always secretly calculative."

"You're saying he might've stepped back to monitor it."

『Right.』The Monkey King's exuviae nodded.

"Then we need to find Sun Wukong first." Yeon-woo's gaze darkened.

* * *

Yeon-woo returned to the By the Table headquarters where Yul and Freesia were. He needed to confirm something before going to find Sun Wukong. He wanted to see the treasury his mother, Rhea, had left with By the Table…Quirinale's legacy. Part of it was to see what Yvlke's group had been trying to take, but most importantly, he wanted to see his mother left behind before leaving the heavenly world.

"Father."

『Yes?』

"I've been thinking this these days… But the mother we knew might not be everything there was to her."

『…』Kronos was silent because he had also been thinking the same thing; he just wasn't able to say it out loud.

"Do you think she thought I… I mean, either Jeong-woo or I would someday visit By the Table?"

『…I'm not sure. There's not really anything I can say to answer that.』Kronos sighed and decided to bring up the thoughts he'd been accumulating in his mind.『Honestly, in retrospect, there are many things I didn't know about your mother. There are a few things I'm doubting now, among the things I didn't really think much of back then.』

Kronos' voice became lower.『Me falling to Earth… I thought it was a coincidence at first. Your mother must've been waiting there because she found me a long while ago… That was all I thought of it. But as you know now, there aren't such things as coincidences.』

Kronos continued to speak.『It wasn't a coincidence that I came to Earth. The springs had some darkness on them, so they were pulled toward Earth like magnets.』

Earth was where the Black King's body, R'lyeh, was sealed. It was also where the Tower was located in another layer of the dimensions. It was only natural that Kronos' springs fell to Earth, since that was where R'lyeh was. Where else would the Apostle of the Black King go?

『Your mother must've known this long before.』

Something occurred to Yeon-woo, who murmured, "…Quirinale of Space."

『Unlike your foolish father, your mother knew her family's powers better than anyone else. She must've been able to speculate this much. So…I can only assume one thing.』

"…?"

『If she knew about darkness, wouldn't she have known about the events that would happen after?』

"…!"

『Darkness is persistent. It doesn't let go of someone it chose. She might have thought…it would be passed down from me to you.』

"…"

『If that's true, I don't think it's strange the Ark was in the Tower.』

Yeon-woo was silent.

『Weren't you thinking the same as me?』

Yeon-woo couldn't bring himself to speak. As Kronos said, he was thinking the same thing.

Beings in the heavenly world thought Kronos was the only king of gods. Even in Olympus, only his reputation was famed, but that was only because his violent temperament had left a strong impression. The true reason why Olympus was able to enter their golden age was because there was another king in charge of internal strife… Rhea wasn't just the king's wife, but a female king. This could simply seem like a play on words, but the two were very different. It meant the couple were both kings, and Rhea had as much authority as Kronos. Although it wasn't as much as Kronos, Rhea's divinity was also powerful. She truly understood the power of the Quirinale of Day.

Rhea was also wise, so she must've investigated the factor that made Kronos crazy, which was the Black King. It was possible she also knew of the events that would occur after saving Kronos. Although she couldn't know the specifics, she would know the Black King's shadow would follow their family around like a curse… What if she had left behind the Ark and Quirinale's legacy to Freesia in preparation of that? It wasn't strange at all. No, with this, all questions Yeon-woo had about Rhea was answered.

However, the reason why Yeon-woo hadn't spoken of this to Kronos was because Kronos' heart would be crushed the moment these words were spoken out loud. Their mother had died after sacrificing everything for her family. She abandoned her divinity to appease her husband, who wanted revenge, and she embraced him despite knowing the curse of darkness, taking care of their new children as well. How scared must she have been? How worried? Imagining how she wasn't able to confide in anyone wrenched Yeon-woo's heart.

'Still…' Yeon-woo bit his lower lip. 'Still, she should've told me before she died… Why didn't she say anything? If she had just said something…!'

Yeon-woo spoke up. "In the past…" His voice trailed off and he swallowed. His voice was quavering. He'd thought his emotions were dulled after experiencing multiple dreams, but that wasn't true.

Yeon-woo was able to continue after the tremors in his voice settled down. "In the past, you asked me why I didn't summon Mother."

『I did.』

"I…have to confirm something."

『…Yes. Let's do that.』

Their conversation ended there.

Whoosh!

"Hyung…!" Yul's face was bright upon seeing Yeon-woo return safely, but he stopped smiling when he realized Yeon-woo's expression was stiff. He noticed something was amiss. Freesia wordlessly looked at Yeon-woo from next to him.

Sss. From behind Yeon-woo, Scythe was broken up and Kronos returned to his human form.

『Pepe.』

"Yes, Lord Kronos." Freesia nodded.

『You said Rhea left something behind?』

"She requested I open the treasury if her children or descendents come someday in the future."

『I see…』Kronos realized he and his son's assumption was right, and he sighed.『Can we see it now?』

"Yes. Please come this way." Freesia nodded and guided Yeon-woo and Kronos to the room of the treasury.

Yul watched them walk away with a trembling gaze. He stayed behind because it felt like he shouldn't go, but having seen the treasury once, he felt sorry and sympathetic because he could guess the events that would soon take place.