Ranker Who Lives Twice

Still. Not. Made. Decision.

After the Resident of the Border finished his words, Night fell into silence. The Resident of the Border had directed and led Night so far, so his opinion carried the most weight. The scale of opinion had no choice but to lean towards whatever he decided. The Resident of the Border was aware of this fact, so he withheld his final answer. However…

'You've already made a decision.' Yeon-woo instantly recognized that the Resident of the Border had already made his decision. He felt that the decision had already been made before the start of the quests and the evaluation process.

Although Yeon-woo had an inkling, he could not be sure, so he remained quiet… However, the more Yeon-woo conversed with the Resident of the Border, the more Yeon-woo observed him, and after Yeon-woo accepted Nameless Mist and increased his powers, it became easier for Yeon-woo to understand the Resident of the Border's decision.

After.

The. Last. Quest.

[The last quest begins.]

[The sub quest (Resident of the Border) has been created!]

[Sub Quest / Observation of the Resident of the Border]

[Description: You have begun to receive the absolute support of Night (Nox). There are some who have not yet made their final decisions, but they are paying attention to you and are willing to follow the majority trend. However, the Resident of the Border still hasn't given a definitive answer.

The Resident of the Border is a being who always walks and watches only on the edge of any and every border. He totes the line and observes the cross-sections of life and death, past, present, future, and the broken and newly-created 'dream'. His vision looks beyond the law of causality and reaches the far, unfinished end of the apocalypse, the end of days.

While the Resident of the Border viewed all of this, he had never told anyone of what he saw. He always remained silent whenever the other beings of Night (Nox) asked when their Dull-Witted Father would finally arrive, wake them from the 'dream', and embrace them once more.

And there was something the Resident of the Border had not mentioned to anyone. It was the fact that the apocalypse, which existed beyond the law of causality, had already arrived right before their eyes.

The moment when their Dull-Witted Father would awaken had come, and the Resident of the Border knows that you are the one who will make it happen.

But the Resident of the Border does not know for sure whether you are going to become the awakened Dull-Witted Father himself or if you are simply the trigger that awakens the Dull-Witted Father. This is because your future, as seen by the Resident of the Border, is shrouded in darkness, making it difficult to see the exact process and results of your actions.

So, the Resident of the Border wants to know where you stand. And he wants to see it with his own eyes. He wants to see how the end of the apocalypse will draw near, and how his Dull-Witted Father's awakening will be completed. This strong desire is what the Resident of the Border has had since time immemorial. From now on, take actions to reveal your true aspirations for the Resident of the Border to come to a decision.]

Yeon-woo burst out laughing while looking at the description in the quest window. Yeon-woo seemed to understand the Resident of the Border's sentiment when he mentioned he could not look into Yeon-woo's future.

Even the Tortoise on Three God Mountain once stated that he could not see Yeon-woo's future. Although Yeon-woo was a mere mortal at that time, the Tortoise stated that Yeon-woo's future was shrouded in mystery. The Heavenly Demon also once said that Yeon-woo was shrouded with a peculiar singularity. Even in the visions that Brahm and Athena saw of the future, Yeon-woo's appearance had always been fogged and shrouded in uncertainty.

Thus, when the Resident of the Border mentioned how he could not clearly see Yeon-woo's future, Yeon-woo could not help but laugh aloud. 'Maybe the wheel of my fate was always meant to turn in this way.' To be precise, Yeon-woo had decided to turn this wheel of his own accord.

In any case, it seemed that the Resident of the Border planned to observe from the sidelines a bit further before making any decision. Of course, Yeon-woo did not have time to wait around for the Resident of the Border.

"I understand everything else that you said, but how am I supposed to prove my aspirations? Are you telling me to go back to darkness and defeat all the remaining Demonisms?"

If. You. Do. That.

Take. Too. Much. Time.

"Right. I plan to do that someday, but not now." Yeon-woo had finally figured out where his brother, who Yeon-woo had been looking for so long, and mother were. Thus, he could not help but feel a sense of urgency and impatience in being held up in this space. "I believe your side is just as anxious and time-constrained as well."

The Resident of the Border glanced at the beings of the Night.

[The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young urges the Resident of the Border to quit stalling and quickly decide!]

[The Source of Uncleanliness is urging the Resident of the Border to verbalize his opinion, as it is immensely curious about the Resident of the Border's thoughts!]

[Green Flame is burning its flames ferociously as if stating that its father will surely awaken.]

…

[All beings of Night (Nox) urge the Resident of the Border to decide!]

Even though the beings of Night tried to urge the Resident of the Border to make a decision, none of them tried to intimidate or coerce him. Even if all of them were to work together, they would not be able to overcome the Resident of the Border.

Even though he was classified as one of the Eight Gods of Disorder, the Resident of the Border was markedly different from the other beings.

I. Will.

Rumble. A mournful sound came from the Resident of the Border. A deep resounding sound that could not be expressed in words.

Not. Get. In. The. Way.

Whatever. Others. Decide.

[Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young is astonished at the thoughts of the Resident of the Border!]

[Source of Uncleanliness asks the Resident of the Border if he truly understands the weight of his words!]

…

I. Know.

[Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young takes a deep breath!]

[Source of Uncleanliness is engulfed in great shock!]

…

[All beings in Night (Nox) have fallen silent!]

Night. Shall.

Be. Disbanded.

[Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young shouts out %$#%$%@...]

[Source of Uncleanliness cries out in astonishment $&*(&^...]

…

[System Error.]

[System Error.]

[Unable to interpret.]

[The exposed information cannot be interpreted. Temporary translation is also not possible.]

[Night (Nox) is full of unstructured vestige thoughts!]

The whole world was filled with the screams of the beings of Night. The space was filled with confusion as the vestige thoughts could not be read or guessed, and screams abounded. Countless letters popped out and disappeared, and the state of confusion showed no signs of stopping. The impact of the Resident of the Borders words and decision was too great.

While the wheel turned countless times and brought about a seemingly infinite number of changes and 'dreams', the Night had always existed as a singular constant, always working towards and awaiting the Black King's awakening. However, the declaration of dismantling such a Night brought a tremendous shock and instability to the beings of Night, who had grown used to living stable, static lives.

This was also the case for Yeon-woo's side, or to be more precise, Jeong-woo's vestige spirit body.

[The successor of Day (Eros) is so startled that he is unable to speak!]

[Agares is silent…]

[Fenrir is silent…]

…

[Day (Eros) has become unstable!]

It was a natural reaction from Day since its members had long fought against Night so that Night could not interfere with the 'dream'. Metatron and Baal had maintained this status quo for Day and had passed it on after their passing.

「What's going on? Why the hell did we fight so hard all this time? If I had known that this could be resolved so easily, I wouldn't have wasted so much effort and time fighting! I could have taken it easy and played all this time!」 Shanon screamed as he grabbed his head.

『Hyung… What's going on…』 Jeong-woo looked at Yeon-woo with a trembling gaze. He couldn't help but wonder exactly what his older brother was thinking.

Having led Day, albeit briefly, Jeong-woo could largely understand and foresee the result of the unfolding scene. What Yeon-woo was trying to do right now was strange. It did not seem like Yeon-woo was simply trying to bring Night onto his side. It was clear that the meanings contained in Yeon-woo's dialogue with Night were profound and far-reaching…but Jeong-woo could not bring himself to ask Yeon-woo what the meaning and intent was behind all of it.

However, amidst the chaos and confusion, only Yeon-woo remained calm. His expression was unreadable. Yeon-woo released his overwhelming aura and power towards the beings of the Night, who were roaming around in a state of panic.

In an instant, the commotion ceased after being enwrapped in Yeon-woo's whirlwind-like aura, and all the beings of Night who stated their loyalty to Yeon-woo no longer looked at the Residents of the Border but at Yeon-woo.

Yeon-woo looked upon them one by one. He embraced these beings with his aura and shouted out, "Come to me." Those words were a signal. Soon, all the beings that made up Night, including the Eight Gods of Disorder, rushed toward him at once.

It was a terrifying scene to behold… All of these giant beings moving all at once…! However, Yeon-woo stood with his arms wide open, welcoming the incoming beings. Yeon-woo unfurled his Sky Wings and cast a wide shadow.

And above the overlapping layers of space, Yeon-woo's true Giant Demonic Divine Draconic body appeared with its widening vertical golden eyes.

The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young reached Yeon-woo first. Like Nameless Mist, Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young vestige thoughts was shattered and absorbed into Yeon-woo's shadow. The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young vestige thoughts were filled with excitement, hope, and anticipation.

The Night, which had always existed with a sense of gloom and despair, suddenly drifted into the whirlwind that Yeon-woo created with a sense of anticipation and bliss, something they had never felt before.

Rumble!

Scream!

You. Are.

Our. Father.

Please.

Lead. Us.

Down. The. Correct. Path.

Toward. The. Throne.

Green Flame was absorbed into the shadows while still emitting its thick flames. Soon after, Harbinger and Source of Uncleanliness revolved around Yeon-woo before entering his shadow. Afterward, the various otherworld gods followed one after another.

And at the same time, Night, which had been steeped in disorder and chaos, began to crumble. As if slowly tearing a blackened piece of paper, Night was being torn away in the same manner before being sucked into Yeon-woo's shadow.

Whoosh! Yeon-woo accepted everything that made up Night. Existence and laws, as well as thoughts, time, and settings… He absorbed everything.

Clack. Clack. While this process was going on, Yeon-woo could feel the numerous laws of causality reset in his body. The amount was much larger than when he first came out of darkness and opened his eyes. With this amount, Yeon-woo thought he would be able to safely finish the work he wanted to do in this 'dream' and reach the conclusion he hoped for.

Countless voices could be heard in his shadows. They were not standardized, and each had their own voices, but every single one of them was full of praise and worship for Yeon-woo. 'With this much…I should have enough to compete with Sage now, right?' Yeon-woo had these thoughts while the world of Night was being torn down and disappearing.

Yeon-woo looked upon the Resident of the Border, who had been quietly observing the scene, and asked, "You say you'll keep watching, right?"

That. Is.

What. I. Am. Supposed. To. Do.

To. Observe.

My. Last. Responsibility.

The Resident of the Border's manner of speech was polite, like a son speaking to his real father.

"You can look forward to it." After stating those words, Yeon-woo turned around. As the emptiness opened wide beneath his shadow, all the beings of Day, who had accompanied Yeon-woo, passed through the emptiness towards another space. They were headed to the outskirts of the darkness where Jeong-woo's soul and Rhea were present.

The Resident of the Border looked at Yeon-woo's receding back, which quietly disappeared. The Resident of the Border slowly closed his large eyes.

Darkness came, and soon, Night completely disappeared. The real night soon took its place.