Record of a Thousand Lives

Chapter 213

“What do you mean by that?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked with a grimace. He was the reason why the worlds would be destroyed? What did that mean?

“It’s a bit difficult to talk about it here. I’ll show you personally once we go up,” Sirian said before gulping down the remainder of his alcohol and standing up.

***

They all climbed the magic tower. There were no trials or monsters that stood in their way, as Sirian had cleared all of them on the way down.

The magic tower’s scenery changed on every floor. One floor had countless acres of golden wheat fields; another had a large, imposing bloody castle towering above them; on yet another, they had to cross a sea. However, one thing in common among all the floors was that countless monsters lay strewn across the ground, massacred by Sirian. Apart from that, there were rest areas on every tenth floor, which contained an ample supply of alcohol, firewood, potions, beds, and tents.

They soon reached the fiftieth floor of the magic tower, which was also its midpoint. The floor was devoid of any decorations, monsters, or anything else; it was completely barren and dark. Suddenly, Sirian stopped, muttering something under his breath and clapping a few times.

Then, the scenery instantly changed, as the darkness that surrounded the party was banished by several glowing motes of light that resembled fireflies. The lights gathered together to form a circle in front of them, then split into numerous shapes and colors one by one. Afterward, they split into so many points of light that the party could not count them all.

“These are the other worlds out there,” Sirian said.

Kang Yoon-Soo stared at the scene before him, and knew he was looking at the universe. Every single one of the shapes was a world of its own, and the party could peer into them if they wanted to. Thus, he took a look and saw many different kinds of worlds.

Some worlds resembled the Sylphia Continent’s medieval aesthetic, while others seemed more modern and resembled the Earth Kang Yoon-Soo had come from. Apart from that, other worlds seemed quite peculiar. In one world, zombies had overrun the human resistance; in another, all of its inhabitants were immortal, so life was not considered particularly precious; in yet another, time had stopped for everything and everyone except for one person. There were even some in which the inhabitants were not human, and others that were completely desolate.

Iris could not hide her surprise and muttered, “Oh my god...”

The others’ expressions were not particularly different from hers.

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“This is the first time I’ve ever thought that the continent we live on is… small…” Shaneth said.

“Geez… This is really difficult to believe even after seeing it with my own eyes…” Henrick grumbled.

“It’s not only the world that we can watch from here. Come and look closer,” Sirian said before flicking his finger. One of the worlds expanded to give them a better view, and he zoomed in on one specific person.

A bloody woman sat upon a throne while impaled on numerous swords. However, she seemed to be bored as she pulled out one of the swords that had been driven through her body. She licked her own blood off the sword and said, “Stab another one in. Is this all you’ve got?”

Sirian flicked his finger once again, and the scene shifted to another person.

That person was wearing a tattered old robe, stabbing a man who lived in a smithy. The killer took off his robe, and surprisingly, his face looked exactly the same as that of man he had just murdered. He said with a smile, “I’m a total loser here. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to take your place from now on.”

Sirian clapped once again, and the scene suddenly changed until the many worlds appeared before the party again. He then explained, “This is the magic tower’s power of observation, but I can’t go there or intervene in what’s happening in the other worlds.”

This was the first time Kang Yoon-Soo had seen the numerous other worlds and people that existed outside the Sylphia Continent. Were all of those worlds really going to be destroyed just because of him?

However, he suddenly thought of something, asking skeptically, “Why are you showing this to me only in my thousandth life?”

“Everything was alright in your previous lives, but the problem started in your current one, and all of these worlds are now in danger because of you,” Sirian replied.

“Explain in detail,” Kang Yoon-Soo said, raising his sword toward the king.

“Alright. It is your final life, after all,” Sirian replied, stabbing his spear into the ground. He continued, “In the past, when I was the leader of the Ancient Heroes, I changed into a class that was nothing but a headache. The King of All Things! It’s a sad class no matter how cool its name sounds. The King of All Things has the ability to see the fate of the world, and I was able to see this world’s fate earlier than anyone else.”

The floor had cracked where the king’s spear struck it, but Sirian ignored it and continued, “The Sylphia Continent was destined to be destroyed by the Demon Lord. Of course, I just scoffed at it at first. In the end, I asked myself, ‘Do I really have to follow some kind of predetermined fate?’ I shook my head and refused to accept it. I wasn’t crazy or stupid enough to just stand and watch as the people I loved and the continent were destroyed.”

The crack slowly started to spread, but the King of All Things ignored it and continued speaking, “The things that would happen if the continent refused its fate came flowing into my mind, though. By that I mean the consequences if the Demon Lord failed to destroy the continent. The other worlds would all be destroyed if this world is spared.”

The king dragged his spear across the floor before continuing, “I agonized for hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of days. I was extremely frustrated to know that those countless other worlds would all be destroyed if I saved this single world. I told myself, ‘Isn’t my world the most important one? Isn’t the survival of the ones I love the most important thing? Why should I concern myself with the lives of those from other worlds?’ It wasn’t a difficult decision. I just had to protect what was precious to me!”

The king’s spear suddenly came to a halt as his hands started to tremble. Once again, however, he began moving it around while continuing to speak.

“Yes… That was the answer. I loved this continent so much. I watched over the people of this continent as if they were my own, and I wanted to become a king who could protect all of them. You see, though… The class trait of the King of All Things is a very sad one. It showed me the scenes of how the other worlds would be destroyed if I chose to stubbornly save this world, projecting them directly into my mind,” Sirian lamented, swinging his spear horizontally.

“Alas, there were other fools like me in those other worlds. You know, imbeciles who wanted to sacrifice themselves to protect their own worlds. Did I really have the right to take away their worlds from them? Was it right for me to send all of them to their demise just so that my world and I would survive? They’re also kings with great conviction like me, but do I have the right to trample on the same convictions I had?” Sirian wondered, swinging his spear vertically.

“I soon decided to make a logical decision… I decided that it was right for me to sacrifice the few for the many,” Sirian finally said. A stone that had been rolling across the ground collided with his speartip and was smashed to pieces.

“I began faithfully following the fate determined on the continent. I set out on a journey, but I was making plans in secret. I also betrayed my comrades. I didn’t tell them anything about my plan, since I was certain that they would try to stop me. I purposely smiled when I killed Minerva with my own two hands. How I really felt inside would have been exposed if I cried in front of her,” Sirian said sorrowfully as his spear busily zigzagged across the floor.

“I reconstructed the magic tower. My lifespan didn’t decrease while I was in the magic tower, and I was also able to observe the other worlds from here. The door to Pandemonium was at the top of this tower, and that was also where the Demon Lord would descend from. Everything was in place for the continent to meet its demise at the hands of the Demon Lord. One day, though… Someone who went against fate suddenly appeared out of nowhere,” Sirian said, raising his spear again and stabbing it into the floor.

“I didn’t notice it at first, but I soon realized after a while that the fate of this world was slowly starting to change. People from another world were transported to the Sylphia Continent, and the man who would go against his own fate by being killed by the Demon Lord entered my sight. You, Kang Yoon-Soo. I’m talking about you,” Sirian continued, looking at Kang Yoon-Soo.

Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!

The king continued poking holes in the floor with his spear.

“I never imagined that the Demon Lord would show interest in a mere human. You even continued to relive your life after catching the interest of the Demon Lord. Of course, I didn’t regress along the way, unlike you, but I was able to watch you repeatedly twist fate through my abilities as the King of All Things,” Sirian explained, drawing a long line that connected the holes he poked through the floor.

“I thought it wasn’t a big deal at first, because you didn’t really affect the other worlds no matter how many times you regressed. In fact, I was happy to think that you were able to have no effect on the other worlds despite going against your fate so many times. That was why I didn’t bother to tell you about the fate of this world, and thus ended up becoming fodder for your growth and died at your hands,” Sirian said, continuing to draw a line across the floor with his spear.

“That was my mistake, though. You failed at killing the Demon Lord so many times you started to affect the fate of the universe bit by bit. The once predetermined fate of the world slowly started to change whenever you regressed,” Sirian concluded, staring at Kang Yoon-Soo.

The king’s spear stopped moving. He had drawn the Sylphia Continent on the floor. It was a small landmass that contained mountains and living things, orbiting around a sun. The King of All Things let go of his spear and touched the continent he had drawn before saying, “All of the other worlds will become like this if this world refuses its fate.”

The king tapped the floor, and the entire engraving of the continent started to tremble violently.

Creak… Crack… Clang!

The entire universe would soon meet its demise, and the party members were forced to watch each and every one of the inhabitants across countless worlds die along with their worlds. The fear and pain on their faces was visible as they cried out desperately in agony. Lovers and families hugged each other, resentful of their destruction and cursing whatever had caused it. Those people were just like them.

Sirian snapped his fingers and the image of the worlds returned to normal. He had shown them an example of what would happen if those worlds met their demise, using a very clear depiction of the chaos and agony it would cause. He continued, “That’s why I decided to get myself a partner and break the balance of this world to make sure that your thousandth life would be your final life, but you even managed to somehow claw your way out of the walls I built to stop you. The Dragon of Destruction’s change of heart, and even the god-killing sword… You managed to overcome all that, and here you are now.”

As Sirian’s explanation ended, silence fell upon the entire floor.

Shaneth struggled for a bit before slowly saying, “So you’ve… decided to become the villain…”

Sirian smiled weakly and replied, “Please don’t try to justify it that way. Most people see me as a righteous figure, but I’m no hero.”

The king rubbed his forehead as memories of betraying his comrades in the name of his duty to protect the other worlds came rushing back. It seemed as if those two memories were conflicting with each other and tormenting the King of All Things.

“I betrayed my comrades and killed them. I’m also the one responsible for the destruction of this world. You should hate me and despise me. You shouldn’t feel any guilt even if you do manage to kill me. Killing me shouldn’t be considered anything other than justice,” Sirian said.

Henrick replied with a grimace, “Why should we? How do you expect us to do that?”

“It’s because I’m a villain,” Sirian said while smiling. Despite that, his expression was filled with indescribable sadness as he continued, “That’s why you, Kang Yoon-Soo… This is the only thing I can tell you… Give up.”

The King of All Things took up his spear and said, “I watched you regress and calculated your journey here. I have no idea how you managed to obtain the power of a god, since I couldn’t see what happened up in the heavens, but it’s not an absolute power that makes you omnipotent, is it?”

He pointed his spear toward Kang Yoon-Soo and warned him, “So just give up. Your existence itself is going against fate. I’ll have to kill you if you refuse to give up… I have to destroy this world.”

The others’ gazes shifted toward Kang Yoon-Soo as he thought things over time and time again. Quite a long time passed before he finally looked at Sirian and said, “Sirian, there is one thing I don’t understand about what you just said.”

“What is it?” Sirian asked.

“How did you break the balance of this world?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

Sirian had said it himself. He had said that he broke the balance of the world; that was the reason why this would be Kang Yoon-Soo’s final life, and also why the Demon Lord would appear earlier.

Just as Sirian was about to explain, however, someone suddenly interjected, “I will be the one explaining that.”

The gazes of those present shifted toward the source of the voice. A man was walking toward them from the other side of the floor. It was the royal alchemist, Rumier Kazan. How long had he been there?

Kang Yoon-Soo immediately raised his sword and asked, “How did you get here?”

“It’s within my authority to call him,” Sirian said.

“We brought over an existence that should not have existed on the continent to break this world’s balance...” Rumier said as he walked closer. Then, the royal alchemist paused for a moment before looking at the party members and continuing, “...and the ‘One Who Should Not Exist’ is among you.”