전생검신 81권 12화

I slowly rose from my seat.

‘Not quite sure what got better.’

They said my divine power stabilized, but I felt nothing immediately. There were times when I definitely felt stronger or that I could exert more power, but this time it just felt like my internal structure had changed. So, when I gave Brahma a skeptical look, he chuckled and said.

“Such structural improvements are hard to feel right away. To put it bluntly, you haven’t become any stronger than before; you’re just the same.”

“Didn’t you give me the souls of Vishnu and Shiva? Doesn’t that mean I’ve become as strong as those two souls?”

Brahma shook his head.

“You can’t simply measure divine power arithmetically like that.”

“Why not?”

“Think about it. If there are strong deities, there must also be weak ones, and according to the law of survival of the fittest, a deity could strip the power from another. That means, over the vast history of billions of years, someone should have infinitely strengthened their divine power to become the ultimate being. Yet if you look closely, in the divine temple of the universe, the higher you go, the more balanced the power becomes, and it’s not easy to change the hierarchy. Why do you think that is?”

“Hmm……”

Now that I think about it.

“It seems like guys like the Emperor or Evil Gods were just born strong and didn’t gobble up the power of others over billions of years… Fuxi and Nüwa too…”

If they could absorb the power of others, why don’t those powerful deities take advantage of that?

Brahma’s words pointed out something I rarely pondered about, so I couldn’t help but get lost in thought. After a while, I finally spoke up.

“Isn’t it because the hierarchy is established from birth? From the beginning, the gap is too large for latecomers or weaker deities to ever reach the power of top-tier deities, no matter how many eons they gather divine power.”

“Ah, that’s a valid point. There’s definitely something to that. The disparity in power that weaker beings can never touch exists from the very start.”

Brahma nodded while continuing.

“However, if that’s the case, why don’t the top deities go to war with each other and devour one another to produce the strongest? After all, if they start eating each other, the superiority gap among them should quickly widen. What you mentioned just now doesn’t explain that.”

“Um…… I don’t know. Why is that?”

Brahma pressed his index finger together.

“It’s a very simple reason. Once divine power reaches a certain level, no matter how much you try to devour another deity, you’ll only gain one more aspect of power you can handle, and the absolute amount of strength doesn’t significantly increase. It’s almost meaningless arithmetically.”

“……!!”

“That’s why the top deities don’t get caught up in a war among themselves, which could lead to long-lasting destruction. The gains are minimal, and even if a mighty deity falls to a desperate curse from a weaker one, they will suffer…”

I didn’t know that?!

I was taken aback.

‘So, that’s why the Three Sovereigns or Old Rulers didn’t really want to fight each other?’

It made sense to me that wars among deities were a unique situation. I’d seen many instances where they didn’t want to fight but were forced to due to significant interests at stake. However, I never understood why they were so passive until now.

After my surprise, I suddenly wanted to argue.

“Wait a second. I’ve actually absorbed several divine remains during my previous lives and felt a significant increase in power! If what you’re saying is true, then it contradicts my growth!”

“What’s contradictory? You just went from an ordinary human to obtaining divine power rapidly. If you were in a state close to nothingness when gaining divine might, that’s too low-level to measure absolute power. In reality, lower-tier deities often consume deities to amplify their strength like you.”

“…….”

“However, you must have felt your growth stagnate for some time now. Am I wrong?”

“Um…… I think so.”

In a way, I had absorbed Amaterasu’s semi-divine form numerous times, so by simple calculations, I should have surpassed upper-tier deities. Plus, I had gained additional divine power, so I should have had power comparable to the Three Sovereigns. Yet here I was, still falling short of that level, confirming that I had indeed hit a growth ceiling as Brahma said.

Brahma seemed to have anticipated my response.

“You’ve practically reached the level of a universe-shaping entity. You’ve hit your limit of growth.”

“Ugh… is that so?”

“However, that’s only talking about growth through the consumption of deities. Considering you’re a Reborn Person, there’s still more to it.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“……A Reborn Person may have absorbed the Law of Cause and Effect separately.”

Muttering that, Brahma continued.

“Now, the summary of the divine power I granted you will some day prove beneficial. But first, should I tell you about the Martial God?”

Martial God!!

I felt my senses tingle at that mention and nodded.

“Please, do tell.”

“From what I know about the Martial God, it’s quite simple…”

Pointing his finger dramatically, Brahma directed it at the enormous palace right in front of us. Without realizing it, I shifted my gaze toward the palace, and Brahma said with certainty.

“The Martial God is one of the beings responsible for the trial of the Great Cycle!”

“……?!”

“We might actually go in there and see the Martial God.”

R-Really?!

I was shocked by his unexpected claim, and after a moment, I skeptically asked Brahma.

“Do you have proof? If you’re just trying to dazzle me to escape this situation, I won’t let you off easily…”

“I stake my name on this truth!”

“Yikes!”

You staked your name on it?!

As I panicked, Brahma said.

“The Martial God has always been considered akin to an echo.”

“An echo?”

“He exists in our universe but as if he doesn’t exist… yet he lets everyone know he does. That’s more of a concept than an existence, and I suspect it’s something like the now-defunct Pangu. Thus, there has never been a single moment in history where the Martial God made an appearance. In fact, outside of a select few, no one is even aware of its existence.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Thanks to the Eye that Sees Heaven and Earth and the power of the Creator God. Regardless of how ambiguous the existence is, there’s certainly someone who follows the Martial God. The essence of that echo resonates, leading me to believe he indeed exists. I doubt there’s anyone else in the entire universe who shares this certainty as I do.”

“…….”

The powers of the Creator God were more impressive than I imagined.

To think he could affirm the existence of not just the Inheritance Site that connects the end and beginning of the universe, but also the Martial God!

‘This guy must have been a hell of a deity in the real world.’

As I pondered, Brahma fixed his gaze intently on the palace.

“However, through my Eye that Sees Heaven and Earth, I learned something about that palace. That the origin of that echo exists deep within the palace.”

“Really? So the Martial God is inside that palace?”

“Perhaps.”

“Where exactly is he? Can you see his precise location?”

At my question, Brahma shook his head.

“I can’t see him. He’s surrounded by countless circles and only appears in a smoky form. That’s definitely not the true form of the Martial God; we’ll need to remove those circles to meet him.”

“Circles…? Like a magic circle?”

“Who knows? Since this is an Inheritance Site, there’s a lot I can’t be sure about myself.”

“Hmm….”

The Martial God is right in front of me.

I felt great curiosity and doubt.

‘Why on earth is the Martial God here?’

And somehow, I ended up inside the throne’s interior, but what connection does the Heavenly Secret have with this place?

With no answers to any of my questions, they only continued to deepen, causing me distress, as I instinctively felt even the strategists wouldn’t have any solutions regarding this matter.

Crunch

Brahma began to walk ahead.

“I’ll be going in now. You can do as you wish.”

“What do you mean? You weren’t suggesting we tackle this together?”

He chuckled lightly.

“From what I see, you seem to dislike being told or persuaded, like a cranky frog, so it looks like you prefer choosing freely.”

“…….”

“I have a skeptical stance on whether free will truly exists, but anyway, do as you please.”

I huffed in annoyance.

“You sure know how to talk like a jerk. Didn’t we agree to pass through this trial together? Remember your own dirty personality.”

“Hehe. I’ve heard that from my brothers quite often…”

Crunch Crunch

Finally, Brahma and I entered the palace together. Inside, a eerie wind blew, and it felt like a fine dust was swirling around.

‘It’s dark.’

It reminded me of when I infiltrated a ruined palace back in the day. The difference was this place was well maintained and not dilapidated, and its style was completely different from that of the Great Ming Empire palace. Yet strangely, it had an Eastern aesthetic that felt oddly familiar.

While Brahma walked ahead, he suddenly spoke up.

“I think I’ve been talking too much. Can you briefly tell me how you ended up in this Inheritance Site?”

At Brahma’s request, I decided to share. After all, I needed to rely on this temporary ally to get through this perilous place, and he did help coordinate my divine power.

“I’ll explain while we walk. The reason I came here is…”

I recounted the situation briefly. After about half the story, Brahma laughed incredulously.

“Hahaha! That’s quite the masterpiece. To summarize, you traversed the external universe, Takrok, the depths of the Heavenly Secret, and ended up in the Inheritance Site within the throne while your body and mind were split, huh?”

“……That’s about right.”

“Then here lies the problem. It means you’re currently a spirit form, and what’s become of your physical body?”

“…….”

Well, what the hell is my body doing right now?

I grew uncomfortable as he pointedly addressed the issue I didn’t want to think about. Nevertheless, it was a reality I had to face eventually, so I could only sigh.

“I’m guessing it’s fighting Dharma as we speak… Sigh… I have no idea what’s going on.”

“I know what’s going on.”

Brahma’s teasing tone bristled my nerves, leading me to reply curtly.

“What do you know? I’ve only told you basic things, and so much has been tangled up in between.”

“Well, while it’s true you’ve been roaming around a lot, the point remains unchanged.”

“What point?”

Brahma’s next words made me flinch.

“The trial you faced at the end of the Heavenly Secret isn’t over, and it’s still ongoing.”

“……?! What do you mean? Are you saying the trial I was facing with Dharma isn’t finished yet?”

“Correct. No matter how the space-time has changed, you can’t say you’ve concluded your battle with Dharma, right? If I were the one who devised the Heavenly Secret trial, I wouldn’t let such ambiguous states pass.”

In that moment, my heart sank with a jolt.

“Damn it… What the hell kind of nonsense is this…”

“Can you say there’s no such possibility? If the universe spins as it pleases, then you wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“…….”

When I fell silent, Brahma said.

“I don’t know what thoughts the Outer God had in sending you this far. However, I do know that the Outer God aims to intrude into the tale somehow. If that’s the case, there’s a riddle placed out there.”

“What riddle?”

“It’s simple. The Outer God, Black Goat, didn’t want you breaking Dharma and passing the first trial of the Heavenly Secret.”

I paused.

I stopped in shock, and Brahma turned to look at me.

“Why do you stop? Don’t you want to keep walking?”

“……What do you mean, the Outer God doesn’t want me to pass the trial?”

“Well, it seems like you’re a bit shocked.”

Brahma nodded thoughtfully and continued.

“From what I’ve gathered about that fight, it seems Dharma summoned the Outer God to deal with you, and the Outer God responded. But do you know something? A being like the Outer God isn’t bound by any summoning rules unlike a mere familiar or deity. This means that no matter what constraints were placed upon the Outer God at the point of the contract, it can tear that contract apart or alter its terms on the spot. That’s the key difference between contracts with the Outer God and those with the Old Ruler.”

This was all new information to me. I made a mental note of it, thinking it might help someday, then I asked.

“So what are you saying?”

“It means that by responding to Dharma’s summoning, the Outer God deliberately intervened to target you. From what I’ve heard, it seems you were likely to succeed in that situation. You didn’t strike back against Dharma with the power of Chi You’s horn, did you?”

“…….”

“Yet, the Outer God, Black Goat, didn’t want to let you win against Dharma, thus forcing you into the inner sanctum of this throne. The fact is, you should have won the fight the moment you activated Chi You’s horn.”

Brahma’s words seemed quite reasonable. I felt a wave of shock wash over me as my puzzling situation began to logically organize itself.

‘So the Outer God directly interfered with me…!’

Why on earth?

No, more importantly, if the Outer God is really trying to interfere with me, what happens going forward?

I couldn’t even think of how to survive, let alone defeat that overpowering existence!

Brahma said.

“Though I shouldn’t be the one giving advice, if I had to, I’d say don’t think of the situation too negatively.”

I shouted in disbelief.

“Are you kidding me? How could I not think negatively? An absolute evil god that’s ranked among the top elite in the entire universe is blatantly obstructing me! What on earth could my fate be now? Plus, having to face trials in this Inheritance Site out of the blue!”

“Certainly a despairing situation, but I wouldn’t despair. Because something feels off.”

“What feels off?”

Brahma stroked his chin and spoke in a calming tone.

“Everything can be interpreted differently depending on the perspective. Besides, beings like the Outer God are so high-dimensional that even higher gods struggle to understand them, so they don’t act solely out of simple intentions. If they really wanted to interfere with you, wouldn’t there be simpler methods? Why go to the trouble of sending you here amid the trial?”

“…….”

“Consider whether the fact that it “interfered with your first trial” truly poses a danger to you.”

“Could you make your point clearer? How is that supposed to make me see things positively?”

Suddenly Brahma laughed, astounded.

“Wow… you’re incredibly human. I never imagined a Reborn Person would be so humanlike.”

“What do you mean…”

“Just think about it for yourself. If I laid it all out for you, it wouldn’t be any fun.”

As I got mildly annoyed, Brahma suddenly stopped, looking serious.

“More importantly, I think we’re caught in a trap. Has the trial begun?”

“A trap?”

“We’ve had a rather lengthy conversation. And we’ve walked at least five thousand steps. But take a look around.”

I glanced at the nearby buildings. After a moment, I realized.

“I see. This is the starting point.”

“Exactly. I believe, based on my knowledge, this is something used by martial artists…”

“No doubt about it.”

As I saw the Eight Trigram pattern etched into the corner of a nearby pillar, my gaze sharpened.

“Right now, we’ve fallen into the formation technique.”