The entrance to the Arctic base, revealed before Suho, was truly like a gateway to another world.
"What on earth is this…"
What flowed out through the hole created by Arsha's Void Insects gnawing away the dimensional wall was not the cold Arctic wind. It was a sticky, lukewarm air. The scent wafting from within was a mixture of rotten meat, metal, and an indescribable foulness.
"Grrrr…"
Gray instinctively lowered his body and growled. His hunter's intuition was warning him. Beyond there lay something where the laws of the natural world did not apply.
"I'll go in first. Follow me."
Suho passed through the hole first, stepping into the base.
Splurch.
The sound that came from underfoot was that of stepping on a metal floor. But the metal wasn't cold. Instead, it was lukewarm and sticky. A warmth, like the body heat of a living creature, was transmitted.
"…Strange."
Suho looked around. At first glance, this seemed like a secret base built with cutting-edge technology. No, it seemed like it had been until recently. But now, it was nothing but ruins, as if ghosts would appear at any moment. The old walls and ceiling, imbued with the feel of long years use, were rusted. Spiderweb-like fine cracks and mold had spread. Something dripped from the ceiling like water droplets. A sticky, translucent liquid. The moment that liquid touched the floor, a sizzling sound arose, and acrid smoke billowed up. They continued walking down the dark corridor, where the fluorescent lights kept flickering. The deeper they went, the more bizarre the atmosphere became. As if alive, the corridor walls rhythmically swelled and subsided, like a pulse. The smell of the air was also toxic, alien, and unpleasant.
"What is this smell?"
At his words, Arsha answered.
[There's something else mixed in the air. It's toxic, but not a true poison; it seems like air that doesn't exist on Earth has mixed in.]
"Air that doesn't exist on Earth…"
[Young Master, the Outer God's energy within here is overwhelmingly dense. I shall take the lead.]
Beru, more serious than ever before, blocked Suho's path. Normally, he would only offer advice, to avoid stealing Suho's experience points, but now was not the time for such leisure. If things went wrong, he would even use the mana he had painstakingly gathered…
[I shall protect thee.]
"Alright. Let's keep going."
Suho nodded and cautiously continued down the corridor.
Then…
"Grrrr."
Gray lowered his stance and bared his teeth. The sound of someone walking approached from the other end of the corridor. Rhythmic, yet somehow unnatural. Stiff steps, as if the joints weren't bending properly.
"…A person?"
What appeared at the end of the corridor was a man in a white lab coat. At first glance, he looked like an ordinary technician. But upon closer inspection… where his eyes should have been, there were only empty sockets. And blue smoke was rising from those sockets.
Shuffle, shuffle.
The man still didn't stop walking. His mouth was agape, and the same blue smoke was seeping out from within, a muttering sound came from that mouth.
"—The Prime Minister will be here soon—the Great God—Unwithering Spring—blessing—"
The man continued to mutter the same words in a monotone voice. No emotion whatsoever could be felt in that voice.
"Turned into a Mist Burn?"
Suho narrowed his eyes, observing the man. It had been a while since he'd seen a Mist Burn. An existence corroded by the power of an Outer God, no longer human but something else. In the past, he would have simply dismissed a Mist Burn as a human transformed into a magical beast. But encountering a Mist Burn in a place like this… he saw it from a different perspective than before. What was the true purpose of a Mist Burn…
Trudge, trudge.
The man, having become a Mist Burn, ignored Suho and passed by him. As if he weren't visible, he paid him no attention. No, more accurately, he 'didn't try to see'. He was walking somewhere, mesmerized, looking at something more important. Suho's eyes turned cold.
"Not an ordinary Mist Burn."
[He does not feel pain.]
Beru pinpointed the core issue. Normally, Mist Burns suffer, feeling the agony of their bodies and souls burning. Because of that pain, they lose their sanity even more and blindly attack people. But this man seemed incapable of feeling pain. Beru discovered the reason.
[A barrier is engraved upon his body.]
"Indeed."
As he slowly followed the Mist Burn man and observed him, he saw that a delicate magic circle was engraved on the man's body. When he thought of 'barriers,' only one person came to mind.
"Don't tell me Prime Minister Orlov did this. What's this barrier for? Harmakan, come out."
[Thank you for summoning me, Master.]
Harmakan appeared at the call. And with sharp eyes, he carefully examined the barrier engraved on the Mist Burn, then answered.
[This is… quite something. A simple yet very powerful micro-barrier. Its purpose… is to wrap the soul's vessel like a bandage and forcibly fix it in place.]
"Like a mummy's bandage?"
[Yes.]
It meant they were in a state similar to the mummies wandering Ammut's pyramid. Those mummies were beings created by Kandiaru. A wicked magic that sealed the corpses of those who had challenged Ammut and died, turning them into mindless servants. And Suho had used the 'bandages' wrapping those mummies as an item for his Iron Body training. But Prime Minister Orlov seemed to have engraved a barrier with an effect similar to those bandages onto his subordinate. However, its effect was far more potent than bandages, an S-rank barrier strong enough to prevent even a Mist Burn from burning to death.
Arsha, who had released her Void Insects to scout the surroundings, spoke to Suho. [Why would he do such a thing… Looking around, there's a place where more people like this are gathered.]
"More of them? Lead the way."
[Yes.]
Bzzzzzzzz—
Arsha's Void Insects showed the direction. Suho followed them and, at the end of a corridor, entered a room.
[Control Room]
The nameplate was visible. Suho cautiously peered inside through a crack in the door.
"…"
And, along with everyone else, he was rendered speechless.
Inside the control room… dozens of people were gathered. And all of them were broken in various ways.
Groooan…
Some had no eyes. Some had mouths torn to their ears. Some had necks twisted 180 degrees. Some had limbs grotesquely elongated. But they all silently performed their tasks at their stations.
Clatter clatter clatter—
One man was banging his head against the wall, creating a steady rhythm. Blood trickled from his forehead, but he continued banging his head as if he felt no pain.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
In time with that rhythm, other people performed their respective tasks. One person was typing on a computer keyboard, but his fingers were decayed, leaving only bone.
Click, clack, click, clack, click.
The sound of bone striking the keyboard was chilling. And all of them were muttering strange words in monotone voices.
"—Output increase—Divine power increase—Prime Minister's satisfaction—"
"—Unwithering Spring—Eternal blessing—Great God—"
"—He will descend soon—He will come soon—"
Their appearance was that of fanatics. Like a crazed cult chanting religious prayers. And in accordance with their incomprehensible actions, all the instrument panels in the control room were blinking madly. Red warning lights were sending danger signals from all directions, but no one paid them any mind. Rather, it felt like they too were some kind of Morse code with a hidden meaning.
Clench.
Suho watched them, his fists tightening. His eyes saw not their shells, but their souls within. Distorted and contaminated by the Outer God's energy, yet still suffering and wailing from deep within – human souls. But they were imprisoned by the barriers engraved on their bodies, engulfed in blue flames, suffering endless torment. Their very souls were being tortured. Unable to leave them as they were, Suho reached out his hand.
"Arise."
[Using 'Skill: Shadow Extraction'.]
Fwaaaaaah—
[Shadow Extraction successful.]
[Shadow Extraction successful.]
[Shadow Extraction successful.]
[...]
Then, the souls trapped within the barriers emerged, riding the shadows. Since Orlov's barrier was engraved on their bodies, the Shadow Power became their escape route. But that wasn't the end. Their souls, damaged beyond repair, couldn't become proper Shadow Soldiers.
Aaaaaaaah—
Even though they were finally free, their souls still writhed in agony. Exposed to the Outer God's energy for too long, their very souls had become tattered rags. But the current Suho possessed the ability to ease their suffering.
"Purification."
[Using 'Skill: World Tree's Purification'.]
Faaaaaaah—
White shadow. Suho's shadow turned pure white, comforting the broken souls. The purifying authority that only the Guardian of the World Tree could use. That power was the power of the World Tree, which purified broken souls.
Shuuuuuuu—
As that power touched the souls that had been Mist Burns, the blue smoke began to seep out of their bodies. And the pain vanished from the expressions of those who had barely escaped contamination. But though the pain was gone, they were already too severely damaged; combat might be possible, but proper conversation seemed difficult. Pointing to one of the soldiers whose condition was relatively stable, Suho asked.
"You, what's your name?"
[Ugh… Petrov… Director… of this place….]
A Shadow Soldier barely managed to mutter.
"Alright, Pet. Can you tell me what has happened here until now?"
[Experiment… an experiment….]
[The Prime Minister… on our bodies… a barrier….]
"Barrier? What kind of barrier?"
[To accept… the Outer God's power… an experiment….]
"I know that much. So? What happened?"
Director Petrov answered in a voice trembling like a candle flame about to be extinguished.
[Many test subjects… died… souls exploded….]
To summarize his halting answers, it ultimately meant this:
[Project 'Unwithering Spring']
Prime Minister Orlov wanted to become as strong as the apostles of the Outer Gods. So he secretly built a base, unbeknownst to the apostles, and forced various experiments. And amidst the suffering of numerous sacrificial lambs, Orlov finally managed to obtain quite satisfactory results. Using his barrier ability, he had made it possible for the soul's vessel to forcibly contain power exceeding its limits. And the results of that were the researchers here. But these were just practice. As if doodling in a practice notebook, after experimenting with numerous magic circles, Orlov finally succeeded in engraving the safest and most perfect barriers onto his own body. The result was excellent. To the extent that, at this very moment in Moscow, he could dare to fight against Thomas Andre, who had become the King of Giants. Because Orlov could now accept infinite divine power into his body. But. The problem began after that.
[But… that wasn't all….]
Petrov, as if squeezing out his last strength, began to speak the truth that Orlov still didn't know.
[The patterns drawn on the walls… we didn't draw those….]
[They appeared… on their own….]
[Something… controlled us… using our bodies….]
At those words, Suho and Beru simultaneously realized. The unidentified characters drawn on all the ceilings and walls they had seen on their way here. All of them were ultimately part of the magic circle that had entirely contaminated this secret base. And the one who forced the humans here to draw them was…
"Itarim, is it?"
[It seems Orlov was played by the Outer God.]
Beru recalled his memories with a displeased expression. The beings called Outer Gods the Itarim that he had seen in outer space. They each had different personalities, but fundamentally, they suffered from the same disease. Precisely… a terrible 'nihility.'
[The Itarim are beings who have lived for long ages, so everything seemed boring to them. That's why they tended to rush headlong into anything that even slightly piqued their interest. So, as the war continued, their methods became increasingly erratic.]
"Are you saying they're all dopamine addicts?"
[A most fitting expression. That's why they didn't even trust each other, and often backstabbed one another during wartime. Three-way, four-way battles were commonplace. So perhaps….]
"So…" Suho summarized the situation. "Orlov's goal was to become stronger by obtaining the Outer God's power, but in reality, he ended up serving as a bridge for Itarim to cross directly into this dimension."
[Precisely. The name 'Unwithering Spring' was likely a trap as well. To Orlov, it would seem like an infinite source of divine power, but in reality….]
"A dimensional hole for Itarim to cross through."
Their perspectives were completely opposite from the start. Ultimately, the 'Unwithering Spring' must have been Itarim's perspective of looking into this universe. And the problem was that this plan was now almost complete. Beru, sensing the gravity of the situation, spoke.
[This is dire! If a being like Itarim crosses over directly, this entire planet Earth could crumble!]
"We have to stop it."
Suho flung open the double doors at the end of the central control room. Then…!
The scenery unfolding beyond was beyond imagination. A giant circular hall. At its center was a dimensional gate, endlessly expanding. And an immense energy swirled and overlapped within it! And beyond that gate…
There was a giant 'eye.'
…Exactly like the illusion Norma Selner had shown him. That eye was observing this side through the small hole of the gate. Not just looking, but seemingly analyzing everything in this world. And before it, numerous Mist Burns were kneeling, prostrating themselves towards the gate.
"—Great Itarim—Bless us—"
"—Descend soon—A new world—"
Their hymns echoed throughout the hall. Their prayers. Their desires. The will and madness of all those fanatics were praising the giant eye.
And then.
Fwoosh!
Suddenly, the giant eye moved. 'He' had spotted Suho.
At that moment.
[Oh.]
A voice directly penetrated Suho's mind. It wasn't language, but a powerful expression of will, engraving the concept itself onto his spirit.
[Interesting.]
A short phrase. But the overwhelming presence contained within it made the air in the entire hall freeze solid. At that moment, Suho felt as if he were a cell under a microscope. The being called Itarim, who had lived in extreme nihility for eons, had shown interest in the existence known as Sung Suho.
And that 'interest' soon became magic…
Crrraaaackle!
…!
An immense will descended upon Suho, crossing the walls of a far, distant outer universe. With an overwhelming momentum that could absolutely not be escaped. It was akin to 'possession.' The Outer God beyond, having found a far more delectable vessel than Orlov, was trying to devour him.
At that moment.
Fwaaaaaaah—
As if waiting, Beru spread his wings, swelling his body to its maximum size, and blocked Suho's path.
[I shall block it.]
Suho's protector, Beru, finally unleashed all his power.