Chapter 193

[I have been waiting for you, Holy Follower of the foreign land.]

The voice echoing from the throne was both grand and eerie. It was a resonance that seemed to envelop the entire space, yet its point of origin could not be pinpointed.

As if the being seated upon the throne dominated the space itself, his will seemed to seep directly into Taewoon’s mind through the atmosphere.

‘Tsk.’

Though it was a mystical energy, the Cult Leader’s voice did not fully reach Taewoon’s attention. This was because his entire consciousness was currently focused on the woman dressed in a black uniform.

Seoyoon.

She stood silently, positioned symmetrically to a massive knight who looked like a suit of living armor to the left of the Cult Leader’s throne.

The sword at her waist was familiar, but the energy emanating from her was utterly foreign.

Within the cool eyes gazing at Taewoon, there was only vigilance and a sense of duty toward her opponent; the warmth of the past was nowhere to be found.

‘What on earth… happened to Seoyoon?’

Taewoon’s heart sank coldly. It was a fact that her state was clearly abnormal, but that didn’t mean there was a fatal problem visible on the surface.

She didn’t seem to be brainwashed or controlled; rather, she looked as if she were standing there of her own volition.

But that was exactly what bothered Taewoon more. The confusion and memories that flickered momentarily deep within her eyes felt like the lingering echoes of a soul that she herself was unaware of.

‘First… let’s calm down.’

He was before the Cult Leader. Revealing his emotions rashly now would only be detrimental to both Seoyoon and himself. Suppressing his boiling insides, Taewoon donned a mask of cold rationality.

Taewoon raised his head to face the form of the throne, showed proper respect, and spoke with an attitude devoid of even a hint of agitation.

“May I ask why you called for me?”

[Impatient. However, I have heard well that your time is precious.]

A subtle presence was felt, as if the Cult Leader were nodding.

[You have made immense contributions to The Society. The great Calamities of Tehesa, including The Nameless Head, perished by your hand. Those spoils will bring great progress to The Society’s long-held desires and tasks. I commend your hard work, Holy Follower.]

A favorable attitude. However, since a blade-like intent of probing would surely be hidden within it, Taewoon did not take it at face value.

There must be another real reason why the Cult Leader called him. This man was not the type to bring an outsider deep into his Holy Ground for mere casual conversation.

Taewoon answered with silence, calmly and coldly gauging the Cult Leader’s true intentions.

[I heard you joined hands with The Society to obtain the power you desire. So, have you now acquired power that satisfies you?]

“It is still insufficient.”

Taewoon’s answer was immediate and firm. At that answer, delivered without a moment’s hesitation, the atmosphere around the Cult Leader fluctuated slightly.

[Insufficient, you say… You have already obtained power that far exceeds human standards. To think you are a vessel that still feels thirst after using beings of that caliber as nutrients. Truly marvelous. May I ask exactly how much power you desire?]

Taewoon fell into thought for a moment. Saint Kyurihi. The feeling of helplessness he had felt before that overwhelming existence. A sky that could never be reached simply by overcoming the Calamities within the Theater.

Recalling his ultimate goal, Taewoon translated it into a language the Cult Leader before him could understand and spoke it aloud. By now, Taewoon’s voice contained an unwavering resolve and conviction.

“The power to pull down an absolute being who believes themselves to be the sky. The power to deny a predetermined result and carve out a new dawn. That is the level of power I want.”

Silence followed. Taewoon’s answer was not merely an expression of longing for strength. It was a challenge to fate and a kind of declaration aimed at the powers within the Theater.

After a moment, a vibration like a faint laugh flowed from the Cult Leader’s lips.

[Indeed. Not only the vessel, but the will contained within is also extraordinary. Very well. I have confirmed your resolve.]

Sensing that the mutual probing had ended, the Cult Leader got to the point and began to question Taewoon.

[I heard you cooperated briefly with the Dawn Assembly in the past. What is your current relationship with them?]

“I merely accompanied them out of necessity. The moment I judged there was nothing more to gain from them, we simply went our separate ways.”

Taewoon did not bother to hide his encounter and cooperation with them. After all, an organization like the Apocalypse Society would surely have grasped his movements to some extent.

[Have you met the Independent Solver of the Assembly?]

“I did cross paths with a man named Di Marte.”

The moment that name was mentioned, the knight in black armor standing next to Seoyoon reacted slightly. However, the Cult Leader continued calmly. And the news he delivered was completely beyond Taewoon’s expectations.

[Then you would be interested in this news. According to what The Society’s followers have ascertained, he died a few weeks ago and is no longer a being of this world.]

“…”

Taewoon’s eyes widened momentarily. Di Marte is dead? A man who possessed such outstanding and powerful strength?

The sensation of the note he had left in the past seemed to revive at Taewoon’s fingertips. In the end, he had perished without completing his great work.

What on earth was the truth of the Dawn Sun God’s resurrection plan, which only the Assembly Leader knew, and the task he had shouldered? Along with intense curiosity, a streak of cold vigilance bloomed in Taewoon’s heart.

[The power you showed when you defeated The Nameless Head. Aphrasia said that seeing it, it was similar to the Authority possessed by the ‘Avatar of the Apocalypse.’ What do you think about that power?]

“The name Avatar of the Apocalypse is unfamiliar. Naturally, it would have no relation to the Authority in the scriptures.”

Taewoon spoke the truth without hesitation. Aphrasia’s guess was different from the facts; the power he used was the Authority of the Dawn Sun God, borrowed through the ‘A Handful of Blessing’ Special Privilege.

“The source of the power I possess lies elsewhere. I cannot understand why you reached such a conclusion.”

Taewoon intentionally drew a cold line. He had no intention of readily handing over his greatest secret. However, upon hearing Taewoon’s firm denial, the Cult Leader reacted as if he found it even more interesting.

[Is that so… Your reaction is truly intriguing.]

The gaze of the being dwelling in the throne deepened. Soon, a single question he posed completely shattered all of Taewoon’s calculations and composure.

[Seeing your attitude, I can roughly picture the situation. Do you perhaps believe that power to be related to the ‘Dawn Sun God’ rather than the Avatar of the Apocalypse?]

“…What?”

A shock that felt as if his heart had stopped.

For the first time, composure broke from Taewoon’s face. Were the two powers not in a clear state of hostility? How could such a conclusion be reached?

Tens of thousands of thoughts flashed through Taewoon’s mind. Fragments of confusing information created a violent vortex, and Taewoon desperately tried to piece together a single truth within it.

“…”

Dawn Assembly. Apocalypse Society. Dawn Sun God. Avatar of the Apocalypse.

Names that were so different, yet there were certainly puzzling parts in the similarity of the concepts contained within them and the contents of the scriptures Aphrasia said she had read.

And finally, the scattered puzzle pieces completed a picture, and the answer began to derive in Taewoon’s mind like a flash of lightning.

‘Could it be… was it something like that…?’

The roots are the same.

If the beginning was the same to begin with, everything is explained. The Apocalypse Society was not a completely separate group. It was a power that had broken away from the Dawn Assembly at some point in the past to walk its own independent path.

‘It’s absurd… but it makes sense.’

If so, their doctrines must have also originally derived from the same root.

Could it be that a single being was interpreted and distorted differently according to the era and ideology, and thus the ‘Dawn Sun God’ came to be called by the name ‘Avatar of the Apocalypse’?

The Cult Leader, who read everything in Taewoon’s wavering gaze, openly declared that Taewoon’s conjecture was the truth.

[Yes, what you are thinking is correct.]

The Cult Leader’s voice echoed through the entire Holy Sanctuary, beginning to reveal one of the greatest secrets of this Theater.

[The Dawn Assembly, the Apocalypse Society, and the Ark. The three of us are branches that originally split from a single root. We are all nothing more than remnants of the once-great ‘Primordial Dawn Assembly.’]

A shocking truth.

If the Cult Leader’s words were all true, it meant that the identities of the Three Major Powers within the Theater were ultimately living witnesses to the internal division faced by a single group.

[I am a descendant who carries the blood of one of the founders who first defied the will of the dawn and sought a new path. I do not know how you mimicked the Authority of the Dawn Sun God, but I assume you were unaware of this fact?]

Following the declaration regarding the roots of the Three Major Powers, the Cult Leader went one step further and conveyed an even more unbelievable fact to Taewoon.

His gaze turned toward the void for a moment, as if looking toward a place far away.

[And… the current person in charge of the final power you might be interested in, the ‘Ark,’ is the former Dawn Assembly Leader.]

“Is that… really true?”

Then the former Assembly Leader turned his back on his own organization and moved to the Ark?

That could be said to be a story on a completely different dimension from a mere split caused by a difference in ideology.

It meant that even the leader who led the Dawn Assembly felt the limits of their path and sought a new way of salvation, abandoning everything.

‘…This is confusing. What on earth is happening?’

In fact, in this Theater, the group that held the most orthodox will and was most suitable to be the subject of the Theater was none other than the Dawn Assembly.

That was why Taewoon had also unconsciously harbored a heart that agreed with their will, but if all of this was true now, didn’t that mean the very premise was wrong?

[You look quite confused.]

“…”

Taewoon caught his breath.

In this world where the End of Dawn was approaching, three giant powers were facing the predetermined apocalypse in different ways.

The grand narrative of the Theater he had stepped into was finally beginning to reveal its true form.