Chapter 174 – Outer God

―Snap out of it!

Mirinae’s call roused Lee Hanseong, who had been lost in thought.

Before he knew it, Lee Hanseong had arrived in the higher dimension, specifically at the true body of the Sun Constellation.

To be precise, he was in a state of Spirit Overlay with Pheidippides.

Judging by what he could sense through the Swarm-connected senses, his other comrades seemed to be in a similar situation.

But that wasn’t the important thing right now.

“Did you also know about what I just saw?”

―No, I too have just learned for the first time that such an existence has been scheming against the Heavenly Palace.

Mirinae also seemed shocked by the startling fact that there had been an existence who handed the Crossroads of Ascension to the Twelve Constellations and urged their betrayal.

It was likely that entity’s intention to create the function that forcibly dragged the Apostles into the higher dimension.

“As expected, it seems they’ve blocked the way back to reality.”

Having been forcibly dragged here, naturally, returning wouldn’t be easy either.

What they aimed to achieve through this was clear.

―That fellow seems intent on eliminating the influence of the Twelve Constellations from Earth and the Origin World.

Dragging not only the Apostles but also the primary Contractors directly linked to them into the higher dimension was likely to prevent Contractors from summoning Apostles in reality.

As Mirinae said, Earth and the Otherworld were now in a state where the Twelve Constellations could not intervene.

If it were merely being dragged into the higher dimension, indirect interventions like Blessings would have been possible.

“That’s right. I can feel Infinity, which is in the higher dimension near Earth, gradually moving farther away.”

All the true bodies of the Twelve Constellations positioned in the higher dimension were continuously increasing their dimensional distance from the two worlds, Earth and the Otherworld, due to the scales that had materialized the Crossroads of Ascension.

The only fortunate thing was that Mirinae’s Chaos Constellation and Lee Hanseong’s Infinity were still located near Earth.

It was especially fortunate that Infinity was together with the Chaos Constellation.

―If the Steward’s Infinity hadn’t been there, it would have been a disaster.

“Truly.”

No matter how powerful Mirinae was, if she became too distant from the true body of the Chaos Constellation, she wouldn’t have been able to maintain the Constellation Descent state.

Now, having attained Infinity through Infinity, no matter how far the dimensional distance became, there was no worry about the Constellation Descent connection being severed.

Lee Hanseong traced that connection in reverse, transferred his consciousness to Infinity, and observed the situation near Earth.

Flicker.

The senses perceiving the interior of the Sun Constellation’s true body instantly perceived the higher dimension near Earth.

“What the…!”

And Lee Hanseong saw it.

The sight of an existence beyond description reaching its hand toward Earth.

It was that being.

The hollow existence that induced the betrayal of the Twelve Constellations.

Simultaneously, because he saw the opponent through Infinity’s senses, he could perceive something.

“Hounds of Void… no, Void itself?”

The opponent was composed of Void, similar to Hollow Specters, Void Lords, and Void Gods.

That’s why he couldn’t see its face even when viewing the past scene.

―No wonder it couldn’t be observed in historical records.

This was precisely the reason Mirinae, who could see other Timelines like the past and future, hadn’t known the mastermind behind the Twelve Constellations’ betrayal until now.

Suddenly, a question arose.

“But how are we able to see the opponent now?”

―It’s probably thanks to Infinity.

Mirinae answered.

Normally, it would be impossible to perceive an existence like that, akin to the source of Void.

But because the limits of perception had been erased by Infinity, they could see the opponent in both the past scene and the present.

―Truly an existence outside the world, it would be correct to call it an Outer God.

“Outer God…”

If Hollow Specters are similar to mortals below 6-Star.

Void Lords are Demi-God level existences from 7-Star to 9-Star.

Void Gods are quasi-deity to Main God level existences from 10-Star to 12-Star.

Then the Outer God now revealed was clearly 13-Star or above.

An existence equal to or surpassing a complete Chaos Constellation.

“How can such an existence exist?”

―Did the Outer God alone Grasp the Axis of its own universe? No, the opposite. The Chaos Axis itself devoured the world and manifested as Void—that must be the essence of the Outer God.

Mirinae didn’t seem to know exactly either, but she seemed to have guessed the opponent’s essence to some extent.

The Chaos Axis is the origin of the universe, so an existence that Grasps it could become the master of the universe.

However, Grasping the Axis is usually impossible to do alone.

Even in the case of the Chaos Constellation, didn’t Mirinae, Möbius, and Maya have to form a Trinity?

―Actually, even the three of us couldn’t completely Grasp the Axis. That’s why we deliberately created the Twelve Constellations.

“Ah…!”

―But now it’s different. With Infinity added to the Chaos Constellation, we can completely Grasp the Axis even without the likes of the Twelve Constellations!

“By any chance, there’s no risk of us becoming like the Outer God, right?”

Worried for a moment by the hollow appearance of the Outer God, he asked.

If that being was created by the Axis devouring the world, then there’s no guarantee we wouldn’t become the same.

―That… don’t worry. The Outer God is likely a case where the Axis went berserk when an unqualified existence reached it.

Looking at the Outer God, the content Mirinae mentioned seemed to unfold before his eyes for a moment.

* * *

There was a Constellation that reached the Axis through the Crossroads of Ascension.

That Constellation sat on the throne erected at the center of the Axis to Grasp the Chaos Axis.

However, alone, it couldn’t bear the Infinity of the Axis.

: : I N S U F F I C I E N T : :

It was similar to Lee Hanseong’s state when he reached Infinity’s first stage.

A Constellation falling into a Void God due to the growing sense of emptiness caused by the Vessel of Infinity.

To fill his own Void, he began devouring other Constellations and stars.

: : G I V E M E M O R E S T A R L I G H T ! : :

But no matter how much Starlight he devoured, he couldn’t fill the Vessel of Infinity.

Ultimately, even after devouring the entire world, the Constellation, unable to shake off the Void, became Void itself and transformed into an Outer God.

The world devourer wandering multiple universes, coveting the Starlight of other worlds, was the current Outer God.

* * *

Having glimpsed the Outer God’s past, Lee Hanseong realized how the Hounds of Void came to be.

They were all inhabitants of worlds devoured by the Outer God.

Over an immeasurable, boundless time, the Outer God had created countless victims.

However, the worlds devoured by the Outer God didn’t just helplessly fall to it.

Since the Axes, the origins of each world, are all equal in rank, even the Outer God couldn’t easily invade other worlds.

This was also why the Void forces couldn’t invade the Otherworld and Earth during the period when the Chaos Constellation was intact.

‘So that’s why they schemed like this.’

Gifting the Crossroads of Ascension to the Twelve Constellations was to collapse the Chaos Constellation, which blocked the Void’s invasion.

Of course, the betrayed Mirinae fled to Earth and never relinquished the Authority of the Axis until the end.

But when Lee Hanseong met his death in the first round, she barely managed to activate Regression to block the Void forces, ultimately suffering a Divine Fall.

Ultimately, as the Outer God intended, the Axis was breached.

Lee Hanseong suddenly became curious about why Mirinae chose him over the world.

“Even knowing that if you lost the Authority of the Axis, the Void forces would invade, you still used Regression to save me?”

―Yes. I couldn’t abandon my Steward.

“Why?”

It was too great a loss to have saved him simply because he was her only Devotee.

Even if Mirinae didn’t know at the time that the Outer God was behind the Twelve Constellations’ betrayal, she must have known about the existence of the Void forces.

It seemed there was another reason.

“What did you see in me to risk the world? Did you know I would grow like this?”

―I knew. From the beginning. That my Steward would add Infinity to us.

“So you recognized my specialness from back then!”

―Correct. The Steward is a very special existence.

“Yes, because I’m one of only three 12-Star Vessels’ Great Vessels on Earth…”

―No, that’s just the result.

“Then, in what way…?”

―Great Vessels cannot be born naturally in the first place. You could call them a kind of Singularity.

Mirinae explained about the birth process of Great Vessels.

Luke Meyer was a Singularity brought forth by the Blessings of the Sun Constellation, along with the Golden Constellation and the Brilliance Constellation.

And Dokgowol was a Singularity brought forth by the Blessings of the Heavenly Slaughter Constellation, along with the Darkness Constellation and the Lunar Constellation.

“Ah! Then I was born as a Great Vessel through Mirinae’s Blessing…”

―No, I didn’t have the capacity for that. Giving birth to a Great Vessel is as burdensome as Regression.

“Huh? Who made me? Was it Möbius or Maya?”

―Neither of them.

Mirinae was saying he was a naturally occurring Great Vessel.

Contradicting what she herself had just said.

“Didn’t you just say Great Vessels cannot be born naturally…?”

―That’s why I chose you, Steward. I thought the source of the natural Great Vessel that shouldn’t exist might be the Key of the Seat we smuggled to Earth.

“Key… So that’s why my soul’s interior is connected to the Axis.”

―Yes, you are the Key. The Key of the Seat we smuggled to another world to prevent the Authority of the Axis from being stolen when we were betrayed by the Twelve Constellations.

At the time, it was the best option for Mirinae.

Without the Key, even they couldn’t draw upon the Axis’s power, but if the betrayers couldn’t ascend to the Axis, the master of the Axis would remain theirs.

“If I am that Key, then my birth was ultimately according to Mirinae’s intention, wasn’t it?”

―That’s a misunderstanding. Your birth was something even we couldn’t anticipate.

They smuggled the Key to another world, but somehow, the Key wasn’t at the place they had hidden it.

They thought the Twelve Constellations of the Heavenly Palace might have found it first, but seeing that the master of the Axis was still the Chaos Constellation, that wasn’t the case.

Just as questions were bubbling up, what they found was Lee Hanseong.

―When the Twelve Constellations crossed over to Earth and the Great Cataclysm occurred, I could immediately tell that the Key had reincarnated as a human to conceal its existence.

There was quite a time difference between the period of the Great Cataclysm and when Lee Hanseong was born, but considering the time needed for the Key to be reborn as a human, it was within the margin of error.

Having learned the secret of his birth, Lee Hanseong fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

Soon, he reached a conclusion and smiled.

“Ultimately, it means I am special.”

He decided to be grateful for the fact that he was fated to be with Mirinae from the beginning.

And because he also realized why Mirinae was revealing these facts now, he knew there was no time to pointlessly ponder what kind of existence he was.

The Outer God was already creating Rifts in the dimensional barrier of Earth and the Otherworld, where the Apostles had disappeared, and pouring Hounds of Void inside.

For now, the Rifts were small enough that only Hollow Specters could invade, but if the Outer God struck the dimensional barrier a few more times, even Void Lords and Void Gods could invade.

―The Outer God’s ultimate goal is undoubtedly the Axis of our world.

Therefore, what Lee Hanseong needed to do was largely two things.

The most urgent was to stop the Outer God from widening the Rifts.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

He solved that by remotely moving the true body of the Chaos Constellation, which contained Infinity.

The Outer God, embodying a universe filled with Void, and the Chaos Constellation, embodying a universe filled with Galaxies.

The two cosmic existences grasped each other’s hands and began a contest of strength.

‘Ughhhhhh!’

If it were the Chaos Constellation before attaining Infinity, it might have been overpowered by the Outer God.

But the moment Lee Hanseong realized his Identity as the Key of the Seat, he could draw infinite power from the Axis connected deep within his soul.

Thanks to channeling the Infinity of the Axis into the Chaos Constellation through Mirinae, who was linked via Constellation Descent, he could exert power that, for now, wasn’t inferior to the Outer God.

The problem was that the Outer God was also an existence containing the Infinity of the Axis.

Like this, they could only buy time.

Since Hollow Specters had already entered through the Rift in the dimensional barrier, even without the Outer God taking separate action, the Hollow Specters inside could directly enlarge the Rift.

Therefore, to solve the fundamental problem, they had to destroy the Crossroads of Ascension itself, which was widening the dimensional distance between the Constellations and the world.

“To break the Crossroads of Ascension… achieving its purpose is still the fastest way.”

However, he intended to approach the method differently.

He had no intention of sacrificing one side as an offering to ascend, as intended by the Outer God or the Twelve Constellations.

As far as he could confirm, the Crossroads of Ascension was designed to collapse once Ascension was achieved in any way.

Wooooong—

Lee Hanseong began his Ascension in the way he believed was right.

Starting with Blooming the Authorities of the three Spirits whose Authorities hadn’t yet Bloomed.