Leveling with the Gods

Side Story 79

...'Has he grown a bit?'

The small figure of Danpung sitting on the jade throne had grown a bit since the last time he saw him.

Although his power was much lesser than before.

Danpung, who used to be a foot tall, had grown a finger or so.

However, he was still a small child.

'He still fits in the palm of my hand.'

True.

Upon reflection, it seemed like the little one had grown a bit too.

Apart from his height, the power he possessed was incomparably less than before.

Swoosh.

YuWon leaned in and brought his gaze closer to Danpung.

His hand, reaching forward, paused for a moment.

Suddenly.

He remembered the moment he erased the child's Name and destroyed the throne he now sat on.

"I arrived late."

["Ung."]

Every word, every phrase, was filled with helplessness.

Suddenly, YuWon felt a sharp pain in his chest.

He was the one who had turned the little one into this entity.

"...I'm sorry."

["Gwaeana."]

Don't worry.

["Aba, jalm-eop-eo."]

This little imp was consoling him.

Danpung was connected to him.

The little one was Amorphous Chaos, one of the Names he had possessed.

Therefore, it was natural for him to know.

Why YuWon had destroyed the throne.

"Why are you here?"

["Comfortable."]

"You feel comfortable?"

["Ung."]

Azathoth was a being that existed outside the Tower.

Ironically, the air of this place, which made Tsukuyomi shudder, was the easiest for him to breathe.

Thud.

YuWon sat down in front of Danpung.

He adjusted his gaze to eye level and bared his heart.

"It was scary. Azathoth."

Though not for long, YuWon had become him without a doubt.

He possessed a hundredth of his power.

And a tenth, recreating the power he possessed by destroying the throne.

And.

Through his memories, he came to understand why the war of ten years ago had happened.

[[“I won't abandon this world like you did.”]]

Nyarlathotep.

The hungry, sickly child spoke.

Azathoth.

You said you had abandoned them. Neglected them.

But that was a lie.

YuWon, for a brief moment, found the other's, albeit incomplete, anger very insufficient.

[["Didn't you say you wouldn't abandon this world like me?"]]

Upon knowing the whole truth.

[["I, whom you treasured so much, have turned this world into this, Nyarlathotep."]]

Nyarlathotep raged, and YuWon felt fear.

This desolate world was the result of that.

And the war of ten years ago as well, the original blame lay on Azathoth.

"I'm afraid of becoming him again. I'm afraid of changing."

YuWon, who had closed his eyes and bowed his head, opened them again.

Before his eyes, Danpung looked at him with eyes that were now clearer.

"You will become an adult someday too."

[["Even such an insignificant being like the Phoenix can rise from the extinguished ashes."]]

The little one was Amorphous Chaos born after Azathoth's death.

No different from the Phoenix that once illuminated the sky and then reborn from an egg as a chick.

Maybe if he raised him, someday he could become Azathoth.

Whether he would become himself.

Or if he himself would become Azathoth, he didn't know.

Click.

YuWon decided to take the risk.

"I trust you."

He placed his hand on Danpung's head and infused his Divine Power.

[Divine Power is granted to 'Am■rph■us Soul'.]

['Am■rph■us Soul' begins to recover.]

-----------

The white color returned to Danpung's face.

The small, shattered throne began to gradually restore itself.

Divine Power was the strength of the Outers Gods, and the strength of all Outer Gods came from Azathoth.

YuWon gave Danpung the Divine Power he possessed.

Flap.

The restored throne wasn't very large.

With YuWon's current power, that was the most he could do.

Drip.

A drop of sweat fell to the ground.

His entire body was soaked in sweat, and his vision was blurred.

He had no more divine power to squeeze.

["Baah-!"]

Had he regained some strength? Danpung raised his arms enthusiastically as before.

And at that moment.

[You have obtained 'Am■rph■us Soul'.]

Along with the notification, the still not fully recovered Name appeared in a message.

Along with that.

"I trust you."

Click.

YuWon placed his hand on Danpung's head.

The little one quickly fell asleep, was he tired?

He sighed while holding Danpung with one hand, his face tired.

'Am I doing the right thing...?'

Azathoth's Name had disappeared. Although his true Name had vanished, not all traces of him had disappeared.

The little ruined throne where Danpung sat was proof.

Amorphous Chaos.

The 'Nothingness' from which Azathoth awakened in the beginning.

It was impossible to know if Azathoth would be reborn because of it.

'If that happens...'

Drip, drip.

Danpung sleeping peacefully.

YuWon murmured as he looked at him.

"This time, truly, I will disappear with you as well."

YuWon's body slowly leaned to the side.

Immediately after, the world darkened as if falling into a deep sleep.

-----------------

In the depths of the abyss.

YuWon turned around and saw Danpung sitting alone.

'It's big.'

The round back was undoubtedly Danpung's.

The difference was that he had grown much more than before.

The small one that fit in the palm of the hand had become a small child.

And seeing Danpung's size, YuWon knew what era it was.

It was before Azathoth's Name disappeared.

[[“I am Azathoth.”]]

Someone spoke.

It was the first time he heard the voice, but he knew whose it was.

YuWon opened his eyes wide and raised his head.

In front of Danpung.

Not Kim YuWon, but Azathoth, bearing the burden, continued to speak.

[[“I am the impious King who sits on the throne and prepares the Great Chaos from the Amorphous Chaos.”]]

At what moment was this.

He probably wouldn't forget it in 100 years or even 1,000.

[[“There is no Name greater than mine.”]]

'This is the moment I erased this guy's Name.'

At that moment.

YuWon used his power to win the battle and to eliminate Azathoth's Name, the source of all problems.

[[“All Names come from Azathoth.”]]

[[“So, it's natural for me to bear it.”]]

YuWon looked at Danpung, who was contemplating Azathoth's back.

At this moment.

What could that little one be thinking?

Swoosh.

Azathoth turned.

He spoke to Danpung, who was looking at him from behind.

[[“Help me.”]]

Tsk tsk.

Danpung's form blurred and gradually began to shrink.

Azathoth looked at him with regret.

[“…Ung (Yes).”]

Danpung nodded.

[“Azhat-.”]

The Name that hadn't been born long ago responded.

So for a long time.

Danpung was gradually losing his power and disappearing from this place.

Until before he arrived.

-------------------

'Oh, YuWon-.'

A small voice.

As soon as he heard the voice once, his mind woke up abruptly.

"YuWon!"

Pop.

YuWon opened his eyes as if surprised.

To the left and right of his illuminated sight, he saw long orange hair.

And right in front of him.

Pandora's pale face approached at a distance where their noses almost touched.

"Did you wake up?"

"...Yes."

Swoosh.

Pandora raised her head.

YuWon, lifting his sore body, examined her face.

She seemed very worried.

"How long did I sleep?"

"One day."

"...One day?"

That long?

YuWon made a surprised face, thinking that more time had passed than he thought.

Looking around, he saw that Susanoo had already disappeared, and only Tsukuyomi and Pandora remained.

'Did I sleep so deeply that my Arcane Power got cut off?'

Surprised, YuWon asked, thinking that he had slept for an entire day.

"And the food?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Don't tell me that."

"...I'm not a pig."

Pandora frowned at YuWon's direct words.

She was the one who ate a lot and often.

Thinking that she had been fasting all day worrying about him somehow hurt his heart.

"When we get back, let's eat something delicious."

"Yes."

Pandora nodded and smiled brightly, as if she liked that idea.

And between those two.

"Since you're so lovey-dovey, why don't you go somewhere else to do that?"

Tsukuyomi, who had a side stitch, spoke with a rough and hostile voice.

"Did you find it? Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yes."

YuWon replied so and looked at Danpung, who was lying next to him.

"...Yes, I found it."

"Is that little one Danpung?"

A little sleeping child.

Thinking of the name 'Danpung,' he thought it was a well-chosen name, as it was cute.

"He's cute."

However, doubts in his head had not disappeared yet.

'But did they come all the way here just to find this little one?'

A small child, smaller than the palm of the hand, looking like a fairy.

She didn't know why this little one was outside the Tower, but it was ridiculous that they moved such a long distance just to find this little one.

"So are we leaving now?"

She wanted to go back to the Tower as soon as possible.

At this moment, outside the Tower, every minute and every second suffocated her.

"No."

"Then what?"

Tsukuyomi asked with regret at YuWon's refusal.

YuWon, shaking his head, looked around the vast empty space they were in.

"There's one thing I have to figure out."

"What is it?"

"What were they doing here?"

Pandora looked curiously at the sleeping Danpung and lifted him over her head.

Perhaps because her hair was soft, Danpung turned around and fell even more deeply asleep, looking at the sky and showing his belly.

Swoosh.

YuWon's gaze turned to Azathoth's hanging body.

'I thought they had eaten it all, but did they leave the shell?'

The small body couldn't contain all of Azathoth.

What they had eaten were only the Names that Azathoth possessed.

Azathoth, the Father of Everything, had lost both his Name and True Name like that, and only his shell remained here.

'What's strange is why they bothered to keep the shell...'

Pop.

YuWon, who had entrusted Danpung to Pandora, jumped high.

Fwoosh.

He removed the nails holding Azathoth's body.

Next, he descended with Azathoth's body in his arms.

Tsukuyomi looked at YuWon's actions with a perplexed expression.

"Why are you interested in a corpse...?"

A lifeless body.

She couldn't understand why he showed interest in it when he had already found what he was looking for.

She didn't know that YuWon had the memories of Azathoth that he had lived here.

YuWon placed Azathoth's body on the ground.

A clean body that didn't seem to have died long ago.

If he hadn't known Azathoth's face, he would have passed without feeling anything.

'The Name of Danpung was here. From there, he called me.'

YuWon examined Azathoth's body.

'It can't be a simple decoy.'

A strange discomfort seized his entire body.

Danpung's Name had reached this place protected by Yog-Sothoth with countless Names.

It couldn't be a coincidence.

As expected.

"...That damn Sothoth."

As he examined Azathoth's body, YuWon soon realized what he was planning.

"What the hell was he trying to create?"

-KO-FI

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