Lord Of The Lost

Once a god truly falls, resurrection becomes meaningless.

Even though gods are nearly unkillable, their downfall is absolute.

> They can survive the moon crashing into the continent, a supernova explosion, even being thrown into a black hole—

Yet one fall is all it takes to end them forever.

Take the God of Dreams, for example.

This deity could foresee the future—but was ultimately destroyed by it.

Imagine this:

1. The God of Dreams is resurrected.

2. He looks into the future.

3. Instant death.

Resurrect. Glimpse the future. Die again.

> A never-ending loop of failure.

The only way to survive?

Never use his own power.

> And what's a god without their power?

Even before his fall, the God of Dreams had numerous ways to cheat death, yet still perished.

Because once a god is defeated by another god, they can never rise above them again.

Why?

> Their divine path is no longer theirs.

A god's path isn't just about power, it's a journey to godhood itself.

> To follow a god's path is to retrace their steps.

And as one walks further along, they slowly become that god.

Even if a divine path is unclaimed, those who take it will ultimately merge with the one who first pioneered it.

> No matter what, they will lose themselves.

This is the greatest danger of the Divine Path.

But in return, it offers greater strength and limitless potential, a temptation no ambitious being can ignore.

Yet, most gods fear this fusion.

The true purpose of the higher paths was never to follow blindly in the footsteps of past gods.

The goal was to surpass them.

> But that's easier said than done.

Even Black Swan admitted that some things cannot be fully explained.

> After the Primal Moon ascended, the witches lost their divine path.

The legendary witch who tried to forcefully ascend left no inheritance behind.

And after the Primal Moon fell, the witches were completely wiped out within five centuries.

Now, the knowledge of godly ranks was incomplete, and many ideas remained theoretical guesses.

Still, the information William obtained from Black Swan was invaluable.

Even fragmented, the witches' knowledge served as a solid foundation for understanding the true nature of divinity.

One shocking revelation stood out—

The Dragon Path wasn't incomplete because no dragon had ever ascended.

> It was the Dragon God itself that broke the path.

As the source of the dragon path, the Dragon God ensured no dragon could ever surpass Him.

> All dragons are bound by His will.

This isn't unique to dragons.

All gods conceal their original paths to prevent new gods from emerging.

> Divinity is a game where the first to ascend controls all who come after.

That's why the gods guard their thrones so fiercely.

William listened carefully for hours.

The forbidden knowledge Black Swan shared couldn't be spoken outside the maze.

> To even mention it elsewhere would attract the attention of the gods.

Yet within the Lost Labyrinth, the truth remained hidden from divine eyes.

The maze was like a shroud, allowing Black Swan to speak freely.

After hours of conversation, William's wounds had mostly healed.

Bathing in dragon's blood, he had truly become a dragon slayer.

His bones and organs grew tougher.

His skin became more resilient.

His entire physique subtly transformed.

Yet, outwardly, he still looked lean and unimposing, is figure smooth and slender, almost delicate.

His pale skin and lack of obvious muscles made him seem like a reclusive scholar rather than a warrior.

> He looked like a stay-at-home guy who avoided sunlight and rarely exercised.

But his eyes burned with a sharp intensity, carrying a presence full of vitality and confidence.

> A contradiction, soft in appearance, yet fierce in spirit.

As William absorbed everything he had learned, he continued to search the ruins.

There was still more to uncover in this place of lost history, where dragons once nested, and elves once ruled.

When the elves left, they took everything valuable with them.

What remained were only the immovable relics, like the statue of the God of Nature and the eternal pool at its feet.

Despite the fierce battle between William and the wyvern, which left the ruins shattered, one thing had not faded:

> The divine ring in the sky, glowing brilliantly, radiating in all directions.

Its light came from the statue of the God of Nature, an unshaken presence in the ruins.

The statue held a massive clay pitcher, tilted downward, pouring a continuous stream of crystal-clear water into the pool below.

Yet, no matter how much water flowed, the pool never overflowed.

> The water returned to the pitcher in another form, cycling endlessly, like a sacred, self-sustaining fountain.

William had seen this miraculous water before, in the Misty Forest.

> The legendary Water of Life.

He recalled Calcifer's request, to find the Spirit of the Spring. But if that wasn't possible, then obtaining a source of the Spring of Life would be the next best thing.

Just one drop of the Spring of Life could dilute an entire vat into a usable supply of Water of Life.

That didn't mean this water was worthless.

On the contrary:

> It could function as a natural healing potion.

It could enhance the quality of potions when used as an alchemy base.

And here, in front of him, was half a pool of this priceless liquid.

> "Perhaps this explains why the wyvern retained its intelligence," Black Swan murmured.

The Lost Maze was a place where even extraordinary creatures eventually lost their sanity.

The wyvern was no exception. Over time, it should have become a mindless beast, just like many others trapped here.

Yet, it remained highly intelligent, able to strategize, recognize threats, and react with precision.

> Why?

The answer lay within this sacred pool and the statue above it.

> - Bathing in the Water of Life.

- Absorbing the divine light of nature.

These two forces had preserved its mind, allowing it to retain its wisdom even after a century in the maze.

> Without this unnatural preservation, William and Sophia would have had a much easier time killing it.

Now, William couldn't help but feel a little disturbed.

The thought of a wyvern bathing in this pool for decades made him instantly lose any desire to drink from it.

So instead—

> He grabbed Sophia and tossed her in.

Stepping outside, William looked up at the sky.

Dark cumulonimbus clouds hung low over the coastline, heavy and unmoving—lingering for days.

> A storm was coming.

Yet, his wolf instincts sensed nothing unnatural.

It was just weather, rare for a coastal city, but not impossible.

> "Rain, huh? Not a bad thing..." he muttered.

As he walked through the cold steel jungle of the city, his [Secrecy] trait activated.

Like a phantom, he blended into the world—

> No one noticed him.

Traffic lights? Irrelevant.

Rules of society? Easily bypassed.

A ghost among the living.

> Reality felt... distant.

William watched the crowds flow past him, an endless river of people.

> Yet, he felt like he was walking upstream.

A sigh escaped his lips.

> "I wonder... do other players feel this way?"

The more time he spent in the magical world, the more alien the real world became.

At some point, he realized, he barely felt connected to reality anymore.

> There, he fought with everything he had.

There, he felt truly alive.

There, he had a purpose.

But here?

> Everything felt dull.

Nothing truly mattered.

No passion, no ambition, just passing time.

Had he left all his energy and drive in that other world?

Or maybe... the real world never had a place for him to begin with?

As a superhuman, his maximum login time had extended from 8 hours to 12 hours.

If he advanced to Sequence 8, that number would increase again.

The pattern was clear—

> The stronger you became, the longer you could stay.

William slowly pieced it together.

> One day... would he be able to stay there forever?

It was a real possibility.

But there was one condition—

> His real body had to survive.

No matter how strong he became in that world, if his real body was destroyed, he would be kicked out permanently.

For now, he still had one foot in each world.

> But for how much longer?

William often wondered, what if his real body could cross over?

At Sequence 7, transcendents could already kill their enemies through soul attacks.

But that wasn't enough.

If he kept climbing, reached higher realms, perhaps one day, his true body could enter that world.

> For now, though, reality still held him down.

William's thoughts drifted back to the present.

That's when he noticed it; a faint, buzzing noise, like a fly circling his ears.

Annoying.

Yet, familiar.

He walked until he reached a busy intersection and then it hit him.

> A strong premonition.

His instincts, sharpened by the Demon Wolf Path, flared up.

> Something was here. Watching. Moving.

His eyes traced the void, searching.

It felt like a massive presence was passing by on the road.

And then—

It stopped.

A voice; low, distant, almost like a whisper from another world, called out to him.

William tilted his head, narrowing his eyes.

> Ghosts in the real world? Interesting.

He had experimented before.

Ghosts could only harm those who acknowledged them.

It was a two-dimensional phenomenon, like Schrödinger's Cat, but for spirits.

If you see them, they see you.

> Observation is the bridge between worlds.

Normal ghosts were weak. The one he had encountered before was a bit stronger.

> But this?

His instincts screamed at him. This was hundreds of times stronger than the usual wandering spirits.

A big one.

> "Should I take a look?"

His hand moved toward his [Glorious Lantern], an artifact designed to reveal and confront the supernatural.

But the moment he tried to grip it—

> Pain.

His bones still ached from the wyvern battle.

Using the lantern would mean engaging, and that would delay his recovery before re-entering the game.

He hesitated.

Then, decided against it.

> "Not now. Healing comes first."

Just as he was turning away, he felt another gaze on him.

Not from the ghost.

From the real world.

His eyes flicked across the street—

And landed on a girl in a light yellow sweater.

> Gu You?

His slow-beating heart sped up for the first time since he logged out.

For a moment, his perception of reality sharpened, as if everything had become more vivid and real.

But then—

She looked away.

Her gaze shifted to the traffic light, as if she had never seen him at all.

William followed her line of sight.

> Red light.

And just like that, understanding hit him.

She had seen him crossing against the light.

She hadn't spoken. Hadn't judged.

But William could feel it.

> He'd been caught.

> "...Tch."

Did he owe anyone an explanation?

Did he care what people thought?

Hell no.

William shoved his hands into his pockets and walked off, his expression unreadable.

> Let them think what they want.