At the same moment I acquired the new ability, I regained consciousness.
Perhaps regained wasn’t the right word.
It wasn’t as if I had fainted.
I remembered every action I had committed as a Young God with vivid clarity.
I looked at the creatures.
The creatures that had melted into a pathetic mess of fragments, their eyeballs dissolved.
As I took in the traces left at my feet, my body trembled.
Dark thoughts surged in like a tide.
I gagged, but nothing came up.
Trembling violently, I hugged the golden sphere to my chest.
Then, I forcibly stopped my train of thought.
Right now, even thinking such things was a luxury.
I focused on only one thing.
’I have to do this.’
I had created a new ability, but the creatures were not my subordinates.
I had merely bound them with the clumsy shackle of"temporary possessions," but there was a possibility.
Since I had used Punishment on ■■■, who was not a subordinate, Resurrection should also be possible.
However, that was only theoretically possible; nothing was certain.
Feeling my heart pounding wildly, I activated the ability.
’Resurrection.’
I first tried to revive Orca, who had died first, but the first attempt failed.
[This ability cannot be used.]
I squeezed my eyes shut. It was because the trembling of my body had worsened.
Steadying my erratic breathing, I tried a second time, a third, and continued to try.
[This ability cannot be used.]
[This ability cannot be used.]
[This ability cannot be used.]
[This ability cannot be...]
Cold sweat drenched my entire body.
Sweat dripped continuously from the tip of my chin. My cheeks were damp.
"Please..."
I used Resurrection endlessly, but I did not succeed.
I looked at Orca, who was gradually disappearing. Only a tiny fragment remained.
My vision kept blurring, so I blinked repeatedly.
I had to find another way.
I... broke myself.
I heard a hallucination, as if something in the deepest part of me was shattering.
The heat I had locked away in my heart flowed searingly through my veins.
However, it wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t control it.
As a Young God, I spoke.
’Recurrection’
A faint light formed.
The light, appearing like a budding sprout, gradually became as clear as a star.
Just as it sparkled with brilliant gold.
"...!"
In an instant, a flash occurred, and everything was enveloped in light.
It lasted only a few seconds, but it covered the entire world in gold before vanishing.
A system window appeared.
[Resurrection in progress.... 1%]
The moment I saw the neat rectangular window, the strength left my legs.
I couldn’t even collapse onto the floor. I gasped for air, sprawled over an eyeball.
"Haa, haa..."
I couldn’t move a single finger.
Rather than physical fatigue, it felt as if something deep inside had been damaged.
I thought it hurt a bit, but I intentionally ignored it.
Still, as I stopped thinking about it, the pain seemed to gradually subside.
Gritting my teeth, I reached out with a trembling hand.
I barely managed to grab the golden sphere I had dropped while falling and hugged it to my chest again.
The sphere, emitting a soft glow, remained as peaceful as ever.
I let out a sigh of relief.
Actually, I had thought about using Resurrection on Captain Kwak as well.
But since he wasn’t in a state of death, I stopped out of fear of what might happen.
After staring at the sphere for a while, I shifted my gaze.
The system window said Resurrection was in progress, but the percentage wouldn’t budge from 1%.
Even after staring for a long time, the number remained unchanged.
I knew instinctively.
This was ■■■’s domain.
For my power to work, I had to subdue ■■■ and seize the domain.
I forced myself up.
I felt like I couldn’t move an inch, but by forcing it, I managed to move somehow.
I looked around.
Beneath my feet, eyeballs rolling their pupils stretched endlessly, and above my head, Neo’s ocean surged.
Other than that, nothing else was visible.
As if every living and non-living thing had melted away.
’Lieutenant Colonel Je, Lieutenant Won.... Where is CEO Cha?’
I tried to send a message to Je Hyun-oh, but it felt meaningless.
I brought the system window, located in the corner of my vision, to the front.
Designed like a game UI, it briefly displayed the characters, health, skills, cooldowns, buffs, and debuffs.
Je Hyun-oh, Kwak Han-mook, CEO Cha, and Won Tae-bum appeared in the list as cute character icons.
I quickly checked their current status.
Kwak Han-mook’s slot was grayed out, seemingly indicating he was incapacitated.
As for the others, their health bars were more than half gone.
CEO Cha was especially precarious. His health had dropped below 30%.
It was because of the Light Modulation.
Light Modulation forces the opponent to reveal their weakness to deal fatal damage, but such destructive power came with a price.
It was a skill that created light by burning one’s own life force.
CEO Cha had found the truth among tens of thousands of false eyes, and the enraged ■■■ had flipped the world, leading to the current situation.
According to the system window, everyone was still alive.
Yet, they were nowhere to be seen.
Furthermore, Je Hyun-oh had wings.
It seemed likely that I would see him flying around searching for me, but no matter how much I searched the ocean above, the black crow was nowhere to be found.
I watched helplessly as the health displayed in the system window continued to drop.
Frustrated, I stumbled and ran across the eyeballs.
’Lieutenant Colonel Je.., ugh.’
I tried to call out, but my voice wouldn’t come out properly.
I called the others in a voice that was almost a whisper.
"Haa, CEO Cha... Where are you? Lieutenant Won..."
But only a desolate silence followed.
Suddenly, a sharp pain flared. My feet tangled, and I fell.
The fear I had tried not to think about rushed in as if it had been waiting.
What if I can’t find them?
Even if they died and I used Resurrection... I feel like they have to be in front of my eyes for it to work.
Before that, would I even be able to use Resurrection again?
The thought that it was an impossible state kept recurring.
No.
I shook my head violently. Then I stood up again.
Just as I was trying to drive out the negative thoughts and regain clear reason.
Suddenly, the new correctional officer training center flashed through my mind.
The hologram of Creature No. 13.
The moment the thought occurred, I looked into ■■■.
The fallen being was wrapped in a massive lie. This hid its essence, but the illusion was erased under the light.
I take in the weak points of this thing, now laid bare, and the method of suppression.
But it is still not enough. I want to know its true identity. I look a little deeper. And....
Why is there so little?
"..!"
I recoiled and closed my eyes.
Had I looked too deep? It felt as if my eyes were being scorched by a hot energy.
The thoughts I had up until now mixed chaotically in my head.
I barely calmed the thoughts that were surging like a rampage.
I nearly fell while staggering but managed to regain my balance. I felt a strong pain, perhaps from overusing my power.
However, a faint smile was playing on my lips.
At the new correctional officer training center, I had dealt with a being made of illusions.
I had learned how to subdue something that felt as if it were real, even providing a sense of impact, but was ultimately nothing more than a fake.
It was the same now.
That thing is not a physical entity. It is a being no different from a fantasy.
The moment I looked into it and perceived it perfectly.
The world collapsed.
The ocean in the sky and the eyeballs on the ground all melted away, and darkness descended.
It was a darkness where not an inch ahead was visible.
It was so thick and pitch-black that I wouldn’t be able to see my own hand if I held it right in front of my eyes.
The golden sphere I had been holding precious had disappeared somewhere.
I was startled, but I soon managed to calm down.
From the moment the world flipped, ■■■ had used illusions to blind me and the others, leaving me alone.
There was no need to think about why it left the creatures.
To a god, creatures were mere insignificant beings that couldn’t cause any variables.
It was the same now.
The darkness created by ■■■ was a lie.
Even if it were the truth, it didn’t matter.
No matter how deep a darkness I was trapped in, I could emit light on my own.
I called it.
"■■■"
The method to subdue ■■■ was perception.
I called its name to drag it out so it could no longer hide.
In the space that had been nothing but darkness, a neon green light appeared.
It gradually grew into a large pupil. It was an eye with horizontal pupils, about 3 meters in height.
The pupil, fixed on me, spoke to me incessantly.
The voice, delivered directly into my mind rather than through my eardrums, continued to try and penetrate my psyche.
At this desperate effort, I twisted my lips into a smile.
Despite subduing ■■■, I was still within its domain.
I had to make this place my own.
I approached the pupil and placed my hand on it.
Feeling a texture as hard as iron, I slowly traced the surface.
It looked smooth at a glance, but I felt a sunken sensation.
It had used illusions to cover the wounds sustained in the previous battle.
I shoved my hand into the crack.
The pupil let out a scream that felt like it would melt my brain.
With an expressionless face, I watched its agony and pushed my forearm in.
After inserting it deep enough, I recalled the moment I had expelled Neo from within me.
I retraced that memory exactly, but instead of within my own body, I spread the power into the eyeball.
The pupil began to crumple.
Centering around my penetrating hand, it collapsed pathetically, as if being squeezed by something massive.
The sight of flesh being crushed and lumped together haphazardly was best described as grotesque.
The pupil, which had been collapsing toward the center, suddenly stopped its contraction.
Then, a blinding golden explosion occurred.
The pupil let out one final scream and vanished without a trace in the golden explosion.
All that remained were fragments of sparkling light.
I perceive it.
This place is now my domain.
[You have won the battle against ■■■!]
The system window appeared, and the world changed once more.
It wasn’t the darkness, nor the world where the land and sky were flipped, nor the prison shrouded in gloomy sea fog.
My domain was a remote island with a very clear and sunny sky, dazzling sunlight, and a waving blue sea.
I stood on the beach and looked up at the sky.
The breeze was cool and the weather was great, perfect for swimming.
[Resurrection in progress... 100%]
[Resurrection complete!]
A golden curtain descended in the air.
I smiled slightly, liking the sight of it shimmering like an aurora.
It was time for those waiting to return.
At that moment, I even forgot the pain. I truly felt no pain at all.
However, the first thing that entered my vision as I anticipated the reunion was.
A gray metal mask.
The Security Chief, dressed in a black uniform, appeared enveloped in gold.
Following him, numerous black uniforms were generated one after another.
Watching the scene with bewildered eyes, I realized.
’Was it an AoE skill?!’
The Resurrection I used had applied to the entire space, reviving not only the creatures but also the Security Chief and the correctional officers.
Even the remnants were revived into their original correctional officer forms, and their numbers were endless.
No wonder it hurt like I was dying; there was a reason.
The peaceful little island was stained black with black uniforms.
While I stood there with my mouth agape, the Security Chief approached me with fast strides.
"Roasted Chestnut!"
His face was drenched in ecstasy.
"As expected, you chose us!"
He shouted, filled with emotion, and reached out toward me.
"Yes, I believed you would make the right choice Roasted Chestnut, if it’s you, you surely would have..!"
However, the Security Chief could not grab me. His forearm was tightly entwined by vine tendrils.
Then, a thick and powerful voice was heard.
"Us?"
A massive orca looked down at the Security Chief.
Behind him, the other creatures also appeared.
Looking perfectly healthy, without a single scratch.
Number 1, appearing angry, wriggled its vines and pulled the Security Chief’s forearm.
The Security Chief looked at the taut vine and then looked back at me.
A strong gaze reached me even through the metal mask.
It was a gaze waiting for me to say the words he desired.
But I showed no reaction.
I didn’t even feel the need to speak. He wasn’t worth the effort of a denial.
Orca spoke to me politely.
"Would you mind closing your eyes for a moment?"
I closed my eyes according to his wish.
Then, all sorts of sounds followed. While sounds of crushing, tearing, and swallowing continued, I waited patiently.
Because it was a bit tiring, I sat on the sand and waited from the middle.
After waiting for a while, Orca called me.
"Master Roasted Chestnut!"
I gently opened my eyes and looked up at him.
Orca, smeared with neon green liquid and black flesh, looked at me with brilliantly shining eyes.
The other creatures also approached me gently. Surrounded by the twelve creatures, I took them in one by one.
Lastly, I looked at Orca.
Two pebble-like pupils, and two sturdy legs.
The skin, made of black and white leather, was smooth without a single scar, and the fin on his back was straight without any bends.
The orca, overflowing with vitality, faced me.
A smile escaped me unconsciously.
"Mr. Orca."
I said to him with a wide smile.
"Please teach me how to swim."
However, Orca could not smile. He looked down at me with a stern face.
The other creatures were the same. None of them had good expressions.
In the dark atmosphere, everyone pressed their bodies close to me.
Orca slowly knelt down in front of me.
Even so, his gaze was still high, so I had to look up at him.
"Master Roasted Chestnut. Before swimming, you must receive treatment."
With a deep sigh, Orca took something out.
"This is bad.... First, take this. It contains our power. I do not know if it will be of great help, but..."
What Orca handed me was a small child’s bandage. It was a different shape from the chick bandage I had put on him.
The moment I read the item description, I burst out laughing.
[Orca Bandage: A child’s bandage with a cute orca drawn on it. When attached, one feels strong hope.]
I could feel that the moment of parting was approaching, but for now, I could laugh.
"Mr. Orca.."
And just as I was about to express my gratitude.
[Did you enjoy it?]
I couldn’t say a word to the broken system window that floated before me.
Following that, my vision was dyed blue like the universe.
[Someone is summoning the Young God!]
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