Chapter 72

Chapter 72

The myth of Daedalus and Icarus.

Icarus, consumed by greed and arrogance, ignored his father's warning and flew too high into the sky.

In the end, the blazing heat of the sun melted the wax holding his wings together, and he plunged into the sea.

The waters where he fell later came to be known as the Sea of Icarus.

Suhyeok slowly raised his gaze.

And the man before him was none other than that very Icarus.

"What's wrong?"

Icarus chuckled casually.

"It's not as though you've never seen a Constellation before."

"Ah. I suppose seeing one imprisoned in a place like this might seem strange."

Despite his easygoing tone, Suhyeok remained calm.

"Why is a Constellation like you imprisoned here?"

"The price of my arrogance and greed, I suppose."

Icarus's voice lowered.

"When I drew close to the sun, I began to believe I had become a sun myself."

His face was hidden in darkness, making his expression impossible to see.

Yet somehow, he sounded bitter.

"...Thinking I could defeat them in the first place was where I went wrong."

Them?

The vague statement revealed only one thing.

Icarus had once fought against someone.

And as a consequence, he had ended up imprisoned here.

"What happened to the two who came here with me?"

"You don't need to worry about them."

Icarus replied calmly.

"Those who aren't permitted to enter this place simply cannot remain here."

"The two of them have probably already returned to where they belong."

"Where they belong...?"

"Exactly what it sounds like."

"The child who's a Lower Administrator would've returned outside, where the living reside."

"And the dead human would've been sent back to his original sector."

Icarus looked down at him.

"So there are only two of us here now."

"Understand?"

Suhyeok had vaguely suspected it during his conversation with the Maze Architect.

The Constellation wanted him to free his son, Icarus.

What Suhyeok hadn't expected...

Was that the method of liberation would be Icarus's death.

I don't see an exit.

There must be some separate condition for leaving.

"Hahaha."

Icarus laughed.

"You don't need to search that hard for a way out."

"Depending on your answer later, there will be plenty of ways for you to leave."

He shifted faintly in his chains.

"It's been a long time since I've seen a human, so there are many things I'd like to ask."

"But it seems you don't have much time."

[‘Owner of the Fallen Wax Wings’ stares intently at you.]

"What is that strange Rank I've been sensing from you?"

"A Rank that no ordinary Player should possess."

His tone sharpened.

"Just what are you?"

Icarus studied Suhyeok closely.

Then, as though realizing something, the corners of his mouth curled upward.

"Hmm."

"I see."

"So that's what it is."

His smile deepened.

"You're His Apostle."

He paused.

"The Apostle of the ‘Primordial God.’"

Suhyeok's head jerked slightly.

He hadn't misheard.

Icarus knew about the Primordial God.

More than that...

He had recognized Suhyeok as His Apostle.

At last, the scattered pieces began fitting together.

If he was imprisoned here because he fought alongside the Primordial God....

Suhyeok looked back up at him.

"I want to ask you something."

"I was told that if I wanted Him to regain His power, I needed to recover the power He lost."

"Do you know anything about that?"

"Of course I do."

Icarus answered without hesitation.

"I once followed Him."

"I could tell you where one of those powers is right now."

Then his voice turned cold.

"But..."

"You will lose too."

Suhyeok said nothing.

"The arrogance of believing you can defeat them simply because you're His Apostle..."

Icarus's chains creaked.

"...will only create even greater sacrifices."

"Do you truly think you can endure the pain of losing everything?"

He spoke as though his own existence was proof of what awaited Suhyeok.

"If you don't even have that resolve, then even now-"

"I've already been through it once."

Icarus froze.

"I lost everyone."

"I regretted it."

"I broke."

Suhyeok's expression remained still.

"That's why I came back."

"To set everything right."

His eyes hardened.

"And to destroy this damn Tower."

Icarus quietly muttered,

"...One who defied causality."

"So that's why He chose you."

[‘Owner of the Fallen Wax Wings’ offers you an item.]

A single feather glowing with gentle light descended into Suhyeok's hand.

"This is...."

[Mythic - Icarus's Feather]

• A feather once belonging to Icarus, former confidant of the Primordial God.

• When used, reveals the location of the hidden second power. (Break the feather to activate.)

"It will tell you where His power lies."

"What comes after that is something you'll have to accomplish yourself."

"This is enough."

Suhyeok closed his fingers around the feather.

"Thank you."

"Hahahaha!"

Icarus laughed loudly.

"A human thanking me."

"That's a first."

"It feels strange, but I'll accept it."

A person-sized door appeared on the wall directly ahead.

Beyond it was probably Hades.

"The path is open."

"Go."

"He'll be waiting for you."

"Sorry."

Suhyeok remained where he was.

"But I made a promise to someone else first."

"What are you-"

[‘Maze Architect’ spends a considerable amount of Intervention Power to temporarily manifest through Player Lee Suhyeok.]

Icarus fell silent.

Blue light filled Suhyeok's eyes.

Then a gentle yet somehow bitter smile appeared on his face.

[It has been a long time, my son.]

Icarus stopped moving.

He slowly swallowed before answering.

"...It has indeed been a long time, Father."

His voice was quieter than before.

"Though I never imagined I'd meet you again through some Player."

A brief silence followed.

Icarus stared into the darkness.

Then he lowered his gaze again.

"A great war will soon begin."

"One far greater than the last."

[...I know.]

[The Constellations have already begun preparing.]

[And naturally, this man will stand at the center of it.]

Icarus looked at Suhyeok.

"Guide him well."

"He may be the only key capable of bringing this war to an end."

His voice softened.

"This will likely be my final request."

[...Very well.]

[I will.]

[Using Trait ‘Hellfire (S)’.]

Fwoooosh.

Flames erupted.

White feathers burned and scattered through the air.

As Suhyeok's consciousness slowly returned, messages appeared before him.

[You are the first to achieve the Achievement ‘Constellation Slayer’.]

[Due to certain unrecognized factors, the reward calculation has been adjusted.]

[You have obtained 2,000,000 Coins.]

[Title ‘Defier of Heaven’ obtained.]

[Your Rank has increased.]

It was a strange sensation.

Before, Rank had been something he could barely perceive.

Now...

He could feel it far more clearly.

[‘Maze Architect’ expresses his gratitude and grants you a Trait.]

[Trait ‘Formation Disruption (S)’ obtained.]

Creeeak.

The door opened.

Beyond it lay what appeared to be Hades's office.

A middle-aged man in an elegant black suit sat inside.

Glasses rested on his face.

His red eyes pierced straight through Suhyeok.

"So we finally meet face-to-face."

"Player Lee Suhyeok."

The instant their eyes met, Suhyeok's hand began trembling uncontrollably.

Now he understood.

This was a Rank so overwhelming that it couldn't even be compared to Thanatos.

...At my current level, I can barely stand before him.

Eventually, the trembling stopped.

Hades rose from his seat and moved to a sofa.

"Sit."

"You came here because you have something to discuss with me, didn't you?"

He looked Suhyeok over.

"Though sitting down in that attire might be inconvenient."

In an instant, Suhyeok's clothes and equipment returned to normal.

He checked Seong-a at his waist.

Then he took the seat across from Hades.

Hades crossed one leg over the other.

"I already know what you want."

"You want me to remove the curse-like disease spreading outside."

"That was the condition of our wager, after all."

He lifted his teacup and took a sip.

Then looked back at Suhyeok.

"But before that, there has always been something I've wanted to ask you."

"Every being in this Tower exists within the Register of the Dead."

"Not even a Constellation can avoid being recorded there."

His cup touched the table.

Tap.

"And yet..."

His red eyes sharpened.

"Why do you not exist in the Register at all?"

He stared at Suhyeok as though looking at something fundamentally unnatural.

"Almost as if this world itself refuses to acknowledge you."

"..."

The Constellations he'd met before had reacted similarly.

So had the World Tree.

To beings like them, Suhyeok's regressed existence was something foreign.

That was probably why his name didn't appear in the Register either.

"That leaves two possibilities."

Hades continued.

"Either you've defied the causality of the Tower..."

His eyes turned cold enough to freeze the air.

"...or you're simply an error created by the Tower itself."

This wasn't a probe.

There was conviction in his gaze.

Which meant Suhyeok's answer wouldn't be an explanation.

"I don't think my answer matters right now."

Hades stared at him in surprise for a moment.

Then he laughed softly.

"Interesting."

"It's been two thousand years since anyone dared speak to me that way."

He leaned back.

"Whether you're written in the Register or not doesn't really matter."

"What matters is where you choose to stand now."

A contract floated through the air.

It landed gently on the table with a quill beside it.

"I'll withdraw the plague spreading throughout the Tower."

"And Taeo will pay for the wager with his life."

Hades's eyes narrowed.

"In exchange, become my subordinate."

Suhyeok's expression hardened.

"That-"

"This isn't an invitation."

Hades cut him off.

"It's an order."

Shhhhh.

A subordinate?

Could a Player even become one of a Constellation's subordinates?

But that wasn't the important part.

The offer was nothing more than a collar.

And Hades had no reason to care what the other Constellations thought.

If he claimed Suhyeok for himself, the contest was over.

So that's why he was so confident.

He knew I wouldn't be able to choose either option.

"No matter what choice you make, the Underworld loses nothing."

"If things continue as they are, countless sinners will fill this place."

"And the karma for those deaths will belong to the one responsible."

Suhyeok picked up the quill.

It was a forced choice.

Two paths.

He had to choose one.

Then he stopped.

Wait.

Something was wrong.

To create a disaster on this scale, Hades must've spent an enormous amount of Intervention Power.

Even for him...

Could he really do something like this completely on his own?

"Answer."

Hades's voice grew heavier.

"Will you become mine..."

"Or will you drive everyone toward the cliff called death?"

He kept demanding an answer.

If Suhyeok's suspicion was correct, then Hades was taking enough losses from this situation to make even him impatient.

Then Suhyeok remembered something Kim Jeonghyeon had told him.

Lee Suhyeok, if you meet the King of the Underworld, ask him this.

If you do, at least he won't be able to scam you.

Suhyeok put the quill down.

Then he met Hades's gaze.

"Can you swear everything you just said on the River Styx?"

"...!"

There was no need to think any longer.

Choosing neither option.

That was the correct answer.

"You've gone this far, yet you still haven't killed me."

Suhyeok leaned back.

"Doesn't that mean there's some reason you can't?"

His eyes narrowed.

"For example..."

"Killing me might violate another oath you've already made."

Hades fell silent.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then...

"...You truly are unbearably cunning."

A faint smile formed.

"Is this what it means to be chosen by causality?"

He glanced to the side.

"Wouldn't you agree, my wife?"

Step. Step.

A woman approached and gently placed her hand on Hades's shoulder.

"Yes."

She smiled faintly.

"I never expected a Player to know about that oath."

"Much less invoke it here in the Underworld, directly before you, my husband."

The way she addressed him revealed her identity immediately.

Persephone.

"Very well."

Hades looked back at Suhyeok.

"But you are still an intruder in this realm."

"I can't simply allow you to leave."

His eyes gleamed.

"Pass my trial."

"Then I'll send you back and remove the curse as promised."

He lowered his voice.

"Assuming you can escape from that place intact."

The world flashed.

Suhyeok suddenly found himself inside a dark cave.

Far ahead, a faint light marked what appeared to be an exit.

[You have entered a Hidden Dungeon.]

[Clear Condition: Reach the exit without ‘ever’ looking behind you.]

[Until you reach the destination, the use of items granting resistance or immunity effects is restricted.]

"Hey!"

Suhyeok stopped.

A familiar voice came from behind him.

No.

Not merely familiar.

A voice he missed.

"Have you been well, Lee Suhyeok?"

A soft laugh followed.

"What, we haven't seen each other in so long and you won't even turn around to look at me?"

It was Mihyeon.