Ranker Who Lives Twice

I didn't expect a descendant of a traitor to come here directly.

You seem to know the relationship between Day and Night.

It couldn't have been an easy decision for you to come here.

Is it because of maternal love?

The letters whirled around in a frenzy, but Rhea's gaze was fixed on the soul being held in Sage's hand. It was her son's soul, Cha Jeong-woo's. With such a soft heart and strong sense of responsibility…her son had dove head-first into a dangerous place to try and find a cure for her sickness.

Having lived as a supreme god for a long time, Rhea was able to read the vestige of thoughts that remained on her son's soul. All the incidents and accidents Jeong-woo encountered were contained within.

Jeong-woo met colleagues, gained success, climbed the Tower's floors, fell in love, and became a hero and an idol, but in the end, Jeong-woo could not overcome a steep barrier and fell. He was abandoned by his friends, his lover left, and he was left all alone… Even though Jeong-woo finally obtained the elixir that would heal his mother's sickness, he no longer had the strength and was in no condition to return to Earth. In the end, Jeong-woo had left his diary…

Once she observed all these moments unfold, Rhea let out a silent scream. The experiences of her youngest son were vividly conveyed to her, one at a time. When he was sick, she felt his anguish. When he was hurt, she felt his pain. And when he cried, she felt his sadness. And when she finally saw Jeong-woo's death, she was left speechless… However, what pained Rhea the most was that things did not 'end' with his death.

'The darkness' choice of executor…isn't Jeong-woo!' Rhea's thin fingers trembled at the unexpected realization. She wondered what was going to happen now. 'If Jeong-woo isn't chosen by the darkness, then who…? Perhaps…Yeon-woo?

Rhea felt as if she was being suffocated, because Yeon-woo was alone on Earth at this moment… Not wanting to cause any concern for Yeon-woo, Rhea had left Earth without leaving her son any word.

Thud! A loud sound came from behind Rhea. It was the closing of a door. Rhea turned her head towards the sound. The 'gate' she entered through was tightly shut as if it would never move again.

And beyond the gate, Rhea could feel the presence of a gatekeeper, who she was unable to detect previously. It was at that moment when Rhea realized that the gatekeeper probably deliberately left his post to allow her to enter. 'All of this was a trap!'

It was what the darkness wanted all along. Of course, the darkness would have wanted to welcome the executor, the being who inherited the blood of Pneuma and Quirinale, more than anything else.

No, this could be interpreted as paternal love as well.

As for 'me', it's a feeling that I don't really understand. In the past, I felt something similar, but now that time has passed, those feelings have been thoroughly diluted.

But thanks to those strong emotions, 'I' have been able to gather the materials of Pneuma, Quirinale, and space-time again in one place, so I guess I can say that I'm fortunate.

Rhea bit down on her lower lip.

To save their youngest son, Cha Jeong-woo, Kronos had walked into the Tower of his own accord, and now Rhea was trapped in the darkness. As a result, Pneuma and Quirinale, which the Heavenly Demon had taken away from the darkness, were regained. Moreover, Yeon-woo, who had been designated as the executor, was now isolated and all alone, so the darkness had made the ideal move.

Considering how Yeon-woo would seek revenge for his younger brother…and considering the twists and turns he would have to go through from now on… There was no one more suitable as an executor.

The executor was the one who ended the 'dream' and stopped the 'wheel'. There could be no greater driving force to implement these ends than a being with deep resentment towards the world.

Furthermore, Rhea's actions to counter the darkness played directly into the darkness' hands.

'Somehow… I need to somehow…!' Rhea bit down harder on her lower lip. Everything had become twisted. Since she had played right into the darkness' plans, she had to at least find a way to save Cha Jeong-woo. Though she was also concerned about Yeon-woo, she felt she had to save the child that was right in front of her first. "You've…gotten everything you wanted?"

That's right.

"That means that my child in your hands is now of no use to you."

What are you getting at? The Demonism, called Sage, did not fall prey to Rhea's play on words. Sage seemed to be scoffing at Rhea's low-level tactics.

Still, Rhea felt that Sage was smiling. Though she could not see any facial expression, as Sage did not possess a visible face, Sage seemed to be taking in everything with amusement. The fact that he was taking all this in as if it were a game made Rhea angry. 'To taunt others' lives at will…'

However, Rhea could not express her true thoughts. She simply said, "Then, release my child. He was only used as bait to lure my husband and me, right? His soul has already waned to the point of… Anyway, you don't have any use for soul any longer."

When she brought out the word 'wane', Rhea's voice was particularly shaky. She knew that her youngest son was in his present precarious condition because he had mustered his remaining energy to put his memories in the pocket watch and diary for Yeon-woo, who might come looking for Jeong-woo someday.

Well. After all, isn't he an offspring from your blood? If the candidate we've marked doesn't work out the way we expect, I think it's fine if we use this child as a substitute. As you can see, this child also holds quite a bit of anger and a motivational drive. What are your thoughts on that?

Rhea could not help but bite down on her lower lip once more. "Do you really have to go so far?!"

'I' want the end to come. I hope for this 'dream' to end. And after this dream is over, all of you will return to becoming memoryless fragments that will disperse once more. Since that's the case, what difference is there to me?

"Give him to me."

And if I say I don't want to?

"If not…"

If not?

"I will destroy what you want."

What are you going to do?

"Like this."

Whoosh! At that moment, Rhea's body shone with hazy white light distribution. It was only a tiny dot in a world full of darkness, but a light had been lit. Her divine power, which had barely been able to maintain her existence, was rapidly being consumed.

"As you can see, I have already lost my divinity and fallen from grace. And when I use up my remaining divine power…I'll be annihilated. You will lose Quirinale, which you just obtained after countless turns of the 'wheel'."

Are you threatening me?

"I want to negotiate. I will give you my entirety, so release my youngest son. Please. I implore you." Rhea lowered her head. If Sage asked her to kneel down, she was willing to do so. She was so desperate, and her desire to save Cha Jeong-woo was so firm…

And then… Ki. Rhea thought she heard laughter.

I might be able to block your annihilation attempt.

"I would be annihilated before you can do anything."

Hmm. That would present a lot of difficulties. Surely, as you said, I no longer have any use for this child. What shall I do…?

For a moment, Rhea thought she saw a ray of hope. So, she raised her head. However, all she felt was Sage's smiling expression.

I'm sorry but…ραпdα `nᴏνɐ| сom

I can't.

This child is shaping up to become the opponent of this 'dream'.

"…!"

***

『What bullshit is he spewing? Yeon-woo!』 Rhea was not the only one who was shocked by Sage's words. Kronos, who had observed the scene unfold silently, gave an exasperated cry after hearing Sage's words.

Executor and opponent… The fight between the two continued every time the 'wheel' spun and the successive 'dreams' repeated. The executor was the representative of the Black King while the opponent was the representative of the Heavenly Demon. Thus, the two were incompatible with each other. Since the Black King and Heavenly Demon pursued different goals, they possessed opposing backgrounds that could not mesh.

The executor of this 'dream' was Yeon-woo. However, the opponent had yet to make an appearance, so Yeon-woo had wondered if the opponent had gone missing… But based on Sage's words, the opponent seemed to be Cha Jeong-woo!

Kronos, as the father of the two, had no choice but to scream as he hurriedly turned to Yeon-woo.『Wait… Did you know about this?』

pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ Unlike Kronos, Yeon-woo had a calm expression on his face. He was glaring at Sage, but there was no sign of surprise.

Kronos felt his boiling anger quickly subside.

'I guessed that it might be Jeong-woo.'

『What…?』

'Jeong-woo was chosen as the successor of Day when the Tower collapsed. The elder gods chose to wait until the last moment before designating Jeong-woo, and so did Metatron and Baal. If he was considered that highly, I thought it might be possible that he could be designated as the opponent.'

『…!』 Kronos' gaze wavered.『But…even so! How did this… Could this…』 Kronos was unable to verbalize his chaotic emotions. He felt his throat constrict and was unable to peep a word. He blamed himself for having to pass his damned wheel of fate onto his sons.

Amid Yeon-woo's quarrel with the egos of the Black King, they answered a question about his brother's whereabouts in the following manner:

I didn't see it.

We had it, but it disappeared.

The answer was that they had originally had Jeong-woo's soul, but it had disappeared. At first, Yeon-woo thought the whereabouts of Jeong-woo's soul had suddenly become unknown, but now that he thought about it, their words could be broadly interpreted and were extremely vague. From the start, they omitted quite a few details in their response.

Based on their words alone, they did not lie. However, their subversive actions made Yeon-woo even more determined to hasten back to the darkness and have a life-or-death match against Sage. The egos had also mentioned…

Maybe it flowed somewhere within the darkness' dream.

This meant that, soon…

While Yeon-woo was thinking such thoughts, Sage started rearranging the letters once more.

So, I can't return him.

If I release the opponent and the Heavenly Demon starts running rampant again, 'I' will be faced with a headache. Thus… The darkness that surrounded Sage shook violently. You should come and join your son.

Whoosh! A gigantic hand of darkness rose from Rhea's feet. At the same time, the Demonisms, who had retreated from her, rushed towards her.

"You made a mistake." However, Rhea burned her divine power with greater splendor without showing any concern. "There is nothing stronger than a mother's determination to save her son."

The hand of darkness that tried to hold onto Rhea suddenly bounced off an invisible barrier. The Demonisms were equally obstructed by the invisible barrier and unable to make any headway towards Rhea. The darkness tried to break through the barrier somehow, but the barrier did not give.

It was Quirinale's Space. In a certain, specified area, Rhea possessed the ability to exert the same power as a creator. Although the parameters of the space she set only spanned the length of her body and its immediate surroundings, as her divine power could only handle to that extent, Rhea did not fret.

Brilliant rays of light emanated out.

Rhea ran towards her youngest son, and the Demonisms rushed to catch her. Clashing and tangling, the space of darkness instantly turned into a mess.

Kikiki. How fun. Kikiki!

Mother, mother, mother! I had a mother, too!

Up to that point, Sage had looked at Rhea with a relatively calm, entertained gaze.

Then, all of a sudden, Rhea stopped running towards her son and suddenly changed directions. The Demonism, who were trailing right behind her, tried to follow her, but at that moment, the space in front of Rhea twisted. Then, it shattered. Rhea shot her hand through the shattered crack in space. Connecting space and space was another power of the Quirinale's.

Rhea's hand suddenly appeared in front of Sage. She tried to snatch Cha Jeong-woo's soul. But just as her fingertips were about to touch his soul, Sage took a step back. Rhea pushed her hand further into her crack, but at that moment, the light distribution that had enveloped her stopped emanating light. It was a sign that her divine powers had run out.

"No, no…!" Rhea's complexion turned pale. "Jeong-woo!"

The Demonisms, unwilling to let this opportunity slip past them, recklessly shot forward towards Rhea. The light distribution disappeared completely, and Rhea fell into the swamp of Demonisms.

Though it was very weak, another voice rang out. However, the voice was completely engulfed in the screams of numerous Demonisms and could not be clearly heard.

Don't waste your divine powers anymore. I'll give you a separate space so you can spend time with your son… Sage narrowed his eyes as he looked at Rhea's soul, which had been completely submerged in the Demonisms. The Demonisms were just about to seize Quirinale completely…

「Mo…ther?」A voice rang out from somewhere.

Huh? Greatly surprised, Sage hurriedly looked down at his right hand.

「Mother!」

Sage could see Cha Jeong-woo, who had regained his human form. To him, this made no sense at all. What he had in his hand was a decaying soul. It would not be strange if the soul disappeared at any moment. Since the spirit force had all but disappeared, the soul should not have been able to retain its ego. The soul should have no memory, but it somehow regained its identity?

「Move away! Get away from mother!」

However, taking advantage of Sage's surprise, Cha Jeong-woo's soul suddenly escaped from Sage's clenched hands and shot into the crack that Rhea had made.

「Why are you so obsessed with my mother! Go to your own mothers! Oh, you don't have mothers anymore, do you? Scram, you bastards without a mother!」

Suddenly, Jeong-woo made an appearance above the Demonisms and stretched his hand out towards Rhea. Rhea's fingertips, which had not yet been fully immersed amongst the Demonisms, touched the fingertips of her youngest son.

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