Ranker Who Lives Twice

In the palace of Olympus.

"Hey, sister."

"What is it? Did Ares and Hercules cause trouble again?"

Hermes chuckled as he saw Athena lift her irritated face from her pile of documents. Irritation was definitely her trademark—that was why she got into fights with Hera and Poseidon at the drop of a hat. 'I don't know how she was composed in front of our younger uncles.' But Hermes knew he'd be beaten to death if he said it out loud, so he didn't mention it. 'Anyhow… Our youngest uncles. It'll feel awkward and familiar at the same time.'

Hermes immediately addressed the reason why he'd spoken up. "Something similar to that."

"Something similar?"

"The two of them just left for Earth."

"What? Why?" Athena's eyes turned sharp. To Olympus, Earth was a symbol of love and hate. It was whereKronos and Rhea were living, and it was the motherland of Deus Ex Machina, who ruled over the laws of the universe.

"It's not just those two. The Arthia guys are gathering there these days. Not too long ago, Agares and Fenrir crossed over too."

"…Are they going to fight a war or something?"

It was a natural thought process that came to mind when thinking of the former Arthia members, but Hermes simply shrugged. "Most likely not. There must be something they want to confirm."

Confirm. The word weighed heavily on Athena's heart. Actually, she had intended to cross over to Earth soon too. She sighed. "Grandfather will be quite angry."

It was said throughout Olympus that Kronos had become more lax after settling down on Earth, but the temper that once made the entire universe shake didn't go anywhere. Moreover, considering the situation his family was going through at the moment, it wasn't strange for something to happen with him.

"So we should go and try to appease him as best as we can." Athena eventually put the cap on the pen she was holding and quietly stood up.

* * *

'He…is definitely extremely angry.' That was the first thought that entered Athena's mind when she entered Earth. Normally, Kronos would've greeted Athena and Hermes warmly, glad to see his grandchildren, but he didn't have the mind to do so now. It was plain to see he was trying to hold in his anger based on the redness of his face.

Shhhk!

"Hey! The meat's burning! You can't even flip that properly?"

"What are you talking about?! This was always your job!"

"Can't you see I'm cutting the pieces right now?! I would be busy even if I had ten hands right now! Do your job properly!"

"This is good-quality meat from Mount Nemer. Where should I put it?"

"Here, here!"

Clamor clamor, bustle bustle. The front yard of the three-story house made for Kronos and Rhea's honeymoon life was bustling with people and far from quiet. Charcoal briquettes procured from who-knew-where were used to light a fire, meat was being cooked, and lettuce and perilla leaves grown in the backyard were being pulled out without any permission. The garden tended to with care instantly became a mess.

Of course, it wasn't a problem for visitors to come in and make a mess of their home. That could be solved easily with a few swings of the sword, and they could be beaten up into submission. Waaang! Waaaang! The problem was that Kronos' youngest child, who was barely put to sleep after an hour of struggling and wrestling, had woken up.

"You punks, go play around somewhere else! My kid's waking up!" Kronos, who was now able to use his physical voice thanks to his almost fully-recovered holiness, shouted at the unwelcome guests to get lost.

Kahn and Doyle, who were cooking the meat, spun to look at Kronos, and Leonhardt scratched his cheek with an uncomfortable expression. Agares and Fenrir didn't even pretend to listen. Ares and Hercules awkwardly looked around… But no one present listened to Kronos. It was obvious they were planning on lingering around and staying here.

Waaang!

"Oh, geez!"

Athena couldn't help but smile wryly at Kronos. He had already raised many children, but he became haggard after starting the baby-rearing life again. When she first heard of the birth of her new "aunt," she had been quite surprised. Everyone knew how sweet Kronos and Rhea were for each other, but it was still amazing. 'He's still got it…'

Olympus was still divided over how to accept Deus Ex Machina, so everyone screamed in horror upon hearing they had another higher-up. Poseidon and the others, who still hadn't fully made amends with Kronos, didn't know how to feel at the birth of a younger sibling with such an age gap between them.

However, no matter what Olympus thought, Kronos and Rhea didn't involve themselves with Olympus after they were "resurrected," and they firmly drew the line so Olympus wouldn't get in their business too. There hadn't been any issue thanks to that.

Still, as someone who was on close terms with Kronos and Rhea personally, Athena was in awe of her youngest aunt who wasn't even a hundred days old yet. Athena was used to Kronos acting so sensitively as well, because she had seen it so many times. But she was still a bit surprised despite being familiar with it. She wondered if he was truly the infamous king of gods.

"Fine. You're going to ignore me, huh? Good. Let's exchange swords until you listen."

Kronos finally summoned his holy power, which he had been saving for last resort, and the ground began to quake.

The members of Arthia became nervous that Kronos was really going to attack them, but a baby's cries rang in the air again.

Waaaang!

"Stop acting like the kids and get in here! Bring diapers! Quick!"

"…Yes, ma'am!"

When Rhea's nagging followed, Kronos quickly reigned in his holy power and hurried inside the house. He looked like a standard dad who was wrestling with parenting. Everyone let out a laugh as they watched.

'…Huh?' Athena was laughing with them when she suddenly looked up. Between the Arthia members…was the faint outline of another person. He had black pupils. He looked exactly like Deus Ex Machina, but he gave off an entirely different aura because of the black coat he was wearing.

"…Uncle?" Athena quietly called out. The man who was laughing in the crowd turned to her in surprise. Then, he grinned and disappeared with the wind. It seemed like a hallucination, but Athena was rooted to the ground for a while. She could see the way he mouthed words before leaving.

You remembered.

Thanks.ραпdα `nᴏνɐ| сom

At that moment, Athena realized that the man they had forgotten about but was slowly remembering would return soon. She thought she should stay here for a while. The other members probably thought the same.

The reason why they are all gathered here for a barbecue party was because they thought this was the first place he'd visit when he returned.

* * *

[Perception is beginning!]

[Meaning is given.]

[Regulations are expanded.]

…

[The dream is starting to sync to reality. The barrier between dreams and reality becomes more faint.]

[The cogs completely disappeared from the wheel.]

…

[According to various observations, the microscopic world changes into various forms.]

[According to various meanings, the macroscopic world changes into various forms.]

[The coordinates of time are segmented.]

pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ [The coordinates of the space are refracted.]

[World points grow!]

…

[The world points are connected into a single line.]

[World lines have been created.]

…

[Changes occur to the world lines based on the extent of perceptions and establishments.]

[A part of the world line is divided.]

[A part of the world line is reversed.]

[A part of the world line is deleted.]

[A part of the world line is combined.]

…

[The Black King is observed little by little throughout the universe.]

[Deus Ex Machina begins to connect the world lines to his laws.]

[The dream of darkness and Deus Ex Machina's laws are interlocked!]

Click.

* * *

[You have entered the abyss.]

Cha Jeong-woo opened his eyes. 'Has Hyung been in this kind of place this whole time?' Below his feet lay a giant blue river shining through the darkness, and Jeong-woo realized it was the 'River of Souls.'

The World Tree that managed the system of reincarnation was rooted here. Souls that wanted to reincarnate were absorbed into fruits and when the fruits were matured, they fell into the river and joined the other souls. This place was the original form of collective unconscious that all living forms possessed. Moreover, this was the root of the present universe with the concepts of dreams and wheel now gone.

Cha Jeong-woo unfurled his Sky Wings and moved along the river. The graceful course of the river was complex like a spider web, dividing into multiple waterways and combining with other streams. There were the occasional lakes between the streams that were created from water flowing in opposite directions. Jeong-woo called these the "world points." They were universes that had taken on new possibilities and began to flow on their own.

"You punks, go play around somewhere else! My kid's waking up!"

"He has a foul mouth even as time goes by." Jeong-woo chuckled looking at the incident in the world point. He couldn't believe he had a little sibling at his age. What he'd been concerned about as he watched his father and mother's love life became reality. He was also curious what kind of face Sesha would make.

At the same time, the fact that more and more people were starting to remember Yeon-woo made his heart thump. Jeong-woo hoped more people would perceive the Black King as he crossed universes and entered worlds. He wanted more people to interpret, define, and give meaning to the legends and that the Black King would change as the legends were spread.

And as Jeong-woo hoped, people understood the Black King in their own way, and the world began to fragment. The Black King took on different forms depending on how people interpreted him, and the world began to have various forms accordingly.

That was how world points were created. In some world points, the Black King was an old hero. In others, he was a philosophical concept, or he was a phenomenon that wasn't even discussed. The world points with similar traits became tied together as "parallel universes" and they connected as one, becoming a world line. The newly born world lines were further divided, deleted, and combined, spreading into infinity.

Cha Jeong-woo visited the myriad of world points and the world lines they made. The Black King was among all of them, and depending on how the Black King appeared, the duration of his stay was determined.

There was just one thing Jeong-woo was searching for: a world where the Black King appeared as Cha Yeon-woo. The chances were astronomically slim, and it might not even exist, but Jeong-woo didn't doubt there would be a world where coincidence overlapped with coincidence out of all these worlds. And he really was becoming closer to his destination. Jeong-woo thrust his wings with more vigor along the many rivers.

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