Chapter 166
“Borrow my body… what does that mean…?”
[It means exactly that—I will enter your body. Unfortunately, I cannot directly manifest in this land and use my power right now.]
“So… because you cannot manifest directly… you’ll borrow my body to eliminate the Dark Specter? Is that what you mean?”
Kylus finished his question with furrowed brows.
The Chief Deity’s voice rose slightly.
[Oh, you’re indeed intelligent. Tell you one thing and you figure out ten. That’s right. Of course, it won’t be as powerful as a true manifestation, but the Dark Specter’s power has likely diminished significantly as well, so I should be able to annihilate it.]
The deity’s last words were almost like he was speaking to himself.
Unlike the deity who was focused on the Dark Specter, Kylus didn’t look satisfied even though he had received the answer he sought.
Rather, his face was more shadowed than before.
Because after getting one answer, another question arose.
With darkened eyes, Kylus gazed at the statue and slowly moved his lips.
“…But why me specifically? Receiving a deity’s spirit must be an enormous blessing for a human. Why deliberately choose me, who has neither faith nor holy power?”
The deity’s contemplation was broken by Kylus’s words.
The Chief Deity stared at Kylus who was looking at the statue, then answered in a voice devoid of warmth.
[A human receiving a deity’s spirit is not a blessing but a calamity. That’s why I chose you.]
A calamity…?
As a chill ran down Kylus’s spine, the deity continued.
[You didn’t receive any special power from me. Therefore, you weren’t born with a destiny to accomplish great things in this world. You merely survived by chance, receiving my power at a moment when you should have died.]
“…”
[Therefore, your death would have no impact on this world.]
The deity continued speaking to Kylus, whose face was gradually hardening.
[Yet, remarkably, after your chance survival, the strength of your body and soul became equal to the heroes I created.]
In fact, to be honest, Kylus would be stronger than the heroes he had created.
The deity didn’t reveal this truth and instead delivered his final words.
[In other words, you were chosen because you’re the only human strong enough to receive my spirit, yet whose death would not affect this world.]
For a moment, Kylus said nothing.
‘So that’s what he meant by calamity.’
Kylus asked straightforwardly.
“So after you borrow my body to eliminate the Dark Specter, I will ultimately die. Is that what you mean?”
Although Kylus couldn’t see him, the Chief Deity looked directly into his black eyes and delivered the final blow.
[Yes. The moment all fighting ends, you will die.]
It was a resolute answer without a glimmer of hope.
It couldn’t be helped even if it seemed cruel.
This was the best choice he could make.
No matter how much he pondered and reconsidered, Helios simply couldn’t kill the heroes he had created.
The disappearance of the Dark Specter wouldn’t bring peace to this world on its own.
The imperial court and temple were already corrupt, and innocent humans—adults and children alike—were dying because of it.
So for the sake of the world after the Dark Specter’s disappearance, all the heroes he had created needed to survive.
Only then would this world finally find stability.
And the same applied to Alice.
Although she wasn’t a child he had chosen as a hero of troubled times and granted power to, from the moment he brought her soul to his world, Alice had already become his special child.
Therefore, Kylus was the only option.
Because even if Kylus disappeared, not only would the peace of this world be preserved, but his own conscience would not be burdened either.
He knew.
He knew that his current decision was too selfish to be called a deity’s choice, and callous to the point of cruelty.
But deities were never as benevolent as humans imagined them to be.
If deities were purely benevolent, unhappy humans wouldn’t exist in this world in the first place. They would have bestowed mercy on everyone.
But even a deity couldn’t save everyone.
A deity merely established the general framework of the world and maintained its balance.
Moreover, living eternally and witnessing countless births and deaths, one naturally became more insensitive to things untouched by one’s own hand.
And Kylus was a human who had not received Helios’s touch.
Therefore, in truth, Helios felt nothing as he pronounced the death sentence on him. He felt neither compassion nor regret.
As Helios gazed at Kylus with emotionless eyes, Kylus, who had been silent without reaction, finally spoke.
“As expected of a deity, you speak of death so casually. But for humans, death is never something easily accepted.”
Kylus’s gaze toward the statue was fierce.
His tone, laced with sarcasm, was truly disrespectful, but Helios gave no reply.
He simply watched Kylus, who seemed to have more to say.
“What will you do if I refuse? Will you force me into submission and enter my body?”
Kylus continued with a sneer.
“Ah—the gap between deity and human is so vast that naturally, you wouldn’t give a trivial human a choice.”
Kylus openly displayed his hostility, as if he didn’t care if the deity punished him right then.
It was a natural reaction.
No matter who it was, even a deity, one couldn’t maintain respect toward someone who said, “You will die.”
But an unexpected answer came from the Chief Deity.
[No, even though I am a deity, if you reject me, I cannot forcibly place my spirit into your body. So the choice ultimately rests with you.]
Caught off guard by this unexpected answer, Kylus faltered as the deity continued.
[But you will ultimately have no choice but to choose death. Because if you don’t sacrifice yourself, the person you love most will die.]
The person he loved most.
Lien.
Kylus instantly froze like a statue. Eventually, he let out a hollow laugh.
The deity was right.
He absolutely could not bear to see Lien die.
If one of them had to die, he would sacrifice his life without a moment’s hesitation.
From the beginning, the deity had designed this situation with Kylus’s perfect weakness in hand—one he could never escape from.
Kylus let out an empty chuckle as he glared at the statue.
“You say the choice is mine… that’s nothing but wordplay. Is it permissible for a deity to toy with humans like this?”
[Toy with you, yes. That’s not entirely wrong. Giving you a choice when I know how much you love Alice.]
“…”
[But child, I always make the best choices to protect this world.]
‘When one death can save tens of thousands, I have no other choice.’ The deity added softly.
His sacrifice would save tens of thousands—it would be a truly noble sacrifice.
Perhaps future generations would praise him as a legendary hero who sacrificed himself for the world.
But, ironically, he had no interest whatsoever in tens of thousands of lives.
The reason for his sacrifice was for the sake of one person, not tens of thousands.
Lien—to save her.
But this truth would be buried. And with false exaggeration, his death would be gloriously decorated and recorded in history.
Kylus deeply despised such beautified truth, but this time, he thought perhaps that would be better.
If she knew he had died in her place… she would suffer too much.
Kylus didn’t want Alice to grieve for him for too long.
‘And now it’s time to accept it.’
Kylus closed his eyes firmly, as if letting go of everything.
The deity, who had been quietly watching him, slowly opened his mouth.
[I know how heartless a deity I appear to you right now. But I still have no other option but you. So if you choose sacrifice, I will provide compensation accordingly.]
But Kylus gave no answer, as if to say he didn’t need it.
The deity gazed at him steadily and continued.
[If you accept my spirit, the moment I enter your body, I will erase all your memories. So that at least in the moment of death, you won’t suffer from regret and attachment.]
Kylus, who had kept his eyes closed, opened them at the deity’s offer.
[And I will not send your soul into the cycle of reincarnation but will collect it directly and reincarnate you with a destiny that can enjoy everything in this world.]
“…You say you’ll erase my memories.”
The Chief Deity observed Kylus’s trembling black pupils.
‘Yes, it would be better to die with memories erased. That must be his judgment too.’
The love for Alice, all his memories—if he died keeping them all, the regret of leaving her behind would be too painful.
The deity thought Kylus would accept his compensation.
But the words that finally flowed from Kylus’s lips were not a request to erase his memories, but an unexpected question.
“For the compensation you’ve offered as the price of my sacrifice, may I determine what I receive?”
