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Side Story Chapter 36 - Star Fragment (2)

Star was a part of a constellation, and they called themselves by these names. They themselves could not recall when they started calling each other by these names. They called themselves with these names ever since they realized that they were different from others. Like the star lights that filled the evening sky, they said that they also shined brightly. Moreover, they were such shining existences.

***

The Southern Arrow was one such star. He was originally a chieftain who ruled over a primitive tribe. He lived in a jungle where the trees were so dense that it was hard to tell what was ahead, and every step one took, one would only see muddy swampland. From an early age, he boasted unparalleled strength, agility, and a physical build with innate muscles that were incomparable to others. Because of this, all those he faced as enemies were steeped in fear and trembled when they confronted him.

In battle, he would suddenly disappear. He would torment enemies by shooting out poisoned stingers between large boulders, whipping with vines from the tops of trees, and setting traps on the ground, where an enemy would fall and be pierced by spears.

For this reason, everyone was reluctant to confront the tribe whose chieftain was known as the southern arrow. No, it was more correct to say that there was no confrontation at all. His enemies knew that once they collided, only death would welcome them.

“The southern arrow is always followed, like a person’s shadow, by the god of death.” It was not unreasonable that such rumors circulated. The jungle’s various tribes, who feared spirits and gods, were naturally fearful of such an existence, and within a few years, the hundreds of jungle tribes were soon united into one under the Southern Arrow.

Once united, an empire was born. The empire terrorized the civilized people living in the southern regions for decades. Southern Arrow’s vigorous conquest did not stop there. As if conquest was his fate, the Southern Arrow constantly sent out his tribesmen to the outside to expand his empire’s territory. They moved out of the jungle, into the grasslands, into the deserts, and even into the glacial territories. They consolidated the area where the so-called non-civilized people lived and crossed the ‘barrier’ that had previously restricted them.

Countless civilizations collapsed. Many kings’ heads were snagged, palaces burnt, and screams and groans echoed throughout the plundered capitals. Many tried to block the Southern Arrow, but no one was able to stop him. Then, he took over the last capital of the last remaining empire.

In the end, Southern Arrow sat down on the throne, which was made from the corpses of the previous emperor and imperial family who claimed that they were descendants of heaven and who had looked down on everything in the whole world.

Then, the Southern Arrow had stumbled upon a treasure that the previous emperor cherished. It was an imperial jade seal. The jade seal was as white as snow, sparkled like gold, and contained a blood-like red hue. It was a royal seal that contained all the attributes of omen, ecstasy, and sacredness. The previous emperor had said that it was an ornament that symbolized the imperial family from generation to generation.

The story was that one day, the founder of the empire had a dream, and a mysterious old man appeared and disappeared, leaving behind only the words, ‘Your hand will restore the light of the world.’

The founder, who woke up from the strange dream, felt that something was off, so he went outside and saw a meteor fall from the night sky. He decided that he had received a heavenly command, so he made a seal from the piece of fallen meteor and began to gather soldiers as a gift for the sacred object. This was the creation legend of how the empire originated. Moreover, the jade seal possessed indescribable qualities and accomplished various miracles, such as healing the wounded, allowing the lame to walk, and opening the eyes of the blind.

However, the Southern Arrow realized something as soon as he saw the jade seal. “Stupid people. This jade seal was like pearls on a swine in their hands. How could they not know what treasure they possessed?”

The jade seal was being misused. It had to be used for something bigger, a larger purpose, not as a charm to heal people and keep the royal family healthy. It had to be used for something greater. It was a treasure that must be used to reach heights that seemed impossible for humans and their limitations.

Thus, Southern Arrow killed all the members of the royal family who shouted for the imperial jade seal to be returned and took over the royal throne within a day. Rather than simply carrying the jade seal around, and in order to fully digest the power contained within the jade seal, Southern Arrow put the jade seal in the safest place he knew, his own stomach.

The Southern Arrow’s judgment proved to be accurate. His eyes opened. He was able to see not only the great empire he had built, but also the realms beyond his territories. There were all kinds of rare things in the world. He learned about the existence of a huge salt lake and the existence of other continents that were as big as the continent he ruled over. It was only then that Southern Arrow realized, for the first time, that if he went to the endless north, a night as white as broad daylight would appear.

Southern Arrow also realized that he was on a planet called ‘Kwan’, a speck of dust in a seemingly endless expanse of darkness. The sensation that came after realizing all this was…pure bliss. It was only then that he realized how narrow he had viewed the world. His vision and his thoughts had been limited. Ordinary people would feel frustrated or helpless at the fact that they were insignificant in such a situation.

However, the Southern Arrow had smacked his lips and thought, “I want all of it. Like the stars that shine brightly in the sky, I want to shine. No matter where anyone is, I want them to look up and see my majesty.”

What Southern Arrow wanted was not a hopeless dream. If he were able to fully consume the jade seal, the realization of his dream seemed to be a real possibility. Though he had only swallowed the jade-seal, his vision and senses had expanded to this extent. So, from then on, Southern Arrow conquered the planet Kwan, and referred to himself as the incarnation of a god.

Southern Arrow instructed all the people to call him by that title. The people, servants, and the various monarchs all knelt and bowed their heads to him. And they prayed. In their eyes, Southern Arrow was like the second coming of god, who had descended upon their planet. If the great man who accomplished such great achievements, which had never before been seen, was not a god, then who or what could be called a god?

Southern Arrow became a being with a divine legend. None of the other legends on planet Kwan stacked up to Southern Arrow’s. He was already the only god who ruled over civilization and planets.

With such a legend, Southern Arrow closed his eyes at the age of sixty-five. He was respected, awed, and feared. And, as he continued to gain faith…

***

When Southern Arrow opened his eyes again, he knew he was no longer human. The body was but a prison and shackle that limited one’s soul. Having shaken it off, he was now truly free. He shone brilliantly. He became a constellation that filled the night sky. The people who mourned or rejoiced over his death named the new constellation of stars ‘Sagitta’.

“I have become a star.” Southern Arrow knew that he had become a divine being. Just before closing his eyes, he digested the last part of the jade seal and became the jade seal itself.

The jade seal was originally a meteorite, or a shooting star. It could also be seen as the corpse of a star. Southern Arrow succeeded in absorbing and inheriting this corpse, resulting in a resurrection. His soul merged with the meteorite to evolve into a new being, and now, he could emit light like a star!

So, Southern Arrow referred to himself as a ‘star’. Most of the beings who were called gods, demons, dragons, and giants were born with those titles and powers. They lucked into a good ancestry and birth. Only a few had gained those titles or powers by proving their worth.

Of course, there were also those who accumulated achievements and legends and achieved exuviation and transcendence. However, Southern Arrow felt that he was different from these beings. No matter how hard they tried to fly or run, in the end, they could not escape the category of lower gods of a heavenly society, and it was virtually impossible for them to become stronger. On the other hand, how about Southern Arrow? He had no title or power from birth. He was born as an illegitimate child in a small tribe in the jungle which civilized people dismissed them as backcountry, so even non-civilized people had looked down on him. Fortunately, he was born with some talent, so he had sharpened his teeth, and thanks to that, he was able to succeed in proving himself to the world.

At the same time, Southern Arrow had ascended to the heavens through the meteor that had fallen from the sky. Thus, he did not like the concepts of exuviation or transcendence. Unlike those who exuviated or transcended, Southern Arrow had ascended to the heavens and became a constellation all on his own. Thus, he felt that word ‘ascension’ was more appropriate in describing himself. Hence, he decided to call himself an Ascendant. He had proven himself on earth and was chosen by the heavens. If this was not evidence that indicated his difference from others and his specialness, what could?

Having thought this far, Southern Arrow thought, “Now that I’ve become a constellation, I want to become the most brilliantly shining star in the night sky. A gigantic star that shines so bright that no other stars compare! Like the sun that turns the night sky into day, if the dark universe becomes filled with my light, what could be greater?”

Southern Arrow acted once he organized his thoughts. By devouring all the remaining stars, he succeeded not only in dyeing the sky’s starlight with his own light, but he also encroached on the universe with his light. And then, his world, which Cha Jeong-woo referred to as #136,888,994,312,545,479, came to an end. His world line had been deleted.

***

‘…What the hell is this?’ Sesha couldn’t help but take a few unconscious steps back as various scenes flashed past her mind. Shake… Though it was a very brief moment, she had seen many things.

The gods and demons that were rapidly annihilated whenever Southern Arrow spread his light, as were various planets and civilizations. Those caught up in this annihilation screamed in confusion. All attempts to resist were in vain. In the end, all of them became raw materials. They were raw material that made the constellation called Southern Arrow more radiant. They had essentially become firewood for Southern Arrow. The baby universe had become a victim of Southern Arrow’s greed even before it had a chance to fully bloom.

“Hmm…? Hahaha. It seems you’ve seen. You must possess a special ‘eye’.” Momentarily, Southern Arrow was bewildered when Sesha’s complexion had suddenly turned pale, but he soon realized the reason and burst into laughter.

Sesha was terrified of Southern Arrow’s unusually white teeth, which clashed sharply with his dark black face. It seemed that she would be torn apart by those teeth at any moment.

Darkness Sphere was Southern Arrow’s illusory world. Naturally, Southern Arrow’s countless legends floated around like spirits in this space, and Sesha happened to glimpse into one of them. Even though she only peeked at some very ‘minor’ thing, she could tell Southern Arrow’s ruthlessness. She also could tell what would probably happen to her.

‘The meteorite that allowed the Southern Arrow to become a star… There was only one fragment that had entered each world line. It seems he’s crossing the world line and entering other universes to swallow the fragments.’

And in the process of doing just this, Southern Arrow had learned that there were other ‘Ascendants’ who were in a similar situation as him. In fact, this should be expected. In the myriad world lines that numbered near infinity, there was no way to stop everyone from realizing the value of these fragments.

However, when Southern Arrow met these other Ascendants, he did not try to kill them. He tried to work together with them.

Each of them boasted tremendous strength, so if they every fought each other, they would undoubtedly cause tremendous damage to each other. This damage would only hurt them when other Ascendants appeared and hunted them down. Thus, the Ascendants made a non-aggression pact with each other, formed an alliance, and launched a joint operation to find other fragment pieces.

There were meteorites all over the place. Some had not yet been found and were ownerless, and even if they had an owner, there was hardly anyone who could defy the Ascendant alliance.

The middle-aged man who had chased after Min Chae-young and entrapped Sesha in this place was Southern Arrow. Additionally, the man and woman who appeared with him in Sesha’s school were Ascendants who belonged to the same alliance… In other words, they were also ‘stars’. They bore the names Tigris and Solarium respectively.

Meteor, a mass of energy that transformed a single mortal into an Ascendant. An almighty being who was reborn as a star to devour the world. Southern Arrow and the other stars and constellations called these meteorites ‘Star fragments’.

Sesha clenched her jaw. ‘They crossed different dimensions in search of it…so they infiltrated my world line.’

The ‘Star fragment’ that these beings desired was standing next to Sesha. The Star fragment was Min Chae-young.