Jamie turned around to return to the tower.
“Brother…?”
Sarah, who had been watching, was hiding behind a tree.
Her eyes showed that she was a little afraid.
“Brother, right?”
At his sister’s cautious question, Jamie looked up at the sky for a moment.
The forest was silent.
Normally, he would have heard some birds chirping or insects buzzing, but it seemed like all the creatures had run away, probably because of the fierce fight. And every time the wind blew, only the rustling of leaves could be heard.
“Let us head back.”
Jamie looked at his sister and smiled.
It was only then that Sarah realized everything was fine and sighed. She thought her brother must have changed and was worried he was back to his rude self.
It was because he couldn’t feel anything right now.
‘It seems empty.’
Just yesterday, she felt a huge power surge from her brother.
Actually, it was a good thing. Sarah was relieved that her brother was safe.
“Let us head back.”
Sarah walked out from behind the tree and reached out to Jamie, who held out his hand, and they slowly walked towards the tower.
When Jamie returned to the tower with Sarah, the guards who were protecting the tower gathered one after another.
“Master, did you handle the monster…?”
Jor, who arrived first, looked at Jamie’s condition and tilted her head with a subtle expression.
“Is Master alright?”
“Master. Something… has changed.”
Following Jor, Behemoth also looked at Jamie with a worried look. And so did the others.
Ricky looked at his friend with a frown.
“What happened? I cannot feel anything…”
“What happened to the dark-armored warrior, and what has changed?”
Abset said as he looked at Jamie, unable to understand. And only Isis, who arrived late, could guess what had happened.
“You. You went past the limit.”
“What do you mean by went past?”
“As I said.”
Looking at Jamie, whom they couldn’t guess the level of, Isis spoke out her thoughts.
“He has stepped into a stage we cannot even imagine.”
And that made them all shocked.
Everyone here was already past the human level, and only their rank was divided despite being at the same point.
Jamie was also like that.
He was already strong, but in the end, he was the same as them.
But not anymore.
“If I had to describe him, he would be an Absolute.”
Isis didn’t need to add any more words to describe his stage. There was not a single person there who would deny it. The realm of being above the stage of humans was nothing in the face of an Absolute.
As far as they knew, only one being had reached that point, except for Ra, the Sun God.
And that was where Jamie was now.
Jamie didn’t show any reaction upon seeing his colleagues. He just walked forward like a detached human being.
“Jamie!”
At Ricky’s call, Jamie simply raised his hand and shook it lightly.
Behemoth looked at his master and asked Sarah,
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. I just went there and saw that, at some point, he had become like that.”
“Did he realize something from the fight with the warrior?”
“Maybe. However, Jamie is not in a state where he could go past his level after some realization.”
“Because everything happens for a reason.”
“Right. Well, that is a good thing because the power that had been messed up is now aligned. It is now worth trying.”
He didn’t know what happened, but if their leader had gotten stronger, then it was good.
The Black Tower was almost finished with the preparations.
All that remained was to declare war. The timing was important, and everyone who saw Jamie’s condition was convinced about it.
“We should finish with the preparations one week in advance.”
“It reminds me of the old days.”
“I am glad it passed without any incidents. I am going to finish what I was doing.”
“Kill or die. Now those are the only options we have. We need to meet Galakios. Even if he is an ignorant one, his strength can help us a lot.”
They all moved to finish their work.
Even though Jamie didn’t say much, he felt strongly united with everyone again.
Sarah felt a sense of pride and turned her head, only to recognize someone was looking at her.
Isis was there with her arms crossed and a smile on her face.
“Shouldn’t you be ready too?”
“R-Ready?”
Ready for what now?
Isis nodded her head and said,
“Even if you hold great power, it is meaningless if you cannot wield it. Do you want your teacher to take a look at your new Apostle power and help you perfect it?”
“It is fine…”
“No, no, you need to get a bit stronger. Isn’t that what you always wanted to say? The training hall in the Black Tower is good, so you can run amok there.”
“Run amok…?”
“Ah. Maybe I’m excited too.”
At the words of her teacher, the disciple had no choice but to cry.
Jamie was at the top of the Black Tower.
This place, where the sky felt so close, was higher than the World Tree. Maybe this was the sky.
And beyond that, the universe was there.
Jamie raised his hand. Black mana rose from his fingertips, and at the same time, bright flames rose that embraced the black mana.
He combined the two forces into one.
Then a black space was created with dazzling light. It was like a mini-universe.
That was Tae Heo.
Since the universe was a world where all the beginning and the end coexisted, it was a space of truth where the existence of Taiji could be confirmed, so it was natural that Tae Heo took such a form.
Jamie held the microcosm in both hands, and it enveloped him and expanded to cover the top of the tower.
“It is difficult.”
Jamie frowned.
He had no intention of expanding it so much. He was just thinking about making it go around his body.
But it didn’t move as he wished. It was a very difficult thing to control as a single thing, as it held both birth and death.
Even so, he had to do it.
In order to be on the same level as Ra, that monstrous being who had lived for more than thousands of years.
And he could handle his power freely.
On the other hand, Jamie was just a newborn kid. He couldn’t fight properly in such a state.
So, if he wanted to fight Ra, he would have to control this power perfectly.
‘Still, I don’t have to worry so much.’
He didn’t know why, but his heart didn’t feel anxious. After his conversation with Ra, his mind felt so calm.
He didn’t know if it was because of Ra or his new power. Maybe it was because he realized that the end wasn’t that far away.
Jamie tried to move it again.
But then he felt something rapidly approaching him from below.
Because he knew who it was, Jamie stopped using the power and turned in the direction where he felt the presence.
A red light shone quickly over the tower, and then a crimson dress fluttered in front of him.
“Master!”
Venna called out to Jamie.
And then he tilted his head with a worried look.
“Master?”
“How can the Queen make such a face?”
“Looking at the bad words you are throwing at my face, you are Master! You have returned from being that idiot guy!”
“Is there anything this brat cannot say?”
At Venna’s harsh words, Jamie just laughed, and seeing that, Venna asked,
“You won’t flick my head?”
“You aren’t a child anymore. It’s enough. Why would I flick you?”
“Odd…. You aren’t that crazy one, right?”
“That one is dead, so do not worry.”
“Then it is all good.”
Venna brushed her hair.
If he had been the Jamie of the past, he would have beaten her with a flick at the speed of lightning.
She was glad that she wasn’t hit, but she also felt disappointed that her master had changed a little. But, of course, Jamie had no intention of paying attention to that.
“But what happened? Your work is in Avalon, not here.”
“I came because I was worried. I was thinking of coming sooner, but Osiris said I shouldn’t, so I’ve only come here now.”
“I see.”
Apparently, Osiris noticed Yeomjae’s presence.
It wasn’t strange since he was also a God who ruled Bless.
“How is the old man?”
“He is fine. His dementia is already gone. The seal is almost done, so he would be fine.”
“That is fortunate. He might not be of much help in the war, but he gives us a huge benefit by just existing, so we will work hard to bring him back to his former form.”
Osiris was the God who presided over the souls.
Now, he wasn’t as good as he used to be, but if his powers were restored, he would be able to grant life and death to all beings just like before.
He might not save the souls that had been annihilated by the World Reset in the past, but he could stop such victims in the future.
‘Although, I can do it too.’
Now that he had obtained Tae Heo, he would be able to exert more power than Osiris. However, human affairs were unpredictable.
In addition, Jamie would have to face the most powerful and dangerous enemy of his entire life. There was no guarantee that he would be fine in the fight against Ra.
Even if he won, it would most likely be a mess.
It was a desperate situation for him to build a foundation for this world.
“Osiris asked me to give a message.”
“What?”
“It was something I didn’t understand.”
Then Venna told Jamie what she heard from Osiris.
“Do not differentiate between things. There is no need to differentiate, so accept them all wholly.”
“….”
Hearing that, Jamie’s eyes widened.
When Venna asked him why, Jamie smiled and shook his head as if he couldn’t help it.
“This is why old people are scary.”
“Uh?”
“How can I solve my troubles like that? Perhaps it is because he has a similar nature that he was able to give that advice.”
“I cannot understand what you mean.”
“If you don’t know it, then you don’t know it. It isn’t a bad thing.”
Venna sighed and just watched Jamie, who said things she didn’t understand until the end.
“Well, seeing that you are alright, it puts my mind at ease. Then I can stop.”
“You want to head back to the old man?”
“No, now is the time for me to prepare too. When I arrived, everyone looked busy. Is it starting?”
“Hmm.”
“For freedom.”
Jamie looked at Venna.
Shouting for freedom, she raised her clenched fist.
When he first met her, she was this timid kid, but before he knew it, things changed.
So much time had passed.
People do not change that easily. They change with time, and the same goes for him too.
The past and the present were the same, yet different.
While looking at the red sun, Jamie mumbled,
“I need to meet Mother.”
At that point, three years had already passed.
He might not be able to lift his head in front of her, but he had to visit her now.
He had to go and apologize to her. If he let more time pass, his guilt wouldn’t end.
And he had a lot of things to say.
