Chapter 597 - Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

A passing traveler brought peace to the snowy mountains. With the end of the long winter, even the distant edges of these icy peaks would welcome the arrival of spring. Countless women, who had been captured by giants, shed tears of gratitude. The humans of the snowy mountains, liberated from the clutches of the giants, built great bonfires for the first time, dancing and singing in celebration. Although the sins layered upon this land were cleared away and promises for the future were made, the Elder Sister was little concerned. In fact, it was the king's warriors who rejoiced more than she did. Amidst the cheers of all, the Elder Sister departed from the snowy mountains, leaving behind the great achievement of annihilating the wicked giants. The jungle was the next destination. In this vast forest, a treasure trove of countless lives, immense potential lay dormant, but it was not solely for humans. In the land of the World Tree, all manner of beasts lived in fierce competition. Competition meant consuming and being consumed. In the jungle teeming with fruits, tree roots, insects, and small creatures, humans too were frequently encountered. As members of the same species, or perhaps precisely because of this, they were dangerous competitors. In the jungle, it was perfectly common for humans to kill and consume one another. After countless were consumed and fought, the victor emerged: Ankhra of the Anka tribe, known for consuming thousands. Ankhra eradicated competitors by consuming humans. As she ate, she gained skill and learned how to make the life force she consumed her own. Thanks to Ankhra's culinary skills, the Anka tribe prospered day by day. Yet even with their growing numbers, the Anka tribe aimed to maintain the number of humans they consumed purely out of habit. Consuming thousands meant more were being born, but even that was insufficient to meet the Anka tribe's demand. A powerful, beautiful, wise, and merciful King of Humans visited the jungle. Those fleeing from Ankhra ran to the one from beyond the prairie, pleading, begging for Ankhra to be slain, for the evil cannibal to be vanquished. The Elder Sister went to meet Ankhra. Hearing rumors of the King of Humans, Ankhra decided to strike first. She planned to deceive, lure, and then surround and devour the King. But such a gluttonous endeavor far fell short. Ankhra was shamefully defeated by the Elder Sister. Although the Elder Sister had shown mercy and spared her, Ankhra vanished from the jungle due to some unknown circumstances. A legend spread through the jungle about the one from beyond the prairie. Blessings would now grace this land under the watchful eye of the great ginkgo tree. In the desert, where the beast Baphomet resided, black water imbued with primal life force welled up. The primordial behemoth. Unimaginable to humans, these archaic beasts once dominated the earth in the ancient past. The life essence that dripped and dissolved from the bone-weary primordial behemoth, who lay in the arms of the Earth Mother, was the "black water." Drinking the black water bestowed immense life energy but in turn, the latent frenzied power would consume the drinker's body, causing transformations. Both a poison and a cure, a curse and a blessing, the black water was a terrifying resource whether used by oneself or others. Yet no one utilized such a resource better than humans. Mother of Beasts, Baphomet. By sheer luck, she discovered a hidden black pond within a cave and monopolized it. Curing her chronic illness with the black water, she schemed to prevent other beasts or humans from seizing this resource. Lacking strength and allies, she devised traps with cunning. Beasts lured by the scent of the black water fell into her traps, to be dismantled and repurposed as materials. Their flesh became sustenance, tendons into cords, bones finely ground. Processing each beast, Baphomet delved into dark and shadowy magic. This primitive sorcery, targeting life itself, would later be known as black magic. Having mastered black magic through the medium of black water, Baphomet fused beasts to create beasts of malice. The black pond became a spawning pit for monsters. These beasts hunted for creatures, dragged them in, and dismembered them before tossing them into the black spawning pit to create more beasts. Tragically, the best resource for manipulation was humans. The beasts aggressively targeted humans, who in turn had to hide and hold their breath as if dead to survive. As terrifyingly powerful and dreadful as these beasts were, they could not withstand the King of Humans. When the King of Humans and the king’s warriors arrived in the desert, they hunted the beasts with ease. The beasts were not humans, and the Elder Sister showed no mercy to those that foolishly attacked first. Designed with a stronger instinct for battle over survival, the beasts shattered like eggs against boulders. The humans freed from the beasts left tributes to the Elder Sister through the stones and sands. They honored the noble visitor from the east, singing heroic tales, and inscribing stories among the constellations. Having lost the majority of her beasts, Baphomet knelt before the Elder Sister. Unlike Jotun or Ankhra, she genuinely submitted and presented the Elder Sister with black water, a sign of submission and a tribute to the king. Instead of consuming the mysterious black water, the Elder Sister learned to refine and manage it. Leaving Baphomet as she was, the Elder Sister departed from the desert. ...Of course, a mother of beasts without her beasts faded away quickly. It was a journey nearly spanning ten years. Amidst the arduous journey, some of the king's warriors died or departed, and new warriors joined and transitioned. The towering Mount Taesan, known as the Impassable Mountain. The ginkgo tree blessed by earth and sky, the World Tree. The legacy of the primordial behemoth nurtured by the Earth Mother, the black water. Through witnessing and experiencing much, the king's warriors greatly evolved. The Transmission Keeper, who managed knowledge, penned hundreds of new scrolls, and the warriors, through repeated battles, acquired mastery over life force. The technique that would later be known as “ki-gong” spread among the warriors. It was around that time Grand Druid Nevida had a newfound revelation. When the Elder Sister, having accomplished such feats, returned, she was welcomed by a 'nation' whose form she had never seen before. During the ten years, the nation had flourished immensely. The king's warriors, unable to accompany the Elder Sister, returned to their homelands to establish new settlements. As strong and wise warriors of the king, they became rulers, governing the people. The rulers who seized power first focused on the revival of their villages. They settled nomads, reclaimed land, established laws, and instilled order. Villages became cities, and in their relentless expansion, they absorbed surrounding towns until they eventually collided with other territories. The opposition was also a warrior of the same king. Unable to battle fellow warriors, the cities halted their expansion and turned their gaze elsewhere. However, by then, there was no land left to claim. Everywhere they looked, they encountered cities all claiming the land as their own. The pressure to expand outward went unfulfilled, leading to friction with neighboring cities. Warriors who once swore loyalty to the same king now regarded each other as enemies. Thus, the "nation" had become a vast empire ruled by hundreds of lords. The warriors of the king, who had expected a warm welcome, were bewildered by the unfamiliar reactions. Unlike the past, where they were welcomed everywhere they went, now when they tried to pass through large gates, armed humans surged out to point their spears. Pointing spears at the King of Humans? The warriors, incredulous, grasped the Transmission Keeper and questioned him. “What happened while the king was away?” “…It turned into a sea monster that came ashore.” As always, the Transmission Keeper provided an answer, whether or not it was understood by the listeners. Sea monsters can only live in the ocean. If one were to come ashore, it would be too heavy to support its own body and would collapse and die. The new "nation" was a sea monster that had come ashore. It was a vast order beyond what the humans of the time could manage, yet precariously maintained due to the abundance of knowledge and power. “They remain alive, crushed under their own weight, because of the presence of the king. The king’s boundless grace allows them to avoid killing each other.” There was a single reason why war did not erupt between rival cities: the King of Humans. Although they proclaimed themselves as rulers, within their hearts lay the loyalty to the King of Humans. Conscious of the presence of the Elder Sister—who was evidently superior and wise—they held back from acting rashly. Even amidst mutual antagonism, clashing over territories, they believed that the Elder Sister would resolve all conflicts justly upon her return. They patiently awaited the king’s return, trusting her to make the right judgments. In such an incomprehensible situation, the Transmission Keeper El knelt before the Elder Sister. “Your Majesty. Please heed my final plea.” Grasping the Elder Sister's hem, he kissed her instep, clinging to her ankle. Casting aside his usually detached demeanor, he implored the King of Humans. “Your Majesty. This is the last opportunity. You must restore order. Now, at the advent of civilization's singularity in this inaugural year’s end, mankind’s enemy is now only mankind itself. Giants were, and so were the cannibals, as were the beasts. Now, humans will use their strength and wisdom to kill one another.” What the Transmission Keeper feared was neither the giants, the cannibals, nor the beasts. He feared how they treated humans. The Elder Sister too, through her continuous journey, had come to a vague understanding of what she desired. “Your Majesty. I, El, beseech you, as your warrior. Give me the command. Allow me, in the name of the king, to end all these conflicts and restore order. If there is a command from you, I can achieve it.” A king’s warrior cannot dare to command the king. The King of Humans is perfect. A lesser being cannot arbitrate over a perfect being. However, a king can command a warrior. Exercising the precious right that the king’s warriors had earned after arduous efforts—having the king command them—El implored her to quash the forthcoming conflict, to establish order, and to reign over the empire in the king's name. To El’s sorrowful plea, the Elder Sister, fully understanding his heart, responded: "Do it yourself."