Trait Hoarder-Chapter 263

Soul War – Part 2

My cognition wavered.

My gaze was forcibly fixed, while my perception twisted around it.

But inside, I just let out a mocking laugh.

‘Is that all you’ve got?’

Step. Step.

I dragged my feet forward.

Only the sound of my footsteps echoed through the eerie silence.

Eventually, I arrived in front of the Old Father.

I dropped the golf bag carelessly and sat on top of it.

“Hey.”

I greeted the Old Father.

“You mixed-breed bastard.”

Mixed-breed, or more formally—hybrid.

A fusion of foreign gods that descended from beyond the stars, and native gods born of the Earth.

That was the Old Father’s true identity.

So, calling him a mutt wasn’t exactly unfair.

[Hoohoho.]

The Old Father laughed, lips curling open.

Inside that open maw, black emptiness roiled like the throat of some abyssal beast.

[An interesting title.]

“Got a problem with it?”

[Hoo. Call me what you like. My vessel, my future companion.]

“You think I’m just gonna let you eat me?”

I raised both middle fingers side by side.

Enjoy the double salute.

Curse or not, the Old Father just laughed with a quivering, formless mouth.

[My vessel is quite angry. What has you so upset?]

“Don’t call me your vessel.”

[What else should I call a vessel, if not a vessel?]

“You think I’m gonna go down easy? Not a chance. Let me make a little prophecy. You’re gonna miss your chance, sit there sucking your thumbs, and end up a petty demon—stripped of name, divinity, and divine rank. And I’ll make damn sure that happens.”

The final boss of Episode 3 is the Saintess.

In Phase 3, she partially summons the Old Father.

If you win there, the Old Father drops a Fragment of Divinity and loses his divine rank.

He ends up like Kim Saje’s god.

Just another lowly demon—or spirit—let’s see if he still acts all high and mighty then.

[Hoohoohoo.]

The Old Father chuckled.

[My vessel. My future companion. There’s something you’ve misunderstood.]

“What, you’re gonna say a lowly creature like me could never defeat you? Please. That’s too cliché. Try a better line.”

[Hoohoohoohoo.]

The Old Father leaned forward leisurely.

Toward me.

He was roughly my size, but the overwhelming presence he exuded crashed down like a moving mountain.

Even though this was just a fragment, a terminal, a part of his infinite-reaching tendrils.

[Vessel.]

The Old Father locked eyes on me.

[No matter how you observed this world through a unique method from a higher dimension, a mere human can never be omniscient.]

“Hmph.”

[Vessel, vessel. Most of what you’ve seen and understood may have been correct. The secrets of this world may have etched themselves across the folds of your tiny brain, nearly infinite in number. But even so—vessel, you do not know everything. You’ve felt it, haven’t you? That there are things you don’t understand.]

That much is true.

I felt it when I reached Level 8.

When I accessed the Legion Commander’s mana seed buried in my core.

When I awakened the world’s traits inside the Chamber of Mind and Time.

“So what’s your point?”

[Vessel.]

The Old Father solemnly declared.

[You have changed fate, but you have not changed destiny.]

His fingers wavered as he moved them.

With a strange sign, my vision twisted.

Of course, it awakened—the Eye of Destiny.

I saw it. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The world’s fate.

And my own fate.

Where they twisted and stretched, and where they were heading.

“Huh?”

Radial strands of fate raced outward across the world.

But in the end, they all converged at a single point.

The Old Father, standing right in front of me.

He reached out a tentacle-like finger and caressed one of the fate lines.

[Vessel. You have indeed achieved a remarkable feat. This world’s fate should have been decided at last year’s Resurrection Festival. Hundreds of thousands dead, half the cities in flames, chaos and disorder spreading like poisonous mushrooms.]

He was talking about the Seoul terror attacks.

[But you, vessel, changed that fate. And not only that—you completely erased the uprising of death that was to follow. Death, which should have flared like a nuclear bomb, sputtered like a mere campfire—and was snuffed out.]

That one’s about the zombie incident.

[As a result, I had to abandon my full resurrection. Behold, vessel!]

The Old Father jabbed his finger.

Two lines drew themselves across the sky.

One line shook with sheer destructive chaos.

The other wavered slightly but was mostly stable.

Two parallel paths.

[Who would have thought fate could change so much? But look again, vessel! See where both paths lead!]

The destination was the same.

Both pointed straight at the Old Father.

Every line stretched from me and converged upon him.

My chest ached.

It felt real enough to sink my heart.

But instead of accepting it, I just let out a scoffing snort.

Why?

Because the [Hero] trait nestled in my gut kept poking me—telling me not to fall for it.

“Hmph. Nice try. I’ll change that fate too.”

[Hoohoohoo. Your fate has already changed many times, vessel.]

His fingers traced points in the air.

[When you single-handedly brought down that beastly species.]

[You reversed the fate of being invited into my Divine Kingdom.]

[When you deceived my Saintess and drove your sword into her heart.]

[You shed the fate of becoming my First Apostle.]

[And now, standing here before me.]

[You shall erase the future in which your soul is consumed.]

A strange blend of past and future tenses in his tone.

Each time he mentioned a moment, another line was drawn.

[But there is something that does not change.]

The Old Father clasped his hand together.

The lines converged.

Toward the Old Father.

Just like all the other fate lines.

[It is your destiny. Inevitably, you—vessel—shall become my body and mind, and share in my immortality.]

“Bullshit!”

I couldn’t listen any longer.

Tah!

I hurled myself forward.

Drove the Black Tiger Sword straight in.

Not just a regular sword energy.

A black-and-white overlayed Sword Qi—so dense it looked like the cosmos itself—pierced through the Old Father.

He didn’t resist.

He simply stared back at me with deep, luminous eyes.

[Resistance is meaningless.]

His voice was calm.

[Fleeing is meaningless. Vessel, it was all determined from the beginning. Accept your fate and surrender.]

I twisted the Black Tiger Sword.

The Nephilim Blade distorted the very fabric of his being.

Perhaps it hurt, because the Old Father flinched.

So, you feel pain after all.

“You think I’ll fall for this?”

I whispered to the Old Father.

“I already heard it from Gaia. I’m from another world—I’m free from this world’s fate.”

[Do you truly believe that?]

The Old Father opened his mouth and laughed.

[You only know half the story, vessel! You may be from another world—but you are not. You were born of this world. You’ve reincarnated countless times in this realm. Your soul has evolved to the threshold of omnipotence. You are a native of the present world.]

The shock struck me like a hammer.

Now that I think about it—it’s true.

My origin lies in this world.

Most likely, someone famous enough to be recorded in this world’s history.

That would’ve been my past life.

So in the grand scheme of fate, wouldn’t I still be caught in its pull?

‘This bastard is terrifying.’

No.

That can’t be.

It’s all just noise—the Old Father trying to sway me.

Fate? Destiny?

If that kind of crap really exists, I’ll tear it all to shreds!

“What, am I that irresistible to you? Is that why you’re spewing this nonsense?”

[Heh. Of course you’re desirable. Vessel, think of all the gods you’ve met. Haven’t they all been desperate to have you?]

“They’re gods. Naturally, they’d want the best.”

[Hahahaha!]

What’s so funny?

His laughter rang and echoed like thunder.

[Do you really think that’s the only reason?]

“Then what is it?”

[You are the pinnacle of all superhumans. The Supreme Seat of All Eras. The Ascension Seat. The Liberation Seat. And the chosen master of the world to come. Do you know? When you took on flesh, every god trembled. When you cast it off, they all sighed in relief.]

“What?”

Supreme Seat of All Eras? Ascension Seat? Liberation Seat?

Chosen master of the world?

What kind of grandiose titles are those?

I couldn’t stop myself.

“Who was I in my past life?”

The Old Father scoffed.

[You think I’d tell you that? What if you awaken your past self, vessel? Go and find it on your own. You may be able to change fate once. You won’t change destiny—but you might enjoy a pleasant dream.]

I searched every nickname stored in my memory.

Nothing came up.

Must be a title known only among the gods.

“If you know so damn much, why’d you let the Saintess get stabbed?”

I sneered as I pressed the sword in deeper.

“If I were you—seeing every twist of fate and destiny—I’d have set the trap so well she wouldn’t even escape your temple.”

[Why should I do that?]

“What?”

[It’s a broken toy anyway. At most, it’ll last another year. It’s only proper to discard it and convert it to mana. In that regard, the Saintess—that prime-grade meat—I’ve decided to remember her fondly. That lowly chunk of flesh actually accomplished something significant.]

“Wow… you’re seriously…”

This bastard was on another level.

The Saintess gave up her body, soul, and future to save humanity—and that’s what she gets?

Every divine being in this world is the same.

Thor and Gaia are rare exceptions—decent individuals, even admirable.

Compared to the Old Father, even the dead Odin or Zeus seem like saints.

“You’re actual scum, you know that? Don’t you even feel sorry for the Saintess? She gave you everything—body, mind, and soul.”

[Heh.]

The Old Father chuckled coldly.

[She gave her body and soul. But never her mind.]

“What?”

[That meat was never truly devout to me. She followed me because she had no alternative. So even if I treat her like livestock, she has no right to complain.]

She acted like a full-on fanatic though?

Then, the Old Father solemnly declared:

[Though the plan has gone horribly off track, the grand design remains intact. The Saintess—that meat—will follow the plan and make you my vessel. I shall resurrect. This world shall become an ark, and we shall voyage to the world she observed—the parallel Earth you came from. There, I will conquer a godless world and rise as its one and only divinity!]

What the hell?

Why is he monologuing his whole plan?

The Old Father, whose very nature is deception and illusion.

There had to be a reason.

A chill snapped me out of it.

Maybe I’d been too shocked by all his revelations.

I hadn’t even noticed the mana seeping in and consuming me.

Climbing up my golf bag, creeping up my legs—black mana.

It had already dyed me black up to the waist.

If not for the [Hero] trait, I’d have been devoured already.

I can’t delay any longer.

I activated [Heaven Defiance].

[Kkyaaaah!]

The Old Father evaporated with a shriek.

Ninety-nine percent of his being vanished in an instant.

All that remained was a wispy ghost of a trace.

Flickering, on the verge of disappearing, the Old Father whispered.

[Hoohoohoo… You may overturn fate with Heaven Defiance, but destiny is beyond your reach… Struggle as you wish… Vessel, my companion… You shall be devoured by ‘us’ and become the final seat of the Triadic God Thrones…]

“Yeah, shut up.”

Still spewing garbage till the end.

I copied [Heaven Defiance] using the World Trait.

Just as I was about to detonate it, the Old Father grinned slyly.

[That power, too, shall become mine… I await that day… Ascension Seat… Liberation Seat, my vessel…]

“I said shut up.”

Second activation of [Heaven Defiance].

BOOOOOM!

A deafening roar echoed.

The world collapsed.

The entire extradimensional space began crumbling.

The Old Father disintegrated into dust, and even that dust faded away.

I quietly closed my eyes.

That same feeling—being sucked somewhere.

The same sensation I had when entering this world swept over me again.

But this time, my consciousness drifted upward, slowly.

My mind grew sharper, more lucid.

And when I opened my eyes—

I saw a familiar ceiling.

“Phew.”

My head felt heavy.

The terminal embedded in my heart had been completely removed, but the unease still lingered.

The Old Father’s mocking laugh continued to cloud my thoughts.

Just in case, I focused my mind.

Activated the Eye of Destiny.

I tracked the fate lines extending from me using [Bright Eyes], and also my sixth sense.

“…Ah.”

A truth I could now confirm with my own eyes.

The Old Father hadn’t been entirely lying.

All of my fate lines were converging on a single point.

In a particular extradimensional world.

A world thick with the Old Father’s presence.

In other words—his Divine Kingdom.

“Hmph.”

So what?

I clenched my fist and snorted.

Whether it’s destiny, or just some intersection of fate—who cares?

Let me say it again: if I were the type to die quietly, I’d have killed myself the moment I realized I’d landed in this world.

I’ll fight back.

I’ll resist.

I’ll talk back, curse, and fight to the bitter end.

Just wait and see.

Let’s see who’s still standing when it’s all over.

Who’s stepping on whose corpse.

[So, you’ve won.]

“Were you worried?”

[A little. The Old Father is no mere god. Even just a terminal can deeply affect a human. That goes for even the omnipotent.]

The River Goddess floated gently toward me.

Her calm voice finally gave me a sense of peace.

Yeah. Trust myself.

The one who survived the chaos.

The traits I’ve built so far.

And the traits I’ll continue to build from here on out.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Someone was banging on the door.

“Goddess! Goddess! Has the Sword Star still not awakened?”

What the? What’s going on?

Still not awake?

Something clicked.

I quickly activated the Dragon Monarch’s Crown.

When I entered the mental realm using [Rapture], it had been late August—but now, the date showing was already sometime in September.

A single blink, and nearly a week had passed.

I sprang to my feet.

“What’s going on!”

A moment of silence.

Then a familiar voice—Choi Sunsoo’s voice—came through the door.

“Thank the heavens, you’re awake?! We’re in big trouble, Sword Star!”

“What happened?”

“Gwangju—Gwangju City!”

Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province.

Where the Old Father’s cult’s Shadow Temple is located.

“It’s been sealed off completely!”