Etranger - Chapter 200

Satan nodded instead of answering. She seemed to be deep in thought. Bioanalysis… it wouldn’t be easy.

How would they be able to collect those two? Combat sages? Satan shook her head as she understood the futility of this line of thought. She knew they needed something much stronger.

Using the Original Beings? What if the Fallen directly intervened? Satan was unsure if this was a good idea. If the two exploded into a state of complete instability, she didn’t know what would happen. Furthermore, it would probably be difficult to persuade the other Fallen or Original Beings.

Satan fell further into thought. The day and night switched three times before she opened her mouth to speak.

“Has the other King of Sages, Senun, not made up his mind?” she asked Nakun.

“He’s continuing his wait-and-see approach,” Nakun answered.

“I heard that he gave them the Dragon’s Medicine. Did they take it?”

“Yes, I’ve confirmed that myself.”

“Do you think it had any effect on what we’re observing now? In other words, did any of their properties change after receiving the medicine?”

“As far as I know, it had no effect. Their status has nothing to do with the medicine. The medicine isn’t a variable.”

“Then why did Senun give them the medicine? Do you think he didn’t know their true state?”

“Perhaps he was just curious?”

“You said that Senun recently conducted physical exams on the two and had collected updated data, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have that data with you right now? Did Senun provide that to you?”

“I haven’t received it yet. I should be receiving it any time now.”

“Do you think there’s something Senun hasn’t told us?”

“I don’t think so. Senun always keeps his promise.”

Satan closed her eyes and once more fell into thought. Again, a lengthy amount of time passed. Satan slowly opened her eyes and stared at the information screen in front of her.

No matter how she looked at it, they were approaching an impending disaster. Satan got up from her seat.

“I need to go see Loki. I need to see him immediately.”

“Is this that serious?!” Nakun shouted out.

Loki was an Original Being, and part of the Fallen, who had single handedly laid judgement on a dominant race in a previous Episode. He had wiped out the race and abruptly ended the Episode. In other words, Loki had conducted his own Armageddon.

“Wait, why didn’t you put a name to this last data set?” Siluone asked as she reviewed the last clip among the clips Satan had picked out previously. The visualization of the data showed two large spheres vibrating as they came together. One sphere was eating one part of the other sphere and vice-versa. It was a large-scale battle that destroyed all other things surrounding the two spheres. The spheres constantly went through a process of destruction and rebirth.

Furthermore…

The system kept producing the message that any reading on the spheres were “Unreadable”.

Satan turned her head. She continued to be silent, refusing to answer Siluone’s question. Her eyes lost focus as she stared into the air. In her eyes, one could see a variety of emotions mixed together: sadness, surrender, bliss, depression…

“… because I’m afraid to give it a name.”

Confrontation – Chapter 4

D-90

“What’s the progress in the southern regions?” Siluone asked.

“Everything is progressing well. The war has spread into the inner parts of the continent. It’s going as we expected,” Nakun answered.

“What about the Eastern continent?”

“The ‘Khan’ people’s leader, Hunmuk, has unified the eastern continent and changed his empire’s name to ‘Gohan.’ Once he consolidates power internally, he’ll be looking to the west. It’s time we start on our northern strategy. It’s time for you to start.”

“I’ve already made my move. About ten thousand monsters will soon be descending on the continent.”

“Are you planning on taking over Porato City first?”

“Yes. It’s a strategic point.”

A silence ensued. Nakun and Siluone turned to the last data set that was on a continuous loop on the screen.

Nakun then turned to Satan and asked, “Is that part of the ‘rebellion’ code?”

Satan nodded her head.

“It’s part of ‘rebellion’. However, what you’re seeing now is a completely different dimensional version. It’s a multidimensional version of ‘rebellion’. It’s become its own system. What are your first impressions after seeing it?”

“I saw the transactional system of business. It didn’t seem like an equal transaction but a one-sided one.”

“And?”

“Irrationality, unfairness, anxiousness, nervousness, hatred, thirst… that’s what I felt from one of the spheres.”

“Is that so? And what about the other sphere?”

“Denial, withdrawal, depression, angst… it seems like a general unwillingness to continue life. Nothing is normal in that sphere.”

“If you were to summarize in one sentence?”

“If those are the thoughts and systems that operate in human’s minds, then it’s the combination of all the trash features all rolled into one. It seems like a psychopath’s consciousness, someone who has given up on everything.”

Satan looked at Nakun as if she was enjoying his explanation. As a sage, Nakun had just expressed what was truthfully in his mind.

“That’s exactly right. It’s all trash.”

“Then, one must be able to handle and live with all that trash to be able to control the tremendous power that inherently exists in those spheres?”

“Exactly. Once the Creator descends, he will utilize those trash-like properties within humans to use humanity to contend against us. Moreover, the gods, who are like the Creator and reliant upon humans, will probably be a contentious lot to go up against as well. Can you handle all this with your level of strength? Can you, truthful and clean sage?” Satan stated. Her voice had a tinge of condescension and a tinge of sadness within it.

“We have power and wisdom, but not time. Tell us what you know of the human mind, first human, the ‘Original Being’,” Nakun firmly demanded from Satan.

“What would you like to know?”

“First off, tell us what we’re seeing, how it’ll manifest, and why it is creating fear and apprehension in our hearts.”

Satan looked upon Nakun with saddened eyes. Siluone was awaiting Satan’s answer with her arms crossed. Nakun rarely if ever demanded something from anyone. Furthermore, Satan had never succumbed to answer anyone before.

Siluone probably felt more curiosity than fear. She wanted to know more about how their common enemy, the Creator, was planning to utilize humans to bolster his power.

A corner of Satan’s lips went up in a smirk.

‘The dragons are misjudging the seriousness of the situation and their position in relation to humans. The Original Beings have yet to regain their previous powers. This is the worst-case scenario. They can see what’s in front of them with their own two eyes, but they don’t know what to do. It can’t continue like this.’

Satan felt lost, a feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time. Or rather, was she looking forward to something interesting? It was the first time she felt this way since that fateful day when she agreed to the termination deadline clause with the Creator.

Satan bit her lips. She looked at the screen where the spheres were bursting and chaotically moving about on the screen. The dark red letters that stated ‘Unreadable’ were hard to ignore.

‘The depth of their love… the Creator must be loving this…’

Satan rubbed her eyes.

“There’s not much time. Let’s wrap this up before we take off. Before that, King of Sages Nakun. Are all the sages listening in on our conversation?”

“Yes.”

“Can you cut off the connection?”

“Is there a reason?”

“I don’t trust the dragon race, which the majority of sages serve under.”

“What do you mean?”

“There might be those who shouldn’t hear what I have to say. Am I still making myself unclear?”

“Their complaints will be swift and harsh if I were to disconnect our line. They’ll question our working relationship and throw everything into turmoil.”

“If what I have to say cannot be kept a secret, then I will not speak.”

Nakun glared at Satan. Next to Nakun, Siluone was licking her chops.

“I’ve disconnected the line,” Nakun said before turning to Siluone.

“I’ve also disconnected all open communication lines,” Siluone said.

“So, you two want to know the name of the trash that was left within me, the first human, when I was forsaken by the Creator, right?” Satan asked as she straightened her back. Her eyes had narrowed into sharp slits.

“…”

“Before laughing at and acting above humans, you should study humans some more. Humans are much greater beings than what you both realize. They’re much more dangerous and stronger. It’s not a good attitude to be ignorant of something, right? What you both are exhibiting now is named ‘Pride’. You must lay down your pride. Since you’ve seen what you saw in the data set, it’s time you both let go of your lofty, ignorant pride.”

“…”

“I know the name that I had given that phenomenon that you see on the screen, but I will not utter that name here. The name had long ago become extinct and has gone through various evolutionary developments. I don’t want to recite the name again.”

“…”

“There’s nothing free when dealing with the Creator. The aftereffects of any exchange with him are long lasting and painful. If hope is anticipation and fear mixed into one, trust is a long and pain-filled path. So, what do the images on the screen show? It’s like the creation of energy at orgasm. Those spheres of energy contain hope, trust, courage, and the ‘other’ that I will not name. What you see on the screen only exists when all those names, all those components, are gathered together.”

Satan started walking forward while speaking.

That energy will connect the physical world to the Creator. It’s the passcode to unlock the Creator, like a ‘login’ credential. In other words, it’s the language that will unleash the Creator.”

“So, it’s ‘love’…” Nakun said with a tired voice. It was the component of the Creator of which he was most known for.

With a furrowed brow, Satan nodded.

“That’s right. If what we see on the screen becomes perfected, it will elate the Creator to no end and cause him to move. Thus, it’ll become powerful enough to move the logical world. That’s what you guys have been trying to achieve with Nectar, right?”

“Are you saying our progress in Nectar is not enough?” Siluone asked.

“It’s laughably short of what’s needed,” Satan retorted sharply as she pointed towards something. Siluone looked upon the place that Satan was referring to. It was one of the looping clips of data.

“Look carefully. The Nectar that you’re so proud of is doing nothing to them. It’s having absolutely no effect at all.”

“An unexpected variable has come about. They’re not a simple vaccine,” Nakun commented from the side.

Cough!

Siluone uncomfortably coughed.

“Okay. We now know what it is. Now we need to interpret and gauge what it is to contend against it. You said it was ‘love’, right? Can we emulate that property using Nectar?”

“That’s what I’ve been thinking about. We’re lucky that they’re still in the ‘seed’ phase. They haven’t developed the property completely yet. We still have time. Also, there’s no other human who will understand that property, especially at this level. It won’t spread either… unless they perfect it.”

“A seed?”

“The seed of existence, the seed of pain, and the seed of tears.”

Satan suddenly burst out into a laugh. She recalled the lyrics of a pop song during a past Episode. What she just said were the lyrics of that pop song. Satan was once again reminded how the essence of things was lost once expressed in language.

“A seed you say. It’s an appropriate term for poetic languages, but it’s too abstract of a concept for us and our uses,” Siluone mumbled.

Satan smiled at Siluone’s response. Satan was starting to feel her energy level rising.

“Perceiving the essence of something is not done through one’s eyes but through one’s heart. Are you able to listen to your heart?”

“Hmph! Then why don’t you interpret the essence of the ‘seed’ through your incredible heart? I’ll convert that and realize it through the power of Nectar.”

Satan silently looked at the huffing and puffing Siluone. Satan felt that she, who could read the essence of things, could not clearly see Siluone’s image.

‘Magic Dragon, you’re emotionally unstable. What does this tremendous anxiety and nervousness mean?’

Satan swallowed the anxiety and nervousness that she was feeling and calmed herself to speak normally.