Chapter 33 : Beyond Humanity

I woke in a spacious room bathed in the gentle light of the sun.

“...Where am I?”

I tried to sit up, only for a wave of pain to sweep through my body and force me to stop. For a moment, I lay there in silence, struggling to understand why even the slightest movement felt as though it were tearing me apart. Then, all at once, the memories of the tournament came flooding back: the blows we had exchanged, the overwhelming pressure, and that final moment when my body could no longer endure the power I had forced into it.

“Ah... right.”

I closed my eyes briefly before letting out a faint, humorless laugh.

“Looks like... I lost.”

Silence settled over the room.

I looked down at my hands, which were wrapped in bandages, then raised my head toward the window. The sunlight spilling through it seemed almost offensively peaceful compared to the destruction I remembered. I had pushed myself far beyond my limits, trying to force a victory out of a body that was already falling apart. In the end, I had simply lost consciousness before I could see the outcome of the battle with my own eyes.

I slowly clenched my fist, ignoring the pain that followed.

“Damn it... I was so close.”

But what was done was done. No matter how much I regretted the result, there was nothing I could do to change it now. The match was over, and the opportunity to become a Great Ruler had slipped through my fingers.

For the moment, at least, there was little left to do but recover.

“How long... has it been?”

Once my mind had cleared enough to piece together what happened, I learned that an entire month had passed since I lost consciousness. I had only awakened three days ago, and throughout that time, my teacher had personally overseen my treatment.

When I finally met with her, she assured me that I would recover completely and that the battle had left no permanent consequences. My body had suffered severe damage, but under her care, even the injuries that should have taken years to heal were gradually disappearing.

As she examined my condition, the little girl wearing the appearance of an old mage regarded me with her usual expressionless face.

“You were fortunate this time. But don't assume you can keep pushing your body to its absolute limits without eventually paying the price.”

I answered with a faint smile.

“Understood. I'll be more careful next time.”

Of course, there was one thing I didn't mention.

The match had ended, but the defeat continued to linger in my mind, replaying itself whenever I had a moment to spare. I could accept losing, at least in principle. What bothered me was how close I had come, and how little room I had left to turn the tide when everything depended on the final exchange.

I had seen the path to victory, reached for it, and fallen just short.

That was enough to make me grind my teeth.

Later, I went to visit Elden.

He was lying on his bed, his body wrapped in bandages. His injuries were severe, and the way he moved suggested that he was still in considerable pain, but at least he looked like a normal human being.

Unlike me, who apparently resembled a mummy that had just crawled out of its tomb.

“...”

I looked at him.

He looked at me.

Neither of us said a word.

A few seconds passed before I slowly raised my hand. At almost the same moment, Elden lifted his fist.

Tap!

Our fists met.

Then -

“Heh...”

I laughed.

And so did he.

Elden gave me a mocking smile. “What's wrong? Is that all you've got after losing?”

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. “You're the last person who has any right to say that while wrapped in bandages from head to toe.”

“At least I still look better than you.”

“Are you joking? Have you even looked at yourself?”

We burst into laughter again, the sound filling the otherwise quiet room.

There was no need for us to discuss the match. We both knew what had happened, and neither of us needed the other to explain how close the battle had been. We had fought until our bodies could no longer support us, and when it was over, neither of us had possessed enough strength to claim victory.

Yet somehow, sitting there with our injuries still fresh, the defeat no longer felt quite as bitter as it had when I first awakened.

Perhaps it was because Elden was in no better condition than I was. Perhaps it was simply because, despite everything, we were still the same two idiots who had spent centuries trying to prove which of us was better.

Whatever the reason, the frustration that had been gnawing at me finally eased.

For now, I could afford to take a step back.

But I would catch up to him eventually.

And when I did, I would surpass him. There was no doubt about that.

A year later, the preparations in the central Mage Tower were finally complete.

Within its vast, empty chamber stood the Golden Clock. The immense hall had been cleared of everything that might obstruct the procedure, leaving only the quiet expanse of its polished floor and the strange object standing before her.

A wooden door.

Yes, a wooden door.

Considering that this was supposed to be the threshold to becoming a Great Ruler, I had expected something a little more impressive. Perhaps a monumental gate forged from the bones of ancient gods, or a celestial staircase ascending into the heavens. At the very least, I would have settled for something that didn't look as though it belonged in an ordinary village house.

Instead, there it stood, plain and unassuming.

Elden and I entered the chamber together and greeted our teacher.

“Hello, teacher.”

The Golden Clock turned her gaze toward me.

“What are you doing here?”

“Whoa, what a warm welcome.” I spread my hands innocently. “I merely came to observe the path to ascension. It might prove useful for an experiment I'm working on.”

“An experiment?”

“I'm still planning to keep up with the times, you know. If my junior brother leaves me behind, what dignity will remain for me as his senior?”

The Golden Clock sighed and shook her head, apparently deciding that arguing with me would accomplish nothing.

“Very well. You may watch.”

Before I could offer another remark, Elden stepped forward, his attention fixed on the wooden door.

“Is that the opportunity to become a Great Ruler?”

“Yes,” our teacher replied. “This door is a physical manifestation of the Will of the World we inhabit, combined with my temporal magic through the remaining connection between myself and the world. As a former Chosen One, that connection still exists.”

She paused, allowing us to examine the door for a moment before continuing.

“But before we begin, there is something you must understand. What exactly is a Great Ruler?”

“...”

Elden and I listened attentively.

“The Origin and the Great Ruler are fundamentally different,” she explained. “An Origin is an existence that has established a connection with the space of this world. A Great Ruler, on the other hand, is an existence independent of the world itself. That independence is what allows a Great Ruler to travel through and survive in the void beyond the world.”

Elden frowned slightly.

“Then what is the difference between being independent of the world and becoming a Great Ruler?”

The Golden Clock looked at him.

“A Great Ruler is an existence capable of becoming a world unto itself.”

“...How?”

“Come on, old woman. Stop beating around the bush.”

She gave me a look that suggested she regretted allowing me into the room.

“In simple terms, you must become one with this world by experiencing the passage of time endured by every living being that exists within it. From grass to trees, from humans to beasts, you must live through their lives and experience their experiences. That is what it truly means to become one with the world. After all, the souls of all living beings ultimately originate from the world itself.”

Elden and I fell silent.

For a while, neither of us spoke. We needed time to absorb what she had just told us, and the more I considered her explanation, the more disturbing its implications became.

To become a Great Ruler, we would have to experience the lives of all living beings in the world.

Not merely witness their memories, nor observe their joys and sorrows from a distance, but endure their existence as though it were our own. Every moment of happiness, every instant of suffering, every ordinary day that passed unnoticed, and every horrific death would become part of our experience.

The life of a human being was already long enough to leave an indelible mark on the soul. A beast might live according to instincts and perceptions utterly alien to our own. A tree could remain rooted in the same place for centuries, experiencing the slow passage of seasons that a human mind might struggle to comprehend. Even a blade of grass had its own brief existence, from the moment it emerged from the soil until it was crushed beneath someone's foot.

And those were only a few examples.

The number of living beings that exist in the world is beyond comprehension. Trillions upon trillions, quadrillions, perhaps numbers so vast that even a mind capable of calculating a googol would struggle to attach any meaningful significance to them. If we were required to experience the entire lives of every blade of grass, every tree, every human, and every beast across the world, the accumulation of those lifetimes would be beyond anything the ordinary mind could endure.

An innumerable number of lives.

An ordeal that might continue for eons, stretching far beyond any sensible measure of time.

The Golden Clock seemed to anticipate our concerns.

“Don't worry, Elden. As the Chosen One, your synchronization with the world is better than that of anyone else. That will help you endure the trial. Furthermore, time within the ordeal flows differently from time outside it.”

She turned her gaze toward me for a moment.

“On the other hand, your presence here may have been predetermined from the very beginning of your journey.”

I raised an eyebrow but chose not to interrupt. There would be time to question that statement later.

Elden, meanwhile, appeared to be considering another aspect of the trial.

“What happens if someone commits suicide while experiencing another person's life?”

“You cannot escape the ordeal that way,” the Golden Clock answered. “You will experience everything that person experienced.”

“So I'll live through the lives of everyone in the world?”

“Yes, my disciple.”

“That's...” Elden paused, his expression growing solemn. “How is a human being supposed to endure that?”

“And that,” she replied, “is precisely the point. A Great Ruler is no longer human. A Great Ruler is an independent world, an invincible and immortal existence in its own right. Did you think becoming one would be so easy?”

Her words settled over the chamber.

For the first time since we had entered, even I found myself without an immediate remark.

To experience the lives of countless others was not simply a test of endurance. It raised a far more fundamental question: after living through the existence of so many different beings, would the person who emerged from the trial still be the same person who had entered it?

Would Elden remain Elden after experiencing the lives of every creature in the world? Would his memories, desires, and convictions survive the ordeal, or would they dissolve beneath the weight of innumerable lives until nothing of his original self remained?

Was the person who entered the trial truly the same as the one who came out?

I turned toward Elden.

“Are you not afraid?”

He looked back at me and shrugged.

“Then what? I'm simply moving forward. And don't look at me like that. I'm not going to give you the opportunity to surpass me.”

You arrogant little bastard.

I clicked my tongue, suppressing the urge to throw something at him.

“Just wait. You'll find that hell is a much better place than whatever awaits you in there.”

“Is there even a hell?”

“I don't know.”

And that was the honest answer. Having died and arrived in this world, I had no personal experience with what came afterward. I could speculate, but speculation was hardly worth much when discussing the afterlife.

“Whatever. Eternal suffering is not something worth thinking about in advance.”

With that, Elden stepped toward the door.

He reached out and placed his hand on the handle before pushing it open.

Creeeak...

The door swung inward with the slow, creaking sound of old wood.

Beyond it lay absolute darkness.

There was no visible floor, no distant light, no discernible shape or landmark by which we could judge the space on the other side. It was impossible to see anything within that darkness, yet somehow, all of us understood what lay beyond the threshold.

Chaos.

The chaos called time.

Time as represented by the innumerable living beings that had existed throughout the world, each carrying a lifetime of experiences, each leaving its own mark upon the vast river of existence. Their lives stretched beyond the limits of imagination, an endless accumulation of moments that would now have to be endured by a single individual.

Once Elden stepped inside, there would be no turning back.

Our teacher spoke, and her voice seemed quieter than before.

“My dear disciple, Elden.”

He paused at the threshold and turned his head toward her.

“Yes, teacher?”

“You will live, and you will die.”

“...”

“You may die peacefully in your sleep, or you may be devoured by a monster. You may perish on a battlefield, or endure torture in any of countless forms before your life finally ends. You will experience suffering beyond anything you can prepare yourself for. Will you proceed?”

“Yes.”

The answer came without hesitation.

The Golden Clock continued.

“You may become a blade of grass, torn apart by the wind, or a flower crushed beneath someone's feet. You may become a tree, only to be cut down and burned. You will experience the lives of beings whose existence is utterly unlike your own, and you will have no choice but to endure their fates. Will you still proceed?”

“Yes, teacher.”

Elden's voice remained steady.

“Deserts may shift, and mountains may move, but my will will never break.”

For a long moment, the Golden Clock said nothing.

Then she closed her eyes. When she spoke again, her voice carried a solemnity I had rarely heard from her.

“Then, good luck, my disciple. May this world bless you.”

Elden bowed respectfully to his teacher.

After straightening, he turned toward the darkness beyond the threshold and took his first step forward.

And then he disappeared into the door.