Chapter 121
It was not a simple hole.
It was a pitch-black circle so perfect that it looked as if the sun itself had fallen from the sky and embedded itself into the ground.
No light penetrated its depths; even the shadows of the trees reaching inside were swallowed whole.
All the noises of the forest abruptly ceased at its edge, as if by a spell.
What was even more intriguing was that this strange hole blocked my divine power as well.
Any attempt to gauge its depth with my power was immediately stopped by an invisible wall at the entrance.
That was when I became certain.
This was not just a feature of the terrain.
Some unknown law governed this place—it was a separate space, distinct from the natural world.
To confirm anything beyond that, I would have to descend.
“How do I get down?”
That was the problem.
A glance around showed no visible path or ledge to descend.
Then, just at that moment—clang!
I turned my head toward the sound and saw Geumdu already burrowing into the ground beside me.
Resolute, focused, his will burning.
But the situation was far from easy.
Every time Geumdu struck the ground, the sound was more like hitting iron than earth.
After struggling for a while, he had barely dug down to waist level.
“There must be another way. Rest for a bit.”
If he continued like this, he’d wear himself out digging, so I stopped him.
Beep.
Geumdu looked disappointed but didn’t resist, obediently following my instructions.
This gave me a quiet moment to think.
Jumping in blindly would be foolish.
It could have been the worst choice.
Not only did I not know the depth of the hole, but I also had no idea what awaited me below.
If a hostile being was waiting, it would be the perfect ambush.
If only I had a rope…
I scanned the surroundings.
Giant vines stretched from a massive tree nearby.
If I braided them together, perhaps I could make a fairly sturdy rope.
But I shook my head.
How long would that even take?
I couldn’t even guess the length I’d need. Making it by trial and error would take days, maybe even weeks.
And even if I somehow prepared a rope, there was another problem.
The cliff face was smooth, with not a single foothold.
I would have to rely entirely on the rope, which was no better than simply jumping down.
In the end, I’ll have to make my own path.
My gaze returned to the ground Geumdu hadn’t dug.
And I looked down at the Malak Divine Sword hanging at my waist.
Of course, it was no ordinary blade.
As a sword that had just entered the ranks of sacred artifacts, it was far stronger than Geumdu’s claws.
Vroom! Vroom!
Sensing my gaze, the Malak Divine Sword trembled.
I chuckled.
“Don’t worry. Surely, I won’t dig the ground with only you.”
Even for me, that would be absurd.
“But testing how hard the ground is should be fine, right?”
At my words, the sword gathered energy instead of replying.
Thanks to that, I could swing it toward the ground with ease.
Shreek.
The sound wasn’t metal striking metal—it was the metal cutting into earth.
Only about thirty percent of the blade sank into the soil, showing just how hard the ground was.
Still, the result was satisfying enough—not sufficient for digging a pit, but more than enough for creating a foothold elsewhere.
“If I make a notch like this and insert a branch, it could become a solid foothold.”
The massive trees provided countless natural supports.
I grabbed as many as I could, and stuffed enough into my backpack just in case.
“This should be strong enough to survive even a leap from the legendary Kunlun Mountains.”
Ready to go, I scooped Geumdu into my arms and jumped into the hole without hesitation.
“Hold on tight so we don’t fall.”
Beep!
Shhh!
The pitch-black darkness swallowed everything instantly.
Except for the rush of wind cutting through the void, there was nothing to feel—a space of absolute nothingness.
After falling for a while, I drew the Malak Divine Sword and swung it at the side cliff.
Kaang!
As expected, it didn’t slice through smoothly like the earth above.
The shock jolted my shoulder; had I thrust instead of swung, my shoulder would surely have been injured.
“Still… it worked.”
The sword cut into the cliff enough. I immediately shoved a branch into the notch.
But a problem arose.
Crack!
The branch wasn’t as sturdy as I thought.
Technically solid, yes—but not enough to support my falling body.
Luckily, after repeating the process several times, the speed decreased, and I finally managed to stop using the branches as intended.
It was a dizzying experience, even for me.
“This is why impromptu plans are dangerous.”
I chuckled.
Despite the risk, it was exhilarating—there was a thrill to falling like this.
Geumdu seemed to agree, his expression unusually excited.
“You’re enjoying this too, aren’t you?”
Beep!
“Yes. This time, let’s go even further down.”
Beep!
With the footholds slowing me down, the shock in my shoulder dissipated, and I threw myself downward again.
Fall… stop… repeat.
After dozens of repetitions, I looked up and saw that the entrance was no longer visible.
It was as if I were descending into the abyss.
I continued down, steady despite the dizzying height, when the second crisis arrived.
Wham!
An invisible, immense pressure struck me.
I was slammed against the wall without even a moment to react.
The saving grace? I had already made notches and inserted branches, preventing a complete loss of balance.
The problem? This would not be the last attack.
As I predicted, another enormous force targeted me.
I drew on my divine power in response.
And I realized:
“So it was you blocking my power.”
The one that had obstructed my divine sensing was this creature.
Even now, my divine power dissipated the moment it touched it.
It seemed specialized in nullifying divine energy.
But…
How dare you.
I scoffed.
Even if it were a hidden enemy, it would be intimidating—but now that it had revealed itself, I was not afraid.
I prepared to strike back.
If my divine power will dissipate anyway…
Then I would unleash its full force first.
Boom! Bang!
A thunderous roar, like a storm breaking in the heavens, shook the ground.
I had forcibly released my divine energy, transforming it into overwhelming destructive power.
Like a legendary thunder bomb!
The strike was sincere, a proper response to the entity blocking me.
The owner of this space—or any ordinary guardian—could not withstand such an attack.
Wham!
The thunder struck, tearing through the area.
Though invisible, the result was obvious.
“It’s over.”
I was correct—yet I did not anticipate what would come next.
Crackle, crack!
Like glass cracking, a sound echoed, and all opposing pressures vanished.
A faint light began to seep upward from the darkness below.
“Finally… we’ve reached the destination.”
As expected, after leaping further down, I soon landed on solid ground.
I looked around in awe.
A sight beyond imagination stretched before me.
Countless bizarre flowers and plants radiated their own light, forming a massive, glowing field of bloom.
Softly glowing blue orchids, red flowers shimmering with golden dew, and other mysterious plants emitted scents so clear and intoxicating they made the mind reel.
And at the center of this flower field, a massive stone tower wrapped in seven-colored arches, as if alive like a nebula, stood tall.
Upon its surface, inscriptions were carved. I nodded slightly.
“So it’s a stele with writing after all.”
I stepped closer to read it.
As if aware of my approach, the stele reacted.
Shiiik.
The old inscriptions vanished, replaced by new ones appearing on the smooth surface.
The problem? Even now, I could not read the newly appearing text.
Ancient languages—I know them all, yet I can’t read this.
It was surprising. I had never encountered a written script in hundreds of years that I didn’t recognize.
Not a single known symbol resembled it.
Yet… it felt strangely familiar.
A sense of déjà vu told me I had seen it before.
Where…?
Not recently, in this life.
Then perhaps… from a past life?
But I should remember if it was me…
Then it hit me.
“Ah.”
A sigh of awe escaped my lips.
No matter how I searched my memories, I had never seen such characters in this world.
The only remaining possibility:
“…the Underworld.”
The realm I had reached with Choi Noya’s guidance, after being broken and led by the Death Messenger.
I had seen similar inscriptions there.
Precisely:
“Like the writing in the Yama Hall, residence of Yama.”
I had long forgotten.
Those inscriptions had been carved into the throne and pillars of the hall.
They were likely not intended to trigger memory—but perhaps the characters themselves held some power.
Even now, they created the illusion of approaching some fundamental source just by looking.
The reason my feet moved toward the stele on their own back then was clear.
But…
“Why would the Underworld’s characters be in a place like this?”
One thought suddenly struck me.
The Golden Divine Records had said:
The residence of the Jaho King “was a perfect copy of something that exists somewhere in the world.”
“Something in the world…”
I had assumed that “world” referred solely to this living realm beneath my feet.
But clearly… it was not.
