Chapter 197: The deal is set (3)

The Dominating Aura that was leaping to confront the God of Balance suddenly calmed down.

'Hey, hey!'

Cale repeatedly called out in his mind, but...

- ...Huh, it seems like he's deliberately ignoring you.

At the response of the Sky Eating Water, Cale stopped calling that boastful guy.

Blink, blink.

Amid that, the Blood Demon's childhood room darkened and brightened repeatedly.

'Hm?'

Moreover, the pressure surrounding Cale's body disappeared and reappeared again and again.

When the room darkened, the pressure oppressing him vanished. On the other hand, when the room brightened, that pressure reappeared. It was as if darkness and light were battling each other.

And for a while now, the voices of the Gods hadn't been heard. At this point, Cale could understand the situation solely through intuition.

'Are the God of Balance and the God of Hope currently fighting each other?'

Gods. Although they were colossal beings seemingly in fierce competition, Cale wasn't receiving any direct blows. It was possible that the pressure the God of Balance was giving Cale was all that remained of the aftermath.

<I will ask once again.>

At that moment, the God of Balance opened her mouth.

<God of Hope, what is happening here?>

...Eh?

In that instant, Cale's eyes narrowed.

'Did the voice of the God of Balance seem to tremble a bit just now?'

A soft but firm voice. Moreover, there was a severity that allowed no room for even the slightest crack, and an authoritative atmosphere in the tone. The voice had a slight hesitation from its usual tone.

'Oh.'

Cale thought.

'Is the God of Hope stronger than the God of Balance?'

At that moment, a voice resonated in Cale's mind.

-Oh, this seems interesting, doesn't it?

It was the Dominating Aura.

Cale furrowed his brow.

-Oops! I said it without realizing! Well then, I'll be going now! Haha!

The Dominating Aura hurriedly bid farewell and then fell silent.

-Fool.

At the whisper of the Sky Eating Water, Cale simply nodded.

At that moment, a new voice resonated. It was the God of Hope.

<You know when I appear, right?>

Was there a fixed moment for the God of Hope to appear? Cale felt that what was happening here was quite important information.

<...Yes, I do.>

The God of Balance spoke with a cold tone that showed no trace of softness.

<Where hope appears, before hope disappears, and before the being embracing hope is in danger, you appear.>

Jah. A sigh-like laugh escaped from the lips of the God of Balance.

<God of Hope, it seems like you're hindering me again and again.>

<Even the God of Chaos said similar things.>

<Are you saying that crazy guy and I just said the same thing?>

Blink, blink.

Light and darkness crossed faster than before. Cale almost felt dizzy for a moment because the scene in his room changed from bright to dark repeatedly very quickly.

And before he realized it, the pressure that had been weighing on Cale had completely disappeared.

<...Hah~>

Finally, the God of Balance sighed.

<Cale Henituse.>

Cale turned his head towards the voice calling him. He wondered if he could now see this God in his eyes.

<Do not be arrogant.>

But again, Cale's head stopped.

Blink~

At the same time, the room plunged into darkness. The pressure surrounding Cale disappeared. But Cale didn't turn his head. Because he didn't want to mess with the God of Balance.

'Somehow, it doesn't seem like a joke.'

Although the Dominating Aura instigated them to fight, Cale's instinct told him something different. If they were to seriously fight instead of aiming their energy at each other, he might die with a simple gesture from the God of Balance.

'Better to stay calm.'

Cale sat in a tranquil posture.

The God of Balance expressed her satisfaction before continuing.

<Cale Henituse, I hope you listen to what I have to say. That will be the only answer for you.>

The God of Balance told Cale to become a God. All of Cale's actions would become a story of how he became a God, a myth. Only by becoming a God could he bear the weight of the imbalance he had created. Although other Gods and worlds were handling that imbalance for now, as Cale's actions grew, eventually, he and his companions would feel the weight of karma.

Therefore, the God of Balance told Cale to become a God to restore the balance of the imbalance.

<Even if everything is fine in this world right now, what you do in the next one will create an even greater imbalance.>

The next world Cale would go to was Aipotu.

<That is a forgotten world. There is no Manifestation of the World that can handle imbalance like the Central Plains or Xiaolen.>

In that world, everything was dominated by Dragons. There was no world with which Cale could communicate.

<The Gods helping you will try to handle that imbalance. But that too will have its limits.>

Cale thought of the God helping him.

'Is she talking about the Fire of Purification and the God of Death?'

The God of Balance continued.

<The fate you will create in the next world. It would be good if you could give me an answer to my proposal before that date. That will allow everything to balance.>

There was a deadline for the response to the proposal to become a God. It meant that Cale should respond before completing all his tasks in the world of Aipotu.

<Sigh~>

After exhaling a sigh, the God of Balance spoke in a calmer voice.

<I'm leaving now.>

Then, she bid farewell to Cale.

<I hope that next time we meet, you'll have the right answer, not the wrong one.>

Tik, Tik~

Again, the sounds of heels were heard.

Tik, tik.

The sound faded farther away.

Tik, tik.

And when it finally became so faint that it could no longer be heard, Cale felt a strange sensation.

Somehow, it seemed like he should lift his head and see his surroundings. He stood up slowly. He was still in darkness. He wasn't sure if this place was his room anymore.

'Eh?'

He looked around. The God of Hope was nowhere to be seen. Although he felt the presence of something, he didn't see its form.

'Weird.'

Cale looked around for answers, and suddenly, driven by a premonition, he lifted his head.

"Ah."

A sigh escaped from his lips.

'Where am I?'

He realized that the space he was in was larger than he thought.

It had to be.

When he lifted his head, what he saw was darkness with countless tiny lights like grains of sand scattered in it.

'They're not stars.'

It was a light different from that of stars. The larger ones were like sand, and the small ones were as tiny as dust. And the size of the light was very faint.

No matter how bright it was, it was incomparably dimmer than a star. Therefore, Cale was sure that what he was seeing at that moment was not the night sky.

<You're really an interesting kid.>

The God of Hope called Cale a 'kid.'

<As expected, you can see those lights.>

Cale opened his mouth without realizing it. For some reason, he felt like he could speak comfortably with this God.

"What is that light?"

And of course, since the other person spoke informally, Cale also spoke informally. He spoke in the same way with the God of Death, and there was no reason to treat the God of Hope with respect.

The God of Hope responded.

<That light is the hope you created.>

... What?

<The hopes you've created so far have created light in your darkness.>

... The hopes I created. Is there such a thing?"

<Haha~.>

The God of Hope laughed as if he were happy.

<I thought you'd react that way.>

The God continued speaking with a voice mixed with laughter.

<Kid, it seems like the God of Balance probably wants you to become a God and join her under her command.>

Cale's expression stiffened.

"What does that mean?"

<Well. Since you're a kid who likes to hear the essentials, let me explain it simply.>

'Oh, does this God like me a bit?'

Cale thought that this God knew a bit about him.

<At this moment, the possibility of you becoming a God is being created. Moreover, you're progressing in a direction that would make you a high-level God. Therefore, the God of Balance wants to get ahead, have you under her command, and observe you.>

Cale furrowed his brow.

<Because there's a possibility that you'll inherit my position.>

In a moment of hesitation, the God of Hope asked.

<Do you know about the Ancient Gods?>

He had heard about them before.

<There are five Ancient Gods, including me, the God of Balance, the God of Chaos, etc. Until now, none of us has yielded this position to any other entity, and we've been maintaining it. Yes, they're all greedy. They also crave power.>

'True.'

Cale unconsciously nodded, but then stopped.

Cough~

The God of Hope continued speaking while fake coughing.

<Anyway, the God of Balance has always conflicted with the God of Chaos.>

"Just hearing the name, it seems likely."

<Right? But there's an entity that the God of Balance hates more than any other.>

"Is it you?"

<Yes, it's me. She hates me more than anyone else.>

"Why?"

<Hope sometimes creates an enormous flow that ignores all balance and chaos.>

Mmm.

Cale crossed his arms and listened to the God of Hope's words in silence.

< With hope, we can create a new destiny.>

Creates a new destiny.

<That's why the God of Balance wants to subdue you because you have the qualifications to succeed me.>

Cale opened his mouth, thinking that the God of Balance might be right.

"If I become the God of Hope, could I control her from below?"

<Well, there's no need to answer that.>

Although the God of Hope avoided answering, Cale asked.

"So, did you come to prevent me from joining the God of Balance?"

<No, that's not important.>

As if the question were wrong, the God of Hope asked indifferently.

<Kid, isn't there something that must come before everything else?>

The God also threw another question as if it were something obvious.

<Kid, you don't have the desire to become a God, do you?>

haha~

A brief laugh burst out from Cale's mouth. He nodded without hesitation.

"Yes, I don't want to become a God."

The God of Hope told him at once.

<But you're concerned about the weight of the imbalance that the God of Balance spoke of, aren't you?>

At the casual question, Cale paused.

"...You know a lot about me."

<Because I did.>

The God of Hope spoke indifferently.

<I also didn't want to become a God. But it was a situation where I had no choice but to do so. Because someone had to take care of it. But I want to support your dreams instead of the lonely position of God or the qualification to exist forever without knowing the end.>

'My dreams?'

Cale uttered what he remembered as soon as he thought of his dreams without realizing it.

"...Becoming unemployed?"

<Yes. That's a good dream.>

The voice of the God of Hope was serious, as if he genuinely believed that.

Cale opened his mouth, pretending not to hear that.

"… It's said that hope creates an enormous flow. So, are you going to step forward and create a flow that will end karma?"

<No. Not exactly. Didn't I tell you? It's not me; it's only hope that sometimes creates that tendency. Instead, I came to tell you a little story.>

It was when...

Blink~

Cale could see the lights floating above extinguishing one by one.

Swish~

An unknown wind was blowing from somewhere.

He looked towards where the wind was coming from.

It was also dark there.

But there was a very faint and small light.

Cale instinctively knew.

That light was the God of Hope.

'Mmm?'

Cale saw something shining beyond that small light. It looked like a human face. But it seemed like it was an illusion, and soon he couldn't see anything. At that moment, the voice of the God of Hope was heard again.

<Aipotu is a place where the World Tree lost its will, and the Dragons abandoned their duty.>

A strange look appeared in Cale's eyes.

As soon as he knew that the story the God of Hope was trying to tell him was the story of Aipotu, the world he had to go to in the future, he realized that it was a 'clue' or 'information' that was useful to him.

The useful information for Cale now would be how to bear the weight of the discord mentioned by the God of Balance.

<The global capital, purpose, and the world itself are not properly established, so there is no one there to handle the enormous flow. But in this world, when something disappears, something else always comes to replace it. It's a law.>

The surroundings became brighter and brighter.

<Cale.>

The God called Cale's name for the first time.

<Find the Blue Wolf.>

At that moment, Cale thought of one of his comrades.

Lock. Member of the Blue Wolf Clan and successor to the Wolf King.

<Before antiquity. Countless living creatures that have existed since before Humans created history. Among them, there was one that was both fierce and merciful.>

A being that can handle the numerous discrepancies and variables that occurred in Aipotu and resist the changes in trends and destiny.

<The ruler of beasts and the king of beasts. Find the Blue Wolf, who has lost his status and is being forgotten.>

Cale's mouth opened.

But before he could speak, the God of Hope was faster.

<There's not much time.>

At that moment, Cale could see that the darkness was fading away faster than before.

But the small light in front of him didn't show the slightest tremor.

<Take the Blue Wolf and the Black Dragon with you. When the two choose their own paths, the flow will change.>

The God was talking about Lock and Raon.

<And there's something I want to tell you.>

Suddenly, the darkness disappeared. In the bright room, the shape of the God of Hope could barely be seen. The faint and small light was not visible under the bright light. Even in the darkness, that was the only light.

The voice of the God of Hope became faint.

<Being a God is not easy.>

haha!

Cale let out a laugh without realizing it. But he made a promise seriously.

'I don't want to be a God.'

First of all, he wasn't interested at all. Gods were unbearable. Cale didn't like the idea of living obsessed with work, like the God of Death.

'I'd rather work under the Crown Prince!'

Cale shook his head and blinked. Naturally, he thought he would be in the Blood Demon's room...

'...?'

But when he opened his eyes, the view was different.

'...Am I lying down?'

The soft sensation on his back and the warm feeling covering his body.

That was clearly a bed.

'...It can't be.'

Cale slowly looked to the side.

Huff~.

A rough breath was heard. It felt uncomfortable.

"Human!"

Raon and Cale's eyes met.

"47 hours, 24 minutes, and 31 seconds have passed!"

Ah.

He was unconscious all that time.

Damn Gods!

He shouldn't have worried.

Cale's face wrinkled.

He realized it was time to go home.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]