“Cover it. Devour it. Enjoy the feast.”
A magic circle carved in blood. The moment the incantation was uttered, plankton of the Outer Sea surged forth.
The weakest beings of the Outer Sea, possessing not even a handful of reason, moving solely on instinct.
The flooding plankton collided with the falling snow-white liquid and perished on the spot.
Black and white. Grayish vapor billowed as the two mixed, then melted away into the world. It devoured space.
[…How curious.]
The Producer muttered. While continuously spitting out small, lump-like creatures, he moved his mouth. Though he had no lips, his voice was remarkably precise and exceedingly polite.
[Mother’s Sea… seems to be devoured by another god’s magic…]
And indeed it was.
The space where the master of the Outer Sea dwelled was the Void Sea. A wilderness of the law of the jungle where nothing existed but pitch-black seawater. And naturally, seawater that merely composed space could not overcome the Spring of Union directly created by the Reconstruction of All Things.
A magic capable of transforming everything it touched into substances beneficial to the master of the grimoire and the Reconstruction of All Things. Even the sea of the outer universe was no exception.
Pitter-patter.
The falling white spring water devoured the flooding black seawater, sending up ashen smoke. Before long, it blanketed the world in a thick fog. The dark starry sky that had risen in the heavens was also obscured by the mist, hiding its form.
[…….]
The vanished scenery of the cosmos. The moment Dagon confirmed that the universe he had so longed for was gone, he lowered his head. Hundreds, thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of pupils embedded in his eyes rotated in unison, seeking Ian’s form.
Originally, Outer Gods were not compatible with humans. This was an ability that functioned almost like a divine authority for a created Outer God.
Mind domination.
And it was not just humans. Any being inferior to an Outer God would lose the capacity for normal thought the moment they laid eyes upon a god. Some went mad, some cowered in hiding, and some worshipped.
Normal reasoning? The moment one beheld a god, it was tossed into the garbage bin.
It was only natural. How could a mere human remain unharmed after confirming a god with their naked eye and hearing their voice?
Something impossible by common sense.
But that common sense was shattered here and now.
[You child of trifles. Have you surpassed the limits of your species?]
Dagon’s voice settled like a tranquil sea.
No answer came. Instead, a wet, squelching sound echoed from somewhere.
A bizarre sound like walking with wet palms or soles. To Dagon, the grotesque was as ordinary as daily life, so he paid it little heed, but the Deep Ones standing near him were different. They trembled as if wishing to flee at any moment, shaking their legs and gripping their weapons tightly.
[What did your master promise you to become such a monster? Do you know? You have attained a stature that can hardly be called human. And it will gnaw at you for the rest of your life.]
Dagon whispered sweetly. Crunch. The nameless creatures of the Outer Sea spewed out by the Producer fought the Deep Ones, breaking and being crushed. The sound traveled through the smoke, but the actual battle could not be seen.
Instead, the stench of blood grew thick.
[Those who roam the cosmos are never on your side. They do not grant you eternal life. They do not grant you power. They do not grant you love. They merely toy with you as amusement. Do you not already know?]
Gurgle.
The white spring water covering the sea squirmed.
Thud.
Dagon moved his foot. A transparent curtain of liquid spread around him, blocking the spring water’s infiltration.
But he could not defend completely. The water that seeped in eroded Dagon’s skin, transforming the fallen piece of flesh into a bleached, giant hand. Dagon flicked the hand away with his long tongue, as if swatting a mosquito.
[Then come to me. I can promise you everything. I can give you anything you desire. Do you want women? I shall give you all the women in the world. Do you want power? The seas of the entire world shall move according to your will. Do you want wealth? I shall bestow upon you enough gold and jewels to last a lifetime. So come to me. I shall embrace you.]
“The last one sounds a bit tempting.”
An answer came from the sky. Dagon reflexively lifted his head, but Ian’s form was nowhere to be seen. Instead, only a single eye bloomed in the mist, gazing down at him indifferently.
A red eyeball embedded with two pupils. It immediately split into two. Then split again into four.
Splitting again.
Splitting.
Splitting.
Splitting.
Splitting.
[…….]
Before he knew it, the eyeballs filling the space around Dagon trembled their pupils in unison as they stared at him.
A sight grotesque enough to make an ordinary human faint. But Dagon did not faint. Rather, he shuddered with ecstasy.
[How can you use such magic with a human bod—]
Before he could finish, dozens of eyeballs suddenly launched at supersonic speed, filling Dagon’s maw. Then they melted in unison, sticky like candle wax, invading the creature’s mouth.
[……!]
The moment Dagon’s body trembled from the scorching, ripping pain.
……Swish.
Flowers bloomed from the melted liquid.
White hyacinths.
A pure white garden blooming in a pure white world covered Dagon’s entire body in an instant.
And.
Squelch!!!
With a dreadful sound, the petals were dyed red. Immediately after, a layer of skin peeled off from Dagon’s entire body. The thin skin evaporated whole, becoming nutrients for the hyacinths and vanishing completely.
That was all there was to it. Dagon frowned and waited for his skin to regenerate. Such a wound could be healed cleanly in less than a second.
0.1 seconds.
[Ahaha!]
The flowers laughed. The Deep Ones near Dagon were torn apart in real-time, scattered in the wind.
0.3 seconds.
The flowers crumbled. The white pollen sinking into the smoke became fertilizer for the other eyeballs.
0.6 seconds.
The pupils of the eyeballs that had absorbed the fertilizer split, sending out a single stem. Flower buds bloomed atop it. Index fingers shot up between the tearing buds.
0.9 seconds.
Still, regeneration had not occurred.
[……!]
It was at that moment that he realized something was wrong. Dagon distorted his face and hastily looked down at his body.
His skin had peeled away. Though his muscles had yet to be exposed, green blood poured in streams from his entire body. There was no sign of regeneration.
Finally, 1 second.
The sprouted index fingers launched along with the flowers, digging into Dagon’s body. Piercing through flesh with a squelch and no resistance, the fingers freely swam inside his body. Then, following bizarrely tangled blood vessels, they climbed up and burst out from Dagon’s palate, the walls of his mouth, and his tongue.
[Ugh!]
The fingers that had shot up like spears forcefully pulled each other. Dagon’s gaping mouth was forced shut, and the fingers that touched each other interlocked their joints, binding him tightly.
“But I have no intention of accepting your offer. So shut up.”
Ian’s voice echoed from above.
Then, something approached, walking across the white sea.
It could not be seen. But the sound was heard.
[……!]
Dagon immediately swung his leg toward it.
Sssk.
Flap.
—Dagon immediately swung his leg toward it. At that moment, a giant hand shot up from beneath the sea, grabbing and tearing off his leg. The crudely torn leg flew through the air and lodged itself in a spire within the city.
“Know that silence is a virtue.”
A voice was heard. The eyeballs that had been hovering near him shot forth as before, clinging to his skin. They melted. They evaporated the skin and delivered it as nutrients to yet another eyeball.
Regeneration did not occur.
“Know that annihilation is circulation.”
Dagon’s muscles were fully exposed.
Squish.
Footsteps drew closer.
“Know that everything you are shall soon be mine.”
Eyeballs clung to the cross-section of his torn leg, squirming. They soon transformed into sharp thorns, digging into the flesh.
Thud!
The thorns gathered, being recreated into one giant heart. The newly born external organ devoured Dagon’s blood vessels. The moment it beat, green blood gushed from the creature’s nose, ears, and eyes.
“Know that your life continues by the mercy of that one and myself.”
Ping.
Along with a sound of something grazing past his ear, a white radiance burst forth from the city. Immediately after, a strand of white hair fell onto Ian’s palm.
Hair emitting the scent of hyacinths. Ian vomited blood over it.
It was not a backlash from the magic, but a natural phenomenon caused by the activation conditions.
“But ignorant one. You have scorned our mercy.”
The blood-soaked hair rotated in a circle. It soon formed a ring.
Flap.
Ian removed the cloak he was wearing. Fully revealing his form, he looked up at the beating pure-white heart directly below Dagon and placed the small ring on the ring finger of his left hand.
Drip.
Blood flowed downward, and the hair that had formed the ring returned to its white color. Ian pressed his lips briefly to it.
“Ignorance is the greatest sin. Thus we claim you. We shall redefine your purpose.”
The ring emitted a faint glow. A voice echoed in Ian’s ear.
[Vow.]
“Promise.”
[Infinity.]
“Eternity.”
[Affection.]
Rustle.
Some of the flying eyeballs changed into white flowers before Ian.
A rain of flowers scattered. Between them, someone’s figure briefly revealed itself before vanishing.
Instead, someone clasped Ian’s left hand, interlacing their fingers.
The scent of hyacinths wafted forth.
“Love.”
Clasp.
The grip on the held hand grew stronger.
Ian opened his hand. The other person’s hand opened in the same way. Warmth transmitted from their touching palms.
[You.]
“Me.”
[I.]
“You.”
[Because I love.]
“Because I love you so.”
Thud.
Ian brought his hand to Dagon’s intact leg. Dagon distorted his face at the damp sensation and exerted force to move his leg.
But the leg did not move. As if something held it by force, it stood in place without budging.
Rigidity. Instead of his unmoving leg, Dagon swung his arm widely.
Fwoosh!
The heart attached to the cross-section of Dagon’s leg beat, bursting the blood within his flesh. The compressed blood exploded, and his arm fell away together with the bleached-white blood.
Kwa-booooom!!!
A giant arm fell right beside Ian. The white sea surged, and feeling the warmth of the liquid flowing down his face, he closed his eyes.
“I have prepared a gift for you.”
[I have prepared a gift for you.]
He opens his eyes.
“Anew.”
[Be born.]
Swish!
The moment the incantation ended, the world was dyed pure white. Bleached.
Reassembled.
The summoned Producer could not even resist the surging white waves and perished as he was. The Returnees flying in the sky all melted away in unison. The opened sky closed, and something draped in a blue cloak hurriedly hid its form.
Color disappeared. Only white remained, dyeing the world as its pigment.
And.
At the center of the recreated world.
Where Dagon’s massive body had stood, now vanished.
A single jewel emitting green light lay there plainly. The moment Ian confirmed it, a white hand rose from the sea, picked up the jewel, and held it out to Ian.
“…….”
Ian fell silent for a moment, then let out a bitter smile and opened his hand.
Clink.
The white hand placed the jewel onto his palm. Then, raising a single finger, it left a message.
A sentence written in clumsy Korean.
[May our love always be together.]
Rustle.
The moment it carved the phrase, the hand melted away into the sea. Ian gazed at where the hand had been for a long while, then clenched his fist and smiled faintly.
“Yes, someday.”
Flap.
The ring worn on his ring finger broke on its own, brushed past Ian’s lips once, and disappeared.