EP.128 Flipping the Table in Earnest
Thump, thump.
After Jiseon's arrival, occasionally when walking through the Bottomless Pit, the ground would shake. Every time Jiseon stomped her foot while nodding her head, Tantalus pulsed as if it had grown a new heart. It was an artificial beat that appeared in the Bottomless Pit, the place most distant from life.
After completing such boisterous and clamorous escape preparations, just waiting for that time to come.
"The preparations are complete!!"
A booming voice loud enough to shake the entire Bottomless Pit rang out. It was Jiseon's summons.
We, who had been waiting, moved immediately.
Tir dragged a large coffin and headed forth, and the Undead filled boxes with food and water and carried them on his back. Kallis was fretting nervously, but the Undead said,
"I cannot let an injured person carry luggage! Give it here. I will carry all the luggage!"
Because of this, Kallis couldn't do anything and even handed over his own bag.
When people gathered, Aji slipped out of hiding with a disc clamped in his mouth. This wretched puppy apparently didn't know the meaning of patience. Well, I suppose he is a dog.
Nabi not only didn't pack any luggage but didn't even come outside. Just you wait, I'll deal with you later.
When everyone who had finished preparing for the escape had gathered.
"Is everyone here?"
In the square courtyard illuminated by the daylight lamp. Jiseon stood at its center.
Just as she had looked when she entered, wearing earrings with clay dolls hanging from them and five rings on her arms, she stood firm like an old tree and welcomed us.
Beside her was a concrete structure that looked freshly made, but its purpose, shaped like a clothesline pole, was difficult to guess.
As people looked around, Jiseon, having confirmed the faces, nodded and began her explanation.
"Then, I shall explain my plan."
Though it was questionable whether this could even be called an explanation.
"I plan to flip this Tantalus."
Questions arose in everyone's minds.
What does that mean? Why? In what sense is she flipping it? Is she going to flip the interior design?
Fortunately, the other party was the incarnation of a constructor who lived alongside the history of the military nation, and she had the ability to explain her designs clearly.
"From what I have investigated, this prison has had enough people living here for a long time to earn the qualification to reach the bottom of the Bottomless Pit."
Jiseon indirectly stated that thanks to the military nation steadily pushing people into the prison to die, the history of this land had been sufficiently filled to reach the level of the Hegemon's massacre.
"Therefore, though it should have reached the bottom of the Bottomless Pit, the bottom of this land and the bottom of the Bottomless Pit are separate lands. To reach it, there was a need to merge these two lands into one."
This meant that even if they had accumulated enough history to reach the same space, they existed on different layers and could not meet.
So the solution was...
"Jiseon. Then should we dig a hole and go down?"
"No. In this space, distance has no value. We must truly arrive at the last land, the land without a bottom."
I wondered if I had read that correctly.
Because, even reading her thoughts, I couldn't believe it.
Jiseon spread her hand with the palm facing upward. And then.
"I intend to flip this land, turning it half a turn, into pure meaning itself."
With those words, she flipped her hand swiftly. The back of her hand facing upward.
Jiseon, who boldly declared she would flip the land like a palm, tapped the structure beside her while we all stood dumbfounded.
"This is a support structure I made. It won't break easily, so while I flip this land, you can tie yourselves with ropes."
"No, that's..."
"I earnestly ask you to follow my words for now. Tightly, so that even if your body flips, you'll be fine."
When Jiseon earnestly requested, we set aside our doubts and began tying ourselves to the support structure. All sorts of luggage and people dangled like fruits. While the Undead was tying and hanging Kallis, I took a rope and approached Aji.
"Aji, come here."
"Woof woof! I hate being restrained! I love freedom!"
Perhaps because of the memory of being chained last time. Aji violently refused to be tied. I gently admonished Aji.
"Don't regret it later. The land is going to flip. If you don't secure yourself."
"Woof! My insides are already flipping!"
"Where do you learn these words, your vocabulary keeps increasing..."
Aji barked fiercely and kept avoiding my hands. When I was in a predicament, Tir offered a suggestion.
"Just leave him be. If he's the King of Beasts, he'll dig his claws in and hold on, and if it seems like he'll fall, I'll grab him with darkness."
"I suppose that's for the best. This beastly fellow, honestly."
While I was having a battle of nerves with Aji, who had fled to a precarious spot just out of reach, growling. The Regressor, who had been quiet, suddenly thought of Nabi and spoke.
"Tirkanjaka. When Nabi bursts out later, can you grab Nabi too?"
"That won't be a problem. Even if it's not the King of Beasts, whoever falls, I'll grab them. Shae, you'll do the same, won't you?"
"I'm fine. I can stick to the ground with qi and stand upside down, and even if I fall, I can fly through the sky."
Why? Why can you hang upside down like a bat? How do you fly through the sky? We're the same humans, isn't she just a bit strange?
Tir offered a suggestion to me.
"Sigh, my coffin can also float in the air. It's only possible when there's no light, but in the Bottomless Pit, that doesn't matter. If you'd like, would you ride on top with me?"
"No thanks. When else would I experience the land flipping."
"Is that so..."
"And Tir, be careful too. Listening to Jiseon's words, you need to be attached to the land. Don't float up too much and hold onto the ground well. Otherwise, we might part forever."
At my words, Tir hastily grabbed the support structure with darkness.
Like that, everyone finished preparing and looked blankly at Jiseon. Having confirmed this, Jiseon exhaled deeply and gently waved her hand.
A gentle hand gesture as if a butterfly were flapping its wings. However, every time her fingers snatched the air, the ground heaved. The concrete that should have been solid was stirred slowly and stickily like acorn jelly by Jiseon's power.
"...Earth Arts."
The Regressor muttered.
The divine authority called the power of the Goddess of Wisdom, an authority only her apostle could use. The power that had overturned the land of the military nation from beginning to end was being manifested from Jiseon.
Like that, having firmly packed the ground with Earth Arts, Jiseon.
"I shall begin."
Stomped her foot hard.
Booooom.
The energy that exploded from Jiseon's toes spread throughout Tantalus. With this level of impact, the ground beneath her feet should have shattered, but the Kun qi gong that had reached the extreme and the Earth Arts supporting it evenly distributed the force across Tantalus.
Perhaps that was why. Despite receiving such an impact, the ground beneath Jiseon's feet was intact.
"Ohh. It seems you're going to flip the land with Earth Arts!"
The Undead muttered with an excited expression like someone witnessing a miracle before their eyes. However, Kallis beside him was terrified and clattered his teeth.
Well, for an ordinary person, it wouldn't be strange to be frightened by this tremendous power.
"I-Is there something to hold onto..."
"I see. It might be frightening for those who die easily! The Blood Fiend will grab you with darkness, so don't worry! If there's nothing to grab, I'll lend you my hand!"
The Undead extended his hand. Kallis grabbed that hand with trembling fingers, but when another impact followed, he pulled with a shrill scream and ended up in his embrace.
At the suddenly narrowed distance, the Undead looked puzzled.
"Hmm. Did I tie you this close? We might bump into each other at this rate! Sorry, but I'll hold you tight for a moment!"
"Please do...!"
The Undead wrapped his arm firmly around Kallis's waist and pulled. The two became completely pressed together.
Like that, Kallis, held in the Undead's embrace, flashed a sharp look in his eyes.
...It seemed Kallis was not an ordinary person either.
Tir watched that scene for a moment before speaking to me.
"Sigh, aren't you going to bump into something too?"
"There's no one tied near me."
"...I just asked in case."
Like that, in the brief moment we exchanged small talk, not knowing what was about to happen.
Boooooooom.
A much duller and larger impact than before flowed. When the support structure shook, my body hanging below it also trembled.
Just as I was marveling at the unreal vibration.
"Huh? Where did Jiseon go?"
The Undead pointed at the spot where Jiseon had just been. Jiseon, who should have been there, was nowhere to be seen.
"Did she step away for a moment? Haha. It seems she had urgent business!"
The answer to that question soon appeared.
Because Jiseon fell from the sky.
Booooooooooooom.
Falling, and then impact.
A massive earthquake shook all of Tantalus. As if Earth Arts and even Kun were not enough, a huge crack starting from beneath Jiseon's feet had formed.
I could feel the vibration spread, hit the wall of the Bottomless Pit, and return. It was power on a scale comparable to a natural disaster. To the point where it was hard to believe a single human had done it.
"Kyaa...!"
Kallis's scream this time was genuine.
Abnormal power that would make even someone who wasn't ordinary feel fear and terror.
"...Haha. She's crazy."
Laughter came out from sheer absurdity. Because my body was swaying left and right.
This meant only one thing.
The ground is tilting.
"Crazy. Is this actually happening?"
It's as if my body has become a seismograph. So this is what it feels like to sense vibrations.
Just as I was muttering inwardly.
Immediately after, Jiseon kicked off the ground and soared. An impact similar to when she fell rang through Tantalus. She had only jumped, but it felt like the earth was caving in.
"...Kun that has reached the extreme. A realized state."
Without moving from the sunken ground, the Regressor calmly assessed the situation.
'When she falls, she scatters the impact across the entire ground, and uses the reaction force directed at herself to jump back up.'
Thanks to reading her thoughts, I understood. But sometimes, even after reading, I wonder if I read it right.
'Right now, Jiseon is... like a giant rubber ball.'
Why would that even work?
A human body isn't rubber, and falling from that height should normally kill you.
Above all.
Why is the ground actually flipping?
Rumble ruuuuuuuuumble.
"Woof! Woof woof! It's an earthquake, woof!"
"Nyaaah! Nyaaahhh!"
I could hear Aji and Nabi's screams. The two beast kings each flattened their bodies on what looked like safe spots, gripping the ground with their claws.
Serves them right, those beastly bastards. Do they think I wanted to be tied up?
Whether that bothered her or not. Jiseon jumped up again and stomped the ground again. A pounding sound like a mortar was heard, and each time, Tantalus tilted more and more. While Kallis, truly trembling with fear, clutched the Undead tightly, and Aji and Nabi were barking as if to shake the Bottomless Pit loose.
Boom.
Like that, when Jiseon, who had jumped higher than ever, stamped the ground.
Crack.
The sound of the concrete border that had been supporting Tantalus from falling, unable to withstand the impact, crumbling away was heard.
From then on, it was a rapid succession. Jiseon shouted one last time.
"Now it will flip! Everyone hold on tight!"
There was no need to say it. Everyone was already doing their best to hold onto something.
And, when Jiseon leaped into the air for the last time.
Screeeeech.
My body shakes. The world tilts. No, maybe I'm the one tilting.
Tantalus is a tray placed on a stand. When you press one side with a finger, the stand that can't endure crumbles. The tray flips and falls toward the ground.
Only at this point did I realize why Tantalus's buildings were clustered to one side. The buildings formed an 'ㄴ' shape with only a wide courtyard, and it felt asymmetrical for some reason.
She made it like this from the beginning.
Rumble boom.
The final collision. A human collided with the earth. In a normal situation, we would have called it a crash.
But not now.
Jiseon, on equal footing with this earth, had 'collided' with it.
Whoosh.
The ground flips. Jiseon, instead of jumping up now, firmly planted her feet on the ground with Kun qi gong.
Even without Jiseon's power, it had already gained speed. Added to that was the weight of Tantalus, the prison, so the flipping speed gradually increased.
Dogs barking. Cats meowing. People screaming, and all sorts of thoughts could be heard.
The wind blew.
Wind that shouldn't exist in the Bottomless Pit began to blow again as the bottom opened up. Air was sucked into the gap created by the void.
It was a bizarre sight. The ground I had been standing on just a moment ago became a sloped wall, and the prison building became a foothold on a cliff. I didn't want to imagine it, but if the rope were to break, I could fall onto the building wall and stand on my feet.
A loud noise came from the prison building. A large water tank, unable to withstand gravity, broke and fell down below. The building, as if vomiting debris, poured out desks, furnishings, boxes, and chairs through windows and holes.
Then, unable to withstand its own weight, the prison snapped in the middle. The sight of a 4-story building becoming a 3-story one was quite a spectacle.
After everything that could fall had fallen, the last thing to break was the tall daylight lamp.
The artificial lighting that had illuminated the Bottomless Pit until now. The daylight lamp that had dared to imitate the sun snapped in the middle and fell deep into the Bottomless Pit. Even the lighting that had illuminated the entire prison was like a dim candle in the darkness of the Bottomless Pit.
Like that, although everything was engulfed in darkness.
It wasn't over yet.
The ground, having gained speed, flipped even more. My body shook mercilessly.
"Woof woof!"
"Meow!"
"Aaaargh!"
The dog, the cat, and the human's screams formed a trio. Naturally, the last one is mine.
I reached my hand upward, being careful not to 'fall' off the support structure. If I flipped over and hit the support structure, that would also be agony.
Like that, in the darkness filling all directions, in the Bottomless Pit where only screams and thoughts could be heard.
The moment when the earth, premised on flipping from the beginning, fulfilled its role.
The world twisted.
Step.
My feet touched the ground.