Episode 602

A low rumble echoed as a dark substance began to spread in the air, obscuring the figure of Harvey Drake behind it.

Zeke swung his sword at the ominous mass.

Ssshhh—

Just like before, the sword strike was absorbed into the substance, disappearing without a trace. The dark mass spread even faster than before.

Turning to the leader, Zeke asked, “Do you know what that is?”

A faint vibration emanated from the leader’s broken form as he replied, “Yes.”

“Then either stop it yourself or tell me how to do it.”

The leader’s voice vibrated again, “It cannot be stopped.”

Zeke frowned, stepping back. He moved beside the shattered leader, pointing his sword, Levatein, at him. “What do you mean by that? Speak clearly, or I’ll destroy you first.”

Zeke knew the leader was a homunculus created by the Great Sage, who had hidden the existence of the Book of the Dead here. He understood the leader’s intent to balance the material world through the Highlanders. But Zeke was furious at the blind ambition to create saviors like Harvey Drake and other experiments, misinterpreting the Great Sage’s will.

The leader’s intent surged into Zeke’s mind, resonating with overwhelming force.

[That is a dimensional rift created by twisted causality.]

Zeke scowled. “I don’t understand. If it can’t be stopped, what are we supposed to do?”

The leader’s intent flowed again.

[It must absorb a sacrifice with enough karmic weight to reverse the twisted causality. Then it will naturally disappear.]

Zeke’s expression shifted. “What nonsense is that?”

The leader’s monotonous voice echoed in his mind.

[Beings with strong karma, like those at the High Table, must be offered as sacrifices. Then it will vanish on its own.]

Unable to contain his anger, Zeke drove Levatein into the leader’s chest.

Crack!

Despite the blow, the leader continued in his emotionless tone.

[There is no other way.]

“Shut up! I should have known when you started spouting nonsense about balance and the fate of the world. You don’t care about this world at all. You’re just a parrot repeating the same lines.”

Zeke glared at the leader, contemplating, then suddenly had an idea.

“Let’s see what the real Great Sage thinks of this mess. You worthless puppet.”

He retrieved a key from his inventory, an artifact linked to Chronos, capable of summoning spirits through items.

Zeke snatched the Great Sage’s staff from the leader’s grasp.

Creak!

The leader struggled, but with Zeke’s sword pinning him, he couldn’t move.

Holding the staff, Zeke activated the key.

Ssshhh—

The staff dissolved into a radiant mist, transforming into karma and merging with the key.

A brilliant light surged from the key, shooting into the air and forming a portal of white light.

From the portal emerged a towering spirit, over two meters tall, draped in a long robe, with a halo of light behind him. He resembled the Great Sage Zeke had seen before.

The Great Sage’s spirit, radiating a bright halo, surveyed the spreading darkness.

His intent flowed into Zeke’s mind.

[Sir Zeke, it’s been a while.]

The spirit remembered Zeke from their encounter at the primordial temple.

He continued, [I wish we could share a cup of tea, but it seems the situation doesn’t allow it.]

The Great Sage raised his staff, and a brilliant light poured forth.

Ssshhh—

The dark substance halted its spread upon meeting the light.

Zeke asked, “Have you stopped it?”

The sage shook his head.

[No, I cannot eliminate it with my power. I’ve merely paused time here temporarily.]

Zeke looked around urgently, realizing everything was indeed frozen, just as the sage had said.

‘A spell to stop time.’

He had thought only Chronos could wield such power, and even Chronos faced severe restrictions to cross time lines. Yet, even in spirit form, the Great Sage’s ability to halt time, albeit temporarily, was astonishing.

The Great Sage addressed Zeke.

[The situation has become complicated, Sir Zeke.]

Zeke nodded, responding with a hint of reproach. “Yes, it’s all because of the puppet you left behind.”

The sage sighed, glancing at his frozen homunculus.

[It was a precaution for unforeseen events after the Demon King’s seal… I didn’t expect it to become a problem like this.]

Zeke, seeing the sage’s regret, steadied himself. “I don’t blame you for what’s happened. I summoned you because I need answers.”

He quickly continued, “Is it true that Arthur Drake plans to summon the Demon King and absorb his power? Is this part of the predetermined plan you mentioned? Can it break the wheel of fate set by the celestial beings?”

Finally, Zeke pointed at the frozen dark mass. “And what on earth is that thing? What is the nature of the Outsider’s power?”

As Zeke’s emotions surged, he took a deep breath, glaring at the sage.

The Great Sage nodded.

[I understand your anger, Sir Zeke. But please know that everything was done with good intentions…]

“I don’t want to hear about good intentions. Whose good intentions are we talking about?”

Zeke gestured to the broken homunculus. “If that’s your argument, then you’re no different from that puppet. Have you considered that your so-called noble purpose, claiming everything you do is for the greater good, might be distorting the balance of the material world?”

The sage remained silent, unable to respond to Zeke’s accusations.

Zeke, frustrated by the sage’s silence, pressed on. “So stop with the vague platitudes and answer my questions.”

The sage pursed his lips, then nodded, speaking again.

[You’re right, Sir Zeke. I was arrogant, believing only I could save this world.]

Acknowledging his fault, the sage continued.

[But I can only answer what that is.]

He looked at the dark mass.

[A rift of twisted causality, a remnant of reversed karma.]

Crackle!

A backlash of causality began to ripple around the dark substance.

Time, which the sage had forcibly halted, was starting to flow again.

The sage spoke quickly.

[The only way to eliminate it is to counterbalance the twisted causality with equivalent karma, as my homunculus said.]

Zeke frowned at the sage’s words. “Are you telling me to sacrifice my comrades…?”

The sage shook his head.

[No. Across all dimensions, only you, Sir Zeke, can restore the twisted causality.]

Zeke’s eyes widened in surprise. “Only I can? What do you mean…?”

Then something clicked in Zeke’s mind.

“Could it be the Karma Points?”

Karma Points quantified the karma Zeke had accumulated, recorded by the system as he and his followers battled monsters and beasts.

The sage nodded at Zeke’s realization.

[As the administrator of the Kabbalah System, you alone can freely manipulate the Akashic Code and Karma Points.]

Crackle—

As the sage finished speaking, time resumed, and the dark substance began to move again.

Rumble!

The dark mass spread, absorbing everything it touched, as if even the space around it was being consumed.

Watching the dark substance, Zeke recalled something.

‘The painting Karus made of me.’

The dark mass in the air bore a striking resemblance to the unfathomable darkness that covered the entire canvas in Karus’s painting.

[Sir Zeke.]

The sage’s voice snapped Zeke out of his thoughts, reminding him this was no time for idle recollection.

Reaching toward the dark mass, Zeke addressed the system.

‘System, can I counterbalance that with Karma Points?’

The system began analyzing the dark substance in response to Zeke’s query.

Suddenly, a message appeared before his eyes.

[Traces of a distorted causality have been detected.]

[Calculating the karma points required for neutralization.]

[Approximately 1,166,284 points are needed.]

[Do you wish to proceed?]

Even though it didn’t seem like much, the karma points required to neutralize such a substance exceeded a million.

“I thought I’d never have to worry about karma points again…”

Zeke tried to maintain his composure as he addressed the system.

“Neutralize it.”

[Consuming karma points to neutralize the traces of distorted causality.]

A low hum resonated as Zeke felt something being drawn out of him, and the black substance began to change.

A high-pitched whine filled the air as the black matter, which had been spreading as if reversing time, stopped and started converging back to its center.

Like ink in water that had spread out and then retracted, the black substance quickly gathered at the center and vanished without a trace.

Zeke was taken aback by how swiftly the stone chamber returned to normal, almost too quickly to believe.

“Is it over?”

The spirit of the Great Sage nodded.

[Well done, Sir Zeke. Without the Kabbalah system, neutralizing such a distorted causality would have been impossible.]

From Zeke’s perspective, it felt like he had just burned through a massive amount of karma points. However, if it hadn’t been for the Kabbalah system, the process would have required sacrifices and been far less efficient.

Though he felt a twinge of regret over the sudden loss of so many karma points, Zeke was satisfied that the black substance had been completely eradicated. He turned his attention to finding Harvey Draker, who had transformed into a monstrous dragon.

But there was no trace of him in the area that had been obscured by the black substance.

“Did he escape again?”

Zeke had a hunch about where Harvey Draker had gone.

The place where the Book of the Lion was hidden.

From the start, it seemed Harvey had intended to keep Zeke occupied here, buying time for Arthur Draker to find the hidden Book of the Lion.

“My master and the hermit will be holding them off there. I need to get there quickly too…”

Just then, the Great Sage approached Zeke slowly and spoke.

“Sir Zeke, I have a request for you.”

He looked Zeke in the eye and continued.

“Please make me your shadow avatar.”