Episode 1142
Chapter 259: The Truth of the World, Your Truth, My Truth (11)

A streak of darkness poured down from the sky. When it touched the ground, it took shape—forming the witch Helluram.

She looked perfectly fine, as if everything that happened at the hands of Kelliak had been a lie. But it wasn’t just her appearance; everyone could feel the dark, infinite abyss writhing across the entire sky.

“Hey, hey… Helluram! Wait, is that really you?”

Orgal was the first to speak upon seeing her.

“What do you mean, ‘not me,’ Orgal?”

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to erase the light now and fight us? But seriously, why do you look so fine? Weren’t you all dead just a moment ago? Or maybe you were completely gone.”

“It seems my being ‘fine’ is quite uncomfortable for you.”

Orgal hesitated, then blinked and looked Helluram over again.

“Wait… you don’t seem like the Helluram I knew. You’re similar, but something’s definitely different… Who are you?”

“Nature has many faces. It can be a disaster, or it can be a blessing.”

“What…?”

“That’s all there is to it. The form you knew of me has shattered. Just like Solderet… Now, it’s time for me to return to that state as well.”

Light and darkness are one.

Solderet and Helluram were beings born from that unity—manifestations of nature’s desires. Now, she realized she had no place left in this world. With Solderet’s desire gone, it was only natural for her to follow suit.

Infinite beings must return to nature. The world was a stage set for finite beings. Order is just order—it cannot be a player on the stage.

“I honestly don’t remember why nature’s parts, Solderet and I, emerged into this world through Kinzelo. The only clear memory is that Solderet chose humans over me, causing our split. But now, I think I understand him.”

Helluram, who once sought to erase the light and take revenge on Solderet, had been erased by Kelliak’s hand. Now, locking eyes with Jin, she was the other side of darkness.

“You’ve managed to move the darkness after all. You’ve done what the light called Solderet could not. Or perhaps you’ve atoned for the sins he committed against me… I feel like I want to be a blessing, not a disaster, now. So, for you all, I willingly offer this body.”

“Helluram… are you serious?”

“Is it really that surprising, Orgal? Even I, who wished to become a calamity that would erase the light, created countless versions of you as soldiers of the abyss. Maybe I’ve been moved by you all since then.”

“Really…?”

“Yes.”

“Really, really? You’re not going to suddenly stab us in the back, right?”

“I’m starting to want to stop all this suddenly…”

At those words, Jin reflexively grabbed Orgal’s head and made him bow.

“Hurry up and apologize, Orgal.”

“Uh, uh? Okay! Sorry, Helluram! It just felt like a dream, I must’ve lost my mind for a moment. Seriously, it felt like a dream…”

A dream.

Everyone felt that way. If the world could truly be restored, and those crushed and killed by Kelliak could come back, then Helluram’s sudden change of heart wasn’t so unbelievable. After all, nature simply has many faces.

The world was coming back.

It was something no one could believe until they saw it with their own eyes. Even though everyone knew the power of the Demon Stone and the Sun God Kinzelo.

But Jin recalled what Elona had just said. She had clearly mentioned that a few sacrifices would be necessary.

“Sun God… no, Elona Ziphl. Call Bligiet, Nepdol, Beltian, and Pokal. From now on, in the world you will live in, no dangerous gods will exist.”

From the Laprarosa flying near Jin, all of them were descending to the surface.

The Sun God’s fragments already sensed their impending dissolution as they flew. Elona’s will had been conveyed to them from the moment she first awoke.

“Jin!”

“Sogaju…!”

It was Valeria and Luet. The Sun God’s fragments stood behind the people, looking at Elona. Beltian had also freed himself from the power source’s restraints.

“Do you have time to say goodbye to your friends?”

Elona nodded, and Bligiet, Nepdol, and Pokal each embraced those standing beside them.

“I’m sorry I forgot how much I loved you when I was whole.”

“I think Elona is showing that love for us now… Kyu, we didn’t have much time to get close while fighting, but I still want to see you all.”

“Now, the world will regain its beauty. No, it’s more accurate to say it will be beautiful for the first time.”

“Beltian, say your goodbyes too. We won’t see our creations again.”

Beltian shook his head gloomily at Bligiet’s words.

“Do you have to act like the harbinger of destruction until the end? Malugia has already decided to follow Kinzelo. No, Elona’s will.”

“Yeah, Beltian, stop that and give a hug, kyu.”

“Sorry… live well, everyone. I can’t carry you all on that flying fortress and take you anywhere anymore.”

The fragments of destruction, reconstruction, and maintenance had vanished. The will of the complete Sun God, Elona Ziphl, now united them all.

That’s why the fragments that sought destruction felt even greater pain. Just as Elona regretted the past.

“But even without me, fly freely wherever you want… live as if you can truly fly anywhere. You were created by us, but you are better and brighter than us, so you can do it.”

The Sun God’s fragments began to fade, merging back into Elona. The massive sun behind them flowed into her as well.

The more this happened, the more she lost her human form. Her wet eyes shimmered with the Milky Way, and her entire body glowed with golden light.

That’s why Veradin held her tighter. Breaking free from her embrace, he wrapped his whole body around her.

“Lord Jin.”

“Speak, Lady Elona.”

“There are still more who are needed… at the very end.”

Jin closed his eyes tightly once.

“Do you mean those born from the light… from Solderet?”

Elona nodded gravely.

Light and darkness, light and shadow.

The final essential element for the world’s restoration was nature itself—something that could only exist because of their coexistence.

“Misha, come forth.”

At Helluram’s voice, the dark sky opened in the center. From within, Misha descended to the surface.

Misha had originally been waiting for her chance to step forward. But as Kelliak’s power destroyed the world, she had been unable to move at all, busy controlling the order of shadows to keep Jin’s spirit intact.

Then, when Jin touched the legacy, Misha faced the truth left by Solderet alongside him. What this world originated from, and what she herself was. To represent Solderet was to become Solderet himself.

“Ah, geez… of all times, I have to see that face again. Ugh, I hate it.”

“Well done, Murakan. Thanks to you finally coming to your senses, Jin succeeded.”

“Why are you so creepy? It’s giving me chills. Just do what you were doing.”

“You really only talk like a human when you get hit…”

Jin looked at his guardian dragons, who seemed unfazed, and couldn’t find the words.

Elona, as if feeling like a sinner, couldn’t meet Jin’s gaze. Gathering her resolve, she looked into his dazed eyes.

“I’m sorry, Lord Jin.”

“No, why should you be sorry? Without you, the world would have ended like this. Don’t give the kid any unnecessary guilt, okay?”

“Wait… Lady Elona, Helluram. Murakan and Misha can’t do this. I will sacrifice myself. I have the most spirit energy anyway, right? And I’m the only one who’s handled the light directly, even if just a little.”

“No.”

“Why not? Why can’t I?”

“Because you are not, by nature, like me or Solderet. But these children are nature. And it’s not just their sacrifice. All immortals sealed in the Demon Stone, all elements like fire, water, and wind—they must all return.”

“But this…”

This was not right.

He couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud. He would gladly give his life over and over for Murakan and Misha, but he could not abandon the world’s restoration just to save them.

He hadn’t fought alone.

The victory wasn’t his alone. Countless others had fought alongside him to protect the world.

“Kid.”

Jin cupped Murakan’s smiling face in his hands.

“Murakan, hey… I’ll take your place. Ah.”

“Why do you keep insisting when they said no, kid? And we’re supposed to be guardian dragons—how can we let you sacrifice yourself instead? Murakan, Misha, and I are all over three thousand years old. We’ve lived our lives. But you’re not even thirty yet. You’re just a baby. Of course, you have to live.”

“What about Strawberry Pie and Gilly?”

Murakan was silent for a long moment.

“…Then what about you? If you die, what about the people who love you? And it’s impossible!”

Jin had no answer.

“Ugh, my head hurts. Kid, to Strawberry Pie… damn it, to Strawberry Pie… sob… damn it. Tell her I loved her more than anyone else… No, that’s too cruel. Just lie and say I was playing around. Damn, this is too much. She won’t believe it anyway. What should I do… Hm. Yeah, tell her I loved her. That feels right. Exactly what to say… hmm, Strawberry Pie… Strawberry Pie, sniff…”

Murakan buried his face in Jin’s shoulder, tears and snot streaming down uncontrollably. He couldn’t think of what to say to Strawberry Pie, no matter how hard he tried.

Seeing this, Misha grimaced and said with disgust, “You’re really messing around. Anyone watching would think we’re saying goodbye forever, you idiot. It’s disgusting, seriously.”

Sniffling, Murakan lifted his head for the first time, his eyes sparkling brightly as he looked at his devilish sister.

“W-what do you mean by that? I-isn’t this… a forever goodbye? Misha? Will I ever see the kid and Strawberry Pie again?”