Player who Returned 10,000 years Later
chapter-478

Crack, crack!

The borders enveloping the Eye of Nostrian broke, and a transparent crystal about the size of a thumb came out. The crystal contained power that not even Oh Kang-Woo knew the bounds of or where it came from.

‘What’s this all of a sudden?’ Kang-Woo looked down at the crystal exuding translucent light in confusion. ‘Is this another power-up?’

Kang-Woo thought Kim Tae-Hyun was about to power up again but that did not seem to be the case based on how dumbfoundedly Tae-Hyun was looking down at his necklace.

“What? What just happened?” Kang-Woo asked.

“I-I’m not sure either,” answered Tae-Hyun in a trembling tone and looked up at Kang-Woo with a flustered expression, his broken necklace in hand.

“What are you looking at me for…?”

Kang-Woo was just as confused as Tae-Hyun was. He frowned as he stared at the crystal that was gradually shining brighter.

“Ah.” Just then, Tae-Hyun’s eyes widened. “A-Arghh.”

He clenched his hair as he trembled. He drooled from his agape mouth, his eyes rolled backward and he convulsed as if he were having a seizure.

“Kurgh! Kuh! Gurghhh!”

“Oh shit, what the fuck is wrong now? Hey! Tae-Hyun!” Kang-Woo shouted as he grabbed Tae-Hyun’s shoulders.

Anyone could see that Tae-Hyun was acting abnormally.

‘Shit.’ Kang-Woo bit his lip aggressively. ‘I haven’t heard anything about the future from him yet!’

He looked down at Tae-Hyun anxiously.

“Kurgh! Cough! Cough!”

The seizing Tae-Hyun coughed up blood. Blood vessels bulged from around his eyes and tears of blood poured down his cheeks.

“Kurghhh!”

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong with you? You’re not dying, are you? Are you? Don’t you dare fucking die.”

Kang-Woo hastily bit open his thumb, stuck it in Tae-Hyun’s mouth, and activated the Authority of Regeneration at full throttle.

“Kurgh! Guuuuuuhhh!”

“Shit,” Kang-Woo cursed.

Tae-Hyun was not getting any better despite Kang-Woo using the Authority of Regeneration.

‘What should I do? Should I call Darling?’

Han Seol-Ah was leagues above him in terms of healing. Kang-Woo took out his smartphone and called Seol-Ah right away.

- Kang-Woo? What’s wrong?

There was much background noise around Seol-Ah, likely because she was healing those injured due to the Parasite invasion.

“Darling, can you come to me right now?”

- Okay. I’ll be right there.

Seol-Ah answered without hesitation despite not even knowing the reason. Kang-Woo looked around.

“I’m at…”

He had chosen a random highrise building to land on, so he had no idea where he was.

‘It looks like an apartment.’

Based on what the building looked like, it seemed more like a mixed-use luxury apartment building than a shopping complex or a company building. Kang-Woo opened a map app to search for his current location.

- You’re on the rooftop of the Hyperion in Mok-dong, right? I’ll be there in a flash, Kang-Woo.

‘The hell? I haven’t even said anything about where I am yet.’

“How did you know where I am…?”

- I installed a tracking app on your smartphone a wh—

Seol-Ah gasped.

- A-Ahem. It’s the power of love.

Kang-Woo remained silent.

‘Since when did the power of love become a tracking app?’

He stared at his smartphone with a sour expression.

- A-Anyway! I’ll be right there!

Kang-Woo could hear Seol-Ah floundering before she hung up.

“Mmm…” Kang-Woo groaned as he looked down at his smartphone.

He searched for the tracking app that had been installed on his phone without his knowledge, but he couldn’t tell where it was hidden.

‘No, this isn’t the time.’

He did not have the leeway to worry about a tracking app right now.

“Ack, aaarrrggghhh!!”

Kang-Woo examined the screaming and seizing Tae-Hyun. Blood vessels resembling tree roots were bulging all over his body; the symptom that Tae-Hyun experienced after overusing Foresight had spread throughout his body.

‘So he didn’t power up, but just used too much of his power.’

In martial arts terms, he was experiencing Qi deviation. He was suffering from the side effects because he had forcibly used power that was beyond him.

“Dammit, he’s not actually gonna die at this rate, is he?”

Kang-Woo bit his lip and reached for the transparent crystal that had been embedded in Tae-Hyun’s necklace.

Spark!

“Kuh!”

The transparent crystal exerted powerful resistance as soon as Kang-Woo’s hand came close to it. The fingers that made contact with the resistance were charred black and turned to ash.

“What the…”

Kang-Woo’s mouth was left agape in shock. He knew that the power within Tae-Hyun’s necklace was unfathomable, but he never imagined that it could easily tear apart his Top-rank Deific Essence barrier and burn him.

‘What the hell could this thing be?’

The question that Kang-Woo had when he first met Tae-Hyun filled his head again. Who the hell was Nostrian and how could he grant powers that allowed one to see the future, bring one’s future consciousness to the present, and burn the Demon King? Not only that, it was only an item that contained a portion of the being’s power instead of the being himself.

“Titan.”

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t think of any other beings but the Titans who would be capable of such things.

‘Since Titans are the closest to the beings that we imagine when we think of gods.’

Beings such as Gaia, Zeus, and Odin were closer to superhumans than gods.

“Shit,” Kang-Woo mumbled a curse.

‘I have no way of facing the Titans at the moment.’

Kang-Woo was only able to overpower Bauli because it was in his consciousness as well as his home turf which was the Demonic Sea. It was a different story for any other Titan.

‘There would be no point in opening the Doors.’

Kang-Woo looked down at Tae-Hyun in frustration.

“Kang-Woo!” Seol-Ah shouted from afar.

Kang-Woo turned to see Seol-Ah flying toward him at high speeds with her angel wings sprouted. Her expression hardened when she saw Tae-Hyun seizing on the ground after landing on the rooftop.

“Kang-Woo, what’s…”

“I have no idea either.”

“Just a moment, please.”

Seol-Ah approached the seizing Tae-Hyun and placed her hand on his forehead. Once she closed her eyes and focused, white light poured out of her wings.

“An immense power is tearing him apart from the inside,” Seol-Ah said with a dark expression as she checked Tae-Hyun’s condition. “At this rate… Tae-Hyun’s body won’t be able to handle the turmoil and explode.”

“Haaa,” Kang-Woo sighed, having expected the diagnosis. “Is there any way to treat him?”

Seol-Ah closed her eyes and fell into thought. “I think I could calm down the chaotic energy at least a little.”

“Does it put you in danger?” asked Kang-Woo with narrow eyes.

Although he needed information about the future, it would be pointless if it put Seol-Ah in danger.

He remarked, “I’ll do it instead.”

If it was only to calm down the raging energy, he should be able to do it as well. Kang-Woo extended his arm toward Tae-Hyun.

Spark—!

“Kurgh!”

Just like what happened when he reached for the crystal, the same powerful resistance pushed him backward.

“Dammit.” Kang-Woo frowned aggressively.

Seol-Ah smiled gently and said, “It’s okay, Kang-Woo. It’ll consume a significant amount of my power, but it won’t bring any danger to me.”

Kang-Woo stared at Seol-Ah in silence for a while and then sighed and nodded.

“Please take a few steps back, Kang-Woo,” Seol-Ah stated as she placed one hand on Tae-Hyun’s forehead and the other on his solar plexus.

Whoooom!!

A blinding light poured out of the twelve wings.

“Ngh…”

Seol-Ah’s brows wrinkled slightly. Inside Tae-Hyun’s body was as chaotic as a storm.

‘I have to quell the raging energy first.’

She poured sacred power into Tae-Hyun, just like how coolant needed to be topped up so that an engine did not overheat.

“Kurgh! Gah!” Tae-Hyun twisted and turned as he coughed up blood.

Beads of sweat formed around Seol-Ah’s forehead. “Haaa, haaa.”

Seol-Ah’s breathing became labored; she entered a temporary state of exhaustion due to using sacred power and Divinity past her limits.

‘It’s not enough.’

The power raging throughout Tae-Hyun was more chaotic and enormous than anything Seol-Ah had experienced before. She would have normally given up.

‘But it’s starting to calm down little by little.’

The immense energy was reacting with Seol-Ah’s sacred power for some reason and calming down. She slowly pacified the raging energy within Tae-Hyun as if slowly taming a wild beast.

Crack!

And then, the Eye of Nostrian which had been on Tae-Hyun’s necklace, shattered into pieces.

Whoooom!!

“Kyaah!”

“Darling!”

Blinding light filled the surroundings. Kang-Woo quickly separated Seol-Ah from Tae-Hyun.

“Kurgh…” Tae-Hyun, who tumbled across the ground after getting pushed away by Kang-Woo, stood up as he staggered. “Where…”

He looked around in confusion and saw Kang-Woo embracing Seol-Ah. He asked cautiously, “Umm… Wh-Who are you? Where am I?”

“What?” Kang-Woo’s expression wrinkled. “Kim Tae-Hyun, what the hell are you talking ab—”

“Kim… Tae-Hyun? H-How do you know my name?”

Kang-Woo clenched his hair as he stared at Tae-Hyun, who was staring at him, stricken with fear. “Motherfucker…”

Kang-Woo could easily tell what had happened based on Tae-Hyun’s reaction.

‘Since he doesn’t remember me…’

It meant that Tae-Hyun’s memories from now to when they first met in the D-rank Gate had been wiped out.

“Haaa,” Kang-Woo sighed.

After all he had done to acquire information about the future, he was left with nothing in the end.

“Hurgh…” Seol-Ah groaned.

“Are you okay, Darling?”

“Ah… yes. I’m fine, Kang-Woo,” she mumbled as she stood up.

Kang-Woo examined her worryingly. “Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine… other than that I’m extremely tired.”

Seol-Ah blinked lifelessly as if she would pass out any second. Kang-Woo sighed in relief.

“Lie down and get some rest. I’ll take care of everything from here on out.”

“I’m… sorry… Kang-Woo. Tae-Hyun is…”

“Well, at least he’s alive.”

Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. He had lost something even more important than Tae-Hyun’s life, but he couldn’t blame Seol-Ah for that.

“I’m sorry… Kang-Woo. I’m… so tired…”

Seol-Ah closed her eyes. Kang-Woo laid her on the ground and turned to approach Tae-Hyun. Because of that…

Riiing.

[Absorbing the ‘Eye of Nostrian’ into Seraph’s soul.]

[A portion of the conditions for the Transcendent skill ‘Miracle (Rank: EX)’ has been unlocked.]

No one saw the small amount of translucent light particles being absorbed into Seol-Ah.