A/N:
" ": Dialogue,
' ': Thought,
[ ]: System, Akasha, Minerva,
"Italicized text": Telepathy,
| |: Artificial Intelligence,
"Bold text": Shadows & Deathborns.
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Narrator POV
After the battle had ended, Dante cut off the broadcast, then teleported to the island with Shiraori. The sudden appearance of the pair put the Rulers on guard, but Dante didn't care, as he walked up to Sung Jin-Woo and used the Rejuvenation spell on him, healing him and refilling his energy.
"Thanks." Sung Jin-Woo said as he stood up. He looked around at all the Rulers, before his eyes settled on one in particular. This one had three pairs of wings, as opposed to the singular pair that majority of the Rulers had. His torso was draped in a golden cloak, and he had a wide, white halo right above his head.
This was the Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light, the most powerful of the Rulers right behind Ashborne, and the current leader of the Rulers.
*Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light*
"You've ended our war. I don't know how I could ever show my appreciation." He said with sincerity. "I don't know if this could be called appreciation, but I've got a request." Sung Jin-Woo said, but before the Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light could respond, Dante held Sung Jin-Woo by his shoulder.
"I'm gonna have to stop you right there, Jin-Woo." He said. "I know what you're thinking of doing and I do not support it." Sung Jin-Woo looked at Dante incredulously. "If you're telling the truth, then you know that it would reverse everything that has happened. All the loss that humanity has experienced will be erased." Sung Jin-Woo said.
"And so would all the advancements. If you use the Cup, not only would you basically erase the strength that humanity has managed to gather, you will also leave them vulnerable to a far greater enemy." Dante said, as he subtly repaired and rebuilt all the destroyed and damaged buildings worldwide.
"What enemy? I've dealt with Antares once already. Facing him again definitely won't be as difficult." Sung Jin-Woo said confidently, and Dante shook his head with disapproval. "The fact that you think I'm referring to Antares and the other Monarchs is proof enough that even you aren't prepared to face them, let alone the rest of humanity. And you're suggesting that they have their progress erased." Dante's words caused a pit to form in Sung Jin-Woo's stomach, as he grimly wondered who or what exactly they would have to face that could be so powerful.
After a bout of silence, Dante sighed, then snapped his fingers, teleporting himself, Shiraori, Sung Jin-Woo and the Rulers away. They appeared somewhere in outer space, on a planet that had no life on it. It had an atmosphere that was predominantly formed from hydrogen, as well as an actual solid lithosphere, allowing them all to remain standing.
"Where did you bring us now?" Sung Jin-Woo asked as he dusted himself off. He was somewhat surprised that he felt no difficulty breathing or moving on the planet, but he attributed it to his current nature as the Shadow Monarch. "The place I've been working on to prepare the universe for its inevitable invasion." Dante said as he began levitating off the planet.
"You keep mentioning this enemy, but you haven't explained anything about them." The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light said as he followed Dante. "Tell me, what did you actually know about the Absolute Being beyond him being your creator and a sadist?" Dante asked the Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light, and he was surprised to find that beyond his power and tendency for sadism, he knew next to nothing about the Absolute Being.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Dante said, then snapped his fingers again, bringing all of them to the planet closest to this star system star, which seemed to be a blue giant at first glance. "Nexus, come here." Dante said, and Sung Jin-Woo and the Rulers looked around, wondering who he was calling.
Suddenly, a boy who looked to be about 10 years old, with blue hair and wholly blue eyes appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. He was wearing a white bodysuit with blue, circuit-like lines running down the sides. |I have received your call, master.| The boy said with a voice that seemed to resonate all over the planet.
"Who is that?" Sung Jin-Woo asked, as he looked at the boy. "This is Nexus, a Peak stage Machina Spirit that I created, and essentially the new administrator of this universe." Dante responded.
*Nexus, Universal Administrator*
"What do you mean, an administrator?" The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light asked as he inspected Nexus's body. "Before I answer that, allow me to tell you of the Absolute Being, and the other beings like him." Dante said, and a massive hologram appeared in the sky, showing the Absolute Being with multiple beings that looked similar to him. "These are the Itarim." He said, his tone alluding to the grimness of this revelation.
*Itarim*
"Similarly to the Absolute Being, each of them rules over a universe of their creation, gaining entertainment by setting their creations against each other in war. However, unlike the Absolute Being, they made their creations with absolute loyalty to them, so even though they suffer through the Itarim's sadism, they have not and will most likely never revolt." He said, letting them know that although the past of the Monarchs and Rulers was unpleasant, compared to the denizens of those other universes, they were lucky.
"But don't think that they have any loyalty towards each other. The fact that this universe is now masterless is a glaring weakness that needs to be rectified ASAP." Dante said, and the hologram switched from the Itarim to an image of the universe all the way up to its boundaries. "So, are you saying that this Nexus is going to be the new master of the universe?" One of the other Rulers asked.
"No, he's more of a coordinator. I've giving him control over most of this universe's reality, as well as the directive to help all races prepare for the inevitable invasion of the Itarim's forces." Dante said, and Nexus's eyes glowed ever so shortly, and a pulse of energy released from the star. As Sung Jin-Woo noticed this, his eyes widened as a realization dawned on him.
"Dante, is that Nexus?" Sung Jin-Woo asked, pointing at the star. "Yeah, that's his physical body. He might be a spirit, but to make him more effective and faster, a body capable of holding and utilizing his power to the fullest is needed. That's basically a giant processing unit." Dante responded as he gently ruffled Nexus's hair.
"Okay. So, what did he just do?" The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light asked. "Nothing, really. He just finished spreading his reach to the limits of the universe. Now, let me finish, will you." Dante replied. "Good. Now, while you've killed the other Monarchs, this doesn't mean that the concept of Monarchs is gone from the universe." Dante said to Sung Jin-Woo, causing everyone to look at him with intrigue.
"Ashborne isn't the only one capable of making ways for his power to be inherited, you know." Dante said, a smirk on his face. "Either way, as the current most powerful being of this universe, you are now kinda responsible for defending the universe from the Itarim themselves. But, don't worry, you've got time, for now." He said to Sung Jin-Woo, unfazed by the danger that the Itarim posed.
"Oh, well. It's time for Nexus to begin his duties." Dante said, and lightly patted Nexus's head. |Orders received. Activating Protocols Ascension, Aegis and Babel.| Nexus said, and a powerful pulse of energy emanated from his processor, spreading across the entire universe in an instant.
…
On Earth, everyone was still reeling in shock from the battle that went down between Sung Jin-Woo and Antares, when suddenly, every single human saw a blue window appear in their vision, without exception.
|Congratulations. You have been granted the privilege of Ascension.|
A massive tower seemingly rose out of the Pacific Ocean, and it released a pulse of mana onto the planet, imbuing the entire planet with mana, strengthening it to a similar level to the Chaos World that the Rulers and Monarchs had their battles before the Rulers killed the Absolute Being.
The same scene happened on multiple other worlds that were populated by Magic Beasts. In the midst of this, Dante snapped his fingers, altering reality to make the results of Sung Jin-Woo's run in the Demon Castle the current reality, making the Radir clan the number 1 noble clan amongst the demons, essentially pushing them to demon royalty.
Back on Earth, many Hunters looked at the people around them, and noticed that despite them being normal human beings mere seconds ago, they had all awakened to mana, with a considerable number of S Ranks appearing in the world. All those who were afflicted with the Eternal Slumber awoke to the message as well. But this didn't mean that absolutely every human was alive to enjoy this blessing.
A small percentage of humans, previously awakened and not, received a separate message that practically signified the end of their lives. |You have been stripped of your privileged Ascension.| These were criminals that had been serial murderers, rapists, child abusers, drug pushers, loan sharks and the like, even when they hadn't been found out by the authorities. This was Nexus's way of making sure that humanity's worst never got the chance to cause any more harm to others.
…
|Protocols are in full effect.| Nexus said, having completed the awakening of all beings in the universe and the strengthening of all planets with life on them. "Good job, Nexus." Dante said, and with that, Nexus's spirit form vanished, but not before running over to Shiraori and giving her a hug, much like a child telling his parents goodbye when they drop them off at school.
"So, what did he do now?" Sung Jin-Woo asked. "First, he awakened every human, then connected to them and every Magic Beast through a system not unlike yours. Then, he formed towers on every life planet, which strengthen the planets they are on and serve as a substitute to dungeons. And lastly, he placed a shield around the universe to prevent the entry of the Itarim and their forces."
Hearing that Nexus had done all of that in such a short time shocked Sung Jin-Woo and the Rulers, and when they thought about how easily he had done it, they all had the same thought. 'He might as well be a replacement for the Absolute Being.'
"By the way, you mentioned that the other Monarchs had inheritances left behind. Does that mean that I'd have to fight their successors too?" Sung Jin-Woo asked. "No, you won't. More accurately, they won't try to antagonize you at all. After all, despite the fact that the Absolute Beings created the Rulers and Monarchs to be antithetical to each other, they all technically have the duty to protect this universe." Dante replied.
"Hmm, that… makes sense." The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light said after some seconds of thought. "Well, we've spent enough time with this. So, you ready to get back?" Dante said to Sung Jin-Woo. "Yeah. Let's go back home." Sung Jin-Woo said, and Dante waved his hand, returning them to Earth.
But rather than teleporting them to the island where the battle between Sung Jin-Woo and Antares took place, he teleported them to Seoul, with himself, Shiraori and Sung Jin-Woo in the city, and the Rulers in the sky. When they appeared, people wanted to celebrate, but due to the imposing presence of the Rulers, they remained wary and refrained from such actions.
The Rulers turned to the three Dominion Guild members. "We do not know who you are or where you may have come from, but you have our gratitude for helping us safeguard our universe." The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light said to Dante, and immediately after, the Rulers and their soldiers vanished.
"Jin-Woo!" Cha Hae-In shouted as she ran up to Sung Jin-Woo and wrapped him in a tight hug. She released the hug, then frantically began checking his body for wounds or burns. "H-Hae-In." He called out to her, but she continued checking his body without registering his voice. As she continued, he eventually acquiesced to her actions with a soft smile on his face.
'Maybe Dante was right. I may have lost time with them, but now I'll have enough time with them, and with her.' He thought to himself as he looked down at Cha Hae-In who had finally stopped searching for wounds. In the crowd, approaching Sung Jin-Woo, were Sung Il-Hwan, Park Kyung-Hye and Sung Jin-Ah, who were looking at him and Cha Hae-In with varying degrees of approval.
Suddenly, everyone around them gasped, with some of them pointing behind Sung Jin-Woo. As he turned to see what made them so surprised, he saw Shiraori slightly bent over, kissing Dante, who was holding her hand while on one knee. As she released the kiss, she smiled lovingly. "What took you so long?" She said softly, which for all the awakened people around them, might as well have been speaking out loudly.
"I'm sorry for being late. So, how about I apologize to you by being by your side for all eternity?" Dante said with an apologetic look on his face. "That is… acceptable." Shiraori replied with a faint blush on her face. With a smile on his face, Dante swept Shiraori off her feet and lifted her in a princess-carry. "I'll take that as a yes." He said, then planted a kiss on Shiraori's lips as he teleported away with her in his arms.
While everyone wondered where the two had gone, they understood that they had much greater things to worry about, and so they moved to get society resettled after the battle. No one knew that this would be the last time they would ever see Dante and Shiraori on Earth.
Chapter End.
Word Count: 2,332
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