Root (3)
‘Cause and effect?’
The gods of the pantheon usually hide their real names and have divine names.
This was because the gods and beliefs that represented them were fully contained within it.
So, most believers tend to be biased towards gods related to combat, luck, or occupation that are helpful in real life.
Deities whose names were too conceptual or metaphysical were often unpopular or little known.
The God of Cause and Effect was one of them.
Cause and effect.
Cause and effect.
It simply means that, but from a philosophical perspective, it is a divine name that implies that all elements that make up the world are connected like threads.
Theodo had only heard the name once, but had never actually seen the sect. Likewise, there was no one around him who identified themselves as a believer of Cain and Ga, so there was no contact with them.
But after all the filtering systems were shut down, the first message I saw was the God of Causality.
At that moment, an idea immediately crossed Theo’s mind.
“Are you the one who sent me this message?”
The messages always gave Theo something to do and mentioned a reward for doing it.
As if he knew what would happen in the future.
And it also threw a penalty for when it fails.
-Results according to karma.
Where else can you see cause and effect as clearly as this?
[As the God of Cause and Effect explains that it is difficult to explain that far, he wiggles his butt a little. His tail wags without him realizing it.]
“… … .”
Isn’t that what you’re asking me to do to make sure that I’m right?
But it had a tail?
[The God of Cause and Effect coughs lightly and urges them to go up quickly.]
However, the catch was that the God of Cause and Effect acted as if he knew himself well.
Perhaps because it simply deals with messages similar to those on the monitor.
Or is there something else… … .
But Theo decided to remain faithful to the advice of the God of Cause and Effect.
The climb to Baektap is not over yet.
‘The Baektap is the past that the soul possesses, and it is said that it continues to go unconsciously. And then it reaches the roots. Then where is the past from here? Is it a past life that I cannot remember?’
The 10th floor we arrived at was a cave.
[You have entered the 10th floor.] [The first pain that humans feel when they begin to develop cognitive abilities is childbirth. The process of passing through the narrow birth canal is very difficult, so it remains in the baby’s subconscious for a long time. However, the joy of meeting the light of the outside world after passing through the narrow and dark birth canal also remains in the subconscious.] [The process of passing through a dark, damp, and cramped cave is very similar to the process of passing through such a birth canal. However, you must go back through the cave to go back much earlier than you remember.] [Go back through the cave and go back to where you were. Then you will gain the right to reach the <root> related to your birth.]
All the light that had been illuminating Theo’s path disappeared.
It is the same even if you breathe [spirituality] into both eyes.
All that remained were the non-visual senses, such as hearing and smell.
He stretched out his hand to gauge the size of the passage he had to pass through.
‘The width is just big enough for a skinny person to pass through. The height is… … so high that I have to bend my head down. It’s probably about 1.7 meters. How far is it?’
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Theo extended his magical power outward as much as possible.
There was no end in sight.
They are winding and interconnected like a maze.
It was like looking at an ant hole.
“… … I’m going crazy.”
[The God of Journey wonders how you will pass.] [The God of Archery clicks his tongue, saying that if you use arrows, you can measure distances, but since you use a worthless sword, that is so.]
.
[The God of Destruction advises that destroying everything might be the answer.] [The God of Harmony scolds you, saying that if you keep running wild like this ignorantly, the cave will collapse and you will be buried alive.] [The God of Destruction frowns, asking if you really want to be destroyed.] [The God of Harmony scoffs and tells you to go ahead and try.] [The two gods clash!] [The God of Journey touches his temple, saying that it is noisy.]
.
.
[The God of Cause and Effect clenches both fists and shouts, “Fighting!”]
.
It seemed that the beings called gods were a bit, no, in fact, a lot more noisy and frivolous than I had thought.
No, what kind of symbolism is it that allows you to see the message while blocking you from seeing anything further ahead?
Theo felt a little annoyed and just closed the message window.
[The God of Cause and Effect rushes in, telling me not to turn it off… … !]
Pot!
“I feel like I can finally live.”
Theo slowly walked towards the cave.
Fortunately, external perception was possible, so although the walking posture was uncomfortable, there was no problem at all with movement.
“I may wander a little on the road, but as long as I can keep going like this, no matter how long it is, there won’t be a problem.”
But as words become seeds, the problem came right after.
[I have lost my sense of taste. I cannot taste the outside world.]
Other senses also began to be blocked one by one.
[I have lost my sense of smell. I cannot smell the outside world.] [I have lost my sense of hearing. I cannot hear the outside world.]
From the moment he lost his sense of smell and hearing, a warning light went on in Theo’s head.
‘It’s dangerous if we continue like this!’
The loss of any cognitive avenue to the outside world was a fatal blow in such a cramped cave.
but,
[I have lost my sense of touch. I cannot feel the texture of the outside world.]
All five senses were eventually shut off.
Now Theo had to focus solely on external perception through magic.
He walked very slowly, like a blind man groping an elephant’s leg.
As I walked, I hit my head on the ceiling and blood flowed, and when I tripped on a rock and fell, my legs were covered in blood in an instant.
Yet the cave showed no sign of ending.
No, at this point I was even confused as to whether I was on the right path.
‘What is this? I’m sure I’ve come this way before? Oh, or maybe not? The ceiling seems to be in a different position… …!’
A long, painful time with no end in sight.
There was no point in using a chronograph here.
Because it didn’t help much with movement.
The cave was so large that slowing down time to think about it didn’t help much.
Another problem was the scope of perception.
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If you expand the magic range too much, it becomes difficult to see the details, and if you narrow it too much, the direction of the path starts to get confusing.
After repeating the process of expanding and narrowing too many times, after some time, the structure of the ant hole in Theo’s head began to become a little confusing.
‘Just a little bit… … Let’s go forward a little faster. If it’s going to be like this, it’s better to just keep going.’
Theo was starting to feel a little impatient.
An obsession with having to hurry surrounded him.
There was also the added [delusion of persecution] that another restriction might be imposed at any time.
In addition, [confusion], [mental impulses], [cognitive dissonance], and [neurosis] were created, and when things did not go well, thoughts of [depression disorder], [anxiety disorder], and even [panic symptoms] that made the world seem smaller were added in succession.
and,
[For unknown reasons, the use of magic power is restricted. All perception of the outside world is blocked.]
When the last resort I believed in was over.
The anxieties that had been plaguing Theo exploded and engulfed his mental world.
For a moment he felt as if he had been abandoned by the world.
In a situation like this where there is no distinction between front, back, left, right, up, down, how on earth am I supposed to find my way?
No, I even started to wonder if it was right for me to exist in the first place.
‘Maybe I’m already dead? I couldn’t get through the White Tower and am buried here… … . The penalty for failure is also death… … . I think it was like this when I died before… … .’
Theo’s consciousness was greatly diminished.
The darkness that filled the cave seemed to completely envelop his being.
I even thought that the darkness was eating away at his soul, dismantling every bit of his existence.
-A world where there is no distinction between self and other.
There, no matter how much consciousness was maintained, it was nothing more than a crumb that became nothing more than a vain illusion.
No matter how strong your will is, you won’t see any results, so what’s the point of will?
[The boundary with the world is blurred.] [Consciousness disappears.] [Cause is disintegrating. Effects are naturally falling away. The chain of cause and effect no longer applies to you.] [Quest is failing.]
.
.
[The God of Cause and Effect shouts to get up in a hurry… … .] [The God of Destruction clicks his tongue, saying that this is all he has been waiting for… … .] [The God of Harmony is disappointed… … .] [The God of the Journey declares the end of your journey… … .]
.
Theo’s consciousness became infinitely smaller and eventually became a dot.
A time of nothingness arrived as darkness consumed Theo’s entire existence.
… … .
[Madness causes a seizure.]
At that moment, the only thing that had not disappeared from among the elements that made up Theo woke up.
Sword’s Bead.
A thought occurred that shook Theo’s mind, giving him endless inspiration and at the same time, an obsession with swords and swordsmanship.
In fact, as Guishar had seen, Theo was slowly becoming mad.
The remaining sparks remained and did not go out, and when they woke up, they flared up violently like a fire.
At the same time, Theo’s madness grew uncontrollably, pushing away the darkness.
Not only did he restore Theo’s spiritual world, he also expanded it infinitely.
Madness contained a complex mix of emotions.
The desire to go out.
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The desire to become stronger.
Thirst for power.
It was somewhat in line with the direction that the owner of the thoughts contained in the sword’s bead had pursued while alive, and it was only natural that it would merge with Theo’s consciousness.
Thump thump thump thump-
The sound of the bell eventually turned into a loud explosion.
Thump thump thump thump thump… … !
[The God of Cause and Effect opens his mouth wide and stares blankly at the strange phenomenon happening to you. His mouth is drooling.]
Just as the universe began with an explosion from a very small point.
Theo’s consciousness also expanded with the explosion of madness, pushing away the outside world and growing infinitely.
‘I misunderstood the mission of this level from the beginning. There was no destination in this ant hole.’
Theo turned his ‘gaze’ of consciousness upwards rather than downwards.
This is the tower.
Then shouldn’t we look up instead of down?
‘If the main content is that we should not forget that our existence is closed off from the outside world… … . Rather, we should aim upwards… … .’
Theo now acted as if he were going to burn down the White Tower, fueled by the madness of the sword orb.
‘The solution was to send consciousness outward as much as possible, regardless of the distinction between self and other.’
Theo’s conscious world was now mixed with darkness.
Then all my senses returned.
I was able to become aware of my own existence again.
[You can use magic again.] [All senses have been restored.] [You have entered the 11th floor.]
Theo had already passed the cave and was on a new level.
‘No. Not yet.’
The expansion of Theo’s consciousness did not stop there. The 11th floor was merely an intermediate point.
‘Go to the top.’
[Entered the 12th floor.] [Entered the 13th floor.]
‘and…….’
[I conquered all 13 floors and arrived at the rooftop.]
‘Look up there.’
The top of the tower is the rooftop, not the 13th floor. But there is only one place higher than that.
-Pantheon.
Theo’s consciousness reached beyond the White Tower, through the sky, beyond the planet, and into the realm of the universe beyond it.
It was Nirvana.
A spiritual state where the distinction between self and other disappears, where I become the world and the world becomes me.
[The God of Cause and Effect hurriedly adds an explanation that the spiritual enlightenment that would have ended with climbing the 11th floor if things were as they were, is due to the fuel of madness and the secret of a previous life… … ]
The message that was being printed was suddenly crushed by a huge iron door that appeared.
thud……!
An iron gate engraved with a sculpture of numerous gods intertwined together.
Theo clenched his fists in front of him.
How the bastard of the Return Sword Family lives
