Chapter 508
“You’ve worked hard.”
The Magician’s voice carried genuine sincerity. His face showed subtle but unmistakable fatigue.
“Once word spread, transcendents from everywhere rushed in. All of them tried obsessively to control the Scale of Ouroboros. But even then, it was impossible to control.”
Transcendents—those who governed concepts.
They literally ruled the concepts of the universe itself. If they wished, they could threaten the entire cosmos alone.
The strongest beings in existence, capable of exerting influence across the universe.
Yet even with several of them gathered, none could control the Scale of Ouroboros.
It was something that rejected understanding. The pride of transcendents had been utterly crushed.
“So I had to go quite far away and borrow the power of something else.”
“Something else?”
“Ouroboros is closer to a device that oversees the cycle of all things. And there isn’t only one such device-like existence.”
The Magician shrugged.
“It’s really unrelated to you as you are now, so I’ll leave that part out. In any case… after numerous attempts and ideas, I finally managed to make it.”
He waved his hand. The gem drifted slowly toward Taesan.
“Take it. Something made solely for you.”
Taesan extended his hand. The white gem settled gently on his palm.
[You have obtained a Fragment of Ouroboros.]
[Fragment of Ouroboros]
[Allows travel through twisted and distorted time flows. Many restrictions and conditions apply.]
A faint smile appeared on Taesan’s lips.
‘Finally.’
This was exactly what he had wanted. At last, he had obtained it after a long wait.
Taesan suppressed his excitement. It wasn’t perfect yet. He had asked the Magician to use the Scale of Ouroboros to craft an item, and they had already decided on the effect beforehand.
He needed to confirm how close it was to the intended result.
“It says there are restrictions and conditions.”
“Exactly what you expect. Traveling through twisted time is something even we can’t do.”
Even transcendents could not fully escape the flow of time. Only Ouroboros could.
“If all you wanted was to return to the past, it would’ve been easier. But that’s not what you wanted, right? Your request lies outside our understanding and domain, so we couldn’t perfect it. Hence the significant penalties.”
“What kind of restrictions?”
“First, this.”
The Magician raised one finger.
“You can move along a distorted timeline. But that timeline is separate from this one.”
“A parallel world?”
“Something like that. It’s a different time axis. No matter what you do or achieve there, absolutely nothing will change in this timeline.”
If Taesan had planned on going to the past to alter the future, this would’ve been the worst news possible. No matter what he accomplished there, nothing here would change.
But Taesan’s expression didn’t shift.
“And next?”
“That world is on a different time axis. Meaning, you’re an outsider there. With the Fragment of Ouroboros and your own power, you can withstand it to a degree… but if you try to change that world too much, it will attempt to expel you.”
There were restrictions on power and actions.
“But that’s not a big deal. Your power will be limited anyway.”
“Limited?”
“The time you can travel to starts after your birth. You can’t go to a time in which you didn’t exist. You’re aware of that, right?”
Taesan nodded. The Magician pointed at him.
“The real issue is that your power will also be fixed to what you had at that point in that timeline.”
Taesan understood immediately.
“If I return to my childhood… before entering the labyrinth.”
“Your power will be fixed to that level.”
A massive penalty. He could lose everything he had gained and become an ordinary human.
Meaning the timelines he could travel to were heavily limited.
“Of course, if you want, you can draw out your original power. But then you won’t be able to stay long.”
Another enormous restriction.
Taesan’s expression remained calm.
“And?”
“I said you’re an outsider there, right? The reverse is true as well.”
Anything from that world would become an anomaly if brought here.
“You’ll have a hard time bringing materials or substances. Even if you succeed, they’ll become meaningless. That applies even to fragments of Ouroboros.”
He couldn’t simply bring things back. Taesan asked:
“But not everything is impossible to bring back, right?”
The Magician nodded.
“You can’t bring anomalies. But if you obtain something through your own effort, with proper qualification, then it’s no longer considered foreign. You can bring that back.”
“That’s enough.”
Taesan smiled.
He couldn’t change the past. He couldn’t meaningfully alter anything there. He could lose his power. And he couldn’t bring most things back.
So many restrictions, each of them heavy.
But Taesan was satisfied. He tightened his grip around the fragment.
The Magician watched him with interest.
“You’re making me curious.”
Taesan had told him exactly what he hoped to achieve. So the Magician understood him better than anyone.
That was why he was curious—would Taesan succeed?
“This fits better than what I originally prepared.”
The Magician waved. The labyrinth’s concepts and laws shifted at his command. Another rule was engraved into the labyrinth itself.
[94th floor quest begins.]
[Fulfill what you desire, then return.]
[Reward: Magician’s Ring.]
[Secret reward: ???]
“There was originally something prepared for the 94th floor, but thinking about it, it felt pointless for you. This should be better.”
“Can you change things so casually?”
“Why not? I’m the master of the labyrinth.”
The Magician laughed. His eyes were filled with joy and anticipation.
“Go on. Achieve it. I’ll be waiting here in this world.”
Taesan nodded and descended the stairs.
The 94th floor was empty. As if urging him to act on his own, the labyrinth held nothing.
[Are you going now?]
“No reason to wait.”
He had arranged everything from the moment he requested the item.
All that remained was execution.
Bardray muttered uncertainly:
[But in this case… what happens to me and Akasha? We’re fully bound to you, unlike spirits.]
“Akasha, maybe. But not you, right? You can leave me if you want.”
[Still, the contract is tied to me being your weapon. I’m not sure what happens in this situation.]
“It’ll be fine. Worst case, only your soul comes along.”
Taesan tightened his grip, a serious expression on his face. The moment he held the fragment, everything he needed to know about using it had flowed into his mind.
[You have used the Fragment of Ouroboros.]
Woooooong!
Waves shook.
The labyrinth began to tremble and distort.
It wasn’t being forcibly twisted—rather, like a natural line drawn across a canvas.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
And the distortion spread past space, reaching time itself.
Time and space twisted around Taesan.
[Wh… wow…]
Bardray’s voice trembled. Akasha was silent, but her unstable aura revealed her emotions.
They had seen many things at Taesan’s side.
But this was unlike anything before. Not like the overwhelming strength of transcendents, nor the alien incomprehensibility of the Old Gods.
It was understandable, but they didn’t want to understand it.
Acceptable, but they wanted to reject it.
Because—
[It’s too…]
It was too vast.
Like realizing the ground beneath their feet was the back of an enormous creature.
Like realizing everything they knew existed inside a tiny marble.
Truths beyond their common sense and perception swept over them.
Bardray shuddered.
Crack!
The power of Ouroboros manifested. A primordial concept enveloped them, pulling them out of the world’s flow, laws, and concepts.
Born in this world, part of this world—yet now they were no longer part of it.
They no longer belonged to this world.
Voooooong!
The trembling axes of time and space wrapped around Taesan completely. When everything was ready, he clenched his fist.
Crack-crack-crack!
The fragment split, releasing the concept within.
[Wa—]
Bardray attempted to shout, terrified, but his words couldn’t remain in the world. The concept fully enveloped Taesan and compressed.
And then—
No one was there.
Not Taesan. Not Bardray. Not Akasha.
Taesan vanished completely from the labyrinth.
Tak.
And Taesan stepped onto the floor of a labyrinth.
“Ugh.”
[Hrk.]
A strange sensation washed over them. As if the world itself was rejecting them. Taesan clicked his tongue and focused. The unpleasant feeling gradually faded.
“So this is it.”
It felt like lying on a pile of gravel. Uncomfortable, but bearable.
[…Wait. Why are Akasha and I like this?]
Bardray was confused.
He was now in soul form. Akasha as well—both floating as translucent spirits beside Taesan.
[Where’s my body?]
[Master, something about you is different too.]
Taesan checked himself.
The equipment he once had—all gone.
Not just that.
A hollow weakness throughout his body.
The power that once split the heavens and the realm he once reached were nowhere to be found. Compared to his previous state, he was no different from an ordinary human.
[…Master.]
Akasha spoke with a shaken voice.
[Where… is this?]
Taesan finished assessing his condition and lifted his gaze.
The first thing he saw was a labyrinth wall.
A dark, familiar labyrinth wall that filled his vision. The room was spacious—about the size of a sports field.
And at its center was a large spring.
Taesan had seen that spring before. Long ago, but vividly remembered.
‘The Spring of Life.’
It was different from the Spring of Life in Solo Mode. That one was more like a fountain. But this… this was the size of a small lake.
A scale impossible to find in Solo Mode. Bardray sounded shocked.
[Why is the spring so big? There’s nothing like that in the labyrinth!]
[Master… this place… feels like…]
Akasha faltered, and Bardray finished her sentence.
[Like… a labyrinth.]
“It is. Just not the labyrinth you know.”
[What do you mean?]
Taesan drew a deep breath. It was a scene he hadn’t witnessed in a very long time.
This was the place he had spent a lifetime clearing in his previous life.
A twisted space created through the interference of the Old Gods.
Easy Mode.