Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 127
It was truly a breathtaking sight.
Suddenly, the hot spring water of Echo Forest began to swirl, centered around Sirka’s feet. Soon, the water rose, wrapping around Sirka’s entire body before shooting upward.
‘Kwaaa-‘
At that moment, the hot steam from the spring intertwined with the freezing cold, resonating in harmony.
‘Ccccrrackkk!’
Centered around Sirka, the thick steam rising from the spring instantly turned into white frost and froze solid.
It was a moment so magnificent that it felt as though the entire world had frozen over.
… And it had.
‘Ding.’
[“The Sanctuary of Yetis” has been activated.]
At the same time, a message appeared in front of Suho.
[Passive Skill: ‘Unknown’ has been activated.]
Time froze.
—
A world of absolute void.
At the edge of a hollow horizon, Suho stood alone.
‘… Here again.’
Suho calmly looked around.
Then, he found the being that had summoned him to this place.
‘Found you.’
At the edge of the void horizon.
Beyond it sat an old and frail ice elf, staring blankly into space.
Suho took a step forward and slowly approached him.
‘Did you call me here?’
[…]
When Suho spoke first, the elderly ice elf slowly raised his head.
What appeared was his weathered face and exhausted, hollow eyes.
[The King of Yetis, Monarch of Frost, is watching you.]
As soon as the system message appeared, Suho confirmed the identity of the being and nodded.
‘So, you’re the King of Yetis, the Monarch of Frost, Silad.’
[…]
But even as Suho addressed him, Silad did not respond.
He merely stared at Suho with his weary and pitiful gaze.
‘What is this?’
The atmosphere was so unlike any of the other Monarchs Suho had encountered that he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
He suddenly recalled his encounters with other Monarchs.
The Beast Monarch, Fang of the Beast King, radiated an overwhelming aura of majesty even in death.
The Plague Monarch, Querehsha, burned with vengeance, unleashing countless poisonous insects against him despite her demise.
But the Monarch of Frost before him?
He was nothing more than a frail old man, worn down and defeated.
[… Yes. So, you are his son.]
After silently observing Suho for a while, Silad finally spoke.
[Such a curious power you have. To rescue my soul, wandering the Sea of the Dead. Truly, you must be the Shadow Monarch’s son.]
‘The Sea of the Dead?’
[Don’t know it? It’s the place where the dead go. Then again, I suppose such terms are insignificant…]
Silad looked up at the empty sky with a face full of regret.
Of course, there was nothing to be seen above.
Nothing at all.
[… To awaken in the world of void. This is indeed a rare experience. Tch.]
A self-deprecating smile appeared on Silad’s face.
[Yes. Death is such a hollow thing. I always knew it would end like this, yet why did I struggle so desperately?]
‘…’
Suho silently watched him ramble on like a madman, not even meeting Suho’s gaze.
[Do you know? The other Monarchs might be different, but I fought because I didn’t want to die. The darkness within me whispered to destroy everything endlessly, yet I knew it would only lead to ruin.]
‘Hoooh-‘
[Yes, I always knew I’d end up like this.]
Remaining seated, Silad let out a faint sigh.
The white breath escaping his lips turned to frost, creating a mirage in the void.
Before Suho and Silad, countless ice elf illusions appeared.
[Do you know? From the moment we were born, we were forced into war. From the beginning of time to now, and perhaps for eternity. That is why the gods created us.]
‘Kiaaaah-!’
Within the mirage, the ice elves were fighting.
No, they were rushing toward inevitable death.
And among them…
‘Silad’ was there too.
[Do you know? At the end of that war, we nearly won. I even killed your father with my own hands.]
‘…!’
At that moment, Suho’s eyes widened.
In the mirage, the figure of a young man appeared.
A man who resembled Suho too closely.
That man was none other than Suho’s father, Sung Jinwoo.
And then…
‘Puk!’
[I personally drove my blade into your father’s heart.]
In the vision, Silad stabbed a frozen blade into Sung Jinwoo’s heart.
‘Father…?!’
Seeing this, Suho’s eyes burned with rage.
[The King of Yetis, Monarch of Frost, uses the skill: Echo.]
The conversations within the illusion rode on the icy wind, echoing faintly in Suho’s ears.
– “I’ll return your weapon. So, can you recover like before?”
In the vision, Silad leaned close to Sung Jinwoo’s ear and whispered.
With a voice dripping with malice.
– “Is this the end, human? Then you won’t witness it. The moment our army arrives on this land. When human corpses pile into mountains, and rivers of blood flow.”
Silad spewed curses at the dying Sung Jinwoo.
– “But your homeland will not be spared. I’ll freeze every human here, making them suffer forever. Neither living nor dead, they’ll endure infinite time.”
[…]
– “Hate me endlessly in death.”
[Hate me endlessly in death.]
‘Shatter.’
At that moment, Sung Jinwoo’s crumbling body scattered into frozen dust.
Watching the ice dust scatter, Silad stared at Suho with an inscrutable expression.
[Did you see? I killed your father in the cruelest way possible, and I planned to curse everyone connected to him. The reason is simple. I did it all to avoid death.]
Silad did not bother showing Suho what happened afterward.
The truth that Sung Jinwoo resurrected, and in the end, it was Silad himself who lost his life in the war.
But what did that matter?
The fact that he was here now already proved the outcome of everything.
‘…Why are you showing me this?’
Suho’s eyes, watching the vision of his father’s collapse, burned with fiery anger. His fists clenched tightly as if he was ready to pounce on Silad at any moment, but he held himself back.
Whether the vision was real or not, what mattered was that his father was still alive in the present.
In contrast, it was Silad who was here now—dead.
And that made it all the more confusing.
Why was Silad showing him such a vision?
Why was he provoking him like this?
[… So when my consciousness abruptly awakened in the Sea of the Dead and I realized it was the Shadow Monarch’s son who had called me back…]
For a moment, the previously hollow gaze in Silad’s eyes was replaced by an intensely cold killing intent.
[My first thought was to kill you.]
That single trace of bloodlust felt as compressed and frigid as absolute frost, making Suho’s spine tingle.
[I didn’t know how far my powers would reach, but I intended to drag your soul into the Sea of the Dead with me. However…]
…That was impossible.
Because Suho hadn’t acted alone in awakening him.
The ice elf, Sirka.
The guardian of the Baruka tribe, Sirka.
Silad had been curious.
Who was the successor that had discovered the Monarch’s Sanctuary hidden in Echo Forest?
Was this successor worthy of inheriting his powers?
So, Silad had possessed Sirka’s body to read the memories within.
And he had deeply regretted it.
[…I shouldn’t have looked.]
Silad had seen it—the events that transpired on this land after the war ended, through Sirka’s own experiences.
‘Haaa-‘
Silad’s sigh once again formed a frosty mirage.
Within the vision…
To Suho’s surprise, his mother, Cha Hae-in, appeared.
‘Mother…’
Suho saw the mirage as well.
In the vision, Cha Hae-in was…
Standing with the surviving ice elves after the war.
She stayed by the side of the young and fragile children, thawing the frozen expressions on their faces with her warmth and bringing laughter back to their lives.
Like a mother.
[…Like a mother.]
At that moment, Suho realized the emotion behind Silad’s expression.
Even when Silad had stabbed Sung Jinwoo’s heart and cursed him with venomous words like:
– “I will personally freeze all humans on this land and make them suffer eternally. They will exist neither living nor dead for infinite time.”
– “Hate me endlessly in death. That will be my greatest pleasure.”
He had spoken with conviction.
And yet, here he was—dead.
And those who survived the war, his own people, the ice elves…
Were being cared for by Sung Jinwoo’s wife.
Moreover, the ice elves under Cha Hae-in’s care smiled radiantly, without a single trace of pain or sorrow.
‘Kugh.’
For a moment, Silad’s face twisted into one of extreme humiliation.
Ironically, the warm smiles on their faces were expressions their king and Monarch, Silad, had never witnessed before.
And, of course, it made sense.
To him, they were merely tools for an eternal battlefield.
From the moment of their creation, they existed solely for war.
And yet…
[To think they could show such expressions…]
He sighed deeply and turned to Suho.
[Yes, you won. I confess, even in death, that I have been utterly defeated.]
Tears began to leak from Silad’s eyes as he wore a face full of humiliation.
[Now, in death, I find myself unable to hate you. Instead, I feel nothing but endless gratitude. And yet, even this disgrace…]
He smiled bitterly.
[…Is something I am thankful for.]
Indeed.
Deeply thankful.
To the point of tears.
Silad, who had been sitting all this time, slowly rose to his feet.
[Son of the Shadow Monarch.]
‘Hwaaah-!’
Suddenly, the frail and aged body of Silad emanated a Monarch’s aura, filling the void entirely.
[The King of Yetis, Monarch of Frost, is watching you.]
His once-weary gaze now bore into Suho with overwhelming arrogance.
[I have one request. It is a cowardly and shameful plea from a defeated Monarch—a lingering regret of mine left on this land.]
‘…’
[Please… convey my gratitude to your mother on my behalf.]
Yes.
That alone would suffice.
[And just as your mother cared for my children, from now on, I, too, shall protect you.]
‘Shaaaa-‘
At that moment, the frost permeating the void filled Suho with a blessing.
‘Ding.’
[‘Blessing: Frost Monarch’s Grace’ has been applied.]
Time, frozen around Suho, began to move once more.
As Silad’s fading voice echoed, it reached Suho one final time.
[Your mother is in danger nearby. I will send you to her at once.]