The World after the Fall

There was silence. Only footsteps could be heard in the forest from time to time. After a while, Runald then asked in shock, "The <Great Lands> is the 1st site of Big Brother?!"

"Oh, so you didn't know anything then?"

Karavan spoke smugly and Runald responded.

"How would I know? I'm just a kid who's been here for 3 years."

"There's no 'kid' in <Depth>. Even a 10-year-old child is already corrupt here."

Runald then began to quarrel with Karavan. As the topic went sideways, Jaehwan thought about what Karavan had said.

'So, Big Brother is the God of Adapters.'

He had guessed it, but it was still shocking to hear. There was also another fact that he realized.

'So, the <Great Lands> is not the land of the living after all.'

Jaehwan had just considered the <Great Lands> to be a land where the 'living' lived and they went to <Chaos> when they died. But that wasn't the case.

The <Great Lands> was just one of many sites of the <Depth>, after all.

'Then the [Fruit] is…'

The [Fruits] that the Depth Expedition Team wanted for so long. The miraculous fruits that gave life. Jaehwan felt bitter. If what Karavan spoke was true, then the [Fruit] wasn't the miracle fruit that they thought it was.

The [Fruit] was just another way to enter the 1st site. It didn't give life back. It was revolting to learn of this.

Runald and Karavan were now back on the original topic.

"Wait. So how strong is Big Brother?"

"Hmm… I guess he's stronger than the <Great Lands> at least."

Runald became awestruck. That comparison wasn't to another God, but the world itself.

Stronger than the <Great Lands>? What kind of a being was that? Runald was summoned into <Depth> from the beginning, so he had never gone to the <Great Lands>, but he had heard a lot about it. He knew the Lords of the 12 regions had power that didn't fall behind the 7 Gods of <Depth>.

If the Lords of the <Great Lands> were equal in power to the 7 Gods, except for Big Brother, it meant that Big Brother already had a 'unique world' equaled to <Depth> itself.

"I can't imagine what kind of being Big Brother is. The [System] already controls the <Great Lands> and the Tree of Imagery."

Even Karavan, the Vicegerent of Ignis, could not guess just how powerful Big Brother was.

"I've never seen Big Brother myself either. To be honest, I actually don't want to see him."

There was probably no one who could withstand the terror at facing such an almighty being. Karavan then turned to Jaehwan.

"Oh, didn't you say you were going to meet with Big Brother?"

Jaehwan nodded wordlessly and Karavan was astonished.

"I'm pretty sure you can feel Big Brother's power too, right? Are you just brave or reckless?"

Jaehwan did not answer. He remembered that Yoo Surha talking about a similar thing before.

"If that is your goal, I'm sorry about what happened this time."

"…Why? What about it?"

"You lost the Machina in front of your eyes. If you got your hands on it, it might've increased your chances against Big Brother."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Runald asked instead of Jaehwan.

"I meant what I said. He has a chance to fight against Big Brother. It's all just rumors though."

Jaehwan figured out what he was trying to say. There was no telling if <Depth> could defeat Big Brother, but there was once upon a time when <Depths was not under the control of Big Brother. Runald asked again, "Can you defeat Big Brother if you have the Machina? Is that really that powerful?"

"The Machina alone probably isn't enough. You will need at least 2 of the 3 legendary parts to give it a try."

"Two…"

"One of them is enough to be considered as one of the 7 Gods. I'm pretty sure Myad is considered one of the 7 Gods now. Or, is it one of the 8 Gods?"

Jaehwan then spoke again.

"Therefore, if I have those 3 [Parts], I have a chance against Big Brother?"

"Yeah, but as I said, they're all just rumors. There are stories that tell of Big Brother being afraid of the Three Ancient Gods. If they joined forces against Big Brother, we might be serving different masters in <Depth> right now."

The Three Ancient Gods. They were the old masters of the <Depths> 210 thousand years ago, and the ones who could fight against Big Brother. It was understandable as to why their [Parts] were so highly valued. That was why so many Gods went into the Great Forest and were killed in the search for the [Parts].

Karavan concluded his story.

"Anyway, that's why the Great Forest is that important. It's one of the few places that still has traces of the Three Ancient Gods. Oh, and maybe your friend Andersen too…"

Andersen's reason of telling Jaehwan to head into the Great Forest of all places made sense. It was maybe… Jaehwan nodded as he pulled out his sword.

"We'll have to talk about that later."

Karavan also seemed to have noticed something as he became alert and readied his stance. Runald asked in confusion, "What's going on?"

"Something's approaching."

Runald would also be able to hear it soon. There was something coming towards them. Growling sounds filled the air as cold world power seeped out from within the forest. Runald became pale with fear.

"Is it the Lost Ones…?"

However, before he could finish his sentence, something jumped out of bushes. Runald screamed as Jaehwan's sword and Karavan's fist both swung at the same time.

The first monster was struck down by both of them. But it wasn't the only one. Tens of monsters were rushing in. Jaehwan quickly glanced at the monsters. To his surprise, he knew what they were.

'Dead Men?'

Monsters with tentacles and a terrifying mouth — they were Dead Men. And the monsters that were charging in also looked familiar.

There were monsters with horns on their heads. The monsters that the Adapters of <Chaos> would be so eager to hunt down were standing there.

'Horned monsters!'

The monsters with 8 or more horns were charging in. Some were fighting Dead Men rather than charging at Jaehwan. As he saw them both fighting with each other, he thought to himself, 'I see. That was it.'

He wasn't sure when he heard the term the 'Lost Ones', but now he realized what it was.

'The horned monsters are from Daeus and the Dead Men are from Catastrophe.'

Lost Ones. A term that was used to describe the Vicegerents and Followers who had lost their Gods. Jaehwan was curious about what they would look like, but he already knew them. It seemed the horned monsters were followers of Daeus, and the Dead Men were the followers of Catastrophe. These poor Followers who had lost all sanity were still fighting against each other. Jaehwan and Karavan placed Runald in between them and began fighting against the Lost Ones.

Karavan's flame-wielding fist broke down the horns of the monsters while Jaehwan's sword penetrated the heads of the Dead Men. However, as more powerful Lost Ones began to appear, the tide of the battle slowly turned. Jaehwan wasn't at peak condition and Karavan also was suffering a penalty.

"Dammit… I can't use [Hell Flame] right now."

Karavan was a one of a kind Vicegerent. He could use the [Fiery Fist] Setting without Ignis as it was a basic Setting, but he couldn't use [Hell Flame], which was the main [Setting] of Ignis.

"I could've wiped them out if I could use it…"

There was no way for him to unleash such a powerful world power without the help of Ignis. The only world power he could muster by himself was about 10 thousand. And his world power was now low because of the waves of Lost Ones.

"Huh?! HEY! What's going on?!"

Jaehwan felt weird. He grabbed his head as he fought to stand.

'…What?'

He was confused. He had a sudden headache and dizziness as he felt a strong sense of dejà vu. It didn't seem like he was feeling it because of the Dead Men or horned monsters. It felt like he had visited the Great Forest before.

He knew the place. He was sure.

But how? He had never come to <Depth> before. How could he know this place? It didn't make any sense at all.

'Wait, is this…?'

As he tried to make out the reason, tentacles came for him from all sides and with his depleted world power — there was no way to dodge it.

"Watch out!"