Free Web Novel[Ascension Path]
[As its name suggests, it is a road that ascends to heaven.]
As the Legion officers cautiously grasped the map.
At that moment.
Fwaaaaaash!!!
Before their eyes.
An entirely different landscape unfolded.
The soldiers who saw it widened their eyes in shock.
'A dungeon......?'
No, a gate?
No.
It was not.
[Long ago...... in one corner of the universe filled with infinite possibilities, a scholar was born.]
This was not a dungeon.
Nor was it a gate.
[Through a great enlightenment, the scholar succeeded in escaping mortal fate.]
[A miracle made possible only because they possessed possibilities so extraordinary they were rare even across the entire universe!]
Dungeons were the result of terraforming meant to invade Earth.
And gates were the result of only fragments of ruined worlds remaining behind and wandering through the universe.
[Ordinarily, that miracle should have remained merely a miracle.......]
[Unfortunately, the story did not end there.]
But this.
[The transcendent who succeeded in ascending to heaven looked down upon the entire universe from that lofty height.]
[And while gazing upon the scenery visible to their eyes...... they conceived a certain thought.]
Was neither a corrupted Earth.
Nor a fragment of a ruined world.
[There are far too many foolish and weak insects in this universe.]
[Yet through enlightenment, I cast off my feeble flesh and ascended to heaven. If it is I.]
As they read the messages, they realized it.
This was closer to...... how should they put it.
[Then perhaps, with my wisdom, even those insects may be raised into the heavens.]
A world.
Intentionally created by someone.
[Ascension Path - ‘The Road That Ascends to Heaven’ has been opened!]
[A road to heaven created by a great transcendent who offered up their divine fate and very existence!]
The scenery changed in an instant.
In the middle of a star-filled universe.
They stood upon a Milky Way-like road made of countless stars.
And.
That road stretched far away.
All the way toward the distant reaches of the universe, too far to properly see.
An uphill path with no visible end.
[The arrogant being who reached transcendence through their own power overestimated their abilities and conceived the foolish notion that they could raise others into heaven as well.]
[To realize that arrogant thought, they resolved to invest everything they possessed...... their name, life, enlightenment, and existence itself.]
[A great challenge that might have left its name across the entire universe had it succeeded!]
And.
At the entrance to that road, unknown letters shimmered.
And beneath them.
[Of course, the result was.......]
-Failure.
“......!”
A black, flickering.
-Pathetically, utterly failed.
Unknown shadow stood there.
***
-With my wisdom, I believed anything was possible.
At the sudden voice.
The unit members looked toward the being.
Bzzzt.......
A blackened, glitching form.
Something they could not properly perceive.
Only then did the unit members realize.
'This is not something we are seeing.'
That black, distorted shape was not the being’s true form.
-I believed raising insects into heaven would merely be the first step in proving my greatness.
The gap between that existence and themselves was simply too enormous.
They could not properly perceive its true nature.
And only the place where it stood appeared as though “something were obscuring it.”
-A foolish thing to believe.
“.......”
-I was the insect who knew nothing of how vast and boundless this universe truly is...... not even a fragment of it.
The difference in their levels was simply too immense.
Even though their eyes saw the being, they could not truly see it.
Even though their minds recognized the being, they could not comprehend it.
-To prove one last time that I was not mistaken, I even accepted this unfair contract.
Yet despite possessing such power.
-In the end...... I failed once more.
That being.
Was quietly sobbing in an unbearably depressed voice.
-Ah, forgive me. Joaquin, Daniela, Santiago.......
What in the world had it experienced?
The being lowered its head and wept in anguish.
-My arrogance and obstinacy...... even dragged innocent you all into this....... Aaaah.......
For a long while, it continued sobbing like that, repeating names they did not recognize.
Then eventually it raised its head and spoke.
-According to the contract, this ‘road’ now belongs to you.
Suppressing its sorrow by force.
Speaking in the most rational voice it could manage.
-Walk it if you wish. Of course.......
The being rose with a bitter smile.
And a moment later.
-Even Joaquin, that courageous human, failed this road.
The distortion around its body vanished.
And behind it, the scenery of the universe became visible.
-You too will ultimately fail.
The being that had existed in a place they themselves could not perceive.
Began to disappear.
And then.
-The road I created was never a road that could be climbed in the first place.......
With those final words.
The being whose mere presence had made breathing impossible for them.
[‘Pioneer of the Heavenly Road’ is extinguished.]
Its form.
Completely vanished.
[The being that possessed miraculous potential and might have become the greatest transcendent ultimately failed to fulfill its divine fate.]
[To fail to fulfill one’s divine fate is to lose one’s name.]
[And to lose one’s name is to lose one’s existence!]
[The husk of the transcendent who lost its existence is consumed by the Ascension Path.]
“.......”
Only then did the soldiers realize.
That the being from moments ago had been completely annihilated.
“Joaquin, Santiago.......”
And.
Squad Leader Lee Sanga looked toward the place where it had vanished and gave a bitter smile.
“Those are Spanish names.”
“.......”
And then.
The soldiers’ gazes turned behind them.
[ The Road That Ascends to Heaven - First Step ]
A vast space resembling the universe itself.
At its center lay a strangely shimmering path of starlight.
[ Mortals. ]
[ Climb the road and overcome the trials bestowed upon you. ]
Above that path.
Gigantic letters shimmered.
[ Even should the road be arduous, do not abandon it. ]
[ The road I pioneered shall guide you to heaven. ]
Words written by someone who had once been overflowing with confidence.
Those who guessed the identity of the one who wrote them gave bitter smiles.
“An impossible road, huh.”
After reading the words, Corporal Lee Minjae scratched his head.
Then shrugged his shoulders and spoke.
“If it can’t be done, then we’ll just have to make it possible.”
The soldiers’ footsteps.
Began climbing that “heavenly road.”
***
“......They’ve gone.”
The beastkin spoke as they looked toward the place where the Legion officers had been.
Then.
They turned their heads and looked at Ariella.
“We agreed to cooperate, so we intend to head to the Legion. You said there are healers there as well, so it would probably be better to treat that Gyeonsul bastard there too.”
“That would be best.”
“That aside. What are you planning to do now?”
At Shin Jong’s question.
Ariella thought for a moment before speaking.
“Let us go together. I too have business with the Legion.”
“You as well?”
At her words.
The beastkin looked at Ariella with puzzled expressions.
After all, she herself had said she could not participate in that battle.
So they wondered why she would head toward the Legion.
“Even with your cooperation, if a full-scale battle truly begins, a large number of troops will ultimately be necessary.”
Ariella spoke calmly.
In the past.
They could have filled those ranks using Legion forces not currently part of this expeditionary army.
Or troops from allied factions.
However.
“Now Master has gone over to their side.”
“......Is that so important? Was not General Kim Hyeon-seok the leader of the Legion?”
“.......”
The beastkin, who knew nothing of Corporal Shin Youngjun’s position, only looked puzzled.
But Ariella thought to herself.
'They said the officers’ guild-message function was blocked.'
There was no need to ask who had blocked it.
It had obviously been her master, Corporal Shin Youngjun.
And conversely, that meant.
'There is a high possibility that his own guild-message function has not been blocked.'
Perhaps.
At this very moment, the Legion’s main force had already been informed that this expeditionary army and the other officers were rebels.
No matter how exceptional Lieutenant General Kim Hyeon-seok’s abilities were.
The time in which he could exercise them would not last long.
Simply gathering the forces scattered across the occupied territories would already be difficult enough.
And depending on ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) the contents of the message sent by Corporal Shin Youngjun, he might even have to personally persuade those who regarded them as enemies one by one.
In this situation, securing sufficient military strength would be nearly impossible.
Which meant.
'They will need the help of my children.'
Ariella’s kin called Ariella “Master.”
But the title they used for Shin Youngjun was slightly different.
Master’s Master.
A somewhat peculiar form of address.
The reason was simple.
'I am the one who formed a covenant with Master. My kin did not.'
The reason they followed Shin Youngjun.
Unless they chose to follow him voluntarily.
Was merely because they obeyed the orders of their own master, Ariella.
In truth.
No forced relationship whatsoever existed between Shin Youngjun and Ariella’s kin.
In the past, Shin Youngjun had even been wary of Ariella’s kin because of that fact.
Which meant.
'My children would be capable of fighting Master without issue.'
So long as she did not stop them.
Her kin could attack Corporal Shin Youngjun without hesitation.
Even if he appeared before them and issued orders, they would likely ignore them without concern.
That was why.
During this retreat, she herself had needed to flee first.
Yet her kin had remained behind until the end to help the soldiers retreat.
'However.......'
Ariella thought with a tense expression.
'The Legion members will not accept my children easily.'
No.
To be more precise.
'......They will not accept me.'
A being who had once murdered their comrades.
There was a high probability they would reject her help.
Even during the retreat from the Church’s territory.
The unit members had recoiled in horror upon seeing Ariella.
And they had struggled to accept the fact that her kin were protecting them.
If her forces were to support the Legion.
Then the two factions would have to fight together.
There was no way proper cooperation could occur while such conflict remained unresolved.
Cooperation without one side’s understanding would only increase the likelihood of disastrous results.
'Originally, I should have been formally introduced by Master himself, undergone an official appointment ceremony, and been announced as a member of the Legion.......'
But of all times.
Corporal Shin Youngjun disappeared before that plan could happen.
Which meant.
The thing she now had to do was simple.
'I must make the unit members accept my existence without Master.'
Even those officers had not fully acknowledged her existence.
They merely tolerated the situation because Corporal Shin Youngjun had authorized it.
'Is that even possible?'
However.
Ariella soon gave a bitter smile and thought.
“Then I will simply have to make it possible.”
In truth.
It had already been weighing on her mind regardless.
'They did not fear me without reason.'
The reason the Legion soldiers feared her.
Was not because they envied an innocent woman.
'It is because of the sins I committed.'
She looked down at her own hand and thought.
'With Master’s help, an easy path appeared before me. A way to smoothly move past that issue and become accepted into the Legion.'
Unable to resist that temptation.
She had tried to choose that easy road like a coward.
But.
That was merely a cowardly method of solving the problem by relying on Shin Youngjun’s authority.
A method she herself could never truly take pride in.
So.
'The responsibility for the sins I committed...... must be borne by me personally.'
With a serious gaze.
She clenched her fist tightly as she thought.
'I must personally seek forgiveness from those I harmed...... and earn their acknowledgment.'
It would not be easy.
Even if Jeong Sua’s guard unit helped her, it would likely remain nearly impossible.
But.
Whether it was possible or impossible did not matter.
“Because it is something I must do.”
Her heavy footsteps turned toward the Legion.
***
And.
While the Legion officers climbed the [Ascension Path].
And Ariella moved to reveal herself before the Legion members.
“Thus concludes the coronation ceremony.”
Inside the Church.
Within a massive and splendid hall.
“Let us all celebrate the birth of our great Pope!”
One man’s coronation ceremony.
Was coming to an end.
