Absolute Dweller-Chapter 230

Black energy.

Looking into his memories, it wasn’t always the case that my future self used the black energy from the start.

The color of energy varies from person to person, and it blooms in many different ways depending on the nature of the energy contained within it.

However, future me, who devoured others' abilities, changed colors with each phase.

At first, it was achromatic.

After consuming the World Tree, the most intense color was green, full of vibrant life force, and each time he absorbed more power, it would shine with a dazzling rainbow color.

The moment it turned completely black was after

‘I consumed those things.’

The black disaster that spread across the Earth.

Everything turned black from then on.

So, to put it simply, the black energy surrounding me now was like a wild animal that my future self had tamed.

I had simply inherited the leash.

If that’s the case,

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

‘I too have to go through the taming process.’

Thanks to my future self, there was one thing I had learned for sure.

That was the essence of my power.

‘Devour.’

Crack!

The black energy that had been responding to my will began to devour the darkness that surrounded me.

Just like the energy boundaries my future self had shown, the black energy began to devour everything.

‘As expected.’

Even though it was a leash handed to me, there was still a power that recognized me as the master.

The energies responding to me now were definitely on my side.

They were becoming my power.

At the same time,

Whooo—

A familiar transparent barrier surrounded me.

A jagged transparent barrier.

It was standardized, a space shaped like it was produced in a factory.

It was familiar.

‘This is the living room.’

To the left, the kitchen and utility room; to the right, the master bedroom and wardrobe; behind me, a long hallway with two small rooms and a bathroom.

This layout resembled my home exactly.

Grind!

Outside the barrier, black energy acted as guardians, keeping watch around me.

And,

Whooo!

Inside the barrier, various energies coexisted to protect me.

Energies filled with divine power, such as green and purple hues, stood out.

Among them, the finest was,

Fshhh—

A silver energy rising like fog.

‘This is it.’

The energies that protected me right after reaching level 50.

But now, I realized that the power was not simply made up of divine energies.

‘What are those?’

Various energies occupied the empty space, making the barrier even more solid.

‘It’s a little different.’

Just then,

“Fuhahahaha!”

The one outside the barrier burst into exaggerated laughter.

It was as if I was watching a play unfold.

After laughing to his heart’s content, he spoke.

“Do you think? You can be like me? Seriously?”

I didn’t respond.

His words continued.

“You, who’ve lived like a greenhouse flower, what can you even do? Can you do anything on your own? You, who’ve always left everything to others?”

There was derision in his voice, but honestly, I felt nothing.

If anything, I felt pity.

‘How did you end up like this?’

The one in front of me was me.

At least, until the moment the monster apocalypse began, this was a being who had lived a life identical to mine.

His genes and mine were perfectly aligned.

And yet,

‘How did it come to this?’

By sharing his memories, I could understand him to some extent.

He had endured immensely difficult times and suffered many wounds in the process.

He had been betrayed by those he trusted, and even killed those he cherished with his own hands.

The emptiness that followed likely played a significant role in breaking his mind.

‘I didn’t realize I was someone with such a fragile nature.’

I was disappointed in myself.

“You can’t do anything on your own. Do you think awakening your powers now will change anything? No. In the end, you’ll lose everything and go mad, just like me.”

At least, there was still some self-awareness.

It seemed he realized he had gone mad.

“So, if you take my body, are you sure you can stop that from happening?”

“Of course. Leave it to me. I’m someone who’s experienced destruction firsthand. You would understand if you were me. It’s far more efficient that way.”

I could somewhat agree with that.

There’s a big difference between someone experienced and a newcomer, after all.

Even if I’d seen his memories, it could never compare to experiencing it with my own body.

But,

“Don’t you know me?”

“......”

“Since you’re me, don’t you have an idea of what choice I’ll make?”

Would I really sacrifice my body for madness?

To save the world?

Hell no.

I’m just an ordinary person, whose own life is more valuable than the entire world.

What I want to protect isn’t something grand like the world.

What I want to protect is the small world I belong to.

A small world where I exist, along with my family, friends, and companions—those I love.

“I’ll stop the world’s destruction, but I’ll do it myself.”

When you give up, you lose the right to be curious about the results.

I’m curious about the world that didn’t end, and I hope to be alive when that time comes.

“And there’s no guarantee you’ll succeed, right? You’re just going to kill everyone, live alone, and try to go back to the past?”

“......”

Oh dear.

I only tried to probe a little, but it seems I hit the mark.

‘...You crazy bastard.’

At least in his world, family wasn’t included.

But the world I live in still has my family.

Grandfather, grandmother, mom, dad.

In his Plan B, the lives of my family were nothing more than tools to be used.

‘Or maybe that was the plan from the beginning.’

Maybe his true goal was to keep reliving the 13 years of the coming destruction through time.

Anyway, he had figured out how to defy time.

‘It must never be taken from me.’

The black energy that had received my will began to rampage.

Whoooooo—

It roared, aiming to devour everything around me.

The effect was certain.

Crack—

The world, which had been completely soaked in black, began to crack.

Crack—

The world was breaking apart.

The world that had shown nothing but despair, the future, began to break apart.

Crack!

The ground cracked open, and the shattered sky collapsed into chunks, falling downward.

At that moment,

A crescent-shaped grin spread across his lips.

His eyes, gleaming with madness, stared directly at me.

Step by step—

He took a step toward me.

An overwhelming presence I had never felt before.

Ignoring the black energy swirling violently around us, he drew closer.

But,

Thud.

His steps stopped in front of the transparent barrier.

The transparent barrier completely blocked his entry.

He raised one hand, lifting it toward the barrier.

And said,

"Try it, if you can."

A chilling smile, one that seemed to hold joy, stretched across his face.

"In the end, you only have two choices. You can either avoid being devoured by me, fearing it, and face the end, or you can level up to stop the destruction and still be devoured by me."

The cracks, which had been spreading like spider webs,

"Good luck."

Covered his face.

At the same time,

――――!!

The sound of glass shattering echoed, and the world crumbled.

"......"

I returned.

I saw the Japanese people who had collapsed, unconscious.

Biiing! Biiing!

And Kami, who was acting much more frantic than usual.

Kami trembled in my arms, her small body shaking uncontrollably.

"......It’s okay. It’s okay."

As my touch reached her, the trembling gradually subsided.

I looked around at the Japanese people sprawled on the ground, exhausted.

There were no longer any traces of silver energy on their heads.

Whoo.

Since there might be some unknown abnormalities, I poured the World Tree's life force into them and used teleportation to move them to a hospital.

I had briefly explained the situation through telepathy, so the medical staff would take care of them.

"Phew."

I sighed deeply as I整理ed the situation.

At least, the good news was that he couldn’t do anything to me right away.

‘As long as I don’t level up, my body won’t be stolen.’

But that couldn’t be the case.

‘If I do that, I’ll have to face the destruction passively.’

To prevent that, I would need to cover the entire Earth with my domain.

The transparent barrier surrounding my home domain had been designed specifically to block that black energy from the beginning.

So, if I could incorporate the area inside the domain, safety would be ensured.

But,

‘That alone isn’t enough.’

At least,

‘I’ll need to carve a path all the way to the Sun.’

I had already witnessed the end of the world, completely surrounded by darkness.

Even if I managed to survive temporarily, it wouldn’t last long.

But, the real question was,

‘Is it really possible to achieve that by just leveling up?’

Though the domain had expanded enough to cover the entire South Korea, could I really expand it all the way to encompass the solar system?

‘12 years.’

It was a long time.

It had only taken me one year to get here.

‘Covering the entire Earth might be possible, but...’

Considering the time I’d need to absorb enough divine power to prevent my body from being stolen, twelve years was plenty long.

‘But beyond that...’

Honestly, it seemed impossible.

Covering the entire Earth was already a monumental challenge.

‘Other methods are needed.’

Whether it’s creating an artificial sun or truly expanding the domain to reach the Sun.

‘Or if not, I’ll have to overcome that darkness.’

I had to do something.

To survive.

‘Let’s try.’

***

An empty space where nothing could be felt.

The man was dying.

From the moment he became a mutant, his consciousness had been dragged into an endless abyss.

In that place where there was nothing, he could slowly feel his sense of self fading away, trapped in the most horrific punishment of not being able to die, even though he wanted to.

If there was such a thing as hell, this would be it.

He had raged and begged for forgiveness for the sins he had committed.

But no matter how much he tried to speak, he couldn’t.

He couldn’t even hear his own voice.

In the end, he was left wondering if he had ever existed at all.

The thoughts that continued slowly began to fragment.

‘Mom?’

His thoughts were occasionally emptied, as if someone had taken them, and the connections between them were broken.

‘Right. It’s time for a workout.’

‘Okonomiyaki.’

‘My stomach hurts. Or is it? My back. My head, my teeth.’

His sense of self was disintegrating, with a few random words coming together into fragments of sentences, sometimes left as just words.

As he was being utterly destroyed,

Fshhh—

Light emerged from the darkness.

‘...What is this?’

A tiny glimmer of hope.

It was so faint, yet in the pitch-black darkness, it shone even more brilliantly.

‘...It’s light.’

The moment he recognized the light,

‘...It’s light!’

Instinctively, he began to stumble toward it.

‘Hah! Hah!’

His senses slowly returned.

He could feel the tips of his fingers again.

He felt his heart beating.

He felt his breath.

Fshhh—

His vision cleared.

"Hah!"

The man had returned to reality.

These events were unfolding across Japan.