Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 344

[Anomaly: Pale Shadow]

That was the name the World Tree’s Shadow gave itself. It was a fitting title for the version of Suho standing here, facing the real one.

“You are the Monarch of Shadows’ son, and a being born with Ruler’s Authority embedded in your soul,” it said. “You likely cannot grasp the significance of this, after all, you’ve always been this way, from the moment of your birth. So I will explain it to you.”

With those words, new knowledge flowed into Suho’s mind.

“But first, a question. How much do you really know about your father?”

That knowledge was none other than the story of his father, Sung Jinwoo.

“Across all races and dimensions, most children do not truly know what kind of life their parents lived. They are not even curious. They never ask. To them, their parents have just always existed. They are taken for granted. And the children are unaware of what they’re missing. But you, of all people, should know who your father truly is.”

The World Tree’s Shadow gave a small smile.

“Sung Jinwoo. Your father is called the Monarch of Shadows, but his origins lie elsewhere. He was born from the primordial light.”

A vision of creation unfolded before Suho’s eyes.

“This story should already sound familiar. The creator of this universe, who is now dead and gone, split the primordial light to create the Fragments of Brilliant Light, also known as the Rulers. He split the primordial darkness in the same way to create eight Monarchs.”

The Fragments of Brilliant Light had been tasked with protecting the world. The Monarchs had been commanded to destroy it.

“And then, he set them against each other in an endless war.”

The World Tree’s Shadow was right. Suho did know this story, and he knew how it ended—in utter chaos. The Fragments of Brilliant Light grew enraged when they realized that their battles were merely a game for the Absolute Being’s amusement. They rebelled, and murdered their creator. However, the story the World Tree’s Shadow wished to tell was what followed after.

“But there was one being who did not join the rebellion. The greatest of all the Fragments of Brilliant Light, the primordial light who served the Absolute Being more faithfully than any other. It was Ashborn, the first Monarch of Shadows.”

The Absolute Being had become wary of the Fragments and the Monarchs, who grew strong enough through the eternal wars to threaten even him. He gave his most loyal servant, Ashborn, a power capable of returning everything to nothingness. It was a power that was never meant to awaken, and should never have existed.

“The moment the Absolute Being was slain by his creations... a ninth Monarch was born. A being who should not exist, who possessed both the primordial light and the primordial darkness.”

In truth, the first anomaly wasn’t Suho. It was the Monarch of Shadows himself, a being who carried two opposing forces that were never meant to coexist.

“Even if each one was just a fragment, the fact that these opposite powers combined into one was no ordinary event,” the shadow continued.

The primordial light had been split into eight fragments, as had the primordial darkness.

“Two properties that should never merge, yet somehow did.”

The World Tree’s Shadow spoke of something no one could have imagined.

“That being, in other words, was a Fragment of the Itarim.”

“A Fragment of the Itarim?” Suho asked, his eyes wide.

The World Tree’s Shadow remained calm, its tone unchanged despite the shocking revelation. It was simply telling Suho a story everyone knew, just in greater detail.

“Yes. That’s what it means to hold both the light and the darkness inside you. They are foundational forces that the creator had gone out of his way to separate, combined once more. Though still only fragments, the moment the creator died, Ashborn became the only one fit to replace him. And that was why everyone, Rulers and Monarchs alike, watched Ashborn with fear.”

In short, when the fragments of light and darkness were reunited, Ashborn had become absolute himself, a being who could overwhelm all others by his very existence.

“But this was far from what the Absolute Being wanted. Ashborn was purely a safeguard, an emergency measure should the unthinkable happen.”

The Absolute Being had never truly believed a rebellion was possible.

“If his creations ever turned against him all at once, he needed a weapon to crush them. That weapon didn’t contain the full power of the Absolute Being, but in terms of combat capability, he was unrivaled. He was powerful enough to protect his creator from all the other creations combined,” the shadow said.

The proof of this was visible now.Countless Itarim had invaded from the outer universes, but the Monarch of Shadows appeared to have no trouble blocking them off.

“A single Monarch is not supposed to be capable of such a thing,” the shadow continued.

“You mean to say... my father is able to do it because he’s a Fragment of the Itarim?” Suho asked.

“Correct. To be more precise, it’s because he inherited that fragment. Again, the first Fragment of the Itarim was Ashborn, not Sung Jinwoo. And in fact, that is the most miraculous part of all. That a single human could possess a vessel vast enough to contain a Fragment of the Itarim...”

The World Tree’s Shadow rubbed its chin. It looked genuinely intrigued, though there was no way to resolve that curiosity. Just as it had said at the start, the World Tree and the Monarch of Shadows were like oil and water. The king who ruled over death and the World Tree who never crossed into it could never meet. The conclusion, then, was Suho.

“But I could reach you, his son. I am truly glad,” the shadow said.

Suho was special, in an entirely different way from Jinwoo. He wasn’t a Fragment of the Itarim, but a new living being born from that fragment. If Jinwoo was the result of the combination of the primordial light and the primordial darkness, then Suho was someone born with those two things combined inside him from the very beginning.

Thanks to that, Suho had been able to instinctively wield the Ruler’s Authority, the power of light, since he was a child. At the same time, he could freely move between the realms of life and death. The results were similar, but his origins were fundamentally different.

“You ever wonder how much Life-Giving Elixir Cha Haein had to consume when she gave birth to you?”

“What...?”

Suho’s expression went rigid. Then, a vision of Haein, his mother, appeared next to his shadow. It was a memory drawn from the depths of the World Tree’s Shadow.

The vision screamed. It was Haein, her belly round and full, clearly still pregnant with him. Like all mothers in labor, she was wracked with pain as she prepared to give birth. Her son was special, however, and that unfortunately only made the pain worse.

“Haein came close to death multiple times before giving birth to you. Each time, Jinwoo fed her the Life-Giving Elixir.”

Only with that did she manage to survive and safely give birth, bringing Suho into the world.

“In hindsight, that was a terribly dangerous moment. Think about it. The Monarch of Shadows possessed the Fragment of the Itarim. If you had not survived, or if the woman he loved had died in the process, how do you think he would have felt? What kind of thoughts would have filled his mind?”

The shadow’s tone was light, but the question was anything but. For some reason, Suho felt like he already knew the answer.

If my mother were to die...

The truth was, he’d imagined that awful possibility many times before. For the past few years, he had experienced the overwhelming fear of having both his parents go missing. He’d lived through uncertainty, grief, and worry, wondering if they hadn’t just disappeared, but something worse. Now, standing here, wielding the power of shadows himself... When he thought of his mother’s death, only one possibility came to mind.

“If that happened... would he have turned my mother into a shadow soldier to bring her back?” Suho asked softly, his voice tightening.

The World Tree’s Shadow nodded.

“Yes. I would say there is a very high chance he would have. Of course, your father is the sort of person who would respect her wishes. But he could not ask her. He would have to summon her soul first. And once she was there with him... why not keep her a while before returning her to nothingness? A few decades, maybe even a few hundred years?”

Suho went silent. The World Tree’s Shadow shrugged, and continued speaking.

“But why stop at Cha Haein? What of your grandparents? They are getting older, and will eventually die. All humans share this fate, be it from disease, old age, or some magic beast. But that is not truly fair, is it?”

The next words carried a colder kind of truth, one that sent a chill down Suho’s spine.

“Everyone else has family, too. It would not be right that the Monarch of Shadows alone would get to enjoy eternity with his entire family while others grieve their losses. He has the ability to save everyone. If he chooses not to, is that not an injustice?”

It was a profoundly difficult question. Even Suho didn’t know how he’d respond, if it came down to it. At the same time, he wondered what his father would have done. There was no doubt his father had been in similar situations several times before. How many times had he watched friends die before his eyes? Trying to picture him reviving every single one of them as a shadow soldier—somehow, it didn’t seem like something his father would do.

“No wonder he barely had any friends...” he muttered.

The conclusion was anticlimactic, but true. He thought about what he’d seen of his father. Jinwoo had seemed sociable, even friendly, but he rarely grew close to anyone. He had his family, and a few select friends. The rest he kept at arm’s length. Maybe it was a conscious choice, to avoid the temptation of interfering in the deaths of his acquaintances. The thought left a bitter taste in Suho’s mouth.

However, the World Tree’s Shadow had witnessed the moment Suho was born. He understood better than anyone the actual concerns the Monarch of Shadows had faced, as well as the decisions which had followed.

“If your father decided everyone would live forever, even at the cost of becoming shadow soldiers... what would the universe look like?”

Suho already knew the answer.

“So this is what you meant. The dimension of death. A future where everyone becomes a shadow soldier.”

“Exactly. Your mother might have survived your birth, but she is still human. One day, she will die. When that happens, what will your father choose? And once he has revived one loved one, will it not be easier to bring back others?”

Listening to the World Tree’s Shadow paint a vision of such a possible future, Suho sank into thought.

Then, lifting his gaze, he asked, “So what is it you’re trying to say? Why are you telling me all this?”

“No, no. You are forgetting. I asked you first. What do you want to do? How are you inclined to act? Don’t forget, we were discussing your job change quest.”

A system window opened in front of Suho.

[Depending on your acquired promotion points, you may be able to change your job to a higher class.]

[Calculations initiated.]

[Calculating promotion points...]

Promotion points, once just numbers, now took on new meaning. They were the shape of his future, the path he would walk.

“Will you become the Monarch of Destruction? Will you follow the path prepared for you? It would not be a bad choice. You would be a great help to your father.”

The World Tree’s Shadow waited for his answer.

Suho looked him straight in the eye.

“I...”