Chapter 103: No Choice But to Take It**
The sky was clearing.

The Divine Object of the Lord of War still existed here on the 3rd Floor. But as he retreated, the barrier he had cast also began to recede.

The world distorted as the desert sand was sucked into some unknown location and vanished. It wasn't just the sand; the rampaging monsters were also pulled in with it.

They were not normal, living monsters to begin with. Having already been absorbed by the Erosion and manifested through it, they were simply returning to their original place as the barrier collapsed.

Many of the Lord of Light’s monsters were swept up in that torrent, but no one was there to protect them. The Lord of Light cleanly abandoned the monsters caught in the flood and retreated with only the unscathed ones. They were nothing more than consumables, after all.

"It's collapsing! Everyone, evacuate!"

"Run!"

Hunters could be seen evacuating in a state of chaos. Other races like the Dwarves and Orcs, and even the Elves Jinwoo’s party was heading toward, were fleeing for their lives.

The barrier that had covered the entire 3rd Floor was breaking down. No one knew where a safe place was, but they all ran toward wherever they thought was secure.

"Master!"

"Ipril?"

Ipril had evacuated the other Elves first and was waiting for Jinwoo. Her muscular body, which seemed to fear nothing, was trembling slightly.

To wait for him in such a dangerous place, where the very ground beneath her feet could crumble at any moment—the sight left a considerable impression on him.

She wasn't the only one. Poldre and his wyvern, Gorong, had also remained, ready to take flight at a moment's notice.

"Hurry up and get on, you lot!" Poldre shouted in a rough voice. Jinwoo and Rona, along with Ipril, climbed onto Gorong's back.

For a moment, Gorong staggered. Jinwoo wondered if it was because they were too heavy, but it seemed the wyvern’s wounds were hurting.

"Gorong, hang in there! Just a little longer!"

Poldre did his best to soothe Gorong. As if understanding the gravity of the situation, Gorong kicked off the ground with all its might, despite its injuries, and soared into the air.

The sky was a mixture of two colors, like water and ink swirling together. One was the original sky of the 3rd Floor, and the other was the sky of the desert barrier cast by the Lord of War. Although both were once blue, they refused to mix, their tangled state clearly visible.

"Hoo… Is everyone alright?"

"Thanks, Poldre. I didn't think you were loyal enough to go this far."

"I have to repay the favor of you saving Gorong. Besides, Gorong was stubborn, insisting we had to save its savior."

At Jinwoo’s thanks, Poldre smiled and stroked Gorong’s neck. Gorong, too, did its best to hide its pained state and responded with a powerful cry. It seemed it didn’t want to show any weakness, even while flying with four people on its injured back.

"Jinwoo, look over there," came Mahiri's voice. She—or more accurately, Kalesian carrying her—hadn't boarded Gorong and was flying alongside them.

"Where?"

"Down there."

Following his words, Jinwoo looked down at the ground, which wasn't much different from the sky. The original land of the 3rd Floor and the desert sand were tangled together.

Still, the sand was receding quickly. In several spots, black energy surged upwards, and the sand was sucked into those areas, vanishing without a trace. It was likely returning to its original place: the divine domain of the Lord of War in the Spirit Realm.

‘…Was his name Rondar?’

That was the original name of the Lord of War. Jinwoo didn't know if he still used that name, but that was what the memory suggested.

Jinwoo placed a hand on his chest and asked the glass bead within.

‘Have you ever heard the name Rondar?’

[…It is a rather famous name in the Spirit Realm. The Pillager. A being of ferocious temperament who picks fights with anyone, regardless of who they are, and roars in victory after plundering everything from his opponent.]

The part about picking fights with anyone matched the memory Jinwoo had recalled. But was his temperament ferocious?

On the contrary, the Rondar in his memory had been polite. Despite introducing himself as someone who had come to plunder, he hadn’t taken anything. In fact, he had even used his skillful hands to create various things.

Of course, he couldn't trust the memory alone. It was a memory from a past life so ancient he couldn't tell when it was from. Besides, the deeds Rondar had committed on the 3rd Floor were beyond what could be described as merely "ferocious."

‘Speaking of names…’

Suddenly, he remembered something he had overlooked. The being he was conversing with through the glass bead. The God of the Moonlight Forest. The divine tree revered by the Elves as the Mother World Tree.

‘Come to think of it, what’s your name?’

He realized he had never heard her name. It was strange. A considerable amount of time had passed since they had started talking, and they had interacted more than he'd expected, even showing her things like cartoons.

So why had he never once thought to ask for her name?

[The God of the Moonlight Forest turns her head away.]

But no answer came. An awkward silence fell, as if the connection had been abruptly cut.

Did he ask something he shouldn't have? Just as he was thinking that, he heard a delicate voice.

[…Please remember me, too.]

It was a tiny voice, almost a crawl. But he heard it clearly.

…It seemed she was upset that he had remembered Rondar but not her own name. Did this mean that if he continued to recall memories of his past life, there would be memories of the World Tree among them?

Jinwoo turned his head and watched the barrier recede. An entire world, the desert world that Rondar had created, was now gone without a trace.

"Jinwoo. It's Pandemonium," Rona, sitting behind him, whispered, pointing ahead. In the distance, the familiar cityscape appeared, though it was now mostly in ruins.

Pandemonium had been completely and utterly destroyed.

It had once been a city of chaos, a hodgepodge of every architectural style imaginable with no sense of unity. Now, however, it had found a strange sort of uniformity. Every building, without exception, had been smashed into rubble.

"A blue portal!"

"We can get in! Let's get out of here! Now!"

A blue portal must have appeared near the city, as people were flocking to it. Earth's Hunters and other races like Elves and Dwarves all rushed toward the blue portal without distinction. Having been trapped once, everyone wanted to return as quickly as possible.

Jinwoo watched them from a short distance away, taking a moment to rest.

—I'm leaving. I need to get out of here as fast as possible.

Poldre took off on Gorong to find another portal. He figured it was better to look for a less crowded one than to get stuck in the throng with Gorong.

—Master. I will also be returning for now. I may be a wanderer with no home in that world… but if fate allows, we shall meet again.

Ipril didn't remain on the 3rd Floor either. With the collapse of the Moonlight Forest's temple, all the achievements and contribution points she had accumulated over the long years had vanished.

Still, she showed no sign of disappointment. Her original reason for collecting contribution points was to find a clue to elevate her skills. It seemed she had gained some form of enlightenment through the recent events. If so, all she needed to do was return to her original world and calmly organize her thoughts.

—I, too, have received a great deal of inspiration this time. The descent of a god… I saw the crack connected to the Spirit Realm. I have gained much.

Kalesian, his eyes gleaming, shut himself away in his underground workshop again. The city had collapsed, but the workshop he had built underground had not been destroyed. His research lab was only slightly messy but still intact.

"What will you do, Jinwoo?"

And Rona was still by Jinwoo's side.

"I have one last thing to take care of. Aren't you going back?"

"I don't have anything urgent to do… Can't I stay a little longer?"

"It's not that you can't. It's up to you."

It was not Jinwoo's place to interfere with whether she stayed or left.

After watching the crowd at the blue portal for a while longer, Jinwoo left the spot. He headed for the underground workshop where Kalesian had holed himself up.

"You're here? Oh, the Elf lady is with you as well."

Mahiri greeted them just as before. Kalesian's main consciousness was immersed in magic research, while a splinter of his consciousness he had set aside was controlling Mahiri.

Rona, not knowing Earth's language, simply nodded in response, while Jinwoo asked to be shown to a room.

As the city crumbled, the apartment where Jinwoo had stayed before was also reduced to ruins. Although he could sleep well anywhere, he could rest more comfortably in a safe place. As far as he knew, the safest place in the city right now was Kalesian's workshop.

"How is it outside? Is it still packed in front of the portal?"

"Yes. It seems almost everyone who was on the 3rd Floor wants to leave. There aren't many people like us who are staying behind."

"It's going to get quiet."

"The city is ruined, too… I imagine the number of Hunters who use the 3rd Floor as a base will decrease from now on."

"Are there any temples left?" Jinwoo asked with a nod.

The entirety of Pandemonium had collapsed, but there were still places that remained. These were the few temples that had not had their Divine Objects stolen by the Lord of War. Among them were the Temple of Light and the Temple of the Ice Valley.

"With more than half the temples destroyed, their influence on the 3rd Floor will grow even stronger. Most Hunters will probably use the remaining temples as their base of operations."

"What happens if the remaining gods' influence grows? And why are the Lords who live in the Spirit Realm interested in the Gates in the first place?"

It was a question he had wondered about before but had never gotten an answer to. Did they want to invade the Gates and make them their territory, just as the Sky God was invading Earth? Was the world inside the Gate that attractive to them?

"Well, how would I know what the gods living up there are thinking? And they aren't just any gods, but Lords who possess the Seeds of Erosion."

One could come up with any number of reasons. So many, in fact, that it was hard to guess which one was the real reason.

Perhaps the world inside the Gate was a world overflowing with some kind of resource from their perspective. It could be part of their activities for territorial expansion. Or, it could even be a pride battle among the Lords, with no other practical benefit. Literally any reason one could attach was not impossible.

"Or maybe they're looking for something. Since there are thirteen Lords who placed their Divine Objects here, it wouldn't be strange for there to be just as many reasons."

Perhaps they were searching for something that didn't exist in the Spirit Realm. That was also a plausible guess. And that "something" didn't necessarily have to be an object.

"But aren't you going back, Jinwoo? You must be exhausted, you could go and rest."

"I have one thing left to do."

When she asked what it was, Jinwoo gave a vague answer and changed the subject.

That night, while Kalesian was still engrossed in his research and Rona and Mahiri were sound asleep in another room, Jinwoo left the underground workshop alone and ascended to the surface.

Thanks to the passage of time, there was no one left around the blue portal. Looking around the entire city, only a few people remained. It was as if the entire city had died.

In that atmosphere, Jinwoo placed a hand on the surface of the ground.

His flame flickered. The strong, brilliantly blue flame was drawn toward the ground as if pulled by something.

The next moment, his soul was in a completely different place. A waterfall of fire. In front of a massive furnace where lava flowed.

Standing there, holding a sword, was a boy who resembled a rock.

"Rondar."

At Jinwoo's call, the boy smiled with a mysterious look in his eyes.

The Lord had lifted his barrier and retreated, but his Divine Object still remained on the 3rd Floor. This meant the connection was not yet severed.

To cut it completely, there was no choice but to take that sword.