CHAPTER 146
A Burst of Light

The sword plunged into his heart. He could clearly feel the sensation of his beating heart being split by the sharp blade.

If that were all, it would still be fine. Cain's body wouldn't die from a mere hole in his heart. He possessed the regenerative ability to seal such a wound in an instant.

But the sword had penetrated deeper, to his very core. The nucleus that constituted the being known as Cain. The blazing existence that bound his body and mind together.

His soul was pierced.

[K-Kraaaaaaaah!]

Agony.

Normally, one shouldn't be able to feel the pain of the soul. If the pain could be felt, it meant the mind would have already collapsed and the body ceased to function, long past the point of death.

But Cain was not a being who would lose consciousness so easily, and his body was nigh immortal. He was feeling the full, unadulterated pain of his soul being pierced.

But there was a silver lining. Pain was a threat to life. It was a messenger, warning its host of a mortal crisis.

‘I'm… still alive…!’

To feel pain meant he was alive. He wasn't dead yet. His heart was pierced and his soul was damaged, but he was still living. And as long as he was alive, there were countless opportunities to counterattack.

Keuheoeong!

Sunlight poured down. The Golden Lion. The power of the day, the source of his strength, gathered to protect his heart and barely managed to hold his scattering soul together.

"…!"

For Jinwoo, this was an unexpected development. To think he didn't die even after his soul was split. The golden aura protecting his heart intensified, solidifying his existence and defying death.

Jinwoo had something similar: the aura of the Golden Apple protecting his heart. It could block a single piercing wound to the heart without any lasting effects. But protecting a pierced soul was another matter entirely.

‘The Seed is glowing.’

The Seed at Cain's core was emitting light. Not a visible light, but in the sense that it was activating, scattering its energy.

The power of the sun, symbolizing day, beginning, and life. That was the Seed Cain possessed.

[I'll tear you to shreds!]

Cain's fist flew. Jinwoo tried to pull his sword out and create distance, but the sword wouldn't budge.

‘The heart is…’

Cain's heart was clinging to the blade, refusing to let go. Even so, he tried to wrench it out by force, but Cain grabbed the sword with his other hand. It wouldn't even go into his inventory.

Left with no choice, Jinwoo let go of the sword and dodged the punch.

Keuheong!

Cain instantly closed the distance, the sword still embedded in his chest. Spraying blood into the air, he unleashed a flurry of attacks on Jinwoo.

Kakakakang!

Jinwoo drew his White Jewel Sword and blocked or deflected every incoming strike. It was a sword he had barely used since obtaining Rondar's blade, but it was fine. He had never skipped a day of maintenance, so it was ready for immediate use.

He raised the White Jewel Sword. Magic gathered around the blade, forming a spell. The Ritual of Welcoming the God. A spell that summoned lightning, once considered a god in the past.

KWAGWAGWAGWANG!

The lightning bolt crashed down with a deafening roar, but it had no effect. Protected by the power of the sun, lightning was useless against Cain. Even the power of the vast sky was still beneath the sun.

[Kehahahahaha!]

Cain laughed maniacally as he struck, clawed, and slashed. Each of his claws was comparable to a legendary sword, impossible to block with a bare body. His eyes were bloodshot. A whirlwind of attacks, each one a fatal blow, rained down on Jinwoo.

‘He's burning his life force.’

Cain was currently burning the mana that lies at the source of all living things. No matter how close to immortal his body was, this was an act that would take a heavy toll. When this battle was over, he would likely need to recuperate for decades, if not centuries.

And yet, he wanted to kill the being before him. He could not tolerate this human. He could not exist without denying the other's very presence.

‘Why?’

A question suddenly surfaced in Cain's mind.

Why was he treating this human with such hostility, as if he were his mortal enemy? What was the reason he was so certain they could not live under the same sun?

The question was answered quickly.

‘…Because if I don't kill him, I will be the one to die.’

That, too, was ultimately an instinct for survival.

It wasn't about a grand fighting spirit, a vile preference, or an unacceptable history. It was simply to live. Because he felt like he was going to die.

At its very root was fear.

[Heup…!]

The moment he realized this, his fist wavered. It was a subtle tremor, difficult to notice. But to Jinwoo, who was facing him, it was a wide-open gap.

CRUNCH!

He plunged the White Jewel Sword into the beast's neck. Cain's neck bent slightly more than usual, and saliva flew from his mouth.

In that opening, Jinwoo grabbed the sword embedded in Cain's chest. Gripping it tightly, he tore through the heart, slicing it apart. Unable to endure any longer, Cain's body was bisected. Not just his body, but the flame of his soul along with it.

[Da…mn… it…]

In the end, he couldn't win. The resentment of having lost. The rage of being slain at the end of it all.

Cain's fading eyes flashed one last time, and the Seed, too, emitted a final burst of light.

‘What is that…?’

Sensing an unusual energy, Jinwoo looked up. The sun was falling from the sky.

No, it was a trick of the eyes. The sun wasn't actually falling. It was just that an immense amount of energy had gathered and was now plummeting, creating that illusion.

A colossal energy mass, formed by condensing the light of the sun, fell from above. It already possessed the power of a meteor.

[Ke, keh heh heh…]

Seeing Jinwoo's face harden, Cain let out a laugh. He was already dying, but the fact that he would have company on his journey gave him a sliver of satisfaction.

‘If I die and the human dies too, does that mean three Seeds will be sown in this world…’

If that happened, who would claim them? It was obvious. The World Tree that ruled this world. It would monopolize them all.

Was this all a conspiracy? A meticulously crafted plot by the World Tree to collect the Seeds of Erosion?

Just as he had that thought, a strange phenomenon occurred. The surrounding trees began to grow, intertwining into a spiral that rose to support the sun in the sky, starting to disperse it.

‘So it wasn't a conspiracy…’

The World Tree protected the human by sacrificing its own body. An act that was inconsistent with a conspiracy to obtain the Seeds. Thus, the sun's power was scattered and dispersed, gradually weakening.

Even so, the core of the power remained and fell with great force, but Jinwoo leaped. The sword he swung cleaved through the core of energy, delivering the final blow.

Even a strongly condensed power is nothing once it's scattered. The falling meteorites set parts of the forest ablaze, but extinguishing them wouldn't be difficult for the World Tree's power.

Cain's final, desperate act ended so futilely.

[Damn… you…]

Cain closed his eyes. The last sight he saw was the human male, piercing his chest with a sword and taking the Seed.

Rona and Ipril had rushed out, worried about Jinwoo. Permu could only watch their determined backs as they left.

She couldn't leave the tower.

"I am…"

Why couldn't she leave? She had wondered before, but never thought too deeply about it. It had been that way since she was born, and dwelling on it would only bring her pain.

But she couldn't leave even at a time like this? At this moment, when someone precious to her had thrown himself into a difficult battle, could she not even be by his side?

She reached her hand out of the tower. As always, something like an invisible wall blocked her. As if telling her she couldn't leave, that she mustn't leave.

Even though the tower was half-destroyed because of Cain, she was still bound to it.

Just then.

"Huh?"

A root began to grow. Moving as if to comfort her, the root touched the tower's invisible wall.

From the point the root touched, spots slowly began to spread, and the space began to open. Permu watched the process with trembling eyes.

"I-Is it okay? To reach my hand out here."

There was no answer from the root. It had no mouth, so it couldn't convey a single word to Permu.

And yet, Permu knew intuitively. She couldn't help but know.

If she left this place, she would never be able to return.

Originally, her existence spanned multiple worlds along with the tower. That was how she had been able to help Jinwoo when he visited the Spirit Realm. But if she escaped now, she would never be able to perform such a feat again.

She would become an elf completely fixed to this world, like Rona or Ipril. She could reach the Spirit Realm through a Gate, but never again visit it through the tower.

That meant she would become that much more distant from her mother, the World Tree.

[If… you… wish it…]

A distant voice reached her. The root had no mouth, but it sounded as if it were speaking.

Perhaps this would be the last time she heard the voice of Mother World Tree.

But, even so.

"I'm sorry. And thank you."

Permu reached her hand outside the tower. She took a step, her foot touching the ground outside. The soil of the world, which she was stepping on for the first time, sent a shiver through her.

Her mother's voice could no longer be heard. But the root guided her. To where Jinwoo was.

When she finally arrived after a long walk, the battle was already over.

Cain lay sprawled in two pieces, the light slowly fading from his two bloodshot eyes. Those eyes were watching only one thing: the scene of a meteor forged from the sun's power falling from the sky.

"That's…!"

It couldn't be left alone. If that fell, the forest would be annihilated. The forest covering half the continent would be incinerated, and the remaining half would not be safe either.

It was truly a fireball that would burn the world. Not a power that siphoned a star's essence through Erosion like Jerakson, but a pure mass of power dropped with the intent of taking everyone down with it.

A root wrapped around her wrist. In that moment, Permu knew that her mother had expectations of her.

By leaving the tower, she had grown distant from her mother, but her mother's hopes were still upon her. A child was a child, no matter how far they strayed.

"Mother."

Please hear my prayer.

I want to protect this forest. I want to embrace all life that lives in it. I want to save him, who is so strong, yet looks as if he could break at any moment.

With her prayer, the forest grew and blocked the sun. The condensed power scattered and dispersed, falling in various places as smaller meteorites.

That, too, would cause considerable damage, but it was far better than the sun falling as it was. Extinguishing the fires could be worried about later.

However, even her power, even the World Tree's power, had its limits and could not completely block Cain's final act. The core of the power, the solid center that held to the very end, was cut down by…

Jinwoo.

As the burst of light enveloped the world, Cain vanished.