Chapter 349 – Prometheus (2)

There were great people in that survival group.

And among them was a man named Kilok.

He said he knew the secrets of the world and he was the leader of the group of survivors.

‘We are going to find the tombstone left behind by an unknown hero who once fought for the sake of the world.’

He didn’t know why they were looking for such a thing, but they said that it was the only way they could survive.

From that point on, Prometheus managed to find a new path in life.

Years passed.

They managed to escape the watch of dragons and moved into a cave.

It was a place where all kinds of magic were unfolded, and it was clear that the magic was of a dragon. Magic was placed long years back, and there were no recent traces of anyone stepping foot, it was as if the place was forgotten.

‘Ohh, this is it! The tombstone left behind by the savior!’

There was an old tombstone that was covered in moss due to the time changes.

The letters on it turned out to be too difficult to read as the tombstone had withstood many storms over time. However, the leader was a man with special powers.

He was able to read everything written on the tombstone, and using the traces left there, he was able to figure out why the world had turned out like this.

‘… I found out why the human race perished, leaving us alone.’

The leader spoke with a face tainted with despair.

‘The 12 Gods are the enemies of the humans.’

The violence of the 12 Gods.

The more they contemplated it, the stranger it became.

Dragons were annihilating the world, so why didn’t the 12 Gods, who should have protected the people, leave them alone?

Even so, distrust of the 12 Gods was already spreading among the troops. Meanwhile, there were those who defended the Gods too.

‘Right! It cannot be! The 12 Gods have always been kind to us humans!’

’Right! You fucking worms!

‘You pretended to be our leaders, but you were just taking us down the wrong path! A devil who is trying to snatch the salvation away from us!’

Religions were like this.

The faith of those driven to an extreme situation was also heightened as they searched for hope.

And the Gods were always a source of hope.

An internal clash broke out. Despite being made up of a small number, the group split into two.

Prometheus believed more in himself than the Gods. And those who followed the 12 Gods left, while the ones who didn’t decide to visit the place called Garmon.

In case someone else wanted to come with them, they even wrote Garmon at the bottom of the tombstone and left.

Prometheus grew older, and they managed to reach Garmon and face the sealed old God.

They learned more secrets about the world, which only heightened their anger.

So they settled down in Garmon.

With this place as their base, they intended to interfere with the work of the 12 Gods.

It would not be easy, but they had seen and learned so much as they wandered around the world. And if there was a problem, it was time.

‘Even if we die, let’s leave a lot behind for the future generations to carry.’

Their leader knew that he couldn’t complete his goal in time.

They were constantly at a disadvantage in combat against people without mortality.

Prometheus was quite upset about it.

Families, friends, and villages were all killed by the 12 Gods. And it was impossible for him to leave the thought of revenge behind.

Each day he visited the old God Osiris, who was sealed within Garmon.

Osiris was suffering from memory loss, but there were times when he spoke clearly.

‘Life. A long time ago, humans lived as long as dragons.’

‘Then why is life so short now?’

‘The 12 Gods must have changed it.’

‘How can I live as long as the humans of the past?’

Fortunately, Osiris was someone with vast knowledge about life and the 12 Gods.

‘All you have to do is touch the soul of life.’

‘Soul?’

‘That is how the 12 Gods have shortened the lives of humans in the present. Because the soul within is restricted, the concept of death arose over the body. And if that is the case, I just need to get rid of the restrictions placed on the soul.’

‘How does that work?’

‘Merge your soul with another. One or two should be enough.’

Prometheus studied poison—a poison to kill a God.

It wasn’t easy, but he seemed to be talented in that area. Even the leader of the group was shocked as he managed to create a poison.

‘Maybe you can actually make a poison that could kill the Gods!’

The chance of killing a God.

That was more than enough.

People were so excited with the idea of getting revenge, but one needed to live long.

No matter how many generations passed, there had to be someone with the talent to do that.

The next generation might not be talented, and the one after could be good, but one can never know the future.

And Prometheus wanted to see the Gods die with his own eyes.

He desired for them to experience the same agony he felt when his family perished.

So, he did something he shouldn’t have done.

‘Y-You! What did you… why?!’

‘I am sorry, leader.’

Prometheus killed his own group with his poison and took their souls to increase his lifespan.

And in order to complete the poison that could kill any God.

‘Your souls will be one with mine and will be with me until I kill the 12 Gods. I am sorry, all.’

And he turned to the devil.

Wandering around the world.

The guilt of killing his own comrades harassed him for a long time, and he regretted it too.

He questioned why he had to walk such a dark path. However, he believed that such regret was justified.

So he decided to leave the land.

Being there felt like his guilt would only continue to grow, so he headed east.

‘They claimed that there is land at the end of the east sea. I heard it too, but I guess people might be there.’

It was some story a girl called Cindy had told him. She, too, was now part of his soul.

Prometheus found a boat and headed east. He could see sunken ships here and there, and luckily he was able to reach this mysterious continent in the east.

The one called Ryo.

A completely different world with unique cultures than the one he was born in and a language he didn’t understand.

Strangely, this was a world where the 12 Gods’ influence didn’t reach.

‘Is this the place…’

Prometheus lived in Ryo for a long time.

And he studied their unique art called sorcery, which was similar to magic but inferior when it came to results.

That was what he thought at first.

But after studying it for many years, he realized that it was different from magic itself.

‘Its technique is to assimilate with nature and maximize the abilities.’

If magic was artificial power through mana, then this sorcery had the power to utilize nature.

And as time passed, he rose to become one of Ryo’s leading sorcerers.

At the same time, he was able to make a much stronger poison than before.

‘Teacher.’

He left several of his disciples. He was the one who taught them, but he never felt affectionate toward them because he knew that it would be a lie.

How could a guy who killed his own comrades for the sake of extending his life think about loving someone?

‘I have to do what I need to do. All I need to do is kill the 12 Gods and pass on the flames to the next generation.’

After that, he would kill himself.

So he had to be alone. Forever.

Prometheus altered his life and lived as an untouchable human for a time.

In the process, he saw talented people, and there were times when he wanted to get close to women too.

But he didn’t.

His karma had to be cleared on his own.

Only then would he be able to be forgiven by the comrades he killed.

‘Let’s head back.’

How long was it?

He didn’t know for sure because he didn’t count, but he knew that he had lived past dragons.

But the progress in his growth wasn’t much.

In Ryo, there were people called ‘great warriors,’ but Prometheus wasn’t one with such talent.

It was difficult to constantly polish the one thing he was good at. However, there was nothing more to do now that it had been completed.

He hit a breaking point.

And the time had come to leave.

‘Still, this poison can kill the 12 Gods.’

He was able to assimilate the completed poison through numerous sacrifices.

He worked completely alone and was confident of killing even the best in Ryo.

That was how strong his poison was.

Prometheus threw away everything and returned back to the land.

‘A world where a lot had changed.’

The world had changed since before.

The newly made humans by the 12 Gods had achieved amazing civilization which was different from the one he was born in.

Even though they infinitely developed their own skills, they were still living as slaves of the Gods.

It was clear that they would be killed by the Gods whenever they wanted to.

‘Such a brilliant civilization took root, and I want to give them freedom.’

If that had happened, the world would have been more colorful than it is now.

Humans would be able to live without looking at the other races advancing ahead of them.

They wouldn’t be crushed by the tricks of the 12 Gods like his comrades.

But all the efforts he made to kill the 12 Gods were in vain.

‘You want to kill the Gods with that poison? I’m going to die of laughter!’

It wasn’t even a God, just a saint.

Prometheus despaired that everything he had developed until now could barely harm a saint.

He absorbed his comrades’ souls to increase his life and everything he did in Ryo.

‘My God is saying this: He said that it would be fine for me to leave you as a remnant of the past, a spectacle to look at.’

Humiliation!

He wanted to scream and kill him, but he was already defeated, so he couldn’t even speak.

It seemed like the mocking would only increase if he spoke, and now he could even hear his comrades.

‘Don’t. Stop. Please. I was wrong. Kill me.’

Prometheus turned into a dead man.

His hope to kill the Gods had vanished, and his body, which couldn’t easily die, only gave him more pain.

It was time for him to feel regret and despair.

Just as he was lying on the desolate land with no hope, Jormungand appeared.

“After that, this is what you can infer. I received your power from her and became her test subject to achieve the 13th holy power.”

Living 4,000 years with her was more valuable than living 16,000 years alone.

Jamie, who heard everything, stayed silent.

Prometheus knew what the reaction would be.

‘He must think I am trash.’

His journey itself started from the most heinous sin.

He knew that he wasn’t much different from the 12 Gods.

Perhaps he hated the 12 Gods not because his family was murdered but because he hated himself.

Even if Jamie were to kill him, he would accept it now.

But Jamie’s words shocked him.

“The task you need to do is quite clear.”

“… task I need to do?”

“Die fighting the 12 Gods. That is your task.”

“You won’t call me trash? Why aren’t you saying that I deserve to die for all I did?”

“What nonsense is that?”

Jamie frowned.

“Aren’t I saying the obvious things? Moron, shut up, fight dying. Even if you do that, you will not be forgiven!”

-Die! Just die! Die right now!

-This trash! How dare you poison us!!

-I want you to be torn to pieces. Prometheus! I want you to be shredded!

Too many people hated him.

‘So fight and die.’

Then you might be forgiven for what happened that day.

Jamie smiled.