**Chapter 388. God-Tier Game**
—
Resurrection (復活).
It means returning from death.
Just as when the Demon King resurrected, and all eight lords who had died came back to life.
But strictly speaking, that was not true resurrection.
When Wilhelm died, the goddess Pina threw herself forward to protect his soul.
It was merely regeneration—brought about by the *stars* she scattered as she shattered into pieces.
In other words, it was reconstruction.
The destroyed Demon Realm was restored, and the lords were regenerated along with it.
To begin with, a *lord* is a being whose foothold lies within the Demon Realm.
Those who offered their lives and souls to the Demon King.
If one were to be precise, lords are closer to undead than to living beings.
And just as one does not call it resurrection when an undead rises again—
“…Humans cannot be resurrected. Unless time itself is reversed…”
Park Hyun-myung’s death was tragic.
But the deaths of all living beings are equal.
They always arrive at an *end*.
Meaning, they cannot be undone.
“I don’t do that sort of thing.”
The Sunken Emperor spoke in a firm tone.
Yet the phrase *that sort of thing* carried a strange nuance.
As if he had actually tried reversing time before.
He continued.
“And Park Hyun-myung is not completely dead.”
“……Absurd. Are you saying death has degrees?”
There was a contradiction in his words.
Death, by definition, has no degree.
But the Sunken Emperor seemed to think otherwise.
“If he had met complete death, those two Spirit Kings would have vanished immediately.”
The Fire Spirit King, Agnis.
The Earth Spirit King, Uhm.
They were Spirit Kings who had entered into direct contracts with Park Hyun-myung.
For reasons unknown, that contract alone had produced miracles beyond imagination.
—Great beings are protecting him.
—But even that is only a matter of time.
Agnis and Uhm spoke.
Just as their power was fading and their forms were steadily shrinking, Park Hyun-myung’s *complete death* was now only moments away.
“There is no time, Seventh Lord Basara.”
“……How do you know my name?”
Basara, the Seventh Lord, had never met the Sunken Emperor.
It made no sense for a being of the Abyss to know an outsider.
Moreover, the Demon Realm itself had come into existence *after* the Abyss.
Knowing her from before was impossible.
“The Golden Spirit does not give answers to those without qualification. Only you can see it. Only you may ask.”
“So you’re saying *you* lack qualification?”
“Ah. Mammon, too, lacked it.”
Mammon had lost himself.
He had been completely devoured.
Because he lacked qualification.
A crude way to put it—
But still…
“Are you afraid?”
Afraid?
Of what?
Basara—the so-called invincible?
“Do you believe you lack the qualification of a Dragon God?”
“……”
Basara fell silent.
Because it was true.
A Dragon God is a guardian of the world.
Basara had no such qualification.
…She had merely fled, driven away, and ended up in the Demon Realm.
She might be a protector of the Demon Realm—but there is no paradise at the end of flight.
She was far from the ideal guardian the Golden Spirit sought.
…Just how much does this being know?
No—how does he know any of it at all?
“You… are not a mere lord of the Abyss.”
A lord of the Abyss could never know such things.
The Sunken Emperor was not simply a lord—he might be the Abyss itself.
There were beings feared even within the Abyss, known by that name.
At that moment—
“…I am the Sunken Emperor.”
Swish.
He slowly removed his helmet.
And the instant Basara saw his face—
“……!”
Shock flashed through her eyes.
It could not be helped.
That face—
It was far too…
“An emperor who fell with a destroyed world.”
…identical to the *Sleeping Emperor*.
*
*
The origin of the Arhon Empire.
Opinions differed on when the Sleeping Emperor had first appeared.
But the Empire worshipped him like a god.
Thus, there was no one who did not know his face.
Statues bearing the Emperor’s likeness existed throughout every territory.
People can resemble one another.
As the saying goes, there are at least three people in the world who look alike.
But Basara could not be mistaken.
It was an exact match.
To a degree that defied explanation.
…If such a thing were possible,
There was only one explanation.
“‘Divine Possession’……”
Divine possession referred to those inhabited by players.
Thus, the Empire erased those afflicted with *divine possession*.
And replaced them with people who looked similar—or identical.
“You must be curious. I am as well.”
But it seemed even the Sunken Emperor did not know the answer.
He had spent eons within the Abyss.
This might have nothing to do with the Empire’s possessed.
Was it coincidence?
Or the result of some unknown force?
He acted as if he knew everything—yet did not.
“The moment I saw Park Hyun-myung, my memories of the Island of the Gods resurfaced.”
What was certain was that the instant he saw Park Hyun-myung before the Mountain of Earth, erased memories returned.
As the missing fragment reappeared, his power automatically began restoring the rest.
Not only that—memories long forgotten during his imprisonment in the Abyss were partially recovered.
“I… am a regressor from another dimension.”
The restored memories were horrifying.
He had turned back time and saved a doomed world.
He became a true emperor.
And yet, the world still perished.
In an even more horrific form.
If only he had not saved it… at least people might have lived.
The *Heavens* did not tolerate the Emperor—or his world.
Reversing time had offended them.
And so, they butchered it.
Ensured that nothing could survive.
In the end, stripped of memory and power, the Emperor sank to the bottom of the Abyss.
“There are no memories beyond that. They are gone.”
The problem was that not everything had returned.
Frankly, he did not even know why he knew these things.
Park Hyun-myung’s name.
Facts about Basara.
They were unrelated to his past memories.
Perhaps they were conclusions drawn from vast amounts of information.
His ability allowed calculations impossible even for gods.
By selecting the highest probability, he could foresee the future at a level akin to precognition.
If Park Hyun-myung were revived, answers would emerge.
Whether he needed to be killed—or resolved in another way.
“If he is connected to the Heavens, he must be killed.”
…Of course, if Park Hyun-myung were tied to the Heavens, he would kill him.
So—
“Ask.”
Ask everything.
All that you wish to know.
The Golden Spirit will answer.
“……”
Basara clenched her fist.
But there was no more time to hesitate.
For reasons she did not fully understand… her gaze had always been drawn to Park Hyun-myung.
She wanted to know why.
Step.
Basara approached Mammon.
And seized the golden idol in his grasp.
At the same time—
“……!”
Her divine form trembled.
Her eyes turned gold—and the world began to change.
Her vision expanded.
She saw the entire Abyss.
The Abyss, Earth, Pangenia.
The universe, other ruined worlds—
And even the *Heavens*.
But that was the limit.
Beyond that was forbidden.
Because she lacked the key.
The Golden Spirit is a *door*—but to open every door, a key is required.
The key she possessed could not open the Heavens.
However… that was not what she sought.
“I see.”
She saw him.
Park Hyun-myung.
His soul and body had not yet fully collapsed.
They were fixed at a certain point—being preserved.
Likely by the *great beings* the Spirit Kings mentioned.
—Failed again, huh.
Park Hyun-myung sighed with a self-mocking expression.
He had failed like this countless times already.
His tone suggested he was growing sick of it.
Then figures appeared around his soul.
The goddesses.
The forms of Leah and Pina gently rested hands on his shoulders.
But Park Hyun-myung did not feel them.
He continued to shrink.
Regretting failure, sinking into darkness.
Then another presence appeared.
—Get up! Right now, you idiot!
It was the Primal Heavenly Demon.
Though unfamiliar, she somehow recognized him.
Thanks to her union with the Golden Spirit.
Yet even his scolding had no effect.
—…….
Silently.
Quietly.
Another figure appeared and stood beside him.
He said nothing.
Neither comforted nor rebuked.
He merely stood there—as if to say that whatever choice was made, it would be respected.
Basara’s eyes shook more violently than ever before.
“Wil… helm……”
Silence fell.
She had never imagined it.
…Why was *he* beside Park Hyun-myung?
The Knight King—the slayer of the Demon King.
What bond could possibly connect him to Park Hyun-myung?
Logically, it was impossible.
He should have died.
His soul should have vanished.
Yet there he was—undeniably beside Park Hyun-myung.
It was bewildering.
Could this be why she had always watched Park Hyun-myung?
Because she had instinctively sensed Wilhelm’s soul?
Had she been drawn to him because Wilhelm stood at his side?
But it did not take long to realize that was not the answer.
She nearly missed it—
But far away, another being was watching Park Hyun-myung.
—…….
Randolph.
Another apocalypse, wrapped in endless darkness.
A monster called the end itself.
So dark that even the Golden Spirit almost failed to perceive him.
Yet he was unmistakably watching Park Hyun-myung from within the shadows.
His expression unreadable.
His gaze unknowable.
Shiver.
Basara trembled.
That being was horrifying beyond words.
Completely incompatible with Wilhelm.
They could never coexist.
Yet the one connecting them—
Was Park Hyun-myung.
“The two goddesses… Wilhelm… Randolph……”
Why?
Why were such beings gathered here?
Each one defied reason.
They should not coexist.
What bound them together?
“Park Hyun-myung.”
The answer was simple.
They were his other selves.
Because Park Hyun-myung was someone who could become anything—who wanted to become anything.
Of course she had been mistaken.
Even his late awakening as a second-generation Awakened made sense now.
He awakened himself.
By recognizing himself, he was finally completed.
And yet—he failed.
A careless choice led him to death.
Wilhelm or Randolph would not have failed.
Then who was Park Hyun-myung?
As that thought arose—
The world changed again.
Click. Click-click.
A narrow room appeared.
Park Hyun-myung was inside—playing a game.
“Seventh Lord Basara? Whoa—this boss is insanely strong! Such a complex pattern! Damn, this is a god-tier game!”
Rolling up his sleeves, Park Hyun-myung licked his lips.
With a look of pure excitement.
With eyes full of fascination.
“Alright—let’s do this properly!”
The Phantom descended.
The lore is genuinely very interesting