Chapter 155: Adam’s Apple (2)
“This is Adam’s Apple? Riarc asked.
A dazzling wave of golden light poured forth. An overwhelming, mystical aura filled the surroundings. Just standing near it was enough to make one breathless. Even those who didn’t believe in God would find themselves instinctively reverent in the presence of this divine energy emanating from the golden apple.
Riarc’s eyes widened as he stared at the apple in Kwon Oh-Jin’s hand.
“Incredible... This Astral Relic has an extraordinary energy!”
The golden apple pulsed with mana as if crafted from the stars themselves. The sheer intensity made his skin tingle.
“H-How in the world did you get such a divine artifact?” Riarc asked.
“Why ask when you already know?” Kwon Oh-Jin smirked and tapped his own head. “Obviously, I got it because I knew where it was and how to acquire it.”
“Fortunately, the method of obtaining Adam’s Apple didn’t change.”
“Well, just because the future’s shifting doesn’t mean every aspect changes,” Kwon Oh-Jin replied and shrugged casually.
“Hey, rookie.”
Riarc’s gaze shifted to Kwon Oh-Jin, who had dark circles under his eyes and visibly sunken cheeks. As an experienced warrior, Riarc could immediately assess his condition.
Extreme exhaustion and signs of anemia.
Awakeners naturally possessed vastly superior vitality and recovery abilities compared to ordinary people. It would normally take days of sleep deprivation before any signs of fatigue even showed, especially for someone like Kwon Oh-Jin, who was an apostle of the top-ranked Weaver. Despite his superhuman endurance, he looked utterly worn out.
Even if he knows the future, obtaining such a divine artifact couldn’t have been easy.
Though Kwon Oh-Jin wore a confident expression as if it had been nothing, the deep exhaustion on his face told a different story. Adam’s Apple was not something one could simply obtain without going through an arduous battle.
“Thank you.”
Riarc deeply bowed his head.
Unlike Star Spirits, who directly inherited fragments of the Celestial’s soul, the relationship between an Awakener and a Celestial was not that of a master and servant. If anything, they were like business partners.
Awakeners received Stigmas from Celestials and gained superhuman power while Celestials went up in status when their Awakener performed well.
While Celestials technically held more authority, the restrictions of the law prevented them from issuing absolute commands to Awakeners. Fortunately, Kwon Oh-Jin had acquired Adam’s Apple entirely on his own without any outside pressure.
Didn’t he say he had a deep relationship with Lady Vega in his past life?
At first, Riarc had dismissed it as nonsense. After seeing Kwon Oh-Jin push himself to the brink and risking everything for Vega, Riarc’s perspective of him changed.
If it’s him, then maybe he can save Lady...
Riarc flinched and quickly shook his head.
“Hmph! But I still won’t accept it!”
“Huh?”
“Nothing!”
Riarc furiously shook his head, his silver fur rippling like a field of wheat in the wind.
“Anyway, with this, we can break Lady Vega’s chains, right?”
“If this is really the Adam’s Apple that I remember, then yes.”
“There’s no time to waste! Let’s go free Lady Vega immediately!”
“Oh, you’ll have to wait outside while I’m breaking the restrictions.”
Riarc frowned.
“What? Why can’t I go in with you?”
“To use Adam’s Apple... something like a special ritual is required.”
“Hmm. I see.”
As Kwon Oh-Jin made up an adequate excuse, Riarc nodded with an unconvinced expression. Riarc was naturally suspicious of an unexpected ritual, but he couldn’t do anything about it.
I can’t let him see me using Open Heaven.
After all, the Adam’s Apple was nothing more than a fake Astral Relic that Kwon Oh-Jin created. Even if he added a ridiculous condition, Riarc had no choice but to accept it.
“Alright. I’ll stand guard outside. Call me if anything happens.”
“Okay.”
Kwon Oh-Jin nodded and stepped into the spacious room. There, Vega was bound by fifty chains of radiant light.
The silver-haired goddess lay motionless, her eyes closed as if she were in a deep slumber. Even after nearly a month of not seeing her, she still looked out of this world.
Wait just a little longer, Vega.
Kwon Oh-Jin slowly approached her and carefully reached out to stroke her cheek. A gentle warmth spread from his fingertips. Seeing her like this, it seemed certain that she was asleep.
To sleep for fifty long years...
Narrowing his eyes, he touched the chains of light. A surge of energy lashed out, searing his skin as a warning.
Crackle!
Today, he would break the chains of restrictions that sealed a god.
He took a deep breath and focused on Black Heaven residing within his heart. Massive black clouds, so vast that their size was impossible to measure, curled up within his heart.
I can do this.
Kwon Oh-Jin found the Dragon Vein’s mana hidden within the black clouds and reached out for the mass of mana circling in place.
Unlike when he first underwent the fifth enlightenment, the Dragon Vein’s mana was far denser now and responded according to his will.
Covering his heart with the Dragon Vein’s mana for protection, Kwon Oh-Jin quietly whispered the incantation, “Those who pass by me into the Garden of Lamentation.”
The Black Heaven coiled inside his heart released like an explosion through a small opening.
“Argh!”
Was this what it felt like to release a pack of starving wolves from their cages? The sheer outpouring of Black Heaven’s mana felt overwhelming like a collapsing dam, making it difficult to remain conscious.
“Agh.”
The black clouds coiled around him. Like butter melting on a scorching pan, his consciousness seeped into the darkness of the clouds.
Parts of him began to disappear. His right shoulder, his left hip, his thighs, and calves seamlessly dissolved into the black clouds.
No...
He desperately clung onto his last thread of consciousness. His instincts screamed a warning that he would never return if the clouds fully swallowed him.
Focus.
Within the sky covered in thick black clouds, he focused on the constellation shining brilliantly. As he focused on the light of Lyra, black lightning crackled around him and slightly pushed back the clouds.
His breathing turned into ragged gasps.
“Haa! Haa!”
If only it felt painful or excruciating, he could have clenched his teeth and endured. However, the sensation of his consciousness dissolving into the Black Heaven wasn’t something he could withstand through sheer willpower alone.
He took a deep breath and slowly raised his hand.
Before he completely melted into the Black Heaven, he had to sever the chains binding Vega.
Crackle!
The chains of light violently resisted as soon as his cloud-covered hands touched them. Kwon Oh-Jin grabbed hold of a chain with both hands and twisted it with all his strength. The chain, forged to seal a transcendent Celestial, shattered helplessly in his grasp.
Snap!
“One down.”
He smirked at the broken chain of light.
I can’t forget about using Black Curtain.
Besides freeing Vega from her chains, he had to make sure neither Riarc nor Vega would notice the Black Heaven’s presence.
“Haa.”
He reached for the remaining forty-nine chains.
Crunch! Snap!
One by one, he grabbed each chain and tore them apart. The restrictions of the law that bound Vega began to disappear.
“Agh, urgh.”
Kwon Oh-Jin’s consciousness flickered with each chain he broke. His sense of touch, pain, despair, joy, rage, and pleasure all grew faint like a light switch being turned off.
Memories of his childhood at the orphanage, the director who swung his fists every chance he got, the beautiful girl with fiery red hair—everything began to disappear from his memories.
He pulled at his own hair and violently cursed, “Shit! Shit! Shit!”
What the hell? This is worse than the last time I used it!
About twenty to thirty percent of him had turned into clouds last time. Now, nearly half of him had transformed.
Did Open Heaven become stronger?
Was it because of his sixth enlightenment or was there another reason? Unlike the last time he used Open Heaven, the black clouds surrounding him were thicker.
Of course, if this had been a life-or-death battle, he would’ve welcomed Open Heaven’s increased power. Now, it was just causing his consciousness to fade quicker.
Focus on the starlight. If I concentrate... I won’t disappear.
Suddenly, he recalled Vega standing before him during his fight against Cheon Do-Yoon. Had she known that she would end up sealed away for so long?
She must have. No, she was probably prepared for something even worse.
For her soul to be torn apart by the restrictions, for her godhood as the North Star itself to be completely erased, and to vanish like grains of sand.
If that’s the case, shouldn't I be willing to do the same?
Even if he couldn’t give more than what he had received, he had to return as much as he could at the very least.
“Vega...”
Desperately clinging to his fading consciousness, Kwon Oh-Jin continued breaking the chains of light.
Ten, twenty, thirty, forty chains...
Finally, when only one chain remained, something shattering rang in his ears.
Crack.
“What... was that?”
He frowned and glanced around, but saw no visible change no matter how hard he searched.
“Argh!”
Was it because he had been distracted? The speed of his consciousness burning away suddenly accelerated.
I don’t have time.
If he lost any more focus, he felt like his entire body would dissolve into the black clouds.
“Last one!”
He clenched the final chain and tore it apart.
Crunch!
All fifty chains had now shattered into fragments.
Breathing heavily, Kwon Oh-Jin dismissed the Black Heaven.
“Haa! Haa! Haa!”
His flickering consciousness slowly regained clarity, but his legs gave out and he collapsed on top of Vega. As he lay on top of her, the voice of the goddess he longed to hear again echoed in his ears.
“My... child?”