Beyond the Eternity

She found herself in a state where It was difficult to tell whether she was still alive or not.

Her entire body had been charred black, resembling a piece of smoldering charcoal. The right side was especially ravaged, with burns far worse than the left. She couldn\'t feel her arm or leg on that side. She tried moving her fingers and toes but received no response on that end.

Perhaps those limbs had been incinerated in the explosion. Also, the right side of her face had been burned as well, so she couldn\'t see anything on that side.

"Hah... Hah..."

The pain she felt was excruciating. It was difficult to breathe and she felt like she was being burned from the inside out.

She was definitely alive. if she weren\'t, the pain wouldn\'t be this unbearable. And she felt like she was suffocating with each breath she took.

The explosion that occurred was different from a normal explosion because It resulted from the collision between antiparticles and regular matter.

Such a rare phenomenon was called \'Antimatter Explosion\'. In other words, massive waves of gamma radiation was released from the explosion and into the environment, completely obliterating the surrounding oxygen.

It was similar to a nuclear explosion but several times more potent.

Even trying to breathe in the air would draw harmful, toxic particles into the body. As a result, Soo Jinyoung felt her internal organs being crushed to the limits.

It was a miracle she was still alive despite being in such a scenario.

[Pheonix Flame Lv. 9 has activated at full force.]

[The Impurities within your body will be expelled.]

"Tck... Ack!"

Blue flames emerged and slowly mended her body— her injuries sealed shut, dead tissue regenerated, and even her missing limbs began to reform. At the same time, there was the terrible pain of burning as her body was being restored with every pulse of fire.

Still, she gritted her teeth and slowly restored her form.

[The constellations of the Korea Peninsula is looking at you with pity.]

[Many of the constellations are impressed by your healing abilities.]

[You have received 5,000 coins from the donations.]

"Gah...Ahh...!"

She ignored the constellation messages and focused on healing her destoryed body first. Most of her body had already been revived by the flames of life but it was still difficult to breathe.

Toxic particles were entering her body with each second and the Pheonix Flames was eliminating them as they came. Simply put, her body was caught in a cycle of destruction and repair.

Fortunately, her body was healing faster than it was being destroyed so she was able to somewhat keep up.

Soo Jinyoung who was still lacking strength moved her battered body and swept her gaze around the vicinity.

The current time was 9: 20 PM.

It was middle of the night, but It seemed like the sun was rising. That was not an illusion. As the nightmares descended into this world, Seoul was trapped in an Evernight scenario. Therefore, It was impossible for the sun to rise.

The reason why It seemed the sun was rising was simple.

Gangdong-gu was engulfed in a hellish inferno.

No matter where she turned her head, she saw nothing but flames. The Antimatter Explosion wiped out everything within Gangdong-gu and turned it into a wasteland. It was as if the Demon World itself had descended onto Earth.

It was then...

[The 37th seal of the disaster \'Keikoku Amane\' has been released.]

[The 38th seal of the disaster \'Keikoku Amane\' has been released.]

[The 39th seal of the disaster \'Keikoku Amane\' has been released.]

[....]

A stream of messages appeared before Soo Jinyoung. But It didn\'t end there.

[The 45th seal of the disaster \'Keikoku Amane\' has been released.]

[The 46th seal of the disaster \'Keikoku Amane\' has been released.]

[The 47th seal of the disaster \'Keikoku Amane\' has been released.]

[....]

[The 61st seal of the disaster \'Keikoku Amane\' has been released.]

[The 62nd seal of the disaster \'Keikoku Amane\' has been released.]

[The 55rd seal of the disaster \'Keikoku Amane\' has been released.]

[....]

Soo Jinyoung only stared at those messages with a blank expression. She had failed, simply so.

Not only did she fail to kill the disaster, many people were caught up in that explosion and the restrictions placed on the disaster was being released one by one.

"Ha ha! That\'s strange. I thought that explosion would do more destruction than that. Did I mess up somewhere?"

Says a calm voice from somewhere.

Hearing that familiar demon-like voice, Soo Jinyoung turned her head towards the direction where the voice was heard.

It was a sea of flames. Within it was a black silhouette walking nonchalantly with his hands in his pockets as if taking a casual stroll.

It was Keikoku Amane, the Disaster of Storms.

"Ah, that\'s right. I\'m sure I calculated everything properly. The blast should have been enough to wipe out the whole of Seoul, but only a few districts was affected? Was there an inference from the <System> this time as well? Tch! Isn\'t it my goal to destroy this world in the first place?

So why is my power still being restricted?!"

Keikoku clicked his tongue as if he was irritated.

To destory the planet, Keikoku needed to produce an enormous quantity of antimatter—approximately 2.5 trillion tons. But that was beyond his current capabilities. In other words, he could not destory the entire world using his own power.

Thus, he was upset. Even so...

"BUT, OH BOY! THAT WAS A PRETTY AWESOME EXPLOSION, DON\'T YOU THINK? YOU MUST HAVE FELT IT TOO. THE LACK OF OXYGEN WAS HARD ON ME TOO! I THOUGHT I WAS REALLY GOING TO DIE FOR THE FIRST TIME, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! BEING AT THE CENTER OF AN ANTIMATTER EXPLOSION IS SERIOUSLY NO JOKE!!"

Despite shouting so, Keikoku Amane appeared more exhilarated than terrified, as if the thrill of near-death had ignited a sleeper excitement within him.

"Riddle me this. Just what is the power of the strongest disaster?"

Soo Jinyoung frowned at the cheerfulness of the person infront of her. Before she could even open her mouth, Keikoku continued impatiently.

"The answer is Antimatter manipulation. I can generate, shape and control antiparticles at will. Though I need a special item to handle it safely without causing an accident. However, I subconsciously emit an \'Antimatter Diffusion Field,\' which acts as a safeguard. Even if something goes wrong, the field will protect me.

From what I\'ve been told, all players emit some kind of diffusion field, likely a side effect of receiving the blessing of the System and becoming players. Each field works differently depending on the person, but mine neutralizes harmful particles through annihilation."

He spoke leisurely as if he was having a normal conservation.

"However, anything with resistance can still pass through. Plus, If my field were to annihilate essential elements like oxygen, I\'d be in serious trouble. That\'s why I\'ve configured it to allow only harmless substances to pass through by default. Seriously, antimatter is a fraudulent power that can fuck you up If you mess up even a little.

If I\'m not careful, I could ignite the very oxygen I need to breathe. And if antiparticles makes contact with my skin, I\'ll turn into a melted sugarcube. The human body is really a huge pain in the ass."

He laughed like it was ridiculous. He did so while being in the middle of a fight. He obviously didn\'t view his opponent as a threat— more like a toy he could break at any moment.

Realising this truth filled Soo Jinyoung\'s heart with displeasure.

She raised herself from the gravel and picked the Red Pheonix Sword which had landed a few metres close to her body.

"... Huh? You still want to fight?"

Amidst the roaring flames, Keikoku Amane titled his head like a confused child.

"You must be the most eccentric, or perhaps the craziest person I\'ve ever met. Not even that mad scientist can compare. Honestly, I can\'t fathom why people like you can easily throw your life away. Don\'t you know your body is a delicate flower? To me, my own life and body takes top priority, and there\'s no limit to my selfishness or what the power I crave.

That\'s why I can laugh without a care as I slaughter hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, even millions of stubborn players like you."

"I have a question."

"Yes... Wait, you can talk this entire time? I thought you were mute."

Keikoku Amane was shocked. It was indeed the first time that his opponent was speaking throughout the whole ordeal and she had a very voice

Soo Jinyoung continued speaking without paying any mind to his reaction. "Something you said piqued my interest. You mentioned wanting to grow stronger, but that doesn\'t add up. Aren\'t you known as the strongest of the \'Disasters\'? From what I\'ve heard, most cultivators and even some Mythological Gods couldn\'t stand against you.

If you\'ve already reached a level where no one can rival you, what\'s the point of striving for more?"

"It\'s nothing special, really. Also, I didn\'t think even someone would know so much about me. I\'m honestly touched."

Keikoku spoke with an expression that claimed his words were true.

"That\'s right. They call me the strongest Disaster—Destroyer, even—the strongest being in the entire murky way." Keikoku Amane\'s tone was flat, almost bored. "But is that really the case? Am I truly the strongest? They gave me that title just because I wiped out a few planets. But let\'s be honest, I didn\'t really destroy those worlds.

I merely completed the trials set before me, and those worlds crumbled on their own. In fact, I doubt I could even stand against a real god. If I faced Odin, even in his sleep, I\'d probably be one-shotted."

The corners of his mouth twisted.

"It\'s laughable, really. They call me the strongest, but deep down, I know it\'s just a comforting lie. Power without true challenge is hollow. The universe is so vast that humanity has barely scratched the surface with only less than 0.01% of it being explored. How can I claim to be the strongest when there are likely billions of species out there I\'ve never encountered?

Wouldn\'t I be a lier if I said so? No matter how tempting it is to believe in that sweet delusion, the truth is that I\'m just a mere bread crumb in the grand scheme of the universe that will likely be forgotten."

He gritted his teeth with a flicker of frustration crossing his face.

"But that\'s wrong. How can I accept such a reality? Antimatter is not confined to such a narrow spectrum. Being known as the strongest by a few worlds is boring. Disgustingly boring. What I want is absolute strength.

A form of strength that would make my story reach the entire murky way and the Forsaken Realm of Gods. I wish for a strength beyond the confines of the <Stories> itself."

While saying so, he stretched his hand towards the sky as if trying to reach for an unreachable dream.

The left hand of poison. Also, the hand of suffering. That very hand can kill a man with a single touch.

That hand held the tragedy of a thousand years.

Even so, Soo Jinyoung ignored all of that and focused on something else. To be precise, what Keikoku said before stretching for the skies.

"You...."

For the first time since she entered this world, she was truly shocked. She was wordless.

To escape the confines of the Stories.

It seemed simple enough, but It was not that easily obtainable when reality was thrown Into the equation. In fact, It was almost impossible.

To escape the Stories, means to escape the very influence of probability itself. Simply put, they would be freed from all restrictions placed on their existence. A god-like existence beyond the causality and plausibility, that can freely reshape the predetermined paths of their existence and extend their existence outwards like.

A being that had entered the realm of the boundless— an endless sea of zeroes and existed during the First Epoch.

"... You\'re crazy."

Such beings were called Transcendent Gods.