Ascension Through Skills-Chapter 484: 91st Floor: Ouroboros (5)

‘This is fascinating.’

Time itself within the world was reversing.

It wasn’t simply a phenomenon—it was a massive law at work. Even Taesan, without the power of Boundary Line, would have been swept along with it, unable to resist.

He turned to the immortal.

The man’s body was being pulled backward through time.

His face twisted in agony as if attempting to resist the process, but that was the extent of his struggle. Unable to stop the reversal, he could only suffer through it.

Finally, the process came to an end.

“Gah...”

The immortal let out a strained breath as he exhaled deeply.

Taesan shifted his gaze back to the square outside.

It was spotless, as if freshly cleaned, devoid of any sign of chaos.

But the people were not the same. The moment time resumed its normal flow, their faces distorted once more. Laughter filled with madness erupted, and their deranged behavior resumed.

‘Endlessly reversing time.’

“We are trapped here.”

The immortal spoke, his face now wearier than before.

“You have only just arrived and remain unbound by this place. But the longer you stay, the more this twisted world will ensnare you. I implore you to escape while you still can.”

Taesan had no intention of leaving.

He asked the immortal, “How long has this world been like this?”

The immortal remained silent.

Closing his eyes, he exhaled softly. His expression reflected a void of emptiness, as though everything had been stripped away.

Taesan observed him for a moment before stepping closer.

Though the immortal’s spirit was completely broken, his body was in perfect condition—untainted by any physical decay. Standing before the man, Taesan spoke again.

“I can grant your wish.”

The immortal’s eyes opened slightly, his gaze trembling.

“I can kill you.”

Taesan raised his sword.

Fwoosh.

A gray energy manifested in the air, shimmering faintly as it spread outward. The immortal’s pupils widened in astonishment.

“...What?”

“I’ve used this before. Were you too far gone to notice it earlier?”

The immortal stared at the manifestation of Boundary Line as if entranced.

“Is that... the power of an Old God? No... it’s not from this world either. Then what is it...?”

“It’s hard to explain in detail, but you already sense it, don’t you? You know what this can do.”

The power of Boundary Line enabled the alteration and interference of laws.

With it, Taesan could sever the immortal from Ouroboros’s fusion and bring an end to his existence.

Desperation suddenly overtook the immortal’s face. He staggered to his feet from the throne, then collapsed before Taesan, grabbing at his pants.

“P-please, I beg you. O great being, I implore you. Please, end my suffering... Show mercy...”

He pressed his forehead to the ground, groveling.

This was no ordinary man. He was the great immortal who once ruled over this world. Surely, he had been revered by countless people, overcoming immeasurable trials to attain his place of power.

And yet, here he was, reduced to a desperate child, pleading for Taesan’s mercy.

“If this is what you truly wish for, I’ll grant it. But there’s a condition.”

“What... what is it...?”

“Information about this world.”

Taesan’s voice was calm yet firm.

“Everything you know about this place.”

“If that’s all... You will truly end my life?”

“Yes.”

The immortal’s face filled with hope.

***

"Where should I begin?"

"Start from the beginning. What happened to you?"

"From the beginning..."

The immortal’s voice faltered as if the act of thinking was something he hadn’t done in a long time. Though slow and labored, his words eventually formed a coherent explanation.

"...One day, the serpent suddenly consumed us. We don’t know why. All we remember is waking up to find ourselves inside Ouroboros’s belly."

"When was this?"

"I don’t know. We lost track of time long ago. All I can say is... it’s been an unfathomably long time."

Even an immortal’s mind had its limits, and the endless passage of time had eroded his sense of it entirely.

The immortal paused, then spoke again, as if recalling something.

"Now that I think about it... before we were consumed, there was talk about the end of a great war in the universe."

"A war ending?"

"Yes. I don’t know the details, but it was a topic among the immortals. Our planet was located on the outskirts of the universe, so we didn’t know much."

A war in the universe.

Taesan’s thoughts flickered to a particular memory.

‘The war between the Old Gods and the Transcendents.’

A conflict between two opposing forces over dominion of the universe—a war that lasted for ages. The Transcendents emerged victorious, while the defeated Old Gods were sealed away beyond the world’s reach.

But that war was an event from the distant past, so long ago that even most Transcendents had forgotten it.

If these beings had been alive since that era, it explained much.

Time so immense that even the Transcendents considered it unfathomable had eroded their minds. It was no surprise that their sanity was beyond recovery, even by divine means.

"Continue."

"At first, we didn’t realize anything had changed. Some of the more powerful beings sensed something was off, but that was all. Only those who had reached immortality understood that we’d been consumed by the Serpent of Cycles. But... beyond that, we knew nothing."

Ouroboros moves only at the end of a cycle. Aside from that one fact, they knew almost nothing about the serpent.

"There wasn’t much difference at first. We carried on as usual—selling goods, dressing elegantly, and dancing at grand balls."

Their lives seemed unchanged.

"But... a single day after we were consumed, the world rewound itself."

The immortal’s voice trembled as he spoke, as if recounting a nightmare he wished to forget.

"Since then, we’ve been trapped in an endless loop, repeating the same day forever."

"They all went mad, didn’t they?"

"The passage of time doesn’t restore the mind. At first, some welcomed it. But by the time a century had passed, no one could maintain their sanity. After five centuries, reason itself ceased to exist."

Crash!

Something shattered outside. The immortal ran a hand over his face.

"They’re likely unaware of their own actions. Like broken machines, they repeat the same cycle endlessly."

Taesan confirmed his suspicion.

These beings were affected by something akin to the power of the gastric stone—but on a scale encompassing the entire world.

It was likely that Ouroboros’s ability to rewind cycles, originally meant to sustain balance, had been twisted into this grotesque form.

"You mentioned there were other powerful beings here?"

The immortal nodded weakly.

"We weren’t the only ones consumed. Entire parts of the universe were swallowed, including many immortals. Among them were even planetary deities."

"I don’t sense any of them."

"This area is just the outskirts."

The immortal gave a bitter smile.

"I didn’t sit idly by. In the beginning, because I hadn’t been fully corrupted yet, I could resist the forced cycles to some extent. Along with other immortals and planetary deities, we sought a solution by searching for the Serpent of Cycles itself."

"You sought Ouroboros? While inside it?"

"Yes. At first, I thought it was absurd. But a Transcendent among us explained that what consumed us was merely the serpent’s power, not its true form. The real body lies deeper within."

"A Transcendent knew that?"

Even the Wizard had admitted his ignorance about Ouroboros’s interior. The idea that a Transcendent trapped here held such knowledge was surprising.

"I don’t remember his name... but he was a figure of great power. It wouldn’t be strange for him to know such things. We followed his guidance and began moving deeper."

The outcome didn’t need to be asked. The immortal spoke, his expression hardened.

"As we went deeper, everything became more distorted. The place we reached was... an abyss. I gave up and turned back, but those who continued never returned."

"Got it."

"That’s everything I know."

The immortal looked up at Taesan, his gaze filled with desperation.

"Now... will you end my life?"

"One more thing. You mentioned seeing a woman. What did you mean by that?"

"Ah..."

The immortal hesitated, struggling to dredge up the memory.

"I don’t remember clearly, but... a woman visited this place once. She seemed very frightened and restless, but... I can’t recall much else."

"Was she slender, with black hair and black eyes?"

"Perhaps... I think so."

Lee Taeyeon. Taesan’s eyes narrowed.

This had occurred before the current cycle. Yet, the immortal remembered her.

It confirmed that time within this place operated differently from the outside world.

"Alright."

Taesan nodded. For the first time, the immortal’s face brightened with relief.

"I’ll grant your wish now."

"Ah... thank you..."

Taesan raised Bardray. Gray energy surged, covering the blade.

"Any last words?"

"I... am their king."

The immortal gazed out the window at the countless mortals driven mad by the endless cycle.

"I am the ruler of this world. I should lead them. But I am so tired. I want to rest."

"I see."

Pierce.

The blade pierced the immortal’s chest.

His face reflected pure relief, as if he could finally rest.

The Boundary Line eradicated Ouroboros’s corruption from his being, leading him to true death.

The power contained within the immortal dispersed, splitting between Akasha and Bardray.

[This... feels strange.]

Bardray murmured, his tone uncertain.

In life, Bardray had never reached the level of immortality. To him, immortality had been a lofty, unreachable state.

Now, he had witnessed someone of that level beg for death.

Taesan sheathed his sword, processing the information he had gathered.

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‘Ouroboros’s true body.’

The Ouroboros that devoured the universe was merely its power. Its true form resided deep within.

‘The deeper I go, the more twisted it becomes.’

Unlike the outer areas, where only time rewound, the deeper layers would host far more alien phenomena. Even immortals couldn’t endure it.

‘And the Transcendent.’

A being of extraordinary caliber, possibly governing concepts themselves, was here.

Given the immense time that had passed, it was possible they had perished. But such an entity might have survived.

Taesan solidified his objectives: to locate Ouroboros’s true body and uncover the fate of the Transcendent.

He gathered his mana, a mix of divine and corrupted energy swirling together.

[You have activated Teleport [Chaos].]

Taesan’s body shifted, moving deeper into the heart of Ouroboros.