Ascension Through Skills-Chapter 486: 91st Floor: Ouroboros (7)

Essentia led Taesan away from the chaotic center of Ouroboros to a small space.

It was his domain, a bastion of stability that he had maintained amidst the twisted powers of Ouroboros.

“Alright. We probably have plenty of questions for each other. Who’s going first?”

“Thank you. Then, I’d like to ask you something first.”

Taesan’s gaze settled on Essentia.

“Do you know a woman named Lee Taeyeon? She’s in her twenties, with long black hair and black eyes.”

“Lee Taeyeon?”

Essentia tilted his head, puzzled.

“Never heard of her. Who is she?”

“I see.”

Taesan’s suspicion that Lee Taeyeon had encountered Essentia or acquired the Gastric Stone here was wrong. She must have used her own unique methods to obtain it. Given her level of power, entering this place would have been impossible otherwise.

“Is that all you wanted to ask?”

“No. My real question is about something else.”

Taesan shifted to the main topic.

“You’re familiar with the Usurper, aren’t you? Could you tell me what kind of being that Old God is?”

“It’s not something I should casually share, but... I suppose someone like you is an exception.”

The Usurper.

A mysterious Old God that even the gods had forgotten.

Essentia, however, showed no hesitation as he answered.

“It’s simple. That bastard is exactly what his name implies. He usurps this world.”

“...The world itself?”

Taesan’s surprise was evident.

He had thought the Usurper’s power was limited to stealing concepts like divine names or ranks.

But to usurp the very world?

This placed the Usurper on a level far beyond what Taesan had anticipated.

Essentia frowned as he continued.

“He’s highly unusual, even among the Old Gods. That’s because he can manipulate some of the laws of this world.”

“The laws of this world? Is that even possible?”

The beings of this world couldn’t wield the powers of the Old Gods, and vice versa. That was an immutable truth. The minions of the Old Gods could wield their masters’ powers, but only because their essence had been transformed to align with them.

Only Taesan had the ability to wield both forces simultaneously.

“It’s not true mastery. It’s more like parroting. Even so, the fact that an Old God can mimic the concepts of this world is a serious anomaly.”

Essentia’s face twisted in distaste.

“That bastard usurps the very structures that make up this world. Once something is usurped, its existence is erased from this world—like your master. A tool turned servant.”

Essentia gestured at Taesan’s ring, pointing directly at Akasha.

“Judging by that, your master must have been a Transcendent who was usurped by the Usurper. I don’t know who they were, but considering they left behind someone like you, they must have been an immensely powerful entity tied to concepts.”

[Can the one I served... be found again?]

Akasha’s voice trembled with hope, but Essentia answered indifferently.

“I don’t know.”

His tone was blunt.

“Judging by how fragmented your memories are, I’d say you’re barely clinging to what’s left. Even if you recover and restore her divinity, I’ve never heard of anyone regaining their identity after being usurped.”

[I... I see.]

“So, that’s the Usurper?”

Taesan mulled over this revelation.

He had expected uncovering the mystery of the Usurper to be a monumental challenge. Yet, he’d gained critical information far more easily than anticipated.

“What exactly is the Usurper’s power?”

Essentia hesitated, his expression unreadable.

“I don’t know.”

“...What?”

“That bastard is shrouded in mystery. All we know is that he participated in the war, usurped countless Transcendents and concepts, and vanished. Beyond that, we know nothing.”

“Have you never fought him?”

“Never. And I doubt anyone else has either. Every single person who fought the Usurper has been erased. We only know they existed because of the gaps they left behind, but we can’t recall who they were.”

“...”

“The Usurper takes worlds. That’s the extent of what’s known. No one knows his true nature or the exact mechanics of his power. Come to think of it... he disappeared near the end of the war. It was strange. Perhaps some Transcendent managed to destroy him at the cost of their own life?”

Ultimately, even Essentia didn’t know much about the Usurper. This was the limit of what he could uncover for now. Taesan organized the information in his mind.

“Thank you.”

It was enough. He could form a rough picture now.

Essentia chuckled.

“Don’t mention it. Got any more questions?”

“I do. Why did Ouroboros consume the universe?”

Taesan only knew that the Old Gods were involved, but nothing beyond that. Essentia, having been trapped here for so long, was likely the best source of information on the subject.

“Explaining would take too long. I’d rather show you. Follow me.”

Essentia rose and began walking toward the core of Ouroboros. As he advanced, he dispelled the twisted time and space obstructing their path.

Gradually, they encountered more of the intangible energy clinging to the space around them.

This energy seeped into time and space, corrupting them and stripping away their meaning.

Taesan understood instinctively.

Once something was consumed by this energy, its value was nullified.

What was once a sharp and indomitable blade became ashes. What once shone as radiant gold turned into dull, blackened stone.

The energy rendered all things hollow.

The further they went, the more abundant this energy became.

“They’ve multiplied while I’ve been stuck here.”

Essentia clicked his tongue and stomped his foot. His very essence expanded outward.

HUMMMM!

Essence itself manifested, smashing and scattering the intangible energy that clung to space.

As the view cleared, Taesan saw something.

“Do you see it? Or perhaps it’s better to ask—can you feel it?”

“...Yes.”

It was a mass of nothingness, a void that defied perception. Taesan couldn’t see it directly, nor could he sense anything from it.

In the warped and mangled space of Ouroboros, it alone was utterly empty.

Its size was mountainous, dwarfing even the largest constructs Taesan had ever encountered.

“That,” Essentia said grimly, “is the source of Ouroboros’s corruption and the reason I remain trapped here. The Worthless One.”

***

The Worthless One writhed, growing larger by consuming the surrounding time and space, twisting it into itself.

“A nuisance.”

Essentia scowled as his essence—his very being—manifested as a material force to strike at the Worthless One.

But the Worthless One didn’t retreat. Instead, it latched onto Essentia’s essence, attempting to corrupt and transform it. Slowly, the inherent value and meaning of Essentia’s power began to fade.

“Damn parasite.”

Essentia clicked his tongue, shaking off the intangible entity clinging to him and withdrawing his power. In that exchange, Taesan came to a realization.

“It’s not a fragment, is it?”

This wasn’t some minor concept or splinter of a greater whole.

This was the Old God itself.

“The Worthless One isn’t a singular entity. It’s a conglomerate of countless small cores. One of those cores has embedded itself in Ouroboros.”

Essentia swatted away the advancing fragment as he explained.

“The main body is the size of a star. Compared to that, this thing is downright cute.”

“Why would something like that be here?”

“No idea,” Essentia replied casually.

“Maybe they were trying to destroy the world using Ouroboros, or maybe this was some desperate ploy when they realized they’d lost the war. Either way, they didn’t succeed. Not completely, at least. Even the Old Gods can’t fully control Ouroboros. Not its main body, and certainly not fragments like this.”

“But they didn’t fail entirely, either.”

“Fair point.”

Essentia raised a hand, his expression dark.

“Deep inside that thing is Ouroboros’s core.”

Though the view was warped and twisted, Taesan could make out something within the depths of the Worthless One—a presence that could only be Ouroboros’s main body.

“Somehow, the Worthless One managed to reach Ouroboros’s core. Ouroboros responded too late. It managed to defend itself, but the backlash affected the entire universe.”

This ripple effect had trapped countless beings, including Essentia himself, in its wake.

“At the time, I could’ve escaped. But I realized this had to be resolved, so I came here. I underestimated its power, though, and everyone else who tried was consumed.”

Essentia’s face twisted in frustration, a deep weariness evident in his tone.

“I can’t kill an Old God. And I can’t seal it here either. So I’ve been stuck fighting it over and over.”

“Even a fragment of it is untouchable?”

“If I were at full strength, I’d crush it completely and strip it of its influence. But in here? It’s impossible.”

The closer they got to Ouroboros’s core, the more its warped time and space took a toll.

“Even though Ouroboros isn’t hostile toward me, just being in here drains my strength. Resisting its influence is taking up a lot of my power, so I’m far weaker than I should be. That’s why I can’t deal with that damned fragment.”

Even a transcendent like Essentia struggled against Ouroboros’s overwhelming authority. It was simply too vast, too fundamental.

“But you... you seem unaffected.”

Essentia’s gaze turned to Taesan, specifically to the thin, gray aura that enveloped him.

“Be honest. I have no idea what you are. You interfered with my authority.”

Taesan had not only resisted Essentia’s attacks but had actively disrupted them—something neither a Transcendent nor even an Old God could do.

“Who are you?”

Essentia’s question was filled with pure curiosity.

Taesan answered truthfully.

“I don’t know.”

His tone was genuine; even he didn’t fully understand himself.

“But I can wield this.”

A gray light flickered in Taesan’s hand, embodying the power of the Old Gods. Perfectly controlled, it was entirely at his command. Essentia’s eyes filled with quiet astonishment.

“And I can wield this as well.”

A golden radiance—the essence of divinity—manifested in Taesan’s other hand.

The two forces intertwined, forming the grayish hue that surrounded Taesan.

“By combining them, I created a power I call the Boundary Line.”

Taesan extended his hand.

CLANG!

The Worthless One’s authority collided with the Boundary Line, attempting to erase and consume it.

But it failed.

Though the Boundary Line trembled and warped under the pressure, it held firm, shielding Taesan completely.

Then Taesan unleashed the Chaos Domain.

The Worthless One’s fragment began to distort under the assault, its form unraveling slightly.

In response, an overwhelming malice surged toward Taesan.

The intangible energy that had been creeping slowly now lashed out like a cornered beast. A tidal wave of hostility surged toward Taesan, trying to engulf him entirely.

Essentia stepped in, his authority flaring as he pushed back the rampaging fragment and created some distance.

“Thanks.”

“...You...”

Essentia stared at Taesan, his expression blank with disbelief.

Taesan extinguished the Boundary Line and met Essentia’s gaze.

“I can kill Old Gods.”

He spoke calmly, yet the weight of his words hung in the air.

Taesan didn’t just have the ability to seal or resist the fragment. He could erase it completely from existence.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

“But even I don’t understand why I can do this. Or what has been twisted within my own essence.”

He turned his attention back to Essentia.

“You are the God of Essence, aren’t you?”

Essence—the fundamental nature of all things, the indispensable core that defines existence.

Taesan’s voice lowered as he asked his next question.

“Can you see my essence?”