The World After the Fall

[Chaos] had no funerals.

Funerals were for the living. It was a ceremony for the living to remember the dead and think about them. But everyone in [Chaos] was already dead. A few lucky ones would have had their funerals while most were probably left out in the fields to become rotting corpses. But it didn't matter as none of them knew what happened to their bodies.

However, [Chaos] did have ceremonies for those who perished.

On the third day after Jaehwan became the new Master, a ceremony was held for the perished spirits within Gorgon Keep. Euren stood on top of the podium and began reading out something with the help of the [Sound Amplification] skill.

"We know Aimel Grosheck. But we cannot bury him because he does not exist anywhere in this world. With the few memories given to us, he has become part of the Tree of Imagery, without his spirit nor his body."

Ceremony of Spirit Flow. It was the name to remember the dead.

"We will not forget about Aimel Groscheck. For that, we will talk about him. Talk more and more about him so that we will have nothing to talk about him anymore."

The purpose of the ceremony was to erase the trace of the perished. As the ceremony was held, they talked about the spirit, over and over again, and never mentioned it anymore once the ceremony was over.

This was the last gift that [Chaos] could give to those who had left.

Jaehwan finally knew the former Master's name after he joined the ceremony.

Aimel Grosheck. The Master of Gorgon who gave the position to Jaehwan.

'Damn old man.'

Jaehwan did not like the idea of taking part in this ceremony. It was because of the old man that he was now a Master. Euren glanced at Jaehwan time to time as he read on from the podium.

-Master! Please, you must join! You are the Master now!

Euren seemed to be satisfied that Jaehwan attended. He probably thought it was because to him that Jaehwan came down. But that wasn't it. Jaehwan had his own purpose for attending this annoying ceremony.

Jaehwan glanced around at the people who attended. Messengers from other fortresses joined while Leaders of the Ten-Clan sent horns of horned monsters as gifts. A few of them had sent their Elders and officers to attend.

Nobody cried or became sad, but all of them talked about the Master.

Chunghuh cackled. He seemed calm for a man who had lost a friend he had known for 900 years.

"It's the same as a funeral. It's copying what the living do."

"You should say that when you don't get drunk."

"What! I'm just copying the way to live life!"

Chunghuh shouted and gulped down his beer.

"If you have lived a thousand years like me, death doesn't mean much. It's rather a good thing. You are now freed from life."

Jaehwan looked at the others and Chunghuh stepped out to the group and began dancing and singing. Jaehwan then turned to Euren. Before the ceremony started, Euren had told him the details.

-The ceremony will last for a week.

Jaehwan could already feel many looking at him.

-It's the first time a stranger has become a Master. You need to watch out.

Surely, those that were looking at him were from the Ten-Clan. Some seemed to be quite powerful among them. Jaehwan could hear all of their [Whispers] by using [Suspicion].

[I don't know what is going on. How did that young spirit become a Master?]

[I heard he's not even 100 years old.]

[A kid becoming a Master!]

[Is Euren up to something?]

There were some who were just flat out mumbling.

"…He looks like he's tempted to have a fight."

It was a lady who wore a purple dress and a veil over her face. She was glancing at Jaehwan. That was when she felt an unpleasant touch on her hips.

"Heh, the 2nd rank of the Divine Ladies is here too?"

"…Doctor, I will cut your hands off."

"I guess you're still good for a 500-year-old!"

As Chunghuh and the lady began to talk, others from the Ten-Clan were busy talking amongst themselves. They then turned to a plump middle-aged man who was moving up to the Master.

[Look at the old raccoon from the Disciples Clan.]

"Are you the new Master of Gorgon?"

A plump man with a huge belly approached. Jaehwan answered, "Yes."

"You look very young. May I ask how old you are?"

[Ugh, he's at it again.]

[What's up with those 1000-year-olds, boasting about their age?]

[Quiet. The doctor is here too.]

[Oh, right.]

The whisper told Jaehwan that the man in front of him seemed very old.

"I'm 50 years old."

"50?" The man asked back, confused.

"Yeah."

"50? He's so young! Old man, who is that guy?"

The lady next to the doctor asked and Chunghuh shook his head, rubbing his hand on the lady's hip.

"You shouldn't think about him. Don't try to go near him. Just focus on me, baby."

"…I will cut your arm off for sure."

The plump man continued, "Are you the son of the former Master?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if that might be the possibility…"

The men from the Ten-Clan seemed to be annoyed at the question.

[A son? Absurd!]

[That old raccoon is crossing the line. I know he's young, but…]

[The Disciples Clan know nothing but to study. That's why they are so rude like that.]

[It's still better than just flat-out cussing.]

Jaehwan then realized that the man in front of him was being rude. The previous Master was over 900 years older than Jaehwan. There was no way that Jaehwan was a son, and even if he was, it was a problem because there was no way for the family succession of a crown to be possible.

What the man was trying to say was this: 'A kid like you can't truly become a Master unless you are a son of the Master or something.'

Chunghuh cackled. "The old raccoon might have his ceremony today too if he's not careful."

"What do you mean, Doctor?"

"You'll see."

The plump man continued, "Anyway, nice to meet you. I'm the 2nd Rank of the Disciples Clan. Jang Irhan."

Disciples Clan? Jaehwan had heard about Disciples Clan by using his [Suspicion]. It seemed they like were a middle-ranked clan within the Ten-Clan of [Chaos].

"Jaehwan."

Jaehwan shook Irhan's hand. But something started moving as Jaehwan touched Irhan's hand. Irhan smiled as he found out about Jaehwan's Spirit Power once he touched Jaehwan's hand.

'So the rumor is true. He's a Non-Adapter.'

Irhan was nervous as he attended the ceremony. He had a purpose for visiting with an order from the Clan Leader himself.

-Do whatever it takes to get permission to build our office in Gorgon. It's absurd that we do not have even one office at any of the Four Fortresses.

The reason why there was no office for the Disciples Clan in Gorgon was because of Irhan. He had run into trouble while trying to bribe Northern Gate's guards and faced Karlton. He thought giving some more bribes would solve the issue, but Karlton just reported the matter straight to the Master of the Fortress.

-How can we allow clan that openly bribes our guards and run into trouble to have an office in our fortress?

The Master of Gorgon was as strict as Guard Captain Karlton. That's why the Disciples Clan had to wait 10 long years for a chance. This was the 2nd chance for Irhan. He did not use any bribery this time.

But when he returned, he was shocked. The former Master was dead, Karlton was in hospital, and some kid was sitting on the throne as the new Master.

'Gorgon is done for.'

Irhan thought. Even if he was here to get permission to get his office, he couldn't allow himself to beg in front of such a kid. Irhan held onto Jaehwan's hand and activated a skill.

Top ranking skill – [Eight Gates of Hell]

It was a skill that only the highest-ranking officers of the Disciples Clan could use. The skill that only could be used upon skin contact. It trapped the target in a terrible prison filled with monsters gathered from the [Great Lands] and would never be freed until the caster deactivated the skill.

Irhan quickly opened it up to the third gate. The third gate was the hell full of heat in which the Red Dragon Tiamat lived. The man in front of him would probably be fleeing for his life in burning hellfire, away from Tiamat.

'Taste hell!'