Return of the Shattered Constellation – Chapter 2

Chapter 2: An Invitation to the Underworld (2)

[Inside the castle.]

“From the moment I received the report, I knew that you were crazy but I guess I still underestimated you.”

Changseon saw a man with sharp eyes sitting on a huge throne.

• The King of Underworld: Thanatos.

He looked him straight in the eyes, demonstrating his strong will… something Thanatos didn’t approve of.

Even the Gods from all over would kneel before him, willingly at that.

And yet, here was a person deprived of Divinity standing firm before him.

In spite of this, his gut feeling told him that he’d made the right choice.

“Have you ever thought about where you would have gone after you died if you had lived on Earth without going to Arcadia?”

A question beside the mark.¹Idiom meaning, asking a question unrelated to the main topic.

Changseon wanted to ask the reason as to why he wanted to meet him, but he thought there must be a reason for this line of questioning, and shrugged his shoulders.

“Well… I never thought about it.”

“It’s Hell”

 “The reason being?”

Thanatos adjusted his glasses as he pointed to Changseon’s personal record on the table.

“In 2024, during your peak pro gamer days.”

“Yes?”

“Around June 21, due to your teammate’s mistake, you started swearing at him in a 5-team party. Similarly, his colleagues started to troll him as well, leaving him deeply hurt. “

“Yule, what level of punishment will he be receiving because of this? “

Yule, who was standing next to him, straightened his back and answered politely.

“Yes! You will be punished by getting your tongue ripped out for 15 days in the Hell of Tongue Ripping.”

“I see.”

Changseon wanted to say that this was ridiculous.

However, the words would not leave his mouth, and Thanatos continued.

“On April 9, 2020, your broken-hearted friend asked you to buy him a drink, but you ignored him and didn’t buy him a drink. For that, you’ll be headed to the Hell of the Mountain of Knives.”

“….”

“On November 10, 2018, you lied to your parents that you were at school while you were actually at Gaming Cafe. And on September 2017, you stepped on several ants while going to school. Tsk! The pitiful things who were bringing food to their co-workers. It’s not an accident but murder, it’s worth at least 4 days in the Hell of Venomous Snakes.”

“On April 2009, you were 9 years old, and you accidentally drew a map on the bed while sleeping. And you blamed this on the dog who you were raising at that time. There is nothing worse than framing a person. Tsk! 10 additional days in the Hell of Tongue Ripping.”

Each time Thanatos revealed the crimes one by one, Changseon’s face became strangely contorted.

On the contrary, Thanatos’ face was smiling as if he was dying of fun.

“In addition, for 26 years in Korea, you’ve never held a woman’s hand…that is about 6 days in the Hell of Darkness. Now, what to do about this?”

²Mohking: Me and the boys getting ready for hell.

³Kshn: *avoids eye contact

“… What the hell are you playing at?” 

At this point, Changseon couldn’t help but get angry.

If it wasn’t for Divine Suppression Steel, which had restrained his hands and feet fully, he would have punched that thick face of Thanatos who was still pretending to be serious.

Thanatos put down the report from his hand and crossed one leg.

“It was just a joke. Although you were a bit too competitive, your life spent on Earth was quite normal…”

“But after you moved to Arcadia, things changed completely.”

The first impression Thanatos had after receiving Changseon’s report was very simple.

‘He fought like crazy.’

Even during the 7 years of his pro gamer life, there were traces of him having an excessive desire to win. This had often affected the way he played his games, and he’d received plenty of criticism because of this.

The problem was that such a tendency had changed dramatically when he was transmigrated.

When he first landed on Arcadia, Changseon ended up in a battlefield where countless soldiers were fighting one another.

He was in the middle of a war.

Until then, he was only crazy about his games, an ordinary young man who’d never even attended his local taekwondo school.

But in order to somehow survive, he picked up the spear that someone had dropped, and started fighting for his life. Not only that, he even won.

And then he realized something…

He had quite the talent for this.

The more he fought, the stronger he became. The exhilarating stimulation and ecstasy he got in the meantime drove him to the battlefield even more.

Perhaps from then on, Changseon began to regard everything in the world as a “game”.

He concentrated solely on leveling up, the abilities he’d acquired were just “skills” in his eyes.

The upward trend continued and eventually spread to be in a war with the gods.

He might look very cold-hearted like himself now, but what inside was completely different.

Inside, he was just a monster who lived off fighting and war.

“So, what do you want to say? And why did you save me?”

Changseon growled as if to say he wouldn’t let Thanatos waste his time any further.

“I want you to do some work for me.”

“….work for you?”

“Yes. There are some gods who’ve dared to break their oaths and intervene in the lives of humans. I would like you to go to the human world and seal them on my behalf.”

In an instant, Changsun’s eyes twinkled.

“Are you going to reincarnate me?”

“To be precise, I am going to send you back to where you were supposed to be.”

Thanatos flicked his hand lightly.

And suddenly!

The court surrounding them vanished, replaced by a vast universe, dotted by numerous stars.

And beneath his feet was a blue orb, Earth. It’s been a long time since Changseon left.

Changseon… He stared at it as if he were possessed.

“Your eyes are going to fall out of your head. I thought your emotions had dried up, but it doesn’t seem like that anymore though.”

Thanatos smiled lightly as he looked at Changseon.

He was growling like a wolf in fury just now, but now he was like a gentle sheep.

“Well… it’s my hometown after all.” Even Changseon was a bit surprised by his own reaction.

He honestly believed that he’d moved on from that part of his life, permanently.

But, after seeing it with his own two eyes again, old memories began to resurface from the depths of his mind.

And a part of his heart was dyed with a new emotion.

It was longing.

“I wonder how shocked you’ll be after seeing what’s going to happen.”

 “What?”

The Earth began to expand.

First the Asian continent, and then… the Korean Peninsula. As they continued to zoom in, they went into South Korea, to Seoul, Songpa-gu, and Jamsil station, where they arrived at an intersection. The Lotte World Tower stood high in the background, and there…

In the middle of the night, between exit 6 and 7.

Changseon’s figure could be seen crossing the crosswalk.

Changseon seemed to suffocate for a moment.

‘I see…’

After retiring from professional gaming life, he felt empty… he could no longer feel the cheer and enthusiasm he’d ordinarily receive from gaming. So empty that he fell into a life of negligence, getting drunk, or just staying home most of the time.

On that day, all the alcohol in the house ran dry.

He’d gone to the convenience store, but on his way back home, he ran into a dungeon break.

‘I don’t know if I was just too drunk to see the street control, or if I was just unlucky to get caught up in a random dungeon break, but when I came to, I was already in the middle of Arcadia’s battlefield.’

However, everything on Earth remained the same.

It’s as if it froze just before all of this happened, just before the dungeon break occurred.

“This is where I will send you.”

Changseon’s gaze fell on Thanatos unconsciously.

“And like I said, you should concentrate on the task of sealing. This is the labor sentence you will be receiving. “

“… What is the reason for giving me this opportunity?”

If there was one thing that Changseon realized for sure after his death, it was that there was absolutely no such thing as free lunch in the world.

Favors were always made with the intention of receiving them several times in return.

The corners of Thanatos’ lips curled upwards…

“Because you’re perfect for hunting them.”

“Them?”

“The gods from another world, from Arcadia: Ahura, Deva, Chen… all of them.”

Changseon narrowed his eyes.

“What did they do? “

“Why do you think the dungeon break happened in the first place?”

 Changseon’s eyes lit up.

“So that’s what you meant when you said they broke their oaths… do they want Earth?”

“Yes. They say they don’t, but they’re coming, slowly but surely.”

The gods crave faith, for it is in faith that they attain their power.

And the best way to get it is for a god to exploit an already established planet.

“Why not send someone from the underworld?”

“Because they know the loopholes in the agreement too well. Currently, intervention is beyond our jurisdiction. However…”

For a moment, a sneer appeared on Thanatos’ lips.

“It is a different story for ‘humans’ to directly deal with those guys. Because there was no such thing in the oath.”

“Like I said, gods know the loopholes of the oath very well.”

Thanatos added such an afterthought.

The same smile hanged on Changseon’s lips

‘That’s true.’

“So you’re going to use me as a hunting dog? When the hunt is over, will you kill me?”

“No, it’s penal labor. When all is done, the restraints will be released. I will give you a new life as a bonus.”

“…Hmm.”

“If you don’t like that expression, let’s call it a deal. Not a bad offer, is it?”

Changseon quietly nodded his head.

As Thanatos said, it certainly wasn’t a bad offer.

In fact, the resentment against the god of the other world still has not yet been resolved.

Moreover, since he found out that it was because of them that he had been dragged to the mess in the first place, he was not gentleman enough to leave them alone.

He may have been deprived of his Divinity, and he may have lost all of his power. But since he could do it once, there was no reason that he couldn’t do so again.

But more than that, maybe…

Maybe he could get back to his normal life.

That said, Changseon still took his time.

It might have been a good deal, but he didn’t trust Thanatos.

“Of course, I am not saying that you should be reckless and seal all of them by yourself. That way, you will run out of strength and end up like before. I’ll give you a present. “

“And what would that be?”

“Authority”

“?!”

Thanatos spoke with a smile on his face, and Changseon was greatly surprised, but then his expression turned into an absurd one.

“Are you sure you can give it away like that? That has to be against the laws of the underworld.”

“The laws are mine to control… so a small gift to one of my subjects shouldn’t be out of the question. What do you say?”

“If you really want to give that … There is no reason for me to refuse.”

Changseon nodded and smiled softly.

If Thanatos were to keep his end of the bargain, he’d grow even stronger than before.

Because it’s like removing the limitations that mortals have.

“Good, we have a deal.” Thanatos smiled contentedly and turned his body in the opposite direction.

Behind him were Yule, the other emissaries, gods of all sizes, and even demons.

“From now on, reincarnation, no, regression will start. Everyone, be prepared to open the Gate of Rebirth!”