Chapter 347

"...This is..."

Ansu stood before a grand imperial palace.

Magnificent.

Guards in black masks stood in rigid formation—his Four Royal Sentinels.

Four Level 9 death-class professionals.

Across the vast court, ministers knelt in submission.

Every single one of them possessed Level 8 strength.

And his throne—

Blazed like the sun in the sky.

Where else could such a scene exist?

This—

Was the empire of Ansu!

That troublesome Rei Kanzaki was gone.

And he—

Was on the verge of stepping into that supreme realm!

[Death Controller — Sovereign of the Dead Emperor]

An empire spanning the world.

A ruler unmatched!

If he could ascend to Level 10—

Then what could that so-called White possibly do against him?

Even if she were the ancient deity who governed death and destruction—

She would still fall beneath him!

His long-silent heart surged with boiling fervor.

And yet...

This very scene stirred unease within him.

He gazed toward the distant sun beyond the palace hall—

Its light shimmering in unnatural, prismatic colors.

He remembered this day clearly.

Today—

His empire would fall.

Year 4022 of the Ansu Dynasty—

The Pure White would descend from the heavens.

Bringing destruction upon the entire world.

And the ritual he had prepared for years—

Would be utterly destroyed in that moment.

If not for that descent—

Why would he have been forced to rely on death and reincarnation to approach that supreme realm?

In that era—

No one ever knew.

His endless cycles of rebirth...

Were never by choice.

They were born of necessity.

But then—

Why was he here again?

In his prime?

Could it be...

The Deep Ground?

...

Luluwi stood within the empty combat arena.

She—

Had won the War God Cup.

This time, Rei Kanzaki had never appeared.

Without him...

She had obtained the Seer class advancement scroll.

Though in truth—

It didn’t serve much purpose for her.

A faint confusion lingered in her heart.

Ever since she had been summoned by that distant voice—

She had returned here.

Awakened from a dream.

Everything that had happened before...

Felt like a dream.

And yet—

It had been so real.

Not just real—

Even the archery techniques she learned in that "dream" could be used in reality.

After winning the War God Cup, Luluwi naturally secured her position as Loren’s strongest archer.

The knowledge she had gained in that "dream" had elevated her strength to an entirely new level.

As time passed—

A question began to surface in her mind.

Rei Kanzaki...

Did that person really exist?

...

[Luluwi’s Sea of Consciousness]

Rei Kanzaki continued moving forward within her inner world.

Once again—

He heard the familiar murmurs.

His [God-Tier Talent — Final Perception] began sending intense, uneasy feedback.

His brow furrowed, and he slowed to a stop.

During the simulation—

He had never felt this kind of warning from Final Perception.

It seemed that within Future Deduction, the trigger conditions for Final Perception were... different.

Sometimes, it failed to detect hidden dangers.

Perhaps because, within a simulation—

Those dangers weren’t truly dangerous.

Even if he died, it would only result in reincarnation.

At worst, the simulation would end.

It would never threaten his true self.

But here—

In reality—

Death was death.

Danger was danger.

And as long as it was dangerous—

Final Perception would warn him.

"All who linger within dreams shall see us..."

"Between the Real and the Void... each time a fissure is sealed..."

"...you will follow us... into the Deep Ground."

The same murmurs.

But now—

Accompanied by a warning unlike anything before.

Thump—

Once again—

Rei Kanzaki saw the boundary between Real and Void.

His heart pounded violently.

This sense of danger—

Was comparable to when he had faced Aeltimé.

Unprecedented.

[Future Deduction]

Tap—

He activated it again.

The moment it activated—

The warning from Final Perception vanished.

Then—

Within the simulation—

He entered the Deep Ground once more.

Buzz—

When he opened his eyes again, returning to reality—

The answer he obtained from the simulation was:

Safe.

Just like before—

He saw nothing.

The information he gained was identical to his previous attempts.

And yet—

His instincts screamed otherwise.

"I might deceive myself... but Final Perception never lies."

"...Would I deceive myself?"

That thought struck him like lightning.

If he had truly been contaminated—

Then what would he think?

Would he still want to rid himself of it?

Or...

Would he convince himself that it was unnecessary?

Rei Kanzaki suddenly realized—

He had made a dangerous assumption.

Why had he been so certain that he would want to eliminate the contamination?

Today—

He had already used Future Deduction three times.

The first had been at midnight, when he went straight to Fallen Moon Island and attempted to gather a Seventh-Tier dungeon, observing others’ reactions.

At that time, he hadn’t paid much attention to Luluwi.

Now—

Only one simulation remained.

Should he use it?

If he repeated the same actions, the result would likely be the same.

But with such an overwhelming sense of danger—

Not using it would be equivalent to seeking death.

He activated Future Deduction again.

But this time—

He did not walk toward the fissure.

Instead—

He raised his hand.

Mana gathered within his palm.

"Magic of the Real Plane cannot affect the Void Plane."

"Magic of the Void Plane cannot affect the Real Plane."

In his left and right hands—

Two different spells formed.

Within his mind—

A puzzle began to resolve.

[Sixth-Tier Magic (Real) — Absolute Gate Seal (LV: 501)]

[Sixth-Tier Magic (Void) — Silent Closure (LV: 501)]

Clap—

He brought his hands together!

The two spells converged, sandwiching the fissure between them—

And in that instant—

The fissure sealed shut.

One fissure blocked.

Rei Kanzaki’s gaze flickered—

He turned around.

Behind him—

A massive fissure tore open.

Within it—

He saw a reflection of himself.

Earth.

His expression tightened slightly.

He cast another spell—

Sealing it again.

The fissure vanished—

And another one opened.

This time—

It showed the city of Atlante.

Seal it again.

Whoosh—

Another fissure appeared.

This one—

Showed Kranoria.

Again and again—

He sealed them.

Again and again—

New fissures opened.

And within each one—

The central figure was always himself.

"Each time a fissure is sealed, another will open, until we enter one of them..."

Rei Kanzaki finally understood.

So—

These fissures led to the so-called Deep Ground.

But what exactly was the Deep Ground?

Why did it show so many reflections of himself?

He stopped.

There was no point continuing further.

Instead—

He decided to withdraw from Luluwi’s sea of consciousness.

He needed to question Ansu directly.

If anyone knew the answer—

It would be him.