CH 332

Gi-Gyu and El felt like they couldn’t breathe.

“The angel that existed since the beginning of time, the mother of all angels, and the very first angel”—Gabriel looked into El’s eyes—“That’s you, El.”

“I…” El’s data had no such memory.

‘I can find nothing in El’s data; it’s as if it has all been erased,’ Gi-Gyu found no pertinent information in El’s data, not even information regarding the holy sword ritual. What Gabriel was explaining now was part of El’s forgotten memories. El continued to shudder as if she couldn’t control herself. But when Gi-Gyu touched her shoulder gently, she calmed down.

Uncaring, Gabriel continued, “Even before I got the information from Chaos, I already knew this. Kronos didn’t, but I did. I knew our God was a false deity and that you created us.”

“I-I…” El stammered.

“That is why I worked with Kronos. I wanted to relieve my misguided anger, so I let Kronos kill God. Everything worked out. At the time, what I wanted wasn’t anything grand.” Fury appeared on Gabriel’s face. “I just wanted to relieve my anger. My whole life turned out to be a lie, and I learned that I had been following the wrong creature… I needed a way to relieve my resentment toward you. So God died, Kronos fell into Chaos, and Gaia revived the rulers to maintain the Tower as if nothing happened.”

Gabriel began speaking even faster. “I then wandered, unable to find a goal because I felt so lost. It was then that you suggested we carry on the holy sword ritual. Finally, I found a goal.”

Gabriel explained what he wanted. “I was desperate to stop you and save the other angels. Saving the angels… Isn’t that what you wanted too? So by doing this, I would have been saving you too. Don’t you agree?”

Gabriel’s twisted logic was astounding. It was a feeble excuse.

“You didn’t do that for El.” Gi-Gyu’s voice turned cold. “El was just a target for you to relieve your anger, and now you’re trying to justify what you did. You didn’t do all those things for El.”

“You’re right.” Gabriel nodded without a fight. “I should have left you to finish your plan. If I had…”

Gabriel’s energy shook. He grabbed his head, making Gi-Gyu worry he might lose control. Thankfully, Gabriel regained control and continued, “I wouldn’t have fallen into further despair.”

“Falling into Chaos was like falling into hell,” Gabriel added. It was an apt description of his past agony. “The truth I found inside Chaos was even crueler than what I already knew.”

“You’re right.” El, who was shuddering still, shook her head. Looking dazed, she admitted, “I made all of you.”

El looked up; her aura was a bit different. She whispered, “I created the angels and gave them purpose. I raised them and took care of their every need… So why did I forget that?”

El’s confusion grew.

Gabriel replied, “That’s the truth I obtained from Chaos.”

Gabriel might have the answer El needed.

***

“Raphael brought you to stop me. In the end, I fell into Chaos with you, which was my worst mistake. I should’ve escaped. I shouldn’t have fought you two back then.” Gabriel looked confused. “Chaos knew everything. I only got to see a few things, stuff I was curious about, things I wanted to see with my own eyes…”

Gi-Gyu could guess what those things might have been. He thought, ‘This jerk knew their God wasn’t real and that El created them, yet he didn’t tell the other angels.’ 

Gi-Gyu didn’t know what Gabriel was like after leaving Chaos, but he knew that he wasn’t like this before he had fallen into Chaos. Then again, every word coming out of Gabriel’s mouth could be a lie.

‘But I do believe that he thought he was doing it for the angels,’ Gi-Gyu thought grudgingly.

Gi-Gyu muttered, “What you were curious about and wanted to learn... I’m guessing it was the truth about creation.”

Gi-Gyu remembered Kronos telling him that Gabriel had seen the truth about creation. And that was how Gabriel had gotten God-like powers.

“That’s correct. The truth about creation, the truth behind our world… When I learned that our God was a false one… The ancient document didn’t include the fact that Michael created all of us,” Gabriel replied.

“What? The ancient document?”

“Yes… It was like a diary from before we existed. I used to think angels were God’s first creations, but I was wrong. The document chronicled the truth. It talked about how a false God descended to our world and…” Gabriel seemed dazed as he continued, “The true God’s sword served the false God and created the apostles.”

Gi-Gyu turned quickly to look at El when Gabriel mentioned the true God’s sword.

“Were there two swords?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“I don’t know.” Gabriel shook his head. “I couldn’t read the entire document.”

“And that was enough for you to do everything you did? You believed everything you saw?”

“How could I not? That document was written by someone who existed even before us. The power this document held… The questions I had for so long—cough, cough…” Gabriel continued after coughing, “I decided to use the power I gained from this document to backstab Michael. I wouldn't have thought about betraying our creator if I didn’t have this power. So don’t you think this power is proof enough?”

Gi-Gyu remained quiet.

“But the answers to the things you’re curious about are in Chaos,” said Gabriel.

“...”

“It is true that Michael was the sword God wielded. And I’m talking about the creator, not that fake. And although imperfectly, Michael did receive a part of that power to create,” Gabriel added. “This power deteriorated into the energy you call Life, but it is still definitely the ability to create.”

“...”

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***

Gabriel’s story continued. In the end, he claimed that what he had felt inside Chaos was endless despair and emptiness from learning that everything he knew was false. He explained that the true God, who had created this world, didn’t have a name. Nobody could even prove his existence; apparently, he had disappeared after creating the world.

The two swords the true God used to wield and the ancient document were the only things that could prove his existence.

‘First Lou… And now El,’ Gi-Gyu thought in confusion. The true God used to wield El, and the fake was just a fragment the creator had left behind.

After learning that everything they knew was a lie, the angels had lost their purpose. After all, they used to live a life of sacrifice, working day in, day out as God’s eyes. They couldn’t even remember the real creator, yet they had been asked to make further sacrifices.

Perhaps it wasn’t a surprise that Gabriel had gone corrupt.

‘And how he absorbed all the angels with the information he gained from Chaos…’ Gi-Gyu decided that this had to be why Gabriel had gone mad. His God might have been false, but it was still the only God he ever knew. He had conspired with humans to kill that very God to steal his power.

The fact must have been like a maelstrom in Gabriel’s mind.

Chaos appeared to be a common point in all of these events. It looked like Gabriel had planned on becoming a god and burning this whole world down. Gabriel continued to babble, but the more he talked, the crazier he sounded.

Gi-Gyu still had a few questions.

‘Why did he distribute holy swords to players as the Hundred Sword Player?’ 

Gi-Gyu could guess the answer, but he wanted to hear it from Gabriel himself. So when he asked Gabriel, Gabriel replied, “I wanted my race to continue living.”

Gi-Gyu had guessed the same. Likely, as Gabriel’s craze had grown, he must have had developed multiple personalities. While one side had wanted to annihilate his race, the other wished for his race to have a chance at survival.

Gabriel added, “After I woke up, I didn’t stop contacting Kronos. He was very different from before. I don’t know his ultimate goal, but I know it’s not to simply become a god.”

In the past, Kronos had claimed he wanted to kill God to obtain his power to rule the world peacefully. But Gabriel had just said that Kronos’ goal had changed. The reason was obvious: They had killed the false God, a pointless act, so using his power would be just as useless.

Gabriel explained, “With the false God’s power, it was impossible to reign over the world. Without the ability to create—no, without the true ability to create, Kronos could not become the true God. And he isn’t the type to get satisfied with temporary achievement—he wants to rule the world for eternity. While Andras believes Kronos will restore hell for him, I believe Kronos is just using Andras, who is unaware of Kronos’ true motive.”

Gi-Gyu had finally learned the connection between Andras and Kronos. If he used this information well, then he could make Andras betray Kronos. When Gabriel realized that his God was a false one, he had killed his own master. Gi-Gyu didn’t doubt Andras would react just as violently.

‘As a matter of fact, I’ll bet Andras would do worse since Kronos is physically closer to him than God was to Gabriel,’ Gi-Gyu thought with high hopes. If the situation worked to his advantage, things would work out way better than he had expected.

Gi-Gyu had left out just one question: Why had Gabriel accepted defeat so easily despite having God’s power? It was because he had figured out the answer while conversing with Gabriel.

‘He gave up out of despair.’ 

Gabriel had tried to destroy the world with God’s power. But even this act seemed pointless. He had lost his purpose. Toward the end of his life, he was a madman who had lost everything.

Next, Gi-Gyu asked Gabriel about Chaos; he regretted it. The mere mention of Chaos made Gabriel nearly lose control. Gi-Gyu almost thought he had lost Gabriel. It took much effort to calm him down.

When Gabriel finally became stable, Gi-Gyu asked his next question, “God’s power called [Order] is inside the Tower. So you are saying that [Order] doesn’t include the ability to create?”

“That’s right.”

“Then…” While listening to Gabriel, Gi-Gyu had been getting an odd feeling. He realized this would be his last question because Gabriel didn’t have much time left.

Gi-Gyu asked, “What is this world?”

“...”

“I’m talking about Earth. The very ground you’re standing on right now.” Gi-Gyu couldn’t understand one thing: If Gaia had gained God’s power called [Order], then how had she created Earth? According to Gabriel, [Order] couldn’t create, and it was a fact that Gaia had created Earth, so just how?

Gi-Gyu had more questions he wanted to ask, but knowing he only had a limited amount of time, he had chosen this question.

“That’s…” Gabriel hesitated. “Could you do me a favor?”

“Tell me.”

Gabriel’s eyes became clear. The madness had been destroying his mind; right now, it was crystal clear. He asked, “Please tell the owner of this body that I’m sorry.”

After some time, Gi-Gyu nodded.

“The answer you’re looking for…” Gabriel’s energy began disappearing. The time that was allowed to him by Raphael was already up. It was a surprise that Gabriel had lasted this long. Perhaps it was because he once held God-like power, even if that God was false. And it was probably the power of the Holy Grail that had helped him.

Gabriel continued, “Chaos. Gaia didn’t use [Order]. She used [Chaos].”

Gi-Gyu could feel Gabriel’s mind slipping away. But Gabriel’s voice continued to ring in Gi-Gyu’s head.

-You too… Are you also just a fake? Another fake god pretending to answer our desperate pleas?

Before Gi-Gyu could reply, Gabriel disappeared completely. The body that held Gabriel jerked before spitting out blood. Then, it collapsed.

***

Gi-Gyu still had many questions he wanted to ask. He wanted to learn about Soo-Jung, Kronos, El, the angels, why Lou could transform into a sword, and for what purpose he was given this ability. However, the time he had was limited, so he had only asked a few questions.

Gi-Gyu had managed to ask the most important questions, but he still felt frustrated.

“I guess I’ll have to find the rest of the answers by finding Kronos.” Gi-Gyu knew Kronos knew much more than Gabriel. Kronos had a different goal from Gabriel. Kronos didn’t want this world to end, nor was he angry. He had a clear goal, and he was working precisely to accomplish this.

So before Kronos succeeded, Gi-Gyu needed to find him.

And for that, Gi-Gyu called out to the one who knew as much as Kronos, “Gaia.”