Fallen Lightbringers' Return

Chapter 70: Inciter

Lee Dojin breathed heavily. Staring down upon the destruction he had caused, it was hard for him to recognize this as the Lotte Tower he knew. Debris filled the ground, with the tall building on the verge of collapsing. In the middle, a giant hole ran down, all the way to the ground, and even lower. Surrounding him, the rims and metal gates had collapsed, with dead birds mushed and splattered, all collapsed by their own weight. It was the aftermath of the Day of Judgement, Second Trumpet.

He wiped the blood off his forehead. The shadow, he could confirm, was no more. Not only did he feel it, the endless messages running down in front of his face told him so too.

[The warrior has successfully created a legacy. An additional reward will be issued. Please prepare to receive it.]

[The warrior has successfully created a legacy. An additional reward will be issued. Please prepare to receive it.]

[The warrior has successfully created a Miracle. An additional reward will be issued. Please prepare to receive it.]

[The warrior has achieved what was deemed impossible. A reward is yet to be calculated.]

Lee Dojin let the messages wash over him. To ordinary people, they may come as a great shock, but for him, even in his previous life, this wasn't anything new. There were several of these messages a Player could receive upon accomplishing something that was not part of the main quest, yet had been too impressive to not be awarded. After restarting his life, he had been met with this type of message twice already.

In his old world (and later on, this world too), these things were known as Blessed Messages; Blessed for they brought bountiful rewards. They had, in general, 4 ranks, their rarity in this order:

Legacy.

Myth.

Miracle.

Impossibility.

A legacy, to Lee Dojin, was not that impressive. He had achieved these once by beating the sand kernels of the shadow and another time by reaching rank 1. Anyone surviving long enough in the apocalypse should have created at least one. In contrast, an impossibility, that was, as its name stated, supposed to be impossible. Something, unachievable even when blessed by Gods.

Yet, here he was. 

Still, the good fortune was overwritten by the last message.

[The System has noticed the Warrior.]

Lee Dojin rubbed his eyes, seemingly annoyed. "What a pain." He groaned. That happened a lot faster than he imagined. He was hoping to stay undetected, but then again, putting the scope of todays achievements in mind, this was understandable.  Even he did not expect things to become this big. However, he muttered, "This isn't necessarily a bad thing." With more risk came twice as much reward.

The boy slicked his hair back. He huffed. His eyes wandered looking for Do Jiwoon, only to realize he had disappeared. A sigh escaped him, coupled with dry laughter. That guy was like a slithering snake, impossible to catch. Not that it mattered in the first place.

He stared into the open sky. The wind brushed past his bare skin, and as the adrenaline washed off, he began feeling cold. But it was refreshing. The stars high up glimmered beautifully, and he lifted his hands, trying to grab one of them. He felt closer to his goal. His life, which he had forfeited once, came flowing down the back of his mind, and he never felt freer.

Slow clapping suddenly broke his concentration. He immediately grew vigilant, looking for the source of that sound, however, as Dojin turned his head, his eyes promptly fell upon Ji-ah and Hassan, who had appeared mysteriously before him.

The two of them appeared equally confused, as if unsure how they had gotten here.

"That was almost impeccable. I'd give it a 97 out of 100," a voice echoed through the darkness, and out stepped a tall man, with flaming red hair, dressed only in a white robe. His eyes were upturned, giving him a devilish look. His bare feet walked through the many stones, making one wonder if it did not hurt. He continued clapping, though no one really knew why.

No one, except for one person, that was.

Upon the sight of that man, Lee Dojin felt the blood drain out of his face, as he turned deadly pale. His hands began shaking, with sweat forming rapidly, rolling down his chin. He swallowed a thick ball of saliva, as his heart jumped up and down. Ever since he returnedno, maybe even before he transmigratedhe had never felt that much dread before. His mind churned rapidly, one thought connecting with one another, but he could make no sense out of it. He only had one question.

Why was he here?

The man cracked his fingers. He was nonchalant. "Now, you all may be wondering who I am, that is understandable." He smiled, his eyes turning to half-moons. "You fleshbags are quite lacking in the knowledge department after all." He sighed. "I am a guide, sent by the system. Now, what does that mean? Well, that means I am responsible to explain the rules to you, whenever a game starts. I somewhat control what stories you walk through and what goals you have to achieve." He lifted his finger. "Simple, right? Anyways, nice to finally meet you."

Hassans brows furrowed. "What? So, the apocalypse that is to come, will it be by the hands of you?"

The red-haired man paused, staring curiously at him. "You know quite a lot for a newcomer. That might be why you won the last mission."

Lee Dojin grabbed Hassan's shoulder, trying to hint him to stop, but it was too late. Hassan talked, "Oh yes! I do!" He swung his hand. "It's you, right? You are the one from the shadows. Why wait? We can just destroy you right here."

"That was not very cool. I am deducting 2 points from your rating. Did you not listen? I am only a guide. I walk you through the paths, but I do not create your fate." He snapped his fingers. "We are all just mere cogs in this vast universe. Though some are more insignificant than others, haha!"

Promptly, a bloodthirst so raw, bending space itself and withering the world and destroying all life itself leaked out that man, for just a split second. It crashed, like waves, sending strong winds through Seoul, blowing even the clouds away.

Hassan, who came in contact with the bloodthirst, spat out a mouth full of blood and fell to his knees. Though it was less than a nano-second, he felt his throat squeeze up. In his whole life, he had never come this close to death before, even when fighting the shadow itself. This man, no this thing, was the embodiment of fear. Ji-ah too tensed up, her face turning incredibly serious.

Only Lee Dojin understood. This man was no ordinary creature.

In his old world, he was known as the Inciter.

One of the strongest beings in all the universes. Not just a simple guide. He himself had never seen him, but he had heard enough stories to spot him from a mile away. There were many rumors. That he could destroy a universe with a snap of his finger. That in mere seconds, he can make several worlds fall so in love with him that they'd die for the guy. That he collects trophies from all the planets and heroes he had ended.. . the list went on. It was hard to know what was real, but Lee Dojin knew one thing that was undeniably true.

He was as strong as the Usurper, the monster that killed him the previous lifeif not stronger. As a group of twelve, they stood at the pinnacle of all species and are the closest knights of The Mirage. Except for Lee Dojin, no one had ever put a scratch on them.

He tensed up. So why was such a man in a remote place like Earth? His fist clenched together. He had no strength left to fight. Winning.. . was harder than achieving an Impossiblity.

"Oops, oops, that was close." The Inciter rubbed his head. " I am not here to kill you. Instead, I wish to bless you with rewards. My bad, my bad. I just got a bit excited. You see, ever since the Usurper died so miserably, I am in charge of this portion of the universe. I am just not used to you fleshy things, yet. Quite honestly, I cannot believe that you guys are just made out of pure meat. Really? I am giving that a 64/100 on the disgusting scale." He laughed alone. "Moving on, I am the Inciter. One of the Twelve Heavenly Signs. Oh, wait, without the Usurper, I guess we are only eleven now. Eh, you will learn what that means later on."

Lee Dojin stepped in front, gently placing Hassan on his back. The prince would be fine, there was no way the Inciter would really kill him. He was still unsure of why that person came here, but thinking about it was no use. First, he had to accomplish the matters at hand. 

"It doesn't matter who you are." Seeing that man, his eye gleamed in a mysterious glow. He was sure. One day, he'd return to his old strength, no, reach even greater heights, and with his own hands, he would have to kill the Inciter. "Why are you here?"

The Inciter squinted his eyes. He appeared amused. "I am unsure if you are brave, ignorant, or foolish. It's hard to give you a rating. But I personally like that attitude." He laughed. "Well, for the first reward, let me bestow you guys with a new skill, how about it?"