Chapter 310 - Deal And Price

# Dark Interior

In a dark indoor space.

In that dark, cavernous void larger than a decent-sized stadium, with a ceiling so high it couldn't be seen.

I was quietly approaching "something" at the far end.

"......."

Something with the build of a 5-year-old child, surrounded by thick white tentacles.

The difference from an ordinary child was that its entire body was pitch black. Both face and body were indistinguishably dark.

And this thing.

This was what the old heroes had created such an enormous space to seal away.

One of the Sun God's creations existing in the world.

The one who grants wishes.

"..."

Though it didn't look particularly threatening on the surface, I knew its power was beyond imagination.

Unlike mere humans who had merely received divine abilities, this thing was a life form directly created by the Sun God.

As such, its power touched divinity itself. It had the power to change causality and providence.

However, because of this, it had a major limitation.

It could only use its power when granting someone's wish after they paid a price.

But even so, its power was transcendent. If the price was sufficient, it could grant any wish. A wish to destroy a nation, a wish to become rich, even a wish to resurrect the dead.

The problem was that matching the right price was extremely difficult.

And it fulfilled wishes in the most twisted ways possible.

With these thoughts, I continued walking.

Finally, I arrived close to it.

Tap.

As I stopped, I saw the small black child sitting before me.

Its entire body was submerged in deep darkness, but exceptionally, its mouth was visible, smiling snow-white.

Up close, the small black figure looked even more unsettling, surrounded by thick white tentacles.

And in the middle of it all.

Finally, it opened its mouth.

"...It's been a while since I've seen a human."

The voice speaking through that white mouth sounded somewhat like a small boy's laughter, and somewhat like static from a machine.

Whatever it was, it was an eerie and unsettling voice unlike anything I'd heard before.

As that voice seemed to burrow directly into my ears, I quietly nodded and spoke.

"...Hello, Wish Granter (votum implens)."

"....."

In response to my words, the black figure just smiled silently.

Looking at it, I recalled its characteristics once more.

The Wish Granter.

It grants wishes when offered a price.

However, it fulfills wishes in the most twisted way—in a way that causes maximum misfortune to the maximum number of people, including the wish-maker.

If you wish to become rich, it might kill all your relatives so you inherit their wealth.

If you wish to resurrect someone who died, it brings them back cursed, leading both of you to ruin.

The larger the scale of the wish, the more people get involved, potentially leading to the destruction of not just nations but the entire world.

Decades ago, it had already wreaked havoc on the world by granting countless wishes, until heroes finally managed to capture it after great sacrifice.

More precisely, they paid a "price" to make it seal itself, but still.

The problem with this sleeping creature was...

'In the original story, it eventually reappears.'

The great prison break caused by Seo-eun who turned evil in the original story.

When a villain discovered this thing there, the situation completely fell apart.

It was truly one of the final bosses, and as the first of the Sun God's creations to appear in the original story, it also left the first clues about the Sun God.

Of course, now that Seo-eun had become my ally and the world had changed, things wouldn't happen as they did in the original story.

But since I already knew how dangerous it was, I had no intention of letting it live into Part 4. Especially since all sorts of Sun God's creations would be causing trouble in Part 4, and I couldn't predict what would happen if it made contact with them.

Of course, if I'm being honest, it would be impossible for me to defeat it. It's immune to any physical attack.

Actually, there was someone who could fight this thing.

"..."

It was Stardust, who was worriedly watching me from behind.

As the avatar of the Star God, she was the only one who could harm it. She actually defeated it in the original story.

...However, that process was terribly brutal and desperate.

After all, how strong would something that grants "wishes" be? In the end, Stardust had to weaken it by paying numerous prices, and finally managed to defeat it.

Of course, the battle scene itself was the greatest highlight of Part 3.

'I'll offer... as the price. In return, stop for 3 seconds.'

Her image, continuously fighting fiercely, giving up her precious things one by one as payment to defeat it, was truly a sacred scene. It showed what a true hero was and how great her spirit of sacrifice was.

And of course, as always, I had no intention of watching her go through that.

No, I'd rather suffer a bit more myself. How could I just stand by and watch Stardust go through such hell?

Anyway, with these thoughts, I stood before it.

Looking up at me, it smiled somewhat creepily and said:

"So, have you come to make a wish? Offer me a price. Then I will grant your wish."

As its words ended, strange laughter echoed in my ears.

With those words, I took a breath and checked my plan one last time.

Yes, the price.

The Wish Granter fulfills all wishes according to the size of the price. To wish for something big, you need an enormous price. To become incredibly wealthy, you'd have to give up decades of your lifespan, and even that might not be enough—you might have to offer your own limbs. Or if you want to offer material things as payment, it would have to be worth billions.

And I...

I intended to offer something more precious than anything.

Taking a deep breath,

In a calm voice, but more precisely than ever before,

I stated the price I would pay.

"...I."

"I offer all my memories of this world as the price."

I quietly said so.

...And then, a dramatic reaction erupted.

"What? Wait! What are you saying?"

...Not from the Wish Granter, but from behind.

With a thud, Stardust quickly flew toward us.

"Interference is not tolerated in a sacred transaction."

-Thud.

She hit an invisible wall and was blocked.

After identifying the wall, she said something and hit it, but I couldn't hear her.

"...Now that the interference has been removed, let's continue our conversation. She can no longer hear us."

The black child figure extended its hand quietly, grinning as it spoke to me.

"So, memories, huh? Is that such a great price?"

"Of course it is."

Without a moment's hesitation, I opened my mouth and replied to its question.

"Because I know everything that will happen in the future of this world."

"...Oh?"

"Someone like you who can value everything would know how valuable this is."

As I said this calmly with a slight curl of my lips,

It only displayed its white smile on its black face.

Looking at it, I continued:

"I mean that I'm giving you all my memories of this world, which contain all the information about the future. In other words, you'll be the only one who knows the future of this world."

I said this dramatically, spreading my arms.

The Wish Granter remained silent for a moment.

Then it nodded slightly and said:

"...I see. Very well. I accept those memories as payment."

With those words, a white light emerged from my chest.

It floated between me and the creature. This must be my memories of this world.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

...By the way, the thumping sounds from behind grew stronger, making me increasingly nervous. That barrier looked like it might break soon. I needed to complete the transaction quickly.

"Very well. So with this enormous price, what is the wish you want granted? Tell me anything."

Looking at the creature still smiling brightly, I pondered one last time.

...The Wish Granter. Its biggest problem was that it fulfilled wishes in twisted ways.

Therefore, even though the price I paid was large, I needed to avoid making a complicated wish. I couldn't predict what kind of result would emerge.

I also couldn't use wordplay exploiting logical contradictions, because as the Sun God's creation with tremendous power, it could forcibly realize wishes by changing providence and the rules of the universe.

Therefore, my wish was simple.

A simple, plain wish that wouldn't involve anyone else.

And so.

For the first time today, I smiled and said to it:

"My wish is..."

"Wish Granter. Your complete and absolute death, right now."

Just die, you bastard.