I’m the Madman of This Family

Episode 397. If You Want to Die, You Live (2)

The root of all evil, and also the mother who gave birth to him. Keter had vowed that if he ever met the woman who gave birth to him just to use him, he would definitely strike her down.

But when he actually faced her, he couldn’t do anything. He could only carefully observe her appearance with his own eyes.

Despite being the one who abandoned him in the Lawless City, left him to fend for himself, deliberately caused his regression, and subjected him to horrific trials, she had an incredibly kind impression.

She stood still, but the aura of benevolence and maternal love emanating from her eased Keter’s tension and even melted away his hostility.

Keter looked around. He hadn’t noticed it while focusing on her, but time had stopped.

This wasn’t like the Heavens Sovereign slowing down time for oneself or others.

The time of the universe had stopped.

At the sheer magnitude of this authority, Keter’s mind snapped awake.

“It’s like giving a last meal to a prisoner right before execution.”

Akra, whom he couldn’t find no matter how hard he tried, had come to him on her own. It was clear that it wasn’t for his sake.

Moreover, his chest didn’t feel as hot as he expected. Instead, he felt an unprecedented calm.

‘Maybe I’ve grown numb.’

It might not be surprising. He had long since realized that Akra was a notorious troublemaker.

“So, what brings you here?”

Keter, standing right in front of Akra, looked down at her and asked in a high-handed manner.

Akra, a god with the power to stop the universe, willingly looked up at Keter and whispered.

“I know you won’t understand me.”

Her voice was as appealing as her benevolent appearance. But Keter remained unshaken.

“Even if I understand, nothing will change. In a fight where one side must die, who would understand and die willingly?”

“No. It’s the opposite. I plan to die for you.”

“…What?”

“I’ll tell you everything honestly, so listen. This world repeats cycles of birth and destruction. Sooner or later, destruction comes. And the culprit is always the same.”

Swish.

Akra pointed at the Grand Duke and the gods surrounding him with her finger.

“Gods and humans can never coexist. Gods will always eliminate humans.”

“Like the Grand Duke and his kind?”

“Keter. Do you think the kings of each country are benevolent gods? No. The reason they don’t treat humans recklessly is because of constraints. And I was the one who created those constraints. But I can’t keep them constrained forever. Once they accumulate enough causality, they will start culling again. Those who try to become stronger than themselves, those who don’t worship gods, they will eliminate them and kill humans out of boredom. That’s the true nature of gods.”

“But you too…”

“Yes. I am also a god. That’s why I said I would die for you. Once all the gods in this world are gone, I will disappear last. Then, this world will truly become a world for humans alone, and the cycle of birth and destruction will be broken.”

“Wait a minute. Gods can be resurrected even after death, right? I’ve heard that cases of complete annihilation are extremely rare. And even if you kill all the gods here, there are still evil gods, malevolent gods, and other miscellaneous gods scattered all over the world, right?”

Even though Akra seemed to be revealing everything candidly, there was a crucial piece missing.

There was something she was hiding. As evidence, she didn’t say a single word about ‘how’ she would kill all the gods.

As expected, Akra couldn’t answer immediately. There was something bothering her.

“How will you eliminate all the gods?”

This was the crux. How would Akra eliminate all the gods? Keter pressed her for an answer.

“In the beginning-”

Akra stretched her hand towards the sky. The background changed to darkness. In the endless darkness, a faint light formed at the tip of her finger.

“There was light.”

One light became two, two became four. The divided lights formed stars, and the stars formed galaxies.

“Humans believe that gods created humans, but no. It’s the opposite. Humans created gods. Because the first humans were afraid. Afraid of everything they didn’t understand. So they created gods. Gods who knew everything. Gods who could do everything. To make natural disasters and diseases, which had no form, visible. That’s how gods were born. The god of wind calmed typhoons, the god of rain brought rain to droughts.”

“Ha…”

Keter, who believed nothing was impossible in this world, found this story hard to believe.

Humans created gods? Then why are humans so weak?

Keter himself knew the answer.

‘It’s because humans are weak that they can become strong.’

The existence of possibility. That’s what humans are. That possibility can even create ‘gods.’

Akra continued as if she had read Keter’s thoughts.

“The gods feared human possibility. They were afraid that their creators might eliminate them at any moment. So they began to control humans. To make sure they were always needed, to create a world where humans couldn’t live without gods…”

It was a profound statement, but Keter understood it immediately. It was the wisdom gained from his life in the Lawless City, Ruquer.

“A weapon created for oneself eventually kills oneself. That’s roughly the gist of it, right?”

“Gods are one of the worst creations humans ever made. And… there’s only one way to eliminate such gods.”

Akra didn’t finish her sentence, but by now, Keter had figured it out.

It wasn’t for nothing that Akra had elaborated so much. What created gods was human imagination. And willpower.

Then, the opposite would work. Humans just needed to forget about gods.

But in this world, the influence of gods is too strong, so humans can neither defy nor forget them.

Which means-

“If all humans die, the gods will disappear too.”

“Not all of them. Keter, you and Vina, you two can live. No, you must live. So you can rebuild humanity. A perfect world without gods. I’ll return it to a time before humans made mistakes.”

Akra took a step forward and embraced Keter.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you from the beginning. You must have suffered a lot, right? But it’s all over now. From now on, only happy things will happen. Everything that tormented you will disappear from this world.”

Keter, who had been standing awkwardly, lightly hugged Akra upon hearing those words.

Akra took it as a sign of understanding and support, but Keter immediately stepped back. Then, with a bitter smile, he said.

“If you don’t know the pain of hunger, you can’t know the happiness of being full.”

*

For a while, silence fell between them.

Keter’s clear refusal.

Still, Akra didn’t give up.

“If you hadn’t known pain, you’d be right. But Keter, you’ve experienced all kinds of pain living in the Lawless City. So you should know gratitude for a life without lack. Even if you don’t feel the lack. Am I wrong?”

The secret of abandoning Keter in the Lawless City was revealed. It was to make him suffer. The more he suffered, the more he would obsess over happiness.

But Keter didn’t grow as Akra intended. He became a human who pursued fun, not happiness.

“You don’t understand humans well. Even the same water tastes cooler when you’re thirsty, holding in your pee feels good when you finally let it out, and you only feel a sense of achievement when you put in time and effort to get what you want. It’s not just me. All humans are like that. We seek stimulation, get used to it, and desire even greater stimulation.”

“…That’s exactly why humans can’t coexist with gods. The selfishness of never being satisfied with what you have. Only by abandoning that can the human race survive.”

“Certainly, it’s because of selfishness that people kill each other. But this world becoming a better place would have been impossible without selfishness. Writing for smooth communication with others, weapons to fight beasts, wheels to travel farther and more comfortably. All of that started from selfishness. If humans abandon selfishness, as you say, do you know what happens?”

Keter put his hands on his head and wiggled his fingers.

“They become rabbits. Just because there are more rabbits than lions in this world, no one thinks rabbits are strong. ‘Survival of the fittest’ isn’t an absolute truth either. Nor does it mean the strong survive. So what exactly is strong?”

It wasn’t a question for Akra. Keter was asking himself.

“Possibility. Striving to improve because we’re not perfect. Akra. You pretend to care for humans, but in the end, you’re just one of the gods who don’t trust humans and try to manipulate them as you please.”

“You think the cycle of destruction and creation is a lie.”

“I haven’t seen it, so of course I don’t believe it. Did it really happen in the first place? Or did you just turn back time and make it as if it never happened?”

“……”

It was just a probing question, but Akra’s expression darkened, suggesting it might be true.

“If you can turn back time at will, you can just try again if you fail, right? Like you always have.”

“Turning back time is no longer possible. I stopped it. To prevent other gods from turning back time.”

“Huh, so this moment is the last timeline that can’t be undone.”

Akra quietly nodded.

Keter felt his shoulders grow heavy.

The comfort of being able to turn back time and start over is immense.

But Akra said she had made it so no one could do that anymore, meaning she had staked everything on this moment.

And preparing that much meant there was no way she could fail.

“Having this conversation with you is also part of the plan, and you knew I wouldn’t accept it, right?”

“…I can’t just undo everything because I didn’t get your permission after coming this far.”

Further conversation was meaningless, so Keter tried to go to the Grand Duke. But with a light gesture from Akra, Keter couldn’t move an inch.

In the stopped universe, Keter could move only because Akra allowed it, and now that she had revoked that permission, he couldn’t resist.

Akra spoke to Keter’s back in a sorrowful voice.

“Keter. Nothing will change if you go. You know that. As long as you’re human, you can’t defeat a god.”

“Winning isn’t everything in a fight.”

Thud.

Something unbelievable happened. Keter, who shouldn’t have been able to move, moved.

Akra’s eyes widened. She knew Keter had the authority of ‘Unchain,’ an authority that couldn’t be bound by anything.

But what Akra had done was to manipulate the laws of the universe. A power far superior to authority. Even if slowly, how could Keter move?

Akra suddenly felt a sense of incongruity and soon realized what it was.

“Keter, you…”

Every time Keter moved, dust fell. It was the source of life falling from Keter’s body.

“How could you do such a thing!”

Keter had expanded the target of his authority, Unchain. Not to himself, but to the universe.

This was a realm beyond the 8th star, the unknown 9th star. The path to godhood. For a moment, Keter became unbound by any existence.

Even though a human body could never reach the 9th star, Keter was using the power of the 9th star with a human body. At the cost of his own ‘annihilation.’

Could all 8th stars become gods at the cost of their annihilation? No way.

Keter had staked everything he had. The essence of all living beings. Even his soul. Now, Keter’s life had less than an hour left.

Akra couldn’t believe it.

“Why! You could live, you could start over, but you chose to give up everything!”

This wasn’t part of Akra’s plan. The selfish Keter, who only cared about himself, why would he make such a selfless act, even giving up his own life?

Keter looked back at her. With a bright smile.

“Someone has to do it.”

Akra couldn’t understand those words. But now, she knew exactly what she had to do.

She had to save Keter. If he died, all of this would be for nothing.

‘I can’t turn back the time of the universe, but if it’s just Keter’s time…’

Even that would be a violation of causality that Akra would have to risk her existence for, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

As Akra stretched out her hands to turn back time just for Keter.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

The Grand Duke suddenly appeared behind Akra.

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