He stared way too deep into the light figure. The light figure's actual light started wavering.
He knew that the light's shadow was like a barking puppy. A weak and fragile dog will bark before someone even approaches it. The light—the heavenly figure—was screaming greatness that never existed.
He saw right through the delusion. Although delusion was never fake in a world where delusion had control over everything, it only existed as personal delusion. This world treated delusion in different aspects.
The light figure's delusion was nothing. Delusion grows stronger as more people benefit from it. This delusion only protected the light figure.
That was why this delusion had boundaries. Once someone saw through it, the light figure's delusion would shatter into its world—
The Etherlamenthia.
He said, "Enough… I see through it." His face was blank. Nothing to be amazed at. He stood straight, confronting the delusion.
On the other hand, the light figure's glow melted off, revealing a weak body. The wimpy expression exceeded the limits of the greatness the light once had.
The fragile-looking man froze in disbelief as he saw the man staring at him. He kept checking himself again and again. Reality shamed him, yet he was astonished.
The man's eyes were a pure reflection of hell to the fragile-looking man.
The two men shared a stare that lasted less than a second.
The reality was that the mesmerizing view, the groundbreaking scenery, and everything around it were nothing more than an illusion. Outside the soul realm, the gods had no privilege. They were gods only inside the soul realm.
Any existence—the result of creation by gods—had a nightmare. That nightmare was the gods themselves: the angel numbers.
The Guidancer feared being exposed. He feared being punished. As he fell to the ground in despair, he noticed that Pathless was staring straight at him with a calm, relaxed face.
The Guidancer stood up, trying to speak. His voice shook; his anchor was frozen.
He tried to smile nervously, standing stiffly as if his legs would give out.
The man said in a straight tone, "No more delusions. I didn't come with the intent of hurting you… or exposing you."
As the one who created the world, as the failed and fake author of the novel, he knew that the Guidancer—who acted like an angelic being—was nothing but a useless man trying not to die.
The man said in a relaxed tone, "Say… tell me, what are you going to grant me? Huh? You're definitely the one following 7777: The Veil Unbroken—God of Prophecy. Such a god can hide your blessings and push its limits outside Etherlamenthia."
Although he looked confident, he was serious. Unlike the Guidancer, who was drowned in thoughts and swallowed by fear.
Confused, the Guidancer shouted,
"What are you talking about? Tell me—who are you?"
The man sat down on the ground, relaxing.
"What can you do about it?" he said. "I already know a lot. I know you can kill me, and I'm not denying it. You're strong. You can use the essence of delusion. But what can you do to me? I can't die now—I didn't manifest a real form, and I'm already dead. Even if you erase me from existence, you'll face consequences. If your reason is that I know too much, then you're exposed too. So I'm fine with it. Either I live or I fade—but remember, if I fade, you will as well. So let's not get on each other's bad side."
The Guidancer stammered,
"W-what do you want?"
The man closed his eyes, letting silence flow. A second later, he raised his hand.
"Proceed with what you were going to do first."
Still showered in fear, the Guidancer approached and placed his hands on the man's head.
Golden light formed into a sphere above him and cascaded down. The man absorbed it silently. When the light entered his head, he opened his eyes.
His vision blurred. A unified dark-blue color filled his sight, and a glitching screen appeared before him.
He stood up slowly, covering his eyes with his wrist, waiting until the effect faded.
Meanwhile, the Guidancer whispered in terror,
"What am I doing…? I'm just doing my job, right? Please, God… protect me. I want to return to my children…"
After a moment, the man said,
"Now let's get real. Show me the rising screen."
Complete astonishment covered the Guidancer's face. He cleared his throat, eyes wide.
"The rising what—?"
He couldn't continue. He patted his cheeks nervously.
"Who are you? What is your game? Why are you here? Please, leave me alone—I want to return alive…"
The man replied calmly,
"I need three things from you, and I promise I'll help you return alive.
No god can see what happens here. You won't meet them until the final judgment of whether you live or die. Deep down, you want to survive. I can make that happen. Believe me. I'm asking respectfully for a reason. Gamble—this is a win-win. No matter what you do, you won't be accused. The system is random."
The Guidancer hesitated.
"I still can't believe you… but I'll gamble."
So much had happened that he simply followed the man's flow. The man's knowledge alone was a disaster to reality—let alone delusion.
The man sat again.
"Give me a name first."
Red screens flashed everywhere. The system scrolled rapidly.
Every soul was guided by a path—except him.
No god accepted him.
The Guidancer trembled.
"You're… selfless. Bold."
"What do you mean?" the man asked calmly.
After long searching, the Guidancer whispered,
"You've been rejected by all gods."
"What about the angel gods?"
Silence.
"You have none."
The man stood.
"So I'm a mistake?"
"No… you're not."
The Guidancer created a new squad.
The 23rd squad—ruled by no one.
Psi (Ψ).
Only one participant.
PSI PRIME.
Time and space would be his enemies. Above all, he would be alone.
The Guidancer wrote the name:
"Psi."
Upon hearing it, Pathless responded with a cold gaze. As for the fact that he didn't even know why he had no path, he already realized he would live in endless pain.
PSI said, "Good. Now I'm the prime. I'm going to move alone. I have the privilege to enter Etherlamenthia. Finally, I can use a system."
The Guidancer felt awkward about the system, thinking to himself, Did he know about the system as well? Now I'm really confused.
He then cleared his throat, smiled at PSI, and replied, "Yes… a system. You can use the system. Systems are distributed to participants at the beginning of the Divine Show, so you will have to wait on that."
PSI said, "I'm not asking about the obvious. I'm asking you to give me your replica of the Guidancer's system."
"Why though? Why…? And no—how? I don't know how." His nervous smile kicked in; he was way more open than a dish menu.
PSI knew that the Guidancer didn't want to give it to him. PSI said in a relaxed tone, "Relax. Breathe in and out. It's part of the plan. Whether you give me the replica or not, nothing's going to change, and no one will definitely know. Not to mention, we'll be in touch so I can make sure you get promoted—even rebooted. So stop this wishy-washy act trying to pay me back here."
The Guidancer felt conflicted, yet he never questioned PSI's words. He accepted it, thinking it might actually benefit him—even if it didn't. No one could know about it because it was a replica system.
He said to himself, It will all work out perfectly. As long as the original exists, the replica won't function. To use the replica, he'll need to make sure my system is safe. In other words, I'm being protected.
The Guidancer smirked with a microexpression on his face, then abruptly changed it into a fake smile and said, "But be careful. I'm not going to be responsible for it—and you—from here on out."
PSI took off his coat. His hands were full of scars that carried the weight of a miserable life.
He put the coat back on his shoulders and looked at the Guidancer. The Guidancer felt something was off, but said, "I entrusted everything to you. Please don't fail me, PSI."
PSI stared back and asked, "What's your name?"
"It's Jack. It's Jack Johnson."
"I won't fail you, Mr. Johnson."
The Guidancer bid his farewell. He opened the portal by unzipping reality; everything before their eyes shredded like paper, splitting into two pieces.
The Guidancer declared,
"You are the last participant, and above all, you are an extra. So be sure not to join any path. If you have to go, go alone."
Then he struck PSI's chest with a flying bird that looked exactly like a bird made of paper. That was how the system was planted inside.
"Finally… I, PSI, will join Etherlamenthia — The Divine Show."