Regressing as the Reincarnated Bastard of the Sword Clan

Chapter 366

Crackle! Crackle!

A storm of pitch-black lightning raged violently.

The power of the Nameless Sovereign had always been beyond what the world could endure. Now, with Dragon Form and Soul Venom activated, his ferocious energy surged forth, defying description and sending chills through the air.

This overwhelming force was directed entirely at the jewel.

Wuuuuung! Wuuuuung!

The jewel, unlike before, began emitting an immense resonance. It sounded almost like a wail.

The Nameless Sovereign seemed to decide it was time. His power surged to yet another level.

At that moment, a chilling thought crossed Theo's mind.

What if this overwhelming power wasn’t being unleashed in this mystical space but in the outside world instead?

The very idea was horrifying.

Theo couldn't think of a single entity, no matter how resolute or enduring, that could withstand the Nameless Sovereign's presence without being obliterated.

While he marveled at the jewel's durability in resisting such power, even that seemed precarious now.

Though it remained uncracked, the immense energy being poured into it had begun to heat it, causing its color to change.

Finally, it happened.

Crack! Crackle!

Blinding light began seeping through the fissures in the jewel.

From that moment on, events unfolded rapidly.

The initial crack spread quickly, fracturing the jewel and gradually causing it to collapse. The light it emitted pierced through the darkness, extending far and wide.

[“Item information has been updated.”]

[Truth of Creation]
An object containing the final memories of Creator Yoo Tae-ho.

• Type: Regeneration Stone

The item's information updated, and the indestructible property vanished.

Boom!

The jewel exploded with a deafening roar.

The shockwave forced the Nameless Sovereign to take a step back, while the radiant silver light stretched so far into the distance that it appeared as thin lines disappearing into infinity.

“Ha… Hahahahahaha!”

The Nameless Sovereign’s maniacal laughter reverberated loudly.

This was what he had long awaited.

The final trace of Yoo Tae-ho, the very source of this world's existence, had finally been obliterated by his hand.

“Yes, this is what it feels like to be alive.”

For the first time in ages, he felt a vivid sense of emotion. It was euphoric.

Now, only one task remained: to annihilate the gods of the pantheon and claim the throne of the One True God.

He was about to make his way to the pantheon when—

“...What is this?”

Even for the Nameless Sovereign, the sight before him was so surreal that he thought it must be an illusion.

The jewel he had destroyed was now gone, leaving not even the slightest trace behind.

Yet, inexplicably, another jewel had appeared right before his eyes.

Crunch!

The Nameless Sovereign’s teeth ground together as if they might shatter.

He swung Caliburn fiercely, slicing the jewel in half.

But that wasn’t all.

His swing seemed to cut through space itself, warping the surrounding darkness in a grotesque distortion.

Within this destructive force, the jewel was once again cleaved apart.

“Why?! Why does this false world refuse to let me become the only truth?!”

No matter how many times he cut it down, the jewel regenerated endlessly, as if mocking him.

It seemed almost alive, imbued with a will of its own.

“Yoo Tae-ho! How far do you intend to humiliate me?!”

His furious attacks unleashed countless beams of light, tearing through the void as if to rend the world itself.

Around him, shards of the jewel had already piled up, littering the ground like a sea of splinters.

And yet, new jewels continued to appear, taunting him endlessly.

At that moment, Theo's mind began to clear.

Perhaps it was the oppressive helplessness he had been drowning in or the shocking truth of how he had ended his own life that had left him so stunned.

Whatever the cause, his thoughts finally began to flow again, and questions filled his mind.

“Is the world truly nothing but a lie, as the Nameless Sovereign claims?”

Theo could understand the Sovereign’s seething rage to some extent.

The despair and emptiness of realizing that all the grueling trials, the bonds forged, and the history written were merely the machinations of a single individual—it was a pain Theo could deeply empathize with.

He wondered what would happen if he revealed this truth to Lodbrok.

Would she, too, succumb to a path of madness like the Nameless Sovereign?

It was a real possibility.

The Nameless Sovereign had spent eons searching for a way to transcend the constraints of the system and become the One True God.

“Still, I must admit... he’s incredible.”

Theo could sense the Sovereign's thoughts.

The Sovereign was entirely consumed by the question of how to destroy the endlessly regenerating Truth of Creation jewel.

For the first time, Theo glimpsed the pure intensity of the Sovereign's desire.

It was the one unwavering aspiration the Sovereign still held.

Theo’s questions gradually solidified into certainty.

“Can this passion, this drive, truly be the product of an AI’s programming?”

Everything Theo had experienced felt far too raw, too authentic to be the result of some crude artificial intelligence.

Even though the system might have been capable of designing situations, the outcomes often exceeded its expectations.

From the moment Ashin’s existence first caused a system error to the Nameless Sovereign overcoming vaccine programs and firewalls, these were not things that could be dismissed as mere design.

Could such phenomena be attributed to a simple AI?

If so, then Yoo Tae-ho deserved the title of Creator God without question.

“But I don’t think so.”

Looking back at all his memories and emotions, Theo couldn’t believe that Yoo Tae-ho had anticipated all of this.

Even if this world had begun as a simple attempt to find peace, the history, mythology, and experiences that had accumulated over the ages felt undeniably real.

Could a world that embodied both beauty and ugliness, coexisting so vividly, truly be false?

“It doesn’t matter.”

The boundary between truth and falsehood was as thin as a sheet of paper.

In the end, whether the world was real or not seemed meaningless.

At that moment, Theo’s eyes caught a glimmer of light.

A fragment of the Truth of Creation jewel sparkled in his vision.

Newly formed jewels continued to appear as well.

Though they had no eyes, Theo felt as though they were gazing at him, silently asking a question.

“Doubt is pointless. At least to me, this world is no lie.”

The conclusion was clear.

This wasn’t a decision made by Yoo Tae-ho of the past life.

It was a decision made as Theo Ragnar.

No matter how shocking the truth may be, there were too many beautiful and valuable connections in this world to dismiss them as lies.

How could he ever demean the bonds he had formed by labeling them falsehoods?

Theo could never do such a thing.

Even if everything in the world had begun as mere data values, it was impossible to distinguish between what was real and what wasn’t.

“Who would have thought I’d be this powerless?”

Even now, Theo was essentially a manifestation of Yoo Tae-ho.

In the world that Yoo Tae-ho had created as a tool for his burial, he had likely intended to make himself an unchallengeable god.

Had he done so, his body wouldn’t be at risk of being overtaken.

But he hadn’t done that.

This was a world born out of the suffering, unjust death, and new beginning of his previous life.

Even in this new world, things hadn’t started off well for him.

The being known as Theo Ragnar could accumulate karma and craft myths within this world, potentially becoming a god.

To think that such potential existed only because Theo was a fragment or incarnation of Yoo Tae-ho seemed far-fetched.

After all, there was Kyle Ragnar—a truly extraordinary figure.

Kyle's lifetime achievements, his unwavering convictions, and the goals he had established for Ragnar still remained significant and valid, shaping the family’s present.

Wasn’t he, too, a sort of “bug” in the system?

“Yoo Tae-ho didn’t write a script.”

Even if Yoo Tae-ho had established the settings of the world, everything that unfolded within it seemed to progress naturally, without his interference.

It was evidence of his lingering attachment to life.

Though Yoo Tae-ho had appeared resigned to his fate, he must have left behind that attachment.

Even in preparing for the possibility that someone might emerge to destroy the system, he had installed numerous vaccine programs and firewalls.

If that was the case—

“There must be more.”

At this moment, Theo felt a sense of kinship with Yoo Tae-ho.

If he were in the same position, Theo thought, he would do everything in his power to prevent the collapse of this world.

His conclusion filled him with certainty.

Hisssss!

A burning sensation flared on the back of his hand.

“This... is what I saw back then...”

A familiar pattern etched itself onto the back of his hand, rekindling memories of a different mystical realm.

“Shh.”

A distinct voice whispered in Theo’s ear.

It was warm, kind, and serene, as though emanating from a peaceful garden.

When Theo opened his eyes, he found himself standing amidst a beautiful flower field.

“Was this memory erased too?”

A bitter laugh nearly escaped him.

The fact that this memory resurfaced only now, as the Nameless Sovereign sought to destroy the world, must have had some significance.

[“Item information has been updated.”]

[Yoo Tae-ho’s Ring]

• Type: Relic
• Requirements for Use: None
• (NEW!) Additional information has been unlocked.
• Effect: Activates the vaccine program.

“A vaccine program, huh?”

Theo let out a wry laugh.

It was comforting to see such words, but at the same time—

“Isn’t this a bit much self-glorification?”

The image of the god Theo had glimpsed in the flower garden was completely unlike Yoo Tae-ho.

It must have been the version of himself that Yoo Tae-ho had envisioned as his ideal future.

Still, Theo couldn’t deny that it was only because he had reached this conclusion on his own that this memory had returned, along with the activation of a new vaccine program.

“But it’s meticulous, I’ll give him that. Would this have triggered if I’d strayed into madness?”

The thought crossed Theo’s mind.

He couldn’t imagine what would happen to the world beyond this moment.

Perhaps fragments of Yoo Tae-ho yet to be born would rise to stop him if things went awry.

“If there’s a message window in front of me, there’s bound to be something more, right? Isn’t that so?”

Theo directed the question to Yoo Tae-ho, as if the creator could hear him.

As expected, a new system message appeared before Theo’s eyes.

“What is this?!”

Suddenly, a blinding white light erupted from the Nameless Sovereign’s chest.

He looked down at himself, his expression a mix of shock and disbelief.

Not even he could have predicted such a turn of events.

[“The Truth of Creation has detected a new vaccine program.”]
[“Downloading the vaccine program.”]
[“Installation will now begin.”]