Book 1 Chapter 976
“Independence?”
Chelsea’s eyes darted around at the unexpected words.
She tried to grasp the meaning behind Leo’s words about independence, but only questions swirled in her mind.
Leo spoke in response to Chelsea’s reaction.
“During the Age of Gods, when Kyle was alive and I was born, many gods walked the earth.”
Therefore, their attitude towards gods was quite different from now.
In the current era, gods are transcendent beings who gifted the Hero Records to the world.
Yet, they remain unknown.
People revere gods.
But they do not worship them.
They know gods exist, but except for the Hero Records, gods cannot influence the earthly realm.
Thus, in the Age of Heroes, religions that worshiped gods disappeared.
Occasionally, cults disguised as religions appear, but that’s all.
The act of offering prayers to gods and worshiping them has vanished in the Age of Heroes.
But the Age of Gods, when gods could be met, was different.
On earth, gods could not use their ‘omnipotent’ abilities.
However, they were worshipped solely for their ‘omniscience.’
The world was swayed by those who gained even a fraction of a god’s wisdom.
“You also said the concept of a hero was very different from now?”
“In a good or bad way, everyone who could shake the world was called a hero.”
In the Age of Heroes, a hero meant someone who transformed the world and led it to a better place.
The prototypes for this heroic ideal were the great heroes who saved the world at all costs.
However, it wasn’t only the noble like the great heroes who were inscribed in the Hero Records.
Those who lacked the qualifications of a hero, with different outward appearances and inner selves, also had their names inscribed.
It was a fragment of the Age of Gods, born from the gods’ process of selecting heroes.
Recalling the Age of Gods, Leo said,
“As much as gods could exert influence, there were many who worshipped them.”
“Mm. Of course, there would be?”
“So people of that era became overly dependent on the gods.”
The fall of the Age of Gods, which seemed to promise eternal prosperity, came in an instant.
The advent of primordial evil, Erebus.
An absolute disaster that even the wisdom of gods could not overcome.
Thus, the world walked the path of destruction at a speed that rendered it helpless.
This was not solely because the disasters of Erebus and Tartarus were too formidable.
It was also because the world, corrupted by long peace and overrun by unheroic heroes, failed to unite at critical moments.
The biggest problem, however, was that the people of the world at that time were too dependent on gods, who were transcendent beings.
Besides the advent of Erebus, there had been various threats to the world throughout the history of the distant Age of Gods.
“But it is said that all such threats were resolved by relying on the wisdom of the gods.”
“Ah…”
Hearing Leo’s words, Chelsea let out a gasp of understanding.
She vaguely began to understand what Leo meant by independence.
“The era we live in now is truly strange. The present and the past are connected.”
One can travel to the past through the Hero Records.
Furthermore, great heroes and genesis heroes from the past have appeared in reality.
It was a miracle made possible by the Hero Records and Leo, the reincarnation of Kyle, the hero of the beginning.
“A person who lived in the past cannot live in the present; this is common sense.”
But that common sense is now being defied.
Miracles continue to happen.
“But miracles are just miracles.”
Humans are weak.
Because they are weak, they become frustrated and try to depend on someone.
The moment they experience a miracle that shouldn’t happen.
They wish and wish for another miracle to occur.
The reincarnation of Kyle, the hero of the beginning, was enough to be an object of dependence for people in times of crisis.
If he were to save the world again, transcending 5,000 years.
Perhaps people would perceive it as inevitable.
“At first, I thought it would be good to reveal it someday. It would make the path I’m trying to take a little easier. But thinking about the future, it doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
In the end, there is only one path.
“Revealing my identity won’t increase the damage. It will only make things a bit harder for me.”
It’s just the difference between taking an easy road or a difficult one.
When has the path he took ever been easy?
“Only those living in the present can save the present. If you only look to the past, you will never move forward. The people of this era are forgetting that obvious fact.”
Chelsea couldn’t bring herself to deny Leo’s words.
Wasn’t she the same?
She talks about fighting Erebus, but in the end, she relies on Leo.
She felt reassured by the existence of the great heroes and genesis heroes who appeared in times of crisis.
Leo stared straight ahead without a word.
He wasn’t just looking ahead.
He was looking at something beyond.
‘Now that I’ve been reborn… I have no intention of standing by and doing nothing just because it’s not my business.’
Because he was reborn, Leo is living in the present.
But he would not borrow the glory of his past life.
He has no intention of stopping at nothing to defeat Erebus.
If possible, he would summon the great heroes and genesis heroes from the Hero Records.
But…
“The main characters must be you… no, us, who are living in the present era.”
Leo looked at Chelsea.
“So, as Leo Flov, not Kyle, I will save the world.”
“……”
“And I and the others have already helped those in later generations enough. Now it’s your turn to work hard.”
For 5,000 years, they have enjoyed peace in the name of the great heroes.
Although there were times when that peace was threatened, it never collapsed like in the Age of Disasters.
Chelsea’s expression became complex at Leo’s words.
On one hand, she looked apologetic.
Seeing Chelsea like that, Leo chuckled and ruffled her hair.
“You don’t need to worry about my words. This is just my opinion.”
Chelsea tidied her ruffled hair and looked up at Leo.
“Just know one thing. If Erebus is defeated, the Age of Heroes will likely end.”
“What?”
“If Erebus is defeated, the Hero Records will become unnecessary.”
“……”
The reason the gods gifted the Hero Records to the lower realm was not simply to ensure the great deeds of the great heroes were forever praised.
While that intention existed, the greater reason was that Erebus had not completely vanished.
As the Age of Heroes began, neither gods nor great heroes remained on earth.
In other words, it meant that the means to counter Erebus were completely lost.
The only means to fight against Erebus.
That is the Hero Records.
This means that the moment Erebus disappears, the reason for the existence of the Hero Records will also disappear.
‘Rian said that the true end of the Age of Gods would be the moment Erebus was completely vanquished.’
She also said that the current era, which relies on the Hero Records, is an extension of the Age of Gods.
Leo also doesn’t know what will happen to the Hero Records after the Age of Heroes.
However, what is certain is.
“It's a new beginning.”
“……”
Leo smiled as he looked at Chelsea, who was looking up at him.
‘Yes. Humans are weak.’
They easily despair, fall into despair, and collapse.
They wander, depending on others.
But in the end, it is also humans who stand up and fight against despair.
‘Just as I did.’
Everyone holds potential.
Chelsea did too.
The timid and weak young Chelsea, who wandered and couldn’t find her path, is no longer there.
Although still lacking, she has become a proper hero and is trailing behind Leo, however difficult it may be.
Because she feels her own inadequacy, she sometimes tiptoes to try and match his eye level, puffing herself up, but.
She is growing stronger and opening up her possibilities.
Like Leo, she is finding her own path.
For everyone, life is likely a series of trials.
Whether big or small, everyone has trials.
But if you don’t give up, trials can become tests to become a better self.
You cannot overcome them by merely depending on others.
‘It might be a deception.’
After all, the fact that Leo is Kyle remains unchanged.
Even so, he thought the belief that he achieved it was important.
Leo did not want to take away that possibility from future generations.
It’s not that he has a grand ambition to worry about the future.
It’s a thought born from the wish for a better future.
Chelsea asked at Leo’s words.
“When a new era comes.”
“Yes?”
“Leo-oppa, what will you do?”
“……”
At Chelsea’s question, Leo recalled something from a long time ago.
When asked what he would do after saving the world, Kyle had simply said he would wander the world.
Aimlessly.
A time when he had nothing he wanted to do or had to do.
Even now, he doesn’t know what he should do.
But it was different from then.
“I have to find what I need to do.”
Leo sincerely thought he had to find what he needed to do.
“What about you?”
Leo asked back.
At the question, Chelsea pondered for a moment, then looked up at Leo and smiled brightly.
“I have to find it too. Together with Leo-oppa.”
“Huh?”
At Chelsea’s words, Leo wore a puzzled expression.
Chelsea giggled at Leo, who looked puzzled, and linked her arm through his.
“I’ve decided to.”
“Come back when you’re older.”
“I’ll grow up eventually anyway. I’ll just stay with you until then.”
Chelsea winked, one eye closed.
Leo wore a look of bewilderment.
She doesn’t mind being treated like a child, unlike other classmates.
Since she was originally his younger sister, she treated Leo as an older brother.
“Leo-oppa, don’t you know? That’s how younger siblings are. Before you know it, they’ll have grown surprisingly large.”
Because she firmly believed she would grow up to stand behind him one day, she had no reason to be disappointed or sulk even if treated like a child.
Leo playfully pushed Chelsea’s forehead, who was smiling confidently.
But Chelsea didn’t budge.
Instead, she clung to Leo’s arm even tighter, stuck out her tongue, and smiled adorably.