Trait Hoarder

Great Rift — Part 4

I flicked my sword.

The rotten blood clinging to the blade scattered in dark droplets.

That wasn’t enough.

I conjured Black Flame and purified Black Tiger Sword completely.

Thud!

As I did, the massive body of the Corpse Dragon finally collapsed for good.

“Teacher!”

“Are you okay?”

I waved casually.

“I’m fine.”

It had been tough.

I had survived multiple close calls and faced serious danger more than once.

But in the end, victory was mine.

The Star Spawn was dead.

The Corpse Dragon had fallen.

The Tentacle Woman stood frozen, as stiff as a statue.

“Grandmother?”

Kali cautiously approached the Tentacle Woman.

The creature stood there, vacant, unmoving.

Baek Sorin and Janet drew their swords, keeping a close eye on her.

If anything seemed off, they were ready to strike.

There was no need to rush.

I took my time butchering the Corpse Dragon and loading its remains onto the Sky Ship.

Then, we waited.

Slowly, the light returned to the Tentacle Woman’s eyes.

The first thing her gaze locked onto was Kali’s face.

“Uhh… Ugh…”

She couldn’t speak.

Her vocal cords had been destroyed after years of mutation.

Once I finished dealing with the Star Spawn and the Corpse Dragon, I walked over to her.

“Are you conscious? Kali?”

“Uh, Teacher, I’m Kali.”

“Your grandmother’s name is also Kali.”

The women of Kali’s bloodline all shared the same name.

The name of the goddess.

“If you understand me, blink twice.”

Blink. Blink.

The Tentacle Woman blinked twice.

“Good.”

I took both of her hands.

Then, I channeled Celestial Flame.

At the same time, I repeatedly used [Purification].

The combined traits enveloped her.

Her grotesquely mutated body rapidly began reverting to its original form.

Baek Sorin gasped.

“She’s healing!”

“As expected of Heavenly Demon’s Physique!”

“Grandmother… is it really you?”

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a complete cure.

That was impossible.

If she had only recently mutated, maybe.

But decades had passed. There was no reversing that.

What I had done was merely a temporary fix.

Pop!

I took out a bottle of Supreme Holy Water and poured it into her mouth.

And then—

A woman appeared, the spitting image of Kali.

It was as if Kali had aged ten more years—her future self, standing before us.

The woman stared at her hands in disbelief.

No longer tentacles.

No longer fused with a sword.

Just long, pale human fingers.

“Kali?”

“Whoa… She looks exactly like you.”

Baek Sorin and Janet let out sounds of amazement.

The woman composed herself and bowed deeply to me.

“Thank you, my savior. Because of you, I can die as a human.”

“I only did this to help Kali. There’s no need to thank me.”

“Kali…”

There was nothing more for me to do.

I quietly stepped back.

The woman gazed at Kali.

Kali’s eyes trembled like an earthquake.

There was no need for DNA tests or facial recognition.

The Blood of the Goddess trait inside them—

It was resonating.

It was pulling them toward each other, forcefully declaring the truth.

That they were family.

That they were blood.

“You’ve grown beautifully. So beautifully.”

“You… know me?”

“Of course. You are the last of our bloodline. How could I not know you? Even when I was tortured by those creatures, even when I endured countless psychic attacks, I held on by thinking of you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. In this world, only you and I remain as heirs to the goddess. If I don’t pass Kalaratri to you, you won’t survive.”

“Ah…”

“How is Amit? He’s still young… I had to leave him behind in India. It has always worried me.”

“My father? He’s doing well.”

“Really?”

That was too vague.

I decided to step in.

“Kumar is currently the Indian ambassador to Korea. He is also an honorary paladin of the Shiva Cult. The inheritance you left behind in India has helped him greatly.”

The woman’s face lit up with a smile.

“The Indian ambassador? That boy who hated studying?”

“To my knowledge, he has mastered nine languages. He’s a linguistic genius now.”

“Hohoho… The child who used to chase Superhumans all day has become a diplomat? Did he marry a foreigner, then? Since he’s the Indian ambassador to Korea, I assume he married in Seoul?”

“That’s correct.”

“What a shame. I wish I could have attended his wedding…”

“Come to Seoul! I’ll tell Dad to hold another wedding!”

“Such sweet words, my little pup. But, Kali, my dear… My time is almost up.”

The woman’s smile turned sorrowful.

Her gaze fell to her own hands.

Slowly—

From the fingertips upward—

Her body was crumbling into dust.

Like the last embers of a candle burning out.

“H-Grandmother!”

Kali cried out in panic.

She frantically rummaged through her bag.

What she pulled out was a golden vial.

An Elixir.

“It’s okay! Drink this! You’ll be fine!”

The woman smiled as she looked at Kali.

“Amazing… You’re only Level 5, and yet you’ve obtained an Elixir.”

She must have received it as a reward from hunting in the Grand Maze.

It truly was incredible.

SSR characters, indeed.

Even in a place overflowing with Nectar and Elixirs, to have obtained one in just a few weeks?

“But it’s impossible. An Elixir can save someone on the brink of death… but it cannot bring back someone who is already dead. Kali, my dear… I died long ago. Before you were even born.”

“That’s a lie…! Dad is still waiting for you!”

“I’m sorry, Kali. But could you pass this on to Amit for me? Tell him I’m sorry. That I’ve always loved him, then and now.”

The woman reached into her own hand, splitting it open to reveal a small toy.

A plastic robot—something a young boy would have played with.

I turned my gaze away, hiding my complicated emotions.

‘Kali’s grandmother became mutated because of the Indian ambassador.’

It was revealed at the end of Kali’s personal quest.

Back when she was still human, Kali’s grandmother once visited the Great Rift with Kali’s father.

Her son had been obsessed with Superhumans, pestering her for days until she finally brought him along.

The problem?

The Great Rift was experiencing a massive Overflow at the time.

Kali’s grandmother left her son in an orphanage and joined the defensive front.

If only he had stayed put.

But his curiosity got the better of him, and he wandered off.

Right into the territory of a Star Spawn.

Kali’s grandmother fought the Star Spawn one-on-one to save him.

She was already exhausted—sleep-deprived, mana drained from the battle.

She lost.

She was mutated and dragged beyond the Great Rift.

Maybe that’s why—

Her son abandoned his dream of becoming a Superhuman.

Maybe that’s why he forced his decisions onto Kali.

‘It was his own stupidity.’

I understood it as a psychological defense mechanism.

But I felt no sympathy for Kali’s father.

Only for Kali.

And her grandmother.

“Grandmother…”

“Take it. Hurry.”

“Please… just try the Elixir. You never know.”

“No. I know my own body better than anyone. The goddess has kept me alive until now. Hurry, take it.”

“Grandmother…”

Tears streamed down Kali’s face as she accepted the toy.

Then, the woman turned to me.

“My savior, may I ask you for one last favor?”

“Of course.”

“When I die, please purify my remains with Celestial Flame. My mana core and some ashes will remain. Take the mana core for yourself, and scatter my ashes over the Floating Island of Chaos. I would have preferred to be buried in my homeland… but I am too deeply corrupted. If my body were buried there, my homeland would become tainted.”

A typical ending for a Guardian.

Whether in the Grand Maze or the Great Rift, it was the same.

Most Guardians either fell into corruption or mutated beyond salvation.

I gave a solemn nod.

“I will do as you ask. But… the mana core? Shouldn’t that go to Kali?”

“Kalaratri cannot be contained in a mana core. Once I pass Kalaratri to Kali and purify my remaining mana circuits, only a single ability will remain in the core.”

She placed her left hand over her heart.

Then, with knowing eyes, she looked at me.

“Psychic Power.”

“…Ah.”

Back during the Seoul Terror Incident, I had planned to craft my [Divine War Zone] trait.

The final missing piece was Psychic Power.

“This is all I have left to offer. If it were the past, I would have given you a mountain of Nectar, Diamonds, and Magic Relics, but now… I own nothing.”

“No. This is more than enough.”

“I’m glad.”

Then, she called out to Kali.

“Kali, come closer.”

“No!”

Kali shook her head violently.

Her grandmother’s fingers had already disappeared.

Only blunt, rounded palms remained.

Seeing this, Kali instinctively stepped back.

“No! It can’t end like this! Not like this!”

Maybe it was because of the resonance of Blood of the Goddess.

Even though they had just met, Kali was clinging to her like a child.

Her grandmother simply smiled.

“It’s alright, Kali. We will meet again. Our bloodline… when we die, we become the servants of Kali, the goddess. We can finish our conversation then.”

“But still…!”

“But you mustn’t come too soon. Promise me that, okay? I hope you ascend as an angel when you reach Level 9. That was my lifelong dream—to become the goddess’s angel. I had to train alone, but you have a great teacher. I believe you can do it. So… will you promise me?”

“I… I promise! So please, don’t go!”

“My, such a spoiled child. But there is no choice. My time is truly up.”

She moved like a ghost—

Taking Kali’s hands in hers.

Kali gasped.

She tried to pull away, but couldn’t.

Those fingerless hands gripped hers firmly, transferring the sword she had been bound to for so long.

“No, no! You can’t!”

“Accept it. If you refuse, both of us will be in danger.”

“B-But—”

“Would you break my soul?”

“…!”

“If I linger too long, I will be trapped in this twisted world forever. Do you want that?”

“…No.”

“Then, accept it.”

Kali clenched her eyes shut.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

She could barely force out the words.

“…Okay. I accept.”

“That’s my sweet little pup.”

The sword danced.

A thin, eerily sharp, slightly curved blade.

It swayed like a reed, bending and twisting, casting chaotic shadows.

Then, it began to melt—

Turning into liquid, like mercury—

And seeping into Kali.

Through their clasped hands.

Across the bond of their bloodline.

Into her mana circuits.

Into her heart.

Into her spine.

That was an SSR-grade weapon.

And its name remained unchanged.

[Kalaratri].

It could be hidden and summoned at will.

By hand, by foot—

Even from the mouth or the eyes.

No wonder Kali was classified as an Assassin.

Flash!

Light radiated from Kali’s body.

Intricate tattoos surfaced on her skin.

They resembled a fusion of magic circles and geometric patterns.

At first, the markings shimmered in a myriad of colors—

Then, they turned blood-red.

A deep crimson, the color symbolizing Kali, the goddess of destruction.

Watching this, the woman let out a quiet sigh.

“Finally… I can finally rest.”

“You’ve done well.”

“Hardly. The Almighty is the one truly carrying the burden.”

The Almighty…

She knew about me.

“From your current position, if you head in the direction of 3:26, you’ll find the Floating Island of Chaos. Just as I mentioned earlier, please scatter my ashes there. And… it would be best if you remained there until Kali masters Kalaratri—or rather, until you’ve fully harnessed it yourself.”

“Thank you for the advice. I was planning to go there anyway.”

“How interesting. Did you already know about the Floating Island of Chaos?”

“I knew such a place existed, at least.”

It was a common terrain feature in the Great Rift.

A gap between dimensions.

A space floating between worlds.

A rare sanctuary.

No monsters resided there.

A perfect place to train and accumulate experience.

But one shouldn’t stay too long.

“Don’t linger there for too long. The Great Rift’s mana accumulates in such places. I was able to maintain my sanity thanks to the goddess’s blessing… but my body still ended up like this. If you or young Kali stay too long, you’ll mutate into an Otherworldly Being. Your mind will break.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“But you should still go.”

“You seem to know quite a bit about me.”

“I heard it from the goddess. I wasn’t supposed to, but I happened to hear her voice. It wasn’t entirely clear, though.”

The Floating Island of Chaos…

A place where the Great Rift’s bizarre mana was visible to the eye.

Light transformed into Chaotic Radiance.

Earth became Chaotic Wind.

Fire… Chaotic Flame, the final missing piece of Supreme Flame.

As we spoke, her body continued to crumble.

By now, her arms had vanished.

Even her legs had disintegrated.

She could no longer stand, so I gently supported her waist.

She looked at me with a bittersweet smile.

“My final moments aren’t so lonely after all. A handsome young man is even holding me.”

“Hold on just a little longer. Kali will wake soon.”

“That will be difficul— Oh?”

She blinked in surprise.

I had used [Damage Absorption].

The same trait I had used on Kali earlier.

Now, I was taking on part of her burden.

My own body began to dissolve in return.

But that was fine.

I had [Vajra Body], [Undying], and [Indomitable] to mitigate the damage.

Of course, this wouldn’t stop her from vanishing.

All I could do was buy time.

Enough time—

For her to say goodbye.

“Grandmother!”

Kali had finally awakened.

Clutching Kalaratri within her heart, she rushed toward her grandmother.

The woman flinched, then smiled awkwardly.

She had tried to open her arms—

Only to remember she had none left.

“My sweet little pup. You’ll continue to live bravely, just like you always have, right?”

“No! No! You can’t go!”

“I believe in you. Listen to your teacher and reach Level 9. Then, even before you die, you’ll be able to visit me.”

“R-Really?”

“Of course. My level is too low, so the ancestors will probably scold me. You need to hurry and come find me, tell them to take care of me, alright?”

“I will! I promise I will!”

Kali burst into tears.

The woman curled inwards, as if to embrace her.

Even without hands.

Even without arms.

Like an old dog shielding its pup.

“Savior… I’m ready.”

“Understood.”

I placed my hand on her back.

This was both a ritual and a funeral.

I conjured Celestial Flame.

Pure white flames blossomed, mournful and radiant.

And within that light—

The mutated Guardian faded away.

Leaving behind only a mana core and a handful of ashes.

–TL Notes–

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