Regressing as the Reincarnated Bastard of the Sword Clan

Translator: FenrirTL

Editor: Doodle

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<  Chapter 173: Roots (3) >

‘Causality?’

The gods of the Pantheon typically concealed their true names and possessed divine titles.

This was because those titles encapsulated their divine authority and the faith they represented.

As a result, most worshippers tended to favor gods associated with practical benefits, such as combat, luck, or professions.

Gods with overly abstract or metaphysical names often lacked popularity or were scarcely known.

The God of Causality was one such deity.

Causality (因果).

Cause and effect.

While it might seem simple on the surface, its divine name, from a philosophical perspective, implied that every element forming the world was interconnected like threads.

Theo had heard the name once in passing but had never encountered its actual religious order. Similarly, he had never met anyone who identified as a follower of the God of Causality.

Yet, after the filtering system had completely shut down, the first message he saw referenced the God of Causality.

At that moment, a single hypothesis shot through Theo’s mind.

“Could it be... Are you the one who has been sending me these messages all along?”

The messages always provided Theo with tasks to complete and the rewards associated with them.

As if the sender knew the future.

They even outlined penalties for failure.

-Consequences derived from karma.

Was there anything that more clearly demonstrated cause and effect than this?

[The God of Causality explains that providing more details would be difficult. They shift slightly in their seat, their tail wagging unconsciously.]

“…….”

Was this their way of saying, ‘Yes, it’s me’?

Wait, they have a tail?

[The God of Causality clears their throat lightly, urging Theo to proceed upward.]

However, one thing nagged at him—the God of Causality acted as though they knew him well.

Was it because they handled messages similar to those that appeared on the monitor?

Or was there something more?

Regardless, Theo resolved to follow the advice given by the God of Causality for now.

The climb of the White Tower wasn’t over yet.

‘The White Tower draws upon the past of the soul, delving into the unconscious until it reaches the roots. So where would this lead, deeper into the past? Could it go back to a previous life I can’t even remember?’

The tenth floor he arrived at was a cavern.

[You have entered the 10th floor.]  

[When humans first develop cognitive abilities, the earliest pain they experience is childbirth. Passing through the narrow birth canal is a strenuous ordeal that lingers in the unconscious for a long time. However, the euphoria of encountering the light of the outside world after emerging from the narrow and dark canal also remains imprinted in the unconscious.]

[The process of passing through a dark, damp, and cramped cave closely resembles the passage through a birth canal. But for you to return to a time far earlier than you remember, you must retrace your steps through the cave.]

[Return to where you originally came from within the cave. By doing so, you will earn the qualification to reach the connected to your birth.]

The light that had been guiding Theo forward disappeared entirely.

Even with [Spiritual Essence] infused into his eyes, it was the same.

All he had left were his non-visual senses, such as hearing and smell.

He reached out his hand to estimate the size of the passage he had to traverse.

‘The width is barely enough for one slim person to pass. The height… I’d need to crouch. About 1.7 meters, maybe. But how long is it?’

Theo expanded his magical energy outward as much as possible.

There was no end in sight.

The passage twisted and turned, connecting in maze-like paths.

It resembled an ant’s nest.

“...This is driving me insane.”

[The God of Journeys is curious about how you will navigate through the cave.]

[The God of Archery clicks their tongue, remarking that using arrows would let you measure the distance, but you’re stuck wielding a lowly sword.]

.

[The God of Destruction suggests smashing everything in your path as the best solution.]

[The God of Harmony sarcastically comments that such reckless behavior would cause the cave to collapse, leaving you buried alive.]

[The God of Destruction scowls, asking if Harmony wants to be destroyed instead.]

[The God of Harmony scoffs, daring Destruction to try.]

[The two gods clash!]

[The God of Journeys rubs their temples, complaining about the noise.]

.

.

[The God of Causality clenches their fists, shouting encouragement.]

.

The gods, it seemed, were far more noisy and unruly than Theo had initially imagined.

More importantly, why were they sending messages while blocking his vision?

Annoyed, Theo abruptly shut the message window.

[The God of Causality hurriedly rushes forward, pleading not to close it…!]

Poof!

“Finally, some peace and quiet.”  

Theo slowly stepped into the cave.

Fortunately, he could still perceive the external world, so while his posture was uncomfortable, walking itself wasn’t a problem.

“I might wander off course a bit, but if I can keep moving like this, no matter how long it is, I’ll be fine.”

But as they say, words can plant seeds, and the trouble came immediately after.

[You have lost your sense of taste. You can no longer experience the flavors of the external world.]

Other senses began to shut down one by one.

[You have lost your sense of smell. You can no longer perceive the scents of the external world.]

[You have lost your sense of hearing. You can no longer hear the sounds of the external world.]

The moment he lost the ability to smell and hear, warning lights flared in Theo’s mind.

‘This is dangerous!’

Losing the pathways to perceive the external world was a critical blow, especially in such a confined cave.

And yet—

[You have lost your sense of touch. You can no longer feel the textures of the external world.]

Eventually, all five senses were completely sealed.

Now, Theo had no choice but to rely solely on magical perception to navigate.

He moved at an agonizingly slow pace, like a blind man groping an elephant’s leg.

As he walked, his head constantly bumped into the ceiling, causing blood to trickle down, and he tripped over rocks, leaving his legs covered in blood.

Even so, the cave showed no signs of ending.

Worse, he started to doubt if he was even on the right path.

‘What is this? I swear I’ve been here before. Or… wait, no? The ceiling feels different...?’

The excruciatingly long and seemingly endless journey blurred his sense of time.

Here, even his chronograph was meaningless.

It didn’t help with movement.

The sheer size of the cave nullified the benefit of slowing his thought process to deliberate more carefully.

Another problem was his range of perception.

If he extended his magical field too far, it became difficult to discern fine details. If he narrowed it too much, he began to lose his sense of direction.

The constant adjustments, expanding and contracting, started to muddle the mental map of the cave structure he had formed in his mind.

‘Just a little… a little faster. If it’s going to be like this, it might be better to keep increasing my pace.’

Theo began to feel increasingly anxious.

An [obsession] to hurry surrounded him, paired with [paranoia] about when the next restriction might strike.

In addition to this, [Confusion], [Mental Impulse], [Cognitive Dissonance], and [Neurosis] arose. As doubts about whether things would work out began to settle, they were joined by [Depressive Disorder], [Anxiety Disorder], and even the tightening grip of [Panic Symptoms].  

And then—  

[For unknown reasons, the use of magic is restricted. All perception of the external world is blocked.]  

When the last remaining means of survival failed, the anxiety that had been tormenting Theo erupted, completely engulfing his mental world.  

For a moment, he felt as if the entire world had abandoned him.  

In a situation where front, back, left, right, above, and below all became indistinguishable, how was he supposed to find his way?  

No—was he even truly alive to begin with? The thought crept in.  

‘Maybe I’m already dead. Maybe I’ve been buried here after failing to pass the White Tower… The penalty for failure is death, after all… I think this was how it felt when I died before, too…’  

Theo’s consciousness shrank infinitely smaller.  

The darkness that filled the cave seemed to completely swallow his existence.  

It felt as if the darkness might devour even his soul, dismantling his very being piece by piece.  

—A world without the distinction of self and others.  

In such a place, consciousness was nothing but a futile fragment of delusion.  

No matter how strong the will, it produced no results. What was the point of willpower in such a world?  

[The boundary between you and the world fades.]  

[Consciousness disappears.]  

[Cause (因) is disassembled. Effect (果) falls away naturally. The chain of causality no longer applies to you.]  

[The quest is failing.]  

.

.

[The God of Causality frantically screams for you to rise…!]  

[The God of Destruction clicks their tongue, lamenting that they had high hopes for you, only to spectate this…!]  

[The God of Harmony expresses disappointment…!]  

[The God of Journeys declares the end of your journey…!]  

.

Theo’s consciousness shrank into a single point.  

As the darkness devoured the last of Theo’s existence, a time of nothingness arrived.  

...

[Madness erupts.]  

At that moment, among the components that made up Theo, one thing remained undestroyed.  

The Sword Sphere.  

The essence that had always brought Theo boundless inspiration and, simultaneously, an obsession with the sword and swordsmanship awakened, shaking his mental world violently.  

In truth, as Kishar had glimpsed, Theo had already been showing signs of madness.  

The residual embers of that madness, instead of being extinguished, awakened violently like a wildfire.  

At the same time, Theo’s own burgeoning madness expanded uncontrollably, driving the darkness away.  

It didn’t merely restore Theo’s mental world but also caused it to expand infinitely.  

The madness held a tangle of complex emotions.  

The desire to break free.  

The yearning to grow stronger.  

The thirst for power and authority.  

These emotions aligned with the path pursued by the owner of the thoughts encapsulated within the Sword Sphere during their lifetime. Naturally, they fused seamlessly with Theo’s consciousness.  

Thump thump thump thump—  

The pounding rhythm grew until it finally erupted in a deafening explosion.  

Boom boom boom boom boom boom...!  

[The God of Causality stares blankly at the bizarre phenomenon unfolding before them, their jaw wide open, drool dripping.]  

Just as the universe is said to have begun with an explosion from a single point, Theo’s consciousness expanded with an explosion of madness, pushing the external world away and growing infinitely larger.  

‘The mission on this floor was something I misunderstood from the beginning. There was never a destination in this ant’s nest.’  

Theo directed his consciousness not downward but upward.  

This was a tower.  

Shouldn’t he be looking up instead of down?  

‘The message wasn’t to become trapped in isolation but rather to keep reaching upward... That’s the key.’  

Using the madness fueled by the Sword Sphere as a driving force, Theo metaphorically burned his way upward through the White Tower.  

‘The solution was to send my consciousness outward as far as possible, regardless of the boundaries of self and others.’  

Theo’s mental world no longer merely pushed away the darkness—it mingled with it.  

In doing so, all his senses returned.  

Once again, he could perceive the existence of “I.”  

[You can use magic again.]  

[All senses have been restored.]  

[You have entered the 11th floor.]  

Theo found himself past the cave and standing on a new level.  

‘No. It’s not over yet.’  

The expansion of Theo’s mental world didn’t stop there. The 11th floor was nothing more than a midpoint.  

‘I’ll go all the way to the top.’  

[You have entered the 12th floor.]  

[You have entered the 13th floor.]  

‘And then...’  

[You have conquered up to the 13th floor and reached the rooftop.]  

‘And beyond that.’  

The top of the tower wasn’t the 13th floor but the rooftop. Yet if there was something higher than that, there could only be one place.  

- The Pantheon.  

Theo’s consciousness transcended the White Tower, pierced the heavens, and crossed beyond the planet into the domain of the universe itself.  

It was Nirvana.  

A mental state where the distinction between self and others disappeared, where he became the world, and the world became him.  

[The God of Causality hastily explains that this level of mental enlightenment should have ended at the 11th floor, but it seems to have gone this far due to the fuel of madness and the secrets of your past life...]  

The message window, mid-output, was suddenly crushed under the sheer weight of an enormous iron door that appeared.  

Boom...!  

The massive iron door bore intricate carvings of countless gods intertwined in a chaotic dance.  

Theo clenched his fist tightly as he stood before it.