Strongest Hammer God

Chapter 1074: Prison

"Yes, I have my freedom, and I can dictate my own actions!" the Overseer shouted. "Nothing that you say will stop me from entering the Gate of Death! I know what I know, and I will listen to myself! Nobody else!"

The shadow shook its head. "Your concepts of freedom and control are completely warped. You seek freedom in control and control in freedom. You're trying to burn fire."

"Freedom and control are the same thing," the Overseer answered. "How can you be free if you can't control everything? How can you control everything if you can't make your own choices?"

"That's power, not freedom and control," the shadow answered before sighing, "but why am I wasting my time arguing with you? You're only listening to your own experiences, not the experiences of others."

The shadow stepped more towards the side and grandly gestured towards the Gate of Death. "Here you go. Enter whenever you're ready."

The Overseer glanced at the shadow with dislike before she snorted. "I thought you stopped beings from entering the Gate of Death."

"I said, kinda," the shadow repeated. "I'm not stopping you, but I'm stopping you."

"That makes no sense," the Overseer answered.

"Not to you," the shadow answered. "Come on, freedom awaits! Go in! Hey, you might even survive! Who knows? Maybe I'm just not open enough to new developments. What if you can actually succeed? What if your position as Heaven actually gives you an anchor point?"

The shadow just kept gesturing to the Gate of Death with exaggerated grandeur.

The Overseer looked at the shadow with furrowed brows. "You won't stop me?"

"I'm not going to use any of my powers to stop you from entering the Gate of Death. I will also not interact with it in any way. Right now, I am only a random guy. Come on! Enter! You said you wanted to enter! What are you waiting for?"

The Overseer looked at the shadow in suspicion before focusing on the Gate of Death.

Freedom.

The Gate of Death represented her freedom.

She took a step forward. The shadow didn't do anything.

She took another step forward. Now, she was directly in front of the Gate of Death. Her next step would take her inside.

The Overseer took a deep breath.

Then, she extended one of her hands towards the gate.

Moments later...

Her hand entered.

The Overseer furrowed her brows. She felt like she had lost contact with her hand.

She pulled her hand out again and looked at it.

Since she had already undergone her Fusion, a part of her Spirit and mind had also entered the Gate of Death with the hand, and these parts gave her information about what awaited her on the other side.

A world of nothingness.

No Energy.

Surprisingly, there was only a little bit of Death on the other side. She had expected it to be filled to the brim with Death, but there was actually just a little.

The shadow didn't say anything.

The Overseer looked at the shadow again before focusing on the Gate of Death.

She took a step forward, and half of her body entered the Gate of Death.

The shadow just looked at the Overseer without saying anything.

Seconds passed.

And then, the Overseer took a step backward and exited the Gate of Death.

For a while, she just looked at it with furrowed brows.

"What happens when I step through?" she asked.

"Does it matter?" the shadow asked. "You said you were going to enter. Why ask questions? You're going to find out anyway."

"Do you have to be so hostile?" she asked in annoyance.

"Yes."

Silence.

"Why?" she asked.

"Come on, I don't have all day, lady!" the shadow shouted, gesturing to the Gate of Death.

The Overseer didn't say anything and turned back to look at the Gate of Death.

The shadow was right. She was going to find out anyway.

She stepped forward, and half her body entered the Gate of Death.

For just a moment, she remained there.

Then, her body moved forward.

Her upper body fully entered the Gate of Death.

Her left leg moved—

It stopped, its lower half still outside the Gate of Death.

The shadow waited.

Then, the Overseer left the Gate of Death again. Her expression was filled with focus and determination.

The shadow didn't say anything.

Seconds passed in which the Overseer just looked at the Gate of Death.

"I'm waiting," the shadow said.

"Give me a moment," the Overseer said absentmindedly.

"How long? I don't have all day," the shadow asked.

"I just need a moment to compose myself."

"Five minutes enough?" the shadow asked.

"I... yes, if that makes you shut up!" she shouted in annoyance.

"Sure thing," the shadow said before summoning a shadowy clock above the Gate of Death. "If you're not inside by then, I'm going to destroy it."

"You said you wouldn't destroy it!" the Overseer shouted.

"Within reason," the shadow answered. "I have places to be, lady."

The Overseer snorted.

Five minutes was more than enough.

She gathered her courage. She thought about all the suffering she had endured. She thought about her freedom.

She could see it!

Her freedom had arrived!

She took deep breaths. She clenched and unclenched her fists.

Four minutes left. Still plenty of time.

One second.

Just her toe was outside.

Zero.

...

Minus one.

Minus two.

Minus three.

The toe didn't keep moving.

The Overseer's mind fell into panic.

A deep and all-consuming feeling of danger filled her, and moments later...

She jumped out of the gate.

The shadow didn't say anything.

The Overseer just looked in horror at the gate, her mind filled with the deepest fear of death.

She would die!

"You're afraid of uncertainty," the shadow said. "You're afraid of disappointment more so than you're afraid of death."

"Control and freedom," the shadow said. "I did not inhibit your freedom. I did not do anything to you. I did not do anything to the gate. I just talked."

"That's control. I do not need power to exert control within limits."

"But in the end, the choice was yours. It's your freedom."

"You knew that the time was up, and yet, you hadn't fully entered. That's because you didn't want to make the choice. You wanted me to make your choice for you. You wanted me to stop you."

"You want to see what freedom is?"

The Overseer barely listened to the shadow. She was too busy unraveling the confusing mess in her mind.

BANG!

She didn't look up when she heard the explosion in front of her.

Just now, the shadow had destroyed the Gate of Death with a good kick.

"And that's freedom. The freedom I'm talking about is not the ability to destroy the Gate of Death."

"It's doing what I want."

"And just now, I wanted to destroy the Gate of Death."

The shadow stretched a bit.

"Anyway, I'll leave you to it. As long as you actually want to escape, there's no way you will still be here within the next million years."

"But that's not going to happen. Neither the world nor your identity is the prison."

"You are the prison."

Then, the shadow disappeared.

The Overseer just looked down in horror.

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