Chapter 94
Chapter 94
[Trait :: 'Little Explorer in the Dreams' is activated!]
Flash, Nari opened her eyes. She was in the bathtub where the first contract was made.
"Ugh, ugh... ugh, it's sticky. It smells..."
The bathtub was placed on an altar. After wiping away the thick, viscous fluid covering her entire body and getting up, a familiar person stood before Nari's eyes.
"Yes, our Nari."
The Lord of Chaos was smiling as he looked at her. He spoke again with a languid smile.
"You said you wanted mid-term contract termination, didn't you?"
A chilling feeling ran down Nari's spine. He was smiling, but she could see that the smile was false.
The thought that her Constellation always said mid-term termination was possible, but might not be serious, enveloped her entire body.
Anyone who believed the flowery words of the Constellations was a fool. Nari sighed and nodded her head.
"Yeah."
"Oh, dear. What on earth changed your mind? Was it Kang Ihyun? Would it have been better if I had killed Kang Ihyun then..."
Nari bit her lip as she watched The Lord of Chaos mumble, touching his chin and frowning slightly.
"It isn't because of him. I’m the one—"
"Hmm, Nari. But listen. Are you serious? If I disappear, there won't be anyone who will be eternally on your side. How can you trust that Kang Ihyun, Jeong Suho, or other people won't betray you?"
The Lord of Chaos smiled as he looked at Nari. It was always like this. It had been like this for six years. I'm the only one on your side, everyone will betray you.
Of course, it was true to some extent. The Lord of Chaos did care for Nari especially. But isn't the reason clear?
Nari recalled how she tried not to offend him for six years. If his expression changed even slightly, she would find an excuse, and somehow calm her mind according to his advice.
Looking back, The Lord of Chaos's message was always consistent.
'No one is on your side. Only trust me.'
And the result of that trust was self-evident. Nari would have gladly become the suicide switch that would destroy the world.
She would have believed The Lord of Chaos's words implicitly a year ago, no, even six months ago, but now it was different. Nari looked at The Lord of Chaos and said,
"That’s still fine."
"What?"
The Lord of Chaos asked Nari, his smile remaining unchanged. Nari held the bathtub with her hands and confidently spoke.
"If I'm betrayed, it will hurt, and it will be very difficult, but still... I can rise again. I can do that now."
No one in the world completely trusted her. But they didn't completely distrust her, either.
If there was a person who trusted others 100%, that would be another expression of indifference, neglect, or obsession.
Realizing that, Nari felt she could move forward now. She looked at The Lord of Chaos and said,
"I don't want to end the world anymore. So, please terminate the contract."
"...Fine, I understand your feelings."
Haa. The Lord of Chaos sighed and stroked his chin. Nari was running a simulation in her head, wondering what he would say next, thinking he might threaten her or try to fight her, when The Lord of Chaos smiled in front of her.
"But, you know what, Nari?"
"...?"
He smiled so radiantly. That only made her more uneasy. The Lord of Chaos, who was looking down at Nari, chuckled and then spoke again.
"You really didn't notice until the very end, did you?"
"Huh? Notice what?"
"Well, we clearly said 'one year after the contract,' didn't we? That I'd destroy the world then."
Nari blinked at that. That was right. The promise was to destroy the world one year after the contract.
But it had been postponed repeatedly, and since The Lord of Chaos had never mentioned fulfilling the contract even once, she had simply thought of it as a vague, empty promise.
In fact, didn't the anxiety that the promise might actually be fulfilled only set in after her Incarnation Exclusive Trait sprouted the seeds of evolution this time?
The Lord of Chaos chuckled again, looking at Nari. He spoke again in a languid voice.
"I, you see, have a meticulous personality. You know that, don't you?"
"What are you saying? You mean you've been asking me continuously since one year after the contract, that is, five years ago? That can't be. You never told me anything like that..."
Nari, who had been wondering, stopped speaking. Her hand gripping the bathtub tightened. The strange sense of déjà vu she had felt all this time was proving to be true.
Her own subtly missing childhood memories. Things Jeong Suho, Kang Ihyun, and Uncle Nan remembered, but she didn't know herself.
She had just dismissed it, thinking, It must be because they are childhood memories, or old memories. But thinking about it, those were memories that somehow 'helped' Nari's emotional state.
Memories where Nari helped someone, memories where Nari grasped the exact context of an event, the existence of people who would help Nari.
And the final piece of advice from the grub Kang Sujin she saw in her dream.
'So, please don't forget this time.'
No way, Nari thought and looked at The Lord of Chaos. He was slowly raising one hand.
"I was planning to make you forget this time too, but since there will be more than one or two people looking out for you this year, it felt a little troublesome. And honestly, I'm starting to get bored."
He slowly brought the hand he had raised above his head next to his temple. Nari suddenly thought that it was similar to the 'thing to be careful of' that the 'White Rabbit' in her dream had warned her about.
"Before I get completely sick of it, I think I need to achieve my goal this time. So, listen?"
Could it be that the 'thing to be careful of' that the White Rabbit, her subconscious, warned her about was the act of snapping his fingers itself?
She must have seen that action every year. Even if she didn't remember, her subconscious must have known.
When her thoughts reached that point, The Lord of Chaos snapped his fingers. Clack! Along with the sound, he curled his eyes in a smile.
"Forget everything, Nari."
[The Lord of Chaos exercises his authority! :: Memory Manipulation]
Thud, simultaneously with those words, Nari lost consciousness and collapsed into the bathtub. The Lord of Chaos sighed and approached Nari.
"See, it would have been better if you had gone along with it easily, Nari. Why did you have to resist again?"
This happened like an annual event around this time every year. This was already the sixth time this year. The Lord of Chaos sighed, looking at Nari submerged in the bathtub.
Nari always recovered her heart somehow around this time and applied for mid-term contract termination, and he would then erase Nari's memories.
And he would delete her good memories, turning Nari's heart back into ruins.
He had to make her a person with absolutely nothing left in the world. Only then would she listen to him well.
"I told you, that Kang Ihyun guy is manipulating you."
Tsk, The Lord of Chaos reached into the bathtub and pulled Nari out. But he couldn't carelessly delete her memories this time. There were too many people looking out for Nari.
Nari, who had many people looking out for her, would recall her memories with just a slight trigger. Especially this time, didn't she even try to test him, having realized that he was intentionally erasing her memories?
It was slowly becoming risky. So The Lord of Chaos decided to use a different method this time. To erase all her memories completely and turn her into the Nari of six years ago.
[Incarnation Exclusive Trait :: 'Fragment of the First Dream' is changing form!]
Now, if this Incarnation Exclusive Trait were to bloom, he would be able to achieve his goal. The Lord of Chaos, thinking that, smiled faintly and touched Nari's forehead.
"Nari."
He called Nari's name softly. Her eyebrows twitched. Now, all he had to do was wake her up and it would be over.
Then Nari, having lost all her memories, would fall back into the world's despair and become their messiah. Thinking that, just as The Lord of Chaos called her name again,
[Mind control is being exerted by the affiliated Constellation!]
[Constellation comprehension increases!]
"...?"
Now, at this time? The Lord of Chaos frowned. And he understood the situation.
"Ah, I made a mistake."
Perhaps because it was an Outer-Cosmos affiliated Constellation skill, exerting mind control on Nari increased her Constellation comprehension.
Well, even if her comprehension increased, there was nothing Nari could actually do. The Outer-Cosmos Constellations were nothing but the abyss the more one understood them, so her mind would just be destroyed instead.
This might even be a better thing. As he thought that, the Status Window popped up one after another in front of him.
[Trait :: 'Little Explorer in the Dream' is activated!]
[Exploring the dream. Please wait a moment.]
[......]
[A new Constellation is discovered!]
[The Old Man 'Abyss's ◼◼◼◼' is discovered!]
"What?"
The Lord of Chaos's face hardened at that message. Frowning for the first time, The Lord of Chaos urgently said to Nari.
"Nari, no. Stop quickly. Quickly!"
The nightmare where that old man was chuckling was still vivid in his mind. An existence that was a 'Symbol of Myth' in a different sense than himself.
Nari shouldn't find out about this! Just as he thought the plan might be warped too much, the Status Window popped up once more.
[Borrowing skill from the Old Man 'Abyss's ◼◼◼◼'!]
['The Lord of Chaos's skill weakens!]
A white power with a blue glow mixed into The Lord of Chaos's black power. Simultaneously, someone grabbed The Lord of Chaos's wrist.
"What in the..."
"Let go of Nari."
It was Kang Ihyun in a white rabbit costume. No, it wouldn't be the real Kang Ihyun, but the subconscious within Nari's mind.
The body seized by him wouldn't move, no matter how hard he tried. Kang Ihyun, who took Nari from the frozen Lord of Chaos, said,
"This time, it won't be easy at all."
Swoosh, and he created a rabbit hole in the floor and jumped inside. The Lord of Chaos, finally free from the paralysis on his body, put his hand on his forehead and laughed.
"Haha, haha!! Hahaha!!"
Hahaha, haha! His laughter filled the cave.
"Nari, haha! I didn't mean for you to understand it this far! You truly are...!"
Black foam surged from his body as he took a couple of steps from the spot, and the legs of a cephalopod appeared behind his trench coat. The Lord of Chaos, who let out a moan and bowed his head deeply, raised his head again.
His eyes were now completely black, inverse eyes. In his mouth, which was ripped to his ears, there was no tongue or teeth, just a vast, black abyss. He staggered and laughed hoarsely, saying in a scraping voice.
"Ah, but what can I do, Nari? I love fun things the most in the world...."
He looked into the bathtub. He slowly stepped into the viscous fluid where black foam was erupting. He had to plan carefully starting now.
"Good, I'll catch you first. And this time, I'll make you an utter mess. I, you see, wanted to respect your will and used my power weakly, but this can't be helped."
Sinking slowly into the bathtub, he spoke with a voice full of madness.
"Let's play a fun game of hide-and-seek with your big brother. Nari."
You better hide well, to the point I can’t even see a strand of your hair. With those last words, The Lord of Chaos completely sank into the bathtub.
The man's underwater laughter was heard a few times, and soon, complete silence descended.