Chapter 404 + 405
There is an epilogue.
"Hooray!"
"The strongest troublemaking duo!"
"Upholding the tradition of ten million cult followers on the peninsula! The quintessence of heresy! The last surviving prodigies of Taoism!"
"Yo-hwa Yo-hwa ☆ Sisters! Descend!"
"Hooray!"
Clap! A sound of applause echoed through the room.
"......"
There were two audience members who had witnessed the entire spectacle from start to finish: Noh Do-hwa and Yu Ji-won.
Both of them were from the National Highway Management Corps, and this was no coincidence. The place where the Yo-hwa Yo-hwa ☆ Sisters had just made their grand entrance was none other than the innermost sanctum of the Corps' headquarters, the 'Tower of Babel' management command room.
"Great...."
Noh Do-hwa muttered with an expression that was anything but pleased.
"Sure. I did hear that the Cheon family had twin sisters. I understood as much. But... wasn't one of the twins supposed to be time-sealed or something? Shouldn't she not exist in reality? So why are both sisters standing here making a spectacular mess right in front of my eyes...?"
"Huh, an intriguing observation!"
"As expected from the Corps Chief. The fine lines etched on your brow are evidence of not only your irritable temperament but also your highly evolved intellect."
"It can't be helped, sister. Show them your true form!"
I released my aura.
Srrr—.
My orange hair faded to black, and my sailor uniform reverted to a barista outfit. The aura that had been generating a real-time illusion around me dissipated.
It was as if the transformation scene of a magical girl was being played in reverse.
The result was simple.
Cheon-hwa became the Undertaker.
"?
Noh Do-hwa tilted her head.
"Transformation!"
I pulled my aura up again. It felt like striking a pose after finishing a muscle workout.
Then my appearance, including not just my face but also my height and fashion, distorted back to Cheon-hwa.
"......"
"Hooray!"
Clap, I high-fived Yo-hwa. Da capo.
"The strongest troublemaking duo!"
"Upholding the tradition of ten million cult followers on the peninsula! The quintessence of heresy! The last surviving prodigies of Taoism!"
"Yo-hwa Yo-hwa ☆ Sisters! Descend!"
"Hooray!"
"......"
Silence lingered over the meeting room.
"Mr. Matiz, here."
"Ah, thank you, Ji-won."
"Not at all."
Yu Ji-won handed me the tea she had poured from the thermos she always carried around. I was in dire need of a hot drink after straining my vocal cords alongside Yo-hwa.
Slurp. As I peacefully sipped the tea, Noh Do-hwa finally opened her mouth and spoke.
"Have you completely lost your mind—"
### Chapter 26
Once again, there is an epilogue.
As much as I would have loved to wrap up the epilogue just by teasing Noh Do-hwa while impersonating Cheon-hwa, there was a specific issue in this episode that demanded careful revision and review.
"So, in other words, there might be someone other than Mr. Matiz who has returned. Is that your hypothesis?"
"Yes."
I had just shed Cheon-hwa's illusion when I replied. I held back because taunting any further would only increase Noh Do-hwa's kill count.
Despite my immense enjoyment of Noh Do-hwa's contorted facial muscles, I managed to restrain myself. Cultivating patience is vital for someone who has experienced a return.
"However, it's uncertain whether Go Yuri is genuinely a returnee. At the very least, she's definitely in a position comparable to 'a returnee.'"
"Hmm."
The testimony I particularly noted—
No, more like a transcript— was this part.
――――――――――
Go Yuri: Really. I thought it would turn out like this.
Go Yuri: There shouldn't be anything particularly different this time. Why has Miss Cheon-hwa become so clever?
Go Yuri: Did her DNA change? As if. I didn't even touch a thing concerning the environment in which Miss Cheon-hwa and Miss Yo-hwa were born.
Go Yuri: If mishandled, the twins would become too easily miscarried.
――――――――――
Miscarriage.
This part was so significant that I printed the transcript and handed it out to my colleagues.
"Although we can't be 100% certain, Go Yuri spoke as if she was aware of a world line where Cheon-hwa and Yo-hwa were never born."
"......"
I glanced to the side.
Nod. Having just tested Noh Do-hwa's murderous intent with me, Yo-hwa now wore a serious expression.
"Our mother was... a bit frail. After giving birth to us—uh, me—she was always bedridden."
"Hmm. You're saying that it wouldn't have been surprising if she had miscarried you all."
"Yes."
In response to Yu Ji-won's question, Yo-hwa nodded frankly.
"So if your assumption is correct—and I believe it too—then, it seems Go Yuri, my 'teacher of the first generation,' deliberately ensured the twins would be born."
"What would be the reason for that?"
"Ahaha. That's something I don't quite understand either..."
Yo-hwa scratched the back of her head awkwardly.
Why, for what reason, did it have to be twins?
It was a question that could only be answered by peering into Go Yuri's true intentions.
"Hmm."
Noh Do-hwa sat a bit apart from us, deliberately leaning her chin on her hand.
"What if it's the opposite...?"
I tilted my head questioningly.
"The opposite?"
"If there's a reason it must be twins but it's unclear, shouldn't we consider the issues that could arise if it isn't twins...?"
Indeed.
I engaged in a brainstorming session with Noh Do-hwa.
"If only one was born instead of the Cheon-hwa-Yo-hwa twins, there wouldn't be a need to distinguish between them. There wouldn't even be a risk of confusion since they'd already be a single 'Cheon Yo-hwa.'"
"From my perspective, it still amounts to just one person, Cheon Yo-hwa... In any case, there would only be one Cheon Yo-hwa left. What issue arises from that...?"
"Well,"
I began.
"Yo-hwa was chosen as a sacrifice to the underworld and Cheon-hwa was selected as a sacrifice by the antagonists. So the divine entities meant to be divided between the two would be focused on just one person—"
At that moment.
"Ah?"
My mouth went silent.
"...?"
"Teacher?"
"Mr. Matiz?"
All three turned their focus on me.
But I could hardly notice their expressions. A sudden realization, as striking as lightning, shot through my spine.
I spoke.
"Taiji."
"Taiji?"
---TL NOTE: Yea, I'll leave the original LLM's pronunciation for this one. But since it's a tradition to give names to anomalies, I'll give it one I guess... How about, Laplace? Disclamer: This is by no means an actual translation of the Outer God's name.---
"We're considering this backward. Not two separate Outer gods from the start—what if originally there was only 'one' Outer god?"
Blink. Blink blink.
The others still seemed puzzled by my words, their eyebrows quirking in uncertainty.
But as I continued, I felt caught in a violent wave of electric epiphany.
"Taiji. The taiji. Neither an yin (陰) Outer god nor a yang (陽) Outer god. Initially, they were one. What if there was originally only one Outer god named 'Taiji'?"
"..."
"This Taiji god regards everything as equal data. It infinitely simulates how everything combines, ensuring that the most beneficial world line for itself emerges, tirelessly, relentlessly, until 'the most favorable world' comes forth."
"Ah?"
"......!"
Finally, realization began to dawn upon their expressions.
What if the terrifying entities of the abyss and the darkness, notorious even when isolated, were originally merged as one?
"In simple terms, from a human perspective, that Taiji god essentially wielded the power of a returnee. No matter how much one struggled, there was no beating it. Naturally."
"It can just keep running simulations until it wins."
Yo-hwa murmured hesitantly.
"Even if humanity wins, it's not really a victory. The Outer god would just move to the [next round]. ...Just like you, teacher."
Indeed.
My voice fell to a murmur as well.
"Even having a returnee doesn't matter. It's eternally a draw. No, even a draw can't last forever."
"Why is that, teacher?"
"Humans don't have infinite mental resilience."
The logic was simple.
Humanity boasts a returnee. Even after being obliterated by the grotesque, they could attempt again in the next round. Until victory is achieved.
Grotesque has Taiji god. Even if humanity triumphs, it reruns the simulation. Until humanity is annihilated.
However, unlike humanity, grotesque lacked intelligence. No reason, self, mind, center. No stress, no trauma.
"...That's a worst-case scenario."
Yu Ji-won said, expressionless.
"Humanity reached this point purely because of the existence of a returnee like Mr. Matiz. Imagine if the enemy had a similar power. It's unthinkable."
"If we were born not as twins but a single child, would Taiji god emerge...?"
Yo-hwa whispered in shock.
Truly, a dead end.
An endless labyrinth one could never transcend.
A trash game where every decision led to a bad ending.
If I, the Undertaker, encountered such an insurmountable fortress—what would I do?
"I'd give up."
Like old man Seo.
"But if I didn't?"
It's a problem that Taiji god exists.
"Simply eliminating Cheon Yo-hwa won't solve anything. Another sacrifice will just be chosen as the shrine maiden."
"Leaving the new shrine maiden unknown makes it harder to control variables."
Cheon Yo-hwa is left alone.
"If the Outer god is too strong, then the Outer god must be fragmented."
"......"
Force it apart.
Insult nature.
What was naturally one, forcibly divided into two.
Tao follows nature (道法自然).
-I interpret the phrase the other way around.
A reminiscence.
-One individual human ultimately alters a path. So I ask...
When there is no route.
-Why can't one person change that path?
Create a route.
Taiji.
The concept of Taiji had a loophole. Even if ultimately one, it could initially be divided into the extremes yin and yang.
Therefore, it could be split.
The originally singular 'Cheon Yo-hwa', the shrine maiden of the Taiji god, devised a method to split into one yet two.
'Twin sisters.'
Simple. Roll the dice until Cheon Yo-hwa's mother gives birth to twins. A low probability, but undoubtedly possible.
"Just being twins isn't enough. Make them as if truly one... As entities reflecting different aspects, yin and yang. So,"
Even their names were unified.
Cheon Yo-hwa. Identical pronunciation.
By writing, Cheon Yo-hwa (天寥化). Cheon Yo-hwa (千謠話).
Pronounce it by segmenting, one Cheon-hwa, the other Yo-hwa.
"That's absurd."
A mere human.
"Successfully divided an invincible grotesque, 'the infinite simulation Spinning Akashic Record,' an Outer god?"
-The method is singular.
-Become as broad as nature’s path, as expansive as the universe.
...
-Strictly speaking, Tao is human.
-Being natural (人然) yet a cause and effect (因緣).
Splitting one grotesque into two didn’t merely halve its combat strength as in an RPG.
Imagine dividing my own 'return ability' and 'total recall' as the Undertaker.
The result wouldn't be a 50% reduction but likely 80%—or perhaps a staggering 99%.
Most of my advantages would vanish completely.
The 'Taiji god,' which should have instilled terror across all existence, was now gone.
Only the imperfect yin and yang. Marks of the abyss and backdrop. Echoes of horror barely whispering their feeble cry in the cosmos.
The once flawless Outer god waned. It plummeted.
Leaving only incomplete, decisively lacking grotesques roaming the earth.
'If.'
A sudden ominous thought struck me.
'What if the difficulty of conquering this world that I've challenged over a thousand times, which I've always thought of as Hard or Lunatic, has in fact been adjusted to Normal by someone?'
Adjusting the world's difficulty.
Perhaps such an impossible feat might have been achieved by some entity known as Go Yuri.
In battles where defeat was once certain, it was adjusted to a 'doable level' if you diligently knocked your head over and over.
It was nothing short of a miracle.
'Wait, why is someone so incredible wandering around now transformed into a grotesque?'
'Why was she deleted from Cheon Yo-hwa's memory on June 17th...? No, there isn't enough information to judge this.'
I shook my head.
Even if I managed to deduce the existence of the Taiji god, there were still far too many mysteries surrounding Go Yuri's actions.
I needed more clues.
"At least, I've found a way to approach Go Yuri's secret."
Fortunately, I knew where the clues might be hiding.
"If I hadn't entered Yo-hwa's dream and delved into her past, I wouldn't have known about the '□'—a void, an emptiness in her mind."
"Did you only learn this after more than 1,000 attempts? Isn't that negligence as a returnee...?"
"Ahaha, I often explored my dreams. But I was cautious not to unwittingly engage with Go Yuri residing in the unconscious world, out of respect for privacy and self-preservation."
When I thought back, my own dreams were also riddled with holes, like memories of my mother.
No matter where I looked, all I could find were [404 - Not Found] signs.
It turned out that I wasn't unique in this aspect, and Yo-hwa was similar—something I never imagined, even in my dreams.
"But that's different now. I've verified a method to engage with Go Yuri without falling to her influence."
"Hmm..."
"Thus, I say to you all."
I began.
"I suspect, just like with Yo-hwa, that there might exist... a similar void or '□' in all our pasts, including mine."
"Pardon...?"
"It's a hypothesis at this point. A theory. So, like I did with Yo-hwa, may I take a brief look into your pasts?"
"No. Absolutely not..."
Noh Do-hwa made a face of profound aversion.
But there was only one individual like Noh Do-hwa in the world. Yu Ji-won received it calmly.
"There isn't much to treasure in my past beyond the summers I spent with you, Mr. Matiz. The rest I hold no attachment to."
"Thank you, Ji-won."
"Not at all."
That very day, with the help of the tutorial fairies and Cheon-hwa, I infiltrated Yu Ji-won's dreams.
Beyond the fourth tier and further. Into the past. Reaching the dangerous threshold from which fragments from Go Yuri's unconscious world spilled forth.
The result was plain.
[404 - Not Found]
The same void of memory as Yo-hwa's. That '□' was there.
"......"
In Yu Ji-won's past, traces of 'the existence of Go Yuri being deleted' were present.
'How?'
I then turned to the Saintess's past.
[404 - Not Found]
To Lee Ha-yul's past.
[404 - Not Found]
To Sim Ah-ryeon's past.
[404 - Not Found]
Seo Gyu, Kim Ji-su, Dang Seo-rin, and beyond.
In every one of their pasts, I found a '□'. Different people in my proximity, fragments of their pasts, or parts of their memories were 'cut off.'
Every time I wandered near that void of the heart, something identical to Go Yuri appeared.
"Why...?"
But it didn't stop there.
I persuaded others too. I entered Lee Joo-ho's dreams. I accessed the former swordsman's past.
Lee Baek, Lee Jae-hee, Uehara Shino, the Grand Priestess, Manyeo, Heo Su Gum, Heuk Yo Geum, Jo Yeong-su, Shin Soo Bin, Cecilia, Kwon Ryong, Nenet, Manav, and Akasha.
---TL NOTE: Some of these names may not be accurate to in-novel characters lol. I tried my best.---
[404] [404] [404] [404]
[404] [404] [404] [404]
[404] [404] [404] [404]
[404] [404] [404] [404]
Everyone. Every single one.
In every person I looked into, and perhaps all of humanity, I found hollow voids like vacant marks pierced into their pasts.
All were a result of 'forgetting the existence of Go Yuri.'
"......"
No one in this world.
Not even I, equipped with perfect recall.
Could remember the someone who had vanished from our respective pasts.
-Lost Individual. Conclusion.
---TL NOTE: Gotta give props for the Author for actually timing the 404th chapter lol. This guy's crazy. He did the same thing with the 365th and the "lucky" amount of chapters lol.---
Chapter 405
Ta-da. Who could have guessed?
That the terminal point of endless regression isn't the future, but the past, precisely to the first iteration.
A classic twist! Even a time traveler would be surprised!
"...Uncle. I'm sorry, but could you please stop imitating Cheon-hwa without warning? It really gives me the creeps. Seriously. I'm begging you."
Unfortunately, after receiving a perfectly executed dogeza filled with Oh Dok-seo's 100% sincerity, the Cheon-hwa impersonation was announced to be in its final season.
"My apologies. I still have lingering aftereffects."
"Oh, I see. So, when you experience those aftereffects, you cosplay as your apprentice by mimicking her appearance with your enchanted aura control?"
"Thanks for understanding."
"Yeah. That's why the Alliance of Regressors needs a mad dog commander like you. Someone has to call out the crazies for the world to keep turning properly..."
Oh Dok-seo treated me like a complete lunatic, but frankly, it felt unjust.
Habitual young mistress transformation syndrome. The sudden Cheon-hwa impersonation wasn't just a perverse or self-destructive joke. It truly was an aftereffect.
"Dok-seo, mimicking a completely different person in the void is a perilous endeavor. If it weren't me, this could have turned out much worse. If it had been someone else, they might harbor multiple personalities in their mind for life."
"Hmm. Is it really that bad?"
"It's that bad. Honestly, I'm more amazed that you're just fine. You sometimes turn your [Side Story Writing] into a VTuber mode and fully immerse yourself as different characters. How do you maintain your sense of self like that?"
"Beats me?"
Oh Dok-seo tilted her head, puzzled.
"It just works for me."
"You talented little..."
Well, it's probably due to her unique ability known as the [AT Field], an absolute barrier.
Oh Dok-seo's sense of reality seemed somewhat disconnected from others.
Not because she didn't take life seriously, but because she had a solid tendency to perceive both her life and the people around her as [stories within a fictional world].
She said she carried the characteristics of a 'possessed' person dropped into the center of a narrative.
An experienced actor knows how to immerse in a role without losing themselves.
In that sense, Oh Dok-seo's [AT Field], [Absolute Barrier], and [Fourth Wall] might all correlate.
I was lost in thought at that moment.
-Yaaaaaaahhh!
A loud shout.
While sitting across from Oh Dok-seo enjoying a coffee in a café at the Inunaki Tunnel, an ominous ‘upstairs noise’ suddenly came from above.
-Damn it! Die! Just die! Get out! Get oooouuut!
"Ugh."
Oh Dok-seo grimaced as she sipped her espresso.
It wasn't just the upstairs noise that made her face crumple. Despite hating bitter flavors, she insisted on espresso.
At that point, her middle-schooler syndrome had reached the realm of an art.
"That place is at it again."
"Yeah."
"There's almost a 30% chance of hearing that upstairs noise no matter where you sit. It's more frustrating because I can't even understand what they're yelling about."
Oh Dok-seo was right.
What you might call the infamous 'upstairs noise phenomena'.
The mere fact that you could hear such noise from this Inunaki hideout café was bizarre. In an underwater tunnel that had sunk into the sea, where would any 'upstairs' be to generate living noise?
That yelling was commonly heard in any building where a ceiling existed.
In reality, many banal and mundane phenomena were generally what regular folks perceived as anomalies.
Such events are too trivial to fully address. However, simply ignoring them leaves an annoyance.
Thus, they inevitably became just the inconvenient neighbors in life's complications.
“Can’t you do something about it? Uncle? I swear, every time I even consider pulling out my laptop to get started on my writing, the upstairs noise kills my motivation.”
"Once you vanquish the upstairs noise, the fear of a blank notepad, slump phenomena, and burnout anomalies will show up one after another."
"The fact I can't write at all is entirely due to those anomalies."
"Could it be that because people blame others instead of themselves, and with hatred and shirking responsibility, these anomalies are born? This uncle secretly predicts as much."
"What? Are you implying I belong to such irresponsible and insensitive types? Oh my goodness. I'm hurt. Because of the trauma and scars you've given me, I'll never be able to manage a consecutive double update as a dreadful hack writer ever again..."
-Dieeee! Just die! I said DIE!
"...No, I'm not kidding, Uncle. Really, do something about it."
Oh Dok-seo looked up at the ceiling with an exhausted expression.
"On SG-Net, people constantly complain about potentially going insane from upstairs noise. That thing is qualitatively degrading living standards!"
"Hmm."
"It endlessly spouts unintelligible noise!"
"......"
"It'd be better if I could at least understand what's being said so I could vent properly!"
While Oh Dok-seo was rising into angry steam, I quietly sipped my coffee.
Because.
‘Actually, I can understand what’s being said…’
An astute reader might have already noticed.
Regarding the upstairs noise, there was a subtle difference between Oh Dok-seo’s complaints and my narrative.
-Why are you my mom! Why are you my mom!
Precisely.
To me, the undertaker, the content of the shouting beyond the ceiling, the uproar of the upstairs noise anomaly, was entirely comprehensible.
It wasn’t just the upstairs noise anomaly.
All voices of anomalies were audible to me.
---
[Understanding Only the Anomalies' Voices]
That’s how I humorously titled my peculiar situation, as if it were the headline of a web novel.
If you ask when this strange phenomenon started, I can answer with pinpoint accuracy.
Since the 1,000th iteration.
"What?"
Among the changes, the most definite confirmation of this anomaly came when I encountered Dang Seo-rin.
An encounter with Dang Seo-rin that had been replayed over hundreds of iterations.
-Where is this place?
-Dad. Dad. I’m right here, Dad.
It was a moment to meet Dang Seo-rin as usual, but then I started perceiving sounds that had never been audible in prior iterations.
The diagonal crosswalk in Centum City, Busan.
The extra dimensional space of extraordinarily broadened ‘intersections’.
-Can you hear my voice?
-There are people here. People here.
Swish. Splash, splatter.
At the intersection, over a thousand traffic lights stood like the pillars of a temple, each red signal overflowing with crimson blood.
"Excuse me?"
"Excuse me, excuse me?"
The blood from the traffic lights transformed into 'red handprints' that sluggishly crawled across the crosswalk.
It wasn't just a few. Tens of thousands of handprints moved chaotically back and forth over the crossing.
Visually, it was no different from previous iterations.
It was a landscape I had seen enough times to be sick of by the 1,000th iteration.
'Why am I hearing these voices?'
Aurally, however, it was vastly different.
-Our home disappeared. Officer, please help us find our house.
-Mother's not answering her phone. I turned it off for a moment earlier. There was a missed call. I shouldn't have turned it off then. Mother won't pick up.
-I've been kicked out of my home. How can this be? It’s our house. Strangers were living there.
With every slap of the bloody handprints, pre-recorded voices seemed to play, like hundreds of people mumbling simultaneously about their own grievances.
"......"
Faced with this overwhelming scene, I was momentarily left speechless.
'Why can I hear the voices of these handprints at the crossing now when I never did before? And why suddenly at the 1,000th iteration without any warning...'
But that wasn't the only sudden change that occurred near the 1,000th iteration, though I was too flustered to consider it.
"Actually, you know... I hear songs."
Dang Seo-rin, too—she had changed.
"I hear songs coming from you."
Strictly speaking, it started from the 999th iteration.
Her testimony that the world's elements, even the setting sun included, were heard as 'music', 'noise', or 'songs', remained valid from the end of the 999th iteration onward to the 1,000th and beyond.
What kind of magic was at play?
Dang Seo-rin began hearing the entirety of existence—everything including the sky—with 'sound'.
And for me, I began to perceive the 'voices' of anomalies previously inaudible.
There was a clear similarity between our two anomalies.
However, no matter how hard I thought, I couldn't fathom why, without any indication, these 'abilities' were bestowed upon us.
"Dok-seo."
"Hmm?"
"It seems around the end of the 999th iteration, some strange incident occurred that I'm unaware of. Can't you somehow use your [Side Story Writing] to find out what happened?"
Reflecting on it, the 999th iteration was peculiar.
'I was just drinking with Dang Seo-rin alone, and then the world suddenly ended.'
Though there were no clues or evidence, I could infer that an event had indeed taken place then.
"Uh, uh. I'd love to help you, Uncle."
"And?"
"The 999th iteration is too recent. I haven't caught up to that in my writing progress for it to be close enough for [Side Story Writing] to take effect. I need to be near that in my chapters..."
"......"
"Oh, come on. Don't look at me like that."
"......"
"I want to write! I want to be praised as the ultra-diligent author who updates daily except during holidays like Chuseok or Christmas! Do you think I chose this?! Huh? You have no idea. You don’t know the pain of creation. The agony of the soul! Damn it, every consistently updating writer is just talented! It's in their DNA! If only my parents had given me more diligent genes, I wouldn’t be like—"
For the sake of preserving Oh Dok-seo's honor—and her parents', I'll leave it there.
I realized anew.
If I ever choose not to have children, it would only be out of fear that there's at least a 0.01% chance of having a child like Oh Dok-seo...
'Two Oh Dok-seo beings on Earth?'
A chill enveloped my nape.
Despite being a professional destructor who's followed every world-ending scenario, such a future seemed too daunting even for me.
"Well, anyway, please try to write as soon as possible. Now there's no risk of everything being corrupted by Infinite Metagame."
"The more you push, the less motivated I feel."
"Please write as slowly as possible."
"Do you not trust me?! Uncle?!"
"...Just stay healthy."
"I was actually considering taking personal PT sessions with Uncle Seo-gyu. He's said to be a PT master, right? Could you put in a word for me?"
"Sure. Just don't go around beating readers once you're stronger."
"Wha? Ahahahaha. Uncle, you're so silly. What kind of author would do that to readers?"
"……"
"Anyway, watch out! Once I get healthy from PT, I'll nab the title of a dedicated author who updates five times a week except holidays!"
Could she really?
The mystery's truth had fallen into a quagmire due to an author's disastrous publishing pace.
Yet, it was somewhat better. It was a ‘delayed problem’, not an ‘impossible to solve’ one.
Surely, if I persist for a thousand years or more, a future Oh Dok-seo will eventually uncover the truth of the 999th iteration?
For a time traveler, there's never a shortage of time.
"So is there really a need to fret so much? Uncle? After all, it's lucky for you to have acquired another ability."
"..."
"An Awoken gains another awakening. Can't you think of it positively for now?"
Though not as carefree as Oh Dok-seo who could use her nerves like a jump rope, adapting to the altered situation was the only option for me too.
The [Ability to Comprehend the Voices of Anomalies] had indeed bestowed several advantages upon me.
For example.
-Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
-Beautifully, you shine.
-In the eastern sky...
-And in the western sky.
-Twinkle, twinkle... little star.
-Beautifully you shine.
Meteors. A meteor anomaly.
An anomaly of meteor showers that covers the skies above Gimhae Plains in the seventh year of regression.
An anomaly that had once driven the entire Korean peninsula into terror and even brought about the world's end emanated a 'voice' that reached me with pristine sound quality.
"Whoa."
---
Before the 1,000th iteration, the only sound that the meteor shower would emit was noise at best.
If transcribed into text, it would be something like:
-Twinkle҉,҉ Twinkle҉,҉ Little҉ star҉.
-Whiii҉i҉i҉i҉i҉i҉ir҉r҉!
-Beautifully҉ it҉ shines҉.҉
The melody was familiar enough to guess it was a 'lullaby', but even so, the song of the meteor shower was never distinctly audible.
Now, it was different.
I could hear it.
-Whiiiiiirrr.
-Beaautifully it shines.
-In the western sky... In the eastern sky...
Thus, I could also understand.
It was a detail so minute that I would never have noticed in previous iterations, but I discerned it in the trembling of the song.
‘The voice is trembling.’
The voice of the meteor shower belonged to a woman.
Between the radiant starlight scattered across the night sky, the wailing sirens tore through. It was an air raid warning.
1. In the dead of one such night when air raid sirens wailed.
2. A woman sings a lullaby.
3. With a trembling voice.
4. Those killed by the meteor shower die instantaneously, feeling no pain.
"..."
With so many clues assembled, I hadn’t squandered my reincarnated lives foolishly enough not to leap toward the truth.
Perhaps some of you might recall.
The first time I subdued a meteor shower.
At the time, I mentioned how there had been an inexplicable 'bombing' in the Gimhae Plains during the advent of the void.
No evidence of that bombing remained anywhere, so it was impossible to know precisely how it was conducted.
The cause of death had evaporated.
With death vanishing, life vanished too.
‘Perhaps.’
I set down my scythe. I released my aura.
In a situation where I had to conserve my aura for weakening Yu Ji-won's alien god, known as Leviathan, dealing with meteor showers had always been an exception.
I knew no strategy other than slicing through them with formidable aura.
However.
"...Mom."
Only beyond the 1,000th iteration.
I felt as though I finally understood the method.
"It's okay."
I murmured while gazing directly at the meteor shower streaked across the night sky.
"I'm not scared."
-Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
"Because I'm with Mom."
-Beautifully...
"When I'm with Mom, I'm not that scared."
The sirens blared.
"Actually, when you cover my eyes, I get scared."
The sirens blared.
"So it's okay not to cover them."
The sirens blared.
"I want to see Mom's face to the very end."
The meteor shower dissipated.
The starlights, which had relentlessly raced across the night sky like blitzing hail, fell around like scattered fragments. Tiny pieces of what once made up the starlight.
As these fragments poured down like rain, something wrapped around my shoulder. Invisible yet shaped like a human arm.
-I love you. My child.
The starlight melted away, leaving the night sky smeared.
-Mom truly, truly loves you.
I grasped the unseen forearm.
"Yes. I love you too."
Thud.
The sirens stopped.
Even the scattered bits that had fallen to the ground no longer sparkled. The night sky returned to its serene state, as if it had always been tranquil.
"......"
I bent down to pick up the now sightless and soundless pebbles.
And I realized.
I shouldn’t use your invincible aura. Yet, I must pacify the anomalies.
The seemingly impossible, mutually contradictory path that was mine.
How to tread upon it.