Chapter 131

Eschatologist III

"Don’t worry too much, guild leader," Go Yuri said with a bittersweet smile, as if she was genuinely concerned about me.

"You see, this place is a well of dreams descended through you. I am merely a role within the dream within a dream, a manifestation of your subconscious. I have nothing to do with the real me."

"...So, you're just an illusion?"

"Yes. If I had to put it, it's likely your fears and aversions manifesting. It's quite sad that your unconscious fears have taken my form..."

Go Yuri lowered her eyes sadly, but I couldn't let my guard down.

Imagine Godzilla wagging its tail, asking to be petted. Even a light novel protagonist equipped with the 'pat → conquer' internal protocol might question the magic in their hand.

"Really, it wouldn't make sense if I weren't an illusion. No matter how mysterious I am to you, it’s absurd for me to sit on a cloud or be 600 meters underground, right?"

"......"

"All these are just manifestations of your fear. The fact that I call you ‘guild leader’ is itself strange. Because, as you know..."

"...You never accepted me as guild leader. That title only exists in my memories."

"Exactly!"

What should I do?

Trusting Go Yuri was out of the question. I might as well believe that the UFO which fell into the East Sea was an ambassador for friendly interstellar relations.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But it was also true that I couldn't escape from here.

I had to wait for the Tutorial Fairies to rescue me or find a way out myself.

Until then, like it or not, Go Yuri would be closely following me.

"Besides, I can guide you here."

"Guide? That's quite a welcome offer. The guide I hired was just assassinated."

"Ahaha. I'm sorry, but wouldn't a local guide be more reliable than an outsider?"

Go Yuri clasped her hands behind her back and leaned closer.

"The Baku are merely bridges between dreams and reality. It’s hard to call them completely ‘from this side.’ But I, formed from your unconscious, have always existed here."

"......"

"I know almost everything that happens here. guild leader, you came to explore the nightmares, right? I can guide you far better than any Baku."

I was silent for a moment.

"...There are conditions."

"Yes. Please tell me anything."

"Don’t try to win my favor unnecessarily. Don’t get too close. And don't kill any Baku without warning like you did before. If you violate these conditions, I will escape by any means necessary."

What would happen if I ended my life in this dream?

It was uncertain, but it was worth a try, simply because it was an unknown method of death to me.

Go Yuri’s smile turned a bit complicated.

"Understood, guild leader. I will try my best. However..."

"However?"

"Uh, nothing. This place is dangerous, so we should hurry out."

Go Yuri turned around. The light tapping of her loafers echoed through the waiting room.

"Follow me. I'll show you the nightmares."

As soon as we stepped out of Busan Station, the scene before us was a void.

Let me remind you of the terror of the void.

In our reality, before the apocalypse, ‘space and time’ were always orderly. When you looked left, you saw the left. When you stepped right, you moved to the right.

But the void is different.

There, normal space-time and physical laws mean nothing.

Especially in a deep void.

"…!"

As soon as I stepped outside Busan Station, my head felt dizzy.

Far ahead, about 200 meters away, a yellow traffic light was standing. It caught my attention, and the next moment, it was right in front of me.

Blink, blink, blink—

The yellow light of the traffic signal flashed fiercely before my eyes. When I blinked again, the traffic light had disappeared.

"…..."

Waaah!

Somewhere, I heard children crying. Turning around, it was just a grassy field. The grass swayed in the wind, and with each sway, it wailed like a baby.

"There, there."

A crone was crouched in a flowerbed, picking azalea buds. Waaah! Red blood gushed out as the buds were picked, and the crying grew louder. The crone gently stroked the azalea petals as if soothing a baby, her nails stained with bright red flower juice.

"......"

I steadied my breathing.

In the midst of the endlessly echoing signal light’s blinking, the flower baby's crying, and the crone’s stroking, I focused solely on the path I walked.

Next to me, Go Yuri blinked.

"Wow. You’re amazing. You’re really maintaining your self-awareness. How do you do it?"

"...It’s a secret. Where are the nightmares?"

"Ah, right over there."

Go Yuri pointed.

I turned my gaze naturally and held my breath.

"What is that...?"

There, a familiar yet unfamiliar scene unfolded.

The building was familiar. The National Road Management Corps Headquarters. It stood tall like the Tower of Babel, a landmark of Busan.

In a cycle where Busan turned into a ‘Utopia,’ I had watched fireworks with Dang Seo-rin from the terrace.

"Ah――Ah――Ah―――"

Even now, in this dream, Dang Seo-rin was there.

Not on the terrace, but hanging from the spire.

Dang Seo-rin was crucified, nails driven through her wrists and ankles. It was as if she was subjected to a witch trial, bleeding from her limbs, singing without end.

My limbs grew pale.

But the horrific sight didn’t end there.

"――Ah――Ah――"

Below Dang Seo-rin, another person was crucified.

It was Sim Ah-ryeon.

She followed her master, singing in Latin, using the techniques Dang Seo-rin had taught her.

Their faces were expressionless. The duo’s acapella resonated endlessly through the night sky, shaking the entire universe.

"What on earth…?"

"You already know, don’t you?" Go Yuri said.

"It’s a perpetual motion machine. The ‘Great Witch’ sings, burning her lifespan. Though it’s an ability bound to end someday, the story changes when ‘Saintess of the North’ joins."

"......"

"When the Great Witch's lifespan runs out, the Saintess of the North can refill it. This creates an endless fuel for the dream."

"......"

"The Great Witch dies every time she sings, resurrects, and dies again, endlessly singing for the world’s peace. That’s the nightmare."

I immediately swung my sword.

The Tower of Babel collapsed. The singing of Dang Seo-rin and Sim Ah-ryeon was engulfed by the sound of the falling tower.

Perhaps it was just my imagination, but it felt as though they looked at me, letting out a brief, silent cry before disappearing into the dust cloud.

My heart pounded.

But the nightmare wasn’t over.

"...You can’t kill dreams, guild leader."

Go Yuri said, looking troubled.

"As I mentioned, these nightmares are just your fears manifested. A wise person like you must have imagined at least once, right? That if those two fell together, an eternal peaceful utopia might be created."

"...What a horrible hobby. I would never choose that."

"Yes. And this place could be called a trash bin of possibilities you didn’t choose."

"......"

"Worlds after bad endings, parallel worlds’ fates, or simply nightmares. Bad tastes."

Tap. Go Yuri started walking.

The surroundings changed.

Sejong City turned into a white sand desert, and at its center, Cheon Yo-hwa and Lee Ha-yul sat facing each other.

Even from a far distance, their conversation was oddly clear.

"...But, Teacher sometimes randomly brings up comparisons to “Records of the Grand Historian” and “Water Margin”. Shouldn’t we insert that knowledge into him?"

"Disagree. Prefer to pursue a perfect brother rather than the current one."

"Wow... Ha-yul, sometimes our tastes match, and sometimes they don’t."

"Agree. Can’t understand why you follow outdated realism."

"What? Doll otaku."

They chatted softly.

It should have been a heartwarming scene, but my mouth felt dry.

Creak—

Something was between Cheon Yo-hwa and Lee Ha-yul. It was ‘me.’

A doll resembling the Undertaker, my corpse, stood crooked between them.

"Then let’s omit “Records of the Grand Historian” and “Water Margin” and just insert “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. Without that, it’s hard to call him teacher!"

"Agree."

Creak. Creak.

Cheon Yo-hwa was inputting data into my corpse. Like turning a zombie into an AI judge.

The body of the ‘Undertaker,’ with its limbs and all muscles, was connected to Lee Ha-yul’s puppet strings.

The ‘Undertaker’ opened its mouth.

-You guys… What do you really think of humans? I’ve always told you, Yo-hwa. You need to view humans with more warmth.

"Wow! It’s just like teacher!"

-And Ha-yul. I’ve told you not to play with living people like dolls. No, not even with dead people.

"Satisfied."

They were cheerful.

In the white desert world, only those two continued their puppet play forever.

The scene seemed so distant.

"That’s another bad ending."

Go Yuri whispered beside me.

"When the Infinite Void was unleashed, covering the world, only a small oasis was allowed for Cheon Yo-hwa and the Puppeteer."

"......"

"Please, whatever you do, don’t approach them? Though they seem normal, those versions of Cheon Yo-hwa and the Puppeteer are extremely corrupted. They’re anomalies capable of destroying the world alone… Guild leader?"

I ignored Go Yuri’s warning.

Crunch. My foot sank into the sand.

With just one step, Cheon Yo-hwa and Lee Ha-yul’s gazes instantly focused on me.

"......"

"......"

They stared intently.

My disciples looked at me. I walked towards them slowly but surely.

As I approached, their faces turned completely expressionless, as if they had never been chatting happily.

I stood before them.

And I hugged them.

As tightly as I could without breaking them.

"Yo-hwa."

"......"

"Ha-yul."

"......"

"You shouldn’t be here. Let’s go home, kids. Let’s go home..."

"......"

"......"

Slowly, Yo-hwa and Ha-yul’s forms crumbled in my embrace. White sand became a sandstorm and scattered.

Even the desert itself disappeared in the wind. I found myself sitting in the middle of a cracked asphalt road.

"That’s amazing…"

Go Yuri murmured.

"Really, how do you maintain your self-awareness so firmly? Here, you could indulge your desires. It’s a place where that’s inevitable."

"It’s nothing special. I sometimes take a vacation to let go."

"Even vacations are just a means to return to reality, right? Why do you never completely let go? Even once. Letting go wouldn’t mean anyone could harm you."

If I could answer that my spirit was strong enough, it might have felt a bit better.

But that wasn’t the answer.

For one to become strong, it’s always insufficient to rely on one’s own reasons; the presence of others is necessary.

The reason I could hold out strongly.

“—Ah.”

It was paradoxically because there always existed ‘others who crumbled before me.’

"We’re in trouble, guild leader. That ‘ending’ is really dangerous."

"......"

"It’s one of the most perilous beings in this apocalyptic world. I recommend you escape. Unlike Cheon Yo-hwa or the Puppeteer, it won’t be easy to give it a burial."

Even before Go Yuri’s warning, I sensed something ominous approaching.

‘Something’ was coming our way.

The hair on my head stood up. My nape, always ahead of my senses in detecting threats, prickled fiercely.

I strengthened my vision with aura. Beyond the forest of broken buildings, it was walking toward us.

"Hah."

Seeing the figure, I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

Indeed.

If this place was my nightmare and the collective unconscious of humanity, if it gathered ‘the worst bad endings’ as Go Yuri said, then naturally, it would include such an ending.

"Really, this old man never does anything helpful in life…"

Emit Schopenhauer.

My long-time comrade.

Awakener Alias: Sword Star.

Corrupted Alias: Sword Demon.

The swordsman, born with the ultimate martial talent, now exuded an aura incomparably more powerful than when he was alive, approaching me.

Footnotes:

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