Chapter 263

Discord: https://dsc.gg/reapercomics

◈ I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell

The Mastermind XIV

There is an epilogue.

The cycle had moved forward. Infinite Void— Or more precisely, Cheon Yo-hwa of heaven’s desolation (天寥化), the personality within Infinite Void, had disappeared from the flow of time.

But what changed, you may ask?

Almost nothing.

“Ah, hello there, everyone! You must have been quite surprised to be summoned here so out of the blue, right?”

At the Busan Station Tutorial, the fairy still appeared and tested people.

And why wouldn’t it? Infinite Void, even at this point, had always been a mindless Outer God. The removal of the personality known as “Cheon Yo-hwa” didn’t fundamentally alter the Anomaly’s principles of behavior. Blind, thoughtless Outer Gods remained as they always were: tirelessly collecting data from the world even in the 689th cycle.

Or perhaps the elder twin, Cheon Yo-hwa, was never truly connected to Infinite Void at all. She might have simply been the Mastermind’s Miko, and her disappearance had no bearing on the Anomaly.

I kept my mouth shut.

In my mind, two parallel timelines and their memories coexisted, perfectly aligned.

The same was true for the younger twin.

“Ow, ow, ow... Hold on a second. Are you a real adult? Oh, I mean... Mister, are you human? Ahh! You’ve come to rescue us, haven’t you?!”

Cheon Yo-hwa of the hundred tales (千謠話), the student council president of Baekhwa Girls’ High School, was the same as she had always been in other cycles. Although her elder sister had left behind a final request for me to look after her, there was nothing much to do. Cheon Yo-hwa already exhibited minor signs of mental instability.

Her tendency to be excessively cold toward outsiders.

Her difficulty controlling her anger.

And after Infinite Void was subjugated, occasional symptoms of a split personality.

These were flaws inherent to her personality. The disappearance of the elder twin—a fictional existence—wouldn’t make them any worse.

Or perhaps, unknowingly, she was grappling with the fallout of losing the elder sister she had relied on more than anyone.

Sudden distortions in memory could have profound effects on people. After all, hadn’t the son of the former soccer player Kim Joo-chul set off on a journey through this perilous world to search for “something,” despite the danger?

It was a world unchanged— No. It was a world in which only one thing had changed.

“Yo-hwa...”

“Yes, Teacher?”

“Are you still experiencing... instances with another personality?”

“Well... Yes, haha. It’s something I can’t control.”

“......”

Cheon Yo-hwa’s soul no longer bore the personality we once called Infinite Void. Her occasional personality shifts were no longer manifestations of an Outer God’s descent but rather purely psychological symptoms. ℟

‘Ah.’

Outer Gods couldn’t speak like humans, and they couldn’t perfectly mimic humans either.

It was only natural, after all. How could an Anomaly possess human intelligence? How could an Anomaly possibly love a human?

When had I, the Undertaker, started entertaining the delusion that such an Outer God might exist? Had I been bewitched by an Anomaly without even realizing it?

“Remember this, sunbae.”

“From the next cycle onward, Infinite Void will no longer have ‘me’ as its personality. The possibility of me ever existing will be completely eradicated.”

“My disappearance might destabilize my sister’s mind a bit. Please take care of her...”

Cheon Yo-hwa tilted her head as she looked at me. “Teacher?”

“......”

“Is something wrong? You look... a little sad.”

“It’s nothing. Sorry to worry you. I just... suddenly remembered something from the past.”

“Oh no! Did someone make you sad, Teacher? Tell me! I’ll take care of it so no one even notices!”

I smiled and patted Cheon Yo-hwa’s shoulder. Noticing that I was feeling better, she smiled brightly back at me.

“Please take care of her.”

Yes, she was right.

To be human wasn’t to merely be alive. Even a thing that only existed in people’s memories could be human. After all, how many beings, no longer seen or heard, do we bury in our hearts and carry with us through life?

Presence through absence.

Sometimes, someone’s existence was felt more strongly not because they were near but because they were not.

https://dsc.gg/reapercomics

“Is that so? I understand now,” said the Saintess.

I hadn’t made the mistake of silently brooding over my inner turmoil. I shared my thoughts with the Saintess instead.

“An Outer God worships a human and willingly falls to humanity’s level... Or perhaps this story itself is a historical distortion caused by Time Seal.”

“Indeed.”

“Let me confirm one thing. Mr. Undertaker, are the Anomalies related to the Outer God called the Mastermind truly gone now?”

“Yes, that part is certain.”

In the 689th cycle, I could at last distribute the “Sacred Flames” given to me by the Nenet of Naryan Mar to the point that most cities where humans survived now had beacon towers. Smoke rose beyond the Himalayas and the Urals as well.

Humanity’s enemy, the Mastermind, had truly been subjugated.

“On the other hand, Infinite Void still leaves traces of itself in this world, doesn’t it? The Hundred Ghosts’ Night Parade, for example. Anomalies clearly tied to Infinite Void still linger.”

“That’s correct.”

The Saintess quietly rested her chin on her hand. The shadows of fish moved slowly among the aquariums in the Yongsan estate.

“Mr. Undertaker, this might sound radical...”

“Please, speak freely.”

“Could it be that you’ve replaced the Mastermind and Infinite Void’s Miko?”

I paused, blinking as I poured hot water into a packet of instant coffee. “Pardon?”

“Think about it. Whether we consider Timeline A or Timeline B, the result is the same. The only human who knows about Infinite Void, complete with Cheon Yo-hwa’s personality, is you, Mr. Undertaker. You alone, across the entire surface of the Earth.”

At first, I didn’t understand what the Saintess was suggesting.

“That’s true,” I agreed slowly. “But how does that designate me as the Miko of the Outer Gods?”

“Because no one but you witnessed Infinite Void’s true form when it revealed its full power.”

“......”

“In essence, you are the only one who understands the true nature of these Outer Gods. An Apostle communes with a god and acts as its exclusive intermediary. Isn’t that essentially what you are?”

My eyes widened.

“That’s because I subjugated the Outer God...”

“But apart from you, Mr. Undertaker, no one even knows these Anomalies existed, let alone that they were defeated.”

“......”

“Whether you like it or not, Infinite Void and the Mastermind are dependent on you. Only you—and your memories—serve as evidence that they ever existed.”

The back of my neck pricked with unease. Instinctively, I knew that the Saintess had touched on something profoundly significant.

Before I realized it, my mouth moved on its own to say, “Authority.”

“Pardon?”

“The abilities I possess... For instance, Complete Memory. It might be an authority granted to me as Infinite Void’s Miko.”

Infinite Void collected the data of all things in existence. Didn’t it liken itself to the Akashic Records? If so, my ability to remember everything without fail might very well be the proof of my role as Infinite Void’s Miko!

At my explanation, the Saintess’s expression grew serious.

“Hold on. Let me list out your abilities, Mr. Undertaker.”

With a quick motion, she pulled out a pen that seemed to appear from nowhere—likely fetched by briefly stopping time—and began jotting down notes.

1. Complete Memory– Infinite Void

2. Resume (Strength Preservation) – ?

3. Time Seal – ?

4. Exceptional Aura – ?

The Saintess looked back at me.

“These are your abilities, correct?”

“Hmm. I think we can remove ‘Exceptional Aura.’ That’s something anyone can develop with enough training.”

“Fair enough. I’ll cross it out.”

“Oh, and by the way, I also have Mind-Reading.”

The Saintess blinked like a startled rabbit, her wide eyes practically asking, “Why am I only learning about this now?”

“I apologize. I thought it might make people uncomfortable to know I could read their thoughts.”

After a beat of hesitation, she asked, “Are you reading my mind right now?”

“No, not at all. I stopped using that ability around the 555th cycle. I didn’t want to rely on such a mysterious power to intrude on people’s private thoughts.”

“Can you swear to that?”

“Yes, I’ll swear on anything.”

“Even on the Three Kingdoms and Liu Bei’s name?”[1]

“Er... yes. Of course.”

The Saintess’s expression visibly relaxed. “Alright. As expected, you’re quite trustworthy, Undertaker. Let me revise the list.”

1. Complete Memory– Infinite Void

2. Resume (Strength Preservation) – ?

3. Time Seal – ?

4. Mind-Reading – Infinite Metagame? Mastermind?

“How’s this?”

“Well... Looking at it now, I can’t help but notice how scattered and miscellaneous my abilities are. It must be my fate to be a supporter.”

“The real supporter here is me, but let’s not get into that. Do you really think these abilities being so miscellaneous is just a coincidence?”

A faint voice echoed in my mind.

“Every effect has a cause.”

It was something Cheon Yo-hwa had whispered in the classroom.

Though the Saintess had taken a different path to reach her conclusions, it seemed she had arrived at the same understanding.

“Think carefully, Mr. Undertaker. You’re smarter than this.”

“You flatter me...”

“I’m not trying to flatter you. What I mean is, if you truly have been reborn as the Miko of various Outer Gods, and if you’ve become aware of this... But then lost your memories because of Time Seal or some other reason.” Her sky-blue eyes locked onto mine with an unflinching intensity, as she asked, “Wouldn’t you have left behind a clue for yourself? Something subtle that only you could recognize later?”

“......”

“A hint. Nothing too obvious, to avoid disrupting the timeline. Just small, shadowy traces. Something that could exist without affecting anything else.”

“...A hint left for myself.”

I let my thoughts wander.

The elder sister, Cheon Yo-hwa, had reshaped the traces of her existence into the form of “Infinite Void’s personality” and “the younger sister’s split personality.” She had only altered memories to the extent that they preserved the reality of what had occurred.

Was there a similar distortion within me?

A shadow where I had quietly planted a clue, hoping I’d uncover it someday.

“A shadow...”

In that moment,

“A fragment. A shadow of the self...”

I felt a static charge ripple through my body.

The tremor within me translated into words that spilled from my lips.

“Of course. How did I not realize this sooner?”

“Did something come to mind?”

“Yes. My nickname!”

The Saintess tilted her head. “Your nickname?”

“My SG Net username. My alias. The name I used as a shadow of my real self in the virtual space of the internet!”

I borrowed the Saintess’s pen and quickly scrawled the name.

ZERO_SUGAR

That was my SG Net username.

The meaning of “zero sugar” was straightforward: sugar-free. Translating it into Korean yielded mudang, 무당 (無糖).

The practice of using homophones and wordplay to name Anomalies or curses was as basic as it was effective. Thus, taking the word that sounded the same as “zero sugar” in Korean but that had different Chinese characters to define its meaning, there was mudang, 무당 (巫堂), which means “apostle”.

A Miko who serves as an intermediary for gods. A pillar connecting an Outer God’s influence to the earthly realm.

The Saintess glanced down at the notebook, her face filled with astonishment.

“When did you choose this nickname? And why?”

“It’s... been my nickname ever since I learned SG Net existed. Honestly, there wasn’t much thought behind it. I just liked zero-sugar cola, so I used it without thinking.”

“So it was something trivial enough that it didn’t raise suspicion.”

“That seems to be the case.”

We both fell silent.

Our silences carried different weights. Though I wasn’t using Mind-Reading, I could almost grasp the Saintess’s line of thought.

She must have been wondering how the “Undertaker from before memory modification” had left this clue for his current self. What purpose did it serve? And what were the identities of the other Outer Gods?

My own thoughts, however, were slightly different.

‘I already knew.’

The reason it hadn’t taken me long to deduce the clue of my SG Net username stemmed from an entirely different cause because...

‘Go Yuri knew.’

Someone had directly given me this hint.

In the distant past, during the 91st cycle, while I was casually browsing the community forums, Go Yuri had once left a comment.

- [Satisfaction] CookingQueen: Thank you! Although this is the world we must live in, if we live without losing faith in ourselves and our hope in others, good things are sure to happen. I hope today is a happy day for you, ZeroSugar!

No one else on SG Net had ever used mudang to call me “ZeroSugar” before. Not even had I had called myself that.

So then how...?

How had the Go Yuri of back then already known something we only now realized in the 689th cycle?

Footnotes:

[1] Liu Bei was made famous for being the ideal ruler for his benevolent leadership and smart choice in advisors by Romance of the Three Kingdoms.