Chapter 146 - Episode 20. God of Yesterday (10)
Chapter 146: Episode 20. God of Yesterday (10)
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What was Awakening?
The 《Tree of Illusion》 defined Awakening in many different ways.
To Lords, it was “an error in the System.”
To gods, it was “the way for mortals to become gods.”
Depending on the group or rules they belonged to, Awakening was often described as an entirely different concept.
Then what did Awakened Ones think Awakening was?
「“You are free now.”」
Jin Eunsae clearly remembered the first time they heard those words.
They had finally done it.
After enduring every day of that hellish training period, they had finally reached “Awakening.”
They had become someone no longer bound by the rules of adaptation, someone who could resist gods with a human soul.
‘You said I was free now...’
They had certainly become that kind of being.
‘So where is this place?’
It had been a long time since they had even had to wonder where they were.
With the powers of Awakening, 「Dismantling」 and 「Assembly」, they could understand any Worldview.
This time was different. No matter where they looked, north, south, east, or west, there was only pitch-black darkness.
Jin Eunsae thought.
‘Was I kidnapped?’
They had occasionally heard stories of Awakened Ones being abducted by Lords of the twelve zones or gods of the 《Abyss》.
If so, who had kidnapped them?
Jin Eunsae chased after their hazy final memories.
What had I been doing last?
「I knew this would happen when that brat kept acting tough.」
「Did the Metaverse look that easy to you?」
What?
「A kid is still a kid.」
「What a loser. They acted like the Metaverse Six Gods were nothing special.」
What nonsense...
「Stop picking on the kid. They're crying.」
「Hey, how many gods did that bastard kill?」
「Right. We can't go easy on them just because they're a kid.」
The voices began to multiply, one by one, until they invaded Jin Eunsae’s mind.
Jin Eunsae heard those voices. They had to hear them.
That was how they had been taught. That was how they had grown up.
「“Listen to every last word. Read them. Analyze them. That is how you grow. You must accept everything to become stronger.”」
Soon, the voices grew louder and more numerous.
A tidal wave of words pouring down like a waterfall.
Jin Eunsae screamed. Out of habit, they searched for their headset, but it was nowhere to be seen.
Before long, even their own cries were buried beneath the torrent of words.
Jin Eunsae gradually forgot where they were, who they were, and what they had been doing. Their sense of self blurred within the voices pouring in.
With a tattered soul and empty eyes, Jin Eunsae stared ahead.
‘Where was I?’
Then someone answered.
[This is ‘Yesterday’.]
Jin Eunsae listened to that voice. So long as they listened to it, they could not hear the flooding voices.
Jin Eunsae asked again.
‘Who was I?’
[You are my Doll.]
‘What was I supposed to do?’
[Kill that person.]
Their vision cleared with the voice.
A man stood before them, and his face seemed strangely familiar.
Just as familiar memories began to rise to the surface, the voice pressed down on Jin Eunsae again.
[Kill them.]
Without hesitation, Jin Eunsae opened their mouth. Pure white smoke poured from deep within their lungs and began to cover the area.
Sanctuary Manifestation.
「World Without Adults」.
It was the Unique World Jin Eunsae had obtained upon reaching the fourth stage of Awakening. A world that erased every “adult” trapped within its Sanctuary, as though disinfecting the world itself.
The Commander had once said:
「“No ‘adult’ with less World Force than you will ever be able to endure your Unique World.”」
In other words, if Jin Eunsae increased their World Force, their world would be invincible against “adults.”
And Jin Eunsae had used that power to ruthlessly erase enemies.
Yet the man before them did not disappear easily. His soul was scattering bit by bit, but the process was painfully slow.
‘He has more World Force than I do.’
Fortunately for Jin Eunsae, their opponent had not activated an Unique World.
‘Is he unable to use one right now?’
Even if he had activated an Unique World, he would have struggled to resist. Judging by how long he had endured with nothing but his body, his mental energy had to be extraordinary.
Still, more time passed. At last, the man’s soul could no longer endure and melted away within the pure white smoke.
‘I won. I did it again.’
Jin Eunsae’s heart raced at the thought of being praised.
The Commander would praise them. Seolha would pat their head.
So...
‘...?’
Something was wrong. They had thought they had eliminated him, but something remained within the smoke.
A figure slowly walked out of the smoke.
The instant Jin Eunsae saw who it was, their eyes widened.
It was a child.
The child pointed at Jin Eunsae and said, “You’re a kid.”
It was the first time Jin Eunsae had been called a kid by another kid.
They could not understand.
They had defeated the man, so why had a child suddenly appeared?
Was it an illusion? Or had the man’s true form been a child?
They did not know which it was. One thing was certain, their Sanctuary did not work on this child.
Jin Eunsae instinctively stepped back.
“This is the first time I’ve seen a kid other than me.”
The child approached one step at a time, wearing a cap pulled low, just like Jin Eunsae.
Up close, the child’s face became clear. It resembled the man’s face remarkably closely. There was no doubt.
This child was the man from before.
But the child’s aura was completely different from the man’s.
Unlike the man, who had carried a strange madness, the child had an atmosphere that was frighteningly cold and refined.
The child lightly touched the pure white disinfectant smoke. Then the child stuck out his tongue for a taste and nodded as if he understood.
“Interesting Worldview. My world was full of nothing but ‘adults’.”
“What are you?”
“Me? Outside, they call me Jaehwan.”
Jaehwan.
The moment Jin Eunsae heard that name, a memory surfaced.
「“There is someone named Jaehwan. They call him ‘Naked Stab’ now, so please help him.”」
Who had sent that message?
Jin Eunsae staggered, clutching their throbbing forehead.
Unconcerned, the child looked around the area with curious eyes.
“Is there no one else here? Do you know an older sister named Sirwen?”
Jin Eunsae could not answer. The voice that followed locked away their memories and thoughts.
[Eliminate that child.]
Blocks burst from Jin Eunsae’s entire body in a swirling mass.
law-type Setting, 「Eunsae Blocks」.
The tightly packed blocks soon transformed into the shape of a massive hammer in Jin Eunsae’s right hand.
Eunsae Blocks Second Form, 「Squeaky Hammer」.
The child smiled.
“A toy? You want to play?”
At some point, the child had also taken hold of a baseball bat.
“I don’t have much money, so I don’t own toys like that. But what are we supposed to do with it?”
Jin Eunsae widened their eyes and swung the Squeaky Hammer with all their strength.
This was a Setting that could contend even with the Metaverse Six Gods. There was no way they could lose to a child their own age.
“Are you stupid?”
With a bang, the Squeaky Hammer scattered before their eyes.
The child looked at Jin Eunsae as if he were pitiful.
“If a baseball bat and a squeaky hammer hit each other, which one do you think wins?”
Furious, Jin Eunsae recreated the 「Squeaky Hammer」 and swung it again.
Just as the bat and hammer were about to collide, Jin Eunsae’s blocks transformed once more.
Eunsae Blocks Third Form, 「Floating Spinning Top」.
It was a kind of feint using the Squeaky Hammer.
The Floating Spinning Top had deflected even attacks from Galateon, one of the Metaverse Six Gods. Reflecting an attack from a mere baseball bat should have been nothing.
Crack.
The spinning blocks shattered into pieces.
Jin Eunsae blinked blankly.
Then an awkward voice answered.
“Sorry for breaking your toy. I hit it gently.”
Jin Eunsae’s face turned red. It was the first humiliation they had suffered since becoming an Awakened One.
Jin Eunsae’s left eye emitted a white radiance.
First Stage of Awakening, 「Dismantling」.
No Awakened One was without a weakness.
They had to find out what their enemy was, somehow.
“Your eye is interesting. Like this?”
The child’s eyes began to shine gold as well.
First Stage of Awakening, 「Doubt」.
The moment Jin Eunsae met that golden light, nausea rose within them.
Something was looking inside them.
When they vomited something up with a retch, memories surged forth all at once.
「“Commander. Are we really going to continue this project? Seolha will not stand by quietly.”」
「“This is a necessary experiment to confirm the limits of ‘Awakening’.”」
Voices whose owners they could not identify.
A scene writhing before their eyes.
Countless children were trapped inside transparent incubators.
「Awakened One Enhancement Project.」
Every Awakened One was created by defying the System. Yet even those Awakened Ones could not fully escape the System.
So Rupture wondered.
What would happen if they could awaken “children,” who were barely affected by the System?
「“Was it a failure? You are the last one.”」
The project had failed, but Jin Eunsae had survived.
「“You are the final ‘child’.”」
After enduring brutal training, Jin Eunsae had finally succeeded in obtaining their Unique World.
「“I have a mission for you. Go defeat the Metaverse Six Gods.”」
That was how Jin Eunsae had come to be here.
When they suddenly came to their senses, the child was staring quietly at them.
“You must have had it hard.”
No. This was only natural.
It was what they had to do to survive.
“The adults bullied you.”
The surroundings suddenly turned pale.
Jin Eunsae shook their head.
“That’s why this Worldview was created.”
With reddened eyes, Jin Eunsae glared at the child.
They wanted to ask what the child knew to say something like that.
But no words came out.
As though he understood, the child quietly met Jin Eunsae’s gaze.
At that moment, Jin Eunsae realized.
They could not defeat this child.
[What are you doing? Kill that child.]
Jin Eunsae shook their head.
[Are you saying you will defy me?]
The voice turned threatening, and another wave of voices crashed over Jin Eunsae.
Voices filled with nothing but accusations and curses soon mixed together into a horrible noise.
「■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■―」
Jin Eunsae screamed soundlessly.
Stop. Stop it. Please...
Then, as if by magic, the noise stopped.
“Why are you listening to all that?”
A small hand, covered in wounds and scars, was covering Jin Eunsae’s ears.
Jin Eunsae blankly looked at the boy, then murmured blankly.
“I have to listen...”
“Why?”
“I’ll be scolded if I don’t.”
It was the first time Jin Eunsae had ever said such words.
The boy shook his head.
“Yeah, adults always say that. Kids should listen to adults. But adults aren’t always right. So...”
Jin Eunsae listened blankly.
All the other voices had disappeared, so why could they hear this child’s words so clearly?
“You can become an adult now too. It’s okay not to listen to things you don’t want to hear.”
Jin Eunsae’s lips trembled.
They wanted to speak, but no voice came out.
Instead, something that could have become words flowed down their cheeks and splattered onto the ground.
[What are you doing? Move. I said kill that child.]
Jin Eunsae flinched, and the child looked up.
“It’s been noisy for a while now.”
Leaving Jin Eunsae seated where they were, the child stood straight and stretched lightly.
The bat in the child’s right hand began to emit a pitch-black light. An endlessly ominous, dark aura.
A voice echoed through the air.
[Just what are you?]
“Can’t you tell?”
Fixing his eyes precisely on a point in the air, the child swung the baseball bat.
“I’m a child.”
The world split in two.
Footnotes:
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