Chapter 202 - Episode 27. Mad God (4)
Chapter 202: Episode 27. Mad God (4)
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He dreamed.
It was a long, magnificent dream.
A dream of a past he had certainly lived through, yet one that did not feel real.
‘Ah...’
The man writhed amid the memories flooding into him.
It was a cruel dream.
The terrible Tower that had appeared in the world where he lived one day. The memories of everything that had happened within it.
The stone that had made countless people return to the past.
People who fled to the past to escape their painful reality.
Companions who had defended the present until the very end, only to break apart helplessly.
“Let’s go, Yoonhwan.”
“Yoonhwan?”
“Don’t tell me... You’re thinking of going back?”
His friend’s voice.
“Go.”
“I’m sorry, Jaehwan.”
“Get out of here. Before I change my mind.”
His last Companion walking alone toward the Ninety-Ninth Floor.
A back he had always been able to trust and follow.
Blood ran through the folds of the cape.
“I’m truly glad you were in this world, Jaehwan.”
Then came the dreadful fall.
The instant his falling body struck the ground, Yoonhwan opened his eyes with a scream.
“Are you all right?”
Someone was gripping his shoulder.
When he raised his head, he saw a familiar face. His memories were confused.
A huge man with a massive axe slung across his back.
Who was this person again? Why was he even here?
“Commander?”
“Looks like you have come back to your senses.”
Kasim the Tyrant, the Fourth Division Commander of the 「Rupture」, stroked his thick beard and smiled.
“The memory restoration ended safely. Congratulations on passing the first gate.”
Memory restoration. Hearing those words brought many things back to him.
Yoonhwan quickly looked around.
Several new recruits of the 「Rupture」, including Yoonhwan, stood inside a rectangular room that resembled a laboratory.
He knew this place.
The Memory Restoration Chamber.
It was a sort of training facility created by the 「Rupture」 for new recruits.
“There are quite a few who go mad during memory restoration, but you are one of the lucky ones. So is your friend beside you.”
When he looked to the side, he saw the woman who had entered the Memory Restoration Chamber with him.
A woman named Han Seoyul. She had joined the 「Rupture」 as a new recruit alongside him.
Yoonhwan now knew who she was. She had been his Companion as they climbed the Tower together for more than ten years.
He tried to say something to her, then closed his mouth again. It did not feel real. Even if his memories had returned, it was not easy to suddenly accept that all of it had truly happened.
“Ah...”
Han Seoyul seemed to be in a similar state. Her cheeks were soaked with tears as she watched Yoonhwan with a complicated expression.
Cruel memories.
Memories that had to be remembered, making it all the more horrifying that they had returned.
The Tower of Nightmares. cultivation. The tutorial. Levels. Statuses...
Yoonhwan recalled what Kasim had told him just before entering the Memory Restoration Chamber.
“You are lucky. The odds of ‘Forced Awakening’ have risen quite a bit lately.”
“Rage toward the world. Hatred for levels and the Interface System. All of that is the source of Awakening.”
Those who failed while clearing the Tower’s tutorial, or souls defeated in the Tower’s Main Game, forgot most of their memories concerning the Tower.
That was why Yoonhwan had come to the Memory Restoration Chamber.
“Memory restoration is an essential course for them. It is a procedure that new recruits who failed while climbing the Tower must go through.”
“So they do not forget their hatred for cultivation.”
Yoonhwan slowly clenched and unclenched his fist.
‘Power is welling up inside me.’
A vitality completely different from levels or statuses was rising within him.
It felt as though he could clear the Tower of Nightmares from his memories several times over.
Yet Kasim did not look especially satisfied as he watched Yoonhwan.
“Still at Stage 1. Well, it is fine. There are ways to get you to Stage 3 somehow.”
“Can I become even stronger here?”
“Stage 1 Awakening can barely be called Awakening. The true power of Awakening only appears after you break through Stage 3.”
Stage 3.
“You will do well. We have recently brought in a new technique from 《Chaos》, so it will not take very long. You will gain the power to take revenge on the bastards who threw you into the Tower.”
“A new technique? What have you brought in this time?”
The words came from a sharp-looking man standing near the entrance to the Memory Restoration Chamber.
Kasim opened his mouth.
“Imai. What brings you here?”
The Third Division Commander of the 「Rupture」, Imai Kazuki, the Formless Swordmaster.
“I heard you had recruited some new soldiers, so I came to take a look.”
“You? A conservative?”
“Even so, I should see the new recruits’ faces, shouldn’t I? I am also a little curious about that damned new technique you brought in.”
Imai barely acknowledged Yoonhwan and Seoyul’s greetings before pressing Kasim again. Kasim shook his head and spoke.
“You seem to have come here already knowing. What is it you want to say?”
“I do not know what kind of technique you made, but another Awakening method does not suit the 「Rupture」. The only way to create true members of the 「Rupture」 is the method used during the Great Disappearance. They kill each other again and again. Only the few talented people who survive to the end become true Awakened Ones. That alone is the true way of Awakening.”
“Imai. That method takes too long and requires too many sacrifices. We cannot increase the number of new recruits if we keep doing things that way.”
“You and I both became Awakened Ones through that method. Are you going to start showing a sense of justice now?”
Kasim could not say anything.
He understood that feeling all too well.
The one who stopped Imai was a woman who threw open the door to the Memory Restoration Chamber’s control room.
“If you have a complaint, apply for a 「Rupture War」, Third Division Commander.”
“And what brings the illustrious Fifth Division Commander here?”
“The Memory Restoration Chamber was originally under my jurisdiction.”
A blonde doctor in a white coat.
She was Mirel, the Fifth Division Commander of the 「Rupture」.
“People like you are why the 「Rupture」 still cannot expand its influence.”
“Do you really think the 「Rupture」 will become stronger if you mindlessly mass-produce Awakened Ones?”
“What grounds do you have for being so certain that my Awakening method is ‘mass-produced’? I wonder whether you even know anything before interfering.”
“Well, it is obvious. You are planning to use the Awakening method created by that so-called ‘God Slayer,’ aren’t you? Throw children into an accelerated-time Tower and make them stab like mad.”
A strange light passed through Mirel’s eyes at Imai’s words.
It seemed he had heard something, at least.
“The Awakening method created by the God Slayer is relatively stable, but there is a problem with obtaining an Unique World. Those who Awaken through that method all receive different Unique Worlds. Some do not receive one at all.”
“I see. They cannot benefit from 「Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood」.”
“That is right.”
Yoonhwan, who had listened silently until then, spoke for the first time.
“Excuse me, but may I ask what you mean?”
“What an impudent brat. The Division Commanders are speaking, and you dare interrupt.”
Yoonhwan’s face went pale at Imai’s words.
Mirel spoke as though soothing him.
“Shut up, Imai. He has the right to ask. Kim Yoonhwan, what are you curious about?”
“...”
“It is all right. Please ask.”
Perhaps encouraged by Mirel’s smile, Yoonhwan, who had been hesitating, soon moved his lips softly.
“You said Awakened Ones possess different Unique Worlds...”
“Ordinary Awakened Ones have different Unique Worlds. Is that what you are curious about?”
“Yes.”
“It is understandable that you would be curious if you have only recently joined the Rupture. From your question, it seems you know the basics of Awakening.”
Yoonhwan answered with a flushed face.
“I heard it was a power humanity created to resist the System.”
“You know well. Do you also happen to know exactly what an ‘Unique World’ is?”
Yoonhwan recalled what he had learned during orientation.
“I understand it is a world Awakened Ones who have escaped the System arbitrarily create to maintain their sense of self. I also heard that one can naturally obtain it after becoming a Stage 3 Awakened One...”
“It appears your instructor taught you well.”
Mirel’s gaze briefly turned toward Kasim.
Kasim shrugged. Mirel spoke again.
“That is exactly right. Every Awakened One possesses their own ‘Unique World,’ according to their method of Awakening. That is ordinary ‘Awakening.’”
“When you say ordinary...”
“As you know, our 「Rupture」 is a little different. Awakened Ones who Awaken through the method we created all possess the same ‘Unique World.’ You will be the same.”
Yoonhwan’s expression stiffened slightly at those words.
He had barely escaped the uniform System, only to receive the same Unique World as everyone else?
As if noticing his doubt, Mirel spoke first.
“You are probably wondering this. If every Awakened One can create an ‘Unique World’ through their own power, why must they use the ‘Unique World’ provided by the 「Rupture」?”
“...”
“You may also be thinking this. Does possessing the same Unique World as everyone else not mean being absorbed into another kind of 《System》?”
“I-I was not thinking that far!”
Yoonhwan hurriedly protested.
Mirel laughed softly.
“There is no need to be flustered. Every Division Commander here once had the same doubts.”
“Not me, so leave me out of it.”
“Of course not, Imai. You are an idiot.”
“Hey.”
Ignoring him, Mirel continued.
“I heard you came from World 294, Kim Yoonhwan. Is that right?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“That works out well. I have been researching books from World 294 lately.”
Now that he thought about it, a small paperback book was tucked beneath Mirel’s arm.
『A Study of Eighth-Grader Syndrome』. It was a book Yoonhwan had never seen before.
“Kim Yoonhwan. Let us think of it this way. You are fifteen years old right now.”
It was an abrupt statement, but Yoonhwan decided to nod for now.
“For some reason, you lose your entire family. You can no longer play the computer games you usually enjoyed, and you can no longer read the comics you liked. To make matters worse, your home is taken away, leaving you without a place to live. Naturally, you become homeless.”
Yoonhwan imagined himself at fifteen, having lost his parents and become homeless.
“The world suddenly becomes an unkind place. Before you have even properly formed your values about the world, it demands that you become an adult. It tells you to act like an adult and behave like one.”
“...”
“Is that all? There are also jackals coveting your labor and the little property you have left. People who force their way into your loneliness in the name of protecting you, hoping to exploit your value as they please.”
The other Division Commanders had begun listening to Mirel’s story as well.
“In that situation, you must fight against the world with the wisdom of a fifteen-year-old. Yet there is one problem. You possess absurdly little information. Your knowledge of the ‘world’ amounts to nothing more than computer games and comics.”
“...”
“What do you think? Could you truly protect yourself well in that situation?”
Yoonhwan thought for a moment, then said, “You mean ordinary Awakened Ones are like fifteen-year-olds.”
“You understand quickly.”
“And you are saying that you can make me different from an ordinary fifteen-year-old.”
Mirel smiled in satisfaction, as though she had not expected him to think that far.
“That is right. We will give you the ‘values’ you need to protect yourself against adults.”
“Are those values the ‘Unique World’ the 「Rupture」 will give me?”
“Yes. We call that world 「Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood」.”
“That is a frightening name.”
“Should it not have at least that kind of name if you are going to fight wicked adults?”
It made sense.
“Awakened Ones who have only just obtained an Unique World are mentally more vulnerable than a fifteen-year-old boy. But things change if you can obtain a stable Unique World. You will become a fifteen-year-old more exceptional than anyone else. No adult will ever be able to look down on you.”
For only a moment, those words made Yoonhwan’s chest burn.
Imai, who had listened to the story for quite some time, interrupted.
“What a boring story. So what is this new technique you created?”
“I was just about to show it, so please stop interrupting.”
“You are only prickly with me.”
A short while later, Yoonhwan and Seoyul entered a small dome installed deeper within the Memory Restoration Chamber under Mirel’s guidance.
Before long, the dome’s entrance shut with an ominous sound. Seoyul looked at Yoonhwan with anxious eyes.
Mirel’s voice rang out.
“Do not be afraid. Every Awakened One of the 「Rupture」 has gone through this.”
The surrounding space rippled, and the location changed.
A damp, spacious area was packed with a crowd of people.
Voices came from somewhere. His head spun.
Yoonhwan held a sword.
Was this an illusion? Or was it real?
“Now, fight.”
The moment Mirel’s voice sounded, the swordfight began.
Yoonhwan cried out in alarm and dodged the blade swinging toward him.
It was a familiar face.
When he looked around, he saw many more faces like it.
Before long, Yoonhwan remembered their names. Sakamoto, the science teacher. Hwang Inchan, Sword Panic. Jay, the blacksmith...
They were members who had been with Yoonhwan in the Tower of Nightmares.
“Kill them all.”
A chill ran down his spine.
Only then did Yoonhwan understand where he was.
Kasim had told him before. Most current Rupture members had Awakened during the Great Disappearance seven hundred years ago. The Great Disappearance, where millions of humans killed one another. Countless Sacrifices offered up to mass-produce Awakened Ones.
Screams and groans rang out from all around him.
Watching that scene of utter chaos, Yoonhwan gradually realized it.
That was right.
This place was a recreation of the Great Disappearance from seven hundred years ago.
The only difference was that everyone there was someone from Yoonhwan’s memories.
“If you become the last one standing, you will receive the Rupture’s Unique World, 「Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood」. Then you will become a formidable fifteen-year-old capable of fighting against adults.”
Yoonhwan recalled Mirel’s smile as she pushed him into the dome.
Suddenly, goosebumps rose over his skin.
He wanted to say that this was not what he had wanted. He wanted to become stronger, but this was not what he had wanted.
The next moment, Yoonhwan felt a sharp pain in his back.
A damp, sticky liquid soaked his back.
Yoonhwan turned around and shuddered.
There stood the face he had missed so desperately.
“J-Jaehwan.”
A groan escaped him.
The blade dug in deeper.
“Jaehwan...!”
Yoonhwan knew this was an illusion.
His only friend would never stab him.
Yet part of him could not be certain.
Was this truly an illusion?
“Do not worry. You will feel pain, but you do not truly die here even if you die. Everything will simply begin again.”
He had vaguely assumed that would be the case.
Still, Yoonhwan was afraid.
This scenery was an illusion. But...
“Remember this. You cannot leave that place until you become the last one standing.”
Whether this was an illusion or not was not very important.
There was something else that was truly frightening.
At that moment, Yoonhwan realized it.
Whether that Jaehwan was real or not, the instant he killed him, Yoonhwan himself would become something completely different from who he had been.
He had to kill the friend he cherished more than anyone.
Only by killing that friend could he gain the power to take revenge on the world.
Perhaps believing Yoonhwan had already become incapable of fighting after falling, Jaehwan was focused on killing the others.
Amid the people’s screams, Jaehwan’s defenseless back was visible.
Yoonhwan slowly rose to his feet.
As his line of sight rose, Jaehwan’s back became clearer.
It was the back he had trusted and followed so completely. The back of the person he trusted more than anyone.
Countless memories passed through that back.
The terrible memories of the Tower.
The malice that had surged toward his weak self.
Despair and grief.
Rage.
Strength gradually entered the hand holding his sword.
Yoonhwan slowly stepped forward.
Footnotes:
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