“Profile.”
[Username: X X]
[Age: XX years old]
[Data has been corrupted.]
“Ha······.”
The System Window makes me sigh.
Every time I look at it, it feels suffocating and overwhelming.
But I’ve never lost hope, not even once.
It’s not ‘deleted’ data, it’s ‘corrupted.’
That means there’s a way to restore it.
The problem is that the path to restoration is long and treacherous…
“There is no such thing as impossible.”
It’s not impossible.
I confirmed that fact with the King of Hell, so it’s certain.
If restoration had been impossible from the start, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of having my existence erased to return to the current world.
Even if I returned, living a life where I wouldn’t be remembered by the heroines would be more terrifying than death.
“What happened…”
In the face of uncertainty,
The path I’ve walked flashes by like a movie reel.
The things I’ve left abandoned in the rifts of dimensions come to mind.
I have no regrets.
But the bitterness remains.
.
.
.
It’s dark.
It’s cold.
And it pierces me.
“Where am I?”
As soon as I ponder that question in my mind,
I realize it’s a foolish one.
This is not ‘somewhere.’
This place is not just a location,
But could be considered both nowhere and everywhere.
A space where space does not exist.
A mere human cannot perceive it.
Instead of leaping to the next dimension, I stumbled and fell into a deep abyss.
A rift in time and space.
“Mi Jeong······.”
As all my senses dull and slowly fade,
I can still distinctly feel the tiny hand I hold tightly in mine, never letting go.
And then, a small hand gripping mine with determination.
I will never let go.
Wherever I go, Mi Jeong is there, and wherever Mi Jeong goes, I am there.
Even if we die, we are together.
Now, Mi Jeong has become a part of me.
“Is there no way······.”
But that doesn’t mean I want to die together.
If possible,
If there is a way, I will save at least Mi Jeong.
I close my eyes (not that it makes much difference),
Focusing all my efforts on assessing the situation.
With hands going numb and seemingly fading, I fumble and finally grab Longinus’ Spear.
I keep pressing buttons,
But soon realize it’s useless.
“There’s no mana.”
There is no mana.
It’s not exhausted; it just doesn’t exist.
It seems that mana cannot exist in the rift of dimensions.
“It’s not just mana. I can’t feel anything at all.”
Of course,
The rift of dimensions consists of the void.
Literally, there is nothing.
No matter or even the concept of time and space exists here.
If someone were to ask how we are alive in this place with no air,
We are not alive.
But that doesn’t mean we are dead.
We simply ‘do not exist’ here.
In a place where there is nothing, nothing can ‘observe’ us.
We do not exist nor can we exist.
Only the parts of Mi Jeong that touch me are vaguely conceptualized through our two bodies.
I exist thanks to Mi Jeong,
And Mi Jeong exists because I am here.
In this situation, where we barely hold on, proving each other’s existence,
The moment I let go of my hand, we will both become Mia and completely vanish.
“Is the soul an exception to that rule?”
It may seem somewhat regular, but upon scrutiny, there are many contradictions.
After all, this is a world where magic that unconditionally increases energy exists.
Yet there was one thing relatively free from rules, and that is the soul.
“Soul!”
At that moment,
I found a clue.
I should have thought of it sooner.
I began to focus immediately, recalling the sensation when the God of Underworld entered me,
And started to delve inward.
Everyone carries a world within themselves.
Regardless of whether their level is low or high.
Even if they never realize it throughout their lives, it always exists.
As long as the existence of ‘me’ still exists,
That world will not disappear.
“Huh······.”
Just as I was reflecting on that teaching,
Suddenly, air fills my lungs, and a chill runs across my skin, causing a soft yet warm sensation in my hand to make me shiver.
A voice comes out!
I can breathe!
I am alive!
“Mi Jeong!”
“······Ugh.”
I turn to see the girl who tightly holds my hand and embrace her tightly.
Her small, frail body floats in midair.
Though Mi Jeong lets out a slight cry of discomfort, I was too glad to care about controlling my strength.
“······I’m going to break, you know.”
“I’m sorry.”
I manage to subdue my overflowing emotions and let Mi Jeong down.
Only then do I notice the scenery around us.
“······Wow.”
“Welcome. To my inner world.”
The vast field covered entirely in white snow.
It’s a place that seems familiar.
The ‘inner world’ that the God of Underworld guided me to.
“······Yoo Jin, the inside feels like this.”
Crunch crunch.
Mi Jeong walks forward, stepping on the snow.
I follow her, inhaling the cold air.
“I guess just because it’s called ‘my inner world’ doesn’t mean I can manipulate it at will.”
I don’t know if it’s because my level is low or if it’s impossible by default,
But I seem to be just a humble resident in this place, despite being the owner of this world.
A desolate snowy plain with no buildings or trees.
The blizzard rages on relentlessly, making it difficult to see just a step ahead, yet one spot shines with sunlight.
Mi Jeong and I, enchanted, walked toward that light.
“What’s that?”
“That’s······.”
Finally, we discover four flowers.
I try to answer Mi Jeong’s question, but another word gets caught in my throat.
What could that possibly be?
I still don’t know anything about this world.
Perhaps this is just an illusion,
And our true selves are perishing in the dimension rift.
Maybe it’s just a bittersweet dream that lasts forever.
But,
I feel an inexplicable certainty.
I have a strong intuition that the answer lies here.
Borrowing the words of the God of Underworld,
I feel a strong attraction from those flowers.
Of course, not in the physical sense.
“What the heck are those… Huh?! Hey!!!”
“······What?”
Tap.
At that moment, Mi Jeong confidently plucks a red camellia, holding it in her hand.
I rush over in shock to grab her, but it’s already too late.
“What are you doing?!”
“······The flowers are meant to be picked, aren’t they?”
“······.”
Mi Jeong says this calmly, tilting her head.
I momentarily freeze, unable to argue against her words.
It feels like I’ve been hit over the head.
“Now that I think about it, I never thought to pick one.”
Instead of considering it, I had only been observing from afar, wondering what they could be.
I never dared to think about picking it even once.
Mi Jeong is right.
The flowers are beautiful just blooming in the field,
But they are most beautiful when picked by someone and meaningfully used.
“Ah······.”
Only then did I realize.
The flowers were facing me, not the sky where the sunlight shone.
Even if I take one step forward, it remains the same.
The flowers slowly sway, still looking at me.
As if pleading.
As if being drawn to me.
I placed the camellia Mi Jeong handed me gently in my hands,
Kneeled down, and reached out to the other flowers.
Yellow jasmine.
Blue cyclamen.
And black rose.
Though I pricked my hand on the thorns, I didn’t care.
Thus, four flowers filled my arms.
Each one shining with its unique colors.
While I stood there, confused about what to do, holding all four flowers,
“Ah?!”
The flowers vanished in an instant.
In my arms, only the red camellia remained.
The others had certainly disappeared.
Yet, I still feel as though something is in my embrace.
And that was not an illusion.
“Hehe. You’re just now noticing?”
“······?!”
“Don’t look back. Keep looking ahead. Just look forward.”
A warm sensation slides over my shoulders.
And a chilling voice whispers from behind me.
With delicate yet firm hands caressing my cheek, I can’t turn around.
“Yerina?”
“I’m here too······ you idiot.”
The hands only spread further.
Wrapping around my waist, the soft sensation leans against me.
Jill entwines herself around my waist, preventing me from turning back.
“I’m not resenting you, so don’t be too scared.”
Then, Yulia’s gentle touch wraps around my hand and pushes it forward.
Though I can’t see them, only their voices and breaths and touches remain,
It’s clear who they are.
“You guys······.”
“That’s right.”
Even if the voices are the same, the tone and emotion behind them are different.
These are the heroines from the timelines I abandoned.
The ones I thought had vanished.
“We didn’t disappear.”
How many times have I begged, not wanting to lose them as I sent them away?
How many times have I longed to see them again while missing past iterations I could never return to?
Perhaps those feelings gathered together to form a miracle.
The ones I remember are here.
My past is holding me from behind.
In each breath of their voices lie a blend of resentment, anger, obsession, affection, and purity.
“When did this begin?”
“From the start. We were here from the beginning.”
“From the very beginning… and I didn’t know that…”
“We didn’t disappear. Your efforts weren’t in vain. We stayed here, always with you, Yoo Jin. Sometimes quietly cheering, sometimes helping… ”
It wasn’t without meaning.
The failed timelines did not vanish.
Unbeknownst to me, they had gathered in my inner world.
I thought I had only saved three.
But the others were all within me.
“I wanted to see you all…”
“But that doesn’t mean you need to look back. We’re always with you, Yoo Jin. Now, shall we look ahead?”
“Look ahead…”
Yulia unfolds my palm, making it face up.
A hand blocking the sunlight.
The sky is huge, and this small hand cannot cover it all.
“I’m going to move this world from now on, Yoo Jin.”
“How…?”
“It’s simple. You’re the master of this world. This world is you. It’s just a matter of moving your own things as you please.”
“But in here, I’m just a little speck of dust…”
“Exactly.”
“······?!”
At that moment,
The voices and touches binding me from behind suddenly disappear.
What remains are the four flowers in my arms.
And only Mi Jeong, who clings to my sleeves.
My hand still stretches toward the sky.
As if trying to cover the sky with this little hand,
Like a foolish child…
What am I in this world?
Small.
Infinitely small.
Even if I stomp my feet, I barely make a footprint.
On the other hand, this world is enormous.
So how big is it?
That question pops into my mind.
And then I find the answer.
‘Infinite.’
The blizzard clears.
My line of sight expands.
At the same time, this world gradually expands too.
I remain small,
But my inner world expands infinitely.
The once void rift fills with ‘me.’
The darkness once there is flooded with light.
How far will it expand?
Until it collides!
Until I reach somewhere!
Until I surpass the seemingly infinite void and reach another place!
“Huh?”
But at that very moment,
My inner world suddenly plunges into pitch darkness.
And I lose consciousness.
[Achievement Unlocked]
[New-
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|This guy’s insane|
|Human? Is this? Are they in their right mind?|
|There are traces of the King of Hell… Isn’t he a puppet of the King?|
The man and girl lay unconscious.
Eyes are fixed on the two.
Concerned whispers emerge from all around.
No matter how much I look, this is a human body.
Even a living body that still breathes.
Not a spiritual body nor a demon, but a living body brought here.
How is that even possible?
No matter how you open the passage, the living are not supposed to enter this place.
Surprisingly, the answer is clear.
|You mean they just crossed over? By themselves? With their own power?|
|What do you think the dimensional rift is?!|
|I simply told you what I saw…|
They crossed over by their own.
Of course, there’s nothing in the dimensional rift, so there’s no way to walk or fly through it.
Sailing through the void of nothingness,
Is something only beings of the realm of impossibilities could do.
|That can’t be! That’s a territory only the great ones can accomplish!|
|Is Draken the one who dragged them here?|
|What’s his intent?|
|I don’t know… handle it however you like, Fury.|
|Understood, elders.|
Various discussions erupted busily,
But no matter how much time passed, a consensus never emerged; it only became muddled.
|In any case… Welcome to the demon world, human.|
For now, all they could do was wait for the human who had arrived in this strange world to awaken.
