Chapter 734 – The First Wish, Kim Sanghyun (1)
—
– Han Kain
While observing Sanghyun, I heard a significant remark from Agent Astear.
“Bow down to the Son of Dawn. He fell from the heavens, and some believe he is a member preventing enlightenment.”
A member preventing enlightenment.
It’s clear that the existing information about the Son of Dawn is filled with Christian metaphors, but that phrase is heavily Buddhist.
Above all, I feel like I’ve heard this term somewhere.
So…
I remembered.
— Flap!
“If the belongings of another can be yours, then you may also be another.”
The power of the second sentence in the Book of the Avatar emanates, and a shining doppelgänger appears.
Soon, another me, born from a single root, approaches Ahri, who had been nodding off on the table.
“Ahri.”
“Hmm… already shift change – eek!”
“…”
“You startled me! You should say something before appearing as a doppelgänger!”
“… A member preventing enlightenment. Does that expression sound familiar?”
Ahri tilted her head in confusion and drew something on the whiteboard.
* Hidden NPCs of the 3rd Floor
1. 불령해탈 (Not allowing liberation)
“This? 불령해탈. It’s one of the hidden elements of the hotel.”
“…”
“Why the sudden curiosity? Aren’t we in the midst of the Cursed Room?”
Ahri seemed puzzled as to why I was suddenly asking about hidden elements; after all, until now, the narrative inside the Cursed Room and the hotel itself had been independent.
The hotel transcends reality, and what happens in the Cursed Room is completely disconnected from the hotel itself.
But now, the Son of Dawn is a member of something that doesn’t allow liberation, and that something is part of the hotel’s hidden elements.
With that understanding, Astear’s comments regarding the prisoner felt entirely different.
“The Son of Dawn came down from the heavens for humanity.”
Upon reaching the 3rd floor, the Cursed Room began to intertwine with the hotel itself.
“So this heaven was this heaven.”
“What are you talking about?”
The prisoner in Room 301 imitated ascension and intruded into heaven.
The prisoner in Room 302 was originally a being that belonged to the hotel’s domain, the heaven!
“I’ll focus on observing.”
“What? Kain, what about the explanations?”
I retracted the doppelgänger.
“No, hey! Don’t just throw out cryptic hints and then go back to the telescope!”
*
– Kim Sanghyun
I landed on an unknown alien planet.
— Whooosh…!
As soon as I opened the hatch, I was met with a massive snowstorm.
Even in the specially designed space suit from the Administration Bureau, my whole body shook like a reed.
Naturally, I couldn’t communicate verbally in such weather, but it was possible to talk through the communication equipment included in the suit’s PLSS (Primary Life Support System).
— Crackle!
“Astear! There’s a snowstorm everywhere. Where should I go?”
— Crackle!
No response.
“Astear?”
I felt a bit panicked, thinking there might be something wrong with the communication equipment, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
“… I don’t know.”
It was because he didn’t know where to go.
“Isn’t there something like a map? The coordinates are -”
Then I realized I was sounding ridiculous.
This isn’t some remote area on Earth; it’s an unidentified alien planet!
There’s no way there’d be a map here.
— Crackle!
David’s communication came through.
“Alright, let’s step outside and walk. Something will come up as we move.”
That sounded absurd.
“Are you saying we should walk aimlessly without deciding where to go? Is that even logical?”
“Surely the Son of Dawn will guide us.”
When he said that, I found myself with no arguments left.
Suddenly, I realized that I really wasn’t cut out for this occult stuff.
When taking action A, there should be a reason.
When phenomenon B occurs, we ought to ponder what the cause is.
I’ve lived my whole life in the realm of logic and science, and now I’m hearing, “Just move. The divine will guide us.”…!
It was hard to accept, but there wasn’t much else I could do.
“… Then let’s go.”
“Wait! Timothy! Fix my visor for me.”
“James, you messed up again.”
“Haha, thanks.”
Timothy?
Wasn’t that Yujin?
*
.
.
.
Exactly 2 hours, 47 minutes, and 22 seconds after landing on the alien planet.
— Crackle!
“Is anyone there?”
— Crackle!
“Are you not hearing me?”
Everyone had vanished.
We were constantly checking each other’s locations and regularly communicating!
As I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them, I found myself alone, struggling through the relentless snowstorm.
It felt like I was possessed by a ghost.
No, wait, given that this is a realm of divine beings, should I say I was possessed by a god?
“…”
I knew from the beginning that sacrifice was part of the deal.
The Administration Bureau had been honest about the possibility of not returning alive, and I willingly accepted the risks.
But now that I found myself alone, an indescribable fear washed over me.
— Whoosh!
Another 20 minutes passed.
At some point, my vision became blurry, and I couldn’t see well.
It seems the relentless snowstorm had caused some issues with the visor’s polarizing filter, and I didn’t know how much longer I could endure.
Since earlier, I’d been hearing a strange voice in my ear.
‘… You…’
Feeling like a castaway on a horrifying alien planet, I said, “Huff…! Huff! Is really no one around?”
— Crackle!
“Johnny, you still holding up?”
At that moment, the long-awaited reply from a colleague returned.
“Yujin!”
Feeling relieved at his voice, I turned my gaze, only to be taken aback.
He was not only helmetless but also devoid of his space suit.
Watching him walk around casually without any protection made me doubt if this place was really Earth.
“Did you…take off your space suit?”
“Sorry, sorry. It felt too cumbersome.”
According to the sensors, the surrounding temperature was minus 242 degrees, and the atmosphere was unbreathable.
Besides, how is he communicating without a suit?
“…”
Let’s not get bogged down in the details.
He’s an agent, and agents are half-monster, half-human.
This one seems especially far removed from humanity.
Just then, Yujin suddenly brought up something bizarre.
“Johnny, since none of our teammates are here, there’s something I want to ask you.”
“… Now?”
Now, what could he possibly want to ask me?
On this god-forsaken alien planet?
“Yeah. It’s got to be now. At this moment, even the Son of Dawn can’t interfere.”
Yujin’s demeanor, with his black hair waving in the wind, seemed enthusiastic, but there was an awe-inspiring weight behind it that demanded respect.
I suddenly felt that Yujin appeared to be incredibly old.
Perhaps even older than Pioneer Cromwell.
“What do you think about the Son of Dawn?”
“… As you know, I was an ordinary human before joining the project. I don’t know much about the Son of Dawn, but I know you guys treat him like a god.”
“A god… that isn’t wrong.”
“Astear mentioned that the Son of Dawn has saved humanity multiple times.”
“That’s right. He’s saved humanity more than ten times, if you count the ones I know of. He sent angels down to prevent disasters and twisted causality to help too.”
“Is that so?”
“If you think the Administration Bureau serves an unknown extraterrestrial being, it might sound disturbing, but they do have their reasons.”
Does Yujin worship the Son of Dawn too?
No, that’s not it.
“Let’s change perspectives. The processes we’ve discussed could also be viewed as the work of foreign gods manipulating humanity to suit their own whims.”
“If I’m understanding correctly, it seems he helped humanity for an unfathomable amount of time…”
“A tremendous amount of time? Ah, beyond ten histories, huh?”
Beyond ten histories.
What does that even mean?
“It’s an inconceivably long time for a person. Even the Administration Bureau believes in the Son of Dawn enough for it to become the mainstream opinion. By the way, have you heard of Marapasuncheon?”
“First time hearing it.”
“It’s the divine realm in Buddhism. Simply put, it’s the domain of the gods. They say one day in Marapasuncheon equals 37.76 billion human years.”
“…”
“Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
“The fact that he’s helped humanity over more than ten histories. To us, that’s an absurdly long time, but for the Son of Dawn, it may not be all that long.”
Yujin smiled widely.
It felt like an adult complimenting a child for getting a simple problem right.
This time, I took the initiative to speak.
“Do you deny the Son of Dawn?”
“Deny him? Well, I’d rather look at things objectively than make a declaration of acceptance or denial.”
“Objectively?”
“I know more than the Administration Bureau about certain facts they don’t.”
This statement felt rather peculiar.
It sounded as if he was claiming to be a separate entity from the Administration Bureau.
“The Son of Dawn isn’t an evil being. If we were to categorize him as good or evil, he skews towards the good. It’s also true that he has goodwill towards humanity.”
“… If what you’re saying is true and he’s genuinely benevolent towards us, isn’t the Administration Bureau’s stance valid?”
The youth slightly twisted the corners of his mouth.
“You’re missing something.”
“…?”
“Johnny, have you ever raised a dog?”
“I have. I had a German Shepherd about 15 years ago.”
“A German Shepherd. Intelligent, physically capable, and above all, devoted to people. What a fine breed.”
Out of nowhere, we’re discussing dogs?
What could he possibly be getting at?
“Dogs trace back to wolves. Before civilization arose, back in the prehistoric era, during the Ice Age, some wolves prowled around human settlements. People could make fire back then and had no shortage of food.”
“Seems like you’re talking about something you witnessed firsthand.”
“We tamed the wolves. Some good-tempered, obedient wolves were allowed to sit by the campfire and were given meat. The ones who were bad-tempered and violent? Well, they were all killed.”
“…”
“Now, millennia later, a pack of wolves went insane. They had something wrong in their brains and when they met people, their oxytocin levels rose by 57%. In other words, they were afflicted with a disease that made them love humans.”
“…”
“Thus, we began calling these crazed wolves dogs, and say dogs are humans’ best friends.”
“… What are you trying to say?”
“There’s a difference between love exchanged in an equal relationship and love that is given from above. The Son of Dawn undoubtedly loves and cherishes humanity. I can vouch for that. But what kind of love is that?”
At that moment, I realized Yujin’s form was slowly becoming blurry.
“Yujin? Yujin? Where are you suddenly going -”
“Seeing is believing. From now on, you’ll directly experience what the love of the great one is.”
.
.
.
Once again, I found myself alone in that desolate world.
Right when I felt a more intense fear creeping in due to his ominous warning—
— Whooosh…!
The snowstorm ceased.
Warm light began to shine down from the sky, and the space suit’s sensor indicated that the surrounding environment was now suitable for humans.
I heard an incredibly benevolent voice.
‘… I have prepared warmth for you. O wretched one, shed your heavy and coarse garments…’
A blurry vision began to envelop me.
A lush green meadow, a paradise-like land.
A giant in pure white loomed over me.
His knees were higher than the clouds, and his feet were larger than lakes.
The majesty in his voice was no different from that of an angel; he truly was a great being.
Dazed, I bowed my head with my space suit still on.
Then, the benevolent giant shook his head, as if I hadn’t done enough yet.
‘… You merely shed the skin covering your body…’
It’s not over just because I took off my space suit?
As I humbly bowed my head, seeking an answer, it soon returned.
‘… Rejoice, for I have quieted your fears and devoured your wickedness. Know that you bear no more shackles…’
Feeling a sense of vertigo, I raised my head to see a beam of divine light shining down from the heavens. It felt as if I was receiving a lofty command, much like Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.
Just one command.
‘… Do as you wish…’
I shed the shackles of humility.
I shed the shackles of benevolence.
I shed the shackles of kindness.
I shed the shackles of patience.
I shed the shackles of purity.
I shed the shackles of temperance.
I shed the shackles of diligence.
Casting off the seven virtues shackles devised by foolish humans revealed my true self hidden beneath.
—
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