Chapter 619 – The Stolen World (34)
—
– Kim Ahri
A bountiful plain filled with golden waves of ripe crops.
As I stepped aboard the Ark of the past Wisdom and saw the internal scenery, that was the thought that crossed my mind.
I knew each Ark had a different internal structure, but seeing it directly was quite fascinating.
“Wow! It’s beautiful! What do you think, Ari?”
“Pretty much the same.”
After Kain finished his negotiations with the past Wisdom, Dominator and I boarded the Ark, avoiding the stone plate.
According to the plan, I intended to get off midway and enter the Delight Hotel.
Dominator—Oswald murmured,
“It’s confusing.”
“…”
“In the blink of an eye, information that’s hard to digest has poured in. Before I knew it, I was dismantling the Ark that I thought was our salvation.”
“It was a rational choice.”
“Sure was. A decision reached after the utmost logical consideration.”
And then there was a brief silence.
This silence didn’t last long.
“Do you really think your comrade can suppress the Moon?”
“…”
“We don’t have another Ark. If we fail, there won’t be a second chance.”
“That’s true.”
“Can we turn back time again?”
“Not sure…”
In the worst-case scenario, the possibility to turn back might not be zero.
The price of the first reverse cycle was returning from being a returner to being a mortal.
What would the price be for the second reverse cycle?
Permanent death?
I still have one ticket left from breaking through the second floor.
Even if Mooksung dies, I could use the ticket to bring him back.
… Let’s avoid such ominous possibilities as much as we can.
“Doing it twice seems tough. Well, it’s not like we can perform such a tremendous miracle of turning back time continuously…”
Soon enough, Oswald walked through the wheat fields and gestured for me to follow.
As I walked behind him, I suddenly remembered the day I ranked up to being the Silent One.
On that day, I learned many truths about the world, including the existence of the Moon.
Wasn’t it Oswald who took me underground back then?
“Ari.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you remember what I told you the first day we met?”
“What are you talking about?”
A small piece of white paper popped out from Oswald’s clothes.
“This! It was originally a photo. About 7 or 8 months ago.”
“…”
“As soon as you returned, the photo turned into this white paper.”
A memory from a time long past.
“There used to be a person in this photo. I don’t know who it was. I used to know, but now I’ve forgotten.”
“…”
“Do you know who was in the photo?”
“A betrayer of humanity. The one you killed countless times in the repeating loops.”
“That’s what I told you. I’m asking for your information.”
As Oswald walked slowly among the wheat fields, he turned around to meet my gaze.
“I have this thought. Right now, we are aboard the Ark of the past Wisdom, right? Once we get off here, I feel like I’ll forget everything about the ‘young Wisdom’—their appearance and name.”
So, this moment has finally come.
Oswald has finally realized that the betrayer of humanity is Kain’s distant past.
Given the timing of when the photo changed, he must have suspected that the betrayer of humanity was ‘the one who came out of the hotel with me’ from the beginning.
He just wasn’t sure which of my companions it was until today.
“Phew…”
Instinctively summoning an irregular polyhedron, I locked eyes with Oswald.
Should I take him out right here if things go sideways?
Dominator’s gaze slowly shifted towards the polyhedron, but he didn’t seem to have any thoughts of fighting me.
“I’ve told you one lie.”
“What?”
“I wasn’t the one who killed the researcher. That person’s ongoing extermination has been inherited by a Silent One from generation to generation.”
‘The researcher’—
The embodiment of Kain’s first life and a living secret.
“I thought you might react more if I said I killed them.”
“And?”
“After the photo turned into meaningless paper, I scoured all the remaining records. I thought I had to find and kill the researcher again.”
“…”
“Thanks to that, I obtained various information about him.”
The information Dominator found out about the researcher:
“A person who sees most humans as mere tools.”
“Sounds like an ordinary Bureau agent.”
“A person who looks down on faith, trust, and belief. He finds such words laughable.”
“…”
“A person who explored the secrets of the world more deeply than anyone else.”
“I’m curious about many things.”
“A person who gained the power to resist annihilation.”
“… That’s pretty impressive.”
“There were also plenty of negative records. Nothing good.”
After letting out a big sigh, I finally replied,
“Ugh… So what? Are you trying to sow discord or something?”
“Do I seem like that shallow of a person to you?”
“If not, then?”
“Sow discord? I have no intention of doing that. It wouldn’t work anyway, and more importantly…”
“More importantly?”
“The probability of the young Wisdom backstabbing me is higher than me backstabbing the young Wisdom, don’t you think?”
Honestly, I have to admit that this is true!
After a brief silence, Dominator muttered softly,
“Living for a long time has given me an eye for observing people.”
“…”
“It’s not some kind of superpower. To borrow a phrase popular these days, it’s big data.”
“So?”
“The young Wisdom is not an evil person.”
“Huh?”
This was slightly surprising as it contradicted the harsh criticisms of the researcher I’d heard so far.
“Of course, I also have my suspicions. The young Wisdom must not have told me all the truth.”
“…”
“There are many things hidden. They probably have their own schemes.”
It’s worth noting that Dominator is also one of the Silent Ones who have supported the Bureau for many years.
He’s not someone who wouldn’t be aware of Kain’s tricks.
“That’s fine. At some point, I’ve gained confidence. While the young Wisdom has schemes, it’s not out of malice.”
“…”
“I feel like they are drawing a path for everyone. That’s the sense I got.”
“It’s a relief to hear you think that.”
That was sincere.
“On the flip side, I’m feeling anxious.”
“Anxious?”
“While the young Wisdom isn’t evil, what about the researcher?”
What a strange way of speaking.
Though Dominator knows the researcher is Kain’s distant past, he still speaks as if separating the researcher from Kain in the present.
“Ari.”
“…”
“Ari.”
“I’m listening.”
“I don’t think the researcher just vanished without a trace, replaced by the young Wisdom.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Just a feeling. But my intuition is pretty accurate.”
“…”
“There’s something more about the researcher.”
“…”
“I wanted to let you know to keep your guard up until the very last moment.”
Finishing that statement, Dominator drifted away somewhere.
Having decided to dismantle the Ark and restore the Bureau, he must have quite a bit to do.
*
After being alone for about 30 minutes, another person appeared before me.
A Caucasian man in his early 50s.
The moment our eyes met, I instinctively sensed that this was the true form of the past Wisdom.
“We’ve arrived at Pioneer. If you enter the hotel immediately, you should be able to avoid the judgment of the stone plate. What happens next is up to you.”
Since we arrived safely, I guess I should express my gratitude?
“Thanks.”
The past Wisdom gazed quietly at the plain and said,
“I overheard your conversation with Dominator earlier.”
“Oh, come on, eavesdropping is rude, don’t you think?”
“The content wasn’t personal at all. Besides, this is my home.”
That’s fair enough.
His next words were quite unexpected.
“Do you perhaps know? All participants are said to have made wishes at the hotel.”
“Wishes? You mean the ones we used for escaping the second floor?”
“I’m not talking about that. I’m referring to the empty wishes spoken before everything began.”
Before escaping, before all this began, was there such a thing?
“We wished at the hotel and then forgot that we ever wished. It’s quite the sad tale.”
A memory from long ago flickered in my mind.
The tale Kain heard after solving the last movie in the hotel cinema.
The reason why the third floor of the hotel exists.
“‘A few years ago, I started having dreams. Dreams of my past self, where I endlessly pursued unreachable goals.
“For the sake of my dream, I was ready to do anything. No matter how tough or painful it was. But now, I don’t even know what that dream is.’”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I got that thought while listening to you and Dominator. Just think about it.”
Every participant had their own desires before entering the hotel.
What wish did Kain make at the hotel?
Let’s re-evaluate the premise first.
Was it Kain who wished? Or was it the researcher?
Is there any significance in distinguishing between the two?
“…”
What wish did I make?
Thinking straightforwardly, it would be something like the resurrection of Miro or the stability of the world, right?
Suddenly, I had this thought.
Of course, I wished for such things, but there was also something else.
A somewhat personal wish.
It was something not for the world or Miro, but something for ‘myself.’
It seems there was some moment during which I also forgot about myself.
*
— Crash!
As soon as I entered the Delight Hotel’s first floor, that was the sound I heard.
Concretes blocks, at least hundreds of them, were flying around at shocking speed!
Watching the astonishing scene of the Delight Hotel being reconstructed in real-time instantly cleared the complex thoughts that had been bothering me.
Kain had vaguely explained it, but does this even make sense?
— Bang!
Surprised by the tremendous vibration resembling thunder, I was rolling on the ground when a rough voice rang out.
“Head toward the elevator!”
Frantically running, I moved to the Pioneer’s first floor and sat dumbfounded at the refreshment table, surveying my surroundings.
Cha Jinchul and Park Seungyub had arrived at the hotel before me.
Unlike myself, who wasted time boarding the Ark of the past Wisdom to avoid the stone plate, they had acted quickly.
“Where is everyone?”
“The folks from Australia already boarded a plane. They’ll arrive tomorrow.”
“What about Eunsol?”
“She temporarily went out after getting a message from Sophia.”
Sophia?
Looks like she survived without any issues.
“Ari dear, when will Kain-hyung come?”
“I wonder. I thought he would come with you.”
“Kain talked to the past Wisdom and went somewhere else. I heard he’s going to meet Patrick to negotiate some ‘Pact.’ By the way, Seungyub.”
“Yeah?”
“Kain said you awakened before he turned back time?”
“R-really?”
“Is it still there?”
“Yeah.”
Seems like the number of awakenings has been restored while reversing time.
That’s a relief.
…
The next morning, colleagues who were in Australia began returning one by one.
When I made eye contact with Mooksung, who was smiling broadly, I couldn’t find the words to speak.
Can I explain this strange feeling to anyone else?
I felt like a person had diminished.
Like I was drifting away from the focus of the world.
A sense of being fundamentally lowered, a status that couldn’t even be compared to physical size.
Mooksung has reverted back to a mortal’s fate.
In that moment, I lost my words and hesitated, and Mooksung just grinned.
As if to say, “It’s nothing to worry about.”
“Ari! Why are you standing there like a statue? I’m starving! Let’s have some hotel food, it’s been a while!”
The wink paired with that line was pretty clear.
Don’t bring up silly stuff to others.
He probably downplayed it to the other comrades, calling it simple aging.
He’s likely to claim that it could be easily fixed with the Bureau’s assistance, no doubt.
But he can’t keep it under wraps forever.
As time passes, the insights of my colleagues are becoming sharper, they’ll eventually notice Mooksung’s changes.
However, that day doesn’t have to be today.
*
By evening, Kain finally returned after completing all negotiations.
— Snap!
“Here, this is the deal I reached with the plunderers.”
Everyone locked their lips tight and gazed at the whiteboard.
If I over-exaggerate, it was basically a negotiation to hand over the Earth to the plunderers!
What’s with this proud announcement?
If Kain weren’t Kain, I would have immediately chained him up and interrogated him about why he betrayed humanity ‘again’!
Eventually, Eunsol couldn’t hold back and asked, “Is this really a crazy negotiation?”
— Squeak!
As Kain drew a black line on the whiteboard with a grin, I found myself chuckling inwardly.
Yeah, yeah, Kain!
I know you’re smart and plotting the big picture, but must you always deliver it in a way that chills people’s hearts?
Is this too much showmanship?
At this rate, will you ‘really’ betray humanity?
“…”
Calm down.
Every time I lay eyes on Kain, that phrase ‘betrayer of humanity’ keeps popping into my head.
Dominator and the past Wisdom had said some chilling words.
Standing before the whiteboard, Kain explained his actual plan for a considerable time.
“So, how does it feel to hear the real plan?”
The first question from Seungyub, who was sitting with his mouth slightly agape, represented all our concerns.
“So… you mean the Moon has to devour all the plunderers?”
“Exactly.”
“C-how is that beneficial to the plunderers?!”
“The pain is only temporary.”
It was quite a strange plan.
But in a way, it could also be seen as a happy ending for all.
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