Chapter: 939
The atmosphere in the tea house chilled.
I asked as nonchalantly as possible, but judging by the turtle’s eyes and distorted breathing, it seemed things didn’t quite go as planned.
A slightly swaying beard.
I couldn’t see very well, but his eyes narrowed as he looked at me.
And even the trembling of the staff he held.
I could feel the turtle’s attitude, which had been mildly irritated just before, changing drastically.
Did I make a mistake? As I silently observed the turtle, he finally opened his mouth, which he had been holding back.
“Just now. What did you just say…?”
Was that a look of mishearing? Or was he pretending not to hear it?
I didn’t know what it was, but I repeated myself anyway.
“I asked if you know how to go back in time to the past or the future.”
Upon hearing the same words as before, the turtle’s eyebrows flitted once again.
“Why are you asking that?”
Watching his words and reactions, I couldn’t help but display a strange expression.
That reaction right now is…
‘Does it really exist?’
If he could just say that it doesn’t exist, the fact that he was being so cautious might actually suggest otherwise.
However, it was clear he felt quite reluctant about whatever the answer might be.
“I’m just curious.”
“The parts you are curious about are quite… outlandish.”
“Hey, since you write such unique things, I wondered if this might be possible. It’s just a small curiosity.”
He tried to dismiss my question lightly, but the turtle’s reaction was far from casual.
“Then don’t wonder.”
“What?”
His voice was serious and heavy.
“Even if there’s a future you want to see, don’t be curious. Even if there’s a regrettable past, just let it be regret.”
“…”
After hearing that, I slightly adjusted my posture.
I leaned in as if to show I was genuinely listening to what he had to say.
“Time is just like that. You have to let it flow, and once it has flown by, you can’t catch it again. That’s why it’s called time.”
“… You really sound like an expert, don’t you?”
“Just in case.”
Knock knock.
The turtle lightly tapped the table with his free finger.
“If you want to get something out of this, then it means you should discard those useless thoughts.”
“Why?”
“There’s no obsession more meaningless and cruel than this.”
“…”
A meaningless and cruel obsession. That was a thought I had never entertained before.
Thus, I wiped the smile off my lips and asked,
“Why do you think so?”
How could he be so confident?
I was curious about that.
His pale eyes felt like they were sharing a story that wasn’t about someone else but his own.
“Do you know what happens to those who are obsessed with such things?”
The turtle asked.
“I don’t know. It wasn’t me. What happened?”
I responded to his question with another question.
The turtle answered,
“They were torn apart terribly.”
“…What?”
Torn apart?
That was a pretty terrifying statement.
“… Their bodies?”
“No, their souls.”
“Oh really?”
Luckily, it didn’t mean my body was torn apart.
I let out a sigh of relief, but the turtle suddenly clicked his tongue upon hearing that.
“Did you think it was fortunate that it was just the soul?”
“No, well… I thought it would be better since it wasn’t direct.”
“It would be better to receive it personally. Having your soul torn apart is an even more hellish ordeal.”
“…”
The notion that the soul itself could be torn apart made the turtle seem to take it more seriously.
Of course, that didn’t mean I had enough information to truly grasp it.
“… So, are you saying I shouldn’t be obsessed with this?”
“If you want to be shredded to pieces, then by all means, go ahead.”
“Sorry, but I really don’t have that taste.”
Who would enjoy being torn apart? Oh, maybe there are a few out there, but that’s definitely not me.
‘Hmm.’
I stack the words in my head one by one.
What was crucial right now was none other than this.
‘Ultimately, it appears there’s a method they’re aware of.’
In reality, the turtle must know something about this.
“So, you’re saying there isn’t a single person who has achieved results without having their soul torn apart?”
I asked, taking a sip of tea.
“You keep asking pointless questions.”
“I was kinda curious about it. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just tell me? We are a 거래, after all.”
“What is our relationship?”
“A perfect relationship formed through trade.”
“…”
“Exchanging what we need. How neat is that?”
“It’s a relationship where I don’t experience any actual affection whatsoever.”
“Some might refer to it as a clean relationship, you know? So can you just speak a little more comfortably?”
“Why? Are you thinking of trying if it seems possible?”
The turtle asked cautiously.
Are you suggesting that I would attempt that? I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“No, I really don’t plan on doing that. Probably not now, nor in the future.”
Right now, I’m not interested.
I mean, in a past life, I might have shown some interest, but not now.
‘I’ve already endured it once; what more do I need to experience?’
If I could return, could it be called an opportunity?
Maybe it would be a little different, but…
‘Going through this again? That’d be way too much of a pain.’
In a world where those who have just come to know me have forgotten everything and are now blissfully ignorant.
I would have to madly try to rebuild everything just to achieve a different result.
Not just that it was a rotten experience once, but you want me to relive it? I can’t do that.
Thus, I’m confident it would be like this.
‘Yet what I’m still curious about is.’
It wasn’t my own regression I was pondering.
“You’re curious even though you have no intention of following through? That feels contradictory, doesn’t it?”
“It’s just a young person’s small curiosity.”
…
The turtle regarded me with a skeptical look. It seems like revealing anything was not on his agenda.
At this point, I thought asking could be a losing battle, so I began to think of switching topics.
“It’s impossible.”
The turtle spoke decisively.
“Impossible?”
“Yes, it’s absolutely impossible for the soul not to be torn apart. There’s no being who can succeed, even at the risk of being torn apart.”
“What’s the reason?”
“Because there won’t be anyone who can endure the process and the outcome.”
The turtle’s voice was resolute.
There was a palpable conviction and faith that he would not be wrong.
“Even if you offer something that pierces through the heavens due to the karma you carry in your soul, your soul will still likely be torn apart and rejected. To achieve a result while maintaining your soul? That’s an overly arrogant statement.”
His words, although delivered with a smile, held a trace of sadness.
I had to frown upon hearing that.
“So, what you mean is that it’s possible if you give something up?”
“…Do you not understand what I’m saying?”
“No, I get it. From what I gather, it seems there might be something possible or a way to try.”
But…
“Even if I don’t know what the method is, it suggests that no one will survive if they attempt it.”
“…”
“Did I understand correctly?”
I asked, bluntly, but the turtle remained silent.
I always feel like silence is a form of affirmation.
“Hmm.”
Feeling this, I crossed my arms and shook my head side to side.
There was something I hadn’t asked yet.
“But, Elder.”
“…What is it?”
“What if there is?”
“What?”
“No, what I mentioned earlier. What if someone actually succeeds?”
“Didn’t you just hear that there are none?”
“But it could be possible. After all, you can’t know everything about the world.”
“What have you been wanting to hear for a while?”
“Literally, just that. If it had worked…”
“That won’t happen.”
Bang-!
The turtle slammed the floor with the staff he was holding.
In that moment, the surroundings rippled like waves.
The once tranquil tea house began to sway as if it were melting.
While frowning at the bizarre atmosphere, he said,
“Leave.”
“Pardon?”
“I told you to get out.”
“No, but I haven’t even asked all my questions yet…”
We didn’t even get to the important spells, and he wanted me to just leave?
“At least for today, I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you don’t want to go out, I’ll let you be. Do you want to stay?”
Keuggeuggeuk-!
The turtle’s eyes sank into the space that continued to swirl around.
At that moment, I felt something strange emanating from his body.
Giggle.
The five rings wrapped around my heart throbbed.
It felt ominous, almost like a warning signal.
“…”
Feeling that, I quietly observed the turtle as I stood.
“No. I will leave on my own.”
Staying longer only seemed to promise a worse atmosphere.
It appeared I had touched a nerve with the turtle.
“…”
Upon hearing that, the turtle tapped the floor once again with his staff.
In an instant, the surroundings that had been swaying abruptly returned to normal.
“I won’t forget the deal we made. Come back later.”
“… If later, then when?”
“Well.”
The turtle turned to me and added,
“You’ll probably figure it out on your own.”
“…”
After uttering those words, the turtle fell silent.
As I witnessed his lack of further words, I too started walking and stepped outside the building.
“Hmm…”
I scratched my head.
I thought I might extract something relevant to my regression, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
‘…Or was it? It doesn’t seem like I got nothing out of it.’
The fact that he holds some information.
And regarding what the turtle knows, there exists a barrier that makes it absolutely impossible to turn back time.
You could argue that’s what I gained today.
“…It’s not impossible.”
In the end, regression exists.
It’s not just some passing comment.
How could I not be aware of it when I experienced it firsthand?
The turtle insisted it was absolutely impossible.
But I was living proof of what was possible right in front of him.
I went through a regression.
That’s why I was even more curious.
‘The turtle said it is impossible to turn back time, even if you offer something magnificent.’
To phrase it another way:
‘If you offer something far more extraordinary than that… Could it ultimately mean it’s possible to turn back time?’
I may not know what the method is or what I need to give.
But if the value of the offering is apt, doesn’t that suggest regression could be feasible?
That’s how I interpreted it.
“…”
I spent a while figeting with my hands in thought.
The stiff journey suddenly halted.
I noticed someone walking towards me in the distance.
A familiar face with vacant eyes.
It was Cheonma.
She walked lightly, shifted her gaze around, then spotted me and waved.
“Oh, I found you.”
“….”
It seemed she was indeed looking for me.
Having confirmed that, I frowned.
‘Regression isn’t achievable without a price.’
That implies…
‘What on earth did you give me?’
What exactly did the Cheonma from my past life offer to bring about my regression?
Furthermore,
‘Why did she do that?’
Why did you choose to send me back?
What were your hopes, and what did you truly aim to accomplish?
I had been perpetually curious ever since I discovered that Cheonma was the one responsible for my regression.
That curiosity lingers even now as time flows by.
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