Chapter 543 – A Story I Couldn’t Tell (1)
I opened my eyes.
In a relentless darkness where not a single light could reach the end.
A strange space that felt like all my senses were slightly numb.
There I stood.
Is this really the afterlife that people often talk about?
After all that hard work, I ended up dead.
That thought brought an almost self-deprecating smile to my face.
I couldn’t even keep one promise, and here I am, dead.
Leaving them with unreasonable requests behind.
I felt sorry.
Yet, the emotions that bloomed in my heart quickly settled down.
Too many questions blossomed for me to accept so easily.
Why?
In the last moment, my heart exploded.
Surely, I died and came to this space because of that.
So why does my body feel like this?
I had numerous injuries on my body and felt extreme fatigue.
Still, compared to the point I had holes in me, I was relatively fine.
If I were dead, shouldn’t I not feel any fatigue and maintain a whole body?
Let’s assume even my soul was severely damaged.
The self-inflicted wounds I suffered were quite severe.
But still, I couldn’t ignore my feelings about the space in front of me.
Mysterious.
Familiar.
It felt very similar to the realm of the god I faced that dog bastard.
[Have you awakened?]
“Uh?”
At that moment, an unexpectedly familiar voice sounded, and I turned my head unconsciously.
There stood Piece, who I thought had completely disappeared.
[Does your body feel a bit better?]
Not in pieces like at the last moment.
In perfect condition, just like I had seen before.
Then this must indeed be the afterlife.
“Seeing you here means I really am dead.”
[……It looks like you’re doing okay.]
Of course, there were still doubts remaining.
If we all died, why is my body so messed up?
This was the state of a body after completely overloading.
What the hell?
[You seem to have a lot of questions.]
“Yes.”
I spoke quickly, as if enchanted by those words.
[Go ahead and tell me.]
“Wasn’t I supposed to be dead?”
And Piece certainly confirms this.
[You died.]
“……Just as I thought…”
I had once died.
[It’s just.]
“Just?”
However, Piece’s next words began to erase my self-deprecating smile.
[I brought you back to life.]
“No, f*ck. How?”
And the place where my self-deprecating smile faded was replaced with horror.
Slowly but.
Very clearly.
[Regression.]
I couldn’t comprehend it at all.
How could she have gained this ability to regress which she didn’t have before?
She could have vanished right there, and it wouldn’t have been strange.
[Well, to be precise, it’s not that I brought you back to life; I reversed time.]
“……Uh…?!”
Then I suddenly thought and quickly moved my gaze around.
[Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?]
“Where’s that bastard?”
That was a hypothetical situation considering the worst case.
If Piece reversed me through regression.
Then it’s certain that that dog bastard also regressed alongside me.
That must absolutely not be the case.
What was all the bloodshed we endured for?
[Don’t worry.]
“Really…?”
However, Piece waved her hand, as if she had read my thoughts to some extent.
[To be precise, only your body was regressed.]
“Is that even possible…?”
It was amazing.
Usually, regression means turning back time.
I had never heard that it could be used this way.
Piece often said regression isn’t omnipotent, but.
[Complete regression is beyond what you think.]
“……This is bullsht, fck…”
No matter how I looked at it, I had no choice but to use the word omnipotent.
[Anyway, that bastard no longer exists.]
“Thank goodness…”
At those words, I let out a huge sigh of relief without thinking.
Seeing Piece state that means that bastard must be completely dead.
The fact that Piece even uses regression adds to its credibility.
Until then, Piece honestly hadn’t been very useful.
At that moment, a bit of regret suddenly started to swell.
[By the way, your expression doesn’t look that great.]
“If you’re going to regress me, couldn’t you have sent me back further?”
To be honest, my current physical state couldn’t be glossed over.
Setting aside the many injuries that weren’t healed yet.
Wouldn’t it have been better if I was sent back to a healthy point?
At least to the point right before I overused my body.
Then I wouldn’t be feeling this fatigue now, nor would I worry about the future.
Of course, it was still much better than dying, but I couldn’t help the disappointment.
[I’m sorry. That’s a bit difficult.]
To this, Piece only looked apologetic.
As if that was something even regression couldn’t do.
[The point I regained regression was exactly when that bastard was defeated, so it couldn’t be helped.]
Honestly, I could somewhat predict this when asking.
If she could have done it, she would have sent me back before I got hurt.
But since she couldn’t, there must have been her own reasons.
[It’s impossible to go back further, so this body is something you must bear.]
“I don’t understand it well, but I get it for now.”
It wasn’t like Piece was happy to regressed my body to this point.
[If you think of it as the male lead taking in a pregnant female lead in a pure love story with Golden Sun, it’s easier to understand.]
“Where’s the pure love in that?”
[Pong pong pure love.]
“F*ck.”
Even after mulling over Piece’s words, I thought it was quite risky.
At that time, Piece was only moments away from complete disappearance.
But right before she vanished, by sheer luck, that bastard made the choice to abandon regression.
Driven by excessive revenge against a mere insignificant creature.
And the moment I completely killed that bastard through a joint suicide.
That’s when Piece only regressed my body; that’s what has led to this situation now.
Isn’t that what it means to die and come back to life?
That bastard took such bold steps for the purpose of killing us.
Ironically, that led to both me and Piece being saved.
In the end, it turned out very well, so I guess that’s something to be thankful for.
[Honestly, I was a bit scared. If this body perished, there would have been no chance for you either.]
“Well, it all worked out in the end.”
I survived, and Piece had restored herself enough to bring me to the realm of the gods.
[How does it feel to be alive again?]
“It hurts a lot, f*ck.”
[When comparing getting resolved and the pain you’re feeling now?]
“……It’s ambiguous…”
Honestly, while it ended well, problems still remained.
Like not having fully healed my body.
Or the significant reduction in my lifespan.
It seemed like even Piece couldn’t do anything about that.
“By the way, the injuries are one thing, but can’t anything be done about my lifespan?”
[Sadly, even if you’d use regression, I can’t do anything about lifespan. It’s outside of my realm.]
“Ha, f*ck… this is messed up…”
At that moment, Piece wiped the apologetic look off her face and suddenly smiled.
[However, I have some good news for you.]
“What is it?”
I was a bit hopeful.
I hadn’t managed to calm my disturbed feelings yet.
But seeing her smile brightly, it must be much better than that uneasy feeling.
[You’ve also gained the ability to regress now.]
“Uh, f*ck. Really?!”
This was truly good news this time.
[That’s right.]
“F*CK! FINALLY!!!”
Regression.
That overwhelming ability that everyone had been using easily without a cost, which I had never used.
Thanks to that, I was in a situation where it wouldn’t have been strange to die at any moment.
So I had once overlooked it, calling it un-eatable divine grapes.
[Because my being and soul intertwined, it’s only natural.]
“I can regress, you bastards!!!!”
Once it was in my mouth, there was no way to describe the sweetness.
[Just know that I have to permit it, and that you must set reference points every time—it’s a sort of incomplete regression.]
“It doesn’t matter. Anyway, I can regress now.”
Of course, given how Piece was saying it, the conditions must be quite strict.
It was clear that if she wasn’t lending me her power, I could not regress.
And I had never regressed before, so I didn’t even know how to do it.
Setting the reference point for regression felt vague, as well.
But what the f*ck does that matter?
Now that I could use that regression which nobody else could use.
Those conditions wouldn’t be that big of a deal.
Even if it’s incomplete, it’s a blessing compared to having nothing at all.
Piece wouldn’t refuse to let me regress in the first place.
[While I will allow you to use it, you shouldn’t just use it blindly.]
“Don’t worry. I’ll only use it when I really need to.”
All the hardships I went through now felt worthwhile.
Even if other problems were still unsolved.
At least I gained more than I lost.
In that moment, Piece casually spoke to me.
[Then it’s time for a real goodbye.]
“……Yes…?”
My heated feelings quickly cooled down and stuck to the ground.
