Chapter 354: Episode 100: At the End of the 1,000-year-long Voyage (8)
A fl.u.s.tering request it was.
He wasn’t used to talking about himself, nor was he the type to go on and on about something. An unnecessary conversation was better left unvoiced.
However, there was still a considerable amount of time left and Myu’s temperature had risen by a bit. More than anything, Myu seemed more energetic than before just because of the topic.
There must be a reason the always-lethargic mirror image of the personality was throwing such a question at him.
“It’s nothing great but…”
He opened his mouth.
In a way, this could be considered a bizarre turn of events. Myu had a lot of attachment to the black race and Yu Jitae was an existence who had ma.s.sacred a fair bit of black dragons.
And yet Myu was curious about Yu Jitae’s story, so he decided to share his life after slight adjustment.
1st iteration. Story of the young Yu Jitae, with not a single thing he was skilled at, going through his first life and learning how to stand by himself.
2nd iteration. Spending the time to head towards a better life. The first time he loved someone – a story that however ended with despair.
3rd iteration. Mindlessly wandering around the world seeking for power, thinking strength was the solution to all.
While moderately cutting down on details that Myu would be uncomfortable about, Yu Jitae continued talking about his life. Naturally, he also glossed over the regression and vaguely added them into one time frame.
As Myu quietly listened to his story, energy slowly began to enter its gaze. It was quite different from how it used to gasp for breath as if it would die any time soon.
There was a funny aspect to the mind of an existence. There was a tendency to feel oddly consoled by watching someone else’s despair.
It was a natural form of emotion for any existence, so Yu Jitae was not that displeased even if Myu were to gain strength with his despair as the basis. Whatever it was, he was fine as long as Myu became energetic again.
“Truly, dreadful and, heartbreaking…”
Myu’s reply in the empty library soon vanished without even leaving behind an echo.
“I cannot even dare imagine it.”
“Is that so?”
“I am a dragon and was born with an honourable blood. However, not once have I craved something as much as that… You, are a truly mysterious person…”
Myu murmured like a child.
Suddenly, he remembered how Myu would sometimes act sensitively like a hatchling despite being an adult. It was understandable now that he knew how Myu had been living a roaming life ever since she was born. He could finally understand one of the principles behind her actions.
But that instead made him feel weirdly uncomfortable. Deceiving the baby dragons was enough of a deception already.
“There is no reason to get that excited is there?”
“Why is that?”
“Because I am the nemesis of your race.”
“Right. That much is definitely true.”
Myu’s personality still had a fair bit of excitement in its expression.
“However, what I was in awe of was not you as a person, but your ardent desire for your dream.”
“…”
“Listening to you speak makes me wonder. How great of a dream must it be, that you are willing to go to such miserable lengths to achieve it?”
“You can flatter me all you want, but you won’t be getting anything in return.”
“I am not trying to flatter you, see? Life without knowing the reason, and wandering without knowing why, is my story. Maybe that is why. The stories of your dreams are, seriously…”
Using the only remaining hand, Myu tightly gripped onto its chest as the tiny hand clenched into a fist.
The venomous gaze he was used to was nowhere in sight. The energy overflowing out of its eyes was wondrous even for him.
“……Truly, marvelous are they not?”
With a dreamy voice Myu whispered.
After a few seconds of silence, Myu carefully reopened its mouth.
“…You see. I was born in order to help someone.”
A story he had never heard before was flowing out of this foreign dragon’s mouth. There was evidently more energy in its eyes than before so Yu Jitae decided to lend an ear to that story a little.
“What the task was, and who it was that I was supposed to help – everything was beyond what I could remember. So floating adrift all around, my life couldn’t help but end up becoming neither one thing nor the other, wouldn’t you agree?”
“…”
“Why am I alive. That was the occasional question I had in my head.”
‘Funny right? Even though I was definitely supposed to help someone.’ Myu murmured.
“Our race was chased out a very long time ago and we had to stray around the outer dimensions without any place to settle in. Because of that, I thought my job was to help everyone of my race.”
“Is that why you were trying to coil up on Earth?”
“Yes.”
“And that’s why you killed people?”
“Well, that is not too far from the truth.”
“How nasty.”
“Right. Although it was with sloppy pa.s.sion, I wanted to do something that included killing people. And I did. However, shouldn’t you empathise with my cause? Since you have also killed my kindred to achieve your dream.”
“…”
His silence caused Myu’s lips to curl up a little. After some time, he agreed.
“Right.”
Myu started letting out a louder chuckle.
Sitting there was a pair of dirty male and female. Two people who had drawn an unforgivable path in their life were sitting down talking to each other. That was what Yu Jitae thought at the very least.
Even a sinner had an ongoing life. Even though no-one would be curious about it, a life that could not come to an end would continue no matter the form. Those two disgusting stories shamelessly went further out and managed to reach this place, and were now being tangled up.
“Then, since things have turned out like this anyway, would you mind giving an honest answer as fellow disgusting ones.”
“What do you want to know.”
“Can I, also become like you?”
Myu asked with an innocent and frank voice.
“Will a day come where I finally help that someone? And fulfil the reason for my birth?”
Before giving a reply, Yu Jitae reflected on the words of [Self-hatred]. The guy said Myu had been chased out from a very young age due to being worthless.
Yu Jitae replied with a question.
“You. When you were discarded at the dumping ground.”
“Continue.”
“That was when there were new mirror images arriving at the village, was it?”
“Yes. And?”
“If you were born to help someone, does that mean those mirror images entering your body are in accordance with the reason for your birth?”
Myu returned a nod.
All the ones above ground right now were born in order for Myu to help someone.
“Then why would it be impossible to help.”
“You mean I can do that as well?”
“Of course.”
“But I’ve never helped anyone for over hundreds of years though?”
“You have everything prepared.”
“But, I am not confident… I’m scared. Because I’ve never done anything the way I wanted to.”
That was as expected of what a personality dumped with the trash would say. But from their conversation, Yu Jitae realised something.
“You need to do it,” he said.
“Me?”
“If there is something to help with, you have to step up to help.”
“…”
“Weren’t you being pushed around your whole life? Coming to Earth was by pure coincidence, and you were trying to lead a pa.s.sive life here as well. That won’t do. You have to take a step forward by yourself.”
“…If only there was a way to justify it.”
“You wanted to become like me, was it?”
“I do want to be like you.”
“Then just do it.”
Although he had been sprinting for a thousand years to reach this place, it wasn’t like there was some kind of grandiose reason behind it.
There was something he wanted; something he wanted to accomplish.
And that was why he had been running for a thousand years.
Myu blinked its eyes after listening to his persuasion.
“Is it really that simple? You mean I can be like you with only that?”
“Yes.”
Myu’s personality widened its eyes. Looking at someone else who despite being placed in a similar situation had created a different result, and listening to his advice seemed to have created some type of resonance in its heart.
“I see…”
Their conversation had a normal everyday aspect to it, so he marked the end in a normal manner.
“And kill as few people as possible if you can.”
He gave a hypocritical remark to mark the end as Myu dumbfoundedly replied with a smile.
“…There is a condition.”
“What is it.”
“When we leave for this vacation, let me do some volunteer work. I will try helping someone.”
Even though he nodded, he knew it was a laughable conversation they were having.
“There will still be an observer so keep that in mind.”
“How about you come with me and volunteer by my side?”
“I’ll have to think about that.”
Like that, the two talked about volunteer work. He talked a little about his campus community work that he had done with Yeorum and Myu’s personality gave a nod in surprise.
“…How mysterious.”
It’s no longer cold is it?
That was what Myu said.
And it was the same for Yu Jitae.
.
.
.
***
However, the 7th iteration never went according to plan.
If there truly was a guy called the G.o.d of fate, Yu Jitae would rip its limbs to pieces and kick it to a corner and throw questions at its face.
Over a thousand years I have lived to at last reach this moment.
That 1 minute,
Why couldn’t you wait for just 1 minute.
Kugugugung—–!!
Kugugugugugugugugung—–!!
It was sudden.
The world started to shake. ‘Ahhk!’ shouted Myu in fright. It was about to bounce off and crush into the ceiling, so he held tightly onto Myu and withstood the shake by laying his body low.
Over time, the shaking turned all the more intense.
Jumping up and down, it swallowed the library like a tidal wave. Some of the books fell from the bookshelves onto the floor before scattering into conceptual fragments.
He thought to himself.
Ants could jump around all they want inside a bowl, with the bowl never shaking an inch.
Therefore, an existence that could shake the bowl like this was highly likely to be outside.
Soon, Yu Jitae realised that someone in the real world was trying to shake him and Myu. With a ferocious gush of mana at that!
The ceiling of the library came crumbling down and their heads suddenly turned bright. Dirt fell into the library as Myu closed its eyes with a scream.
It was only a matter of time for them to be discovered so it was more important to find out the cause behind this incident instead of trying to hide themselves.
Regardless of the suspicions he had to do it. By immediately flooding out the mana he had hidden inside, he reached out to the outer world.
At the same time, he let out an irritated roar in his mind looking for the clone. It was a furious shout demanding an explanation.
– Sov…
Ringing in his head was the urgent response of Clone 1.
Words were being cut off here and there because the string of mana was just too thin. But expanding it without a thought would only cause him to get chased out of the conceptual world by the Will of the Ancient One, so he patiently waited for the reply.
– Oscar… suddenly…, …attacked…
Oscar?
Oscar Brzenk?
Since he was at the bas.e.m.e.nt of the a.s.sociation, it would mean he had suddenly attacked the a.s.sociation.
That made some sense. If Oscar Brzenk had suddenly attacked the a.s.sociation, it was understandable for the explosion of mana to be able to shake even the underground isolation room.
However, there was still something that did not make sense.
Why would Oscar Brzenk suddenly do such a thing?
Did going to ask the Judges of Providence somehow end up making things go in a bad direction? That was the only thing he could guess as of now.
Above the sky, his eyes caught sight of the dark bomber aircrafts – the [Memory Manipulators]. One of them met their eyes with Yu Jitae.
In that instant, irritation surged all the way up his head.
He was almost there.
At last after a thousand years, the moment was right before his eyes.
He had taken everything in consideration, so why was it that the thing called life never went the way he wanted it to;
Why did it so desperately want him to fail?
Seven ent.i.ties that had been circling around several kilometres above the sky finally gained a sense of clear direction.
Even though they were bomber aircrafts, they weren’t actual bomber planes. They were the incarnation of the ‘authority’ that was made to the most easily understandable target based on his [Conceptualisation].
Following a peculiar urge, he pondered to himself. After defeating all those hardships and standing in this place, this guy called G.o.d of fate was standing before his eyes choking his neck.
This seemed to be the thing it was shouting.
Are you still not going to give up?
Still?