Chapter 374. Last Night’s Dream (4)

The cause of Liber’s numerous problems was the World going berserk. Since it happened because of the World, it was only right for the subject in question to tackle the problem.

“It’s the seed you sowed. Can you take it back?”

“No…it’s too difficult…right now…” Yet currently, the World didn’t have the power to do so. Liber wouldn’t have reached this state in the first place if she could.

Instability was the biggest issue. The virus that had spread outside mutated by itself and became stronger and more potent. Because the World couldn’t endure it anymore, she spouted out seeds of problems, and these seeds were strengthened by her instability and were evolving in real time.

Thus, Chi-Hyun’s plan went like this: there must be a place of origin where each of Liber’s plethora of calamities laid its roots and bloomed. He would find and erase every one of them to weaken these problems. Once the fire settled down somewhat, the World would absorb the remaining sparks. Of course, this plan came with its problems too. Even if he managed to turn off a gigantic furnace, any spark was a ball of energy that could start a fire depending on the environment. And in Liber’s current situation, an explosion could break out any time. It would be akin to gathering bombs on top of an oozing and shaking volcano that looked ready to erupt.

Nevertheless, there was no other way. Before they could collect all the seeds, the World had to endure. The journey turned out harder than they had expected. It was extremely arduous and painful. One calamity alone was as difficult to resolve as saving most planets. Furthermore, things strayed off course, and the World failed to endure. Even though they were mitigating the problems one by one, these were what the World had poured out because she couldn’t hold them in any longer. Thus, the more seeds of problems the World absorbed, the more she struggled to endure and ended up throwing them back out.

Problems that were discharged again transformed into an even more powerful calamity and endangered Liber further. Every time this happened, the World went through great turmoil. It wasn’t just the pressure of it all, but she felt great sorrow that she was making the planet she should guard a mess. She needed to endure at all costs, and putting her faith in the hero who said he would solve the issue if she did so, the World held on. Not long after, she even reached the limits of her endurance and lost consciousness, but still, she didn’t lose her last thread of hope. And Chi-Hyun didn’t stop either. He carried the unconscious World on his back and continued on his journey.

***

As the long darkness began to lift, and dawn was about to break, Boboris looked at the wounded girl lying limply on the ground and turned to Chi-Hyun.

“She’s anxious.”

“The World was already unstable.”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about. Perhaps the World …”

‘Perhaps she already knows,’ Boboris barely managed to swallow the last part of her thought. Even so, Chi-Hyun knew what she was talking about.

“It doesn’t matter even if the World already knows.” There was only one thing left to do now. The end was in sight, and they were beginning to see the finish line of this exhausting journey.

“Is she going along when she already knows—who knows? Maybe it means she realizes her duty somewhat.” The World’s duty was to guard Liber. Chi-Hyun could be right, of course, but…

“What if that’s not the case?” Boboris asked. “What if she simply trusts you?”

Chi-Hyun didn’t answer, but his silence was enough of an answer. None of that changed anything. Boboris didn’t say push further. They were too far into the plan to turn back now… No, perhaps they could still turn things around, yet Boboris didn’t say anything in the end and simply closed her eyes.

Finally, the day they had to decide everything arrived.

***

Everything was over. After the World took in all the seeds of problems across Liber, she was extinguished. Chi-Hyun thoroughly destroyed all traces of the wailing girl, and as a result, there was no remnant of the World left. All that was left were vengeful pieces of the World’s resentment and curse that scattered on the planet like bloody water. Liber, which had stirred like it was going to burst any moment, became unbelievably peaceful.

The price for that peace was the disappearance of its World. After that, everything progressed smoothly. Elephthalia promised to fill the void during the World’s absence, but refused to officially become the World; and with Chi-Hyun’s arrangement, Liber became a special case that the Celestial Realm managed. They went through a purification process to clear the cracked World’s residual resentment and focused on birthing a new god to make it Liber’s new World.

—Mother…wanted every existence on this planet to live the life they wanted. She wanted them to enjoy freedom and liberty.

—That is why this planet came to be named Liber.

It seemed Elephthalia was still bothered by the fact that they had tricked the World. Furthermore, she wished that something like this would never happen again. Thus, she wanted to establish a firm order that would never shake and would endure for eternity.

—…Asha. I will call this child Asha Dubulola.

If everything continued to progress naturally like that, perhaps they would’ve reached the future that Chi-Hyun had envisioned. If Asha had developed and settled down as Liber’s World, things might have been different. But who knew what the future would bring? At that time, Elephthalia was very busy filling in for the World.

Nonstop wars wreaked havoc across Liber. Of course, wars always existed throughout history, but things were too severe this time and were only getting worse. People were killing each other more than necessary. The fights were chaotic, and nations were warring against each other with no end goal in sight.

—It’s strange…

Elephthalia tilted her head and carefully observed the flow of the world. And in the flow that would’ve otherwise been normal, she found something suspicious. It was a sign of such subtle manipulation that it evaded the Celestial Realm’s oversight. It appeared that someone or some being had purposefully manipulated the world’s flow for an unknown reason. Who was it, and for what purpose? When Elephthalia realized the truth, she was stunned.

She realized that some unknown figure had prepared and set up Liber for a specific purpose for a very long time and with great care. And as soon as Elephthalia learned the truth, her opponent immediately took action. But she didn’t stand still and let the other party shake up Liber’s flow either. Before things got out of hand, she needed to put a halt to it. Elephthalia acted swiftly and smartly. She requested the Celestial Realm for help and rushed to accept the World that wasn’t complete yet.

—Mother, help me…

She had wanted to prevent that no matter what, but this wasn’t the time for her to be picky, and she knew she would only be able to stabilize the flow by acting as the World. Yet that was her fatal mistake; more exactly, it was what her opponent had been aiming for. As soon as Elephthalia accepted the World, a whirl of curses of those who had been buried alive poured into her in overwhelming volume. The clear vengeance they held reawakened the residual resentment left by the previous World.

—Ah…!

It was too late when she realized it. The resentment left by the World responded to the evil energy and rage from the ground, which had been fabricated by the other party and was now swallowing her up.

—No…!

Before she was completely tainted by it and went insane, all she could do was detach a part of the World that was still safe and hid it somewhere else. Afterward, it was as if the owner of a wide-open house had disappeared. Thus, the Sernitas immediately entered Liber, and the World went mad and began to go berserk again by using its main god as a host. That was what led to the current situation on Liber.

***

Time rewind again to right after Chi-Hyun’s team nullified the final calamity, and the World absorbed the last seed.

“…What’s the matter?” Though the girl was pretending to be calm, her voice couldn’t help but tremble. “I did as you told me.” The girl was covered in wounds.

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she looked up from her seated position. “I did everything you told me to do until now.”

She repeated, “You said that you’d save me then.”

Chi-Hyun didn’t answer.

“You said you’d save me! You hooked your pinky with mine and promised!” No matter how much she talked, Chi-Hyun showed no response. He simply looked down at her with solemn eyes.

The girl—the World—held her breath for a moment. Perhaps she had known inside her heart what awaited her at the end of this journey. The World fluctuated fiercely a couple of times because she felt an unknown sense of dread. And even though she knew what would happen, she obediently followed and did what was asked of her. She purposefully turned a blind eye to the source of her anxiety and insecurity. Though she knew why Chi-Hyun was acting like this, the girl couldn’t accept it in the end.

It was because she wanted to live. She didn’t want to be extinguished and disappear forever. Her sense of duty to guard Liber and her own ambition led her to this point. Though she had pictured what could happen and readied herself dozens of times before coming here, she realized her true feelings when the moment arrived.

“…Spare me.” In the end, she begged for her life with all her heart. “I have to live.”

“…”

“I can’t die like this. I want to live.”

Nothing changed no matter what she said. Chi-Hyun showed not the slightest change in expression and remained extremely calm.

“Why…!” Yet she didn’t give up, nor did she despair. She continued to plead for her life. Perhaps all of this was a lie or a joke, she hoped, as she longed desperately to stay alive. Standing in the back, the Last Dragon extended her hand but stopped because she knew how many miracles and coincidences they had gone through to reach this point. After going through experiences they could never replicate, they finally get here. And above all, Chi-Hyun’s back was telling her that he was tired; he was sick of it all. He wanted to end it now and was telling her that she must not step forward no matter what.

“You’ve done a lot.” As if he was reaffirming the Last Dragon’s thoughts, the wordless man before them finally spoke up, “I’ll let you go painlessly.”

It was a calm voice without a hint of hesitation. The girl’s eyes widened as she looked up at Chi-Hyun. The sliver of hope in her eyes soon became clouded with darkness: confusion, rage, shame, fear, sorrow… All sorts of negative emotions whirled inside, and at the end of it, a curse burst out. It wasn’t simply a curse intended to kill her target, but pure venom, filled with all the vengeance and resentment that existed in the world. The girl shrieked out this terrible and foul curse until her throat felt like it would burst. Then…

***

“What happened?” Having watched the situation unfold until now, Yunael turned around and asked Chi-Woo. The scene that had been continuously rewinding was now going forward at its original speed. Chi-Woo didn’t answer. He watched everything unfold with his head slightly lowered and his expression bemused. Yunael was stunned at first, but soon calmed down. As someone who had been a hero for some time, she understood what had happened.

She thought they had suddenly regressed, but that wasn’t the case. They had returned to a very distant past in Liber’s time flow. And it appeared that this past had a very deep connection with Yunael’s perception of the present time. Seeing everything that had happened until now, Yunael realized what Chi-Woo was trying to do. ‘Ah, he’s trying to meddle in the past,’ she thought and changed her question, “What are you going to do now?”

“…I don’t know,” Chi-Woo answered. “I don’t know…who’s right. I can’t…” Chi-Woo shook his head in confusion. He understood the intentions behind his brother’s actions, but he also understood why the World had acted the way she did. He couldn’t pick one person to side with or oppose. At least this was what Chi-Woo felt, but what was important wasn’t who was in the wrong. The issue at hand was how he could change the past to accomplish his goal. He needed to decide if he would stand by his brother’s side and let everything unfold. He could tell his brother in detail what would happen in the future so that his brother could prepare for it better, or he could go against his brother’s decision and save the World.

‘If I take the former choice, the Celestial Realm could pay better attention…no, they said the Celestial Realm was overseeing Liber as a special case. But the fact that the other party managed to go through the Celestial Realm’s surveillance…’ In that case, he needed to consider the Sernitas’ invasion a definite future. In other words, unless Chi-Woo went back to a much more distant past and stopped the Sernitas from evolving, this wasn’t a future that he could stop. It would happen sooner or later.

However, Chi-Woo hesitated to go against his brother. Like how the girl’s whole body was covered in wounds, this World was full of problems. As his brother said, it looked as if they had no choice but to reset the hard drive or install a completely new operating system. In the end, it was up to Chi-Woo to make the decision.

“Why don’t you hurry up and just choose one of them?” Yunael asked brashly. “At this rate, we’ll be here all day.”

Chi-Woo looked at Yunael, baffled. She must have also seen everything that had unfolded before them. How could she still be so careless despite that?

“Why?” Yunael jerked her jaw and smirked. “If you can’t figure it out no matter how long you think about it—should I tell you?”

Chi-Woo opened his eyes wide. “You know the answer?”

“Who said that?” Yunael snorted and crossed her arms. “But I know who you are more sympathetic towards.

“Sympathetic…?”

“Personally, I would’ve taken the legend’s side. You know why?” Yunael pointed at the crying wounded girl. “It’s ridiculous. If she had accepted her fate and gone away peacefully, I would’ve praised her for being responsible. But what the hell? She is the World, but she cries about having to die like some child.”

“But—”

“I’m sure she must feel wronged because it wasn’t even her fault that the situation reached this state in the first place, but those at higher places must shoulder greater responsibilities. And considering that, she doesn’t have the qualifications to be the World. The legend made the better choice.” Yunael continued to rebuke the World.

“Isn’t that right?” Yunael asked for Chi-Woo’s agreement.

“…That’s too cruel,” Chi-Woo said in a small voice.

“Huh, what?”

“What’s wrong with wanting to live?” Chi-Woo looked straight at Yunael. “Whether one is a person, animal, god, or the World, being born and living is one of the fundamental truths of the universe,” Chi-Woo said in a slightly angry tone. “Wanting to live because she was born. Is that such a wrong thing that she needs to be rebuked for it?” Chi-Woo asked, and Yunael shrugged. It seemed she had a difficult time agreeing.

“Hm, who knows? It doesn’t really sound fitting for a hero though.”

“Then, can a hero force another being to make sacrifices?”

“Yes, of course.” Yunael nodded like it was only natural. “As long as it is for the greater good, shouldn’t heroes expect others to do the same when we’re sacrificing ourselves with no reward in sight?”

Chi-Woo fell silent.

“You aren’t responding. Why? Are you angry?” Yunael said a bit teasingly, and Chi-Woo narrowed his eyes. He had had the same thought a couple of times before—his personality really clashed with Yunael’s. He didn’t know why Boboris had told him to recruit her at all costs.

“Well, there you go. That’s your answer,” Yunael said. “You sympathize with the World a bit more than the legend.” Yunael glanced at Chi-Woo as he glared at her. Then she said, “You can just do that then.”

Chi-Woo’s eyes widened. It was as she said. He understood both sides, but he didn’t sympathize with his brother. On the other hand, he both understood and sympathized with the World. He didn’t think it was a sin for one to yearn for survival while they were alive.

“…It’s not so simple.”

“Seriously, man. I didn’t think I’d say this about you, but you’re sort of frustrating.” Yunael scowled and frowned like she was really frustrated with Chi-Woo. Chi-Woo also felt anger rise inside him. This wasn’t a matter he could simply decide on. His future wasn’t the only one at stake, but also everyone’s and the world’s future. That was what it meant to change the past.

“What if I made the wrong choice?”

“What of it?!” Yunael shouted back as Chi-Woo raised his voice. “How would we know the consequences of what hadn’t happened yet?” Chi-Woo thought he would really lose it if Yunael said that it couldn’t be helped even if his choice was wrong.

But Yunael’s response caught him off guard. She said, “So what if it’s wrong? Even if it is, you should just make it right.”

It exceeded his expectations.

“Are you taking some exam here? Who told you to choose the right answer? You’re a hero for goodness sake! Whatever your choice is, you should push through and have the guts to personally make that the right answer!”

Chi-Woo’s mouth slightly gaped open. Suddenly, he recalled the heated discussion he had had with Eshnunna in the forest. She had said it was fine for him to not believe her immediately. She simply wanted an opportunity to make him believe. What Yunael said just now was the same. There was no way for them to know what the right answer was now, but there was no need to worry about that prematurely.

The important thing was to seize this chance, and what happened after that would depend on them. As the leader of Seven Stars with many heroes who followed him, he needed to push through with what he believed was right.

Yunael was a bit startled when Chi-Woo stared at her in a daze.

“What are you looking at me so intently for?”

“…I thought all you knew was whine and say stupid stuff, but…”

“W-What did you say?”

“You know how to say sensible things too.” The mess in Chi-Woo’s mind cleared up in an instant. Yes, he needed to go with his heart. It was fine for him to be wrong. He could make the wrong choice into the right one with his own hands.

“…What the hell,” Yunael grumbled and turned around when Chi-Woo lost the look of confusion on his face. The situation had settled somewhat then, and Chi-Hyun was standing in front of the girl. He was swinging his hand down hard at her.

“Uh—!” Yunael turned around in surprise. “Shouldn’t….?” She blinked hard. Chi-Woo had been standing next to her, but now he was already gone.