Absolute One, First Time Being a Dad - Chapter 83

Under the gloomy ashen sky,

Instead of water, ferocious serpents filled the river, churning violently as the lower currents of the River of Three Crossings—the Abyssal Heart—flowed indifferently.

The thick mist made it impossible to see even an inch ahead, and the sharp reefs scattered throughout made it a perilous passage.

Amidst this, a small ferryboat made of paulownia wood drifted along the dark currents ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the Abyssal Heart, matching the river's flow.

"Damn these things!"

The ferryman, dressed in tattered rags stitched together haphazardly, swung his oar wildly in all directions.

"Won't you just back off already?!"

With each swing of his oar, the serpents leaping from the water were struck and sent flying away—

"Kyaaaaah—!"

But the little girl crouched on the deck, covering her ears tightly, could only scream incessantly.

"Tch, can't you keep quiet?!"

The ferryman clicked his tongue, gnawing on his lower lip as he tightened his grip on the oar.

"Didn't I say you'd be fine?"

Though his tone remained gruff throughout, the ferryman was desperately trying to protect his passenger—the little girl.

She was...

A guest personally entrusted to him by the Old Woman of the Stripped Garments, a deity of far higher rank than himself.

"You know why children like her must cross the Abyssal Heart, don't you?"

"Just a child who died unjustly, without even the chance to accumulate karma."

"The only 'sin' she committed was dying before her parents—a pitiful thing..."

"Since she was like a grandchild to me and the Old Man of the Dark Threads, I only ask that you see her safely across."

Not only that, but the Old Woman had even pressed into his hands a fare worth over ten times the usual amount.

"Tch... What a wretched thing..."

Even he, long accustomed to the rigid laws of the underworld that allowed no flexibility, couldn't help but pity her.

Of course, what greater filial crime was there than dying before one's parents?

But how could they force such a helpless child to cross the Abyssal Heart?

"Damn those bastards up top..."

Muttering curses under his breath, he swung his oar sideways again, smacking away several water serpents—

"W-What the hell? No matter how vast and deep the River of Three Crossings is, it's still just a river—how the hell is there a tidal wave?!"

In the distance, a towering wave surged toward them, its maw gaping wide as if to swallow the ferry whole.

A tidal wave not of water, but of countless serpents baring venomous fangs.

The ferryman paled as he stared at the approaching wave, then suddenly turned to the girl and shouted urgently—

"Kid, close your eyes!"

Then added—

"If you're scared, just keep your eyes shut tight..."

The girl squeezed her eyes shut.

"Cover your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ears and hum a song if you have to..."

She pressed her tiny hands over her ears and began humming a faintly remembered nursery rhyme with trembling effort.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star..."

As her fearful voice quivered softly, the ferryman glared at the nearing wave.

"How I wonder what you are..."

Though she couldn't even remember her own name, for some reason, the melody remained clear in her mind.

"Up above the world so high..."

There had been someone who would gently pat her chest at night and sing to her in a hushed voice.

"Like a diamond in the sky..."

As the girl dredged up the faint, blurry memories and continued humming—

"Kid, I wanted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to get you across the River of Three Crossings safely, since I took the fare..."

The ferryman stared helplessly at the wave now right before them and added in a resigned tone—

"But it seems your fate demands you die and revive at least a dozen more times crossing this place..."

Just as the colossal wave, surging at terrifying speed, was about to swallow the precarious ferry—

Splash, splash, SPLASH—!

Suddenly, someone kicked off the water's surface with all their might, landing atop the ferry as lightly as a cat before whispering—

"I'm sorry."

Then, pulling the girl into her arms, she said—

"Sorry I'm late..."

Her skilled hands stroked the child's trembling back.

The girl instinctively buried her face in the woman's chest—

And the woman held her tightly, as if shielding her from the world.

No—

As if shielding the world from her.

Sniff, sniff...

The girl smiled at the familiar scent.

Forgotten memories began surfacing one after another—

Like stones sinking into muddy water, stirring up clouds of silt from the depths.

"Mom..."

Yoon Hee-soo answered—

"Yeah, it's Mom..."

The girl asked—

"Mom, can you live without Hyesoo?"

She had waited for her mother for so long, sitting on the riverbank and staring at the River of Three Crossings.

Her mother's habitual words kept echoing in her mind—

"Mom can't live a single day without our Hyesoo."

Every night, as if overwhelmed by emotion, her mother would hug her tightly and say those words.

Because those words kept haunting her, she couldn't bring herself to cross the river she was meant to.

There was something she had wanted to say if she ever saw her mother again.

"Mom, live."

The girl pursed her tiny lips and spoke the words she had held onto for so long—

"Live, even without me."

Just to say this, she had endured all that time, staring at the silent river.

At that moment—

The wave looming right before them finally swallowed the ferry whole—

And an indistinct narrative, whether text or voice, echoed softly but clearly throughout the area.

"The ferocious serpents dwelling in the Abyssal Heart of the River of Three Crossings were too busy fleeing upstream in terror to attack."

"The most powerful serpent in this worldview, 'Ouroboros,' had descended and warned them to sheath their fangs and make way."

"As the Abyssal Heart quieted, the resounding horn of a colossal warship heralding destruction blared across the river."

Though the ferry rocked violently from the collision with the wave—

That was all.

The serpents passed them by without so much as baring their fangs, as if they had no intention of harming them.

"H-How...?"

The ferryman muttered in awe as he watched the serpents rush past upstream—

BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!

A deafening ship's horn shook the very foundations of the underworld—

And a massive vessel parted the thick mist, revealing itself.

"A true masterpiece..."

It was so overwhelming that the ferry he had painstakingly crafted with years of sawing and planing seemed pitiful in comparison.

As the ferryman stared in awe at the sudden appearance of the ship, a commanding voice rang out from its bow—

"Ferryman, bring the child here."

The ferryman gaped at the speaker—

"I have come to personally escort the child aboard your ferry to her destination."

The voice carried such an immeasurable rank that the ferryman couldn't even dare look up. He bowed deeply and replied—

"O-Of course, as you command..."

Though he was but a lowly deity whose only duty was ferrying the dead across the River of Three Crossings—

It wasn't hard to recognize the noble and dignified presence before him.

"This humble and unworthy ferryman of the River of Three Crossings pays his belated respects to the Ruler of a Netherworld..."

This was undoubtedly someone of immense stature.

The girl had been a curious child.

"Mom, what's this?"

She asked many questions.

Her mother answered every one.

Repeatedly, patiently.

"Hyesoo, Hyesoo..."

Now, the roles were reversed.

"Were you scared all alone?"

Now, it was the mother who had countless questions.

"Have you eaten? Aren't you hungry?"

She worried about meals.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

She worried about her child's well-being.

"I'm fine, Mom."

But the girl remained composed.

"Mom, you have to stop crying."

How had the child who couldn't sleep without her by her side grown so composed?

The mother could only resent the world that had forced her child to grow up too soon.

"Hyesoo, Hyesoo..."

After much hardship, the reunited mother and daughter were now in Naglfari's Cabin, too busy catching up to notice ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anything else.

Yoon Hee-soo changed her daughter's bloodstained dress into the clean clothes she used to love wearing in life.

"Mom, do I look pretty?"

"Yes, so pretty..."

She carefully combed the girl's tangled hair and tied it up neatly, then replaced the single remaining shoe with a pair of her favorite dress shoes.

Kang-jun watched the scene silently, unable to shake the lump in his throat.

"Hey."

When he spoke, the ferryman, who had been bowing repeatedly, startled and replied—

"Y-Yes...?"

Kang-jun stared at him intently and asked, puzzled—

"What happens to the kid now?"

The ferryman glanced at the River of Three Crossings visible beyond Naglfari's deck and answered softly—

"She'll soon arrive at the dock, where the underworld's enforcers will take her to stand trial before the judges."

"Trial?"

"A trial to weigh the karma of her life and determine her punishment. Since she committed the grave sin of dying before her parents..."

The ferryman trailed off, then added—

"She'll likely face a harsh sentence..."

Kang-jun glared at him murderously and growled—

"Bullshit. What kind of law is that?"

The ferryman shrank back and replied—

"Such is the law of the underworld..."

Then added—

"None would deny that the underworld's laws often lack flexibility and fairness."

"So?"

"But since all the deities of the underworld established these laws together, we have no choice but to obey. Even an unjust law is still law."

Kang-jun scoffed.

"Like hell I agreed to that."

Then declared bluntly—

"Might as well change that damn law today."

The ferryman's eyes widened.

"But to do so, you'd need to summon all the deities of the underworld and seek their approval, which would take..."

"Approval?"

Kang-jun cut him off, glaring at the distant dock where several underworld enforcers stood waiting with ledgers in hand.

"My word is the law."

The ferryman stammered—

"To gather all the deities of the underworld, you'd need to set a date far in advance..."

"By when?"

"The noble and dignified deities of the underworld are always busy with their duties, so arranging a meeting on short notice is..."

Kang-jun smirked darkly as he eyed the enforcers.

"If they think they can take their sweet time, I'll just make sure they can't."

He stretched casually and added—

"Bet they'll come running if I beat a few of these guys to a pulp."

With that, Kang-jun suddenly leaped off the ship—

"Gaeddong, let's go."

Marbas barked excitedly and followed—

"Woof woof!"

Kang-jun sprinted across the river's surface, kicking up sprays of water, before grabbing one of the stunned enforcers by the collar—

"Hey, tell your boss to come out."

Without another word, he slapped the enforcer across the face with full force.

CRACK—!

The entire underworld trembled in response.

[ The Ruler of the Netherworld Eternal Spring of Rest has declared hostility toward all underworld deities! ]

[ He threatens to kill the enforcers one by one unless they show themselves immediately! ]