Wien Joun (3)
Wien Joun “……”
A pitch-black room. Only the light of the full moon shining through the night sky illuminated the space. Choi Siwoo quietly surveyed his surroundings. He could make out luxurious interior decor fit for nobility or the elite.
In the farthest corner from there sat a woman slumped against a chair's backrest.
“Wien.”
“……”
No response came, as if she heard nothing. With hollow eyes, she tilted back a bottle of wine and drained it in one go. Her innate beauty and meticulous care gave her skin a radiant glow. Flushed cheeks from the alcohol added a strange allure that filled the room.
Any man would feel a pang of longing at such a sight, but Choi Siwoo knew better. It wasn't some sticky, seductive beauty. It was utter despair, a complete abandonment of life itself.
He stepped forward. Furniture passed through him like he was invisible.
Successfully made contact with Wien Joun.
But direct intervention was impossible. That seemed to be the rule of this space.
...Just watch in silence, then. Her sorrow, her despair.
He crouched to read a crumpled paper on the floor. It was a section of yesterday's newspaper, by the looks of it.
• Olympus Corp to hand over massive assets at fire-sale prices... Bankruptcy on the horizon
• Jo-un Patriarch Gwen Joun kneels, forehead to the floor before Phantom Corp's president...
• Phantom Corp backed by the Association...?
• Villain overlord, Queen of Grafting Yuri Joun casts the grafting curse... leaving her own daughter Wien Joun...
“……”
The articles indirectly explained her dire situation.
Timing suggests right after the Demon God's descent began.
This must have been when it started. When she completely broke and crumbled.
The scenery shifted rapidly. Time accelerated until it settled on a small chapel. Wien, dressed in black mourning clothes, clung to two coffins, sobbing hysterically. Her eyes were unfocused, mad with grief. Her raw screams of true despair filled the air.
“...Wien.”
He tried to approach, to reach out. But he couldn't. The space rejected him as if Choi Siwoo had never existed.
Time flowed on. Now she wore combat fatigues, stepping onto the battlefield with grim resolve. Dozens of magic circles bloomed from her hands. Wherever they touched, everything exploded and crumbled.
At first, she sent enemies painlessly to the afterlife. But as time passed, she turned to fire for mass slaughter, then poisons and curses, leaving scenes of horror.
Soon her magic melted the Association's corrupt ranks and all who had ruined her.
Yet Wien found it insufficient, inefficient. No matter how strong her power, she was just one person. How could she kill enemies more efficiently?
“...I'll make them.”
Madness gleamed in her eyes. Thick, sludge-like magic circles crawled up her arms. She casually committed an act forbidden even to dark mages—a grave taboo.
Corpses on the ground rose, merging into hulking masses. At her command, they tore enemies apart. She ignored pleas for mercy. No forgiveness for those who killed her family and plunged her into despair.
Mountains of bodies piled up, rivers of blood flowed. How much time passed? The young woman in uniform was now a bespectacled scholar, her former innocence gone, matured into a woman after at least a decade. Her expression was lighter, the madness in her eyes vanished. A bracelet-like restraint adorned her wrist.
“Haa...”
A faint presence stirred behind her as she agonized over research. Unknowingly, her lips curved into a smile.
Moments later—whap!—a small life latched onto her back.
“Aigoo~ Got me~”
With exaggerated flair, Wien turned, grinning. Over ten children gazed at her, eyes sparkling, calling “Teacher!”
“Alright, alright~ Line up one by one~”
She cast healing magic on each child. In a world where gods' power waned, divine healers were rare. With medicine scarce, recovery magic was priceless.
Mid-treatment, she froze.
“……”
A girl tilted her head with a curious “Ung?” A black stain spread across her side—the curse born from the Demon God's descent and the Six Demons' ravaging. Incurable, only delayable. A death sentence.
“Teacher?”
“……”
Wien gave a bitter smile, popping candy into the girl's mouth. The child's face lit up. She vowed: As long as her power held, she'd protect these kids. They'd reawakened her heart amid hatred and destruction. She'd fight for them.
And that vow crumbled before her eyes soon after.
“……Ah.”
Flames roared. Her sanctuary, her hope—the lab—burned fiercely.
Squelch. Heavy footsteps thudded behind her.
Turning creakily, Wien saw the children.
“T…Tea…ch…er.”
“……”
Her heart raced. Breath grew ragged. The children were there... but no longer themselves. Twisted, fused flesh-monsters.
Familiar magic circles marked their torsos. Her own corpse soldier creation technique—sealed in the bracelet for non-dark mages. Now used.
In the center, a white-haired man cackled madly, pointing at her.
She remembered him.
Phantom Corp executive...
He bellowed at her. Words incomprehensible, but the emotion clear: revenge for her sins.
“……”
Choi Siwoo silently watched the horror.
What followed was familiar. She killed the man, mercy-killed the children, and shattered completely. Her last spark of heart broken, she stuttered, lost faith in herself, became a pathetic shadow spying on others' glances.
Her long-developed purification magic failed too. She couldn't overcome the world's curse.
Soon, the end times loomed.
“Cough... hack...”
Wien gasped, eyes trembling as she looked down. Her limbs were severed. Beside her stood a knight of pure despairing darkness.
Ah, so that's it...
Finally dying. Finally ending it.
A smile tugged at her lips unbidden. Tears streamed down.
At last, her tormented life would end. She closed her eyes slowly.
Soon, a severing sound—and her head rolled.
Thud.
“……”
Choi Siwoo gently picked up the head that touched his foot. Though he couldn't grasp anything else, this was allowed. Warmth lingered in the soft head as he cradled it.
He wiped the blood and dirt from her face. A faint, peaceful smile graced her lips.
The world began to crumble, cracking and shattering.
“……”
Opening his eyes, he found a completely different space. Opulent decor screamed wealth.
As he scanned, reminiscent of the start, a sniffle echoed.
“Hic... sob...”
A girl cried at a dark table. Birthday cone hat atop her head, lavish cake and foods before her.
“……”
He approached quietly, unfolding a card on the table.
Sorry we couldn't make it.
“...Wien.”
The girl flinched at the call. Barely seven, she stared blankly at Choi Siwoo.
“...Who... are you?”
“……”
What to say? What did this space mean?
Choi Siwoo closed his eyes, reflecting on Wien Joun's life. What had she truly wanted?
Decided, he pulled up a chair and sat.
“I'm here in their place. Wanna sing happy birthday with your big bro?”
“...R-Really?”
“Yeah.”
He straightened her crooked hat, sliced foods with a knife for easy eating, and gently took her hand.
“Sorry. For leaving you alone... If we'd just talked calmly... maybe things would've been a little different.”
“...Oppa?”
With a bittersweet smile, Choi Siwoo lit the remaining candles. Applause synced with the birthday song.
Eyes wide, the girl blew them out one by one—phoo~.
As light faded to darkness, at the last candle, she beamed innocently amid the dying glow.
“Thank you, oppa!”
“……”
Darkness swallowed everything. He reached out. In her place lay a single glowing fragment.
...The third one.
He stood. Two left. As he pondered his next move, the emblem on his shoulder blazed.
“...Thanks, Pingchang Goddess.”
Blasphemous? It burned hot in retaliation. Choi Siwoo chuckled softly and followed the emblem's guidance.
Passing through a weathered brown door revealed a rundown rural village.
“...Here...”
A familiar place. Not from his own memories, but a hazy borrowed one.
Noise drew his gaze. A platinum-blonde girl dashed by, giggling “Hehe,” her face mud-splattered. Beside her, a mud-covered boy played too.
Erina...
And his childhood self.