"Didn't I Tell You, Child? Great Success Demands Arduous Effort, Enduring Time, and Eternal Luck"
"Didn't I tell you, child? Great success is something that can only be achieved with painstaking effort, enduring patience, and the blessing of cosmic fortune."
"Guh... ugh... uh, uhhh... eugh!"
Whoosh. The old man exhaled the thick, acrid smoke of his cigar smoothly, gazing impassively down at the writhing mass of flesh at his feet.
"It was a fine plan, having that pure girl born under the sign of Virgo pick up 'His' flesh with her own hands on her first hundredth day. At the moment she lost her virginity in the most agonizing, lascivious, and wretched way—regardless of whether to male or female—'He' could awaken through her body as the vessel."
"The plan... was per... fect...!"
"Indeed. The plan was flawless. Not even those hypocrites in the Vatican caught wind of it, and we left no trace of you. All that was left was to let time take its course toward success. But you failed to foresee the interloper who would slip through the cracks of that time."
"I confirmed... the girl's fate! There was no inter... guh! ...loper!"
"Yet there was one. Coiled like a serpent in the shadows of fate that you overlooked. When it bared its fangs, could you stop it? No. You didn't even prepare for it—I know that much."
"......"
The old man tapped the ash from his cigar onto his pitch-black robes, darker than the abyss below. The black ashes vanished soundlessly, sucked into the void of the fabric.
"You ignored my teachings, spat on my efforts, and wasted my time. A tragic affair, truly tragic."
"Mercy..."
"Even knowing hell is your certain fate, will you beg salvation from a false god?"
"......"
"If what awaits you is the darkness of the bottomless pit, the flames of purgatory, and eternal bondage, you must accept it fully. Just as you cannot deny our cause, you cannot reject your end."
"Then... guh! I accept... Use my flesh to complete the Babylon Tower! Let it be the stepping stone for all the kings, beasts, and legions of the world to storm the heavens! Let me be a fragment of their joy and glory!"
"Your soul will pay the price of failure, but your flesh shall rightfully serve as our foundation. On the final day, we will tear the angels' wings and scatter them upon the earth, proclaiming our victory with their trumpets. When that day comes, you too shall join us. Do you believe in our covenant?"
"Confido!!!"
"Good. His grace shall be with you."
As the old man dropped the lit cigar onto the flesh mass, it melted instantly where it touched, seeping into the soil. It would sink to the deepest depths, suffer in the most ancient places, and await the final day in the most excruciating torment.
"One of my twelve disciples has returned to His embrace—like losing a finger."
The old man raised his hands, each bearing exactly six fingers, and watched calmly as the little finger on his right hand burned away in eerie flames.
"O beacon guiding us, educator shattering our ignorance, prophet gazing from the heights upon all things under heaven. Your finger has been called here."
"...My beloved disciple among the eleven, 'Ai.' Your brother 'Sak' has just departed on a distant journey. He shall never return to this land, becoming the cornerstone for our path forward."
"A truly sorrowful event. Yet my brother will rejoice in it as glory. Please cherish him tenderly."
"So it shall be. Though he failed, he did not fail."
Confirming that his right pinky had burned completely, leaving not even a knuckle behind, the old man slipped on black gloves.
"I have watched your exploits from here, so 'Ai,' report your success without reserve."
"I have found the beast crushed beneath the sea. It is Yam, one of the beasts of the appointed end, and it has pledged cooperation."
"Did you witness the extent of its power?"
"Immense, truly. It gathers the grudges and souls of the drowned dead adrift in the ocean, forging an army unbound by the false gods' dominion even upon the vast waters. That legion reaps the souls of foolish humans, and no foe can challenge its authority at sea."
"Your words ring true. But the final clause is wrong."
"!"
The man called 'Ai' flinched so violently his black suit trembled.
"For this foolish disciple, grant a fragment of your infinite knowledge piercing all creation."
"That majestic army, born of its power, was repelled upon the sea."
"If you declare it so, it must be. Yet this disciple's eyes are blind and ears deaf; I still cannot grasp the truth."
"There was an interloper. The impious interference of the one who shattered your brother 'Sak's plan on the brink of triumph."
"What manner of being is it?"
"......"
The old man fell silent for a long while. Knowing his cherished disciple yearned for an answer, he still could not speak. Neither his transcendent mind piercing all realms, his far-seeing eyes tracing fate's flow, nor his stature awaiting the promised final day could measure it. He could not voice uncertain conjecture. That was his nature.
"Prepare for the final day without hindrance. That is all you must focus on now."
"...As you command."
"Ramen at night hits different~ I could eat it forever~."
Before leaving Choi Sangjun and Imi Jin's house, I'd pocketed five million won in cash, so tonight I felt like splurging a bit. I dumped soft frozen mandu into the boiling ramen pot—plop plop—then chopped up some chili and green onions to keep the broth from getting bland. Finally, I added a dash of MSG, that shit the idiot ramen companies never include.
Foods that scream MSG never have any—meaning we've been eating bland-ass ramen our whole lives, half our existence scammed.
"The smell alone is next level. This is sex?"
I couldn't contain my joy, shaking my hips back and forth in the office pantry. I had this habit when I got too hyped. Probably.
As I waited for the mandu to cook, fresh side dishes from the market popped into mind: kkakdugi, oi-sobagi, seasoned squid shreds. Add a scoop of rice, and it'd be a proper man's feast.
"Drooling nonstop lmaoooo, my slick tongue gonna lick every corner of this slutty ramen www."
I hauled the pot—two ramen packs plus frozen mandu—to the office table, nuked some fresh rice, and plated the mouthwatering banchan. Rubbing my hands, I grabbed my chopsticks. Weather was turning chilly, so hunkered in this drab office, hot food called to me. Couldn't live on kongnamul gukbap forever, so I whipped up a proper spread. Humans crave human warmth, after all.
"Hoo, I'm slurping every last drop. Bring it."
Right as I reached for a huge slurp of noodles, the blinded window shattered.
Crash!
Flying glass and dust gang-raped my pristine ramen without mercy. Virgin no more.
I set down my chopsticks quietly and walked to the wreckage. What broke in was a grotesque brick bristling with rusty nails like a hedgehog. A normal brick? Could've been some drunk asshole hurling whatever to vent his overflowing rage. I'd forgive that—Korea basically excuses drunk crimes as diminished capacity. So I cracked a bottle of makgeolli from the fridge and chugged it. Now I was diminished.
Stepping out, I bumped into a crew creeping down the hall in balaclavas. Big fire axes, bats, sledgehammers in hand. No reno scheduled, so not workers.
"...Fuck! Kill him!!"
"Kill? You psycho! He's worth a million bucks! Capture only!"
"Just smash his legs!"
The crime of raping my ramen. Even Jesus would deliberate a thousand times if he'd forgive it.
"KIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!"