Chapter 218
Chapter 218
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 218
Chapter Title: Soul, and Souls (18)
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“…….”
The girl strolling slowly through a garden filled only with blooming white lilies suddenly lifted her head to gaze at the sky. The cloudless blue expanse was utterly serene, yet she stared at it for a long while, as if she had spotted “something.”
A gentle breeze tousled her hair. Strands of her beautiful silver locks scattered one by one, sparkling in the sunlight.
“Theophania.”
Theophania.
There was only one person on the continent with that name, meaning “manifestation of God.”
The “Saintess.”
Only the Saintess was permitted to inherit the sacred name of Theophania. For it was a name created by the blessings of the gods.
The girl called Theophania lowered her gaze from the sky and looked toward the servant who had addressed her. The maid kept her eyes cast downward, not daring to raise her head, and quietly asked.
“Is something troubling you…….”
“…….”
Instead of answering, the girl smiled softly. She gazed out over the vast lily garden, then back up at the sky before replying.
“……The flowers smell so nice.”
She reached out and plucked a large, plump lily. With a soft *pop*, her small, delicate hand lifted the flower. The girl peered quietly into the fully bloomed lily.
Layer by layer, through the thin, soft petals, she could see “something” others could not. Or more precisely, she could “feel” it.
“……Who is it?”
In a place where no human could be, where no human should be, she sensed the presence of “someone.” Like a single rose blooming amid the field of white lilies, the girl could clearly feel “someone” there.
Was this a good omen?
Or a bad one?
“…….”
She couldn’t tell yet.
But she would find out.
For that was “fate.”
“……Shall we head back?”
The girl brought the blooming lily to her round nose, inhaling its scent for a moment, then slowly resumed walking.
* * *
-Creeeak……
The door opened.
Just a tiny bit.
“This is…….”
I froze in place, staring at the slightly ajar door. It was a door I knew all too well. An old one, worn at the bottom, with colorful stickers from long-forgotten trends plastered near the handle.
“Elementary school…….”
Yeah.
That door was from the villa where my family lived when I was in elementary school.
And now it was popping up here?
“……Doesn’t feel like a good sign.”
Maybe I was hallucinating as I lay dying, or perhaps I was already dead.
So this door might be some kind of “life flashing before my eyes.”
“…….”
Would going through this door kill me?
I stood before it, lost in thought for a moment.
Vivid memories flooded back of the day I stuck those red, yellow, and purple monster stickers around the handle. I’d bought bread just to get the stickers. Even as a kid, I knew wasting food was a sin worthy of divine punishment, so I’d taken the bread my friends were tossing and scarfed it down. How many years ago was that?
“I’ve thought about going back to my original world, but not this far back…….”
I reached for the handle but paused, glancing around. Beyond this door, there was nothing but void, endless void. No other doors in sight.
So this was the only path.
“……No point overthinking it. Wastes time.”
Not sure if “time” even existed in this space, but I scratched the back of my head and grabbed the handle anyway.
The round, worn handle, imprinted with years of use, felt strangely warm. Maybe because of that warmth, I hesitated to open it right away, just holding on……
-Whoosh!
I threw it open with force and stepped through.
-Flash!
In that instant, blinding light poured out. It engulfed my vision, so I reflexively raised my arm to shield my eyes. When things quieted and I lowered it again.
-@#%@#^&*…….
-&^*#……We’re…….$@# friends……!
Sunlight streamed into a cramped room. A small TV played a familiar cartoon theme song, and in front of it lay empty bread bags and half-eaten ones scattered about.
“……This is too real, even for real.”
No joke. It didn’t feel fabricated at all—it was exactly like that moment, that space from back then. As if I’d returned to that time……
-Click!
That’s when it happened.
The sound of the front door opening from outside. Who could it be? An intruder? I held my breath, focusing on the noises beyond.
-Thud!
-Shhhh……
Wait, this is……
“Kang Tae-oh! Watching cartoons again?!”
The unexpected voice made me jump out of my skin.
Mom.
The voice from outside was “Mom’s.” Yeah, that’s right. This is how it went. I’d come home from school, eat bread, watch cartoons, and before I knew it, Mom would be back starting dinner. To hide that I’d been watching TV, I’d turn it off and pretend to sleep under the covers.
“Kang Tae-oh!”
Her voice—much younger than the last time I’d heard it—called my name. It had a slight edge of annoyance. Right on cue for the scolding about homework.
“Did you finish your homework?! The workbooks?!”
Yup, there it was!
……No, wait! Hold on! After yelling like that, she’d come inspect the room, and if she did now……
“……!”
I couldn’t face Mom like this!
Of course not. The “me” from this time was elementary school Kang Tae-oh! If a battle-hardened “Theodor” from another world showed up instead, what would anyone think?!
“They’d think I’m a burglar, a burglar!”
I frantically scanned the room. Somewhere to hide? The wardrobe? No way, it’s stuffed with blankets and clothes. Under the covers? Insane! An adult and a kid have different sizes! Then, then, then……
“Damn it!”
Desperately searching, my eyes landed on the “window.” The sun was setting, red light pouring in from behind the TV. If I went out that way……
“……Going out means death, right?!”
Yeah. Our place was on the fifth floor. Low, but falling from that height would shatter bones for sure……
Wait, no?
I wasn’t elementary school Kang Tae-oh anymore. I was Theodor, rolled through another world, with skills like [Leaf Step]! Jumping from the fifth floor might be nothing!
“Kang Tae-oh! You’re not hiding your workbooks, are you?!”
“……!”
“Open this door?!”
Mom’s voice was sharpening, her anger meter rising by the second. Time was running out—very little left. Mom’s patience wasn’t great. Having decided, I……
-Slide!
Yanked the window open and stepped onto the sill. And right then.
-Bang!!!!
An enraged Mom flung the door wide.
“Kyaa, kyaack!!!!!”
Damn, caught. At least just my back. Ignoring her scream, I leaped out the window.
-Whoosh!
Endless freefall began. Our place was fifth floor, but considering how long I’d been falling, it felt like twenty, no thirty floors easy. I looked up. Not even the villa window I’d jumped from—nothing.
Yeah. Back to the void.
“Again…….”
As I sighed, a forgotten memory resurfaced. Oh yeah, back in elementary school, there was that burglar break-in. Some creep invaded, ran into Mom, fled out the window. Nothing stolen, no trace from a fifth-floor jump, so the cops dropped it……
“……Huh.”
……Wasn’t that what just happened?! Was that burglar me?!
My god. The realization hit; I clapped a hand over my mouth. Wait, so the place I was just in……
……Was that “real” moment, that “real” space?
-Thud!!!!!
No time to process—I slammed into the ground. The long fall ended. Ignoring the throbbing pain, I pushed myself up. Dust billowed. Looking around, darkness descended. And then.
-Rumble……
Another familiar door appeared before me. This one, too, unmistakable. Dull gray, heavy, crude, filthy.
“…….”
This door……
“……”
I didn’t approach. I just stood frozen, peering into the open gap.
-#@$@&*^……!!
-!$@!$…….
-!@$!@$^&!!!
Muffled voices leaked from the tiny slit.
Like sounds heard underwater—muddy, distant.
And……
-Smack!
-Splash!!
-!#$##@!^*!!
-Cough!
Cruel sounds I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten.
I looked down at my hands. Cold sweat slicked my palms. Would they even grip the handle without slipping?
-@!$!@&^*!!!
The gap still leaked hoarse shouts. Like before the villa door, I could guess what lay beyond this dingy gray one. That’s why my feet wouldn’t move.
“…….”
But I couldn’t stand there like a statue forever.
Slowly, I approached the door. Gripped the cold metal handle, then let go.
This door didn’t need politeness.
I took a deep breath, then kicked the heavy metal door with all my might.
-Boom!!!!!!
And then……
Far off, a boy in a dirt-caked uniform lay collapsed, surrounded by a gang.
“……What are you doing?”