Chapter 136: Over-immersion.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 136: Over-immersion.
It’s absurd.
The villains looking at me with eyes that seemed to scream those words were pathetic.
Scum.
The same bastards who shouted about how they hated that everything was decided by talent—why the hell did they attack a department store that had nothing to do with that?
Why do pieces of trash who try to gain something by oppressing those even weaker than themselves bother looking for a justification?
You should have just been honest and called it a robbery.
Fine. Sure, I can empathize to some extent with the idea that this world is absurd.
I’m feeling it myself in real-time, after all.
So, you all need to understand this, too.
“Mon… Monster!”
“Save me. Please!”
Since you ruined something precious to someone else, you should understand why I’m beating you to death. Right?
Emotions surge within me.
As if following my immature body, my mind felt like it was screaming at me to kill these bastards right this instant.
“So-hyun.”
If it weren’t for the voice calling my name, I surely would have done just that.
If it weren’t for the woman who still looked at the monster—the one who had single-handedly rampaged through the villains and was now drenched in blood—and still considered him her son.
Dammit.
Now isn’t the time for this.
Yeah, I’d love for them to just drop dead, but there was something far more important than personally snuffing out every last one of their breaths.
“Don’t die.”
I spoke the words unconsciously as I ran, clutching her in my arms.
I grew anxious as her weight seemed to grow lighter and lighter.
I wanted to divert my Reinforcement into recovery, but if I did that, there would be no way to escape this place.
“Please, don’t die.”
So, there was nothing I could do but run, praying that the life in my arms wouldn’t flicker out.
Lord of Myriad Worlds, Witch of the Time Flower—I don’t care who it is, just show yourselves.
You’re watching, aren’t you? Don’t just talk to me when you feel like it; come out now.
“I told you not to die. You promised me.”
A deal. Fine, let’s make a deal, the thing you all love so much. I’ll give you anything. Please, just once, help me just one more time.
She’s not even that important of a person.
The story won’t change just because one more person lives.
If you just save her, I’m telling you, I’ll show you a story you’ll be satisfied with!
But despite my desperation, no answer came.
“So-hyun…”
Shut up. Stop using that weak voice. Even when you were in that much pain, you smiled and said you wouldn’t die.
So why the hell are you doing this now, just when I’ve made up my mind to save you?
“So-hyun… aren’t you going to answer Mom? Then Mom’s just going to keep talking to herself, okay~?”
Please, just be quiet. Save your strength, at least.
Please.
“Mom is worried that So-hyun can’t open his heart to others. You’re always thinking and trying to find answers all by yourself.”
Yeah, it was a miserable life.
But there’s no need for it to be like that even after crossing over to another world.
Her breathing, which sounded like it could stop at any moment, was driving me insane with anxiety.
“But someday, someone will appear for So-hyun, too. Even though Mom couldn’t open So-hyun’s heart… a friend you get along with, or someone you love, will show up, right?”
Don’t say such unsettling things. If you tell me to believe it, I’ll believe anything right now.
I’ll even tell you everything I’ve been hiding, so please, stop saying things that make me anxious.
It’s not too late yet.
“Mom wanted to be by your side to see it, too.”
Then see it. Watch over me from my side. Don’t talk like you’re leaving. I have no intention of letting you die.
Desperation. Longing. They don’t hold as much meaning as one might think.
Nothing is achieved simply by wishing for it.
So, I ran.
Grasping a rope that’s about to snap is always something one must do for oneself.
I’ve failed to catch it every time until now, but maybe this time will be different.
“You know, Mom… actually knows. So, is it okay if I ask you just one thing?”
What? I’ll answer anything as long as you stay alive, so for now, just…!
“What is your real name? I feel like I won’t be able to ask if I don’t do it now.”
…It felt like my heart stopped.
Even so, my legs didn’t stop; they kept moving.
“…I couldn’t become a hero, but my talent actually awakened. It’s called Soul Sight, and it lets me see the shape of a person’s soul. You were clearly the child I gave birth to… but how could a newborn baby be so covered in scars? When I thought about it, I understood.”
She knew?
“Why didn’t the child who should have been wailing cry at all, and instead just froze up? Was it because no one comforted him? Or did he think there was no point in crying?”
…Come to think of it, that’s right. Kang Na-hyun was an orphan, too. Yet, she was a mother who embraced me.
I thought her breath would cut off any second, but as if experiencing Terminal Lucidity, she raised her hand and caressed my cheek.
It was cold.
Even so, my heart softened.
“Actually, the doctor said our baby’s heartbeat was so weak he might die. So I was prepared for it… but I started thinking, maybe you came to us in place of the child we might have lost. Thinking that made me always grateful to you. You were so considerate of me, even though I wasn’t your real mother.”
No, even if I hadn’t been here, Kang So-hyun would have been born, however weak he might have been.
So don’t be grateful.
“You might not think of me as your real mother, but I think of you as my son.”
I don’t deserve to hear those words. Not me, who judged you on my own, reached a conclusion, and didn’t even try to properly approach you.
“Ha-neul. It’s Ha-neul. That’s my name.”
“I see, Ha-neul. Ha-neul. Yes, Ha-neul. It suits you well. I’m sorry for changing your name without your permission.”
Dammit. What the hell are you so sorry for? Don’t be sorry.
I’m the one who’s much more sorry, the one who needs to apologize.
I’ve received so much from you all that I don’t even know where to start.
“But Ha-neul, if it’s okay with you, could I keep calling you So-hyun…”
“Stop it. Please. Just save your strength.”
“…and calling you my son?”
She was smiling with a mischievous look on her face.
She was smiling even in this situation.
“Of course.”
So, I imitated her.
In a smile that mimicked my benefactor, the face that people said was growing to resemble her blended in, becoming a smile that belonged to no one but me.
I smiled to reassure her.
I smiled, hoping for a miracle.
“Yes… thank you so much. My so… n…”
Her heartbeat weakened. There was no point in running like this anymore. So, I deactivated my Reinforcement and desperately focused my remaining Innate True Qi into her.
Her heartbeat returned, but in exchange, my body couldn’t withstand the weight and tried to collapse.
Don’t give me that shit. It’s bearable. I can still run. You know it’s over if you fall. I don’t care how, just move… please.
Just as I thought that and was about to collapse, someone blocked my path.
Who are you? Get lost.
As I thought that and looked up, a hero was there.
Seo Ye-hwa.
The woman standing at the pinnacle of all the world’s heroes.
With a look of utter shock, she was hurriedly calling out to others.
“Please save her.”
My mouth, which had been flickering, not knowing what to say, moved on its own.
“Please, save her.”
Just this once. Please, just this once.
“Please save my mom.”
I was such an idiot that only then, far too late, was I able to sincerely call her—no, Mom—Mom.
While sobbing uncontrollably.
More than when I cried remembering the family I lost in the hospital that day.
I clung to the hero and burst into tears.
The hero stroked my back for a long time, until I could no longer make a sound, could no longer move, and finally lost consciousness.
I cried wretchedly.
* * *
Even when I opened my eyes, no miracle had occurred.
Mom was critically injured. Though her wounds were treated and she survived, she lacked life force.
On the other hand, I had also injured my body as a price for using my talent, and I was similarly lacking in life force.
And most importantly, the remaining internal energy in Creator’s Favor was only a little over twenty percent.
I had intended to use only thirty percent—that was my limit—but I ended up using eighty percent.
The situation was so fucked up that I started to laugh.
Ah, dammit. This isn’t right. Seriously, I would have listened if you just told me; I could have done everything you asked.
This isn’t right.
What did I do that was so wrong?
I knew there were things called gods, but if this happens, it’s like…
It’s like saying my very birth was a mistake.
My sister clung to Mom and wailed.
She screamed that it was all my fault, and she shrieked as she hit me, saying this happened because it was my birthday.
So, Father hit my sister for the first time.
He barked at her, asking what the hell she was talking about.
When I rushed in to stop Father from going after my sobbing sister, telling him not to do it, only then did he seem to come to his senses. Trembling, he hugged her and apologized.
I didn’t like that sight.
Everyone, stop this bullshit.
It’s not over yet.
Why the hell are you all acting like it’s over?
Whether it was truly over or not didn’t matter. First and foremost, what mattered most was that I didn’t think so.
This kind of unfair crap? There’s been plenty of it until now. Looking back, there was always a way, and I’ve always overcome it.
So this time, I just need to find the way a little faster so I’m not late. I can do it.
At least she didn’t die this time; it’s not like the means to save her have completely vanished.
Yeah, the conditions are just a bit tight. Once I made up my mind like that, I felt a little better.
Let’s save her.
I’ll save her and then return everything to the way it was.
The doctor said she could hold on for about a year. After that, we might have to prepare ourselves.
In that case, until my next birthday comes around, I’ll just repeat what I was doing before.
Except, I’ll need to do it a bit more intensely.
I don’t have the luxury to look after my own body, so I’ll give everything.
I’ll adjust it just enough so I don’t die. I’ll use all the Innate True Qi I accumulate from now on for her treatment.
Then I can save her.
* * *
The family felt like it was going to collapse at any moment.
It’s okay. Once Mom wakes up, everything will be fine.
The time she spent asleep became longer than the time she was awake.
It’s okay. Life force is being gathered steadily.
Occasionally, my arms or legs stopped moving.
It’s okay. I never intended to do this without this much endurance.
Capillaries burst, and blood frequently flowed from my eyes and nose.
It’s okay. As long as she wakes up, as long as she recovers, it’ll all be fine. I can endure it.
I could no longer swallow medicine.
I might get scolded. She might say I overdid it.
But it’s all okay.
Because everything will be fine.
“Get lost. Please. If you’re not going to be of any help, just stay out of the way.”
“…I heard everything. That you’ve been forcing yourself to hold on using your talent.”
“I know, I know what you’re going to say, so shut up and move. I just need to do a little more.”
“…Do you even know what you look like? Mom said so.”
Father and my sister blocked my path.
Me? What about me?
“You’re at your limit now. Mom would be worried about you, too.”
Oh, I’m sure she would. But so what?
“So-hyun, let’s stop. Please.”
I told you to shut up. Stop what?
I’m different from you all.
I won’t let go so easily.
I’ve gathered enough life force. Now, just once.
If I use Reinforcement just one more time, I can bring her back.
…That was a lie. In truth, I knew.
My body was already at its limit.
As a price for exceeding my limits over the past year, if I used Reinforcement here without replenishing my life force, I would die.
In fact, there was no guarantee that the life force was sufficient, so I didn’t even know if I could save her.
But I desperately suppressed my anxiety and feigned ignorance.
So what if I’m at my limit? A miracle might happen. It hasn’t happened until now, so it’s okay for it to happen just once, isn’t it?
With just one miracle, I can see her again.
She’ll smile for me again.
This time, I’ll call her that name honestly. Over and over, hundreds of times, until she’s satisfied.
Mom.
That I missed her.
So.
“Please, just get the hell out of my way…!!!!”
A child cannot defeat an adult without their talent. And so, I was subdued.
The child was forced into sleep.
One day after the talent was cut off.
Without even being able to watch the final moments of the person he so dearly longed for.
The child woke from his sleep.
Looking at the woman for whom everything had already ended, who was no longer among the living, the child wept.
He cried.
And cried.
And cried again.
He poured out his resentment in anger, was eventually subdued, and yet, unable to overcome his indignation, he kept pouring it out.
Suddenly, a sense of revulsion rose within him.
Perhaps it was the final defensive wall to protect himself.
…It’s over-immersion.
Yeah, I’m just over-immersed right now.
A world like this is fake, after all.
In the end, it’s just a fabricated story.
They’re all just characters, not a single human being among them. Yeah. They’re nothing but puppets.
I tried to find what I had lost within a puppet show, so of course the ending wouldn’t be good.
It’s just that one character died. Let’s think of it that way.
I already knew she was destined to die anyway.
A character who has no impact on my return has died. Yeah, this was the kind of world I came to in the first place.
The problem was trying to save a puppet that was meant to die in a world with a fixed flow.
Then I won’t put in any effort anymore. I just need to follow the flow reasonably well.
I will return, no matter what sacrifice I have to make.
Because I don’t even want to breathe in this kind of world anymore.
Because if I let my guard down even a little, regret feels like it will come rushing back.
I.
Will return, no matter what it takes.