Chapter 4
Chapter 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Watcher II
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Shin Noah
“…….”
“Right?”
I didn’t answer right away.
Honestly, I was a bit surprised. At the same time, I grew intrigued.
I had openly revealed myself as a regressor on several occasions. But until now, the only one who had figured it out first was Old Man Show.
“Why do you think that?”
“I figured a regressor would come find me eventually. For one thing, you were taking down monsters at an absurd speed. But… seeing you ask like that, it looks like this is our first meeting in ‘this regression,’ right?”
I leaned my upper body forward a bit more. Creak. The convenience store’s green plastic chair scraped against the floor.
At first, I was just curious about the existence of the Constellations themselves. But now, my interest was shifting more and more toward the person right in front of me.
“You’re right. While I’ve been curious about the Constellations’ true nature all along, this is the first regression where I’ve started digging into it in earnest.”
“If you… if you really are a regressor, Undertaker, then I believe we absolutely must form a partnership going forward.”
“A partnership?”
“Yes. But right now, I can’t be certain whether you are or aren’t. From my position, anyway.”
The woman spoke cautiously.
She seemed extremely tense, but her tone held steady.
‘She’s got some backbone, at least.’
My eyes narrowed.
“Interesting. Why can’t you be sure I’m a regressor?”
“Because even if you had prophetic powers instead of regression, or mind-reading abilities that let you peer into my thoughts, the exact same situation could play out. So…”
Her opponent bowed her head.
“I’m sorry you went to the trouble of coming all the way to Seoul. I can’t fully open up yet about what the Constellations really are, how much I know, what my abilities are, and so on.”
“Hmm.”
Proper courtesy, and just the right amount of caution.
Maybe worth scratching at this lottery ticket.
“Fine. If I can prove I’m a regressor, will you answer all my questions?”
“…Yes.”
“Then there’s a simple solution.”
She lifted her head.
I pulled out my smartphone.
“We set passwords with each other.”
“Passwords?”
“Give me words or phrases I couldn’t possibly know unless I’m a regressor. Doesn’t have to be keywords—even specific actions are fine.”
It was the same method Old Man Show and I had used before.
A technique already verified back in the 7th regression.
“Once you set them, I’ll carry them out perfectly in the ‘next regression.’”
“Ah.”
She caught on immediately.
“That’s a great method. Hmm. Then in the next regression, come here and spread a red T-shirt out on the table. Just stay there quietly for 10—no, 15 minutes. And write [Moral Law] on it in big letters.”
“Hmm.”
“If you do that, I’ll contact you first.”
It was a clean plan.
“Got it. Saintess.”
“Ah… Sorry, that nickname is a bit…”
“Awakener nicknames are all childish anyway. I left mine alone thinking they’d come up with something cool later, and it ended up as Undertaker. Saintess is tame by comparison.”
“How on earth did you end up as Undertaker…?”
Whoops. I shot up from the table.
To reiterate, I absolutely despise my moniker. I’ll get a chance to explain how I ended up with it eventually, but I hope that chance comes later—way in the distant future. Or never at all.
“I’ll head out first. Saintess. See you next time.”
“Ah, okay. See you next time. It was nice meeting you, Regressor.”
The ‘next time’ I meant and the ‘next time’ she had in mind were worlds apart.
We parted like streams of water that meet easily and split just as easily.
After that day, no more messages from the ‘Constellations’ appeared to me.
Honestly, I felt a little disappointed.
Someone who’d reacted to my every exploit had vanished, after all. The emptiness hit harder than I expected.
Of course, my goal wasn’t to curry favor with the Constellations—it was to prevent the world’s destruction. I quickly pulled myself together and dove back into the world of the 35th regression.
And failed miserably.
If I’d succeeded, I never would’ve made it to the 1183rd.
‘Red T-shirt, was it?’
The 36th world, the 36th life, began.
I immediately fulfilled the promise from the previous world.
First, I cleared the Busan Station Gate in short order.
[‘Saintess of National Salvation’ is aghast at your exploits!]
[‘Lord of the Red Horse’ feels competitive against your power.]
[‘Conqueror of the Alps’ takes note of your movements.]
[‘Prime Minister of the Red Cloak’ grows wary of your skills.]
Just like last time, Constellation messages poured in.
It had been so long since I’d seen them that they felt welcome, but I ignored them for now.
Using the route Old Man Show had mapped out, I headed north to Seoul as fast as possible. Along the way, I didn’t forget to stop at a clothing store that hadn’t closed yet and buy a shirt.
[‘Saintess of National Salvation’ questions your actions.]
Even while moving, the Constellations kept trying to talk to me.
The moment I arrived at the convenience store near Jam-su Bridge, sat at the Parasol table, spread out the shirt, and scrawled ‘Moral Law’ on it with a marker.
[……. ]
[……. ]
The Constellations, who’d been so noisy, fell silent all at once.
I leaned back in the chair and sipped convenience store coffee. This store hadn’t been looted yet, so the products were intact.
Not long after, someone approached the store.
A woman with a hiking backpack on her back. Counting regressions, she was from the previous one; by time, 20 years ago—the ‘Saintess of National Salvation.’
No fresh surge of fondness welled up. As a long-time regressor, you get thoroughly used to partings and reunions.
Just this time, unlike before, I was the one waiting to greet her.
“Um, sorry, but by any chance…”
She eyed my face very cautiously.
I nodded.
“Yes. I am indeed a regressor. Saintess of National Salvation.”
“……!”
The Saintess gasped.
She stood frozen, clenching her fists tight. Whatever thoughts gripped her, I couldn’t tell.
After a long while, she finally spoke with difficulty.
“Please follow me.”
It was finally time to uncover the truth about the Constellations.
4
The Saintess’s hideout was in Yongsan.
With Yeouido included, the greater Gangnam area had evaporated in one go, making Yongsan essentially the front line right up against the Gates. It was one of the most dangerous spots in Korea right now.
“Come on in.”
It was a rundown apartment in Dongbigo-dong.
I looked around. Unlike the shabby exterior, the inside was clean.
No—more precisely, it went beyond clean into something eerie.
Four computer monitors in the dim living room emitted a bluish glow.
The monitor light faintly outlined the cardboard boxes scattered everywhere. Canned goods boxes. Bottled water. Bathed in the blue light, they looked more like they were submerged underwater than sitting on solid ground.
A large steel bookshelf lined one wall. But only a few books were sparsely shelved. In their place were 15-liter and 20-liter aquariums.
Dozens of glass tanks filled with water were densely arrayed.
Aquariums. Aquariums. Aquariums.
The space felt surrounded not by brick walls but by ramparts of water, like an underwater temple.
“You’ve been preparing for something like this for a long time.”
“Yes.”
The Saintess sat me on the sofa, then dragged over a computer chair for herself.
“Should I call you Regressor?”
“Call me whatever’s comfortable. My moniker is Undertaker.”
“Right, Undertaker. How many times have we met now?”
“Twice.”
“Twice.”
The Saintess murmured softly.
“So this is practically our first real meeting. I didn’t explain anything last regression, after all. Right?”
“Exactly.”
“I suppose I have a lot to explain… Where should I start?”
“First, about the Constellations. What exactly are they? Are they real transcendent beings? Are you their proxy, Saintess?”
“…….”
The Saintess’s lips twitched. Not out of reluctance to answer, but like she was carefully choosing her words.
Finally, she spoke.
“The Constellations… don’t exist.”
“They don’t exist?”
“Yes. The Saintess of National Salvation, the Conqueror of the Alps—they’re all just characters I created by myself.”
That surprised me a little.
I’d already hypothesized that the Constellations might be fictional. But I hadn’t imagined one person alone pulling off so many of them.
I’d thought it took a team of at least five or six.
“Why go to such lengths?”
“…….”
The blue glow from the monitors scattered hazily across the living room. Fish gulped in the small tanks.
“I awakened about 20 days ago. That’s when my hair color changed, and I started having nightmares about monsters. Dreams so vivid it was impossible to dismiss them as mere fantasy.”
I nodded.
It was the exact experience countless Awakeners worldwide had right before Gates erupted everywhere. A kind of precognitive dream.
“For some reason, I was convinced those dreams would come true. So I thought about what I could do. Beyond stocking cans or bottled water—what only I could do.”
The Saintess looked me straight in the eye.
“Regressor. No, Undertaker. Once Awakeners gain their powers, will they really uphold society’s order?”
“Pardon?”
“Awakener abilities are incredible. Take me—I got two, no, three powers that defy common sense. Can humans granted such strength easily unite, act righteously, and restrain themselves from crime at minimum?”
Fish shadows flowed across the living room floor.
Her voice seeped into the gloom.
For a moment, I felt like a child from my youth, diving underwater in the bathhouse without a care. She was lowering the water level with that gaze.
“I judged they wouldn’t.”
“…….”
“If someone with immense power appeared to unite the Awakeners, that’d be fine. But that takes countless trials and time. Until then, Awakeners will splinter into factions, dragging civilians into their turf wars and sacrificing them casually. And the more humanity fractures, the worse we’ll handle the Gates.”
It was spot-on speculation.
In fact, most nations followed that path to ruin.
Korea was an outlier that held out unusually long.
‘Hold on.’
In that instant, a hypothesis flashed through my mind like lightning.
I stared into the Saintess’s pitch-black pupils.
Pupils that wouldn’t flicker even submerged.
“No way?”
“…….”
She nodded faintly.
“Undertaker. When do people hesitate to commit evil? When they feel someone is watching them.”
“…Constellations.”
“Yes.”
Shock widened my eyes.
The Saintess continued.
“If people think they can hide or cover up a crime, they break order easily. But if they’re convinced a transcendent being monitors them anytime, anywhere, even Awakeners will hesitate to do wrong.”
“Good heavens.”
“That’s why I created the Constellations.”
It felt like taking punch after punch to the psyche.
The Constellations that had watched over me through the long span up to the 36th regression—especially the ‘Saintess of National Salvation’—being fake was surprising enough. But knowing it all stemmed from one person’s meticulous plan was downright shocking.
“But how did you create the Constellations?”
“Thanks to my abilities. I have [Clairvoyance] and [Telepathy].”
She explained her powers, which boiled down to this:
1. Clairvoyance: I can observe any Awakener within a 1,000km radius whenever I want. I can even hear their voice.
2. Telepathy, or Message Delivery: I can send voice messages to targets I’m aware of. Text too, but limited to 140 characters.
…Both had endless applications.
I looked at the person before me with renewed eyes.
With the right conditions, she had the qualities to lead top guilds like [Three Thousand] or [Baekhwa] someday.
“Impressive. With abilities like that, you could’ve stepped forward and united the Awakeners yourself.”
“I considered it… but I’m really bad at standing in front of people and taking charge.”
“Ah.”
“I think it was the best I could do. I don’t know about the future… but I’ll keep it up as long as I can. As long as I don’t die.”
Hearing that, memories of past regressions surfaced.
Even right up to the world’s end, the Constellations never stopped messaging Korean Awakeners. After 4 years, 7, 10—they endured.
I thought about the hardships this Awakener must’ve endured to maintain that facade.
Countless difficulties, no doubt. [Clairvoyance] and [Telepathy] were great, but useless in direct combat.
Yongsan, moreover, was a hotspot right by a colossal Gate. A hotspot for faction clashes ahead.
“…What do you think? Regressor.”
Having overcome all those trials to survive to the end every time, this Awakener now gazed at me with eyes mixed anxious and impatient.
“Did I fulfill my role to the end?”
“…….”
I unconsciously clenched my fist. Various thoughts soaked my mind.
After a brief silence, I answered.
“Yes. Perfectly. You even fooled me, a regressor.”
“…….”
“Thanks to you, crime rates among Awakeners here were uniquely low. They cooperated relatively well against Gates too. Your efforts weren’t in vain.”
Though we ultimately couldn’t stop the world’s end.
Even then and now, I never mentioned to her the hundreds of ways our world met its doom.
At minimum, her presence prevented Awakener supremacy from running rampant. Fewer chances for cults like New Buddha or Resurrection Church to thrive.
“…I’m relieved.”
Hearing my answer, the Saintess slumped back in her chair. A small sigh of relief escaped her.
For some reason, that sigh sounded in my ears like a goldfish that had swum underwater for ages finally bubbling up at the surface.
Afterward, we closely discussed how we’d cooperate.
I think our partnership was essentially sealed right then. From the 36th to the 1183rd regression, the Saintess was almost always a steadfast ally at my back.
“How should I address you? Calling you Regressor might give away your secret, Undertaker.”
The Saintess propped her chin.
“Hero?”
I waved it off immediately.
“No, hero is a bit… Just call me Undertaker.”
Forget embarrassment—the term triggered a certain neurosis I despised. I’ll explain that peculiar mental quirk later.
“Got it. Undertaker from now on.”
“That works best. Oh.”
As we were about to part, I asked.
“By the way, isn’t faking Constellations impossible with just Clairvoyance and Telepathy? You have to monitor multiple people simultaneously and send messages. Don’t you have another ability?”
“Ah, that’s…”
The Saintess hesitated, then smiled faintly.
“It’s a secret. I’ll tell you later.”
Sadly, her ‘later’ didn’t mean the 36th regression’s timeline.
It would take many more regressions to uncover her final secret.
5
This story has an epilogue.
Starting from the 36th regression, linking up with the Saintess right after regressing became my standard opening move—like a fixed tech tree, or a go opening gambit.
Barring the immediate post-regression phase, the Constellations no longer bombarded me with their ‘countless alliance requests’ like before.
One day, amid a faint regret over that fact, around the 134th regression, a message window popped up after ages.
[‘Operator of Myriad Diversions’ announces a new event.]
I blinked.
The Constellation’s name was utterly unfamiliar.
Myriad Diversions? Translating, ‘The Operator of All Phenomena’s Amusements’ or something.
‘The Saintess must’ve gotten bored and messed around.’
I brushed off the rare occurrence. The message came only once anyway.
Days later, when I met the Saintess, I asked.
Not out of serious curiosity—just a light icebreaker during strategy talks.
“Oh, right—why’d you suddenly impersonate a weird Constellation the other day?”
“Huh?”
“A week ago. You sent a message as ‘Operator of Myriad Diversions.’ I was surprised you’d slip up like that. Did you mean it for another Awakener and send it to me by mistake?”
“……?”
The Saintess tilted her head.
“I never sent any such message.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve never even created a Constellation called Operator of Myriad Diversions.”
A chill current ran down my spine.
Unaware or not of my state, the Saintess’s face remained impassive. No sign of lying, at least.
Somehow, the air around us felt colder.
“Maybe you misread it, Undertaker?”
“…….”
For a moment, I imagined an abyss yawning at my feet, a massive shadow gliding beneath.
…This world still held plenty of mysteries I didn’t know.
- Watcher. End.