Chapter 30: The Past
Chapter 30: The Past
The artist's final touch.
Unlike the swift, fluid strokes that came before, this was the final period, placed with lingering affection and effort.
With just a stroke across its face, the statue’s expression blossomed into a bright smile.
They say the mark of a masterpiece is the presence of something indefinable.
If so, this work certainly belonged in that category. With that single final touch, it no longer felt like a mere statue, but like something truly alive.
The entity that had felt like a mere duplicate of myself until moments ago had now broken away, becoming an independent individual.
"All done!"
Linshua smiled as she unveiled her creation.
Another 'me' had appeared before my eyes.
A version of myself that smiled, radiating happiness.
A face I had never seen in the mirror.
Someone else, someone who wasn't me, searching for happiness.
Like a being from a mirror world blocked by an insurmountable wall.
A version of me that shouldn't exist stood right there.
Is this how my daughter sees me?
"It looks just like you, right, Dad?"
"Yeah."
I held onto that thought and met her eyes.
I wondered what kind of expression I was making.
Was the 'me' that I couldn't see currently wearing the same face as the statue?
I gently stroked her hand.
Though it would heal soon, her hand was cracked and bleeding. Since she used her hands as substitutes for chisels, getting scratched was common, but I had never seen her hand so twisted before.
The missing flesh and fingernails were likely embedded somewhere inside that statue.
"You don't always do this, do you?"
"I only focused this hard because it's for you, Dad."
"I see. You don't have to work this hard normally."
A masterpiece adorned with fragments of emotion and forged from blood and flesh by the creator of Mutants.
Was it really okay to release such a being into the human world?
Was my stubbornness about to unleash another nightmare upon the world?
Something beyond my imagination had been created according to my thoughts.
Even before I had breathed life into it, the thing exuded an overwhelming pressure.
Is this what Baek Si-hyun felt when she first saw me?
"Linshua. Is it finished now?"
"Not yet! I have to give it a personality. Since this is you, Dad, you should be the one to put it in!"
"What about the DNA?"
"You mean the blood? We can do that while we're putting in the personality."
Perhaps because this was a creation of an entirely different nature than biotechnology, my DNA didn't seem to be the priority. It was merely for the final finishing touch.
I suppose I have to do it.
Steeling my heart, I stood before the statue.
"How do I do it?"
"Place your right hand on its chest and think of the personality you want it to have!"
Right hand on the chest.
It reminded me of when I made my contract to become a Magical Girl.
Back then, too... I placed my hand like this...
Whoosh.
A wind blew.
Before I knew it, the two of us were left alone in a space where a Mana Storm raged.
Only the 'me' forged by Otherworldly Power and the 'me' that was myself remained.
Then, she would come walking out.
Thump. Thump.
The sound of boots echoed.
Emerging through the storm, she appeared.
The Magical Girl adorned in white and blue, wielding a Golden Hammer.
The Magical Girl version of me.
Whether she was the essence of a Magical Girl or someone else, I didn't know, but this was our third meeting.
The first time, she showed no emotion.
The second time, she revealed a glimpse of feeling.
What would it be the third time?
For some reason, I spoke words I had never been able to utter before.
"Who are you?"
"..."
Only now could I say it.
Thirty years had passed.
I had seen countless Magical Girls.
I had spoken with many of them. They all said the same thing.
That no 'Magical Girl' had appeared before them when they made their contract.
They saw a light.
They saw The Queen.
They exchanged contracts with a Mascot.
They walked through a dark world and grasped a Magic Staff.
They might have seen bizarre creatures.
But they never saw themselves.
I should have asked this during our second meeting.
But the words wouldn't come then. I hadn't felt like I could.
Yet, for some reason, I felt I could say it now.
Who are you?
She showed no emotion at my question.
She simply turned her head slightly to look at the statue behind me.
"You have already come this far."
Does that mean she has no intention of answering?
She descended to the ground.
"I shall watch over you, so proceed."
"What are you talking about?"
"Are you not creating a living being? Since it is your first time, I shall supervise to ensure you do not make a mistake."
First time? Contract?
"That thing is a Mutant."
"And so are you. Is there any fundamental difference?"
"Mutants are different from humans."
"You would like to think so."
She was no help at all.
She gave no answers.
"Didn't you show up to do something?"
"I am watching over you, am I not? Hurry up. I am a busy person."
Her tone suddenly became strangely casual.
What is with her?
The mysterious atmosphere vanished in an instant as she pulled out a cigarette from somewhere.
As the White Rod was held between her lips—
Clank. Clank.
The back of The Hammer in her hand transformed into an afterburner.
The tip of the cigarette caught fire.
"It is your prerogative to stall for time, but in the end, is your choice not already firm?"
As she spoke, acrid smoke wafted toward me.
Whether she was aiming for me with pinpoint precision or not, the smoke blown from her mouth with overwhelming pressure reached me even at this distance.
Fine. Whatever that thing is, it doesn't matter to me.
I have made up my mind, and I will release a new Mutant into the world.
I placed my right hand on the statue's chest.
I remembered that day thirty years ago. Surely, back then, she had slowly turned her hand to the right.
"Keep the speed slow. Always at a constant pace. Put your heart into it."
As if she knew exactly what I was thinking, she offered advice.
"Shut up."
"Then do as you please."
Tsk. She was much better when she was being mysterious.
Despite my words, I followed her advice and moved my hand slowly.
Even if this being is a Mutant, let it be righteous.
Let it not know the miserable pain we possess.
Let it stay by the side of my lonely daughter.
Let it take up arms for the suffering weak.
Let it harbor an unyielding set of values in its heart.
Let it not be stained by the burning desires within.
Let it show no mercy to cruel enemies.
Let it encounter the convictions of others and take them to heart.
Let it not demand reward for its actions.
Let it not consider its own life as something noble.
Let it continue to challenge an unjust world.
Let it protect the peace forged by the blood of Heroes.
By the time my hand had completed a full circle—
"Isn't that a bit too complicated? Some of those phrases even contradict each other."
"So you can read minds, too."
Who the hell is she?
I didn't know if the contract had been successful, but seeing as the one behind me wasn't complaining, there probably wasn't a major issue.
"Is this the end?"
"Yes."
She had already put out her cigarette and returned to her original posture.
Holding her hammer, dressed in her pristine Magical Girl outfit.
Unlike the statue, even though she looked exactly like me, there was no sense of dissonance.
If the statue was my Mirror Image, she was my reflection in the water.
An image that breaks and doesn't reflect properly, yet a self that can distort its own existence by reaching out beyond the surface.
Feeling the Mana Storm coming to an end, I asked once more.
"What are you?"
"I told you everything during our first meeting. And that is all."
Returning to her mysterious aura, she swung her hammer.
"Be careful. Time is moving."
The Hammer resting on her shoulder swayed, and she vanished.
"Linshua."
"Yeah?"
"What was I doing?"
"You put your hand on the statue and turned it once!"
It was the same this time. Only I could see her.
Someone even Un-ho didn't know about.
No, was it myself?
I didn't know.
I pulled my right hand away from the statue.
Rip. Tear.
A sharp sting of pain.
The skin of my palm, which had stuck to the statue, tore away, and the statue absorbed the blood and flesh left on its surface.
"Hey! You can't do that!"
Linshua got angry at the statue for tearing my hand and smacked the back of its head, but naturally, the statue didn't react.
"Do you think a statue can understand you?"
"It's not a statue anymore. It's alive."
"Alive? It still looks like a statue."
"A thought has awakened! It'll start moving soon."
I suppose the expert knows best.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
Linshua’s small hands continued to smack the statue.
"Eating other people is bad. Especially since he's my dad."
The sight of her talking while hitting the statue was quite bizarre, but in Linshua’s eyes, this thing was already her friend.
Just as she had wept bitterly when her old ceramic bird broke, saying her friend had died, her definition of what constitutes a living being was likely very different from ours.
Thinking back, that ceramic bird might have actually been alive, imbued with Linshua’s power.
"How long will it take to move?"
"I don't think it'll take long. Is it because it received your personality, Dad? Its awakening is fast."
"Then let's go eat. You're hungry, right?"
She had been focusing on making the statue for hours.
"Yeah!"
Linshua nodded vigorously with a joyful expression.
"Where's the Dining Hall?"
"It's not that far."
I followed Linshua as she ran happily out of the workshop.
Creeak.
As the door opened, light poured in.
Not artificial light, but cascading natural sunlight.
A vast sky.
We seemed to be in a high place, as the blue sky stretched out beyond the large glass windows in front of us.
"It's pretty, right? This is the best place to see it."
"Yeah, it's beautiful."
Blue clouds and a clear sky.
And twin buildings that looked very familiar.
...?
Twin buildings?
Startled by the sight of those buildings, I ran toward the window.
"Don't run, Dad! If you break the window again, I'll get in trouble!"
I can control my strength that much, so don't worry. But that's not the problem right now.
They were a bit larger than the twin buildings in my memory, but their appearance was unmistakably the same.
Giant towers with numerous devices attached to them, swelling their size as they scanned the surroundings.
I pressed myself against the fragile-looking glass and looked down.
Under the bright sunlight, countless people and cars were passing by.
A never-ending procession of people, as if this were the heart of economic activity.
Scenery and buildings I had seen somewhere before.
"Linshua. Where is this?"
I hoped my guess was wrong and that it was just a hallucination. I'd rather she told me that Mutants had gathered to build a city. That would be more comforting.
"The Mutant uncles said this is New York, USA."
The worst possible answer came back.
"Then those twin buildings over there... must be the Management Bureau’s US Branch...?"
The ones that used to be the World Trade Center?
"That's why they told me not to go outside the building."
What the hell are these crazy bastards thinking?
I immediately turned around and grabbed Linshua’s shoulders. Since she had grown taller than me, I had to reach up to her shoulders, but that didn't matter.
"Linshua. Can you do me a favor? It's urgent."
"Okay."
I spoke to Linshua as she nodded energetically.
"Tell the... Executives to assemble. All of them. Right now."
I need to hear exactly what these lunatics were thinking when they shoved their headquarters right here.
I wanted to start screaming profanities right then and there, but I restrained myself as much as possible since I was in front of Linshua.
"What about food?"
"We'll eat as soon as we're done. This is more important right now."
For the first time since our reunion, I saw Linshua’s face fall.
She seemed to have been looking forward to eating with me, but for now, Linshua’s safety had to come first.
"I'm sorry. I'll finish this quickly. Can you call the Executive uncles for me?"
"We're definitely eating together afterward, okay? Promise?"
"I know. I promise."
We hooked our pinky fingers together.
A forgotten memory resurfaced.
The memory of when I first entrusted her to The Society.
* * *
"Dad, you'll come visit often, right?"
"Of course. I'll come as often as I can."
I had no intention of abandoning Linshua. It was just that as the Mutants and monsters she created grew stronger and gained self-awareness, the human world could no longer handle them.
No, actually, if it were just that, I could have managed somehow. The Mutants and monsters Linshua made weren't hostile toward humanity. The real problem was that people in the Management Bureau had begun to suspect me.
For Linshua’s sake. Measures had to be taken.
"It's a promise?"
A small pinky was held out.
"Yeah. A promise."
My finger, small but larger than hers, intertwined with hers.
I saw small teardrops in the corners of her eyes, yet she was still smiling.
* * *
"..."
How selfishly have I lived?
Our two pinky fingers were intertwined.
"I won't break this promise."
"Huh? What promise?"
"It's nothing."
Now then, you Executives.
Let's hear what you were thinking when you holed up in this place.