Chapter 343: The Fall (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 343: The Fall (2)
Heavy eyelids.
A faint, whitish light seeped through the thinnest of cracks, stirring a consciousness that had been deeply submerged.
The moment I opened my eyes, I saw a deep violet sky and a full moon.
A full moon, incomparably larger than any I had ever seen, hung in a sky tinged with a soft purple light that felt strangely disconnected from a normal night sky.
And so I thought, Why is there no ceiling...?
My fragmented memories returned. I was sure I had fallen asleep drunk on a chair in Ju-yeon's kitchen.
“…Where am I?”
Why on earth was I left all alone in a place I didn't recognize?
To solve the mystery, I pushed myself up and looked down, only to see an unfamiliar building before me.
It was a building whose roof was supported by a row of columns with impressive vertical grooves.
The feeling was quite different, but its form was vaguely similar to the Parthenon I had seen in Greece or the Pantheon in Italy, which I had visited for work.
Looking at the building—no, the temple—which exuded both grandeur and eeriness, I realized.
“This isn't reality, for starters.”
At least, not the world as I know it. If a temple like this existed somewhere on Earth, it would be impossible for it to remain unknown.
Excluding reality, there were two possibilities. A unique type of dungeon, or a virtual world constructed within my subconscious.
The latter seemed more likely. Usually, entering a dungeon inside a rift leaves a message log like, ‘You have entered the XX Dungeon,’ but this time, there was nothing.
“The problem is why I ended up here…”
Frankly, it didn't matter which it was. The real question was why I was suddenly dropped into this place.
And the answer, nine times out of ten, would be inside that temple.
Why? Because it was the only building on the ground where I stood.
“What a strange landscape.”
Beyond the temple, which stood on a floor of pure white marble, the entire world was awash with a swirling, dark violet energy.
“So blatant.”
Isn't this just an open invitation to come inside the temple?
In that case, I might as well.
I approached the temple with calm steps.
The closer I got, the more intense the pressure emanating from the temple's immense size became.
Finally, just as my steps brought me before the massive doors leading into the temple…
Rumble…!
As if it had been waiting for me to arrive, the great stone door swung open with a deafening noise.
Beyond the door was a path that cut straight through the temple's interior, flanked by rows of giant statues.
Every single statue was kneeling, head bowed low, facing the path I was meant to walk.
Were they made in the image of worshippers adoring their god?
Beside them, smaller versions of the columns supporting the roof outside held up the ceiling. And on each column hung a torch, its flickering light casting a glow.
“……”
The atmosphere was anything but ordinary.
Before entering, I took a moment to observe my body. Aside from my senses feeling a little dull, there seemed to be no major issues.
After sharpening my senses so I could react calmly to whatever might happen…
“…Alright.”
I took a step forward, breaking my stillness.
Tap, tap.
My footsteps sent soft ripples through the temple's interior. As I slowly advanced, savoring the sound echoing off the walls, the end finally came into view.
The end of the line of bowing statues. I had expected to find a sculpture of the object of their worship there.
“What is that?”
My prediction was wrong.
At the far end of the temple was a chair.
Like the statues, it was made of white marble, but it wasn't a colossal throne. It was an ordinary-sized chair, one that a person my size could sit in.
And someone was sitting there. A woman in a black dress, her face hidden by a black hood and veil.
She beckoned.
“Come closer.”
I willingly complied. Not because I was compelled to, but simply because I was curious about the face behind the veil. And because there was a high probability that this woman was the one who had brought me here.
When I was about ten meters away from the seated woman, she spoke.
“We finally meet face to face.”
Her low voice echoed softly through the temple. But her words were contradictory.
“I wouldn't say we're ‘face to face’ when I still haven't seen yours.”
How could we be face to face when you've got your face wrapped up in a hood and veil?
But it seemed she didn't intend to hide it forever.
“Ah, my apologies.”
Admitting her mistake, she immediately pushed back her hood. Then, she lifted the veil covering her face, and we were truly face to face.
The moment I saw her face, a fierce emotion surged within me.
“What terrible taste.”
As I spoke in a chiding tone, the corners of her mouth twisted slightly.
“There's killing intent in your voice. Is it because of this face?”
The face she pointed to with her index finger was one I knew all too well.
She continued, “This woman was… your wife, wasn't she?”
“……”
That was right. The face hidden behind the veil was identical to that of my wife, Han Ju-hee.
The only difference was that instead of fiery red hair, she had long, flowing black hair.
If not for the hair color, I might have firmly believed the woman before me was Han Ju-hee.
As if kidnapping me to some unknown place wasn't enough, she had to mimic a face I'd rather not see.
If this wasn't terrible taste, what was?
Just as my feelings toward her were hitting rock bottom, the woman wearing Han Ju-hee's face curved her lips into an irritating smile and said to me,
“Unfortunately, this was not my will.”
“Then whose was it?”
When I asked accusingly, her index finger pointed at me.
“Yours.”
“……?”
What kind of nonsense was this?
“You're saying that face is my will?”
“That's right.” She nodded calmly and continued her explanation.
“While I may have shaped its form, this is, strictly speaking, the world of your subconscious. To be precise, you are the master, and I am the guest.”
“…So?”
“I sculpted this temple as I pleased without your permission, but the face is your influence.”
My influence, she says.
“Ha.” A laugh escaped me.
“Are you saying I wanted to see that face?”
At that, she shook her head.
“I do not know.”
Was she trying to mess with me?
“I believe you just said it yourself. That the face was because of my influence.”
“I did. But I do not know what exact feelings you harbor for this woman. I only know one thing.”
She paused for a moment before continuing.
“Whether for good or for ill, this face currently has the greatest influence on your thoughts, emotions, and actions.”
“……”
Whether for good or for ill, she'd said.
It felt as if a stranger had just laid bare the inner thoughts I hadn't even fully understood myself.
She was right. Han Ju-hee still had a great deal of influence on my life.
There was Seo-yeon, who I found difficult to deal with; the fact that sexual desire took precedence over ardent love; Ju-yeon, who openly approached me, flaunting her womanhood; and even Jeong-hee, the first person I met in this body.
They were all tangled in different emotions, but if you followed the thread back to its source, you would find Han Ju-hee.
Whether for good or for ill.
Seo-yeon is her daughter and mine, and my desire is a reward for myself, for having lived a chaste life for over seven years despite having a wife.
Ju-yeon is her sister, and Jeong-hee… I grew fond of her because she was different from Han Ju-hee in every single way.
“Okay, fine. I get it.”
In fact, the examples I just thought of were only a few; far more emotions were entangled with her.
Including negative feelings like curiosity about why she changed so much and a desire for revenge against her for looking down on me, I could fully understand why she was the person with the most influence over me.
So, it was time to move on.
“So, what's the reason you brought me here, and who are you to manipulate my subconscious world as you please?”
At that, she gave a deep smile.
“You finally ask who I am.”
It seemed she'd been itching to introduce herself.
She continued, “My name is Gula.”
The Latin word Gula. In Hanja, it means Greed (貪慾).
Which means…
“Your one and only goddess.”
“……”
I had actually figured that much out.
The form of the temple was too obvious. The bowing statues and the woman sitting confidently before them, being worshipped.
When I guessed her identity to be a god or something equivalent, the first thing that came to mind was the Seven Deadly Sins.
And among them, wasn't I most deeply connected to Greed?
Her next words confirmed my suspicion.
“It is a pleasure to finally see you, my apostle.”