Obelisk of Origin (3)

Episode 92

I gripped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the shoulders of Maltaira, who had grown to 173 cm. There was no sensation of skin—it felt like grasping slightly dense mist.

"Hey. 'Maltaira.' Stop whining like a brat and pull yourself together."

I emphasized her name as I spoke sharply.

Only then did Maltaira turn her trembling face toward me.

I met her clouded gaze head-on without flinching. She, too, stared back at me with unsteady eyes.

Looking at that dazed face of hers twisted my mood inexplicably. The "Maltaira" I knew from the game was no woman who would crumble over something like this.

"Quit the nonsense."

[......]

"There's nothing even dangerous here yet. What are you so scared of?"

[......Even this close... can't you feel it...?]

It was the first time I had seen Maltaira afraid.

[...Th-that thing... is... absurd... Not even the despicable [Dimension Destroyer] of the Turbid Throne or the reckless [Ambiguous Terminator] left it untouched for no reason... This... is something no one dares—no, can never—destroy...]

Following Maltaira's fearful gaze, I looked up at the obelisk. In the Outer Dimension, it stood out as a particularly drifting, beautiful ruin.

But that was as far as my admiration went.

I didn't know why. The moment I saw it up close, the obelisk just felt like a clumsy imitation of the Tower.

"Then we'll surpass it. Whether it's the Dimension Destroyer or the Ambiguous Terminator, if they couldn't do it, you can. If it's something we can't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠solve now, we'll solve it later. For now, just do what you can, step by step, and deal with the rest in the future."

[......Impossible...]

"It's possible, you blockhead. If you think you're lacking, go cut off the Dimension Destroyer's head later and reign over the Turbid Throne. Do something—anything! Stop being so damn frustrating!"

[......]

Maltaira lowered her face after my outburst. Her hesitation seemed endless.

But.

"...It can be done."

Tirpe spoke.

Her gloomy expression, untouched by the dignity of a regressor, remained unchanged, yet—

"Because... Si-hyun said so."

Her voice carried certainty.

Maltaira's gaze wavered. She looked back and forth between me and Tirpe.

[...How... can you... believe... such reckless words...?]

"...Because if I don't... who will?"

Maltaira shook her head slowly, as if in resignation.

Then, with difficulty, she managed a smile—uncharacteristic of a wanderer.

[...Belief... is hard.]

Fwoosh—

The two women locked eyes before simultaneously turning to me.

[But... I think I understand now...]

A calm light bloomed in her previously trembling gaze.

Frost took the shape of flames. It settled within her eyes.

Crackle—

Gentle flames flickered to life around her body, swirling faintly.

Her once-faded hair regained luster, sprouting pure white frost.

Before I knew it, faint eyelids formed within her gaze—blinking hazily but undeniably there.

Kiiing—

Irises like winter snowflakes swirling in midwinter.

Though only her eyes had taken shape, their appearance alone carried the lonely beauty of winter, an unreal loveliness.

Maltaira, now wrapped in flame-like cold, gazed up at the towering obelisk.

[...I... was not yet worthy of standing here...]

The wanderer, now burning with clarity, tore her gaze from the obelisk as if severing hesitation. For a brief moment, her newly sharpened eyes met mine.

Her hair flowed like icy water, her pupils blue—her presence clearer than ever before.

She had crossed one of the walls within herself.

I smirked back at her intensified stare.

"Good. Then next time I come running here, you better save me a spot."

I slung an arm around Maltaira, who sparkled like midwinter snow. At the same time, from an angle Tirpe couldn't see, I kneaded the plump swell of her lower breasts. Playfulness got the better of me, and I squeezed them a few more times.

[Hng...]

『「Censored Ability」 is active.』

Maltaira's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't resist.

Her body flushed faintly, making me panic a little, but Tirpe just stared blankly, seemingly oblivious.

Relieved, I whispered into Maltaira's ear.

"I treated you to food, so next time, how about making me an item or skill? We're friends, right? You'll do it, won't you?"

She'd grow into a busty woman later, but for now, her breasts were like perfectly graspable dumplings. I gave them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a few serviceable squeezes, occasionally rubbing the faint pink nipples with my fingertips. Maltaira trembled slightly before nodding.

[...F-fine... But in return...]

「Maltaira's Affection Level: 97 / 100」

Her pale eyes gleamed with an intensely cold light.

[You must breed me... I want... to carry your offspring...]

Within those murderous irises swirled a thick, feverish lust.

Cold sweat trickled down my back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as I tried to pull my hand away from her chest. But—

Squelch.

Maltaira's hand clamped over mine, trapping it against the pliant softness of her breast as she forced me to knead the yielding flesh.

[...You... understand now...?]

The Wanderer, who had been indifferent to all stimuli until now, smiled with unsettling slyness.

I'd only groped those milk jugs as a joke, but... I couldn't shake the feeling I'd fucked up.

'Is it because of this damn eroge setting? Why does my charm work on every species indiscriminately...?'

Trembling under the weight of her obsession—palpable against my skin—I hastily backpedaled.

"I-I'll think about it."

Maltaira merely glared at me with frostbitten eyes, saying nothing more.

Perhaps she was conscious of Tirpe, who seemed to have mistaken this for affection in her own way.

Or maybe she'd decided to let me go for now, uncertain what kind of existence I'd become if I turned into a Wanderer.

Had Maltaira been even slightly more unhinged, I'd have been trapped here without recourse, forced to become one of them.

'Note to self: no more playing games with genuinely dangerous women.'

Brushing off the lingering sensation of warm flesh from my fingers, I checked the system message.

『Outer Dimension time: 2 days remaining. Earth's Tower closure: 6 hours remaining.』

Time was running out.

I started walking toward the Obelisk of Origin a few paces away. Tirpe followed, visibly tense.

"...Will this really send us back?"

"Noona."

"...Yes?"

"Are you doubting me right now? When we get back, I'm wrecking your asshole."

".........Okay."

...Somehow, she seemed weirdly pleased, stifling a giggle.

Returning to the matter at hand, the method to activate the Obelisk of Origin was simple.

Namely—

'Hell if I know. But the Obelisk will tell me.'

I pressed my hand against the mist-emitting surface.

'This is the right move... right?'

Just as unease began creeping in—

Silence.

A stillness so profound I could've heard a swallow.

Huuuuum...!

Then, abruptly, my hand trembled faintly. The Obelisk was responding.

Relief washed over me at the thought of finally returning to Earth.

'Yeah. Time to get back to my own damn league. Everything's been way too large-scale and brutal lately.'

A bitter laugh escaped me as I reflected on the grueling days past.

Every damn day, some world-shattering catastrophe had nearly killed me.

But once I returned to Earth, that suffering would end.

...I sighed in deep relief.

FWOOOOOSH—!

Which was why I didn't notice.

My palm—insignificant as dust against the colossal Obelisk—had become the epicenter of its anomaly.

"!"

A blinding radiance erupted from the Obelisk. The faint vibrations escalated into seismic tremors in an instant.

My legs buckled under the violent shuddering.

GRRRRRRROOOOOM—!

In the blink of an eye, the tremors spread outward, engulfing the entire Obelisk.

The Outer Dimension twisted around it.

"!"

The mists convulsed under the Obelisk's quaking. As I tried to yank my hand away—

"S-Si-hyun?!"

[!]

"?!"

Just like before, my hand wouldn't budge.

Panicked, the girls couldn't reach me through the crushing pressure of light. They could barely keep their footing amid the quake.

'What? What went wrong...?'

Fighting through panic, I scanned my surroundings for answers. Studying the Obelisk, searching for any way out—

『At... last... we meet.』

A familiar voice slithered into my ears.

HOOOOOM—!

A circular burst of light exploded from my hand and the Obelisk.

"!"

Luminous waves rampaged across the Obelisk's surface. Faint engravings flared to life, blazing white.

Then—everything, from the ground to the Obelisk, ignited with light centered on me. The moment every glyph on the horizon brightened—

WHIIIIIRL—!

A near-transparent vortex spiraled from my palm.

FWAAAAASH—!

All light converged on me, funneled through the Obelisk and floor. Like embers snuffed out, the radiance dimmed from the edges inward.

Until only I remained illuminated.

"......."

A soundless voice echoed from the light. Unreachable.

Yet my body trembled with inexplicable familiarity.

FWOOOSH—!

The glyphs nearest my hand flared like wildfire, morphing.

Distorted like heat haze, the transformed symbols weren't Hangul, English, or any Earthly language.

Perhaps not even the Tower's.

『For the protagonist □.』

But I understood.

For less than an instant.

The incandescent glyphs reverted as abruptly as they'd changed. Only silence remained where light had evaporated.

"Huh?"

An anticlimax, rendering the earlier phenomena absurd.

No clue what had happened. Nothing seemed different. Just... emptiness.

Yet... I sensed no malice in that light.

If anything, it felt benevolent.

Somehow, I knew.

A message surfaced on the now-transparent surface:

『Park Si-hyun's Origin - ???』

『Unable to locate place of origin.』

This, though—this crossed a line.

I whirled toward Tirpe.

Slumped near the altar, she hiccuped under my gaze.