Mom Is My Constellation - Chapter 23

I gazed at the people who had survived upright—unlike in reality—with a slight swell of emotion rising in my chest.

Until a system message popped up in midair, blocking my view.

'No time for sentimentality, huh.'

I grumbled inwardly, but it wasn't a bad feeling at all. Why would it be, when it was promising the best reward?

Especially since it was a reward that couldn't help but lift my spirits.

'A Hero-grade title...!'

Unlike skills or items, titles could only be obtained in truly rare cases.

And among the four title grades, this was Hero-grade—second only to the highest Legendary-grade.

Even the lowest Common-grade had effects rivaling a decent B-rank item.

Considering that, it wasn't hard to imagine just how immense the value of this Hero-grade one was.

'I'll check the exact effects later.'

The details of rewards from the Reverse Dungeon could only be viewed in reality, not inside the dungeon.

Maybe that's why? My heart was pounding like I'd just received a gift box.

'Exciting.'

Just then, a faint weight settled on my shoulder. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dad had casually placed his hand there.

"...You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure."

I hurriedly wiped the smile from my lips and hardened my expression.

If it had been Mom, she probably would've been wrestling with complicated emotions right about now. At least, she wouldn't have been grinning like an idiot after killing her comrade Oh Kyung-hoon with her own hands, like I was.

"Ughhh!"

I seized the chance to pretend to be sad and flung myself into Dad's arms.

Someone might call it gross for a guy to act like this, but... in reality, Dad was already gone.

Cut me some slack for a little affection.

Caught off guard by my sudden skinship, Dad hesitated for a moment before gently patting my back.

"I told you, if it's too much, leave it to me. Why push yourself like that?"

"But..."

"And if you're shaken now, it'll cause all sorts of problems."

Shaken? Causing problems? What did that mean?

Before I could question it, Dad thrust his left hand forward.

At the same ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time—BOOM!!

A deafening roar slammed into my eardrums from far away.

Startled by the sound, I whipped around toward its source.

[Kieeeek-!]

The demons charging toward the distant survivors were skewered by icy blades erupting from the ground, scattering in panic.

Dad slowly withdrew his left hand, where chilling cold still swirled, and spoke.

"I'd have told you to rest without overdoing it... but it looks like even I can't handle that number alone."

[Kaaak-!]

Some of the remaining demons were circling us, while others raced toward where the survivors had gathered.

With Oh Kyung-hoon's Supreme Bombardment skill (a decoy show) deactivated and the Barrier of Protection gone, they'd gotten a free pass.

In other words, killing Oh Kyung-hoon didn't end the crisis.

I said, "If we just worry about ourselves, those bastards will hit the people in the meantime. One of us has to head over there."

"Want me to go, or will you?"

"I'll go."

No sooner had I answered than Dad summoned a blue portal right next to us, linked to the survivors' position.

I shook off the blood of Oh Kyung-hoon clinging to my blade, then stepped toward the blue portal.

Or tried to.

-----!!

Until a searing pain exploded through my brain.

"Guh, heuk...!"

My vision flipped, bile surging up my throat in an instant.

A thick, sharp needle ruthlessly gouging my skull—that's what it felt like.

'Damn, wh-what the hell...'

The ground rushed up to meet me. I realized I was collapsing.

My flickering vision—blurring then sharpening—gradually drowned in darkness.

"......! ......?!"

Dad shouted something as he saw me suddenly passing out, but my consciousness was already half-gone; I couldn't make it out.

Thud.

I tried to shake it off, but my head smacked pathetically into the dirt.

Then—Pop!

"...?"

A brilliant cluster of stars stretched out before me in a band, vast and distant.

White lines dazzlingly embroidered across the pitch-black void.

I absentmindedly followed one of those lines with my eyes, then realized it.

I was floating, adrift in this unidentified space.

'The headache... it's gone.'

My gaze naturally drifted to my hands. No calluses anywhere.

Not Mom's hands.

'These are mine.'

I touched my face with them. Looked down at my body.

I should have been in Mom's form right now... but somehow, I'd returned to my original body.

"What the...?"

As bewilderment piled on from the inexplicable events, the straight band of stars began to writhe and shift.

Curving and twisting, they soon coalesced into a human shape.

"......"

Human? No, giant fit better.

If I'd been standing on solid ground, I'd have backed away for dear life.

A presence, a pressure I'd never felt before crushed me mercilessly.

'That's definitely...'

Instinct told me.

'A constel... lation...?'

Beings who reigned transcendentally above cognition, gazing down upon the lower realms.

One of them had suddenly summoned me for a private audience.

'Why... oh.'

I belatedly guessed the reason and quietly broke into a cold sweat.

Damn, no wonder something felt off. Ever since possessing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mom's body, why hadn't a single managing constellation message appeared?

A majestic voice emanated from between the starry clusters.

Just from speaking, it felt like it could blow away my very existence like dust.

Captured by a sensation I couldn't tell was awe or fear, I stared at the system message overlaying my vision.

War Incarnate. He was Mom's managing constellation.

***

'No wonder it felt so off. This was why.'

Damn, why'd I only realize now?

'After joyfully slaughtering those demons and beating down that Oh Kyung-hoon bastard, you'd think the managing constellation would've sent at least one message.'

But since entering the Reverse Dungeon, the only system messages I'd seen were quest- and reward-related.

I should've paid attention to that nagging sense of wrongness instead of brushing it off.

Damn. Was I an idiot?

Well... even if I'd noticed early, there wasn't much I could've done anyway.

War Incarnate growled in a low, furious tone.

Ah, got it. He saw me as some virus that had parasitized his agent's body out of nowhere.

'...Constellations gonna constellation.'

Just facing him was overwhelming. Beyond pain, it felt like my soul was fading away.

If this guy so much as exhaled a strong 'Huff!', I'd probably vanish soul and all.

'Damn. Gotta reveal who I am before things get ugly.'

Where to even start explaining? And would he even believe me?

I just threw it out there.

"I know it sounds unbelievable, but I'm the son of the agent you manage..."

"......"

My identity was exposed before I could finish, leaving me speechless.

"Messiah...?"

Hall of Fame.>

Battlefield Messiah... I hadn't known that.

Mom had only ever revealed her true name to me, never her epithet.

More importantly, the fact that War Incarnate mentioned Mom's epithet meant...?

"...Did you know? That my mother has already passed away."

"I, I see."

"......"

War Incarnate murmured lowly.

A heavy silence followed, as if echoing whatever emotion he was feeling now.

<...Anyway, what scheme brought you to this worldline?>

Scheme?

Ah, right. He dragged me here because he wanted to know why I'd possessed Mom's body—especially when I was swamped already.

Irritation bubbled up slowly.

This guy was really pissed. In game terms... yeah, it'd feel like his beloved character got hacked by some random punk.

'Not that I'm sorry or anything.'

Fine, I'd answer.

Lies don't work in front of a constellation anyway. I answered honestly.

"I came here to prevent the death of the agent you cherish."

<.......>

War Incarnate showed no reaction to my words.

He was probably peering into my intentions with that 'insight' of his right now.

Go ahead and look all you want. I had zero intention of lying.

"The cataclysm will descend in a few hours, probably. So talking to you like this might seem rude... but time's wasting."

Yeah. No time for chit-chat with War Incarnate.

Plus, right now, Dad was fighting those demons alone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in my place while I was out cold.

But suddenly, fear gripped me.

'Did I come off too cocky?'

In my haste, a rebellious tone had slipped out. Maybe I'd offended the constellation.

<...Changing the ending of this world won't alter the fate of the worldline you originally came from.>

Fortunately, War Incarnate responded to my answer with a gentle voice.

"I know."

War Incarnate fell silent there.

I could feel his near-omniscient insight probing me to the bone.

<...The ending you truly want to change is something else entirely, isn't it?>

I instantly grasped the implication.

The ending I truly wanted to change: the tragedy that Yoo Seong-su and his mother had to endure.

At least, they were real people from my reality.

From the start, I'd entered the Reverse Dungeon to alter their fates—setting aside the selfish benefit of Yoo Seong-su's awakening.

<...Blood will tell, as they say.>

War Incarnate suddenly said that.

"......"

'Fondness? After all those thorny words?'

It felt oddly bittersweet seeing that message pop up.

As I awkwardly scratched my cheek,

Humm-.

A ping-pong-ball-sized orb of light approached me, shimmering ethereally.

This was...?

And then the system message appeared.

Throw Eye? What was that?

"......"

It said it was already implanted, so what was this about "please accept it"?