Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: The Stigma of Lyra (2)
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[What is the matter?]
Vega tilted her head, watching Oh-jin’s expression suddenly stiffen.
A mystical voice that seemed to echo directly inside his head.
His chaotic mind began to clear slightly.
‘Damn it.’
Gulp.
He swallowed dryly.
He desperately suppressed the trembling in his fingertips.
‘Think.’
What to do, how to resolve this insane situation.
‘Should I tell her I lied because I thought I was going to die?’
For a moment, he considered just giving up and telling her the truth.
The thought didn't last long.
Oh-jin bit his lip and clenched his fists.
‘No.’
The die was already cast.
Whatever the reason, the fact that he had ‘lied to a Constellation’ wouldn't change.
A mere mortal had dared to mock a god.
‘…I have to deceive her.’
There was no turning back from what he’d done.
He wasn't a regressor like Lee Shin-hyeok.
‘If I've started this, I have to see it through to the end.’
Oh-jin’s eyes glinted sharply.
That’s the thing about lies.
You can’t always avoid them, but you can never tell just one.
Once you decide to deceive, you have to do it perfectly.
Just like the Awakened he had conned, so perfectly that they never even realized they’d been tricked.
‘In that case.’
He organized his thoughts.
He devised a method, formulated a plan.
It wasn't difficult.
It was something he had done as naturally as breathing for the past eight years—no, his entire life.
[Hmm?]
Looking up at the goddess who was sending him a questioning gaze—
“I've missed you, Vega.”
He said in a trembling voice.
A single tear.
A clear tear trickled down his cheek.
[—What did you say?]
Vega's eyes widened visibly.
One step, two steps.
He approached her.
“I never… I never thought I'd see you again.”
Wham!
He grabbed Vega’s wrist and pulled.
Of course, she didn't actually budge.
There was no way a transcendent being like a Constellation could be pulled by a fledgling who had just Awakened.
‘It doesn't matter.’
Pulling her wasn't the goal anyway.
“Khk… Haaahk!!”
He collapsed before her, sobbing like a wounded animal.
“I'm so glad. I'm so… so glad… Khk!!”
[…W-What is the meaning of this?]
The goddess, who had seemed as cold and emotionless as a statue, recoiled in bewilderment.
A clear ripple of agitation spread through her golden eyes, which shone like starlight.
‘Good.’
He had succeeded in flustering her, somehow.
‘Now, it begins.’
When running a scam, making the target ‘flustered’ was crucial.
People don't fall for lies easily.
But someone thrown into momentary confusion becomes surprisingly vulnerable.
That was why voice phishing scams always started with a shocking statement like, ‘I’ve kidnapped your child.’
‘I don't know if a Constellation is the same as a person, but...’
There was no time to leisurely find out.
“Vega! It's me! Oh-jin… Ah.”
He let out a short gasp, his gaze turning hollow as he lowered his head.
“Right… You've lost all your memories of me now….”
He trailed off with a bitter smile.
[…In the future, what exactly was the relationship between you and I?]
Vega asked, her voice still laced with bewilderment.
“……”
Oh-jin kept his lips sealed and slowly shook his head.
“No, I'm sorry. It's nothing… Yes. It's nothing. Please forget what I just said.”
He retreated, wearing an expression that made it damn clear it was not nothing.
[It is clearly not nothing. Speak. What could I possibly have to do with a mortal….]
“Later.”
He cut the goddess off with another bitter smile.
“Later… I'll tell you later.”
He shook his head with a sorrowful smile.
The key here was to maintain an expression that screamed ‘tragic backstory.’
The meticulous gaze, the slightly trembling eyebrow.
Even the way he gently bit his lower lip and dug his nails into his palm.
‘There’s no way she won’t fall for this.’
If there was one thing he was confident in, it was meticulously crafting expressions and moods.
[…I see. It appears you have your reasons. More importantly, you thought you would never see me again… I see. So, in the end, I am to perish.]
Vega nodded with a remarkably calm expression.
‘In the end, she says?’
Her reaction was so calm it was almost detached. Oh-jin narrowed his eyes.
He’d just thrown out a plausible-sounding line to convince her he was a ‘regressor,’ but judging by her reaction, it seemed she knew something.
‘Is there even anything that can make a high-ranking Constellation perish?’
He tried to imagine it, picturing the powerful monsters infamous among the Awakened, but he couldn't.
It was only natural.
The only reason Constellations hadn't killed the monsters occupying a third of the Earth was not because they were weak, but because they were bound by a pact that prevented them from intervening directly.
‘Well, whatever.’
It wasn't a bad thing that she was playing along on her own.
“…You knew?”
He feigned surprise, his eyes widening.
The goddess nodded, her expression grim.
[Yes, I knew. I… no, all Constellations are fated to be devoured by the darkness of Heukcheon.]
“That's right. Everyone, by Heukcheon's….”
Huh?
Heukcheon?
‘Heukcheon… isn't that the thing from before?’
The moment of life and death.
The power I Awakened.
The dark cloud that absorbed the Stigma Lee Shin-hyeok possessed.
‘Why is that coming up now?’
A chill ran down his spine.
An ominous premonition flashed through his mind.
‘She mentioned something about an apocalypse earlier.’
When Vega first appeared, she had called him ‘the sole savior of a world destined for ruin.’
Ruin (終末).
Yes, the Earth was a ‘world destined for ruin.’
Whether it was a prophecy or a prediction, he didn't know.
But Vega had known from the beginning that the Earth would face a crisis of ruin in the future.
‘And Lee Shin-hyeok returned to stop it.’
That part was fine.
The problem was.
‘—That I’m the one who causes that crisis of ruin?’
Ha.
The idea was so absurd that he couldn't even manage a hollow laugh.
‘What kind of crazy bullshit is that?’
Putting aside whether he had the ability to destroy the world, he had no reason to.
‘Fuck.’
A sensation like his mind was being burned white.
If he could, he'd shove a fist in his mouth and just start sobbing.
[You are spacing out again.]
Vega said, her tone laced with concern.
His confused mind snapped back to reality as if doused with cold water.
‘This isn't good.’
If I keep acting strangely, she'll start to get suspicious.
I have to prevent that.
“The memories of that time… they just resurfaced for a moment.”
Oh-jin said in a low, somber voice.
[Memories of that time?]
“The memories of when this Earth was destroyed.”
[…….]
Vega’s lips tightened as she fell silent.
“The sky… was stained with a deep darkness. So many people died, truly countless people.”
[…Is that so?]
*I don't know either.*
*I'm just spouting whatever comes to mind.*
“But I have returned.”
Another step forward.
“I have been given a chance to change the future.”
He moved closer to Vega and carefully took her hand.
Her hand was so soft, it was hard to believe she was a divine being.
[L-Let go.]
“I won't.”
He shook his head firmly, tightening his grip.
“I will not lose you again.”
[…….]
“This time, I will protect you.”
[Regressor….]
“It's Oh-jin. Kwon Oh-jin.”
[…I have no memory of you.]
“I know.”
*Because I don't have any either.*
“Memories can be made anew. What was lost can be regained.”
He slowly released her hand and gave a faint smile.
“So that we can.”
Having decided to run this con, he wouldn't be satisfied with merely deceiving her.
No, he couldn't be.
‘I need power.’
To become the regressor, to prove that he truly was the ‘sole savior.’
Power was essential.
And for that,
“─Could you lend me your power?”
He would use anything and everything.
Even if it was a supreme being before whom even other Constellations bowed their heads.
[…….]
Vega closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly nodded.
[Regressor… no, Awakened Kwon Oh-jin.]
She continued with a solemn expression.
[O Star that Defies Providence, who goes against a predetermined fate.]
The goddess slowly extended her hand.
[I shall illuminate your arduous path with my starlight.]
Her pristine fingertips touched his forehead.
-Ting!
[Jingnyeoseong (織女星), Vega, wishes to appoint you as her Apostle.]
[Do you accept?]
Feeling the cool touch on his forehead, he slowly nodded.
-Wooooong!!!
A brilliant halo of light blossomed.
He felt a silver light from her hand surge into his body like a tidal wave.
And.
[‘Heukcheon’ absorbs the Stigma's magical power.]
[A part of the conditions for the second awakening of ‘Heukcheon’ has been met!]
A blue message floated before his eyes.
A power even stronger than when he first Awakened surged through his entire body.
“Thank you, Lady Vega.”
He dismissed the message window and gently took the hand still resting on his forehead.
“I swear it here and now.”
He continued in a low voice.
“So that you are not devoured by the darkness of Heukcheon—I will protect you.”
A vow filled with firm resolve.
His eyes, burning with fervent will, gazed at the goddess.
[A truly dependable vow.]
Vega smiled serenely and nodded.
[By the way… who is that?]
Her gaze fell upon Lee Shin-hyeok's charred corpse.
“He is a con man who, in the past… no, I suppose it's the present now, tricked me and forced me into this gate.”
Oh-jin answered without a moment's hesitation, as if he had been waiting for the question.
‘It’d be weird if she didn’t ask about the burnt corpse right next to me.’
He had anticipated it, so there was no need to think.
[A con man?]
“Yes. Haha… I had a rough time because of this bastard back then. He took all my money and equipment.”
[So you took your revenge as soon as you regressed?]
“It wasn't just for that.”
He shook his head with a serious expression.
“In a few years, that man becomes a member of a criminal organization made up of Awakened, a wicked being who preys on the innocent.”
[Aha.]
Vega nodded with a short exclamation.
[Eliminating a future evil in advance… A truly regressor-like action.]
She seemed to have no intention of questioning him further, and her gaze shifted away from Lee Shin-hyeok.
-Fzzt!
[Gh.]
Just then, a blue spark flickered across her body as she floated, surveying her surroundings.
[I wish to speak with you more… but it seems the restrictions of the Law have begun.]
“Restrictions of the Law...?”
[Did I not just grant you a blessing? Though indirect, it was a clear violation of the Law.]
“Ah, I see.”
Fundamentally, Constellations were bound by something called the Law, preventing them from directly intervening in the mortal world.
‘But that doesn't mean I can relax.’
Just as she had blessed him, a Constellation could intervene to some extent in the mortal world, as long as they accepted the ‘restrictions.’
In fact, there had been a few instances where Constellations had personally intervened when monsters appeared that were so catastrophic the Awakened stood no chance against them.
In other words—
‘It means that if she really wanted to, she could easily kill a mere con man who dared to mock a god.’
The Law was no shield.
The moment she found out he wasn't a regressor, restrictions of the Law be damned, he would be crushed by the hands of an enraged Constellation.
‘If it was just me dying, that would be fine.’
Perhaps.
If, by some chance.
The aftermath were to affect those ‘around’ me.
‘No.’
I have to prevent that, no matter what.
[In fact, even manifesting here is a violation of the Law… I shall return to the Sanctuary now.]
Sanctuary (星所).
It was a dimension where the Constellations normally resided, and one could enter and exit through portals located across the Earth, similar to gates.
Of course, since only the Awakened were permitted entry, he had never been there.
[In one week, come find me in the Sanctuary. We shall discuss our future plans then.]
“Yes, I understand.”
He bowed respectfully.
-Woooong!
Soon, with a low hum, the goddess’s body dispersed into silver particles of light.
“…Hoo.”
Left alone, Oh-jin let out a deep sigh and collapsed on the spot.
‘Damn it all.’
What in the world just happened?
“…Should probably head home for now.”
Too many things had happened at once, and his head was throbbing.
‘Still.’
He pulled at his shirt and looked down at the left side of his chest.
There, not the fake Stigma he had carved with a knife, but a ‘real’ one was clearly etched.
And it was the Stigma of a Constellation who was one of the ‘Polaris (北極星).’
Grin.
Looking at the Stigma, the corners of his mouth curled up on their own.
“This isn't all bad.”
No, this was actually a great opportunity.
If he used this chance well, he could seize a power that other Awakened could only dream of.
‘Though there are still many mountains to climb.’
Thinking about the regression and Heukcheon made his head throb again.
‘I'll think about it at home.’
Sitting here and worrying wasn't going to solve anything right now.
“Now, then.”
Before leaving the gate, there was one last thing to do.
“Let's see how much our dear Mr. Regressor was carrying, shall we?”
He searched Lee Shin-hyeok's charred corpse.
The leather armor he had been wearing was burnt and ruined, but thankfully, his wallet was intact.
“Whoa, damn, this bastard was carrying two million won in cash?”
Seeing the thick stack of cash in the wallet, Oh-jin licked his lips and let out a chuckle.
Since the gates opened and the world went to shit, it was more common for people to carry a lot of cash, but usually not several million won.
“I'll make good use of your weapon, too, pal.”
Having cleanly looted everything of value from Lee Shin-hyeok's corpse, Oh-jin grinned and got to his feet.
“Huh?”
Just then, something strange caught his eye.
Oh-jin examined Lee Shin-hyeok’s blackened face closely.
“What's this? The bastard's smiling?”
Is he having a sweet dream or something?