Chapter 130: Bulgaram (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 130: Bulgaram (6)
Yoon Chae-ha pondered her answer.
‘Do I love Mukgui?’
It wasn't a question of whether she loved him or not.
She was 100% certain. She loved him. It wasn't even worth debating.
Though it was the first time she had ever felt this way, she knew it in an instant.
This feeling, at least, she no longer needed to doubt.
But to what extent?
At first, it was just curiosity.
She was always curious about him, and for some reason, she wanted to know more.
She had followed him all the way to Gaon… but her interest had gradually faded into the background.
As the days she spent with him piled up, Yoon Chae-ha felt herself slowly but surely sinking deeper.
Jung Hae-in constantly showed her a new world.
Just by taking the hand he offered, unfamiliar yet thrilling sensations were etched into her very being, into a body that had known nothing.
Lately, he had become the center of her world.
Curiosity was one thing, but now, her love for the person named Jung Hae-in was far greater.
And then there was the board game incident.
Watching him make love to another woman, she had felt a dull ache spread through her chest.
An indescribable emotion tightened its grip on her heart.
Her chest felt tight, and for a while, it was so suffocating she could barely breathe.
That was the extent of it.
“Yes.”
Yoon Chae-ha answered immediately.
Though her thoughts had been many, barely a second had actually passed.
Big Chae-ha smiled, quietly mulling over Mini Chae-ha’s answer.
A faint smile touched her lips, as if she was pleased.
Tapping the table lightly with her fingertips, she suddenly flashed a mischievous grin.
“So, have you had sex?”
“What?!”
Mini Chae-ha flinched like a startled rabbit and shot up from her seat.
Her face instantly flushed crimson, and her large eyes widened.
Watching her, Big Chae-ha nodded.
“Not yet, I see… Well, he is quite the iron wall.”
Big Chae-ha began counting on her fingers.
“So, do you want to?”
The question came in a flash.
It was too sudden.
Mini Chae-ha, unsure how to respond, remained silent for a while.
‘So suddenly…’
Even though she was the one who had asked the question, this was not an easy one to answer.
And yet, for some reason, she didn't want to deny it.
If she had to say, it was probably…
Big Chae-ha smiled once more, her gaze playfully meeting hers.
“Let me ask a little differently. Have you imagined it?”
“……”
…She had.
In fact, many times.
A mage’s life and fuel come from a rich imagination.
As a genius mage, Yoon Chae-ha’s imagination was bound to be immense.
Yoon Chae-ha slowly nodded.
Heat rose in her cheeks, and her gaze fell to the floor without her realizing.
“Yes… Good girl. It’s only natural for a mage.”
Big Chae-ha smiled warmly and gently caressed Mini Chae-ha’s cheek.
Mini Chae-ha closed her eyes, accepting the touch.
After a brief silence, Big Chae-ha asked quietly.
“You know who I am, right?”
“Yoon Chae-ha.”
“Yes, that’s right. You and I, we’re ultimately the same person, but…”
Big Chae-ha lightly swept her hair back.
“Normally, we should never be able to meet like this. Not in the world you know, nor in the world I know.”
Suddenly, the light on the table flickered subtly.
“But it seems that impatient god out there really wanted us to meet, one way or another.”
Big Chae-ha continued, smiling playfully, but at some point, her gaze deepened.
“I can’t go into detail. There isn’t much time, so I’ll just tell you a few things you absolutely need to know.”
She looked straight into Mini Chae-ha’s eyes once more.
Mini Chae-ha swallowed hard, her own tension rising.
The situation was abrupt, but she felt she had to listen.
“First. Stick by Mukgui’s… I mean, Hae-in’s side, even if it costs you your life. Don’t leave him, not even for a moment. Ever.”
Her words were calm, but they were laced with an unidentifiable desperation.
In truth, even without being told, Mini Chae-ha already wanted to do just that.
She had only held back because he was so busy and surrounded by so many women that she felt self-conscious.
Big Chae-ha smiled slightly, as if she had seen right through her.
“You don’t need to be self-conscious. You’re an Irregular. And you’re the one he chose, with confidence.”
She added with a smile.
“You’re his child, aren’t you?”
His child. Child.
It had a nice ring to it.
“…Yes.”
Mini Chae-ha mustered her strength and nodded.
She felt a little braver.
“Second. Research relentlessly. Until you can kill the Mines. Inferno is nowhere near enough; it’ll fall far short. You have to find a way.”
Research and growth.
This was the area where Yoon Chae-ha was most confident.
Then, Big Chae-ha’s voice dropped sharply.
“Last, the third. Respect and trust him. Hae-in… is never wrong.”
A moment of silence followed her words.
But Big Chae-ha soon broke it with a gentle smile.
“But… it seems you’re already doing that so well. Even better than I did. I’m so glad.”
Her smile was tinged with an unidentifiable bitterness.
The three pieces of advice were brief, but for reasons she couldn’t fathom, they embedded themselves deep in Mini Chae-ha’s heart.
It was as if the sorrow and tender affection the woman before her felt were being transmitted directly.
“I said all that too quickly, didn’t I? Hmm… Do you have any questions? I can answer, within limits, if you ask now.”
In that instant, Mini Chae-ha’s lips parted unconsciously.
The one thing she was most curious about. Just what was her identity?
“Um… are you, by any chance, the future me?”
At that, Big Chae-ha’s expression turned serious as she shook her head firmly.
“No. Absolutely not. And you shouldn’t be.”
Her face twisted with a hint of sadness.
“The me from back then… I wasn’t chosen. I was young… and arrogant. It’s truly a shame. I should have been a source of strength for him.”
Big Chae-ha closed her eyes for a moment. The emotions visible beneath her eyelids were always clearer than words.
Mini Chae-ha could feel that clarity, too.
“That’s why you can never become me, and you must not.”
She couldn’t understand the words, but they pierced her heart with a strange weight.
The weight of that emotion, that sorrow, was conveyed to her.
Mini Chae-ha nodded without a word.
“Oh, and don’t be too surprised. Contact with me… will definitely leave a trace. The others will find out soon enough. So… ugh, I can’t say that yet.”
The moment her lips twisted and her words trailed off, the Magic Tower began to collapse.
The walls warped, and cracks spread from the ceiling.
Even amidst the chaos, Big Chae-ha didn’t lose her smile.
With a slow movement, she reached out and gently caressed Mini Chae-ha’s cheek.
She could feel the slight tremble in her fingertips.
“You’re different from me. Your beginning, and your end, will be different.”
Mini Chae-ha listened, motionless, not even daring to breathe.
Big Chae-ha’s smile was a mixture of calm resignation and poignant affection.
“Perhaps if we meet again, I’ll be able to tell you more.”
The cracks in the ceiling began to widen.
Fissures of mixed flame and darkness split the entire room, and the interior of the Magic Tower crumbled.
Big Chae-ha pulled Mini Chae-ha into one last, tight hug.
A comforting warmth, a touch to be remembered for a long time.
A soft voice flowed into her ear.
“Live well. And… never, ever have any regrets.”
Then she whispered playfully.
“Oh, and make sure you do it. Got it? Whether you have to beg or seduce him.”
“…?!”
“I bet he’s… amazing at it? Not that I’d know, I’ve never done it. Probably no one knows.”
The next moment, all light swirled around her, and Mini Chae-ha’s consciousness rapidly faded.
“…Goodbye.”
Along with the faintly disappearing voice, her world bleached to white.
*
I asked Bulgaram, dumbfounded.
“The future Yoon Chae-ha?”
“Yes.”
The reply was short and firm.
Yoon Chae-ha remained motionless, her eyes still closed.
Sweat was pouring off her like rain. It trickled from the corners of her eyes, down her jawline and neck, soaking the collar of her clothes.
Her top was already drenched, to the point where water would drip if touched.
Her breathing was shallow and erratic.
It had been hours.
And as time passed, she showed no signs of getting better.
According to Bulgaram, this place transcended the flow of time.
He said that Yoon Chae-ha might be facing her own future right now.
I looked at her face for a moment.
Even on her slender eyelashes, tiny beads of sweat had formed.
I reached out and carefully wiped her forehead.
I could feel her scorching body heat. If left like this, she might collapse from exhaustion.
“…Are you sure she’s okay?”
At my words, Bulgaram turned his head slightly.
“Probably.”
Seriously?
Just a while ago, he said there would be no problem, and now he was changing his tune.
If anything happens to her…
I pressed my lips together and began to carefully wipe the edges of her collar.
‘She’s burning up.’
The heat transferred to my fingertips.
What in the world was her future self telling her?
I hoped it was something useful.
Like magic, or things like that.
After waiting for a few more minutes…
Yoon Chae-ha’s eyes suddenly flashed open.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I asked urgently.
She turned her head with a dazed expression, as if her mind hadn’t fully returned.
When our eyes met, she broke into a soft smile.
Is she really okay?
Then, Yoon Chae-ha slowly sat up.
Carefully, but without hesitation, she approached me.
“I asked if you’re okay…”
—Tap.
Forehead to forehead, they touched lightly.
Yoon Chae-ha had pressed her forehead against mine.
Our breaths mingled.
“Would you like to see?”
She whispered in a very low, deep voice.
“The child you raised… just how much… she’s grown.”
The moment she finished speaking.
—Crackle!
Something manifested within me.
It was the manifestation of All-Encompassing Perception.
Yoon Chae-ha’s system began to appear before my eyes.
[You have successfully acquired Inferno!]
[Inferno resonates intensely with the Authority: Seeker of Hunger!]
[All light that exists in the beginning, the sun, fire, and even the Demonic Force itself.]
[The greed that devours all now awakens.]
[Inferno evolves into Eclipse: Total Solar Eclipse!]
Within Yoon Chae-ha’s pupils, a small, silent explosion bloomed.
A torrent of mingled emptiness and radiance, ash and gold—a current that could effortlessly chew up and swallow something like the Demonic Force.
All that turbulence was contained within the eyes of a single person.
“So… am I all grown up now?”
Yoon Chae-ha asked confidently, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling with self-assurance.
I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as I answered.
“…You’ve grown a lot.”
It was a perfect growth.