Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Han Seo-ah
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I entered the rift.
The primal culprit that heralded the beginning of the visual novel Red Ark, the unknown portal that twisted the world dominated by humans into one teeming with superpowers and monsters.
Sometimes white, sometimes blue, sometimes yellow. My vision was dyed in a kaleidoscope of colors.
It felt mystical. The deeper I ventured into the rift, the more it seemed like I was approaching the origin of this universe.
I quickened my steps, taking in indescribable, otherworldly landscapes.
After some time had passed, my vision began to normalize.
The colors faded, and the interior of the rift slowly came into view.
It was different from the alien scenery described in Red Ark. The sky was a clear, refreshing blue, and the ground was carpeted with grass and blooming flowers.
It was just like gazing at Claude Monet's impressionist masterpiece, Monet's Garden with Irises.
Pink and purple hues in varying shades crisscrossing the canvas.
The flowers beneath the trees shifted their tones through the dappled light.
I had once seen an oil painting inspired by this very landscape in a French museum.
I wasn't alone. There had always been one friend who stuck to me like glue.
We had seen it together.
'They say Monet finished this in 1900. By the time he painted it, he'd already achieved great success. This scene is based on the garden he bought himself. Hmm. Artists really are an interesting bunch. Even massive success becomes inspiration for creation...'
'Yeah... something like that.'
I recalled the past. Seo-ah chattered on about the painting with a voice as clear and bright as a morning lark greeting the dawn.
Unlike her, I just stared blankly at the artwork. It was partly because my personality tended toward the stoic, and while I thought it was beautiful, it didn't strike me deeply enough to make a fuss.
'Will you become an artist who draws inspiration from success too?'
'What I want to draw are beautiful girls, so if I get inspired by anime character figures, maybe?'
'Otaku.'
'Know-it-all.'
"Han Seo-ah."
I snapped out of my reverie and called my friend's name.
And then.
"Hi. Long time no see."
The creator of this world made her appearance.
Han Seo-ah came trudging out from a cabin hidden behind the garden's grasses and trees.
"Even the dragon character made it all the way here."
"It's me."
"As expected... Ah, I should call you Baek Do-hyun here. Yeah, it's Do-hyun. You never fail to exceed my expectations."
"That's a good thing, right?"
"Of course it's a compliment. I've known it since back when your family fell apart and you stubbornly worked part-time jobs to scrape together tuition for college. I knew you could do it."
We, reunited after so long, exchanged smiles.
We could have let old stories bloom in this joyful reunion, but unfortunately, I had other business.
"I have something to ask. Is that okay?"
"Sure."
"It's going to be a long story."
"Doesn't matter. We've got plenty of time to talk. Ask away."
"Why was I brought to this world?"
It was the most primal question that had gnawed at my mind since I first fell into this world.
What answer would Seo-ah give me?
My stance toward her would be determined by her response to this question right now.
No matter that she was my childhood friend I'd trusted my whole life—even if she said all these events I'd endured here were just for 'fun,' I'd feel profoundly betrayed.
"Do you resent me by any chance?"
"It depends on what you say."
A heavy silence flowed between us.
A moment later, Han Seo-ah broke it.
"I wanted to see a different ending."
"What?"
"I wanted to see a different ending."
The question I'd thrown out to resolve one mystery birthed new ones.
"I wanted to see a different ending." It was incomprehensible to my mind.
I couldn't make sense of it. Not until her next words.
"My real name isn't Han Seo-ah."
"What?"
"My real name is Han Cheong-ah. Of course, I'm a different being from the Han Cheong-ah in this world. To explain precisely, you could say I'm the true title heroine of Red Ark that you personally played."
Her expression as she revealed her true name looked utterly sorrowful.
"You're Han Cheong-ah...?"
"Yeah. You must realize it now. I was obsessed with your drawings, occasionally acted a bit crazy, and aside from the appearance you designed yourself, don't I feel awfully similar?"
"I thought you just modeled yourself after Han Cheong-ah..."
"Red Ark isn't some game born from my imagination, Do-hyun. It's another reality."
As Han Seo-ah said, I had come to see this world as reality.
Now, it felt like I was finally reaching the truth.
"I merely turned the events that happened in this world into a game. Of course, I added some embellishments. Games have to be fun, unlike reality. So I made that boy Kim Si-hu, who originally died at Aria's hands early on, the protagonist of Red Ark. I threw in some romance with various characters in the story, like the harem stories you usually enjoy."
"......"
"Explaining everything from start to finish as it originally happened would take too long, so I'll skip to the point. Anyway, do you remember the ending of Red Ark?"
"I do. A girl named Han Cheong-ah enters a rift."
"Yeah. You called it a frustrating ending."
"I did."
"Now I'll tell you what happens after that ending. Call it the bonus stage."
The fully awakened true queen, Han Seo-ah—no, Han Cheong-ah—entered the rift and ultimately slew and absorbed the being known as the Demigod.
With the Demigod's power in hand, she tried to restore the ruined world to its original state but failed.
"The Demigod's power wasn't omnipotent. As a penalty, I was stranded in another world for over twenty years. A world similar to the one I lived in, but one without Dimensional Beasts or monstrosities."
That's where she met me.
"My body had shrunk to that of a child, I had no Winter unnie to look after me, no home, no parents, no status. How was a kid like that supposed to survive in an unfamiliar world? Anyway, while I was starving and looking like a total beggar, you appeared before me. Handing me a piece of bread and a carton of milk."
I recalled the precious memory of my first meeting with Han Seo-ah, tucked away deep in my mind.
It was a distant reminiscence from long ago.
"The other kids avoided me because I was an orphan. You were the only one who kept hanging out with me after that. So when I was scraping by solving food, clothing, and shelter with 'superpowers' and 'adult' knowledge, making a bit of money... Your family had divorced, your fortunes declined, and you were struggling. That's when I reached out to you. Hehe."
"Was that how it was...?"
Han Seo-ah had hung out with shady people even as a kid.
>
So that's why.
"Definitely. Think back carefully. You asked me why you were brought to this world, right?"
"Yeah."
"Though I was stranded in another world... I did succeed in turning back time for that world. When we became adults, I realized it. I could faintly sense the scenery of the world where I lived with Winter unnie in Academy City. A sliver of the Demigod's power still remained with me."
"......"
"But there was a problem. Even if I turned back the world's time, everything remained the same except for the Demigod I'd absorbed. Zero One and the Secret Society. And the Dimensional Beasts left without their god. To protect the world I'd restored, I needed a way. But as a side effect of rewinding the world to the past, I could no longer interfere with it directly."
Seo-ah gave a gentle smile.
She pointed at me with her finger, like a philosopher who had reached enlightenment.
"So I squeezed out the last vestiges of my power and decided to use you by having you possess a body here, Do-hyun. That's why I made Red Ark. If you knew what was going to happen in the future, the success rate would go up, right?"
"Why me, of all people?"
"Because you never give up no matter the situation. Plus, unlike others, you're upright and stubbornly determined. I thought I could trust you with it."
"The system and traits too."
"Yeah. Special gifts I prepared just for you."
I let out a small sigh.
"If you'd just been honest and asked for help, I would've helped without hesitation..."
"But isn't it more fun to learn the truth later?"
Han Seo-ah had teased me like this since we were kids. It was that mischievous streak unique to troublemakers.
After finishing her long tale, Han Seo-ah extended her hand to me.
But it wasn't an invitation to come along. It was a handshake, a gesture saying good job.
"Do-hyun."
"Yeah."
"You did great. As a reward, I'll give you a choice. But I don't have much time left anymore. So just once. Choose wisely."
At that moment, I noticed Han Seo-ah's body slowly turning transparent.
I widened my eyes and stared at her, but she just smiled as if it were familiar.
"Will you stay in this world? Or go back to the original one?"
"......"
"I'll be gone from either world. I just hope you choose the one where you can be happy."
I answered without hesitation.
The moment she heard my clear choice, Han Seo-ah nodded as if she'd expected it.
"Take good care of the other me."
She bid her farewell.
I had so much I wanted to say to Han Seo-ah, but she wouldn't allow it.
I reached out toward her, but her figure had already vanished.
All that remained in her place was the rift leading to the world where Han Cheong-ah and everyone else awaited.