The Skeptic XXIII
A mory from the past.
A conversation with the Saintess.
“Mr. Undertaker, this might sound like a radical interpretation, but... you might have taken the place of Infinite Void and the Mastermind’s apostles.”
She laid out my powers and tried to link them to various Outer Gods, speculating on how I might connect to them.
1. Complete mory – Infinite Void
2. Resu (Physical Strength Preservation?) – ?
3. Ti Seal – ?
4. Enormous Aura – ?
The Saintess asked:
“These are your abilities, correct?”
“Yeah. Though you can probably leave Aura off that list. Other people can develop it with enough training, so it’s not exclusive to .”
“Fair enough. I’ll cross it out, then.”
“Oh, by the way, I also have Mind Reading.”
“All right,” she said with a nod. “Let revise the list.”
1. Complete mory – Infinite Void
2. Resu (Physical Strength Preservation?) – ?
3. Ti Seal – ?
4. Enormous Aura – ?
5. Mind Reading – Infinite taga? Mastermind?
Yes.
At so point, we did have that conversation.
4. Enormous Aura – ?
...
Aura – ?
...
..................
Aura - Leviathan
Let’s talk epilogues.
Here’s the first.
From now on, Aura is discontinued.
In another world, that shocking announcent might have sent the Regressor Alliance into chaos. Much to my surprise, though, it didn’t.
“What’s that... ‘Aura’? Never heard of it.”
In fact, everyone was actually pretty calm.
“Aha. Well, you see, Commander Noh, there’s a technique where if soone musters an intense willpower, so energy stirs in their body. Over ti, that fluid-like energy can be refined until it cuts through objects or Anomalies like a high-pressure water jet.”
“Huh? So you just concentrate, and so intangible fluid leaks out of your body and destroys things? Like a psychic power or sothing...?”
“Exactly.”
“What the hell, how is that any different from an Anomaly...?”
Right.
If you think about it, that reaction was natural. We were still at the very start of the 777th cycle, at the point when the so-called “Mr. Matiz” had just reunited with Yu Ji-won. Our rigorous training regin for allies hadn’t truly begun yet, and the Undertaker’s advanced Aura manuals hadn’t leaked on SG Net. In other words, it was too early for widespread Aura usage.
Thus, the world abruptly lost Aura.
Like it had never existed.
So Awakeners did develop their own Aura-like skills, but those were rudintary and nowhere close to my ticulously refined “Undertaker’s Aura thod” from past cycles.
It was a reset, essentially. Like the old days, when an army of Awakeners had to risk their lives to defeat the “not-really-final-boss” Ten Legs.
‘Sothing just isn’t sitting right with .’
It appeared no one but even wondered about the missing Aura. People lived or died in a world that had apparently “always been this way.”
Well... There was exactly one other witness who rembered what the old cycles looked like.
“A-are you sure this is okay, mister? Really? Fighting monsters without Aura—is that even possible?”
Dok-seo, who had read part of my life story in novel form, trembled and chewed her nails in terror.
“We’ll do what we can,” I said.
“But you’re so weak, mister! At least Grandpa Schopenhauer had that ‘cut-everything-down’ slash power! Without Aura, you’re... you’re just a worthless regressor who can only go back in ti!”
She was less of a devoted fan and more like a bratty kid.
“Plus, it’s not just about Aura, right? If we follow your logic, other Awakened powers might also be Anomalies. So my own AT-Field is probably a suspect, right?! No, that’s impossible, no way. Fighting monsters without an extra life is insane!”
I wacked her once. Dok-seo hugged her laptop and wept.
“Waaaah! The old man hit ! My dad hit , my mom hit , my teacher hit , now the old man’s doing it too!”
“Listen, if you keep provoking people, maybe learn how not to ‘earn’ a beating in the first place.” Then I sighed. “Anyway, in the long run, we’ll have to reduce reliance on other powers. But it won’t be the sa as Aura.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Aura, as I said, can be trained by anyone who tries hard enough. That ans the more Awakened rely on it, the more it grows, turning them into Leviathan’s worshippers. But your Absolute Defense is unique to you alone.”
“Oh... so no matter how much I spam my shield, Infinite taga’s power isn’t gonna skyrocket out of nowhere?”
“Exactly.”
It was the difference between a universal and a personal power.
“Of course, if your absolute defense ever reached so truly absurd limit, that might change. For instance... if right now your shield can only envelop one person, maybe soday it could expand to envelop the entire planet.”
“Erk...” Dok-seo winced. “Like that’s possible, old man. My shield drains dry every ti I activate it...”
“Normally, yes,” I said, giving her a faint smile. “But sotis... people do push their personal abilities to ridiculous extres.”
She tilted her head, wearing an I don’t get it? face.
‘Like Ah-ryeon.’
Sim Ah-ryeon.
She would one day beco the Saintess of the North, capable of healing not just a single patient but an entire battlefield.
‘If she kept getting more experience, who’s to say she couldn’t eventually heal the entire planet?’
A world without death. That level of healing might an that even if soone’s head were chopped off, they still wouldn’t die.
I’d never witnessed such a thing, yet the image felt oddly vivid. I could picture it now: an enormous tree—a world tree—far larger than Udumbara. Its roots would pierce Earth’s crust, feeding on the core, until eventually not just humans but all living things, indeed even inanimate objects, and ultimately the entire planet or even the whole universe would be granted “eternal life.”
“Guild Leader. Please, don’t be sad.”
At the heart of that cosmic tree, a single girl would remain, sealed away forever.
A possible “ending” for this universe.
In that tiline, even my regressor power would be moot, because I’d never die. The trigger of my regression, my death, could never occur.
‘All Awakeners...’
A chill crawled down my spine.
‘All Awakeners are seeds of an Outer God in the making. They might not reach that point anyti soon, but given infinite ti and experience, any of them could beco a monstrous god, negating my regression for good.’
Regression was neither invincible nor universal. The world was filled with potential hidden Outer Gods.
‘From a different perspective... it might have been lucky for that each cycle ended in about twenty years, or at most a few hundred. That was a blessing in disguise.’
If countless Awakened had thousands of years to grow...
‘Who knows how the world would’ve turned out?’
No wonder the Saintess was the first to beco a Corrupted in so many tilines—she had Ti Stop, basically unlimited ti. Good thing she was so patient and ethical. Had a regular person possessed that power, they would’ve beco an Anomaly ages ago.
‘The fact that one cycle typically ends within about twenty years... wasn’t a curse. It was a blessing,’ I realized. ‘Around the twentieth year, Monster Wave always occurs, wiping out what remains of humanity. Because of that, Awakeners never get enough ti to beco unstoppable or turn monstrous, and I can safely die, triggering regression, thus escaping a total hopeless ending.’
How coincidental.
‘Damn... Who would’ve guessed that Monster Wave was a necessary evil.’
I felt a sting of static along the back of my neck. If I pulled an example from a tiline where Monster Wave didn’t show up... The 173rd cycle, that was the Great Witch’s Utopia.
‘Dang Seo-rin turned into a Fallen One, warping Busan into a utopia. Monster Wave recognized it as an “Anomaly domain,” so it never invaded. The world nearly ended. I still don’t know how we avoided the bad ending that ti, since even my Complete mory can’t recall what Seo-rin did next.’
Every ti Monster Wave was kept at bay, Awakened powers spiraled out of control.
Even after sending off Oh Dok-seo, my thoughts plagued .
‘...Is this all just coincidence?’
Let’s think.
If my theory is correct, every Awakener is essentially a seed to beco an Anomaly or Outer God. So of them could nullify my regression, given enough ti and XP.
Yet the Saintess, who alone can enjoy unlimited ti XP, is an extrely moral person. She’s also my most loyal ally, so if she ever does feel herself slipping into Corruption, she consults first.
All other Awakeners have limited ti.
By the twentieth year, Monster Wave inevitably arrives and sweeps away all living humans. Hence, I nearly always get killed and forced to regress, allowing to avoid permanent ruin. As long as I don’t lose my mind, I can keep trying for a “happy ending” an infinite number of tis...
My jaw locked shut.
Dok-seo’s cup of coffee was empty, while mine—barely touched, a café-au-lait—still sloshed quietly on the table.
‘If it’s all coincidence...’
That’s a pretty convenient coincidence for humanity.
“...There’s no way.”
I’ve lived in this world long enough to know it has never been gentle toward humankind, so back then, I couldn’t easily accept this newly erging “benevolent arrangent” in the 777th cycle.
It felt alien.
Deeply so.
Here’s the second epilogue.
“Huh. I see, so Undertaker was Mr. Matiz all along.”
We were in a café.
Oh Dok-seo nodded, but her tone and gaze were nothing like the real Oh Dok-seo. Even the espresso on the table was sipped with calm elegance.
There was no point hiding it. She was in “V-tuber mode,” so to speak—copying and pasting personalities from earlier cycles to do a kind of roleplay.
Still, it was just an act.
“Honestly, I always considered him one of the pri candidates. If my mory as a child serves, Mr. Matiz originally had a faint personal scent. Undertaker also doesn’t have much of a scent. So I suspected they could be the sa person.”
Indeed.
“And yet you concluded they weren’t the sa person, right?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“If Undertaker were Mr. Matiz, then from the mont we reunited at the convenience store, he would have recognized . More importantly, when I swung my hatchet at him, he would never have destroyed it.”
“Ah.”
“That hatchet was the very first gift Mr. Matiz gave . No matter how clueless he was, he wouldn’t shatter a precious nto of our bond. So at that mont, I pegged Undertaker’s chance of being Mr. Matiz at less than five percent.”
“...Sorry.”
“No apologies needed, Your Excellency. The fault is mine for failing to recognize you.”
“Roleplay Yu Ji-won” (let’s call her “Dok-seo’s Yu Ji-won”) tilted her head in a mild bow.
“There were other factors too. Undertaker said I dumped my parents’ bodies in that minari swamp at Dobongsan, or Mt. Dobong, when I was fourteen, but he never grasped the true significance of Dobong.
‘Dobong’ has a poetic aning, you see.”
She turned her eyes toward the real Yu Ji-won of the 777th cycle, not the epheral roleplay version. The genuine piece was also seated at the table.
“Do you understand it, 777th cycle ?”
“Certainly. If we parse the Chinese characters for Dobongsan (道峯山), we get ‘path’ (道), ‘peak’ (峯), and ‘mountain’ (山). It’s a taphor for leading , who was lost at the ti, to find a path in my heart.”
“Excellent. I accept you as .”
“I don’t particularly need your approval, but thanks.”
While both versions of Yu Ji-won exchanged remarks, I kept silent.
‘I just picked Dobongsan on a whim, honestly, because it was next to Bukhansan...’
No, wait. At tis like this, I should think more like Cheon Yo-hwa, the older twin sister, does.
‘Surely the from seven years ago truly chose Dobongsan for those deep symbolic reasons. I just can’t recall it now. And not rembering doesn’t make it sad, because that blank slate is a canvas for the coolest possible painting!’
Lucky .
While my own ntal spin-cycle was whirling away, Dok-seo’s Yu Ji-won tossed out a question.
“How is it?”
She wasn’t asking .
“What do you feel right now? The worthless promise you made to your younger self has been genuinely fulfilled by soone. Does that stir hope in you? Are you willing to accept this world more readily? Do you feel less contempt toward humanity? Is the world still just black and white to you? When you weigh the reasons to live versus the reasons to die, does the scale start looking different?”
No reply.
“Yu Ji-won.” The Yu Ji-won from a past cycle asked, “Are you a little happier now?”
A sense of déjà vu struck , a sense of rembrance from a distant past.
“Ji-won.”
“Yes?”
“Are you a bit happier now?”
Once, I had flung that sa question at my psychopathic adjutant.
The outward form was the sa question, but its substance was different.
They were rooted in different layers of the earth.
The 777th cycle’s Yu Ji-won propped her chin on her hand, then reached out and clasped mine. She gently drew it up before her face, so my knuckles hovered close to her.
A soft breath.
Ever since we were reunited, my custom seven-blend fragrance had accompanied .
Then Yu Ji-won spoke. Before my eyes, her answer overlapped with the one from the past:
“I think I can be a little happier this ti.”
“From now on, I believe I can beco a little happier.”
Tick.
A clock on the side of the table clicked forward one second.
“I see.”
The Yu Ji-won from a past cycle, with hair as red as blood, nodded.
“I’m envious. Truly.”
Session over.
That day, the version of Yu Ji-won whom Oh Dok-seo had summoned—an echo from a past cycle—continued calling “Your Excellency” right to the end.
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