Chapter 185 - Multiple Thoughts
"What do you think? Doesn't sound like it'll hurt."
Cha Eui-jae blankly stared at the hollow smile. In truth, he could tell her right now. Even though his memories were fragmented, he clearly remembered the last moments of his aunt. It would be a bit painful, but they had been like family.
But he had a strange instinct. If he told her everything about his aunt now, Director Ham Seok-jeong...
Cha Eui-jae subtly lifted his head to see her dry face. There wasn't even a trace of the vitality that used to linger there. She almost looked like an intricately crafted wax figure.
'Even if I tell her someday, now's not the time.'
Cha Eui-jae deliberately shrank back and lowered his head.
"If it's alright if it's a little later."
"..."
"I'm sorry, but I don't fully remember everything that happened inside. I think I need some time."
Ham Seok-jeong furrowed her brow slightly. A flicker of emotion bloomed on her once empty face. She asked, concerned.
"Are you having trouble with your memory?"
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"Yes... a little. Honestly, I don't even know how I got out of the rift."
"But you're physically alright? Shouldn't you get checked?"
"No, I'm fine physically."
"Well... that's a relief."
Ham Seok-jeong answered more calmly than expected. She sighed, moving her fingers on the hand that supported her chin.
"I guess it can't be helped... I'm sorry to ask, but I hope you can remember at least something. From what I've heard, your experience inside the West Sea rift seems to be related to the end."
The end. Cha Eui-jae snapped his head up. He asked urgently.
"Director, how much do you know about the end?"
"I don't have much information. All I've heard are vague predictions that it will come someday. Just fragmented visions... the problem is that no one knows when or how it will happen."
"Then why do you believe in it?"
"Well, an S-grade hunter mentioned it... and because of Prometheus. As ridiculous as that sounds."
Ham Seok-jeong let out a long sigh, rubbing her chin. Worry shadowed her sharp face.
"Have you heard of Prometheus?"
"Yes. I've heard of it."
"Of course, you work with the Pado Guild. Naturally, you would have."
Damn it. Cha Eui-jae rolled his eyes behind his mask. Of course, Ham Seok-jeong would know, but hearing her confirm it felt strange. It made him feel as if he really was part of the Pado Guild. Ham Seok-jeong spoke slowly.
"In fact, I've known about their existence for a long time. After the West Sea rift, when the hunters' strength was weakened, they began to make their moves. You probably didn't know."
"They must have had a reason for revealing themselves."
"Yes. Civilians started disappearing, and the common thread was that they had all been involved in a dungeon or rift and escaped. We immediately launched an investigation in cooperation with the police, and at first, we thought it was human trafficking. But it was far worse."
When Cha Eui-jae visited the Seowon Guild, he remembered the story Nam Woo-jin had told him as they walked through the forest.
"At that time, their research hadn't progressed much, so they used people with some peculiarities as test subjects."
"Peculiarities?"
"Yes. Those who had been involved in a rift, or had wounds from a monster attack. In any case, something special related to the rift. They might have kidnapped people for experiments in that chaotic state."
Cha Eui-jae had thought of the boy who had reached out, begging for help. Who could have known that boy would turn out to be Lee Sa-young? And who could have known that while he was missing, Lee Sa-young had been subjected to countless torturous experiments?
'But that guy won't tell me anything...'
It would be better if he just told Cha Eui-jae directly. He had heard all the stories of what happened after entering the West Sea rift from others. The fact that he hadn't been told personally was deeply frustrating.
'I want to know everything.'
Cha Eui-jae tapped his foot on the floor. Ham Seok-jeong leaned back in her chair and continued speaking.
"At the time, they didn't have a grand name like they do now. They were just a group of losers who felt inferior because they weren't chosen by the system and weren't awakened. Or they were mad scientists obsessed with creating awakened ones themselves. There were very few of them."
"..."
"If we had left them alone, they would've disappeared on their own, without achieving anything."
Cha Eui-jae recalled a conversation he had with Hong Ye-seong, who had been in Kkokko's body. In the first and second worlds that Hong Ye-seong had witnessed, when asked about Prometheus, he had reacted indifferently.
"Well, those kinds of guys didn't leave much of a trace in my world. A grand name like that? I only saw it in Greek and Roman Mythology for Kids."
In the first and second worlds, they would have disappeared as Ham Seok-jeong said. They wouldn't have made a name for themselves. But here, Ham Seok-jeong's voice was starting to sound irritated.
"But at some point, they changed. Those who should've vanished were given a clear purpose."
"To stop the end... is that it?"
"Yes. Instead of relying on the system to create awakened beings, we would create them ourselves to stop the end. The end must be stopped by human power... It's a grandiose purpose. Almost sounds like chasing after clouds."
"..."
"Someone said that Prometheus has a prophet."
"A prophet?"
"They say the prophet knows what will happen in the future... Ha, it's nonsense."
"..."
"Misguided knowledge and beliefs are the scariest things. Even if they lack the capability to do anything, they can justify everything with belief alone. That makes the impossible seem possible."
Ham Seok-jeong closed her eyes in frustration. Cha Eui-jae thought carefully. Even Yoon Ga-eul couldn't see the future. She could only see fragments of a world that had already perished, glimpsing into the past. If he applied Yoon Ga-eul's case, Prometheus' prophet wasn't seeing the future...
'Isn't the prophet just applying past experiences to the future?'
But this world was heading down a completely different path than the previous two. There were countless differences. The West Sea rift, the 8-year gap, Prometheus, the experiments Lee Sa-young was subjected to...
'Still...'
To understand when and how the end would come, what happened in the second world, and whether Prometheus' prophet was based on memories or truly knew the future, Cha Eui-jae needed to dig up information from the other Lee Sa-young that lived inside him.
"..."
No. Cha Eui-jae squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to get involved with that perverted version of Lee Sa-young who practically asked to be strangled. He was still Lee Sa-young, but something was off!
But doing things he didn't want to do was part of becoming a true adult. Cha Eui-jae clenched his fists and muttered.
"...I'll do my best to recover my memories."
"Good... but don't push yourself too hard."
Ham Seok-jeong pressed her hand on the armrest of her chair and stood up. Cha Eui-jae awkwardly followed suit. She approached him slowly, leaning on her cane, and gave him a clumsy pat on the shoulder.
"I left the keys with Jung Bin. Your old house and Hye-kyung's house. Pick them up before you leave."
"Oh, okay..."
Was the Director really looking after them? Cha Eui-jae blinked. Why hadn't she disposed of the house of someone who had passed away?
"You must have resented me. I know."
Maybe it was her lingering attachment.
"I won't ask for forgiveness."
"..."
"Just... be careful."
The hand patting his shoulder suddenly gripped harder. Ham Seok-jeong leaned in and whispered in a low voice.
"People at the top tend to attract attention."
"..."
"I know you're not the type to run away, even if it's foolish. But not everyone knows that."
The red letters written on Prometheus' website.
"The higher you stand, the more visible your fall is. There are plenty of people waiting for it."
[Do not trust the hero J.]
[He is a traitor who abandoned the world and fled.]
"Always remember that."
"...Yes."
Ham Seok-jeong's hand dropped, leaving a dull ache behind. She opened the door to the director's office herself, bidding him farewell. Just before the door closed, Cha Eui-jae caught a glimpse of her eyes. They were hollow, but a small hint of concern remained. That, at least, was reassuring.
Perhaps because it was in front of the director's office, the hallway was quiet. The sounds of activity came from downstairs. Had she told him to stop by Jung Bin? Scratching his head, Cha Eui-jae started to look for Jung Bin when a strong presence began climbing the stairs.
'It's probably coming to see me...'
Cha Eui-jae deliberately walked closer to the stairs. Soon, beyond the turn in the staircase, he saw black hair streaked with gray. Tap, a cane struck the floor. The long coat swayed. The face, sharp like an old and wise tiger, was looking at J. A look of amazement crossed the wrinkled face.
"Oh my... Good heavens, is it really you?"
"Yes, probably."
"Goodness!"
Cha Eui-jae replied jokingly. Song Jo-heon, who had been climbing the stairs two steps at a time, opened his arms wide as he approached.
"J! I don't know how you made it back, but welcome!"
"Hunter Song Jo-heon. Ah, or should I say Guild Leader now?"
"Haha, call me whatever you like."
A rough hand suddenly extended. Song Jo-heon, with a broad smile, offered a handshake.
"Good to have you back. I've missed you."
"..."
"The higher you stand, the more visible your fall is. There are plenty of people waiting for it."
Ham Seok-jeong wouldn't have said that without reason.
With a smile, Cha Eui-jae took the hand and slowly shook it up and down.
"Thank you for the warm welcome."