Chapter 373. Last Night’s Dream (3)
Silence fell in the hall the moment Chi-Hyun finished speaking. Boboris, Bael, and the Last Dragon all became speechless and could only blink.
“Uh…um…” The Last Dragon gaped and finally managed to say, “You’re not seriously telling us that to return Liber’s civilization to the primitive era, right?”
Chi-Hyun snorted; judging by his response, it seemed like he wasn’t speaking in the figurative sense. He really meant that they should reset the World itself to its initial stage.
“…Is that even possible?” the Last Dragon asked carefully.
Resetting Liber—it was a different matter from saving a world. Before discussing whether they should do it or not, they wondered if it was possible in the first place.
Chi-Hyun’s answer was ‘yes’. He nodded and said, “Although rare, it has happened a few times in other worlds.”
Since the universe was infinite, it wasn’t strange that all sorts of things had happened. If there was a precedent, the story completely changed.
The Last Dragon asked, “What exactly does it mean to reset the World? I’m curious about the method.”
“It’s simple. We kill Liber’s current World.” Chi-Hyun continued clearly, “And have a new World born.”
The three’s expressions stiffened.
“This is the only way.”
Everyone looked deeply conflicted. They couldn’t readily agree because they felt uneasy about the option. They did understand Chi-Hyun’s logic. Currently, the crisis faced by Liber was caused by the World going berserk; considering the gravity of the situation, there was no way to return the World to normal at the moment. Chi-Hyun was suggesting they get rid of the source of the problem and create a new World in its place. Using a car as an analogy, he was saying that they should just replace a car with a severely damaged engine instead of trying to fix the engine. It was the simplest and most efficient solution. However, the World could not be compared to a mere car.
“That’s ridiculous.” Boboris was the first to object. “The death and birth of a World is not something to be taken lightly. Even if this is possible, Liber has to endure without a World until the new World begins to function properly!” A world without a World was a sentence that should never be reality. Without a World, there was no way to enforce balance and correct and contain a world that had gone completely off kilter. Boboris made her point by asking if it would be possible to overcome the problems that would occur during that period of time without a World.
Although it was a fair point of concern, Chi-Hyun countered in a nonchalant tone, “You don’t have to worry about that. Until the new World can function properly, Liber will be under the Celestial Realm’s protection. I told you that there has been a case like this before. Since they’ve gained more experience and know-how since then, they’ll manage it properly.”
“I understand what you mean, but…I don’t know.”
When Boboris wavered, the Last Dragon quietly added, “I don’t feel too good about this either.”
It was the same for Bael. “No matter how dire the circumstances are, your method is too extreme. It makes me wonder if we really have to go that far.”
Boboris added, “Yeah, I feel the same way as Bael. Your suggestion is no different from arbitrarily interfering with the laws of the universe.” Chi-Hyun was suggesting they mess with an area that they had no knowledge of, and they feared the unknown.
Chi-Hyun sighed. “…To repeat myself, the problems that Liber currently faces stem from the World.” He continued as if even repeating himself like this was wasting his precious time. “In other words, the World, which is supposed to protect Liber’s order, is causing countless problems. Do you still have no idea what that means?”
No, they did know what he meant. The World couldn’t hold out. In fact, it had already failed to hold out, and what they faced now were the results. Originally, the World should have overcome these problems on its own, but it couldn’t bear the pressure anymore and ended up letting it all out. It was clear that if the World forced itself to endure any longer, it'd burst like a balloon over its limit. Thus, at this point of time, Liber’s World was already finished.
“But…the World is causing trouble because of the previous heroes.”
“So?”
Although Boboris meekly refuted, Chi-Hyun answered indifferently, “Shall I drag all the previous heroes out? Tell them to quickly kneel down and apologize because they were the cause of this problem?” He spoke in an icy cold voice, cold enough to make his listener’s ears feel a chill.
Boboris closed her mouth because she knew doing that wouldn’t change anything. Since there were no reversing things that had already happened, she understood that they needed to focus on the situation at hand, but even then…
“We can go with the standard solution if you want. Although it’s doubtful if we can even find a solution or if the World will be able to hold out until then.” They could give it a try, but there was another problem at hand. Chi-Hyun continued, “Did you know? Liber’s cycle of crisis is becoming noticeably more frequent.” Even if they succeeded right now, it would only prevent the immediate crisis. Liber’s World had already become unstable. If there was no way of returning it to normal, they needed to end it. Even if they forced it to hold out for a little longer, it was obvious that another problem would arise sooner or later.
“The next crisis will happen in 20 or 30 years. That’s probably its limit.” And the crisis would occur in a much more terrifying and horrifying form than before. If nothing was done to change the status quo, the World would deteriorate to the point that there would no longer be anything they could do but wait for another 100 years. They had to make the decision before things got to that point.
“If you still don’t understand after all this, it can’t be helped,” Chi-Hyun continued. “I’m all ears if anyone has a better solution.”
Silence fell between them. A better solution? There was no such thing. No, even if there was, they wouldn’t dare to even consider it because it was an area that they couldn’t easily mess with.
“I don’t know if the World will…agree.” In the end, the Last Dragon struggled to voice her thoughts; since no proper counterargument came to mind, she was half-forced to agree.
“The will of the World doesn’t matter.” With this, Chi-Hyun’s intention was clearly conveyed. Now that they had made up their mind to extinguish the present World, it wasn’t even worth considering its will since it was going to die anyway.
“But there’s an easier way for the World to go, relatively speaking.”
“Will it really work out the way we expect?” The Last Dragon was still skeptical.
“Who knows.” Chi-Hyun shrugged and glanced sideways at the magnificent stone statue standing alone. “We have to first talk to Elephthalia.”
* * *
Elephthalia. She was the one and only god representing the will of the World; this meant that she was the main god of Liber. After unifying all four of their opinions, Chi-Hyun met with Elephtalia and conversed with her. Once she heard about their decision, she expressed her disapproval as expected.
—Do you really…have to do that?
Elephthalia gaped with a stunned expression. The scale of the plan that Chi-Hyun suggested was difficult to easily accept, even for a main god.
—You’re telling me to become the new World of Liber? I can’t handle it. It’s a task that’s impossible for me to accept…
“If that’s the case, you don’t have to become the new World. You can give birth to a new World with the help of the Celestial Realm if you find the idea bothersome. That part can be adjusted.”
Elephthalia shook her head. Even though she was the main god of Liber, she was no different from any other god in the end. Just like how Gaia was born from Earth in Greek and Roman mythology, Elephtalia was a god born from Liber’s will. Moreover, she was not born as a result of the World accepting people’s requests, but out of the World’s will as an entirely independent being at the beginning of its existence. As a result, she had a very close and special relationship with the World. In human terms, their plan was akin to asking a faithful eldest daughter to take part in extinguishing her own mother. Thus, it was only natural that she would show her opposition, and Boboris nodded instinctively; she didn’t know why, but she didn’t have a good feeling about this. She wanted Chi-Hyun to change his mind even now.
“Then I guess it can’t be helped,” Chi-Hyun said. “We have no choice but to do as you want this time.” He said this as if he had really changed his mind.
“Yeah, let’s do that,” the Last Dragon readily agreed. “We don’t know for sure yet. Let’s go with the standard method for now, and if it doesn’t work, next time—”
“There’s no next time,” Chi-Hyun cut her off and said bluntly.
The Last Dragon was startled. “What do you mean? There’s no next time?”
“I’m saying it as it is. I’m not the type to make promises I can’t keep,” Chi-Hyun answered in a nonchalant manner. “I don’t enter a world that cannot be saved. I don’t know about other heroes, but that’s the case for me.”
Everyone became speechless at his cold words. What he said was equivalent to giving up on Liber on a personal level.
“It would be great if it works out the way you all want it to be. Of course, it may not work, but we can still suspend the doom of the world for 20 or 30 years. Anyway, I’ll try my best for now.” In other words, Chi-Hyun was saying that when another crisis occurred at a later time, he would leave the matter to them, and they needed to solve this crisis on their own—whether they gathered their heads together or partnered up with the hero who would enter for the next crisis.
Regardless of what happened, Chi-Hyun was never going to come back to Liber; it might have been different if there was still a 0.1 percent chance of successfully saving it, but it was his personal creed to not enter a world with a 0 percent chance of salvation. Everyone’s faces turned sour because it sounded like he was threatening them.
They all knew that not all heroes were made equal. It was no easy task to find a hero on the same level as Chi-Hyun; if he considered Liber irredeemable, it basically meant that its destruction was set in stone.
After a brief silence, Bael, who had been standing silently, narrowed her eyes, “Are you threatening us?”
“In which part did it sound like a threat?” Chi-Hyun snorted. “All I did was tell you about the current problems caused by the past and what will occur in the future. And I even told you the only solution we have as of now.”
“That’s—”
“I also said I’d listen if you had a different solution.” Bael tried to say something, but Chi-Hyun cut her off and continued, “And I even said if you didn’t want to do it, I’d do as you all want right now.”
“…”
“How much nicer do I have to be?”
Bael shut her mouth.
“Or is this it? You don’t like my method, but you’re also worried about the future. So if a problem arises at a later time, you want me to take care of it again?”
It wasn’t only Bael. Everyone became speechless as Chi-Hyun continued.
“I think you are the ones threatening me by using the current crisis as your weapon. It’s not my world, but yours. Thus, I’ll consider your opinions, but I hope you don’t put the blame on me later.”
Chi-Hyun looked around as if he was asking everyone what they were going to do—whether they were going to calm down the World that had gone berserk and simply hope for everything to be resolved on its own, or extinguish the current World and bring forth a new one to solve the fundamental cause of the crisis.
“You decide, Elephthalia.” While no one could easily open their mouths, Chi-Hyun turned around. “As the representative of the World’s will and the main god of Liber.”
Elephthalia closed her eyes. This plan involved killing the World, the mother of all things that made up Liber. It was something that should never be done. However, she was well aware of the current situation; in fact, she knew it better than anyone else. If she rejected the offer, this extraordinary hero would mitigate the current crisis at all costs, but he’d never visit Liber again. Maybe this might be the last chance to make this right—no, she was sure this was the last chance. What choice should she make here?
—It’s too…cruel…
Elephthalia muttered to herself, but after hesitating for a long time, she continued with great difficulty.
—…But…I have a condition…
“What is it?”
—Please…receive her…permission…
“Permission?”
—If Mother…also agrees…
Elephthalia finally managed to finish her words, and Chi-Hyun laughed humorlessly, but did not say no.
“…Well, I’ll mention it at least.” Of course, he didn’t say yes either. Watching everything unfold, Boboris felt an unknown uneasiness because she remembered how Chi-Hyun had said he’d end the World as easily as possible.
* * *
After Elephthalia agreed to the idea with a caveat, Chi-Hyun met a girl through her arrangement. In a white space with nothing, he came face to face with a girl whose whole body was covered with wounds and whose face was full of tear marks—she was the World of Liber.
“You’re going to reset the World?” the girl asked after listening to Chi-Hyun’s plan while lying down. “….You’re going to destroy me?”
Chi-Hyun neither confirmed nor denied it. “There is an object called a computer in the world that I live in.” He continued explaining, “Problems sometimes come up while using it, and the solution is surprisingly simple. Most problems are solved by turning the computer off and then back on.”
“Turn it off and on…?”
“And if that doesn’t work, you can just reset the hard drive and restore it to its original clean state. That’s what it meant to reset the system.”
The girl looked confused, but she couldn’t afford to think deeply in the first place because she was in extreme pain and causing instability across Liber.
“Will I…” While suffering in great everlasting pain, the World struggled to say, “be able to live…?”
“…Yes. It’ll live,” Chi-Hyun answered a beat later. “Liber will.” His words could be interpreted in another way.
“Then…I see.” The girl closed her eyes. “I’ll do as you say…” She left the World’s, Liber’s, and her fate entirely in Chi-Hyun’s hand. And like this, the d-day finally arrived—the day everything was decided.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m