Chapter 378. Everyone’s Circumstance (4)
Boom! Laguel saw an enormous fist pierce through the sun and fracture it into pieces. In reality, the hand that had cracked the sun wasn’t very big; at most, it was the size of an adult male’s hand. Yet to Laguel, that hand felt immense and gigantic, enough to pick up a planet of Liber’s size like one would pick up a small bean. Even the first giant of history would be dwarfed in comparison. But how? How could a mere human’s hand feel so massive?
It wasn’t only Laguel who felt this way. Chi-Hyun thought the same. Though it was certainly beyond his expectations that his opponent had blocked the sun and even counterattacked, it was still within the scope of what he could deal with. He could simply make an even more powerful attack. Chi-Hyun had the power and chance to do so. While his opponent’s hand approached him, however, Chi-Hyun couldn’t think of attacking again. Laguel also forgot to continue her countdown.
It was because when their opponent’s energy suddenly changed, they realized that they had felt it exactly once before—when a ritual was held so that Chi-Hyun’s younger brother could escape his heavenly calling. It had been just a moment, but the memory still lingered freshly in their minds because of how memorable it was. That was the memory that surfaced their mind when they looked at the young man they were facing. Chi-Woo grabbed Chi-Hyun by the collar and slammed him down. As he fell, the countdown for ‘Legend’s Second-Coming’ reached 0.
Chi-Hyun fell to the ground head-first and simultaneously, the structure behind him shattered. Though he had failed to reach his goal even while using his last resort, Chi-Hyun remained speechless. He simply stared at his opponent wide-eyed. His pupils shook relentlessly as he looked at the young man with glowing eyes. Eventually, after the display of great might, the glow in Chi-Woo’s eyes gradually faded until the blackness returned. Chi-Woo let out the breath he had been holding, panting roughly like he was struggling a bit.
“Ha…Ha…” Only when he saw the dazed look on his brother’s face did Chi-Woo regain his senses. It was as his master Byeok said. There was no point in deleting Breakthrough. He had pulled out an extremely tiny portion of the mysterious power inside him, but it had been dangerous. It was difficult to force the power back inside again, and even more so to control his compulsion. At a single mishap, he might’ve reenacted the first future he saw with the World’s Milestone here.
Chi-Woo was able to return to his original state somehow, but he didn’t feel completely relieved. He felt a fierce foreboding that he was soon reaching his limits. At the Hala Forest, he thought he would have one or two chances left at most, but now, he really was left with only one chance. The next time would be his last.
“Ha…” After barely managing to calm himself down, Chi-Woo looked down to meet Chi-Hyun’s eyes, and a peel of laughter escaped his mouth, unbidden. By contrast, Chi-Hyun appeared completely baffled and at his wit’s end.
“I…I can’t believe it…” Chi-Hyun stuttered with no certainty in his voice. It appeared he still had a hard time believing what he just witnessed. “Who…are you…?” Even though he was saying this, Chi-Woo knew his brother must’ve realized who he was by now. He should’ve sensed it.
“I told you.” That was why Chi-Woo decided to answer truthfully. “I’m your brother.”
Seeing that his brother was still confused, Chi-Woo turned on his device. Soon, a message popped up before Chi-Hyun, followed closely by a loud gasp. Even across the universe, there was no power greater and singular than his! All the puzzle pieces fit together now.
“Why…” Chi-Hyun’s face fell. “Why are you here…!”
“Do you need to ask?” Chi-Woo replied carefreely. “It’s all because I have a shitty brother. You shit-head.”
“?”
“Like how you’re acting now, you’re the same in the future. Why do you always have to make a huge mess everywhere?”
“W-What?”
“One’s shitting and another’s cleaning up that shit. It’s so tiring to clean up after your mess, so stop leaving your shit everywhere you go. Please, I beg you.” Uncaring about how Chi-Hyun responded, Chi-Woo went on with a chuckle.
“How surprising.” It was then the Last Dragon got to her feet and spoke up. When her wings were torn off, she had fallen off and transformed back into a freckled girl, only her hair was now all tangled up. She laughed in shock and continued, “I didn’t think I would ever witness someone speaking to the legend so crudely.”
It wasn’t only her. Bael and Boboris also staggered up while groaning. They weren’t alive because they had put up a good fight. Chi-Hyun had adjusted his powers appropriately to not kill them.
“It seems he still thought of us as his companions somewhat. Hm?” the Last Dragon asked with a smile. She was brutally beaten, but she didn’t seem to feel bad about it. Chi-Hyun didn’t answer. Not only did he feel all his strength leave him when ‘Second Coming’ came to an end, but he was still reeling from the shocking truth he had just confirmed.
It was then a loud explosion rang, and a volcano in the distance erupted. That wasn’t all. The day darkened and brightened repeatedly. Rain and snow fell while the sunlight shone. Furthermore, parts of their space were getting warped, and metaphysical objects were wiggling around them. In other words, it appeared that Liber was getting distorted.
Finally, Yunael let out a sharp cry. “T-This child…!”
Chi-Woo turned around then and saw the girl in Yunael’s arms. She was convulsing hard while all her limbs were twisting in strange ways. It was because Chi-Hyun had used his last resort: the Second-Coming. The World was barely holding on and could no longer bear the additional burden. Thankfully, Laguel had put a stop to it before it was too late. If she had gone even a bit further, the World might’ve just gone berserk.
“Ahurghhhhh!” Every time the World struggled, the strange phenomenon around them became more severe.
“The seeds of calamity…!” Boboris’ face became pale, seeing the seeds of instability being expelled again.
“We have to collect them again!” Bael shouted.
“Endure it! Keep strong and hold on!” the Last Dragon cried out.
But none of their voices reached her.
“How…!” The World gritted her teeth in great pain. “What more do you want me to do…!” She wailed exasperatedly. “Is this all my fault too? It’s all because of him…!”
It was as she said. The World simply did what she was told, and things wouldn’t have gotten this bad if the legend hadn’t used his Second Coming.
“I can’t do it anymore…!” The World could’ve almost stabilized herself with just one more push, but everything was going back to square one now.
“What do we do now?” the Last Dragon asked anxiously.
“It’s all right.” Surprisingly, Chi-Woo sounded calm. It was because he recalled what had happened before and thought if he did the same as then, he might be able to solve the current problem easily.
“The World’s condition is like this rock.” Chi-Woo picked up a rock rolling on the ground.
“It can’t endure the burden that’s being put on it continuously.” In Chi-Woo’s grip, the rock cracked as more pressure was applied. “That’s why it is breaking like this.” The rock was crushed, and its pieces slipped from Chi-Woo’s grip. “The problem is with these falling pieces. They escaped the World’s control and are running wild on their own.”
Chi-Hyun had tried to split and weaken these pieces as much as possible and gather them into their original form. Then, he planned to remove it altogether and create a completely new stone.
“Can’t you stick the pieces back together again?” the Last Dragon asked, and Chi-Woo shook his head. That had been a difficult task to begin with, but it was made even harder when his brother smashed the pieces into even tinier bits. Moreover, this was simply an analogy. Restoring the World would be much harder than simply sticking rock pieces together.
“We can’t afford it. We are already dealing with a severely ill patient suffering from many grave diseases. She can’t endure it any longer.”
“I get what you are saying, but what can we do then?”
“It’s simple.” Chi-Woo shook the stone pieces in his hand. “Since the World doesn’t have the strength to recover or even control the pieces that fell from her, she shouldn’t forcefully hold onto them. That will only worsen the problem, so she should release them as fast as possible.”
Just like how the original World did. “Of course, I’m not saying that we should return to square one,” Chi-Woo said as the Last Dragon was about to point out that nothing would change then.
“No, I’m not saying we should just leave the broken pieces be. We need to detach only the problematic pieces and pass them over to someone who can handle them.”
When the Last Dragon heard what Chi-Woo said, she thought she heard wrong. She tilted her head and wondered for a moment if this man was completely out of his mind. That was how unrealistic his proposal was.
“Who will?”
The World thought the same. “Who will take care of them on my behalf?” She had been listening to the conversation intently because Chi-Woo had saved her, but this was a huge disappointment. How could she just pass on a task that most gods and other Worlds wouldn’t be able to bear? It was unbelievable. The others voiced their doubts as well, but Chi-Woo didn’t say another word. He simply extended his hand with a smile. The World realized what he was trying to do then and looked completely baffled.
“You are going to bear it? A mere human?”
“…”
“Are you kidding me? Even if you’re a hero who surpassed your race, you are still human in the end. How could someone born with the fate of a mortal bear the fate of an immortal? It’s impossible no matter how outstanding you are. What do you think will happen?”
“Ah, stop whining!” Yunael yelled, unable to bear it any longer.
“W-What did you say?”
“Ah, just quit it and do as he says. I’m dying from anxiety here!” As Yunael pointed out, the World was still as unstable as ever. If an earthquake broke where they were at, there would be a great mess. Whether they changed the past or not, there was a pressing problem at hand to consider. The World raised her head and glared at Chi-Woo vehemently. Chi-Woo was still wordlessly looking down at her with a slight smile.
The World had already lost her mind. It was because of everything she had to bear until now and all the rage she had amassed from the recent events.
“Fine—” The World gritted her teeth and grabbed Chi-Woo’s hand. “Then, why don’t you try to endure it!”
She expelled the problems that were going berserk inside her.
[Absorbing the problematic parts of the World.]
[User Choi Chi-Woo’s innate ability, [Blessed Luck] is partially restored.]
Chi-Woo made a toothy grin. In the past, when he extinguished the great demon Andras, he recalled he’d recovered his blessed luck by restoring a world from another dimension that existed centuries ago and absorbing it. Though this situation wasn’t exactly the same as that time, there were many similarities. Thus, Chi-Woo attempted to do the same, and it seemed to be the right choice. Since Chi-Woo’s innate ability was meant to carry out the World’s will, it could absorb the problematic pieces that had been part of the World.
With this, the rampaging World’s problems disappeared, and Chi-Woo recovered some of the blessed luck he had used to come back to the past. It was a great solution with many benefits. No, he should actually go further.
“Give me…”
“?”
“More!”
The World was astonished. How could a human bear pieces of a World? He should’ve exploded and disappeared without a trace by now. This wasn’t something that should’ve happened. But instead of disappearing into nothing, the human was shouting for more. This meant that this man wasn’t a mere human. Instead, the way he was accepting these pieces without reservation seemed to indicate…it was as if he…
“I don’t think I will ever witness anything more surprising no matter how much longer I live,” the Last Dragon said while looking around her. Her reaction was understandable. The World had looked as if she would go berserk any moment, but she now regained her calm. The girl’s venomous eyes gradually softened, and the wounds covering her body disappeared. She no longer had to feel pained or tormented. And after the World recovered her peace, the Last Dragon clicked her tongue.
This mysterious young man easily solved a problem that they, including the legend, went through so much suffering and trouble to attempt to solve.
“Is everything alright now?” the Last Dragon asked.
“For now,” Chi-Woo replied.
“By ‘for now’….” the Last Dragon started. They overcame their most urgent crisis. At the least, they could say that the twenty-fifth crisis was resolved. But had all their problems come to an end? No. The current crisis was solved, but they had only gained a temporary postponement. There was still a possibility that problems would arise in the future because all Chi-Woo did was simply detach the ailment from the World instead of fully healing her. When another crisis came to them, the problems that existed before would definitely arise again.
“There’s still a void.” It was then someone spoke up. It was Chi-Hyun. “Though the immediate problems disappeared, it doesn’t change the fact that the World isn’t her whole self.” While still lying on the ground, Chi-Hyun pinpointed their remaining problem in an empty voice.
“It’s not my fault—!” The World was about to shout something in enragement, and Chi-Hyun nodded. “I know.”
“You did your best to protect Liber. Yes. I’m sure you must feel wronged. I acknowledge that.” Surprisingly, Chi-Hyun’s voice was very calm and serene. “But if you’re going to stick to that attitude, I’ll also stick to mine and say that it’s not my fault either.” And that wouldn’t be wrong of him to say. Chi-Hyun continued slowly, “I also simply did my best.”
Whether it was the World or Chi-Hyun, both of them did their best in their own ways under their own circumstances.
“You probably…know that well too.” Chi-Hyun raised himself up with great effort and looked intently at the World. “What kind of state you are in.”
The World flinched. Now that she had regained her senses after all the problems tormenting her disappeared, she did understand Chi-Hyun’s intention. No, she knew it all along, but still…!
“You must also know which choice is safer and much more efficient. Whether it is to maintain the World in your current state or disappear so that a new World could be created in the complete void.”
“I…know that too...!” The World sounded greatly strained.
“Then, you have to decide,” Chi-Hyun replied. He spoke softly like he was appeasing her so that she would make the decision. “If you truly wish the children you birthed to live in a safe environment where they can enjoy liberty—if you really consider yourself as the parent of every being that resides on Liber, decide if you want to save Liber despite disappearing from existence.”
“You can trust us and leave what will happen to us. We will create a perfect World to replace you for Liber.”
The World didn’t say anything. She appeared very conflicted. She didn’t want to acknowledge what Chi-Hyun said. Even though she was the World, she wanted to keep living like everyone else. Rather, she had an even more intense urge to live on because she was the World. Yes, she was born to such a fate, but it didn’t take just anybody to take care of one garden for such a long time, so long that it was unfathomable to a mortal. It would be impossible to do unless the gardener had great affection and care for her garden. In the first place, not many parents would just leave and disappear when a stranger came and said that they would take care of their children from now on.
Thus, the World wanted to look over Liber with its remaining lifespan of a few billion years. Ironically, her feelings for the planet were holding her back. Because she loved and cared for Liber, it was right for her to disappear for its own good. Yet the World didn’t want to do that. In the end, the World didn’t know what to do and looked up at Chi-Woo. When Chi-Woo saw her pleading eyes, he smiled and walked up to her.
“Hm, Ms. World?” Chi-Woo got on one knee before the collapsed World and carefully wrapped his arms around her small body. “There’s a phrase you must say…” He raised her trembling arm and clutched her thin hand tightly before continuing, “At times like this.” Then, he made her raise her middle finger and turned to Chi-Hyun.
“Fuck off.”
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