The Tales of an Infinite Regressor - Chapter 241

Chapter 241: Monad III

The final, third fragment of the Monad.

[Doctor Jang, I’m sorry to disturb you at this late hour. Yoo Jiwon has just passed away.]

Thud.

I stopped walking on the night street. It was a day when the full moon, tainted by emptiness, sprayed bloody vapor into the sky.

Now, even my breath was overlaid with the mist.

“What was the cause of death?”

[It’s hard to determine exactly. Yoo Jiwon was resting in her private quarters when there was the sound of a mirror breaking.]

[It was the full-length mirror that you had referred to as the ‘magic mirror.’]

[It shattered on its own for no apparent reason, and Yoo Jiwon tilted her head in confusion. Then, someone knocked on Yoo Jiwon’s door.]

[Yoo Jiwon asked for a password. The person outside answered. But the moment Yoo Jiwon opened the door, her vision went dark.]

[I immediately sent a celestial message to the nearby awakened to check on Yoo Jiwon.]

[And they found Yoo Jiwon dead, with the door wide open.]

“…….”

A brief silence.

[Do you have any idea what kind of anomaly might have caused this?]

I did not.

This sort of thing had been happening more frequently these days.

“I can’t speculate at this time. Did this happen in the headquarters’ quarters?”

[Yes.]

“Please inform Chief Noh Doha as well. I will come to embalm Yoo Jiwon’s body.”

[Understood.]

“…….”

Yoo Jiwon’s sudden death.

This wasn’t an isolated incident. The person who had just informed me was unaware, but cases of the sudden death of Saintess had also surged recently.

‘Again. Yoo Jiwon has died absurdly again.’

The turning point was the 669th turn.

That was when I met Nenetsu in Nariyanmar, received the Sacred Fire, and established beacons across the world.

Since then, incidents of Yoo Jiwon and Saintess dying had oddly increased.

670th turn.

While taking a walk across the Seongsu Bridge, the Saintess missed her step and fell into the Han River, dying from the fall.

Given the Saintess’s awakened abilities, her death was absurd. Moreover, she normally walked across the Jamsu Bridge, never the Seongsu Bridge.

Yet, at the time, I considered it an unfortunate coincidence.

‘The Saintess interacts with anomalies more frequently than others due to her shared vision with the awakened. This increases the likelihood of mental strain. She must have been possessed by some anomaly related to the bridge.’

However, my judgment was mocked by the frequent absurd accidents that happened around Yoo Jiwon and the Saintess.

Accidental deaths. Dying of cold in the middle of summer. Heatstroke in winter. Friendly fire. Being struck by a stray arrow on the battlefield――.

After the 683rd turn, when I began to investigate the ‘Conspiracy Syndrome seriously,’ these absurd deaths peaked.

It was as if…

‘As if the world itself held malice toward Yoo Jiwon and the Saintess.’

Why?

Why the two of them?

…Even during Yoo Jiwon’s funeral, I remained lost in thought.

Instead of a photograph, a portrait hung on the altar. It was a painting personally drawn by Sim Aryeon.

In the portrait, Yoo Jiwon stared expressionlessly ahead, as if wanting to say, ‘Boss, we both know there will be another turn.’

‘The beacons I built across the world. And the Conspiracy Syndrome. These phenomena started when I interfered, as if something dormant had been awakened.’

What exactly? Why?

I still didn’t know.

‘So, on the contrary… If I don’t build the beacons, will this phenomenon disappear?’

A reasonable hypothesis.

I tested it in the next turn.

I didn’t approach Nenetsu in Nariyanmar. I didn’t receive the Sacred Fire from him. Naturally, I didn’t build the beacons around the world.

“Saintess.”

[Yes.]

“Is there anything unusual near Yoo Jiwon?”

[No, everything seems normal.]

The sudden deaths of Yoo Jiwon and the Saintess vanished as if they had been a lie.

Until the end of this turn, both of them faced ‘understandable deaths,’ rather than ‘absurd, sudden deaths.’

I wiped my face with my hands.

‘…Alright. The trigger has been confirmed.’

The anomaly’s identity remained unclear.

It could have been a low-tier anomaly under specific conditions, or a higher-tier anomaly. For reasons unknown, as long as I didn’t build the beacons across the world, the ‘mysterious anomaly’ seemed to have no intent to wipe out Yoo Jiwon and the Saintess.

It felt like I had caught a clue.

I decided to challenge this mystery.

‘Fine. If the world is off-limits, how about the Korean Peninsula? Would that be acceptable?’

In the next turn, I received the Sacred Fire from Nenetsu and built beacons across the Korean Peninsula.

I even referenced the locations of beacons from the Joseon era to be as careful as possible.

It was a subtle way to show the anomaly, ‘We’re just restoring history.’

Surprisingly, Yoo Jiwon and the Saintess met reasonable deaths again in this turn. The absurd deaths didn’t touch them.

‘The Korean Peninsula is allowed. Good. Then, how about East Asia? Japan, Taiwan, the Chinese mainland, and the Mongolian plains? Would that be fine?’

It was.

Beacons were built in key locations across East Asia.

When there was a need for reinforcements, the beacons were quickly lit. A column of smoke rose into the sky from a distance, and I rushed to rescue survivors.

‘East Asia is permitted, too. Thank you for your leniency. Then, just one last test: the Indian subcontinent and Eastern Europe――.’

The Saintess died.

A magnitude 9 earthquake struck Seoul overnight. A giant chasm, as if the jaws of hell had opened, appeared and swallowed everything.

[I’m sorry. Doctor Jang.]

[I tried using Time Stop, but it’s impossible to escape from the earthquake’s range.]

[Until next time.]

That was the message the Saintess sent, written within a fleeting second.

After this final message, the Saintess’s communication ceased. With the destruction of her abilities [Clairvoyance] and [Telepathy], the Constellations under her care also perished.

By the time this unprecedented disaster, the Seoul Earthquake, was over, the unconditional trust in Constellations had already begun to crack among the awakened.

The meticulously built social security system that I had constructed on the Korean Peninsula would collapse within days.

“…….”

After accepting the Saintess’s death, I immediately went to find Yoo Jiwon. Busan was still intact.

But Yoo Jiwon was not.

That day, Yoo Jiwon was on her way to the safe house café but got confused about the safe passage through the Inunaki Tunnel. Her body was torn apart and sent to various parts of the Japanese archipelago.

[Yoo Jiwon, who possessed the [Minimap] ability, who knew maps better than anyone else, died because she got lost.]

Yoo Jiwon’s head was lying near the entrance of the safe house café. Despite her death, her face was as peaceful as ever.

I gritted my teeth.

“…The beacons must only extend to East Asia. Beyond the Indian subcontinent is forbidden.”

Both the Saintess and Yoo Jiwon had died.

The National Guard struggled to monitor the area around Busan. This turn was fast approaching its end.

But I still had unfinished business.

There was still one ‘counselor’ in this world with whom I could discuss such matters.

5

“Why don’t you just give up, Senior?”

A girl with an orange ponytail giggled.

Endless Hell. She had been sealed in Cheon Yowha’s soul, maintaining her existence as a ‘second personality’ and a ‘former ally turned enemy.’

Though most of her former power was lost, as an ex-deity, her wisdom was still considerable.

I had asked Cheon Yowha to summon Endless Hell. And the moment Endless Hell heard my story, she burst out laughing.

“It’s obviously a deity-level anomaly.”

“…As I thought.”

“Yup. In your terms, Senior, it means that the Korean Peninsula and East Asia have been recognized as part of your ‘domain.'”

“……”

“So, that alien god doesn’t really have the intention to ruthlessly invade your territory, senior. More like, it can’t. You laid such solid groundwork that it’s impossible for it to do so.”

But— Endless smirked.

“If you plan on saving the whole world, beyond just the people around you, then the other side might get desperate. So, there’s no need to worry too much, senior. ‘They’ are simply offering a mild deal.”

“A deal?”

“Yeah, a deal. Something like, ‘Let’s stop this, Doctor Jang. We’ll give you East Asia and a few other places, so be satisfied with that. But as for everything south of the Himalayas and west of the Ural Mountains—that’s mine. I’ve already claimed it. Deal?’”

“……”

“Ahahaha.”

Endless burst out laughing.

“Honestly, I think you should take pride in this. I mean, seriously. After rolling back through time hundreds of times, you finally did it! Wow—imagine, to have one of those alien gods acknowledge the Ural Mountains and the Himalayas as borders. Isn’t that a feat on the level of Genghis Khan?”

“Do you have any idea why it’s targeting Yoo Jiwon and the Saintess?”

Endless shrugged and pouted.

“Hmm, who knows?”

“……”

“Yeah, there was a time when I controlled all the nightmares, opened up tutorial dungeons worldwide, and started the Void invasion earlier and faster than anyone else, in a totally different way. Ah! The good ol’ days! The nights of the One Thousand and One Nights! Back then, I shone like a star, a young me declaring myself to be the Akashic Records of all creation… But alas. What can you do when someone with a time-loop cheat comes gunning for me? Sob sob sob. And now I’m stuck in this measly monkey body, just a pathetic anomaly. Well then, farewell for now…”

I pressed my lips together.

There was no need to respond to every petty taunt aimed at provoking me. Perhaps sensing that, Endless let out a snort.

Her bright red eyes narrowed into slits.

“In this fallen state, I can’t give you any grand intel. But if you’re willing to pay the right ‘consultation fee,’ I might be able to help you defeat the alien god.”

“Name your terms.”

“Call me ‘Cheon Yohwa.’”

“……”

The atmosphere around us stilled.

The sunset reflected in the window turned into night in the blink of an eye, like a candle being snuffed out.

“Hmm? Senior, just once—please? Just one time will be enough… Cheon Yohwa. Cheon, Yo, Hwa. With your voice, please call me Yohwa just once.”

Endless tilted her head like a snake, leaning closer to me, gazing up slyly.

“If you do, I’ll cooperate. Happily. Senior, use me as you please.”

“You are already Cheon Liaohwa, aren’t you?”

“Not that cursed name.”

A mechanical sound leaked from Endless’s lips.

“Why are you pretending not to understand me? Senior. Cheon Yohwa. Cheon Yohwa. The curse of the human who declared they’d seal a hundred stories like me by singing a thousand songs. This body was formed as a vessel for that long ago. It’s mine, my possession. Give it back, give it back, give it back, give it back.”

It seemed like Endless wasn’t even aware her voice was warping. As if nothing had happened, she continued speaking in the next moment.

“Just once. You’ll time-loop endlessly anyway, right? So calling me that once in this turn won’t have any effect on the next turn’s me. Think of it as one step back to take two steps forward—it fits your grand strategy, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. That would make sense.”

I pushed Endless away.

“If I weren’t a perfect memory-holder.”

“……”

“The moment I acknowledge you as ‘Cheon Yohwa,’ even just once, that memory will stick with me forever like a nail, no matter how many turns pass. As a result, the seal on you would weaken even further. I refuse.”

“Huh? Then what?”

Endless sneered.

“You’re planning to fight that alien god across the twin mountain ranges, without any advice from me? All by yourself? In the wilderness? Maybe if you die and restart 2,000 more times… but can your mental fortitude last until then?”

“……”

“Oh, right! Isn’t that Saintess the reason you’ve held it together this far? She lives for a long time too, just like you. But if you take on this alien god, won’t she keep dying over and over again? What will happen to her if your mental strength breaks down?”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Why? I’m always thinking about you.”

I smiled faintly.

“But out of all the nonsense you’ve spouted, there’s one thing worth considering.”

“Oh, really? What’s that?”

“That I should use you conveniently.”

I grabbed Endless’s hand.

“…!”

Endless’s face brightened up instantly, mistaking my action for surrender to temptation.

It was such an obvious misconception. No time-looper would ever fall for the twisted tongue of an alien god.

Looking into the eyes of the true owner of the hand I held, I spoke gently.

“Yohwa.”

“――.”

Blink.

The red eyes fluttered shut and reopened, revealing the same trustworthy gaze as always.

“Yes, Teacher?”

The one whom I had given a name. My disciple.

“I need to ask a favor of you. I’m sorry, but would you leave this life to me?”

“……”

“Seoul will fall, the Constellation System will collapse, and soon the North will be swallowed by waves of anomalies. Even so, there’s something I need to confirm here.”

“You need me, don’t you?”

“No one else but you.”

“Understood.”

Cheon Yohwa beamed.

“Of course I’ll help! Ah, but I am a little worried about my kids. If possible, could you make sure they don’t suffer too much when they die?”

“Of course. Thank you, truly.”

“And I thank you, too.”

Cheon Yohwa covered my left hand with both of hers, squeezing gently, warmth radiating from them.

“Thank you, always, Teacher.”

A moment of silence passed.

When the red eyes blinked open again, her hands hastily pulled away from mine.

“――What are you planning this time?”

The gaze reflected doubt and wariness. Endless. It was back, summoned from Cheon Yohwa’s consciousness.

“You don’t even call me ‘senior’ anymore?”

“Answer me. What kind of dirty trick are you scheming now?”

“Like I said, I plan to use you.”

I rose from my seat.

“In a short while, the world will meet its end. Until that moment, I will survive, and so will you.”

“What?”

“We will be the last two survivors.”

Endless looked confused.

But the next thing I said made his face twist in shock.

“The last one standing beside me will inevitably contract ‘Villain Syndrome.’”

“……!”

“If my guess is correct, and this alien god is behind the Villain Syndrome, Endless, this time it’ll come for you.”

“You, you—! What…?”

I smiled.

“The mind of a human may be easily bewitched by an alien god, but can the mind of a anomaly who was once an alien god itself be so easily tainted by the Villain Syndrome?”

No.

There will definitely be a clash.

Of course, the unknown enemy was far stronger than Endless.

But even the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs was much smaller than Earth.

The clash itself is what’s important.

Even though Endless has weakened, he won’t be easily overpowered by another alien god. There will be a brief ‘gap,’ however slight.

And that gap is all I need.

“Endless, while you resist the alien god with all your might, I’ll seize its tail.”

Using one enemy to defeat another.

Both Endless and the mysterious alien god were nothing more than nuisances, barbarians, from humanity’s perspective.

“The west of the Ural Mountains? South of the Himalayas? You want that acknowledged?”

“……”

“Ridiculous. I won’t give up a single blade of grass, a speck of dust, or a breath of air from this land to the likes of you.”

Now then.

As I mentioned earlier, this episode is merely an epilogue’s epilogue, so there’s no need to add more.

The pieces are set.

Now it’s time to hunt humanity’s enemies.

—End.

———