The Tales of an Infinite Regressor - Chapter 27

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Chapter 27 – The First Flame I

1

As I’ve mentioned before, besides the Ten Clans, countless boss-level monsters have appeared worldwide.

Like the “Meteor Shower” that bombarded the night sky when I was running the convenience store.

Actually, the term “monster,” or “evil,” was mainly used in the early stages. As you can see from the meteor shower, many monsters were more phenomena than organisms.

Later on, Awakeneds began to use not only the term “monster” but also words like “abnormal,” “demon,” “yokai,” and “lost.”

By the way, in Japan, they used to call only boss-level monsters “angels.” It was a truly peculiar usage because in the Western world, they called them demons. Later, I heard from an Awakened who had lived in Japan that it was a term derived from classic Japanese animation.

The situation with Gates was similar. Since there were many Gates that didn’t take the form of a “door,” terms like “void,” “abyss,” and “hell” were used more frequently later on. (Actually, it was difficult to strictly distinguish between “abnormal” and “void.”)

Today, I’d like to talk about one of the main culprits behind these linguistic changes ― the so-called “New Buddha.”

2

“Huh? Hey, you…”

“Yeah?”

“What’s that thing on your head?”

That monster wasn’t a living being.

More precisely, there were differing opinions on whether it was living or inanimate.

“That thing next to your ear… isn’t that a leaf?”

A virus.

It was long unclear where the first outbreak occurred. It was probably in North Korea or South Korea. Just like Busan Station was a hotspot for Awakeneds, the Korean Peninsula was also a paradise for monsters. Who knew the world had such a balanced patch system in place?

“Zo, it’s a zombie virus!”

People panicked and went crazy.

If it doesn’t appear in an apocalypse story, isn’t it disappointing if it’s not a zombie?

When infected with this virus, leaves or flowers sprouted from the human body. There were even cases where weeds grew from bald heads.

However, in the early stages of the virus spreading, people’s reactions were surprisingly lukewarm. There was a reason for that.

“No! I’m not a zombie!”

“…What?”

“Look! I’m perfectly fine, see? My memories are intact, and my head is normal! Damn it, I might feel weird with maple leaves sprouting from my armpits, but I sure as hell don’t want to die like this!”

It’s because people infected with the virus seemed too… healthy(?).

Since the human body had turned into a flower pot, it was natural for them to look bizarre. But surprisingly, if you just ignored their appearance, there seemed to be no harm from the virus.

No, on the contrary, tremendous benefits were discovered.

“You damn monster! That bastard killed our mother!”

“Oh…”

“I’ll kill it, no matter what! Even if it costs me my life, I’ll take that monster down no matter what happens!”

“Son…”

“Mother, watch over me from heaven. The unfilial son will follow soon after.”

“Son!”

“Huh?”

“I’m not dead, you idiot! How many times do I have to say it to get a response!”

“Huh, Mother? Your stomach’s torn open right now…”

“For some reason, I’m perfectly fine. Maybe it’s because I took my herbal medicine yesterday?”

People infected with the virus didn’t “die” as easily.

As long as their brains weren’t destroyed, even if limbs were severed and internal organs damaged, they didn’t lose their lives.

Even if vital signs ceased in their bodies, as long as they basked in the sunlight during the day and ensured adequate hydration, even the most seriously injured could survive.

In the current situation where the medical system had collapsed, how did ordinary people react?

“God has helped us!”

“Me too…! I’m going to get infected too!”

People eagerly sought to deliberately contract the disease.

Healers with healing abilities were rare enough already. And skilled healers were deployed to the front lines to assist other Awakeneds.

An extra life point for free in an era where you never knew when or where you’d die? How could anyone endure this? It was like lifeboats appearing on the sinking Titanic.

“A zombie virus? No. It’s a blessing of life.”

“Why don’t you all try becoming plants too! You don’t need to bother with finding food anymore. With just sunlight and water, you can live worry-free.”

“This is the dignity of the New Buddha. If you believe in the New Buddha, you can be liberated from all suffering and pain and gain a physical body to live in the new world.”

Even all sorts of pseudo-religious doctrines emerged.

The zombie virus became a new Buddha, worshiped as a belief called “Shinbul.” It had nothing to do with Buddhism, but the slogan “Be freed from the suffering of having to eat meat and grain” resonated with people.

The followers of Shinbul Buddhism all shaved their heads. However, unlike traditional Buddhists, new hair grew on the heads of Shinbul practitioners. They sprouted weeds and flowers.

It was a process of shedding the skin of worldly humans and accepting a new deity.

“Oh, Lady Yellow Rose. Did you have a peaceful night?”

“Yes. Thanks to your concern, Lady White Rose, my mind and body are clear.”

Shinbul practitioners had separate dharma names, similar to baptismal names in Christianity. Interestingly, they called each other by the names of trees or flowers based on what kind of plant grew from their heads.

They referred to themselves as a group of a million types of flowers, calling themselves a “flower bed” and their ideology “Hwaeom.” It showed their unique sense of naming, with flowers adorning their heads.

[PR/N: Hwaeom (화엄), also known as Huayan in Chinese, is a major school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in India and flourished in China and Korea.]

“…We might all die because of those flower children.”

At some point, Tang Seorin muttered like that. It was probably around the 5th run. At that time, I was the deputy guild leader of Three Thousand Worlds, and I shrugged.

“Well, when the world is bleak, people tend to run to cults. Did the Huanggang Rebellion happen for no reason?”

“The deputy guild leader often makes analogies related to the Three Kingdoms. It makes you look old, so please refrain.”

So what if it’s about the Three Kingdoms? Nowadays, kids all love Liu Bei. Filial sons like Zhao Yun. As for Sun Quan… only the mentally ill like him.

Seeing my expression, Tang Seorin smirked.

“Anyway, I understand people’s feelings. But to us, they’re nothing but poison.”

Tang Seorin’s words were correct.

Shinbul had its drawbacks.

It didn’t affect ordinary people negatively. But Awakeneds, after being infected with Shinbul, couldn’t activate their abilities at all once the flowers fully blossomed, about two weeks later.

It was an extremely fatal poison.

“Guild leader, be careful. If you mention that these days, you’ll be accused of plantophobia.”

“But they hate Awakeneds too, don’t they?”

That was also a valid point.

During the early stages of the Gate incident, Awakeneds received much better treatment. However, backlash against Awakened superiority led to Awakened hatred, and Shinbul evolved these emotions into a systematic doctrine.

“Awakeneds are no different from monsters, and it has been proven that their abilities disappear altogether when they receive Shinbul’s grace.”

“All Awakeneds must join Shinbul Buddhism and escape from the sin of killing as soon as possible! Those who do not do so are going against the will of Hwaeom! They are enemies who destroy equality among all beings and disturb the peace of all things!”

“Not killing, eternal life! Spiritual life, adorned with flowers! Vast universe!”

They were truly troublesome pseudo-believers.

Of course, Tang Seorin was a capable guild leader. She didn’t establish a multinational alliance guild in Korea for no reason.

She casually resolved all issues by generously donating a large sum of goods to the Shinbul Buddhism flowerbed.

“Haha. Tang Seorin, though you may not have received the Buddha’s grace, you are doing your best to save this ruined world, so how could we treat you so carelessly, even though you are not one of our flowers?”

“Thanks for understanding.”

“Amitabha, Amitabha…”

Amitabha my foot. If Sakyamuni had seen it, he would have immediately plucked off the lotus flowers hanging from those pretentious heads.

Luckily, Korea was somewhat civilized.

Interestingly, there was a phenomenon called the “Constellations” on the Korean Peninsula. Thanks to this, Awakeneds lived relatively peacefully, and Awakened superiority wasn’t as pronounced. Therefore, the hatred towards Awakeneds among ordinary people was also relatively low.

But when Shinbul spread to neighboring countries, the story changed.

Along with the material virus, an ideological virus called Shinbul Buddhism was exported, shaking the world.

“Everyone! What is enlightenment!”

“Not killing, eternal life! Spiritual life, adorned with flowers! Vast universe!”

“Yes! Enlightenment is simply the name of a flower!”

“Wow-!”

In countries where there was no oversight from the Constellations, Awakened superiority prevailed. Governments were paralyzed, laws crumbled, and even entities monitoring me were absent. It became more of a mess when Awakeneds, who had some power, gathered together.

Naturally, while ordinary people who had borne all the nuisance hated Awakeneds, Shinbul specialized in justifying that hatred.

It was the birth of K-Cult, which enthralled people worldwide.

Another cult was active in the North Korean region, but it seemed to lean more towards the North, so in terms of the level of nuisance, Shinbul was overwhelming.

“…This is troublesome. Really troublesome. The number of mercenaries we were supposed to receive from Japan has drastically decreased.”

Tang Seorin absentmindedly toyed with the faded brim of her fedora with her finger. It was a habit that unconsciously emerged when she was genuinely perplexed.

I might have forgotten, but during the 5th run, instead of directly confronting the Ten Clans, we retreated to Busan.

It had been agreed that hundreds of Awakeneds would join from Japan, but the number suddenly shrunk to 20.

“Twenty is too few.”

“They say the flower children are spreading like wildfire in Japan. From Kyushu to Kanto, they’ve engulfed almost half the country. It seems difficult to leave our stronghold unguarded. Rumor has it that they’re gaining traction in India, Europe, and America as well.”

“The future of humanity looks bleak.”

Whether the cults caused the future to be bleak or the bleak future led to the rise of cults was just a chicken-and-egg question.

While the Ten Clans were visible and could be dealt with through a bit of swordplay, Shinbul didn’t offer any real solutions.

How do you eradicate a virus? Virus research labs? They were too busy researching infectious diseases that posed real threats to human life. Shinbul was pushed far back in the research queue.

With each run, the victims of Shinbul changed. Sometimes Tang Seorin got infected, and there were occasions when the Saintess got infected too.

I didn’t hesitate to end my life as soon as I felt a leaf-like sensation under my ear, fearing the consequences of being infected. If I activate my Awakened ability when infected, what if my regressive ability disappears too? It’s better to die quickly.

Well, even if there was a slight possibility of an existence called Old Scho causing trouble… Still, it was wise to be cautious.

Oh. By the way, here are the types of flowers that sprouted from the heads of the individuals mentioned so far when they were infected with Shinbul:

Saintess – A hydrangea with a mix of sky blue and violet drops of paint.

Tang Seorin – A jet-black swallowtail. The night sky held a cluster of stars.

Seo Gyu – Unknown.

Sim Aryeon – A white snowdrop. It bounced around amusingly when it fell.

Lee Jooho – A bright yellow sunflower.

Koyori – Unknown. Presumed to be a daisy.

Old Scho – Unknown. Presumed to be a clover (not a four-leaf one).

Oh Dokseo – A red saxifrage. It’s the flower commonly known as the “flower fern” or “mountain peony.” She deliberately got infected because she was curious about what flower would bloom on her. She wasn’t normal either.

Like Old Scho, I also didn’t know what flower would bloom on me. If I were infected with Shinbul, I would die before the flower bloomed. So, I died twice.

I roughly guessed that it might be a pure white lily. It’s a symbol of purity and innocence. I have a feeling it would suit me.

Anyway, Shinbul was more of a nuisance than the Ten Clans.

Still, as long as it didn’t cause any harm to civilians, I left it alone — that was my strategy until the 17th run.

“Doctor! Something terrible has happened!”

Old Scho burst open the door. I frowned as I had just fallen asleep.

“Oh, what is it? Let me sleep. I’m not as young as someone else, so I still need plenty of sleep.”

“What? You little… No, that’s not it! Look outside! Open the window and look outside, damn it!”

“What’s the matter that you’re being so hysterical in the middle of the night?”

I opened the window.

I looked up at the night sky.

I froze, gripping the window frame.

“What… is that?”

The World Tree.

That’s the only way to describe it—a giant red tree covering the entire night sky.

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