Chapter 116: Episode 23 – Abandoned World (1)
I was guided by the judge towards the exit of the Underworld. The exact location wasn’t known because I was wearing a special eye patch. We seemed to go up and then down. After a long walk, the judge took off my eye patch.
[Follow along this path.]
I opened my eyes and saw a dark and narrow road. Perhaps this was the exit that didn’t require going through Charon, the ferryman.
[You should look in ‘front’.]
“What does that mean?”
I looked around but the judge had already disappeared.
I had no choice but to start walking along this path. The light faded and darkness settled around me. It was initially possible for me to determine the direction using the walls but the walls soon disappeared. The place I relied on disappeared and I felt like a ship floating on the ocean without buoys.
The myth of Orpheus suddenly popped into my head. What would happen if I looked back? Then a faint light appeared in the darkness.
[You are afraid of what is behind you. That’s why you are a pitiful child.]
It was a message from Persephone.
[Keep this in mind. In order to find the ‘front’, you must know where the ‘back’ is. It is because the front can only exist when there is a rear.]
Speaking of which, the judge had said something similar. However, just because I heard plausible words didn’t mean I suddenly gained enlightenment and could make enormous changes.
[It looks like you need some motivation...]
The stream of light in the air stretched out like it was hesitating.
[Okay. I can’t bring you to the beginning of the world labyrinth but this much should be possible.]
I suddenly felt something. The string of light disappeared and a small firefly appeared in front of me. It was a distant light. It was a very fragile and shimmering light. Nobody told me anything but I knew what this light was.
-You...
It was Shin Yoosung of the 41st regression.
-Ah, ahh...
I could tell how long she had been waiting just from her voice. If she was already at the beginning of the world labyrinth then the concept of time would be different. It wasn’t long by my standards but it might’ve already been a few years for Shin Yoosung.
The small light shivered a few times before speaking in a hesitant voice.
-Ahjussi.
Perhaps she was influenced by the memories of the young Shin Yoosung.
-...C-Can I call you that? No...?
The way she called me was a bond. It was a wish to be tied somewhere. Perhaps ‘Ahjussi’ was the last lingering attachment of the 41st round Shin Yoosung. I smiled softly.
“You are currently older than me. Is it still okay?”
The soft light once again trembled. The light gently touched my face. There was warmth in that gesture...
My heart felt pained. She must’ve been waiting for a long time. Even so, this child had to wait longer.
“I’m sorry but I can’t save you now.”
The light moved up and down like she understood.
-Don’t overdo it. My story now...
“It isn’t over yet.” I spoke without giving her time to finish. “You have suffered for so long and it can’t end like this.”
-Why...
“I will never let that happen.”
The light stared at me. She trembled in a confused and pathetic manner.
-I got to know Ahjussi through the memories of this world. But Ahjussi... why are you so good to me? Does Ahjussi know me?
I didn’t answer. We got to know each other through different means. Just as the 41st round Shin Yoosung knew me through the memories of her younger self, I knew her through Ways of Survival. Nevertheless, I couldn’t explain this.
-I feel strange. I definitely don’t know Ahjussi but when I’m with you, I feel like I understand everything about you. As if you are a ‘god’...
If I was really a god then I would be the most incompetent god in the world. The most helpless god in the world who knew everything but couldn’t explain anything.
Shin Yoosung’s light was rapidly fading away. I couldn’t see her but I seemed to know what she looked like.
-Please save me, please...
“I will.”
The tail of the light shaking in the air became smaller and I reached out towards the light. I felt like my heart had been imprisoned. I could feel Shin Yoosung’s despair. The long wait...
My heart ached with an indescribable grief. Little by little, Persephone’s words made sense. There must be something behind in order to go ahead. This was my ‘back’ and at the same time, the ‘front’ that I had to face.
Maybe this was how Yoo Jonghyuk felt. He constantly returned to the past but was only able to move forward.
The moment I was certain of my direction, the environment stabilized. A string of light appeared in the scattered darkness.
[I held her for a while with my power but you don’t have much time left if you want to save her.]
I remembered the faint warmth of Shin Yoosung. Persephone continued speaking.
[Please keep this in mind. Humans are ‘stories.’ By the time you get her back, no one knows how much of her story will remain.]
After that, I was pulled towards somewhere. The cries of ghosts receded and the sensations of my body returned one by one. I could feel the warm sunlight on my eyelids. I felt a dampness and opened my eyes to see a familiar face.
“...Ahjussi?” The young Shin Yoosung was watching me. The child’s clear eyes reassured me. The wildly beating heart slowly subsided.
I had returned. I breathed slowly and the muscles of my body regained their function.
[The hidden scenario – Queen of the Underworld has ended.]
[You have earned 15,000 coins as an achievement reward.]
The compensation for the updated scenario was also received. The dokkaebi had done his job properly.
[The constellation ‘God of Wine and Ecstasy’ congratulates you on your safe return.]
I saw the indirect message and my anger belatedly soared.
This bastard Dionysus, I wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble if he hadn’t placed me in Tartarus. I was stuck in Tartarus with Kim Namwoon and almost had to spend the rest of my life making the gundam.
[The constellation ‘God of Wine and Ecstasy’ is asking you for reconciliation.]
[7,942 coins have been sponsored.]
7,942? What was this pig-like apology? Well, I’ll let it go since he still gave me coins.
[There is one new hidden scenario.]
I immediately confirmed the newly arrived hidden scenario.
+
[Hidden Scenario – Snake Hunt]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: S-
Clear Conditions: Hunt the target in the sixth main scenario area.
Time Limit: Until the end of the main scenario.
Compensation: 80,000 coins, the trust of the Queen of the Darkest Spring.
Failure: No access to the Underworld.
+
As expected, Persephone’s task was presented in the form of a hidden scenario.
[Once the target gets close, the scenario alarm will be automatically triggered.]
A snake hunt. The target of the scenario wasn’t specified but I guessed the ‘snake’ would appear in the next scenario.
I slowly raised my upper body and Shin Yoosung asked anxiously, “Ahjussi, are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“Sangah unni asked me to watch you...”
It reminded me of what I told Yoo Sangah before I collapsed.
“Yoo Sangah-ssi?”
It wasn’t difficult to find Yoo Sangah. Yoo Sangah was curled up on the ground and fast asleep. I looked at her sleeping face and recalled Persephone’s image. Then my face became hot.
...
By the way, the Chinese dress and garter belt... it was really great.
“Unni fell asleep just before you woke up.”
“Ah.”
“She told me to tell the others if you didn’t wake up.”
The series of words ignited guilt inside me. I could see dark circles under Yoo Sangah’s eyes. She must have a hangover as well...
Chinese dress? Garter belt? Shit, I was garbage.
“Are you awake now?”
Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung approached me. They were covered in sweat and seemed to have come back from a morning spar.
Jung Heewon told me. “Dokja-ssi is awake so we are ready to go.”
“Ready?”
“The other people have already started.”
Come to think of it, there weren’t as many people around as there were yesterday. I asked, “What happened overnight?”
“The announcement of the sixth scenario came.”
...Already? I didn’t have a chance to ask when a huge string of words appeared in the sky.
[Survivors are advised to gather in Yongsan Station.]
We packed up and left.
We were originally in Yongsan so it wasn’t hard to go to the station. I carried Yoo Sangah while Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung were responsible for the remaining luggage.
Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung followed us while standing far apart from each other. I didn’t know where Yoo Jonghyuk’s party had gone.
We soon arrived near the station which was already crowded with survivors. I couldn’t believe there were still so many people who survived in Seoul. Everyone was watching the huge screen floating in the air.
“Ah?”
“This place?”
The party members and I looked up at the screen together. It was the same screen I had seen in the Underworld. It was a lush forest and monsters were running around the forest. They were clearly scary monsters but they looked like they were part of a giant ecosystem.
The appearance of incarnations was also seen. Some of the people who had started hunting laughed as they cut off the head of a monster. These dokkaebis. They edited it well like it was a tourist destination.
Someone spoke. “Eh? Aren’t they Japanese?”
If I remembered correctly, the sixth scenario was an event scenario with another dome. The man who appeared on the screen was Izumi, a famous incarnation of Japan.
The Tokyo Dome was faster than us so they would’ve reached the sixth scenario earlier. In many ways, it could be said that South Korea had a relatively unfavourable start.
[A new main scenario has arrived.]