Chapter 225: Return. (1)
Boom—!
Right after the earthquake, the entire bookstore sunk into the ground.
“…What is this?”
Sprawled out in a strange position, Epherene stared up at the ceiling dumbfounded. But the angle was weird. No, the landscape was also weird.
“Why are shoes attached to the ceiling?”
A pair of shoes were stuck to the sky. Had the world been turned upside down?
“…Oh. It’s not the ceiling; it’s the floor.”
It was her body that was upside down. Epherene straightened herself out while rubbing her head. A distant part of her could tell she had a concussion.
“Ms. Epherene!”
Dadadada—
Little footsteps approached as Lia ran through the dark.
“Are you alright?”
Epherene smiled bitterly.
“Yup, I’m fine. You?”
“Me too.”
“That’s good, but why did it suddenly collapse?”
She took out the wood steel as she mumbled; the mana she emitted lit their surroundings. Lia spoke.
“…It’s a quest.”
Lia sounded serious. Epherene tilted her head.
“Quest?”
“Yes.”
A quest appeared in front of Lia’s eyes.
[Main Quest: God]
The last main quest had started too early. Considering their growth and progress, it was a desperate situation that was impossible to clear, but there was still time.
“Come here for now.”
Lia grabbed Epherene’s sleeve and guided her. There were many unconscious people laid about here and there in the hallway, groaning as Epherene walked past with a darkened face.
Trudge, trudge-
On the other hand, Lia paid them little attention. She entered the crevice at the bottom of the bookstore without any hesitation. Her cool-headedness and composure weren’t like a child’s. Epherene asked carefully.
“Lia, what is a quest?”
“…It’s that.”
Then, Lia pointed off in the dark. Out there, Epherene could hear something splashing.
“…A lake?”
“Yes.”
There was a lake in the middle of this underground space. A clear lake with beautiful waves.
Lia explained.
“It’s a passage leading to the outside world. The Altar built these lakes all over the continent.”
The surprised Epherene placed her hand on Lia’s shoulder.
“…The Altar? Lia, you know them too?”
“Yes, I’m a little curious about you too, but I won’t ask right now. We don’t have ti-“
—Hmm. So, there’s someone there.
At that moment, a grave voice boomed from the lake. Epherene and Lia looked around to find its source.
—Forgive me. I was going to fish, but I think I may have touched something else. Are you hurt?
“…Who are you?”
Epherene asked while warming up her mana.
Whiiiiing…
The wood steel resonated sharply.
—Hmm, if you ask, then I’m god.
“…God?”
Lia’s face hardened, and Epherene smirked.
“God? What are you talking about… oh, you’re the leader of the Altar?”
—The Altar are my believers. I am god.
“So it’s the Altar.”
Epherene placed her hands on her temple and began to repeat something.
“Yuren Kingdom bookstore underground, Yuren Kingdom bookstore underground, Yuren Kingdom bookstore underground.”
She was memorizing information to deliver to Deculein after she returned.
—Hahaha. It’s hard to believe, right?
God’s laughter filled the cavern. Lia licked her dry lips, but Epherene shook her head and crossed her arms.
“Of course. Everyone who says they are nice is not nice. They are saying they are nice because they are not nice. A real nice person doesn’t think he’s nice. Why? For a nice person, the standard of being nice is higher. That’s why you are not god. You are not a god; that is why you are claiming to be god.”
—…
A short silence followed. After that, an unexpected answer returned.
—Indeed, you are right to think so. Humans are animals of doubt, and the subject of faith is the believer, not me.
“…Huh?”
Epherene was a little flustered.
—I admit it. There are still a lot of things that I don’t know because I just recently woke up. It’s my fault.
“…”
He was surprisingly docile. His image was completely different from the vicious acts that the Altar had committed so far.
—I will not refer to myself as a god from now on. I’ll try hard to make you acknowledge me as so.
Tap, tap-
Then, Lia tapped her arm and whispered.
“He’s the final boss.”
“Final boss?”
“Yes, the enemy of the continent.”
—Don’t worry.
The lake spoke again.
—I won’t harm you. Even if you are descendants of the apostasy, it’s only fair to give you a chance. Also, Luna’s Epherene.
“Huh? How did you know my-“
—He’ll be coming soon.
“…”
Epherene was lost for words then. She moved closer to the lake almost instinctively. She looked
into it.
—I’m also waiting for it.
It was hard to tell whether they were a man or a woman with their long red hair, but based on the voice, it seemed to be a man, and he was shining on the surface of the lake.
“The Professor… are you talking about the Professor?”
—That’s right. The one who transcends mankind, and the irregular one who is resisting the world.
“…Wh-…when?”
He smiled wordlessly. Epherene frowned and tried again, but suddenly, she sensed mana coming from the lake. Then, she realized something.
“Bomb.”
The starting point of this return was a huge explosion on April 9th. Murkan said that a bomb would explode.
“This lake is the bomb.”
So it was only natural they weren’t able to find it.
—Haha.
The lake smiled, and Epherene stepped back again. Lia asked.
“A bomb?”
“Yeah, there’s a lake under the Imperial Palace. It’s in the biography of the late Emperor, Crebaim. He was someone who enjoyed fishing….”
At that moment.
Zrrrrr—
The sound of metal scraping came from behind them, followed by silent footsteps and a relaxed thirst of blood. Lia and Epherene slowly turned.
“…”
There were seven swordsmen in robes. Their faces were all covered, but Epherene knew their identities.
“The biggest one over there is Knight Jayron, right?”
“…”
There was no answer.
“I also know the rest-“
—Stop it.
The voice of the lake cut her off. The knights and Epherene’s eyes moved to look over the watery surface.
—She is the child who taught me. I promised not to harm them.
“…”
Epherene and Lia blinked, confused, and the swordsmen immediately backed off.
“Huh?”
—Go back now.
He spoke. Epherene looked into the lake.
—We’ll meet soon. Epherene Luna, and…
His head slowly moved through the reflection in the waves to regard Lia.
—Yoo Ara.
“…Yoo Ara?”
Lia flinched as Epherene frowned. Yoo Ara? She definitely heard of the name somewhere.
—You too, with the mixed soul.
“…”
Lia let out a small sigh. The final boss was exactly how the players referred to him.
“Lia, did you have a different name? Yoo Ara?”
As soon as Epherene asked her-
Schwaaaa—
*****
…A day in February, late at night.
I was organizing a log of the things tangled up in my head.
“It’s strange.”
The world, the air, and the flow were strange. It was a scene that I had seen a couple of times, to the point I could predict what people would say. But more than that, the most questionable thing right now… was this place under the Yukline mansion.
“A grain of sand.”
My training, aka moving the grains of sand. The training of separating the sand, one grain at a time, without breaking it. If two grains were picked up at once or broke in the process of moving, I had to start again. It was hard training, but that was normal.
“…This is easy.”
Rather, now it was too easy. I moved the bundle of sand in only two hours, and I repeated the training four more times.
“…”
It wasn’t only that. The mana in my body was almost completely refined. I could control the flow like it was my limbs, and my characteristics strengthened with it. It was a significant amount of progress in a very short amount of time.
Was this a flow of nature that I didn’t know about, or…
Chirp- chirp, chirp—
The sound of morning birds outside the cave. A sense of disharmony and deja vu spread over me. Entwining around me, I left the cave. The first light of day illuminated the underground cave blue.
However, there was one other thing. Something new.
“…Sand.”
Sand filled my bare hands. This was something I would never do normally. I opened my palms.
Bssssss…
The grains of sand flowed through my fingers and mixed with the soil and grass of the garden. I used Psychokinesis.
Ssssssss…
Reversing the fall, the flowing sand floated again and gathered back in my hands.
“…”
I closed my eyes. In that darkness, a fragment of memory was worrying in my mind. Blurry afterimages flickered past.
Chirp, chirp—
Chirping through the trees.
Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp—
Quiet bird song. I opened my eyes and looked down at the sand I still held.
“The birds haven’t changed.”
The wind passing by me now, the grass I stepped on, the shaking trees, nothing had changed.
“But…”
Strangely enough, I had completely different thoughts and faces in my head. A voice that I still hadn’t heard permeated my mind. All of them were related to one person.
“…Epherene.”
I promised her something. I must keep my promise.
*****
The ninth regression, the tenth regression, the eleventh regression, the twelfth regression, the thirteenth regression, the fourteenth regression, the fifteenth regression, the sixteenth regression…
Epherene repeatedly regressed after she met with god. For nearly two years, Epherene endured alone. She didn’t care whether people forgot what they had done together with her, but she studied hard, tried hard, and ran so nothing would be wasted…
Meanwhile, the Altar surged even more fiercely. The situation intensified because of their tricks, and a war broke out between countries and races. Reok and Yuren, the Empire and the Kingdoms, the Demon Blood and Arianne…
The more she repeated her time and tried to solve them, the more tangled and ruined time became after Deculein’s death.
…And, after regressing twenty times, today was April 8th.
“In just a month…”
She stood in the center of education in the continent, the site of the Imperial University, on top of the clock tower that had already been destroyed.
“How can the world be ruined like this?”
The campus, once radiant and green, was now in shambles.
“Yes…”
She somehow survived, but the continent had already been taken over by the Altar. It became like this in just a month. The cause was probably that god. He didn’t seem to be getting swept up in the regression.
“…This life is ruined, too.”
Those were Allen’s words. Epherene nodded silently. Julie, Sylvia, and Delric died in this life, and the entire continent had completely collapsed.
“But, it’s almost midnight now.”
Allen spoke. Epherene also nodded. For some reason, her heart was pounding.
“There’s a minute left.”
Epherene looked behind her to check the time. They didn’t climb up the clock tower for no reason.
“…Are you okay, Ms. Epherene?”
Allen spoke with concern, but Epherene answered calmly.
“I don’t know how many times you’ve asked that already.”
“Oh… is that so?”
“Yes, and every time I answer you that I’m okay because I’m excited. Because my hope is bigger than the disappointment.”
“Hope?”
“Yes.”
Epherene smiled brightly.
“If ever that time comes, everything will change all at once. Professor Deculein will come and change everything.”
Thanks to that belief, she was able to hold on while regressing, while witnessing everyone’s deaths, while watching the continent fall, and to still not let go of hope.
Epherene looked back at Allen.
“So, I’m okay.”
Tik- tik- tik-
The remaining time until the 20th regression, 30 seconds, 29 seconds, 28 seconds…
“…But still.”
Epherene wore a bitter smile.
“I hope he comes soon…”
It was painful to watch the deaths of those who were precious to her and to watch them die for her again and again. It wasn’t something she could easily endure.
“You’ll be here soon, right?”
10 seconds, 9 seconds, 8 seconds. Looking at the clock slowly approaching midnight, Epherene took a deep breath. She thought about what to tell Professor Deculein when he returned. She pondered over all the information, experiences, and knowledge that she had saved.
“Yes. I hope so, too.”
Those were the last words of Allen, who survived together with her. Epherene smiled.
Ding—!
The bell rang at midnight, marking the end of her 20th regression and the beginning of the 21st. Epherene closed her eyes and calmly embraced them.