’What the...’
I stared at the entity before me with bewildered eyes.
The being that looked exactly like me was the Young God.
’Why is he out here?’
The moment our eyes met, my blurred final memories snapped into focus.
I had used my power to find the Black Block.
The moment I seized control of every screen in Hyper Eden and pinpointed the Black Block’s location...
Even though I had achieved my goal, I still felt a sense of insufficiency.
I wanted to use more power.
I wanted to turn all of Hyper Eden into my domain.
But my body couldn’t take it.
Before I could follow that impulse, my consciousness snapped.
And then I opened my eyes to this situation.
Honestly, it felt like a fever dream.
And for good reason, the surrounding scenery was completely abnormal.
The place was filled with ancient machinery I had never seen in my life.
To make matters more confusing, the latest models were mixed in among them.
After scanning the area, I looked back at the Young God.
The Young God tilted his head.
I felt like I knew what he was thinking.
The Young God found it strange that I was looking around the environment instead of focusing on him.
It felt like he was wondering, ’How can you ignore me and look elsewhere?’
’He really is a social misfit.’
His way of thinking was simply impossible to keep up with.
As I stared at him in silence, the Young God tugged at my wrist, urging me along.
"Let’s go kill the Black Block, quick."
I looked at the Young God.
His golden eyes, marked with crimson pupils, were filled with the conviction that he could do anything he desired.
As if he could kill the Black Block right this second.
When I didn’t react, the Young God continued to pull my wrist impatiently.
"My kin will be waiting."
I knew that too.
Like the Young God, I wanted to reclaim the one who hated waiting as quickly as possible.
For the first time, I spoke.
"First, we have to get out of here."
Before I could even ask if he knew how to leave, a ready answer came back.
"Yeah. Let’s go."
The Young God looked at me. His gaze suggested he thought I knew how to get out.
I brought him back to reality.
"I don’t know how to get out."
"Why?"
The Young God leaned his face close to mine and spoke.
"You made this place!"
He was saying things that made no sense, making conversation impossible.
While feeling like I was dealing with a preschooler, I began to worry.
I felt like this thing shouldn’t be left outside, but I had no idea how to put him back inside me.
I looked around to find a way to escape.
It was a space where machinery from various eras coexisted.
A flat handheld game console drifted past me.
I snatched the console and turned it on.
However, only the word ’START’ appeared, and it wouldn’t progress to the next screen.
Right next to it was a rotary dial telephone from a very old era, so I picked that up too.
I pressed the receiver of the antique phone made of a wooden body and brass frame to my ear.
Even though I hadn’t dialed, a rhythmic connection tone echoed through the receiver.
But it never connected; the ringing just continued endlessly.
I tried turning on an old TV, but only a flickering black-and-white screen filled with static appeared.
No matter how long I waited, no broadcast started.
It seemed I wouldn’t find a way out through these things.
Just as I was about to tell the Young God to try something, the Young God suddenly gasped and leaped away from me.
Then, he hid behind a nearby TV.
Did he really think he could hide behind a TV?
I didn’t know why he was suddenly acting like that.
As I watched him in disbelief, something stretched out from behind my back.
The moment I saw it brush past my cheek, I froze.
A black form embedded with countless eyes seized the fleeing Young God.
It wrapped tightly around his wrist, like catching a mischievous child.
The Young God froze completely, unable to even let out a scream.
A voice spoke from behind me.
"Roasted Chestnut."
It was a voice with a low, elegant tone, as always.
But I... couldn’t turn around.
"It is difficult to take the small form that Roasted Chestnut likes in this place. Or a form that mimics a human."
The eyes embedded in the black entity holding the Young God all looked at me at once.
Countless gazes pierced through me like arrows.
"There is no need to be so afraid. Only the appearance is slightly different."
The kind voice I knew continued to soothe and coax me.
I inhaled and exhaled very slowly, realizing I had been holding my breath.
My face must have been pale with terror.
I could feel the formless entity moving behind me, but I didn’t have the courage to look back.
From his perspective, it was likely nothing more than removing a thin layer of wrapping paper.
But for me, it was overwhelming.
When I knew nothing, I could look at it without thinking.
I had simply regarded it as a grotesque shape.
But now that I could see more than before, I was terrified.
I saw screams.
It was the shape of beings slowly fading away, shrieking in agony.
No! It is not a shriek! It is the ecstasy of those enjoying the glory of becoming one with Him! I too did not wish to become a part of Him and share in that joy.
Barely regaining my senses, I felt a slow sensation winding around my waist.
"If you are too afraid to look back, it is fine to converse as we are."
Frozen, I lowered my gaze.
Unlike the soothing voice, the thing wrapped around my waist held me firmly so that I couldn’t recklessly flee.
It let out a hum of disapproval.
"You must not be separated like this, Roasted Chestnut. Is this not the time when you should be growing?"
He gave a stern warning that the current situation was unfavorable.
Through the ensuing lecture, I got a general idea of what had happened.
In a moment of using great power, the Young Gods ego had encroached upon me.
Then, out of fear that I might lose my humanity, he had separated the Young God from me.
It was an action performed unconsciously.
Having listened quietly to the lecture, I managed to part my lips.
"Where... is this place?"
At my question, the entity pondered for a moment before answering.
"It is Roasted Chestnut’s mental world."
It didn’t seem like a precise expression. He had simply combined words I could understand.
The entity extended a part of its form.
As it lightly touched the static-filled TV, the screen turned white.
A small animal ran busily across the screen.
It was a lamb.
A voice filled with faint curiosity and interest spoke to me.
"So this is what the inside of Roasted Chestnut looks like."
I couldn’t believe it.
For this to be my interior, it was filled with things I didn’t even know.
Just as I was watching the hopping lamb...
"Stop it!"
The Young God, who had been standing far off, screamed and was suddenly yanked in front of me.
It seemed he had tried to slip away from the grip on his wrist only to be caught.
Now tied at the waist as well, the Young God looked at me with a tearful face.
"Let’s undo this... I don’t want it to hurt...."
When Dominic fed me the eyeballs of ■■■, I had refused to sleep and endured the pain in full.
The Young God seemed to remember that moment and was even more frightened.
He looked as if he would burst into tears at any moment.
It felt a bit strange since it was my own face.
As I watched him with a sense of unreality, the entity soothed the Young God.
"I have no intention of hurting you."
"Liar."
His trust seemed to have hit rock bottom; he had no intention of believing.
Then, the entity extended a part of itself before the Young God’s eyes and spoke.
"If you do not cry, I will give you a gift."
"A gift?"
"Here, I will give you one of your choice, so pick one."
He meant he would give one of the eyes embedded in himself.
I wondered what kind of crazy talk this was, but the Young God showed a flicker of interest.
"You’ll really give it to me? I can pick any one?"
"Of course. If you behave maturely during the treatment, I will give you one more."
The entity swayed the numerous eyes embedded in itself like jewels.
The Young God, having forgotten his fear and tears, became fascinated by the eyes.
"Hey. Wait a minute."
I frowned and asked the Young God, who was currently window-shopping for eyeballs in front of me.
"You’re not actually going to pick one, right?"
"Why? This one is pretty."
"No, sigh."
It was beyond just suspicious, yet he was excitedly trying to take it because it was a ’gift’.
He really was just a child.
Suppressing the urge to flick his forehead, I spoke to the entity behind me.
"Mr. Dominic. I appreciate it, but even if I received it, I have nowhere to store-"
"I’ll keep it!"
I finally shouted at the Young God, who cut in abruptly.
"Hey!"
The Young God shot back without backing down.
"Why! You like cute and pretty things too?"
I was about to retort by asking what nonsense he was talking about, but then I remembered the times I satisfied my own desires by putting various decorations on the squishy pudding slime.
I felt the gaze of the entity behind me, watching the verbal spat between the Young God and me.
I quickly cleared my throat to move past the disadvantageous part and took the opportunity to pour out a fierce condemnation on the Young God.
"Are you going to keep acting like this? Are you going to do whatever you want without consulting me? Like when you tried to pluck Captain Kwak’s eye before."
I intended to use this opportunity to give him some mental discipline.
However, as soon as the Young God heard my words, his eyes widened.
"We did it together."
"What?"
The Young God stared at me intently and spoke.
"From now on, you just stay inside. I’ll handle everything."
Whether it was rescuing his kin or killing the Black Block, the Young God boldly declared that he would do it all.
Considering he didn’t even know how to get out of here, it was nothing more than nonsense.
"Everyone likes me better anyway."
The Young God reached out to me. He cupped my cheek and said with a smile,
"You like me too."
Since he was doing this with my face, I couldn’t stand it any longer.
In the end, I delivered a sharp flick to his forehead.
The Young God let out a yelp. Then, he suddenly lunged at me and started swinging his fists.
It was a pathetic attempt at punching. I easily blocked the Young God’s hands.
This only made the Young God more stubborn, and he tried to beat me wildly.
Watching that sight made my heart feel stifled.
The moments I had struggled because of the Young God flashed through my mind.
There were several times I wished he would just disappear.
But now that he actually existed before my eyes...
’I want to hit him just one more time.’
However, I endured it with the heart of an adult.
While I was exercising great patience, the Young God suddenly did something crazy.
When punching didn’t work, he bit my wrist.
"This little..."
I flicked his forehead a bit harder than before.
The Young God, who had been biting me diligently, let out a groan and clutched his head with his hands.
"It hurts.."
His discouraged voice made me lose all my momentum. He was just a child in a grown body.
I wondered what on earth I was doing.
Then, a faint sigh was heard.
"Both of you need to be scolded a little."
The moment the stern voice dropped, the entity filled the surroundings.
Countless eyes peered into me.
Eye! Eye! Eye! Eye! Eye! Eye! Eye! Eye! Eye! Eye!
The Young God and I were crushed together by the entity.
Along with an overwhelming pressure that felt like it would flatten us, the entity’s voice shook my brain.
"If I leave you be, you might become completely separated, so I will force you to merge."
The Young God screamed.
I screamed too.
I wasn’t sure.
It felt as if the entity was absorbing even the screams I let out.
Theentityenteredme.Ifeltnauseousatthesensationofendlessinflux.ButIcouldnotspitanythingout.Inothingmustnot.Ijusthadtoacceptit.AsHewished!
"Do not cry. Even if it is not an eyeball, I will give you other toys."
It was ambiguous whether the entity was speaking to the Young God or to me.
Perhaps it was speaking to both.
As I was gradually being eroded by the entity, I suddenly felt a soft and warm energy.
Reflexively, I hugged the only warmth available. Then, I belatedly identified it.
It was the Young God.
Golden eyes looked up at me.
"I’m scared..."
It was my face, with only the eye color different. I looked at the being before me with unfamiliar and strange eyes.
"It hurts so much and I’m scared."
The Young God spoke to me tearfully.
"I want to see my kin..."
"..."
The moment I heard the voice of a terrified child, I realized.
I was also in pain and scared. I missed the Special Task Team.
I swallowed a sigh and hugged the other. I blocked him so that the Young God would touch the entity as little as possible.
As if he had been waiting, the Young God hugged me back tightly.
As I held the thinly trembling body, I suddenly heard the entity’s laughter.
As if praising my action of protecting the Young God, the entity that had been crushing me gently stroked my hair.
It felt like a pat on the head.
However, I felt no peace. I only swallowed my nausea at the eyes being pushed toward me.
"You must not do such dangerous things in the future. Do you understand?"
I didn’t even know how I had separated the Young God, but for now, I nodded.
Then, a low whisper followed.
"Though you wouldn’t be able to even if you wanted to."
Before I could even react to the chilling remark, the entity spoke to me.
"Roasted Chestnut needs to act a bit more spoiled. Because you are still young. I will help you."
And then, I felt the sensation of being crushed.
opened my eyes.
I felt slightly groggy.
When I lifted my eyelids, the first things in my sight were my kin.
The kin, who must have waited anxiously for their master, welcomed me joyfully.
"Goyo..."
"Trainee, are you okay?"
I looked at those clinging to the side of the bed.
For some reason, the moment our eyes met, I felt everyone become agitated.
I slowly pushed myself up to sit. Then, I gave a slight smile to the Captains.
"Did you wait long?"
But there was no answer. I wondered why, and then I realized what I had forgotten.
I reached out fully and stroked the heads of Kwak Han-mook and Mo Hae-in, praising them for waiting well.
As I smiled while stroking their heads...
My sanity returned.
’Holy shit!’
But neither my hands nor my mouth stopped. My tongue moved on its own and spoke.
"Good kin."

Comments

Loading...