episode_0053

When I was a kid.

So, when I was young, about 10 years from now.

“Jeongwoon.”

“It’s the cloud.”

“Yes, Ham Jeongwoon.”

Before I started working under the new name Trev Cloud, my senior pilots always talked about it.

“It’s a good time.”

“No, what suddenly?”

“That means eating whatever you want and then climbing to Mecca.”

I envy your youth.

Regardless of being young, they always said that being young is better.

“I eat less than you?”

“You eat like that and then get on the AS without a problem, right? I fasted for 6 hours before going on a sortie.”

“If you eat at high speed, your stomach will strain.”

“Hmm… Is it that much?”

At the time, I didn’t understand them.

Officially, there were no pilots under the age of 20, and although there were a few unofficially, they were only a handful.

“You will understand when you get older. In particular, AS pilots, especially humans like us who are deployed to the battlefield every day, need to be more careful. My body ages faster than others.”

“Umm….”

“You probably don’t understand yet. But you will find out when you get older. You won’t be able to eat the whole seasoned chicken you love so much, and you won’t be able to eat it as a late-night snack. Hehehe.”

“Even if this man curses, does he curse in that way?”

That memory comes to mind.

Because there was nothing wrong with what they said.

Cosmic radiation destroyed our bodies in an instant, and my body aged quickly.

Of course, physical age is similar to actual age.

However, if we go into the question of how much I was exposed to ether, I could say that my lifespan was much shorter than that of other people.

eye.

Amidst the numerous explosions and flickering lights, I became unable to look at the world normally.

My eyes have become accustomed to space and the ether.

The optic nerve he had had since birth was destroyed, and the ether that had flowed through his eyes began to take its place in the place where the nerve should have been.

If humans remain in outer space for too long, they become affected by the ether.

It is extremely rare for something like me to happen, but if you are one of the victims, it becomes all your business.

Eventually, the entire optic nerve will be destroyed, and my entire body, starting with my eyes, will become like ether.

As a human being, I will die, and my entire body will become ether like countless ether glaciers floating around in outer space.

That is my death.

To slow it down just a little bit, I got off AS.

If you engage in even a little bit of combat, your optic nerves will be damaged and ether will begin to fill their place.

Otherwise, it would be important to wear a visor to block the etheric waves, but that is not possible this time.

Telelink system.

Multi-remote operation that uses ether reaction to directly manipulate gases with brain quantum waves.

As I use ether, the ether accumulated in my body reacts even if I am wearing a visor.

And now that the ether is active.

“It’s been a while.”

‘She’, who was hugging me from behind, comes in front of me and smiles brightly.

“Master?”

A pure white girl.

The girl, all white from head to toe, fluttered her white dress and opened her arms towards me.

“It’s finally time for you to come over here.”

“No. I refuse.”

“Why?”

“I will live as a human and die as a human.”

This was my first rejection.

This ghost, who persistently woos me even though I have rejected him countless times, is a presence that I cannot separate from my life even if I want to.

“If you become one with me, you will be able to live eternal life within me.”

“I refuse.”

“Why? Do you want to die?”

“No. If you want to die, you should have killed yourself a long time ago.”

“I don’t understand. How is it that you can meekly accept death when you have seen so many deaths on the battlefield earlier than others?”

The girl tilts her head.

“Don’t all humans want immortality?”

“You live as ether, not as a human.”

“What difference does that make?”

“It is a very important issue to me.”

I closed my eyes.

“No matter how much you try to seduce me, my answer remains the same. I will live as a human, I will die as a human.”

“Really, I don’t understand.”

My eyes are closed, but I see a white halo beyond my vision, which should have been colored black.

It was not a simple ball of light, but was made up of geometric patterns like a spider web. It slowly approached me and placed its hand on my face.

“That’s why I like you. If I subjugate you, I feel like I’m conquering humanity.”

“I don’t even represent humanity?”

“If you can’t persuade and cajole even one person, how can you understand another human being? Hahang.”

The girl smiles.

The smile of a monster imitating a human was foreign yet so beautiful.

“If you need my strength at any time, please come to me. Because wherever you are in the universe, I will feel you and be by your side. I will do everything you wish.”

“Then why don’t you return my eyes to their original state?”

“Oh my, you know very well that that’s not possible. Your eyes….”

The girl lightly smiles as she sweeps her hand over my eyelids.

Although her eyes were closed, she could clearly see the girl’s figure made of white light.

“Because even before he met me, he started to break down.”

“…….”

“That’s why I want it more earnestly. If you join me, you can see freely again. This world. This universe. The future of this infinitely expanding world.”

“It’s such a sweet whisper that I think I’ll be tempted right away, but you. Haven’t you forgotten something?”

I reached forward and grabbed the girl’s neck.

“You killed everyone.”

“It was to save you, right?”

“Shouldn’t we have killed them together instead?”

“Why should I kill you?”

“I….”

“Even if I didn’t do it, everyone would have died anyway. Protecting the entire universe and letting some people die is what humans usually say, right? Sacrifice of a cow for the greater good.”

“…….”

“Yes, I know. What I still have in my heart. But please keep that in mind.”

The girl holds my face with both hands and brings her face closer.

“I am always on your side.”

Sarah.

“Now, it’s time to wake up. My knight.”

* * *

“…….”

There is no light.

There is only darkness.

“What is it.”

Apparently, I used a slightly risky but effective technique to defeat the space pirates.

Although the strain on the optic nerves is a bit strong, I assisted in the armament of the battleship by shooting beam rifles through multiple drone operations. Why do I feel like I am lying down instead of sitting on a chair?

“Are you out of your mind?”

From the darkness, a familiar voice was heard.

“Captain?”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

“After the battle was over, I ran out of energy and collapsed.”

It is a dark room without any light.

It’s probably hard to see because this space is darker than I am, but could it be that he was watching me from the side?

“Visor, can I turn it on? I think the light might be sparkling when I turn this on.”

“Give it to me. Yes, here.”

I was handed a visor by Captain Edmund.

It’s a familiar and cold mask, but without it, I’m dying in real time.

Weeeeing.

Biometric authentication is performed as soon as the power is turned on.

[Biometric authentication has been completed. ‘Paladin’. The device Galaxy Walker Mk.76 is in operation.]

Letters quickly pass by in front of the eyes and under the display monitor.

It doesn’t have much meaning, but although I’ve taken off my mask briefly, I’ve never taken it off for such a long period of time, so it’s a phrase I haven’t seen in quite a while.

“If you go, reboot, when was the last time you did that?”

“The day you arrived at Starlight Colony?”

“Then it’s been almost a month.”

“That’s right. You can now turn on the light.”

“Um.”

Click.

The captain turned on the smartwatch on his wrist.

Soon, the light was turned on by manipulating the panel, and the ceiling sparkled, illuminating the room.

“It’s the infirmary.”

“This is a sleeping room set up in the infirmary. I made it new on purpose for you.”

“When did you do that?”

“Three days ago. As soon as the battle is over.”

“…….”

huh?

“Didn’t you hear me well?”

“You heard right. You fainted in battle and fell asleep for three days straight.”

Nonsense.

“Are you saying that I fell unconscious before the battle was declared over?”

“Okay. It may not be like you, but I still felt fortunate. Because I can feel again that you, too, are human.”

“Ha….”

“In the past, you maintained tension in a combat posture until the situation was over. Relax your shoulders. From now on, you will be more comfortable than you worry.”

“……How did the battle go?”

Captain Edmund smiled.

“First of all, a lot happened over the past three days, so let’s talk about the most important thing first.”

“Please tell me.”

“The 12 Constellations of the Zodiac Alliance have secured our distress signal from ‘Taurus Colony’. Currently, the Taurus Colony has dispatched the large battleship ‘Notting Dawn’ to protect us.”

“…….”

suddenly?

“If you use Dimensional Jump about twice, you will be able to go to Starlight Colony. And the Artemis colony….”

Ssuk.

“It was discovered that I had been in cahoots with space pirates, so I decided to pay a huge amount of compensation. To us. With resources.”

“Resources….”

“For reference, it is one of those resources.”

Captain Edmund smiled darkly and pointed down.

“The Titanic we are on is the first.”

“…….”

“Isn’t it your favorite? Ginpai.”

“No, that.”

“From now on, this battleship is ours. Hahaha.”

“…….”