Tower Reconstruction

It’s a white snowy field where snow is falling.

Unlike what ‘Time’ had warned, everything felt distinctly clear.

The pure white snow falling from the sky gradually colors the world white, one by one.

Nothing existed on the snow field.

Like a desert covered with snow, nothing exists.

Snow is piled up like a blanket on the barren land where not even a single blade of grass grows.

The wind blows.

The freezing cold wind, the piercingly strong cold makes me instinctively shrink.

Even the howling sound of the wind sounds hollow.

The sound of wind blowing without hitting anything seemed strangely empty.

A scent similar to burnt ashes wafted through the wind.

The snow flutters in the wind that blows as if ashes are flying about.

It repeatedly sinks and rises.

I tasted the snowflake that settled on my tongue, which I instinctively stuck out.

It was a habit I had since childhood.

Looking at the white snowflakes, I felt they would taste sweet like cotton candy.

But what I felt on the tip of my tongue was blandness, like tasteless water.

I was rather confused by the sensations that felt terribly vivid.

I was anxious that something might be wrong, as the situation was contrary to ‘Time’s’ advice.

I looked at the pouch in my hand.

“At least I have this.”

I wanted to look back, but remembering the advice to never look back, I barely resisted.

There’s a possibility that what ‘Time’ told me was a lie, but I didn’t particularly want to experiment.

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

I recall the famous English proverb.

Curiosity is the desire to discover new things. It’s one of the desires that intelligent beings have, and when combined with other desires, it can create beautiful synergy.

But anything excessive becomes poison.

Too much curiosity can even consume oneself.

Typically, just look at horror movies – people die because they were unnecessarily curious.

I wasn’t someone who wanted to be a protagonist. I wasn’t someone who could be one in the first place.

Above all, I had no desire to be a horror movie protagonist.

And what I was carrying wasn’t just myself.

The pouch in my hand somehow felt heavy.

Long footprints could be seen on the snow field.

Traces, as if someone had already passed by, were engraved on this snow field.

Even though snow continued to fall, the footprints were not erased.

Normally, I would have walked towards the white snow field where no footprints were made.

The thought of being able to engrave the word “first” on something pure, where nothing exists, is exciting just to think about.

But for some reason, now I felt like I had to follow these footprints that someone had walked.

“Haah.”

The sigh that escaped from my mouth came out in a white form.

The sight made me think it looked just like a soul flying away.

I looked at the white mist gradually fading.

“Of all times, it’s winter again.”

It’s a season that fits the current situation quite well.

Winter is the season responsible for the end of a year, but conversely, it’s also the season that starts a year.

With a crunching sound, I walked on the white snow field.

The path following the footprints.

Memories embedded in the light seeping from the engraved footprints.

“After all, your disciples will end up liking you.”

“Even if it’s a fleeting dream, you can be happy while dreaming it. Well, once you wake up, it’ll shatter like glass fragments. You might get hurt by those fragments. But that’s how people are. We’re creatures that live on moments.”

A familiar voice flows. I feel warmth from the words of comfort delivered in a solemn voice.

“Then I’ll remember too. Somehow, even if I go back to the past. So somehow.”

I laughed.

“Who can’t talk.”

Then memories with the old man come to mind.

“It’s han (恨, resentment) because it accumulates, and it’s han because it doesn’t erase. Like dew forming, han forms and tears form. It’s a natural phenomenon. There’s no need to erase it. Just quietly pile it up in a corner of your heart. And when you get used to it, take them out one by one to look at. Then smile. Ah, there was such a thing, like that.”

That’s right. Looking back, everything is a memory.

Even the pain and sadness have all become memories.

Not only the happy moments became memories.

“As expected, the old man is amazing. The word sage suits him well.”

Though snow is clearly falling from the sky, it felt as if the snow was rising due to the blowing wind.

And with it, memories rise.

I suddenly felt that I had spent a lot of time with the old man. As I walked reminiscing, the end was approaching.

Finally,

“My name is Jang Chunmong. Why is the young lady crying like that?”

“Ah.”

For a moment, my steps halted.

It’s hard to move forward.

Is it the snow that’s now reaching my ankles that’s holding me back? Or is it the layered memories?

“Still, I have to go. I must go.”

The worries are all over, and I’ve already suffered enough.

Once decided, I must move forward.

Let’s not look back.

I pulled myself together and took another step.

“Master, I’m sorry. But someone has to do this, right? And I don’t think I’ll die? You know, right? It’s me.”

“That’s a death flag. Idiot.”

I unconsciously tackled the words my last disciple uttered.

Come to think of it, I think I did the same back then too.

“Master, I’m in pain.”

“Master, how should I do this?”

“Master, this is my heart. It’s a gift.”

“The master’s grace is like the sky~♪”

“Master, are you stupid? Who brews coffee with the whole bag?!”

“Master.”

“Master.”

“Master.”

.

.

.

“Is there a reason for me to live?”

That’s the end.

There were no more reminiscences.

What did I answer to your words?

“I don’t know. Why ask me for a reason you should live?”

Yes, that’s how I answered.

“Haha. I really did speak harshly.”

If it were now, I think I could say something better.

Will such an opportunity come to me?

I held the blue beret I was wearing on my head. Fearing it might fly away in the wind, I gripped it tight.

After staring at the beret in my hand for a while, I hugged it to my chest.

“It doesn’t have to be the same. Yes, it doesn’t matter.”

Now I can think of it as me giving a gift.

Let’s think of it as repaying kindness.

The falling snow is getting heavier.

The strong wind made it hard to even open my eyes properly. The visible scenery was just white snow.

But strangely, it wasn’t cold.

Even though the wind was freezing cold until just a moment ago, it didn’t bother me anymore.

Rather than having adapted, it’s more accurate to say the sensation has disappeared.

Is this what ‘Time’ talked about starting now?

Instead of naturally disappearing, sensations began to disappear in an instant.

But what was more frightening was that I didn’t feel any awkwardness despite this.

After touch, the next to disappear was taste.

“Bleh.”

I couldn’t feel any taste on my tongue that I stuck out just in case.

I couldn’t taste sweetness or bitterness.

It felt strange, but so far it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable.

The next to disappear was hearing.

No sound could be heard.

It was hard to properly determine whether the wind was blowing or not.

It also became difficult to maintain balance. It’s as if what was perceived three-dimensionally had become two-dimensional.

The next to disappear was smell.

I couldn’t smell anything.

As smell disappeared, the world began to feel rapidly dry and bland.

Intangible things like atmosphere became completely imperceptible.

The snowflakes are getting thicker.

And then nothing but the color white remained in the world.

Thus, sight also disappeared.

It’s a space of complete nothingness.

It’s a pure white space where nothing exists.

Whether I open or close my eyes, it’s the same white space.

I thought the space of nothingness would be black. But the nothingness I faced wasn’t black, but white.

It’s like facing a blank white canvas where nothing has been painted.

Even in a world where all senses had disappeared, I continued to walk.

Am I walking properly? Am I walking forward? I hope I’m not walking backward?

No, am I walking at all? I’m not sure. I thought I should walk, but I couldn’t judge.

The scenery didn’t change, and I couldn’t feel the sensation of walking.

Am I still holding the pouch ‘Time’ gave me? I hope I haven’t lost it.

Numerous doubts arose in the form of questions.

Many uncertainties caught on question marks.

Still, I walked.

I walked towards what I believed was forward, cutting through the uncertainty.

How much time has passed?

With all senses blocked, even the flow of time wasn’t properly felt.

I was swimming through that time that felt like eternity.

Then, gradually, the senses returned.

The first thing I encountered was neither snow nor rain, but sleet.

Sleet pours from the sky.

Sleet, which can neither be snow nor rain, falls like a handful of teardrops, wetting my clothes.

A field where the Tower hasn’t been built greets me.

“What? Why is there nothing?”

I hastily checked the pouch in my hand. Fortunately, it was still firmly held.

Just as I was about to open the pouch, someone grabbed my wrist.

Feeling the force from a slightly lower position, I turned around to see a young child looking up at me.

The child had an androgynous appearance, making it hard to tell if it was a boy or a girl.

“It’s better not to open that yet.”

“You are…”

The girl smiled mischievously and said,

“Hello, I am Sleet. An ambiguous existence that falls in a form that is neither snow nor rain, in a time that is neither spring nor winter. Don’t you think I’m a being that perfectly matches the Tower, which could be either hope or despair?”