Chapter 278

Chapter 278. Palao’s Arrangement (4)

Sunday, august 9, 201X.

My parents had left to attend the funeral of an acquaintance’s father.

‘The funeral hall was in Hwaseong City, wasn’t it…’

Once again, the notification of a funeral had come from an acquaintance.

Until just yesterday morning, I was contemplating how to prevent my parents from leaving today.

If I had succeeded, there would have been no accident on the way to the funeral hall, and the twins and I would have gotten our parents back.

I even had the perfect excuse—being bitten by a dog—that had arisen at just the right time.

If I had wanted to, I could have stopped them from leaving the house under these circumstances.

“Are you really sure about this?”

“They are the kind of people who would understand if we explain the situation. It must have been a great shock, so having us by their side is…”

Nonetheless, I squeezed out my voice as I watched my parents dressed in black standing by the front door.

“… It’s okay.”

The words “no, please don’t go” rushed to the tip of my tongue as I battled the urge.

But swallowing those words instead of voicing them was made possible by yesterday’s memory.

– Save me, sa… Save…!

A tiny hand desperately clinging to me and the warmth of flowing blood.

Perhaps that helped me regain my sanity.

The thought that I had to soak Biharin’s land with that blood to save my parents snapped me back to my senses.

No matter how much I missed them, I couldn’t sacrifice someone else as a mere offering for the safety of my family and me.

It was only yesterday that I recollected this simple truth, which I had lost in deep longing.

When I set aside my emotions and thought rationally, the reason why I shouldn’t choose my parents became clear.

‘Even if they survive, it won’t significantly impact this war.’

Even if I prevented their scheduled deaths today, who knows if another accident would occur a few years later?

In that scenario, I would have lost the forces I could have saved with the Biharin and lost my parents again, making the worst possible choice.

I couldn’t make such a foolish mistake, blinded by the greed of regaining what I had already lost.

The worst of the worst of the worst.

As I concocted various scenarios, reasons not to choose my parents abounded.

And likewise, there were countless reasons to save the Biharin.

Shamel and Gretman, along with the apostles of each order and the powerful ones resting in the Atar Empire.

My parents wouldn’t be part of the future I could protect by having them.

Although I came back after a long week of struggle, it was time to acknowledge it.

Having made up my mind, I shouldn’t look back.

“Take care.”

Pressing my eyes closed and opening them again, I spoke.

“Have a safe journey.”

“Have a safe journey!”

“Have a safe journey! Mom, bring me a sushi roll when you come back!”

The twins echoed my farewell to our parents.

“Alright, alright, I got it.”

Our parents stroked each of our cheeks once before turning away.

Never did I think I would see that rear view twice.

It felt so surreal, almost unreal.

I stood still at the front door where they’d departed.

Their last image kept flashing before my eyes.

I had to muster all my strength to suppress the impulse to chase after and stop them now.

I kept telling myself over and over that this was right, that I made the right choice.

But no matter how many times I tried to convince myself, my crumbling heart betrayed me.

To forgo the opportunity to save them with my own hands felt like torment.

It was torment disguised as hope. Truly dreadful.

As I stayed frozen in place, unable to leave, Yeonwoo and Jinwoo anxiously tugged at my clothes.

“O, older brother…”

“Why are you crying, older brother…?”

I must have been crying at some point.

Without uttering a word, I reached out and stroked the small heads of my little siblings.

The news of our parents’ accident arrived two hours later.

It was only then that everything vanished like smoke.

I returned to that white space where the trial began.

Tap, tap.

In the space that should have been quiet, the sound of someone’s footsteps echoed.

I turned with tear-stained eyes toward the direction of the sound.

It was a woman who had stopped a couple of steps away from me.

A long, flowing skirt. Long black hair. Golden eyes.

The immense divinity emanating from her was familiar.

I called her name, chewing on each syllable.

“Palao.”

Before me stood Palao.

There was no time to ponder how she, who had supposedly vanished, stood here.

As I took in the sight of a seemingly shocked and pale Palao, my demeanor instinctively sharpened.

Thunk!

Reaching out, I gripped Palao’s neck roughly and murmured in a low voice.

“Are you satisfied?”

“Were you happy to watch me be taken away and plotted against for the future of your own accord?”

“Does seeing me stand by and allow my parents to die soothe your soul?”

At least tell me why you forced such a cruel decision upon me.

I showered the presence before me with unhidden resentment and hatred.

“It’s because only by going through that pathway do you make the choice I desire…”

As Palao muttered words that were ambiguous between a justification and an explanation, her body slowly collapsed.

Barely releasing my grip on her neck, I lowered her with a scowl.

Flump.

Palao knelt at my feet, her voice trembling.

“Please, save…”

Or rather, it wasn’t a plea, but a supplication.

“You were the only one.”

In countless branches of possibility and probability, I had saved the most lives, she claimed.

“In other cases, others could only save a few hundred or a few thousand, but you were different.”

Having seen that future with her own eyes.

“If necessary, I’ll offer my life, the divinity accumulated over a lifetime, and the status attained through effort.”

So please, let them live.

Listening to Palao’s desperate plea as she lay prostrate like a servant, my mind felt like it was burning white-hot.

Clenching my teeth and keeping my silence, Palao’s image vanished.

I was left in the lonely space shaped like a grand statue and temple modeled after her form.

Immediately, a message window opened and updated in my line of sight.

「The Inheritance Candidate has completed the selection.」

「The trial ends.」

「The attribute limitation for the Inheritance Candidate is lifted.」

Originally, a pop-up would have appeared asking if I wanted to inherit Palao’s divinity.

Absorbing that and then escaping this damned space had been the basic pattern repeated so far.

This time, the result was slightly different.

「All trials are concluded.」

「The Inheritance Candidate inherits Palao’s divinity.」

「The title ‘Sprout of Divinity’ evolves into ‘Sapling of Divinity.’」

「The trait Inheritance Candidate changes to Palao’s Successor.」

「Inheriting the divinity of the bereft Palao.」

Before the message could finish, an immense divinity poured over like a tidal wave, and my consciousness began to fade.

* * *

“Mefe!”

Meferoseta’s hair, cascading like a peach blossom; the striking gold eyes that seemed to leave a trail when they moved, the eyes slightly pointing upwards, and an aloof expression.

Even after such a long time, everything about the sister with whom she had shared so much remained unchanged.

Palao warmly smiled as Meferoseta turned to glance at her.

“Have you been well?”

“Does it look like I’ve been well? Can’t you see I’m busy getting rid of the vermin?”

She was still just as grumpy.

“Your jurisdiction must be busy too, right?”

Instead of directly stating her business, she beat around the bush, which was as ever her way of speaking.

‘It’s natural to try to hide when you see so much.’

Palao never quite liked Meferoseta’s subtle way of speaking.

Palao herself wasn’t skilled at discerning others’ intentions, plus it was challenging to interpret her roundabout speech.

Frankly, she preferred the straightforwardness of Karlos, even if lately all his comments were about canceling contracts or that the annihilation of dimensions was inevitable and a waste of time.”

Thinking of Karlos, whom she had met not long ago, Palao swallowed a sigh and said,

“I have a proposal.”

“A proposal?”

“Yes, you know staving off and killing like this endlessly won’t lead us anywhere.”

So how about searching for a way to overcome this impending destruction?

“We can see possibilities and probabilities. Perhaps together, we might find hope.”

“Even if it doesn’t show exactly what we want.”

“Still, there’s a chance, right? Then we should try as much as we can.”

“You haven’t changed at all.”

From Meferoseta’s perspective, Palao’s optimism, believing that anything was achievable with effort, was overwhelming.

Despite spending so long mastering the ability to glimpse the future, Meferoseta herself had no hope for the days to come.

Palao could only see the possibilities someone possessed and believed in a hopeful future.

Not truly understanding it, Meferoseta shook her head.

Soon after, she pondered deeply.

Merely blocking and killing like this would not end matters.

‘Though the collaboration arranged with a newly connected dimension is promising.’

The holes that reappeared each day and the monsters emerging from them were staggering in number.

They were hard-pressed trying to manage the situation unfolding before them.

They couldn’t just sit idly by, relying on support from gods of other worlds.

‘Maybe it’s right to find a breakthrough as Palao suggested, while there’s a brief respite.’

Fortunately, their power matched well with Palao’s.

Both were connected to the domain of ‘predestination’, which could look into the uncertain future.

Their powers, however, were not completely the same.

Palao could find those with potential to become kings, though it wasn’t certain they’d all become such.

It was straightforwardly a look at possibilities, leading to wildly different endings depending on the effort.

Considering the uncertain variables was a must.

Meanwhile, Meferoseta could see those with the highest probability of becoming kings.

She maximized the exclusion or fixing of uncertain variables.

Even this was an imperfect power, as the variables she had ruled out were excessively numerous.

Yet, together, by using their authority, a rather clear glimpse of the future could be obtained.

‘It’s because the direction of their conclusions can lessen the uncertainty.’

Of course, there was the downside of significant divinity consumption and long recovery times.

‘The knights are holding off the monsters quite well, so there should be time to recuperate.’

After long deliberation, Meferoseta nodded.

“Alright, let’s try this.”

With that, Palao beamed and pulled Meferoseta along.

Palao had no doubt in her mind that she would find the right path, just as she always did with her sister.

Eventually, Palao initiated the use of her authority, and Meferoseta followed.

A rapidly dawning future unfurled before them.

Torn lands and shattered dimensions.

Mages who had turned their backs on them.

To say nothing of kingdoms and cities getting destroyed in the blink of an eye.

Palao could hardly believe what she saw.

But after scrutinizing it several times, the essence of the future remained consistent.

This brought clarity.

‘Immutability.’

Even within an uncertain future, there were elements that never changed.

The current state made it clear that Biharin’s downfall was unavoidable.

What remained open to change were aspects outside of it.

Such as the timeline of the fall or the number of survivors post-collapse.

Palao, in her shock, hastily broadened her view.

People wore familiar emblem patterns, wandering around.

Among them, she spotted a man gazing ambiguously up at her statue.

At that moment, the future twisted and began chasing a single possibility.

Damned System