episode_0295

I realized this bizarre experience was a kind of time travel.

[Side Story: Origin]. I only expected to hear old tales from a very ancient being, but the scale far exceeded my imagination.

They sent only my spirit back in time, allowing me to directly witness the entire history of this world’s creation. The Administrator’s power was truly immense.

Immense, yet… they were beings beyond human comprehension. What they did to me, Eve, and my mother, Leah Flora. As a human living a fleeting moment, the concept of universal balance was incredibly difficult to grasp.

Of course, I could understand it. I saw it firsthand. Akasto’s final boss, the demon god Tenebris, was a type of “Black Star,” and the current universe is in utter chaos because of it.

My head’s a mess. The newly acquired information is piling up like a mountain, making me quite dizzy. Of course, as I’m a disembodied spirit now, I can’t feel a headache.

I met a gigantic gaze.

“…Hey. What happens to Eve when she dies this lifetime?”

“Even we don’t know that.”

“The soul transfer was a past Administrator’s action.”

“Whether she dies naturally, repeats a new life in a different universe depending on her karma, or is annihilated forever due to overwhelming karma… that is the flow of the universe.”

That’s depressing. I stretched out my limbs and languidly lay down on the soft Milky Way.

Why is Eve entangled in such a fate? Why did I fall in love with her? How did we end up here?

Thinking about it, the root of everything was within us. Even if the immense flow of the universe, fate itself, laid a path between us, it was we who walked it.

A light suddenly appeared in my heart.

“That… Observer, the peculiar fellow who brought me here, what happened to him?”

“He entrusted himself to the flow of the universe. He paid the price for interfering with fate and was eternally annihilated, becoming dust drifting through the cosmos.”

“So, I can’t perform a miracle like my mother?”

“The Observer’s intervention only linked your fate and that woman’s. The result was achieved solely through that woman’s own strength.”

Even if the price was the final flame of her life, the fact that she bore me in this state is nothing short of miraculous. She’s truly someone who always moves forward. Just when I think I’ve caught up, she’s already far ahead.

Therefore, she’s always been a guidepost in my life. A lighthouse illuminating the dark sea. A star shining endlessly brightly in this universe of utter darkness. Wherever my gaze is drawn, my mother is always there.

Of course, the five most beautiful stars are always in my heart.

I got up and walked towards somewhere. I don’t know the direction. I just walk as instinct dictates.

“You made a mistake.”

“…Mistake? There are no mistakes. Everything is the flow of the universe. Whether that fate is good or bad is merely a human value judgment—”

“Fate, fate, that damned fate. Listen up. You’re nothing but bugs, inferior even to a game system. You think you have a self just because you can communicate?”

A gigantic gaze fixated on me. The universe looked at me.

I, too, looked at the universe.

“Absolutely not. You machine-like things spouting about fate while unable to make your own judgments. Eve, who transcended the limitations of your program and forged her own future… she is a hundred, a thousand times better than you.”

“What meaning does such an insult hold? It’s just a waste of time.”

“See? You don’t even get angry at being cursed at. Pathetic, oversized tin cans.”

“Your actions have already proven it. Humans are imperfect beings, repeating mistakes. You just need to submit to the flow of the universe and follow your fate.”

I’m the one who got scratched, but I’m the angrier. I’m about to die of frustration. Fortunately, I don’t have a physical body right now, so I won’t die from stress.

However, my soul exists. I made my origin rise up to confront the world before me.

The outlines of my scattered body returned, and a pure white light erupted. I donned pure white armor and raised a pure white sword.

“Mistakes… yes, make mistakes. That’s because you’re human. Because you can’t be perfect. But, do you know? You, who think you’re perfect, also made mistakes.”

“Our mistakes do not exist—”

“Setting my limits. Predicting that I would become dull after meeting Eve and achieving my long-held goals. Considering our love a flaw and keeping us apart so we couldn’t meet.”

“So what?”

In the vast expanse of space, I was a small star. To call it dust would be wrong, it emitted its own light. A small but strong white light.

『Trait, [One who has deviated from the natural order] is activated.』

From birth, my body possessed a peculiar trait, readily absorbing and craving energy, whether mana or soul. This time, the light of the universe was bright and warm, making me want to possess it.

“I really like setting limits for myself. Do you know why?”

“Because you are a powerless human.”

“Wrong, you blockhead. It’s because breaking those limits is more enjoyable than anything.”

The light of the universe gathered towards me. Light, heat, and countless powers. I accumulated power, swallowing all the surrounding stars like a white dwarf.

My origin, the soul Aether. From that immature time when I met Yuri and first recalled my past lives, I have lived only to resist.

If the world sets limits for me… and calls it fate.

My soul will always resist and rise up, breaking those limits.

Muryoung Sword Hegemony, First Sword; Supernova.

I unleashed the power I’d gathered to its limit before them.

My sword didn’t move a bit. But my soul slashed all the determinists before me.

Administrators who only suck their thumbs are not needed in this universe.

In the tranquil universe, I declared.

“I’ve repaid my debt. Thanks for answering all my questions. We’ll never meet again.”

Through the fissures in space, the scenery of my room vaguely appeared. It’s time to return.

“Stay there, quietly watching as you always do. How I will save this universe.”

Leaving behind the dreamlike cosmic scenery and the Administrators, I returned to everyone.

…

“…nim, …nyeonim-!”

“Why did you suddenly lose consciousness—”

“Are you alright…?!”

Through my blurry vision, I see the faces of several women. Aspi and Tier, fussing and stamping their feet. Lulu and Yuri, waiting relatively calmly. Nyx, clinging to my mother’s side as if completely uninterested.

“Oh… I’m back.”

“What happened this time…? Weren’t you overdoing it?”

“I’m fine. Seeing Lulu’s face after so long invigorates me.”

“…Ugh.”

I gently pushed Aspi and Tier aside and stroked Lulu’s head. I pulled Yuri, who was right next to me, into my arms and buried my face in her scalp.

“Mmm…”

“Wow, Your Highness…?! I haven’t showered, my hair must smell…”

“No, I like it. Mmm…”

“Mmph…”

The events in space. I went on a time-traveling journey as a spirit, separated from my body. Even though I accelerated several times, it felt like I spent several months.

Of course, since it was ‘time travel’, there was only a difference of a few minutes between departure and arrival. Still, this body and these senses feel like it’s been too long. Even Yuri’s unwashed scalp smells so stimulating.

I decided to stop because she was too embarrassed. This confirms it.

I got up and approached my mother. I threw myself into her arms as she tilted her head, looking at me.

“…My Lord?”

“Thank you.”

“…You must have returned. Come here.”

“Yes. I’ve returned.”

Beyond this short conversation was a resonance of souls. Similar to a spirit’s greeting. A conversation that connected hearts, not voices.

“Now… I know everything. From beginning to end. No, perhaps there’s another beginning that I don’t know.”

“You have truly awakened. Now, there’s nothing left for me to teach you.”

“No. Just… by being here like this, you’re a great strength to me.”

“Is that so?”

Leah smiled softly, like a mother. So, I smiled brightly like a child.

After a long mother-daughter cuddle, I gathered everyone together. Because I had an important announcement to make.

“First… I want everyone to know what I saw and realized a short while ago. I’ll make an official announcement soon, choosing the relevant parts.”

I first transferred my memories to Nyx. The origin of the world and the Administrators. Then I slowly explained it to the others. Nyx, who had already analyzed everything, pointed out any deficiencies or errors.

I looked at Yuri, who was listening intently.

“Until now, I didn’t really care much about my past lives. My present self and you were more important.”

“…Yes.”

“But that’s not the case anymore. My past self, my present self, and even my future self, which may change someday, are all me. That’s my conclusion.”

“Then… what about Eve?”

Yuri, who had been closest to Eve after me, the topic of her curiosity was obvious. She already shares my feelings. Her tear-stained cheeks proved it.

“Of course, I will save her. Because she’s the woman I love.”

Only then did Yuri’s face brighten. She must have been greatly troubled. She had been gloomy ever since she heard Eve’s story.

That’s the answer. Narita, who loved Yuri, and Adam, who loved Eve, are all me. From the past to the future, the moment I become aware of it, it becomes me.

It may be arrogant. It’s like a mere human declaring to transcend flesh, life, and time.

Turning that arrogance into reality is what defines me.

My origin extended from that moment into the past and future. Time doesn’t matter.

I will walk my path from now on.