episode_0343

Eyelids that droop heavily.

The whitish light that flows through the thin gap awakens the deeply dormant mind.

As soon as I opened my closed eyes, what I saw was a dark purple sky and a full moon.

Above the soft purple sky, which feels strangely different from the normal night sky, hangs a full moon so gigantic that it cannot even be compared to what we normally see.

I think about this.

“Why is there no ceiling…?” ?”

A broken memory comes to mind.

Apparently, the place where Juyeon fell asleep while drunk was on a chair in the kitchen at home.

“… “Where are we?”

Why on earth is it just lying there in an unknown space?

In order to resolve my doubts, I raise my upper body and look down, and I see a building of an unfamiliar shape in front of me.

A building with impressive vertical grooves lined up in a row to support the roof.

Although the feel is quite different, it is somewhat similar in shape to the Parthenon temple I saw in Greece, where I visited for cooperation, or the Pantheon temple in Italy.

I realized this while looking at a building, or rather a temple, that exudes grandeur and eerieness at the same time.

“First of all, it’s not reality.”

At least not the world I perceive.

If a temple like this existed somewhere on Earth, there’s no way it wouldn’t have been known.

Aside from reality, there are two places you can think of.

A unique type of dungeon or virtual world assembled in the unconscious.

More weight is placed on the latter than the former.

Usually, when you enter a dungeon inside a crack, you will receive the message ‘You have entered the OO dungeon.’ There is bound to be a record of the same message, but this time there is nothing.

“The question is why did you fall here… .”

Actually, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the former or the latter.

The real question is why I suddenly ended up here.

And most likely, the answer is in that temple.

Why?

Because that is the only building on the ground where I stand.

“It’s an interesting terrain.”

Except for the temple built on a pure white marble floor, the entire sky and earth is overflowing with a purple-black energy.

“It’s very blatant.”

Isn’t this a blatant way to tell us to quickly come into the temple?

If so, you should go.

Approach the temple with calm steps.

As the distance gets closer, the sense of intimidation emanating from the massive size of the temple becomes more intense.

When the steps finally reached the huge door leading inside the temple.

Kukukuku… !

As if waiting for me to arrive here, the huge stone gate opens with a loud noise.

What you can see beyond the door is a long path that runs inside the temple.

And huge stone statues lined up next to it.

All of the stone statues are kneeling and bowing their heads in front of the path I need to take.

Did you create images of believers worshiping God?

Next to it, the ceiling is supported by a scaled-down version of the pillars that support the roof from the outside.

And on each pillar hangs a torch that flickers and emits light.

“… … .”

A somewhat unusual atmosphere.

Before entering, take a moment to contemplate your body.

Other than the fact that my senses are a little dull, there doesn’t seem to be any major problem with my body.

After sharpening your senses so that you can react calmly no matter when or what happens.

“… good.”

Take your stopped steps.

plod along

The sound of footsteps causing gentle ripples inside the temple.

As I move forward slowly, pondering the sound of hitting the wall and returning, I finally see the end.

The edge of the stone statues bowing their heads.

I thought there would be a sculpture of the object they bowed their heads to.

“What is that?”

Expectations were wrong.

What was placed at the end of the temple was a chair.

Like the statue, it is made of pure white marble. It is not a huge statue, but an ordinary chair that a person of similar size to me can sit on.

And there is a person sitting there.

A woman in a black dress with her face hidden behind a black hood and veil.

She gestures.

“Come closer.”

I am happy to comply.

It is not because of compulsion.

However, I was just curious about the face covered in that veil.

And there is a high probability that the person who called me here is the woman in front of me.

The distance between me and the woman sitting on the chair was about ten meters.

“We finally got to see each other face to face.”

Her low voice resonates softly inside the temple.

However, there was an error in those words.

“I haven’t seen your face yet.”

What is it like to face each other when your face is covered with a hood and veil?

I guess I didn’t plan on hiding it forever.

“Oh, this is rude.”

I admitted my mistake and immediately removed the hood covering my head.

And when I was able to truly face the veil that had been placed over my face.

As soon as I saw her face, my emotions surged.

“It tastes bad.”

When I speak harshly, the corner of her mouth twitches slightly.

“There is a hint of murder in your tone. “Maybe it’s because of this face.”

The face I pointed to with my index finger was a face I knew very well.

Her words continue.

“This woman may be… “She was your wife.”

“… … .”

Yes.

The face of the woman hidden by the veil was identical to that of Han Ju-hee, my wife.

One difference is that instead of flaming red hair, she has black hair hanging down.

If the hair color hadn’t been wrong, I might have firmly believed that the woman in front of me was Han Joo-hee.

Not only is it not enough to kidnap a person and drag them to an unknown location, they even imitate an unpleasant face.

What is this if not bad taste?

Around the time my feelings for her were gradually falling to the ground.

A woman spoke to me with an unpleasant smile on her face, imitating Han Joo-hee’s face.

“Unfortunately, this is not my will.”

“Then whose will is it?”

As I asked her question, her index finger pointed towards me.

“It’s you.”

“… … ?”

How can this sound so nonsensical?

“That face is my will?”

“Yes.”

She nodded calmly and continued her explanation.

“I may have decorated the form, but this is truly the world of unconsciousness that sleeps within you. To be precise, you can be seen as the owner and I as the guest.”

“… so?”

“This temple was sculpted on my own terms without your permission, but the face is your influence.”

It’s my influence.

“under.”

It makes me laugh.

“Do you mean that I even wanted to see that face?”

Then she shook her head.

“I do not know.”

This isn’t about playing games with me.

“I think you said it yourself a little while ago. “That face is due to my influence.”

“It did. But I don’t know. What exactly are your feelings towards this woman? “There is only one thing I know.”

After a brief pause, she continues speaking.

“For better or for worse, this face is currently having the greatest influence on your thoughts, feelings, and actions.”

“… … .”

Either in a good way or in a bad way.

I felt like my inner thoughts, which even I didn’t know exactly, were exposed by someone else.

What she said is true.

Joohee Han still has a lot of influence on my life.

Seo-yeon, whom I had a hard time knowing how to treat, sexual desire taking precedence over passionate love, Joo-yeon, who approached me by blatantly appealing to me as a woman, and even Jeong-hee, whom I met for the first time.

Although they are all intertwined with different emotions, if you trace the line back, you will find Han Ju-hee.

Whether it’s good or bad.

Seo-yeon is her daughter and I, and Desire is a reward for me who maintained chastity and worked alone for over 7 years even though I had a wife.

Jooyeon is her younger sister, and Jeonghee… Because she was different from Han Joo-hee from beginning to end, I developed affection for her.

“Okay, okay. I understand.”

Actually, the examples I just gave are small, but there are more emotions involved with her.

If you include the bad feelings, such as curiosity about why she changed like this and a desire for revenge toward the woman who looked down on me, I can fully understand that she is the person who has the greatest influence on me.

So now it’s time to move on.

“So, why did you call me here, and what is your true identity in controlling my world of unconsciousness?”

Then she smiles brightly.

“Now you’re asking about my identity.”

It seems he was itching to introduce himself.

She continued.

“My name is Gula.”

Latin Gula.

The meaning can be translated into Chinese characters as greed.

That means.

“Your one and only goddess.”

“… … .”

Actually, I was counting it to some extent.

The very clear shape of the temple.

A stone statue with its head bowed and a woman sitting proudly in front of it and being worshiped.

When guessing her existence as a god or something equivalent, the first thing that comes to mind is the Seven Deadly Sins.

And of all of them, aren’t I most deeply connected to greed?

Her words continue to confirm my guess.

“It’s good to finally see you, my apostle.”