Me and My Time (5)

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The Copy Ego is a degraded version of Yujin. This applies not only to magical skills but to all aspects of a human being.

A copied personality, a soulless doll. A sophisticated mechanical device that only moves based on Yujin’s data. But the fact that it’s aware of it is quite amusing.

It was amusing. Really.

“Wake up. Goody-two-shoes.”

I roughly explained things to the Inquisitor and the Tower Master. As a bonus, they even provided an empty room for us to talk in private. The Copy Ego casually laid the sleeping Shuriel on the hard floor and poked him. I heard he’d wake up soon, but she lacked patience.

“Keueuk….”

“Oh.”

Shuriel writhed as soon as he felt the external impact. He had adapted to the death wish a long time ago, and the vengeful spirit had been laid to rest, so his physical condition was at its best. On top of that, he had a deep sleep thanks to the Tower Master’s special sleep magic-he opened his eyes feeling incredibly refreshed.

In the world he opened his eyes to, there was a red-haired girl. Familiar, but also a bit younger, giving him a vague feeling-the kid in front of him was Yujin.

In a somewhat absurd state, wearing nothing but an apron stained with blood.

“Yujin?”

“Ha.”

The Copy Ego let out a hollow laugh. How much have you two been at it? You call out the name so familiarly. She gritted her teeth at the ticklish tone, taking a deep breath to eliminate the strange sensation rising within her.

“Yujin… Hah. I haven’t been called that by others much, so it’s not very familiar.”

“…Who are you?”

Shuriel noticed immediately. The kid in front of him wasn’t Yujin. At that reaction, the Copy Ego finally realized that the name Yujin had been defined. A name that was only used to approach pleasure had become a name someone needed.

“…Maybe not Yujin, huh.”

The Copy Ego was about to call herself Yujin but stopped. The difference between me and the original was like heaven and earth. I don’t know how much value the name Yujin has now, but it was a disposable name for the Copy Ego, and an irreplaceable word for the original.

“Answer the question.”

“Well. What should I be defined as? The past disappeared a long time ago… and now I don’t even have a real body.”

“If you’re just going to talk nonsense, I’ll subdue you first.”

“That’s fine too, but call me whatever you want for now.”

The Copy Ego wondered if she’d get stabbed if she kept resisting, but she didn’t feel like doing that in this atmosphere. Stimulation is maximized when there’s a build-up. At least, that’s what she believes. Unexpected pain is good too, but that’s no different from masturbation.

“…Tch.”

Shuriel tried to grab his sword at the sight of her not answering until the end, but unfortunately, he couldn’t grab anything.

The memory of putting down his sword and falling asleep flashed through his mind. He immediately wrapped his arms in Aura. He didn’t need a sword. For an Aura Knight, his whole body was a weapon.

The Copy Ego stared at the blue light with rotten, dead fish eyes. She leaned her chin on her hand and spoke in an indifferent tone, as if anything was fine.

“Or… you can call me a replica.”

“A replica?”

Then Shuriel’s actions stopped. It was a rather strange choice of words to ignore. A replica. Surely she was alive and moving in front of him.

“Yeah. No one wanted to be tortured, so they made me. Or was it laying to rest instead of torture?”

“Yujin made you?”

“I don’t have a soul. Just think of me as an artifact golem containing the memories of the original.”

“…I see.”

Affirmative.

Shuriel accepted the Copy Ego’s answer surprisingly easily. He thought of the Copy Ego as a highly intelligent golem. There were truly unimaginable things in the magic city of Lecante. And the one who made them was naturally Yujin.

It seemed like anything was possible for that Yujin.

“Since you don’t have a soul, it can’t be black magic… So what’s the reason you called me? Judging by your physical condition, it seems like the laying to rest is over.”

“I have something to ask. Just answer a few simple questions. I’d be too upset to disappear without knowing.”

“What questions-“

“Did you and I have a child?”

“…What?”

Shuriel was slow to process the information and spaced out.

The question itself was embarrassing, but it was a question that couldn’t come from the proposition of ‘containing the memories of the original.’

The replica in front of him didn’t know. All the processes of his relationship with Yujin, and having their daughter Aileen.

But he felt some anticipation in that question. There was no malice visible. It was truly pure curiosity. There was no reason to answer the question, but that anticipation was very similar to when he reunited with Yujin after returning from the Red Magic Tower, so it was hard to ignore.

“…It’s a daughter.”

“I thought so. I heard it was Aileen, is that right?”

He eventually answered and nodded.

“How, how does she look?”

“She’s about one and a half heads shorter than me, and she has red hair with a slight touch of gold. I don’t have the talent to describe her face. Just know that she looks similar to you.”

“Um um… Um. Um…?”

The Copy Ego, who was listening to the answer, found something strange in the words.

“One head shorter than you…? What year is it now?”

“She was a child at first… but she grew rapidly not long after. She became completely mature both mentally and physically. Since she wasn’t born from the body in the first place, it’s hard to think of her as a normal human.”

“I’m a semi-spirit body, after all. Anyway, who gave birth to her if not me?”

“…The World Tree.”

There were too many gaps in the information. Instead of digging deeper, the Copy Ego was satisfied with resolving her immediate curiosity. More than that, she wasn’t born from the body. She was curious about what the peak of childbirth felt like, but it was a shame.

“…I see. Let’s go back now. I’m waiting. The remaining vengeful spirits need to be laid to rest too.”

Something unknown was faintly felt deep within the Copy Ego’s chest, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out what it was.

Probably, probably. It must be an emotion that a replica can’t know.

Whether or not a soul exists makes a difference in more places than you think. Still, she thought it was nothing much and tried to go out through the portal as is.

“Just a moment.”

“Huh?”

“What happens when the laying to rest is over?”

“I’ll disappear after fulfilling my role.”

The intention of the question was too obvious.

So she spoke even more emotionlessly.

“I know I’m pitiful, so you can pity me if you want, but it’s better to stop because I can’t feel anything even if you say that.”

“I was just asking. Then I’ll ask you one question too. What happens if you put a soul in your body?”

“Well. Um. I don’t know. I’ve never wanted that. If you put someone else’s soul in, it wouldn’t be me. More than that, what are you going to do by making two of me?”

It was excessive meddling. Shuriel knew it too. But when she said those words in Yujin’s form, it would be stranger if he didn’t feel anything. But there were too many things to take responsibility for if he spat out this emotion as is.

“Haa….

The fact that he was even worrying about this made him feel bad. He had to meet the real Yujin first. He thought so and narrowed his eyes.

-Jiing.

The portal behind him activated.

“We call that black magic, you reindeer head.”

Step, step. A young lady in pajamas entering through the portal.

The owner of the Black Magic Tower, Granshel.

“Injecting souls into non-living things is a capital crime. Don’t even dream about it.”

“Shuriel, are you inside?”

And a familiar voice heard from further behind.

“Looks like I’ve arrived. It wasn’t particularly enjoyable, but let’s part ways now.”

The Copy Ego chuckled and crossed over to the portal. The smell of blood on the apron lingered. When he came to his senses from that fishy smell and raised his head, he saw Yujin and Granshel.

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“Shuriel. What did you talk about?”

Shuriel sat down on the floor with a blank expression. The Copy Ego next to him ran away as soon as I arrived. I was relieved that nothing seemed to be wrong, but my curiosity didn’t disappear. Shuriel answered my question indifferently.

“She asked about our daughter.”

“Aileen?”

If I stopped thinking for a moment and traced back my memories, there was a time when I mumbled while biting my nails. Is that why? But she can be curious, but why did she call him separately to talk?

“She didn’t say she didn’t want to die, did she?”

If so, I had to destroy her immediately. It meant there was an error in the creation process. A replica could rebel.

But Shuriel shook his head, saying that wasn’t the case.

“No. That’s all. She really just asked. And you must have heard it too.”

-More than that, what are you going to do by making two of me? One word that was faintly heard just before entering the portal. I closed my eyes and turned around.

‘…Am I overreacting?’

It could be that I’m sensitive because it hasn’t been long since I experienced death.

*

It wasn’t difficult to lay the vengeful spirit attached to Pawin to rest. There was severe pain such as cutting open her stomach and tearing her flesh, but according to the Copy Ego’s advice, I didn’t even use death to lay her to rest.

It took two nights to lay all the vengeful spirits to rest. It was a long, long night, and the pain was just as long, so I was rarely satisfied. The death wish was getting stronger, and the suicidal impulses that came up all the time were a serious problem, though.

“…Thank you for your hard work. Yujin-nim.”

“Eum, you don’t have to use honorifics. I felt good too.”

“…No. Although I couldn’t see it, I could feel it. The pain and despair that Yujin-nim endured… It was an amount that I couldn’t even dare to fathom.”

Pawin lowered herself to me, expressing extreme respect. She had returned from the brink of death without using black magic, so it was understandable.

Of course, it wasn’t like this from the beginning. The reason she expressed such excessive respect was also thanks to convincing her for two and a half hours that the replica personality wasn’t black magic. Therefore, this could be seen as a kind of reflection. She was saying she was sorry for doubting.

“There wasn’t even a magician like this in past documents… I’ll have to investigate it later. I’ll say it again, I don’t believe that you have no connection at all. I’m going to find the connection with a thorough background check. Let’s meet again when the time comes. I hope there won’t be a time to meet, though.”

Granshel, who had returned from her hysteria, still only said what she wanted to say and saw us off. The magicians inside the Black Magic Tower had no idea what had happened at all. But I swear in the name of God, I decided to bury everything that happened last night. Maybe they’ll never know in the future either.

“…Tch.”

Shuriel gnashed his teeth and left the magic tower. He looked upset. It wasn’t because of the events of the past two nights. He must have been so annoyed that he allowed the Demon to attack.

“…I’m going to kill him this time.”

Shuriel’s hysteria was no different from Granshel’s, so I didn’t take it seriously and moved on.

Yujin said, stepping on the dark snow of the North.

“What should we do now? The opponent has no base, and they just keep running away.”

This was defense. We haven’t even attacked yet. It was frustrating. Not only me, but everyone else must feel the same way. Besides, if the schedule keeps getting delayed, we might receive a return order from the Holy See. Granshel said that Pluton’s danger level had already pierced the sky.

“…I don’t know who’s talking. Can’t you at least change your voice?”

Shuriel looked at me instead and answered.

I chuckled at the crossed gazes.

And the slave contract… It was destroyed because there was damage to the soul. It was an unstable technique to begin with, but it must have been too much to come back to life. I’ll do it again if I get the chance, but unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like I’ll ever want to do it again.

On the other hand, the womb tattoo engraved on the soul was still intact. It’s on a different level from the slave contract, which is just a piece of paper made by humans. This is a stigma directly given by God. Well… you’d have to take off your clothes to distinguish it with this, though.

I pouted my lips and said.

“We’ve been together this long, and you still can’t tell the difference?”

“This is, the real one.”

“That’s right. I might have been disappointed if you were wrong.”

Shuriel immediately gave the right answer after checking my sulky expression. Maybe it’s because my emotions are floating after the torture, but I suddenly feel good. I smiled heehee and said to ‘me’ who looked exactly the same.

“Are you ready to fish?”