The Player that Can’t Level Up

Gi-Gyu looked at Soo-Jung with cloudy eyes. A faint glimmer of light appeared in them but quickly faded. Once radiant, the God Hunter armor he wore was now darkening in color.

[...]

Soo-Jung remained silent before she opened the space further and stepped out. Baal stood still while Lim Hye-Sook and Shin Yoo-Bin, seemingly lifeless, remained on the ground. Gi-Gyu's family also remained in the other space.

“Did you have to play such a cruel joke?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“A joke?” Soo-Jung finally spoke in her voice.

Gi-Gyu looked past her and saw his family. He couldn’t hear them breathe, and they still looked like corpses.

“Why are you trying to rile me up on purpose?” Gi-Gyu asked Soo-Jung.

“Tsk.” Soo-Jung clicked her tongue, showing emotion for the first time. “Lee Sun-Ho—I mean, the Creator… I guess you succeeded in syncing with him.”

Soo-Jung waved, and the space behind her became distorted. Shin Yoo-Bin, Lim Hye-Sook, and Gi-Gyu's family, who had seemed dead, suddenly appeared in good health and yelled.

“Oppa!”

“Gi-Gyu!”

Their faces looked awful, marked by tears of sorrow, not signs of physical abuse or torture.

Fwoosh.

When Soo-Jung waved her hand again, the space behind her closed and disappeared. With a chuckle, she muttered, “I guess that was unnecessary, huh?”

“Indeed,” Gi-Gyu agreed. He stayed completely still as she approached him.

She leaned, bringing her face closer to his, gave him a genuine smile, and asked, “So how does it feel to be god, pupil?”

“Isn’t this what you wanted, Gaia?” Gi-Gyu’s voice and face remained blank. “You wanted me to become god, didn’t you?”

Soo-Jung took a step back and put her hands on her waist. “That’s right. I am Gaia. To be more accurate, I am…”

With sadness in her eyes, she continued, “I am her will. I was separated from the rest of her, the polluted part. I am Adam’s counterpart—Eve.”

Soo-Jung’s aura changed suddenly. Gone was the playful and powerful atmosphere, replaced by something unapproachable and divine.

‘Gaia…’ This was how she looked when Gi-Gyu had first met her.

“You must have questions. Ask me anything now that everything is over,” Soo-Jung offered.

Gi-Gyu rose. He was now powerful; honestly, he could obliterate her if he wished. He asked, “I won’t ask you anything. I just want you to tell me what you want to say.”

The darkness inside Gi-Gyu’s eyes slowly disappeared. Soon, they looked as clear as before.

“Just as you said, I’m Gaia. Not her entirely, as I said before. When Gaia became one with the Tower and got control of Chaos and Order, she…”

Soo-Jung continued, “The powers corrupted her. Chaos and Order were too powerful for her and slowly ate her away. Gaia decided she needed to cut away the damaged part: me.”

“...”

“That is Jung Soo-Jung.”

***

“Gaia created Eve, a powerful vessel, to house her corrupted part. Since she had god-like powers, she needed a strong shell. So, she stole the Adam idea, sacrificed many, and ended up with an infant. Funnily enough, I am not the first Eve. The first one was a failure.”

Gi-Gyu easily guessed that the first one was Ha-Rim. Gaia had created her, just like Soo-Jung, but she was considered a failed product.

Soo-Jung continued, “While creating Adam, Andras must have found Ha-Rim. To make Adam, he used her for experiments. There were many other failed Eves out there, but most either died inside the Tower or were used in experiments.”

With a playful smile, Soo-Jung added, “Of course, some managed to survive on their own.”

“...”

“Lim Hye-Sook. She isn’t sure of her identity, but she is also an Eve. One of the failures who survived.”

Soo-Jung mumbled, “That’s why she… saved me inside the Tower. I looked so suspicious, but she still took me in.”

Soo-Jung faced Gi-Gyu again. “After gaining all that power, Gaia’s condition began deteriorating slowly… She succeeded in removing the rot—me—but she couldn’t change her fate.”

“Get erased?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“Yes. She was to be taken over by the power. On top of this, the Creator’s emotions began to control her, so she also started wishing for the apocalypse. That is why…” Soo-Jung looked tired as she continued, “I want to thank you.”

Gi-Gyu waved his hand to create a space that looked exactly like his home. The home where he used to live happily with his mother and sister.

An undecipherable emotion appeared in Soo-Jung's eyes. "I was the most comfortable here.”

Soo-Jung asked, “Shall I continue?”

When Gi-Gyu nodded, Soo-Jung began. “Realizing that her end was near, Gaia freed Kronos.”

“...”

“She prepared for when she would no longer be able to make decisions on her own. To stop herself, she created many countermeasures. The players, for example, were meant to save Earth and stop her. That is if one of them became powerful enough for that. And players were just one of her many countermeasures.”

Soo-Jung explained that Gaia’s intentions weren’t all good. She continued, “She also found Adam for something entirely different. She wanted to destroy the world.”

“She had conflicting intentions. You must have also felt that, right? That, at some point, she just stopped intervening? You must have noticed that she changed.”

Gi-Gyu nodded, remembering how his and his Egos’ status screen had gone blank. Around the same time, many players had stopped becoming stronger. It sort of heralded the Tower and the world’s destruction.

Soo-Jung explained, “That was when Gaia met her limit and was annihilated. Everything was lost and”—Soo-Jung took out her tea set and poured herself a cup—“only the plans she created continued.”

“But…” Gi-Gyu finally asked his first question. “What about when we first met? How you behaved with me…”

Gi-Gyu's eyes were piercing, seemingly searching for the truth in Soo-Jung's words. He said calmly, "It seems that you have been concealing a lot from me, but at the same time, it appears that there were many things you were unaware of as well. It's difficult to believe you just acted on Gaia's orders as her corrupted part."

“You’re right.” Looking sad, she continued, “I… was raised by Lim Hye-Sook. Living among humans, I forgot many things and learned a great deal. "By the time I met you, I was no longer just Gaia’s corrupted part—I was also a woman named Jung Soo-Jung.”

Gi-Gyu found it hard to read her emotions. Soo-Jung continued, “As I spent more time with you and Gaia’s plan progressed, I remembered more.”

“What did you mean when you said you carry a ‘burden?’”

“My burden…” When Soo-Jung had taken Gi-Gyu in as her pupil, she had warned him that he would someday have to carry her burden.

She explained, “I also didn’t know what it was at the time. I knew I had a burden to carry and would find out what it is someday, but”— her eyes moistened—“I had no idea it could be something like this…”

“You still haven’t told me what it is,” Gi-Gyu urged.

“I’ll tell you soon. When I’m done telling this story, I will,” Soo-Jung promised. “In the end, everything went according to Gaia’s plan. Every piece, including Kronos, Andras, you, me, and even the Creator, moved as it should.”

Now, they were nearing the end. Gaia wanted Eve, Soo-Jung, to obey her plan. But Gi-Gyu stood before her, ready to stop her if necessary. Lee Sun-Ho was to end this world just as Gaia wanted, but Gi-Gyu had ultimately defeated him.

Soo-Jung asked, “Now, you have a choice to make. You succeeded in syncing with Lee Sun-Ho, right?”

Gi-Gyu nodded. A long time had passed since his battle with Lee Sun-Ho, and during this painful time, Gi-Gyu had accepted all of Lee Sun-Ho’s memories. He now possessed Lee Sun-Ho’s power.

“You’re the only god at the moment,” Soo-Jung announced. Gi-Gyu was the only one who could decide the world's beginning and end now. He had the full power of the Creator, perhaps even more.

“Do you want to see what Eden looks like right now?” When Soo-Jung suggested, Gi-Gyu waved his hand. A crystal orb appeared on a desk, showing Eden’s situation.

“You have been in Lee Sun-Ho’s memories for five years now. Eden has developed a great deal during this time,” Soo-Jung explained.

Gi-Gyu had lost this time. And while it had been only five years outside, he had actually spent way, way, way more time inside the Creator’s memories, as time flowed differently inside.

Gi-Gyu gulped quietly and watched the crystal orb.

Soo-Jung continued, “Eden now has an organized system. Just as Old Man Hwang wanted, it is an independent world. I’m sure it will continue to improve as time passes.”

With fire in her eyes now, Soo-Jung looked at Gi-Gyu, and added, “After all, that’s what you ordered. You asked them to create a world where everyone could live happily.”

Gi-Gyu didn’t doubt that his Egos would obey him faithfully. They could live inside Eden for eternity, and they would continue to follow his command.

“And everything else other than Eden…”

Soo-Jung flexed her power. She was Gaia’s ultimate plan, so she had inherited her power. Although she wasn’t as powerful as Gi-Gyu, she was likely the second-strongest figure in the world now.

Soo-Jung changed their surroundings. Gi-Gyu’s home disappeared, and clear windows surrounded them.

She explained, “Everything else is gone now. They collapsed and disappeared. I’m talking about every other dimension. The entire universe turned to dust.”

She rose and continued, “Now, I’ll tell you about my burden.”

Was her story over?

‘No, I think she just doesn’t want to talk about it anymore.’ Gi-Gyu realized that Soo-Jung was confused. Because Gaia had created her, she had to obey her creator. But Soo-Jung was fighting back desperately.

“My mission is to…” She grabbed her chest, feeling her heart beating violently. The power she was releasing was so great that even Gi-Gyu flinched. Where was such strength coming from?

“You know what’s about to come, right? You have everything now. You know everything, meaning this whole world belongs to you now. So… you know, don’t you?”

“I do…” Gi-Gyu nodded.

Tears rolled down Soo-Jung’s eyes. Gi-Gyu had never seen her cry. How could she? She was Lucifer—the fearless player.

“Good. Before Gaia died, she linked the essence of every dimension to me,” Soo-Jung whispered. It was possible because the Tower was the center of this world, and Gaia was the master of this Tower. “Gaia… She ordered me that whatever happens, I must destroy this world. If my heart gets destroyed, the world will end. That includes you and Eden.”

And that was Gaia’s plan. It was Soo-Jung's mission to bring an end to everything, whether the Creator succeeded in destroying this world and creating a new one or if someone managed to defeat the Creator and save it.

Soo-Jung couldn't ignore her burden, as this plan was in the works even before Gi-Gyu had gained his current strength. Since the essence of all the dimensions was linked to her, she was the nucleus of this world. And Gi-Gyu was god only in this world where Eden existed.

Soo-Jung held the key to everything, and the world would end if she died.

“This is what Gaia wanted. If the Creator annihilated the world, she knew another world would be created that is controlled by him,” Soo-Jung explained. Gaia had felt an eternity of pain in this world that repeated over and over again, and she didn’t want this to happen again. This was why she wanted the Creator and everything else to end.

"Gaia wanted this," Soo-Jung said. "She feared the Creator would just create another world he could control after destroying this one." Having experienced an endless cycle of pain in this world, Gaia desired for everything, including the Creator, to end.

Gaia had lost her child and husband and had endured being used and controlled against her will. Factors like these had driven Gaia to condemn the world.

“Gaia knew that if someone managed to defeat the Creator, be it Kronos or someone else, they would be even more dangerous than the Creator. And she believed nothing is more dangerous than a god with emotions,” Soo-Jung said.

Gi-Gyu could understand how Gaia must have felt. ‘But what a cruel and inefficient goddess she was.’

Gaia could have ended the world at the very beginning. She could have done so after becoming the Tower’s master. Instead, she first created Eve and then asked her to do it.

Gi-Gyu murmured, “But just like everything she had done before, she didn’t want to dirty her own hands.”

“Yes, she was a cruel and pitiful woman,” Soo-Jung replied. A version of Gaia, Kronos, and Jupiter has always existed in every generation. Gaia, unwilling to be the one to kill them, gave her creation the power to destroy this world.

Soo-Jung continued to sob. “Since you’re the one who defeated the Creator, you must be feeling the pain and emotions of every being in this world, right? Including what the Creator felt. So wouldn’t you go mad as well?”

Gi-Gyu didn’t respond.

“By gaining his memories, and the memories of every human and creature… If you remain the new god, then need I say more? You know how it will all end, don’t you?” asked Soo-Jung.

Gi-Gyu couldn’t say anything because Soo-Jung was right. He was indeed connected to everyone and everything, so he understood.

"You don't just hold happiness, love, and other positive emotions inside you. You now understand the emotions of even evil people, like murderers and psychopaths. You have accepted their resentment, hatred, and bloodlust as well."

"Yes," Gi-Gyu agreed. He could understand the emotions and motives of all beings, including those of ruthless monsters. “It's a scary thought that if I continue to be the god of this world, it might transform into a tormenting hell filled with only pain.”

“So…” Soo-Jung stopped crying. A black dagger appeared in her hand, and she aimed it at her heart. “This is the right thing to do, isn’t it…?”

Her hands trembling, she asked, “Gi-Gyu, this is the right thing to do… Right?”

Once this dagger pierced Soo-Jung’s heart, nothing would exist in this world. Eden and Gi-Gyu would disappear too.

“Pain and suffering will cease to exist,” Soo-Jung whispered. It was such a strange logic, but it was the truth. “So… I’m doing the right thing, Gi-Gyu.”

A bitter smile appeared on her lips as the dagger began cutting into her skin. She shuddered from the pain; all the while, she hadn’t stopped crying.

Just then, Gi-Gyu rose. “Wait. You said that I have a choice to make. Kronos and Gaia also told me that it was up to me.”

This was the time for him to make his decision. He continued, “That means I can either let you do what you wish, stop you, or do whatever else I believe I must. It means that I have the chance to create the future I want.”

Gi-Gyu grabbed Soo-Jung’s hand and stopped the dagger from piercing her body. When Gi-Gyu forced open Soo-Jung’s fist, the dagger disappeared.

Gi-Gyu embraced Soo-Jung. Her tears soaked his shirt as he mumbled, “I have made my decision.”

He whispered, “Sync.”

Invisible threads from Gi-Gyu reached out and began wrapping themselves around Gi-Gyu and Soo-Jung.