LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 4
< Chapter 4 >
──────
Watcher II
Shin Noah
“……”
“Is that right?”
I didn’t respond immediately.
Honestly, I was a bit surprised. At the same time, I became intrigued.
There were times when I had openly revealed that I was a regressor. However, the only person who had realized this on their own was Old Man Sho, just one individual.
“Why do you think that?”
“I thought that if you were a regressor, you would eventually come to me. First of all, you were eliminating monsters at an unbelievable speed. But… seeing how you ask, it seems this is our first ‘cycle’ meeting?”
I leaned forward a bit more. Creak. The green plastic chair of the convenience store scraped the floor.
Initially, I was merely curious about the existence of the ‘Constellation.’ But now, my interest was gradually shifting to the human in front of me.
“That’s correct. Although I’ve been curious about the identities of the Constellations, this cycle is the first time I’ve started to delve into it seriously.”
“If you… Mr. Mortician, really are a regressor, I believe we must definitely establish a cooperative relationship.”
“Cooperation, you say?”
“Yes. However, right now, I can’t be sure whether you are a regressor or not. From my perspective.”
The woman spoke cautiously.
There was a noticeable tension, but her tone was steady.
‘There’s at least some resolve there.’
My eyes narrowed.
“Interesting. Why can’t you be sure that I’m a regressor?”
“Because if you had the ability of prophecy instead of regression, or if you possessed the power to read my mind, the same situation could be enacted. So…”
The other person bowed their head.
“I’m sorry you had to come all the way to Seoul. The identities of the Constellations, how much I know about them, what my abilities are… it’s still difficult to disclose everything to you.”
“Hmm.”
Proper etiquette and appropriate caution.
Might be a lottery ticket worth scratching.
“Alright. If it becomes certain that I am a regressor, will you be able to answer all my questions?”
“…Yes.”
“Then there’s a simple solution.”
The opposite party looked up.
I turned on my smartphone.
“We’ll set up passwords.”
“Passwords?”
“Please specify words or phrases that I could never know unless I am a regressor. It doesn’t have to be a keyword; it can be a specific action as well.”
Early on, a method used by Old Man Sho and myself had been verified by the seventh iteration.
“Anyway, if you decide on those matters, I will faithfully execute them in the ‘next iteration.'”
“Ah.”
He immediately understood what I meant.
“That’s a really good method. Hmm. Then, in the next iteration, please come here and spread a red T-shirt on the table. Just stay still for about 10, no, 15 minutes. And write ‘Moral Law’ on the T-shirt in large letters.”
“Hmm.”
“If you do that, I will contact you first.”
It was a neat method.
“Understood, Saint.”
“Ah… I’m sorry but that nickname is a bit…”
“Nicknames for Awakeners are all equally childish. I left mine to be decided later, and ended up with the moniker ‘Mortician.’ ‘Saint’ is actually quite mild.”
“How did it ever come to ‘Mortician’…?”
Oops. I quickly got up from the table.
Again, I extremely dislike my nickname. How I came to have such a nickname is a story for another time, and I hope that time is in the distant future, or better yet, never comes.
“I’ll be going first, Saint. See you next time.”
“Ah, yes. See you next time. It was nice meeting you, Regressor.”
The ‘next’ I mentioned and the ‘next’ he thought of had a world’s difference between them.
We parted as easily as streams of water separate.
After that day, I no longer received messages from the ‘Constellations.’
Honestly, I missed it a bit.
Someone who used to react to my every move was gone. The absence felt larger than I expected.
Of course, my goal was not to flatter the Constellations but to prevent the world’s destruction. I quickly reorganized mentally and physically and dived into the 35th iteration of the world.
And I failed miserably.
If I had succeeded, there would have been no need to reach the 1183rd iteration.
‘Was it a red T-shirt?’
The 36th world, my 36th life, had begun.
I immediately fulfilled the promise I made in the previous world.
First, I swiftly dealt with the Busan Station gate.
[The ‘Saint of National Salvation’ is appalled by your performance!]
[The ‘Lord of the Red Horse’ feels admiration for your power.]
[The ‘Conqueror of the Alps’ takes notice of your actions.]
[The ‘Red Cloak Chancellor’ is wary of your skills.]
As before, messages from the Constellations flooded in.
Receiving a message after a long while was a delightful surprise, yet he initially ignored it.
Old Man Sho had developed a route, and through it, he hastened northward to Seoul as quickly as possible. Along the way, he did not forget to stop by a clothing store that had not yet closed down to purchase a shirt.
[‘The Saint of National Salvation’ expresses doubt about your actions.]
Even as he moved, the Constellations incessantly initiated conversations.
The moment he arrived at a convenience store near Jamsu Bridge on the Han River, sat at a parasol-covered table, and began to inscribe the words ‘Moral Law’ on the shirt with a marker.
[…….]
[…….]
The previously noisy Constellations suddenly fell silent.
He leaned back in his chair and sipped on convenience store coffee. The store had not yet been looted, so its products were intact.
It wasn’t long before someone approached the convenience store.
A woman with a hiking backpack on her back. By iterations, it was the Saint of National Salvation he had met 20 years ago in terms of the timeline.
There was no fresh burst of joy. To live long as a regressor, one had to become very accustomed to farewells and reunions.
Only, unlike last time, this time he had waited and greeted her.
“Excuse me, but by any chance…”
The other party very cautiously examined his expression.
He nodded.
“Yes. I am a regressor. Saint of National Salvation.”
“…!”
The Saint gasped.
She stood still, her fists clenched tight. It was unclear what thoughts occupied her mind.
After a while, the Saint struggled to speak.
“Please follow me.”
It was finally time for the truth of the Constellations to be revealed.
Her residence was in Yongsan.
With Yeouido and the entire Gangnam area having vanished in a single moment, Yongsan was now effectively the front line against the Gate and one of the most dangerous places in Korea currently.
“You may come in.”
It was an old row house in Dongbigo-dong.
Looking around, the exterior was shabby, but the interior was clean.
No, to be more precise, it went beyond clean—it was eerily meticulous.
In the dimly lit living room, four computer monitors emitted a bluish glow.
The light from the monitors faintly illuminated the outlines of the cardboard boxes scattered around—boxes of canned food, bottles of water, all bathed in the blue light of the monitors, making them appear more submerged underwater than on dry land.
On the wall was a large metal bookshelf, but only a few books were sparsely arranged on it. Occupying the spaces where books should have been were aquariums of 15 and 20 cubes.
Dozens of glasses filled with water were lined up tightly.
Aquarium. Aquarium. Aquarium.
This space was surrounded by water walls, not brick walls, making it look like a temple underwater.
“Seems like you’ve been prepared for such a situation for a long time.”
“Yes.”
The Saint seated me on a sofa, then pulled over a computer chair for herself.
“Should I call you a Regressor, sir?”
“Call me whatever you find comfortable. My title is Mortician.”
“Yes, Mr. Mortician. How many times have we met?”
“This is the second time.”
“Second time.”
The Saint murmured quietly.
“So, this is almost like our first meeting. I didn’t explain anything in the previous iteration. Is that right?”
“Exactly.”
“There seems to be a lot I need to clarify… Where should I start?”
“I would like to ask about the Constellations first. What exactly are the Constellations? Are they really existing Transcenders? Are you an agent of the Constellation?”
“…”
The Saint hesitated, not out of reluctance to answer, but as if choosing her words carefully.
Finally, she said,
“The Constellations… they don’t exist.”
“They don’t exist?”
“Yes. The Saint of National Salvation, The Conqueror of the Alps, they are all characters I created alone.”
I was somewhat surprised.
I had considered the hypothesis that the Constellations might be fictitious. However, I hadn’t anticipated that the person before me had orchestrated all those Constellations by herself.
I had assumed that at least a team of six or so would have been involved.
“Why did you do such a thing?”
“…”
The blue light from the monitor scattered hazily across the living room. Fish flickered in the small aquariums.
“About 20 days ago, I Awakened. Since then, my hair color changed, and I began to have nightmares about monsters appearing in my dreams. It was too vivid to dismiss as mere fantasy.”
I nodded.
That was an experience shared by many Awakeners just before gates started appearing around the world. Sort of a premonition.
“I somehow felt certain that these events would actually happen. So I thought about what I could uniquely do. Not just stockpiling canned food or collecting bottles of water, but something only I could do.”
The Saint looked me straight in the eye.
“Mr. Regressor, or shall I say, Mr. Mortician. Can Awakeners truly maintain societal order even after they’ve gained their powers?”
“Excuse me?”
“The abilities of Awakeners are extraordinary. For instance, I myself have gained not one, not two, but three powers that defy common sense. Can humans, endowed with such powers, really unite easily, act virtuously, and restrain themselves from committing crimes?”
Shadows of fish flickered across the living room floor.
Her voice seeped into the shadows.
For a moment, I was seized by a feeling similar to when I had carelessly dived underwater in a bathhouse during my childhood. She was lowering the depth of the waters here with her gaze.
“I have concluded that they cannot.”
“…”
“If some great power were to emerge that could organize the Awakeners, that would be one thing. But that would require countless trials and time. Until then, Awakeners would proliferate into various factions, and ordinary people would be unwittingly sacrificed in their struggles. Naturally, the more humans are divided, the less capable they will be in handling the gates.”
It was a sound conjecture.
Indeed, most countries had followed such a trajectory to their demise.
South Korea was a peculiar case that had managed to endure longer.
‘Wait.’
At that moment, a certain hypothesis flashed through my mind like lightning.
I stared directly into the Saint’s pitch-black pupils.
Pupils that seemed as if they would not blink even if submerged in water.
“Could it be?”
“…”
She nodded slightly.
“Mr. Mortician. When do people hesitate to commit evil acts? When they think someone is watching them.”
“…The Constellations.”
“Yes.”
I was engulfed in shock.
The Saint continued to speak.
“People easily violate order if they believe they can hide their crimes or if they are confident they can cover them up. But if the thought that a transcendent being is always watching them takes root, even an Awakener would hesitate to commit evil deeds.”
“My word.”
“That’s why I created the Constellations.”
It felt as though I had been repeatedly punched in the gut mentally.
It was shocking enough that the Constellations, especially ‘The Saint of National Salvation’ who had watched over me for 36 iterations, were fictitious. But the fact that all of this was the result of one person’s meticulous plan was utterly astonishing.
“But how did you manage to create the Constellations?”
“It’s thanks to my abilities. I possess [Clairvoyance] and [Telepathy].”
She had described her abilities as follows:
1. Clairvoyance: The ability to observe any Awakener within a radius of 1,000 km at will. She could also hear their voices.
2. Telepathy, or text transmission: She could transmit her voice to any target she was aware of, and send text messages as well, although text was limited to 140 characters.
Both abilities were incredibly versatile.
I looked at the human before me with newfound respect. Given the right circumstances, she possessed the qualities to lead a guild like [Three Thousand] or [Baekhwa], which were prominent in Korea.
“It’s remarkable. With such capabilities, you could have taken a more prominent role in organizing the Awakeners.”
“I considered that… But I’m really clumsy when it comes to leading people in person.”
“Ah.”
“I believe I did the best I could with what I am capable of. I’m not sure what will happen in the future… but I intend to keep going as long as I live.”
Her words made me recall the memories of past iterations.
Even as the world neared destruction, the Constellations never stopped sending messages to the Awakeners in Korea. Four years, seven years, ten years— the Constellations remained active.
I pondered the difficulties the Awakener before me must have faced to maintain this facade.
Undoubtedly, there were many challenges. Clairvoyance and Telepathy were great abilities but they didn’t directly assist in combat.
Moreover, Yongsan was a front-line zone facing a mega-gate. Numerous factions would battle for control there in the future.
“…What do you think, Regressor?”
The Awakener who had survived through countless hardships and remained alive to the very end now looked at me with eyes mixed with anxiety and unease.
“Have I fulfilled my role completely?”
“…”
I clenched my fist involuntarily, my mind flooded with various thoughts.
After a moment of silence, I replied.
“Yes. You were perfect. Even a Regressor like myself was completely deceived.”
“…”
“Thanks to you, the crime rate among Awakeners in this country was particularly low. Awakeners were relatively able to cooperate and respond to the gates more easily. Your efforts were not in vain.”
Although we couldn’t prevent the ultimate destruction of the world.
Even then, as now, I never mentioned to the Saint the hundreds of ways our world could have met its end.
At the very least, thanks to the Saint, there was no supremacy of Awakeners rampant in this land. The likelihood of cults like Shinbuddhism or the Resurrection Church taking root was also relatively low.
“…That’s a relief.”
Hearing my response, the Saint leaned back deeply into her chair. A small sigh of relief reached my ears. Strangely, to me, it sounded like a goldfish that had been swimming underwater for a very long time finally coming up to the surface to spit out a bubble.
Afterwards, we discussed closely how we would cooperate with each other.
I believe our relationship was almost established at this time. From iteration 36 to iteration 1183, the Saint was almost always a staunch ally who had my back.
“How should I address you? If I call you ‘Regressor-nim’… Mr. Mortician’s identity might be exposed.”
The Saint pondered, resting her chin in her hand.
“Hero-nim?”
I immediately waved my hands.
“No, Hero is a bit… Just call me Mr. Mortician.”
Apart from whether the title Hero was embarrassing or not, there was a peculiar mental illness related to that which I absolutely detested. We shall talk about this strange mental illness later.
“Alright, I’ll call you Mr. Mortician from now on.”
“That sounds comfortable and good. Indeed.”
As we were about to part ways, I asked,
“But isn’t it impossible to impersonate the Constellations with just clairvoyance and telepathy? You have to observe several people simultaneously and send messages. Don’t you have another ability?”
“Ah, that is…”
The Saint hesitated, then smiled faintly.
“That, is a secret. I’ll tell you later.”
Unfortunately, the ‘later’ she referred to did not mean in the timeline of iteration 36.
I still needed many more iterations to expose her last secret.
5
This story has an epilogue.
As of the 36th iteration, forming a united front with the Saint had become a basic tech tree, akin to an opening strategy in Go.
Apart from the early stages of my regression, the Constellations no longer made ‘numerous bad move requests’ to me as they had before.
It was on such a day, feeling slightly regretful about this fact, that a message window popped up in front of me for the first time in a long while.
[‘The Master of All Pleasures’ announces the occurrence of a new event.]
I blinked.
The name of the Constellation was extremely unfamiliar to me.
All Pleasures (萬象)? Could it mean ‘the one who manages the pleasure of all things’?
‘It seems the Saint is bored and playing pranks.’
I casually dismissed the rare occurrence. After all, only one message came and then stopped.
A few days later, when I met the Saint, I asked her about it.
It wasn’t out of serious curiosity, but just a light question thrown in during a strategy meeting for ice breaking.
“Ah, by the way, why did you suddenly imitate a strange Constellation a few days ago?”
“What?”
“A week ago. You sent a message under the name ‘The Master of All Pleasures.’ I was surprised because even the Saint can make mistakes. Did you perhaps send a message meant for another Awakener to me?”
“…?”
The Saint tilted her head.
“I’ve never sent such a message?”
“What?”
“I’ve never even created a Constellation called ‘The Master of All Pleasures.'”
A chill ran down my spine.
Whether she knew of my state or not, the Saint’s face remained impassive. At least, she didn’t look like she was lying.
Somehow, the temperature around seemed to have dropped, as if by illusion.
“Could Mr. Mortician have seen it wrong?”
“…….”
Suddenly, it felt as though the deep sea unfolded beneath my feet, and a huge shadow swiftly passed beneath it.
It seemed there were still many unknown mysteries in this world.
-Tale of the Observer.
Conclusion