The World after the Fall - Chapter 213
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Chapter 213: Big Brother (7)
According to Beastlain, it was within the one year that Jaehwan spent in <Depth> that he gained the ability to speak. The sword had gone through the 3rd evolution from the enormous world power and was now able to use its mouth not only to eat, but to speak as well.
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However, the problem was âwhenâ. He had been silent all this time, so it felt strange to speak; he also feared that Jaehwan would destroy him if he knew. Then, Jaehwan walked into the darkness and 50 years passed.
After all that time, Beastlain forgot that he could speak. If Jaehwan hadnât asked, he would never have spoken. After hearing all that, Jaehwan felt sorry for Beastlain and let him speak. And⌠this was the result.
âSo, are you done expressing your pent-up fifty years worth of chatter?â
[N-no! I still have far more!]
They were all just boring stories, but Beastlain was really helpful to Jaehwan. At least he wasnât alone anymore. Whatever Beastlain said was better than complete silence. Of course, there was some rubbish that was hard to listen to.
[Yeah! This world is all about you looking out for yourself! How about you start now? Itâs still not too late. You can even become the King of the <Depth>!]
âAre you still talking about that?â
[Iâm worried about you! I mean, weâve become good friends after all this time! You can always choose a path thatâs more comfortable for you. WhyâŚ]
It really was nonsense.
âArenât you just afraid of being destroyed in a fight against Big Brother?â
[N-no! I mean⌠uh.]
Beastlain was quite simple-minded.
âWhy are you so afraid of it? I thought nobody knows what Big Brother actually is.â
[Thatâs why everyoneâs afraid of him. You donât know what Big Brother is, even when it is the most powerful thing in the world. Isnât that terrifying enough?]
Jaehwan listened to Beastlain. He realized that it was the first time he was listening about Big Brother from a Cultivatorâs point of view.
[Big Brother is an organization that controls all cultivation. Thatâs what we think.]
âAn organization?â
[At least thatâs what I think. It is impossible to manage all those dimensions or approve all those Cultivations unless you are a big organization. I think the Gods from <Depth> think otherwise thoughâŚ]
âWerenât there people called âPublic Cultivatorsâ among you? They donât know about Big Brother either?â
[âŚTheyâre still Cultivators. I heard that they are associated with Big Brother, but they only receive work. They donât know what Big Brother actually is.]
âBut they receive work from Big Brother. Doesnât that mean that they communicate?â
Jaehwan then wondered why he didnât think of that. If demons were able to communicate with Big Brother for Cultivation, he could have utilized that to gather information about Big Brother.
[We just receive work through the Little Brother network system. Itâs not like I can send a message and get a response. And itâs not even a message anyway.]
âWhat do you mean?â
[We donât send messages to specific entities. We just choose a Cultivation region, ask for approval, and then we receive the approval. We cannot use private messages.]
âAre public cultivators the same too?â
[Yeah. I heard they receive it in the form of a âQuestâ to choose where to cultivate.]
It was easy to understand. Big Brother had cut down all possible channels of communication, assuming there were any. But that was good to know. At least Jaehwan wasnât wrong about what he did and his efforts.
There was something up there, and it was controlling Cultivation.
That alone was enough for Jaehwan to continue going up. Beastlain then asked.
[I am actually curious about what you think. Do you not have any thoughts on what Big Brother is?]
âMe?â
[Yeah. You, as an Awakener, are in a better position to find information than me. You also know stories about the Three Ancient GodsâŚ]
âI have a guess. Itâs just a guess though.â
[Oh? Can you tell me what itâŚ]
âItâs just a guess. And in my case, what Big Brother is might not really matter.â
That confused Beastlain. They had been talking about what Big Brother was all this time and he was now saying that it didnât matter.
[What? Why is that?]
âWhat matters now is whether I can get out of this place or not.â
Beastlain understood right away. They had already been locked in this space for 50 years. And this space was thought to be created by Big Brother. Whatever Big Brother was, it would be useless unless they got out of this space.
âWe have time. Iâm not worried.â
Jaehwan shrugged and began to stab in the air again.
[Hey, uh, can you go a bit slower? Itâs making me nauseous. Iâve always wanted to say thisâŚ]
Jaehwan ignored it and kept on stabbing.
âGosh. This humanâŚâ
He stabbed and stabbed again as if he would stab forever, or as if he would stab away this darkness. And the swordâs mouth moved to make a cracking noise. It was as close to a laugh as he could make.
âI see. So this human will never give up.â
It was the same thing when they were in the tower. Even when everyone gave up on clearing and gave up on the presence, this human did not give up. This man stood and fought.
Was it because of that? Beastlain felt that Jaehwan would succeed again, even if the enemy wasnât a Cultivator but the ruler of the world. Maybe he too had been influenced by Jaehwan. The sword shot out dark flames as its voice declared arrogantly,
[Dammit, okay! I wonât die twice anyway. Letâs go!]
It was after a very long time that Beastlain regretted his thoughts. Dying twice⌠Beastlain did not know that there was something far more terrifying than death. The trial that was upon Jaehwan wasnât just something he could overcome with effort.
Stab and stab. Talk for a while. Stab again.
Jaehwanâs stab kept on growing and the sword became sharper. They talked about a lot of things. They talked so much that their differences in race, or the hatred between a Cultivator and a Product, disappeared.
They expressed glee at simple things and argued about simple things. They withstood time. And nothing changed.
Even then, they repeated the same thing day in and day out. The days when they did not say anything increased, but they did not give up.
And like that, two hundred thousand years passed.