The World after the Fall - Chapter 228
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Chapter 228: Big Brother (22)
Jaehwan did not answer. Instead, he thought of Myad and the other Ancient Three Gods. All beings head for the same goal, but they walk different paths. This was also the same. Just like they had different reasons for bringing reaching Transcendence, they all had different feelings at the same destination.
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But when he lost everything at the end of the journey, Mulack looked like he was free.
Was it because he gave up? Or was he really free? Jaehwan wasnât sure what Mulack found at the end of his road.
âMulack. Let me ask you one thing.â
At the end of the road, Jaehwan found a question he had forgotten, the question that no one could answer until now. It was a question only Mulack could answer.
âWhat is the [Nightmare of the Beginning]?â
It was the word that Mulack left on his tower.
Even when he was answered all of his questions, Jaehwan couldnât find out what the Nightmare of the Beginning was. He thought it was meant for <Panopticon> and still thought it was so in some sense. But he wasnât sure yet. It felt like it wasnât enough. Panopticon controlled the world, but it had no way to create it. Then, what was there in the beginning?
[Haha⌠ha⌠Nightmare of the Beginning?]
Jaehwan saw madness flashing through Mulackâs eyes. The Nightmare who was on the verge of death was on fire for the last time.
[That is the home of all âTowersâ. Itâs a terrible place, worse than any nightmare. Itâs the source of all Towers of Nightmares.]
âIs it a place?â
Mulack continued,
[That is not as easy as this world.]
âNot easy?â
[Yes. That doesnât have specific âeyeâ like this place, and you donât know who leads the world. The System cannot be shown. Everything is unfair and illogical, but nobody senses it. Besides, thereâs no Jaehwan there.]
Jaehwan wasnât sure what he was talking about. The maniacal voice even sounded eerie. Mulack raised his voice as blood began to seep out from his mouth.
[Soon⌠soon, you too will know. I- I wanted to stop that Nightmare from coming down. Keep this flawed System, continue Cultivation, and increase accentuated unique world⌠to be drunk in those dreams so I can stop the coming fa-âŚ.]
Mulackâs spirit then began to dissipate. Mulackâs eyes turned into disbelief and shock. Jaehwan was also shocked. Mulack was almost on the verge of perishing, but it wasnât consuming him.
But why�
âHe talks too much.â
Jaehwan felt his lips moving on its own. Someone else was speaking with his. Jaehwan then looked down at the Void Sword penetrating Mulackâs heart. He had killed Mulack. Mulack tried to move his mouth, but he turned into dust.
ââŚWhat are you doing?!â
Jaehwan shouted angrily. He hadnât gotten a chance to listen to the important part yet, which made him angrier. Only Mulack could answer his question. Jaehwan then spoke again on his own.
âYou promised. I am becoming you now.â
So it was him. The time of keeping the promise was coming.
âYou have to keep your promise. I waited long enough. I waited 3 billion years.â
66666. The clothes that trained the [Fall] for 3 billion years. Jaehwan promised him that if he helped, he would fulfill his request.
âOkay. Take it.â
Jaehwan closed his eyes. He felt his conscious being pushed back. He then realized he was no longer âJaehwanâ anymore. Maybe he was 66667. But he was still Jaehwan and lived as Jaehwan. He felt that was enough. Thatâs when 66666 spoke.
âIs this enough? Are you giving up already?â
Giving up?
âYou havenât fulfilled your purpose yet.â
Jaehwan wondered if this Jaehwan was making of him, but he answered, âWhat are you talking about? Itâs you who made me give up. You took my spirit andâŚâ
âWhat are you talking about? I need you. Youâre the only one who knows the world that the Little Prince traveled in. That lady told me.â
Jaehwan was confused. Little Prince? And who was this lady?
ââŚWas it too difficult? Well, adult languages are difficult. Let me put it this way. You have not gotten to the Nightmare of the Beginning yet. Right?â
Jaehwan felt tense. He shouted frantically, âDo you know what the Nightmare of the Beginning is-?â
âI need you to get there. Letâs say itâs a travel partner. Or shall I say, I need a âfoxâ?â
âWhat do you mean?â
âIâm taming you. Just like you tamed me once, Iâm taming you now.â
âStop this nonsense.â
Jaehwan shouted in an angry voice.
âIâm just clothes now.â
âNo, you are not. You call me Jaehwan and I call you Jaehwan. You are still Jaehwan.â
And Jaehwan felt his vision coming back again. His senses were coming back now just like when he had control over his body.
âI told you I wanted to be you, but I didnât ask you to become my âclothesâ. Iâm just telling you to have me as part of you. I will never take the spirit away from y ou. Iâm still you, remember?â
He continued, âA man without clothes is not a man. A man is just a collection of clothes.â
Jaehwan then looked around. Why? Jaehwan then finally was able to see Transcended ones through his own eyes. He able to see them clearly for the first time. He looked at all 15 of them in their eyes.
[Yes. Itâs us.]
He felt his heart ache. It was them. These were the ones who fought with him throughout all those times.
[Goodbye Jaehwan.]
[That boy fulfilled his wishes, so this is where we part ways.]
Jaehwan wanted to ask what was that supposed to mean.
[The place youâll be going is like that. We canât go to that world. Only you and that boy can go.]
They answered as if they knew what Jaehwan wanted to say. It was obvious as they were âJaehwanâ too.
[Donât look at us like that. Weâve lived too long.]
[Long enough that we cannot stay human anymore.]
Jaehwan tried to say something but he couldnât. He held back his feelings and listened to his clothes.
[I envy you.]
[Beings are sometimes very precious things.]
[Donât lose your heart.]
[Even if you donât have power.]
[Even if you donât have knowledge.]
[Even if you donât have hope.]
[Even if you feel despair.]
[Donât lose your heart.]
Jaehwan had no way to press his feelings. Even if he couldnât understand everything, he heard what they were trying to say.
That he did well.
Jaehwan felt the space being dismantled. The power of [Fall] now was coming up to the top of the Tree of Imagery. It also applied to Jaehwan himself. 10 billion memories were fading away.
Wait, thereâs more. I have more questions. Where am I going now? What do you guys know? YouâŚ
The Nightmare of the Beginning isâŚ
But the time came like death. The time that the clothes gave him was taking away those clothes now.
Jaehwanâs body became small, as if he was going back from adulthood to a child. Soon, Jaehwan was a ten-year-old boy, as if that was his original self. Jaehwan heard his voice coming out of his mouth.
âIsnât it weird? The end of the [Branch] that holds all the secrets to this world is really similar to the [Roots] of those remote regions⌠as if its hard to tell which is the branch and which is the root.â
Jaehwan saw Tree of Imagery and its barren branches. A lone tree that stood in its bareness.
It was lonely. It really was a lonely tree.
In that loneliness, Jaehwan closed his eyes. There was no world anymore. His job was done. But why did it feel like it wasnât the end?
His world then reached its fall.