Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint - Chapter 536



When the Body is Bored, Thoughts Multiply

Returning to the mansion, I passed by the sleeping San-gun and entered. From the slightly ajar door, I could hear labored breathing. As I opened the door and stepped inside, Aji was tending to the Regressor.

Whether it was using its strength or not, a faint light glimmered above Aji’s head. It wasn’t much help for the injuries, but still, it was a healing power.

No matter how I thought about it, that wasn’t the kind of strength a beast would use.

Fortunately, there was someone here who might have the answer to that question, or at least a clue. I sat beside the Regressor and spoke.

“You heard everything we said, right? What do you think? Is there something strange?”

“…No. There isn’t.”

The Regressor groaned but answered steadily.

“I’m glad you came because of the wolf. I thought you were here for the tiger’s revenge.”

“The tiger’s revenge? What kind of revenge?”

“If there’s a tiger, you can’t make a mountain path, so when it comes to sea rescue, they usually hunt the tiger…. Because of that, many tigers have died, so I thought you came for revenge.”

“Are the ones I killed coming to take revenge on me? That’s too human of a perspective. By that logic, what about the tiger? I’ve never heard of a revenge story for how many wild boars or deer it has eaten.”

“…I know. I just said it.”

‘San-gun came because of the influence of the wolf. There’s no reason for San-gun to attack humans indiscriminately. Just knowing this is enough. As long as we stop the wolf king, San-gun won’t become a disaster for humanity.’

The Regressor seemed careless, yet didn’t leave much room for doubt. It acted as if it knew the future, but it kept the clue of regression tightly hidden.

That’s why it’s suspected of being a saint.

“I’m relieved. Since we dealt with the wolf king here, I truly feel a weight lifted.”

“Hmm. You might feel a weight lifted, Ms. Shay, but I still have my worries.”

“…What worries?”

“Aji. Look above Aji’s head.”

“Woof?”

At my words, the Regressor looked up at Aji’s head. It was faint now, but a ring of radiance still emitted light.

The Regressor’s eyes widened.

“What is that…?”

“You should know, Ms. Shay.”

“Don’t think I know everything…. There’s still a lot I don’t know.”

“It’s good to know there’s a lot you don’t know. That’s a relief.”

Feeling the gaze of both me and the Regressor, Aji rolled its eyes upward. Then, startled by its own surprise, it jumped in place.

“Woof?! Unidentified flying object!”

“You didn’t even know what was hanging above your head until now?”

“Under the lamp, it’s dark! Woof woof!”

Aji stretched out his front paw towards the halo above his head. However, the halo, which was nothing but a shimmer of light, could not be touched. Aji jumped up as if to bite it, but no matter how much he reached for the ring above him, it was merely a trick of the light.

Leaving Aji to tumble alone like a hamster on a wheel, I turned to the Regressor.

“You said you came to stop the King of Sin.”

“Yeah.”

“Just as a dog symbolizes kindness and a wolf represents ferocity, even if the concept is emphasized, it cannot escape the influence of its essence. And no matter how I think about it, the King of Sin is fundamentally human. No other creature would take an interest in something akin to sin.”

Up to this point, both the Regressor and I were well aware of the facts. However, there was something the Regressor knew that I did not.

Today, I would provoke the Regressor to extract that information.

“And I know the Beast King well, but even if the human king is strong, he’s only at the level of a mountain lord. He’s not capable of destroying the world. To be honest, I think you’re making a fuss, like an apocalyptic doomsayer.”

At the mention of doomsayers, the Regressor’s face crumpled noticeably. In a peaceful era, doomsayers are merely lunatics justifying their madness, and the Regressor must have been treated that way multiple times. From the perspective of someone who has actually witnessed the end, it’s understandable to be exasperated.

“…That’s not true. The King of Sin is at that level.”

“How is that so? The human king himself says he’s not at that level.”

“You’re different. The King of Sin is truly a different being from the human king.”

Ah, right. The Regressor has insisted time and again that the King of Sin is different from the human king. Yet, I couldn’t recall any clues about it, so I couldn’t grasp the reason.

“What beast, other than humans, would discuss sin? Do you think a beast would rise up in revolution seeking freedom?”

“It’s not that he’s the king of other beasts… The human king is a being that has absorbed the sins of all other humans.”

“Is sin something that can be absorbed? And even if he has absorbed some, where is the explosive power to burn the world? If there is, I’d really like to drink a bowl of it.”

“It’s a metaphor! It means the concept has been separated!”

Separated concept? From the Beast King?

With the difficult clue I had unearthed, I held my breath and waited quietly.

“The Beast King is a being of concept. And if you remove the beastly part from that, only the concept remains. The king of concept, with only the concept left, becomes more powerful than when he had a physical form.”

“How so?”

“I don’t know well either. However, a being that has become the king of concept without a physical form becomes one that burns everything for the sake of spreading the concept. It disregards eating and sleeping and acts as the concept itself. The King of Sin is the end of humanity, spreading sin while ignoring life and the future…”

Beasts put in a considerable amount of effort to survive. They move to find food, hunt, escape from being eaten, fight with other competitors, rest, mate, give birth, and raise their young. Life is everything, and they expend all to live.

The same goes for the Beast King. Aji, the butterfly, and the mountain lord may seem simple and foolish, but that’s just because they are beasts.

But what if the Beast King were to burn his own soul to achieve something? What if he wanted to engrave the concept into the world, like a human who has reached the divine?

“The Wolf King is the same. If he hadn’t fought and lost against Aji, he would have become the very embodiment of ferocity, a more powerful and terrible disaster.”

‘Like the disaster that swept through the Engor Plains, leading all kinds of beasts and even beastmen in the past.’

The Regressor said he must help Aji defeat the Wolf King. He claimed it wouldn’t be too difficult.

In fact, if defeating the Wolf King were easy, there would be no need to be with Aji at all. Aji would certainly be helpful, but that’s just at the level of a Beast King. If a legion came and swept through, why would it be a disaster? It would just be a nuisance.

—

In another iteration, Fenril became something more than just the king of wolves.

It’s an unbelievable story, but I can’t turn away from it. After all, there’s a real example right in front of me.

“In short, it means becoming like Aji, doesn’t it?”

“Aji…?”

Aji, whose whole body has grown faint, wearing a halo instead of a crown, and wielding a healing magic for reasons unknown. It’s clear to anyone that he is no ordinary beast king. The sight of him struggling to bite the ring above his head just makes him look foolish.

Watching Aji perform acrobatics, the regressor fell deep into thought.

‘Indeed. Aji’s current form is certainly strange. I’m not quite sure how the existence of concepts works. Is it something that happens through the act of handing over or taking away the crown? Aji, who passed on the crown, became the king of kindness?’

The beast king transformed into the king of concepts. Hmm. It’s intriguing, but it still doesn’t feel like my story. Perhaps it’s because I have neither a crown nor power? I wish I could at least think about how the king of sins makes his appearance.

‘Then what about Hughes? Like a dog and a wolf, is Hughes fighting against that which is bound to the top of the tree of betrayal? No, Hughes has no crown and I’ve never seen him in previous iterations. Has the separation of concepts already occurred?’

“Ms. Shay.”

“Uh? Yes! Yes.”

The regressor was startled into responding, wincing as if in pain. It feels a bit wrong to press someone who’s hurting, but when the body is uncomfortable, thoughts tend to multiply. I can’t let this opportunity, the one where the regressor is thinking the most since their birth, slip away.

“Putting the story together, I think I have a rough idea of what’s going on. I can guess what the separation of concepts is and what has happened. But there’s something more important, isn’t there?”

“…What is it?”

“Who did it, and with what intention.”

There’s certainty. No, it’s impossible not to know. After all, I am the party involved.

In a distant past, a time I can’t even remember. Back then, I wasn’t the king of humans either, but the promise from that time still lingers, binding me.

But what about the regressor? The regressor, who has accumulated power and knowledge of the future through repeated returns, must know. If they don’t know, or if they’re mistaken, there’s only one reason.

The Seonghwangcheong, those guys deceived you.

Let’s hear the reason.

The regressor opened their mouth as if resolved.

“…Yeah. This is, ugh. I think I need to say it. I’m not entirely sure, but the mastermind behind the separation of concepts is…”

“The mastermind?”

Finally, they’re opening up. I’ve waited a long time. I waited for the regressor’s words and thoughts without revealing my anticipation. Whether it’s a lie or the truth doesn’t matter. The moment they speak, I’ll read the memories related to those words with my mind-reading ability.

‘It should be fine to say. The possibility of Hughes being the king of sins has decreased. He helped Aji to prove it, and even if I confess the truth, it won’t become more dangerous than it is now.’

From the moment of resolution, no one can stop the regressor. The regressor spoke simultaneously with their thoughts.

“Nebidah.”

Right. Nebidah. Nebidah…

What? Nebidah?

At such an unexpected word, I tilted my head in confusion.

“Excuse me? You’re saying you’re the Grand Druid?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that really true?”

“I know it’s hard to believe, but that’s all there is.”

Why isn’t it the Holy Palace?

Can’t you see that ring above Aji’s head? It’s the radiance given to saints. I need to confirm whether Aji is truly the chosen seer of the saint, but doesn’t the Holy Palace have even a hint of doubt?

“What evidence do you have for that?”

“On top of the Tree of Betrayal, that’s what’s growing.”

The Tree of Betrayal, the divine tree of Nebida, the source tree.

The World Tree that once stood in the ancient jungles of the nations burned down, and from its remnants grew the Tree of Betrayal, bearing all kinds of fruits. Potatoes, corn, carrots, watermelons, lotus roots, and so on. What was originally a ginkgo tree now bears the fruits of all kinds of plants instead.

And as you climb the Tree of Betrayal… a beast you’ve never seen before appears, pulsing within the red flesh.

The Regressor recalled the large flower seen from afar. A flower too radiant and beautiful to be at the top of a tree. The forbidden fruit that grows at the pinnacle of the Tree of Betrayal, absorbing all vital energy.

“The king of humans made from the source tree.”