The Devil’s Dead Child - Chapter 324



Only Noblemtl

#324, Me to Me

The welcoming figure appeared with more vivid colors than before.

Even Ham Seong-ah, who tried to stop Seo Beom-jin, and Kwon Ha-seon, who tried to step in to protect me, stopped and stared blankly at the scene.

A dark blue doll, standing on the ground, turns towards me.

Suddenly, an entry from Mia’s diary came to mind.

“The man was standing face to face with a human figure without eyes, nose, or mouth. The opponent looked like a black liquid human, as if he had been formed from deep-sea water.”

The ‘man’ Mia was talking about was me, so the doll in front of her was just something in human form, just like she described.

Ki-ki-ki-ki!

“Ugh…!”

“Fuck, what the heck is that…?”

Every movement of the doll sent out strange sound waves, as if it were a being that space did not permit.

While the audience covered their ears and stepped back,

The doll came out with a slow gait, floating through the space, and took a step forward.

“Uh… isn’t that dangerous?”

But I didn’t back down or become guarded.

It was soon apparent what it was.

I was shivering.

“… … .”

…because that was me.

My future self, brought about by my realization a moment ago.

I was also shocked.

Because the gap in time between me at this moment and me in the future was passed on as accumulated memories.

‘transition…!’

It was a transfer that I made to myself.

Choices and outcomes, failures and pains, and regrets that I had not yet experienced came flooding in.

All my thoughts, judgments, and feelings from today onwards were conveyed without exception.

It was my memory that lived for two more years.

When the gap between me and the other me finally disappeared, the doll, which was nothing more than a figure, swayed again and disappeared into space just as it had first appeared.

Bam!

In the place where the crack had disappeared, a fist-sized rock emitting a blue glow remained, rolling on the ground.

‘… The Sealing Stone of Xylox.’

He picked it up and put it in his bosom.

Everyone was looking at me, but people were more interested in the phenomenon of leaving the stone than in what the stone was.

“It just… disappeared… yes.”

“…What on earth happened?”

Now only the Nephtheon Stone remains among the mythological trash.

It was encouraging to finally get my hands on the sealing stone I had been looking for, but I couldn’t be happy about it.

The fact that one was passed on to my future self meant that even after two years, I still hadn’t found the other one.

Of course, the circumstances could be confirmed with the memory that was transferred a little while ago.

I received Echion’s transfer from the tower.

Of course, his knowledge also included how he returned to the past, and it also served as a foundation for me to understand the concept of time in the divine realm and consider ways to save my father.

Therefore, it was not surprising that I met my future self.

What surprised me was the transferred future knowledge and my other fate that conveyed it.

Because, as the one and only sealing stone tells us, it was a future where the plan failed.

After a while, what broke my thoughts was a sudden surge of anger.

“… Hey, can you hear me? Hey, Han Seong-jun?”

From Ham Seong-ah waving her hand in front of my eyes to the gazes of those in the audience who seemed to have a lot to ask, I was the first to separate the target of their anger from me and the two of us.

Hoooowoooooo─!

The small barrier that was originally meant to separate Seo Beom-jin and me wrapped around Ga-young and pulled her closer to me.

And then he glared at the guy and said in a snarling tone.

“What the hell are you doing… What’s your real reason for approaching me!”

“What is this? It’s so scary… What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Don’t pretend not to know what just happened. If you don’t want to get screwed. It’s you. The real Ekion.”

I wanted to believe that Gayoung hadn’t yet become a full Ekion, but in fact, the opposite was true.

I am continuing my thinking from two more years of living.

That means that the me of this moment is living in the future rather than the me who just disappeared.

Likewise, the Gayoung in front of me right now would be the Ekion who knows the most.

I experienced it for the first time today, but the future will not be the same.

So, even if you absorb Echion’s memories, you can’t guess Gayoung’s inner thoughts.

The Echion I knew so far was only one future derived from a certain choice of Gayoung.

It wasn’t for nothing that I felt uncomfortable with that guy all this time.

If you think about it, the creepy part is that at the time when President Ga (Ga-young’s biological father) was being controlled by ‘Tetrio Istoria’ through Lee Geum-hwan, the guy neglected it.

Even if it was the work of an old(?) Ekion, there was no way Gayoung wouldn’t have known.

Gayoung smiled faintly and tapped the surface of the new barrier I had created, then opened her mouth after a moment of distraction.

“… That’s amazing. Future Seongjun hyung. He gave up on himself.”

Even though what I was saying may seem like nonsense, it was also an affirmation of what I said.

Naturally, the fraudulent power of ‘time travel’ came with significant limitations.

The world of the time zone you move to will collapse and disappear, but that doesn’t mean you can replace yourself in the time zone you moved to.

That is, two years later, I just passed away after a transfer.

I knew that half of that choice was a sacrifice and the other half was a resignation that intuited failure, but anyway, Gayoung was telling me that my future self was different from the old Echion who coexisted with me in the present.

“… So I asked what your plan was. If you don’t tell me, you’ll die here.”

“Me too… Are you saying that the world will end in two years?”

“So, when everything was on the verge of destruction… and our father was killed, what other plans did you have?”

Gayoung sighed with an expression that said, “Shouldn’t you notice by now?”

“There is at least a forty year age gap between Ekion and me.”

“…!”

ah.

That obvious fact, which I had not known, resonated with me only today.

Just as I lived [Kim Seong-jun’s] life, there must have been another life in Ekion’s past life… .

That was, so to speak, a story about the ‘perspective’ of the shackles.

If the ultimate purpose of the shackle was to erase the eons of suffering that had worn away the soul of the father, wouldn’t someone who remembered his past life and existed on the day the shackle was put on in the beginning also be wearing down in pain?

In that sense, the enlightened Echion was also a victim of the shackles.

When my thoughts reached that point, Gayoung read the changed look in my eyes and continued speaking with a weak laugh.

“I hated Nephas for taking away Veliona, and another me hated Veliona for falling in love with a human and abandoning her clan. Another me knew that it was Marduk who ultimately broke the peace of Balauur. Sometimes I failed in my revenge, sometimes I brought pain to Nephas, and sometimes I forgave Nephas. The Echion who lived all those lives is inside of me.”

As expected, it wasn’t just the old Ekion I knew who transferred the future to Gayoung.

“Oh, so you asked what my plan was? Well… Well, I still want to kill my brother, and, oh, this is not it.

This time, it’s meaningless since Nephas, who suffered, died first. So on the one hand, I feel sorry for him. And on the other hand, I want to help him.

But I also want to interfere. Also, living as a human, I can’t help but feel close to my brother like family. You know? In fact, we’re brothers. We’re both souls that originated from Belliona. Hmm? If you think about it that way, I guess I’m the older brother by a long shot.”

Gayoung, who was giggling alone as if she found it funny, suddenly wiped her smile and added.

“And… now I just want to get away.”

I knew it at that moment.

That the last words were the conclusion of the guy’s complex thoughts.

So, when the guy says he wants to help and also interfere, he’s probably being sincere.

‘… If you look at it broadly, it seems like it already plays the role of a pacemaker.’

Anyway, I got a clue about time travel from Ekion, who appeared as an obstacle.

And I couldn’t tell exactly whether breaking free meant hatred or a shackle, but the guy was definitely tired.

“… … .”

The feelings Gayoung revealed were clearly not favorable to me.

But, rather, it seemed like my heart felt a little more at ease just looking at him.

What I was looking at with reluctance was Gayoung as a younger sister whom I once cherished, not Gayoung as a transcendent being.

“… I think I have the answer for now.”

“thank god.”

“And what you said earlier… I honestly never thought that I could save them all. I’m still trying to save my father. As you know, even if I turn back time, I can’t replace myself from that time. At best, I can just pass on memories like I did today.”

I definitely felt it today, but that couldn’t be a perfect method either.

In fact, I had already experienced coexistence with an ‘other self’ before.

When I had just escaped Chaos with Lucas’ help, wasn’t there a time when I existed in the same time as my past self, still standing in front of the Rumpgate, if only for a few minutes?

At that time, the Han Sung-juns of the two time zones were re-aligned in the correct direction because my past self jumped into Rumpgate, but after experiencing what happened today and thinking back to that time, I could tell for sure.

That the only true ‘me’ is the me of this moment.

That tomorrow’s me, yesterday’s me, and this moment’s me are all just other people.

Therefore, giving my father back to my past self was not a complete answer to the me who wants to see you today.

Even if my past self can continue my heart today.

“But those who can’t even transfer… That’s impossible. Where on earth did the idea of ​​saving everyone come from? If there really is such a method, please let me know. … Please.”

“Turning back time is only possible when time exists. If you look this way from a place where there is no time, yesterday and tomorrow are all today.”

“Yes. If you’re talking about the divine realm, then I know.”

“Then we must understand it properly. The moment we eliminate Marduk, Marduk’s today will disappear. Marduk’s today is Marduk’s history, and it is also all the time he created on this land.”

“… … So it’s possible that everything could have been undone? So how is that any different from turning back time?”

“Why do you keep turning back time? I said there is no time there. Erasing Marduk’s history means that we can correct the events that originated from Marduk. Literally. If we try to make it into today, it could be a resurrection.”

“That’s… Ha! What kind of omnipotent being could say that… .”

“That’s right. Almighty. Where on earth would the God-Slayer stand?”

“… … .”

The divine realm.

The place I had to reach to kill him was a sanctuary where the Almighty, who could even raise the dead, existed.

If you can’t see it from their perspective, you’ll never be able to reach it.

To kill a god, you had to become a god yourself.

‘shit….’

“Weren’t you saying you were going to kill Marduk?”

“… That’s right. I just didn’t know that was what it meant.”

I thought that they would become infinitely stronger and then invade, but I still had no standard for where that goal would be.

Because even my father had no experience of opposing a god with complete power.

“Anyway, I understand. Thanks for being honest with me.”

I kicked away the barrier at the end of the sentence.

For a moment, gazes poured in from the surroundings that had been hidden from view towards the two of us.

“… … .”

“… … !”

There were more eyes on Gayoung than on me, and that was because everyone heard the conversation just a little while ago.

The barrier was put up to block Gayoung’s words, and I had no intention of hiding anything from the people present, so I just blocked their view.

Gayoung burst into laughter when she noticed the shocked stares from everyone looking at her, especially the shocked face of Kwon Ha-seon.

“Ahahahahaha!”

Like that or not, I said to Seo Beom-jin again.

“It may still be hard to understand, but that’s what it is. … And. I intend to do it.”

“… … .”

Seo Beom-jin didn’t say anything in response to what I said, but I continued talking while making eye contact with Hong So-hee and Yoo Jae-hyun in turn.

“I’m sorry. Every reason I give is an excuse to you. And it’s an excuse. I knew what you were thinking, but I ignored it.

After recalling my past life, it was my ultimate goal not to get attached to anyone, and honestly, I tried to think of you as NPCs, even if it was forced. And it was only when I had a regretful day that I realized that I was wrong. So I won’t ask you to forgive me. Just… please endure the stabbing until I correct it.”

Clink!

Seo Beom-jin responded to my words by putting the sword he had been holding in his hand back into its scabbard.

“Why don’t you do it, you piece of shit. … You have to. Even if you beg me to forgive you just once, I’m not sure if that’ll make you feel better. Why don’t you tell me how great you are?”

“… … .”

“Why? I can’t ask for something from an NPC.”

“No? That can’t be.”

dump.

I immediately knelt on the floor and clasped my hands together.

“I’m sorry I kept my mouth shut and said I would live alone. I realized too late that you were precious to me too. Please forgive me just this once.”

The moment Seo Beom-jin started swearing, I knew he had already calmed down, but I bowed my head with sincerity.

Of course, it is unlikely that all the pent-up hatred would have been dispelled in an instant with just a few words.

The guy must have seen hope in my conversation with Gayoung that I could set things right.

Seo Beom-jin turned around for a moment to look at Yoo Jae-hyun and Hong So-hee and said.

“… In two years. Let’s forgive each other when we’ve truly lived through it all.”

That was enough.