Observer I
The café where I often met Old Man Scho... No, let me correct that. The café where I often met the 'corpse' of Old Man Scho is dotted with small fish tanks here and there, probably to cater to a barista's preference.
Though there's nothing particularly rare about the species living there, their tails possess a magical calming quality. All you had to do was look at them. Perhaps because the flow of time seems to slow around those fins. Or maybe it's simply because the blank stare of the fish's eyes looks downright foolish.
As I sip on Old Man Scho’s café au lait and watch a blue tropical fish perform its intricate, underwater ballet that ripples through time, one person invariably comes to mind.
The Saintess.
Today, I think I’ll talk about her.
When the Gate crisis erupted worldwide, Korea fared relatively well, surprisingly enough. It wasn’t thanks to the government, though.
From the outset, half of Seoul was devastated, including the National Assembly Building in Yeouido. Over a hundred politicians were vaporized that day. Whether it was a mark of good or bad fortune was a matter of personal opinion, but at least in the early days, it temporarily paralyzed Korea’s political leadership. Nevertheless, the reason the Awakeners in Korea managed to navigate this crisis was something else entirely in the form of a translucent, almost holographic 'Message' that appeared before their eyes.
[The Saintess of National Salvation shows interest in your heroic deeds.]
That, for instance, was the sort of message displayed for me when I took a leading role in subduing the Gate at Busan Station. And I was not the only one who experienced this phenomenon.
"Huh? What's this?"
"…The Chancellor of the Red Cape? He’s interested in me?"
Awakeners began to make themselves known nationwide, and inevitably, these ‘Messages’ found them. The sender varied from person to person, but every one of them had one thing in common—they all noticed someone was paying attention to their actions.
"It’s the Constellations!"
Someone named this phenomenon the 'Constellations'. It seemed all too familiar to Awakeners who were fans of web novels. On the other hand, for the uninitiated like me, the concept was baffling. Eventually, I approached someone who seemed all too eager to explain as they puffed out a palpable 'I know what this is! I've seen it!' energy.
"Excuse me, sir. Sorry to bother you when we haven't met before, but what are Constellations?"
"Oh, you don't know about Constellation stories!"
The Awakener was eager to explain.
"It’s a way for transcendent beings like them to watch us Awakeners—expressing their interest and even sponsoring us! You know, like online streaming? We're the streamers and the Constellations are the viewers dropping donations!"
"Wow."
"The Constellations are incredibly powerful too. Some are terrifying entities like Cthulhu, while others are deities who are friendly with humans... Anyway, it’s a good thing! Always try to look good for the Constellations. Ahh, which Constellation should I choose? Is the option of [Choose None] still the trend?"
The Awakener continued to ramble on for a while. At the time, I just in vague affirmation. With monsters roaming around through the Gates, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if there were also transcendent beings who munched on popcorn while watching the human world.
[The Conqueror of the Alps admires your valor!]
[The Chancellor of the Red Cape respects your strategy.]
As the cycles repeated, I grew accustomed to the existence of the Constellations. They seemed to follow my every move, praising me or offering encouragement whenever I did something unique or unexpected.
[The Saintess of National Salvation praises your accomplishments.]
I was particularly proud that the Saintess, known for favoring benevolent Awakeners, seemed to cherish me the most.
Had it not been for the Constellations, my life as an Awakener would surely have felt bleak in a way. While the identity of the Constellations remained a mystery, most of the Awakeners—myself included—developed a fondness for them.
"…This is odd."
Old Man Scho had a different take on it. Back around the 10th cycle, before he took his long 'vacation', Old Man Scho had grown suspicious of the Constellations' presence.
"Huh? What’s odd?"
"I recently got in contact with some friends overseas. Most are dead, but a few survived. And the ones that did... they say they’ve never seen anything like this back home."
"Anything like what?"
"Bah, come on. The messages from the Constellations, the messages! My friends in Germany have neither seen nor heard of them." Old Man Scho frowned, scrunching his nose with the force of it. "Just in case, I asked some of my friends in other countries, and they also said they’ve never gotten the messages before."
"……"
"Then that means this bizarre phenomenon is unique to Korea... Surely you see how strange that is? Why would the Constellations only operate here if they are transcendent beings? What reason would they have to favor Korea?"
"Uh... maybe they like K-pop?"
"Bullshit, doc."
A moment later, messages flooded in.
[The Saintess of National Salvation is disheartened by your conversation.]
[The Conqueror of the Alps asks you to withhold your doubts.]
[The Chancellor of the Red Cape scoffs at your shallow understanding.]
It was like they had been waiting. By that point, Old Man Scho and I had already garnered significant attention from the Constellations. It was no wonder since Old Man Scho was undoubtedly the greatest Swordmaster, and I was... Well, an irreplaceable resource of sorts. I glanced casually to the side. Old Man Scho was furrowing his brow, seeming to see something in front of him as well.
"You too, old man?"
"Yeah. These things are watching every little thing we do," Old Man Scho grumbled, swatting the air with his hand as if to shoo away an annoying fly. "Anyway, there are too many fishy things here. They never sent me messages before I started picking up Korean. But once I spoke even the tiniest bit, they magically started sending messages."
"……"
"If what you said isn't true, and they're not high on K-hype, I can't explain it. Doc, don’t trust these Constellation things too much."
Regrettably, Old Man Scho never unraveled the secret of the Constellations. By the 26th cycle, the old man had gone on a long vacation with his wife, leaving him with no time to explore the mystery further.
But not me.
Being an infinite regressor is like being the Bill Gates of time. It was no exaggeration to say that all I have is time.
'Why do the Constellations only appear in Korea?'
I stroked my chin. It had remained a mystery intriguing enough throughout my swathe of regressions to warrant an entire run's investigation. First of all, Old Man Scho's observation was correct. It wasn't just the foreign Awakeners— even those in Korea who had not learned the language never received these 'Messages'.
'Thanks to them, the quality—or should I say, the consciousness—of the Awakeners in Korea is relatively sound.'
In other countries, the Awakeners caused terror attacks, massacred civilians, and ran rampant, committing crimes on the daily. Korea alone saw a lower crime rate among its Awakeners. Why was this phenomenon occurring? I had two theories. First, the Constellations were truly addicted to K-pop culture and only cared about Korean Awakeners. And second—
'Do the Constellations only speak Korean...?'
If this was true, it would have massive implications. Just think about it. Even the stubborn Old Man Scho mastered foreign languages in just a few cycles. But these so-called Constellations only spoke Korean? What kind of transcendents could they possibly be?
'In other words, the Constellations aren't transcendents.'
A hypothesis formed in my mind.
But monitoring every Awakener in Korea and sending them personalized messages would be difficult if they weren't transcendents. Surely, there must be some underlying secret to it.
From the 35th run onward, I officially began my 'Constellation Investigation'. I was determined to finally get to the bottom of what sort of beings had admired and balked at my actions thus far.
'First, I need to attract the attention of the Constellations.'
Attracting their attention was simple. Constellations had a habit of taking an interest in exceptional Awakeners. As soon as I began the 35th run, I pushed myself to use all my abilities to clear the Gate that erupted at Busan Station within 20 minutes. The first cycle ended with my death because I couldn’t close the Gate. By the third cycle, I managed it after a week. Now, I had cleared it in less than 20 minutes, and none of the 399 humans summoned to the Busan Station concourse lost their lives except one. The only items I farmed were silver bells from the souvenir shop too, so there was no time wasted.
It was a literal speedrun, a record bound to astonish the Constellations.
[The Saintess of National Salvation is astonished by your feat!]
[The Monarch of the Crimson Horse feels a sense of rivalry at your strength.]
[The Conqueror of the Alps takes note of your course.]
[The Chancellor of the Red Cape is wary of your abilities.]
Sure enough, the Constellations took the bait immediately. Messages from four, then seven, then eleven Constellations poured in, stacking up one by one. I ignored the messages for the time being. Only after I left Busan Station and reached an empty parking lot did I speak.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the Constellations, I know you are Korean."
Poof.
The messages that had been flying in non-stop like Hogwarts acceptance letters suddenly halted all at once.
I watched the sky clear as the messages that had cluttered my vision disappeared, then turned my gaze skyward.
"I also know that you are not transcendents. I could reveal this fact to all the Awakeners... But I am more curious about your true nature. Please tell me who you really are."
-......
There was no response.
To be honest, I was quite nervous at the time. Although the possibility was slim, what if the Constellations were genuinely transcendents who dined on kimchi and seaweed, listened to K-pop during tea time, and watched K-pop TV in the evenings? What if they were simply acting on a mysterious, nationalistic favoritism towards Korean-speaking Awakeners?
'My brazen proposal might provoke the Constellations to attack all at once.'
I took a combat stance. My awakening ability wasn't geared toward combat, but after spending time with Old Man Scho, the greatest Swordmaster, my combat abilities had grown considerably. If necessary, I was ready to die right then and there and move on to the next cycle.
[The Saintess of National Salvation invites you.]
That was when the message appeared.
Fortunately, no scenario of Constellations appearing to punish an impudent mortal unfolded. Instead, dozens of Constellations remained silent, and only one communicated its intention to me. That Constellation was, coincidentally, the first to express interest in me—the 'Saintess of National Salvation'.
"An invitation?" I asked cautiously. "What kind of invitation?"
After a moment, a message returned.
[The Saintess of National Salvation invites you to the Jamsu Bridge in Han River.]
Seoul.
The hell on earth where Old Man Scho had lost his wife and numerous politicians were buried.
'Ah.'
...It hit me then that the Constellations had never once spoken in any regional dialect.
I've mentioned several times that Gangnam was reduced to rubble when a Gate erupted there. However, areas not touched by the Gate's influence remained surprisingly intact. Jamsu Bridge still looked exactly as it did before the world turned upside down.
The place where the 'Saintess of National Salvation' had agreed to meet me was a sky-blue convenience store near Jamsu Bridge—an unexpectedly public-friendly location for a rendezvous with a Constellation. Under the convenience store's parasol sat a woman with her hair tied back. Though for her aqua-colored hair was unusual, it's not uncommon for an Awakener's hair color to change upon realizing their powers, and her appearance was otherwise ordinary. She didn't give off the feeling of a being beyond human limitations.
"Good day. Are you the Saintess of National Salvation?"
"......"
She studied me silently, her gaze swiftly scanning me from head to toe.
Her eyes resembled those of a fish, seemingly submerged rather than lost in thought.
"The Busan Station Gate?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"...I never expected you to make it from Busan to here in less than a day."
With half of Seoul gone, most of the transportation networks leading to the capital had been crippled. Roads and railways—nearly everything was destroyed.
Conversely, that meant there were still a few usable routes left. Old Man Scho had wanted to get to Seoul before his wife disappeared, hence the extensive research that had been conducted on 'the fastest way to get to Seoul from Busan'.
...No matter how fast, arriving within a minute was impossible, rendering the research futile. But thanks to that, I was able to meet the 'Saintess of National Salvation’ quickly.
"My code name is Undertaker. Nice to meet you."
"Ah, yes... But, Undertaker?"[1]
"It’s a nickname with a story. Feel free to call me Doctor."
After shaking hands with her, I sat opposite her.
Far in the distance, Seoul's skyscraper, also known as 'Sauron's Tower', loomed like a shadow.
"Before anything else, I’d like to ask you something."
"......"
"Are you the Saintess of National Salvation, or are you her representative? What are Constellations exactly? Are they truly transcendents?"
She was silent. Numerous, fleeting thoughts seemed to flicker across her eyes. After a moment, she bit her lip and clenched her fist.
Then, she sighed softly.
"...Yes. I am the Saintess of National Salvation."
Bingo.
Just as I was about to nod in acknowledgment, she looked me straight in the eye.
"And you, you are a regressor, right?"
Footnotes:
[1] Undertaker: an individual whose business is to prepare the dead for burial and to arrange and manage funerals, also known as a mortician.
***
