Observer II
“……”
"Right?"
I didn't respond immediately.
Honestly, I was a bit surprised—yet at the same time, admittedly, caught by intrigue.
While I had occasionally revealed that I was a 'regressor', it was rare for someone else to recognize this on their own. So far, the only person who had was Old Man Scho.
"Why do you think that?" I hedged.
"I figured if you were a regressor, you would eventually come looking for me. Besides, you were slaying monsters at an unbelievable rate. But judging by how you ask... I'm guessing this is our first cycle together?"
I leaned forward a bit more. The green plastic chair of the convenience store creaked as it scraped the ground.
Initially, I was merely curious about the existence of the 'Constellations'. But now, my interest had shifted more towards the human before me.
"That's correct. Although I've been curious about the identities of the Constellations, this is the first cycle I've really started to delve into it."
"If you truly are a regressor, Mr. Undertaker, I believe we must absolutely establish a cooperative relationship."
"A cooperative relationship?"
"Yes. But right now, I can't be sure whether you are a regressor or not. Not with what I can see."
The woman spoke cautiously, and though her expression was tense, her tone was steady.
'She at least has some backbone there.'
My eyes narrowed. "How interesting. Why can't you be sure I'm a regressor?"
"Because this same situation could arise if you had the ability of Prophecy or even the mind-reading skill of Clairvoyance. So..." She bowed her head. "I'm sorry you had to come all the way to Seoul. I can't fully disclose what the Constellations are, how much I know about them, or what my abilities are yet."
"Hmm."
Proper manners and mindful discretion. Seems like a lottery ticket worth scratching.
"All right," I agreed. "If you could be certain that I am a regressor, would you be able to answer all my questions then?"
"...Yes."
"Then there's a simple solution."
She looked up.
I turned on my smartphone. "We'll set up a password."
"A password?"
"Give me words or phrases that only a regressor would know. Even specific actions would do."
It was a method Old Man Scho and I had previously used, and one that had been proven to work during the 7th cycle.
"Anyway, you set those conditions, and I will carry them out exactly in the 'next cycle'."
She immediately understood. "Ah, that's a great idea. Hmm. Then in the next cycle, please come here and lay a red T-shirt out on the table. Just sit quietly for about 10, no, 15 minutes. Then write 'Moral Law' on the T-shirt in big letters."
"Hmm."
"If you do that, I will contact you first."
It was a neat and tidy method.
"Understood, Saintess of National Salvation."
"Ah... I'm sorry, but that nickname is a bit..."
"Everyone's code name among the Awakeners is just as childish. I let it slide and ended up with 'Undertaker' as my alias. 'Saintess' is dignified in comparison."
"How did 'Undertaker' even...?"
Whoops. I quickly got up from the table.
Again, I have an extreme dislike for my alias. How I ended up with such a nickname is a story for another time, ideally in the far future—or better yet, never.
"I'll be going now, Saintess. Until next time."
"Oh, of course. I'll see you next time. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Regressor."
The 'next' I spoke of and the 'next' she thought of were a whole world apart.
We parted easily, like streams that meet then go their separate ways, and after that day, I no longer received any messages from the 'Constellations'.
To be honest, I found myself a bit disappointed. Someone who had been reacting to my every action was now gone. I felt the absence more keenly than expected.
Of course, my goal wasn't to flatter the Constellations, but to prevent the world's destruction. I quickly pulled myself together and threw myself into the 35th run.
And I failed spectacularly.
If I had succeeded, there would be no need for the 1183rd run, after all.
'Did she say a red T-shirt?'
The 36th world, my 36th life, began.
I immediately fulfilled the promise I made in the previous world.
First, I cleared the Gate at Busan Station.
[The Saintess of National Salvation is astonished by your feat!]
[The Monarch of the Crimson Horse feels their competitive spirit stir at your strength.]
[The Conqueror of the Alps takes note of your course.]
[The Chancellor of the Red Cape is wary of your abilities.]
As before, messages from the Constellations poured in.
While it was nice to receive them again, I ignored them for now.
I followed the route developed by Old Man Scho as quickly as possible, heading north to Seoul. Along the way, I didn't forget to stop at a clothing store that hadn't been shut down yet and bought a shirt.
[The Saintess of National Salvation questions your actions.]
The Constellations kept talking to me as I traveled.
When I arrived at a convenience store near Jamsu Bridge, I sat down at a parasol table, spread out the shirt, then wrote 'Moral Law' on it in marker.
[......]
[......]
The previously noisy Constellations fell silent all at once.
I leaned back in the chair and drank convenience store coffee. The place had not been looted yet, so the products were intact.
It wasn't long before someone approached the convenience store.
It was a woman with a hiking backpack on her back. Judging by the length of cycles, I had met her 20 years prior. She was the 'Saintess of National Salvation'.
The joy of reunion didn't surge anew. To live long as a regressor, one must get accustomed to farewells and reunions.
Only this time, I was the one waiting to greet her.
"Excuse me, but by any chance…"
She very cautiously observed my expression.
I nodded.
"Yes. I am the regressor, Saintess of National Salvation."
The Saintess gasped.
She stood frozen, clenching her fists. What she was pondering, I couldn't tell, but after a while, the Saintess finally spoke.
"Please follow me."
Finally, it was time for the truth of the Constellations to be revealed.
The Saintess's dwelling was located in Yongsan.
With Yeouido and the Gangnam area having evaporated overnight, Yongsan was now essentially the front line against a Gate and one of the most dangerous places in Korea.
"Please, come in."
She lived in an old row house in Dongbigo-dong.
I looked around, taking in the shabby exterior that belied a tidy interior. Or more precisely, the space went beyond "tidy" into being eerily spotless.
In the dim living room, four computer monitors emitted a bluish glow. The light faintly outlined the cardboard boxes scattered around—boxes of canned food, jugs of water. With all of them bathed in the monitor's blue light, they almost appeared to be submerged in water.
Along the walls were large steel bookshelves. However, only a few books dotted the shelves, which were instead filled with 15- and 20-cube aquariums. Dozens of these water-filled glass tanks packed the space in dense formations.
Aquarium after aquarium.
The room was surrounded on all sides by walls of water, making it look like an underwater temple.
"You seem to have been preparing for this situation for a long time."
"Yeah."
The Saintess seated me on a sofa, then pulled up a computer chair for herself. "Should I call you 'Regressor'?"
"Call me whatever is comfortable for you. My alias is Undertaker."
"All right, Mr. Undertaker. How many times have we met?"
"This is the second time."
"The second time," the Saintess muttered softly. "So, this is practically our first meeting. I wouldn't have explained anything during the previous cycle, right?"
"That's correct."
"There seems to be a lot I need to clarify. Where should I start?"
"I'd like to ask about the Constellations first. What exactly are the Constellations? Are they truly transcendental beings? Are you an agent of the Constellations?"
"......"
The Saintess licked her lips, not from hesitation but as if she were choosing her words carefully. Finally, she spoke.
"The Constellations... do not exist."
"They don't exist?"
"Yes. The Saintess of National Salvation, the Conqueror of the Alps—they are all characters I created myself."
This was somewhat surprising.
I had considered the hypothesis that the Constellations might be fictitious entities. However, I hadn't anticipated that the person before me was single-handedly staging them all. I would have thought it'd require a team of at least five or six.
"Why would you do such a thing?"
"......"
The blue light of the monitors diffused hazily around the living room. Fish fluttered in the small aquariums.
"I awakened about 20 days ago. Since then, my hair changed color, and I began having nightmares about monsters, dreams vivid enough that they couldn't be dismissed as mere fantasies."
I nodded.
That was a common experience among many who awakened just before the gates burst open across the world— a kind of precognitive dream.
"For some reason, I was convinced that these events would actually happen. So I pondered what I could do— beyond buying canned food and collecting water bottles, something that only I could do."
The Saintess looked directly at me.
"Mr. Undertaker, will Awakeners really maintain social order after they gain their powers?"
"What?"
"Awakeners possess incredible abilities. Even I have gained two, no, three abilities that defy common sense. Can people who receive such powers really unite, act virtuously, and at the very least, restrain themselves from committing crimes?"
Shadows of fish flowed across the living room floor.
Her voice seeped into the shadows.
For a moment, I was caught in a feeling similar to those careless dives during childhood baths. Her gaze seemed to lower the depth of this place.
"I decided not."
"......"
"If a powerful person appeared and could unite the Awakeners, that would be one thing, but that involves countless trials and time. Until then, Awakeners would form disparate factions, and civilians would be caught in the crossfire and sacrificed without a second thought. Naturally, as humans divide, their ability to handle the gates would diminish."
That was a valid assumption.
Indeed, most nations had followed that process and perished.
Korea was a rare case of prolonged survival.
"Wait."
At that moment, a certain hypothesis flashed through my mind.
I stared into the Saintess's deep black eyes.
Pupils that seemed not to blink even if submerged in water.
"Could it be?"
"......"
She nodded slightly.
"Mr. Undertaker. When do people hesitate to commit evil acts? It's when they think someone is watching."
"The Constellations."
"Yes."
I was stunned.
The Saintess continued.
"People easily violate order if they are confident they can hide or mitigate their crimes. However, if they believe a transcendental being is always watching them, even someone who has awakened would hesitate to commit evil acts."
"My goodness."
"That's why I created the Constellations."
It felt like receiving a series of mental punches.
It was surprising enough that the Saintess of National Salvation who had watched me all this time was a fabrication, but that all of it was born from one person's meticulous planning was utterly shocking.
"But how did you even create the Constellations?"
"It's thanks to my abilities. I can use Clairvoyance and Telepathy."
She outlined her abilities:
1. Clairvoyance: Observe any Awakeners within a radius of 1,000 km at will. Observation may include listening to their voices.
2. Telepathy or text transmission: Can transmit one's voice to any perceived target. Texting is also possible but limited to 140 characters.
Both abilities had endless applications.
I looked at the human before me with new eyes.
If conditions were right, she could lead a guild like Samcheon or Baekhwa, becoming one of Korea's top leaders.
"Remarkable. With abilities like that, you could have taken a more prominent role in organizing the Awakeners."
"I thought about that... But I'm really clumsy when it comes to leading people in person."
"Ah."
"I believe what I did was the best I could do. I'm not sure what will happen in the future... I'll continue as long as I can, as long as I live."
Her words brought back memories from past runs.
Even as the world was on the brink of ending, the Constellations had not stopped sending messages to the Awakeners in Korea. Whether it was 4, 7, or 10 years in any run, the Constellations remained active.
I thought about the hardships the Awakeners before me must have faced to maintain that façade. Many challenges, no doubt. Clairvoyance and Telepathy were great abilities, but they weren't directly helpful in combat. What's more, Yongsan was a frontline area facing a super-large Gate. Many forces would vie for control here in the future.
"How about it, Mr. Regressor?"
This Awakener, who had overcome countless adversities and survived to the very end, now looked at me with eyes swimming with unease and anxiety.
"Did I fulfill my role to the end?"
"......"
I clenched my fist involuntarily, as various thoughts waved over me.
After a brief silence, I answered.
"Yes. Perfectly. Even I, a regressor, was completely deceived."
"......"
"Thanks to you, the crime rate among Awakeners in this country was exceptionally low. It was relatively easy for Awakeners to cooperate and respond to the gates. Your efforts were not in vain."
Although it hadn't prevented the world's ultimate destruction.
Then and now, I never mentioned to the Saintess the hundreds of ways our world could end. At least with the Saintess around, there was no rampant Awakener supremacy, and cults like the New Buddha Cult or the Resurrection Church were relatively rare.
The Saintness took in my answer silently, then finally, she said, "Thank goodness." With a small sigh of relief, she sank back into her chair.
For some reason, that sigh sounded to my ears like a goldfish that had spent a very long time in the depths suddenly coming up to the surface to blow bubbles.
Afterwards, we discussed in detail how we would work together.
I think our relationship was essentially established at that point. From the 36th to the 1183th cycle, the Saintess was almost always a reliable ally who had my back.
"What should I call you? If I call you 'Regressor,' your identity might be revealed, Mr. Undertaker." The Saintess propped her chin in her hand. "Hero?"
I immediately waved my hands. "No, Hero is a bit... Just call me Undertaker."
The title 'Hero' was not just embarrassing but related to a certain psychological disorder, which I preferred to avoid. I'll talk about this strange mental illness later.
"Sure, I'll call you Mr. Undertaker, then."
"Good, I'm glad that works. Just one thing." As we were about to part, I asked, "Isn't it impossible to act as the Constellations with just Clairvoyance and Telepathy? You'd need to observe multiple people simultaneously and send messages. Don't you have another ability?"
"Ah, well..."
The Saintess hesitated, then smiled faintly.
"That… is a secret. I'll tell you later."
Unfortunately, the 'later' the Saintess mentioned did not mean within the timeline of the 36th cycle.
I still needed many more cycles before I could uncover her last secret.
This story has an epilogue.
Starting from my 36th run, forming an alliance with the Saintess immediately upon regression became a standard tech tree, akin to an opening move in Go.
Except for the early stages of a new regression, it had become practically unheard of for the Constellations to send me their ‘innumerable requests for a bad move’ as they used to.
It was during such a day, when I felt slightly regretful about this fact, that a message window popped up before my eyes for the first time in a long while.
[The Administrator of the Cosmic Metagame announces the occurrence of a new event.]
I blinked.
The name of the Constellation was entirely unfamiliar to me.
A cosmic game? Does it mean ‘the one who oversees the gameplay of all things’?
‘The Saintess must have been bored and played a prank.’
Thinking it was quite a rare event, I nonchalantly dismissed the message. After all, the message only appeared once and then disappeared.
A few days later, when I met the Saintess, I brought it up.
I wasn’t particularly curious, just using it as an icebreaker during a strategy meeting.
“Oh, by the way, why did you suddenly impersonate a strange Constellation a few days ago?”
“Pardon?”
“A week ago. You sent a message under the name ‘The Administrator of the Cosmic Metagame’. I was a bit surprised to see you make a mistake. Did you perhaps send a message meant for another awakener to me by accident?”
“…?”
The Saintess tilted her head.
“I never sent such a message.”
“What?”
“I’ve never created a Constellation called ‘The Administrator of the Cosmic Metagame’ in the first place.”
A chilling current ran down my spine.
Whether she knew my state or not, the Saintess’s face remained indifferent. She certainly didn’t appear to be lying.
For some reason, I felt a drop in the surrounding temperature, though it might have been an illusion.
“Are you sure you didn’t just misread it, Undertaker?”
“……”
Suddenly, it felt as if a deep sea had opened beneath my feet, and a gigantic shadow had just brushed past.
…It seemed there were still many unknown mysteries in this world that I had yet to uncover.
Footnotes:
[1] Samcheon literally means “Three Thousand” and Baekwha “A Hundred Flowers”, though they work in Korean, they don’t in English for guild names, so I’m leaving these as romanisations as it feels appropriate knowing they’re both Korean guilds in context.
***
