>! Yu Jung-Hyeok, going slowly deaf, muttered softly. A faint crease spread over the old man Yu Jung-Hyeok’s expression. I pretended to not see that and spoke.
[I can send you back. However, if that happens, I won’t be able to help you from the next turn onwards.]
The only way to make him reject the offer was to tell him the truth.
[You’ll have to use nothing but your own powers to break past the scenarios. Those scenarios will be far worse than you can ever imagine, and… And, you might end up encountering something you didn’t want to at the conclusion you’d eventually reach.]
I thought back to Yu Jung-Hyeok. I thought back to the sorrows of the 3rd turn, the anguish of the 4th, and the despair of the ‘Secretive Plotter’.
[And if you do choose ‘regression’, then… You will lose the majority of your memories as you cross over.]
Those words caused the soft sounds of Yu Jung-Hyeok sucking in his breath to come out. No matter how resolute his determination might be, this one should be a hard pill to swallow.
[Only the tiniest fragmented memories from the scenarios will remain in you.]
“….”
[Meaning, everything precious to you will disappear. Yi Seol-Hwa you remember, Yi Hyeon-Seong, Yi Ji-Hye, all of them will….]
“Just because I will forget about them, that doesn’t mean they’ll suddenly stop existing.”
I shut my mouth then.
“They definitely continue to live in this world.”
⸢They definitely continue to live in this world.⸥
Like branding a seal, those words slammed into a part of my head and invaded deep inside.
It felt as if a gigantic hand of fate was pouncing upon me.
⸢At that moment, Kim Dok-Ja realised that this was the true completion of the 0th turn.⸥
The reason why there was no trace of the ‘Most Ancient Dream’ in the 0th turn. The reason why, despite that fact, Yu Jung-Hyeok still managed to cross over to the first and then, to the second regression turns. Maybe it was….
[….You dumb bastard.]
I gathered my hands and used the power to manipulate the dream gathered in me.
The storm of Probability’s aftermath crashing in caused my whole arm to scream in pain as if it was getting twisted and torn off from my body. I recalled all of Yu Jung-Hyeok’s regression turns that I knew. I gathered all the lives he had led, as well as the Fables I knew, and created a certain Stigma.
A Stigma that acted as the motive power of this world, as well as the source of all of Yu Jung-Hyeok’s tragedies.
[Stigma, ‘Regression’, has been generated!]
[Your Stigma has been transferred to your Incarnation!]
Looking satisfied, Yu Jung-Hyeok accepted the Stigma.
[Stigma, ‘Regression Lv.1’, is getting ready to activate.]
“You said earlier that I’ll lose my memories.”
[….I did.]
“Will I lose everything related to you, too?”
I hesitated with my answer. Yu Jung-Hyeok asked me again.
“Even all that convenient information you told me, too?”
[….Yes.]
“I see.”
[If you regret it, then it’s not too late to….]
“You also said you won’t help me from the next regression turn onwards.”
[I can’t help you.]
“It’s fine to help, however.”
[Even if I want to, I can’t.]
“I heard that the scenarios exist not just for the Incarnations, but Constellations, as well. Maybe, it was the same story for you.”
[…..]
“Tell me, you fool. If I continue to regress, will I ever get to meet you again?”
I couldn’t say anything. These were utterances of someone who didn’t know anything. In every sense of the word, he was the 0th turn’s dumbass continuously babbling on while having no clue about his own future.
Along with the words that hadn’t been said yet, Yu Jung-Hyeok’s ears began disappearing.
⸢The night sky was reflected in Yu Jung-Hyeok’s eyes.⸥
As if he was a child wondering about his origins, Yu Jung-Hyeok estimated where in the sky the [Wall] might be and extended his hand towards it.
He’d become the ‘Secretive Plotter’ someday, and…
….And at the same time, also become the 1864th turn’s Yu Jung-Hyeok that I knew.
He’d grow to resent me, and eventually reach the truth of this world.
[Stigma, ‘Regression Lv.1’, is activating!]
[You have agreed to the activation of the Stigma.]
Yu Jung-Hyeok’s body began scattering away little by little. His arms, his legs, and then, his torso, too.
During the final moments, he called out to me.
“Demon King of Salvation.”
With a truly strange and mystifying expression…
“I shall pray that you may continue to exist somewhere, too.”
….Yu Jung-Hyeok’s Incarnation body scattered into silvery powder and he left this world-line.
[The influence of the applicable world-line’s ‘Overwrite’ function does not extend towards the character ‘Yu Jung-Hyeok’s’ next regression turn.]
[Your Incarnation has forgotten your Modifier.]
[Your Incarnation has forgotten all memories related to you.]
[All information related to you are now marked as ‘???’]
All of his memories that couldn’t be recorded anywhere would now be lost forever.
In that case, where would all those memories go?
I stared at the flickering light for a very long time.