Side Story Chapter 45   - The Third Zone (5)

Tigris confessed to everything he knew about the stars. If he didn’t, Yeon-woo would most definitely do something to him. Tigris had swallowed the southern arrow and a piece of the sundial, but he knew he could never reach Yeon-woo’s level.

Pride? What use was that if he was dead? Tigris wanted to live, and that was the only thought in his mind. Thus, he spilled every detail he knew to the point of telling his entire life story.

At that point, Yeon-woo silently raised a hand. Tigris quickly shut his mouth and simply moved his eyes around. Thump, thump! Depending on what Yeon-woo did now, the fate of his life would be determined. Sweat dripped down his face.

Unaware of Tigris’ anxiousness, Kronos and Rhea were deep in thought. Then, Kronos asked, “…So the stars or whatever are working together to gather the fragments, is that it?”

Yeon-woo nodded at Kronos’ words. “For now.”

“And you were trying to catch them all, but they kept disappearing into the Unreal World so you couldn't.”

“Yes.”

“…We just finished taking care of that Day and Night business, but something else is amiss now.” Kronos shook his head in exhaustion. But after hearing everything, he was sure of one thing. Yeon-woo was going to get busier now. Kronos’ eyes darkened. “So you’re planning on going to this place called the Unreal World.”

Yeon-woo nodded and glanced next to him. “I have a guide dog to take me there too.”

“…!” Tigris realized what Yeon-woo was talking about and lifted his head with a bright expression. He was relieved he was going to stay alive, but he also paled at the thought of having to be pulled around like this.

* * *

Yeon-woo tied Tigris as he had with Allforone and stuck him in emptiness. Tigris struggled and resisted, but Yeon-woo paid him no mind.

“T-That’s…” Kronos looked into the emptiness without much thought and widened his eyes at what he saw. A face he never thought he’d see again was halfway buried in darkness. It was Allforone, Vivasvat.

Kronos, who had been confined in the Tower because of Allforone, couldn’t help but be surprised. However, he soon nodded in understanding.

Since Yeon-woo visited the Martial King and rewound the small wheel, he must have naturally met with Allforone. Moreover, Kronos and Yeon-woo had already defeated Allforone once, so Kronos’ resentment of Allforone wasn’t as great as it once was. But of course, that didn’t mean he had any reason to pity him either.

“Why did you stick him in there?”

“I had no reason to eliminate it.”

“…That’s true.”

“And Allforone is also the original of a shadow from the twenty-first floor like the Martial King. But he’s managed to maintain his identity without becoming lost once, so I wanted to take a closer look.”

Allforone was definitely too powerful to be a mere shadow. Still, Kronos couldn’t help but feel something was off.

Rhea looked at Allforone with concern. She knew all the bad things he’d done to their family, but her heart went out to him after seeing him tied up. A part of her also wondered what the relative of someone so great as the Heavenly Demon could wish for to make a decision as he had.

“…Hm?” Rhea tilted her head while examining Allforone’s face.

The emptiness swallowed the light that always surrounded Allforone, so his real body was exposed. He looked young, almost babyish. Even younger than Yeon-woo.

Yeon-woo and Kronos turned to Rhea.

“What is it, Mother?”

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“That child…! Wait.” Rhea dug through the documents on a table.

Yeon-woo looked at his mother questioningly, but Kronos’ eyes also widened in realization. Kronos said, “The guy?”

“Yeah. I thought they looked similar…” Rhea subtly nodded. In Rhea’s hand was a document of Son Jae-won’s profile. At the top right was a photo that closely resembled Allforone.

“…Argh.” Just then, Allforone woke up and groaned, slowly lifting his head. His blinking eyes were still unfocused, but that was enough. His face was exactly the same as the picture.

“The last name ‘Son’…?”

Sun Wu-kong, who was one of the Heavenly Demon’s more well-known faces, and got along well with the Heavenly Demon, was also a “Son,” wasn’t he? Kronos could be wrong, but his instincts were telling him he was right. A being of his level had instincts that shouldn’t be disregarded. Suddenly, the face of the Band Wheel’s vocal, which had always been foggy in his memory, cleared up to show Son Ji-ho’s face. It was the Heavenly Demon grinning widely!

“Huh, huuuuuh?” Kronos paled. Just like how Tigris sweated in fear from Yeon-woo, Kronos was in the same position in front of the Heavenly Demon. ‘The Heavenly Demon might be seeing this…!’

It wasn’t strange at all for the Heavenly Demon to make a fuss for not recognizing him. Kronos quickly racked his brain thinking of what he could do. His gaze landed on Allforone, who had regained his consciousness.

“…What do you plan on doing with me?” Allforone’s deep eyes looked at Yeon-woo. His voice was low and emotionless as if he had given up on resisting and was awaiting his sentence.

However, Yeon-woo knew different. The guy was searching for the next opportunity to leave this place. ‘That’s what I would do.’ He and Allforone were different but also similar in more ways than one.

Instead of answering Allforone’s question, he turned to Rhea. “Mother, why were you searching for him?” Yeon-woo had absorbed Allforone in the Tower, so he had some of his memories. He knew Allforone was also from Earth like the Heavenly Demon, and his real name was Son Jae-won.

“He’s the child Chae-young was looking for.”

“That girl earlier?” Yeon-woo felt something click and sent a message to Sesha upstairs.

『Can you bring that girl named Min Chae-young down here?』

『Chae-young? Is something the matter?』

『Not exactly.』

『Uhhhh…』

『What is it? Did something happen?』Yeon-woo felt Sesha was hesitant to bring Min Chae-young down.

『…Well, the thing is, I think Chae-young is uncomfortable around you.』

『I see. It must be because her senses are delicate, so don’t worry about that. I have something to show her.』

『Got it. Okay.』

There was a noise upstairs and Sesha soon brought Min Chae-young to the first floor.

「Huh…?」

“Are you…?”

The slightly scared Min Chae-young and the exhausted Allforone met eyes. The two stood there shocked and speechless.

* * *

Yeon-woo didn’t know exactly how the laws of causality worked, even though he had become the Black King, who was the universe itself. They were laws that his brother managed, so he didn't know exactly the mechanisms behind them.

No, well technically, Yeon-woo did know. But he didn’t know if the results known as “coincidence” or “fate” were natural, or if they were a consequence of someone’s joke. If not that, maybe they really were events that happened with less than a thousandth of a thousandth percent chance. However, Yeon-woo was certain that Cha Jeong-woo probably didn’t know either.

‘Allforone/Son Jae-won and Min Chae-young’s reunion… Can this really simply be coincidence or fate?’ After recalling a part of Son Jae-won’s memory that he’d buried in a deep part of his mind, Yeon-woo belatedly remembered Min Chae-young was a very precious part of it.

Maybe this was the butterfly effect. The godly being, Son Jae-won, subconsciously longed for Min Chae-young, and that had influenced the laws of causality for the star fragment to reach her. Or maybe it was the other way around. Min Chae-young obtained the star fragment, and she had wished to see Son Jae-won, so they had ended up meeting like this through Yeon-woo, who rewound the wheel. Whatever it was, the two were blind to others’ gazes and just stared at each other.

Yeon-woo let Allforone free from all the binds he was in. He had already retrieved most of Allforone’s power anyway, and he had a strong feeling Allforone wouldn’t create a scene in front of Min Chae-young. Even if he was wrong, he was confident he could easily take care of it.

Yeon-woo, Kronos, Rhea, and Sesha left so the two could have some time to themselves.

“Huh…! That inhumane bastard in love?” Kronos snorted in disbelief. The Allforone he remembered was a sage who’d lost all humanity and only sought justice. ‘Sage is just a nice way of putting it. He was practically a robot of justice. Ugh.’

It was strange seeing such a guy showing a humane side. But with this, Kronos could no longer resent Allforone. The way Allforone had been reunited with his old lover, and the longing for his lover that death couldn’t rid him of…reminded Kronos of how he’d been born again hundreds and thousands of times for the chance to see Rhea just once more, as well of how Rhea decided to leave the heavenly world for him.

Rhea looked adoringly at Min Chae-young, who was crying tears of happiness and nodded.

“I will rewind the wheel now.” Yeon-woo gripped the air. Time was of no matter to them, so they could arrange a meeting for the wedding once both sides were prepared.

Clank!

[Will you rewind the wheel?]

Creak! The wheel began to spin.

“But can I really go?” Sesha carefully asked. Her departure was decided rather suddenly.

Rhea smiled warmly and stroked her granddaughter’s head. “You said you wanted to see Edora unnie, didn’t you?”

“She’s not unnie anymore, she’s my aunt! Heehee. Yes. I really do want to see her again.”

As Sesha had told Min Chae-young, Edora had stayed with Sesha as a good memory. She was pretty, kind, and confident. If someone asked Sesha who she wanted to be like, she would immediately state Edora as her role model.

While the scenery around them rapidly changed, Yeon-woo suddenly remembered something and spoke up. “…If you happen to see something strange upon arriving at the village, don’t be too surprised.”

“Something strange? It takes a lot to surprise me. You know, you tend to underestimate the lives your mom and dad have lived.” Kronos had experienced all kinds of things during his long life. He spoke with assurance, but Yeon-woo still looked unsure. Then, when the wheel was done spinning, Kronos understood why Yeon-woo had been concerned.

“Huh…? What’s that…?”

Rhea and Sesha also widened their eyes in surprise. In the middle of the One-horned tribe’s village was a statue of Yeon-woo and Edora.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The three were speechless for a while.