The Story of Another World (1), The Story of Another World (2) and The Story of Another World (3)
Then, Shiina looked at Hyun with a bit of envy.
“You did a good job saving me. After all, you seem to be a special soul than me.”
“Aren’t blessings bestowed upon just anyone?”
“Say it for granted! It’s the first time I’ve seen it today too. In the first place… The blessed ones must have arrived at the end of the world a long time ago.”
“ah… .”
There was no hint of jealousy or envy in Shiina’s eyes when she said that.
Rather, he congratulated Hyeon on receiving the blessing as if it were his own work.
Hyun was a little curious about Shiina.
She’s thousands of years old. Maybe she had longed for blessings for a much longer time than that, but how could she look like that?
“sorry.”
“huh? what?”
“… .”
Hyun, who was silent for a while at her question, opened his mouth again after a while.
“… I’m a bit tired. I think I should go for today.”
<Fatigue: 98>
Hyun stood on top of the magic circle.
I had just recorded a save point, but I wanted to record a few seconds later.
Confirming that the message is being printed out again, he bids farewell to Shiina.
Will her time stand still until we meet again? Still, it would be nice to say hello.
「?」
“See you later.”
Pod!
At the same time that Hyeon’s vision darkened, the figure of Shiina, who had been tilting her head, became blurry in an instant.
[Closing the connection!]
[The final awakening quest has been paused!]
[The effect of the Prayer’s Priest’s Uniform upon death has halved the penalty!]
[Unable to access for 24 hours!]
(Until the penalty is lifted: 20 hours 41 minutes)
***
after 48 hours.
Mina turned on the capsule with trembling hands and connected to Assrian.
I don’t even want to think about what happened two days ago.
The day I reported the death, thinking about the reaction of my boss still made my hamstrings tingle.
“Whoa, what should I do?”
After loading, Mina thought about what to do.
First, you need to report your access to the company.
Next, you have to send a recording that summarizes the cause of death… .
After that, you’ll have to deal with the screams of your boss’s son, which may last for hours.
[Start Asrian!]
[The death penalty has ended!]
[Choose a respawn location!]
[Yupia Island Coastal Village (Recently Visited) / City Ganeus (Private Room)]
‘Ganeus… .’
Mina sighed and chose a private room in a city other than Ufia Island.
With this death, the exploration mission given to Mina was taken away.
That was the reason why he did not resurrect in the coastal village.
Thinking of having to collect points while looking for chores in the border city, Mina’s mind was already confused.
Immediately after being summoned to the portal where the company’s private room is located.
Mina found a sparkling message in front of her eyes.
‘huh?’
[There is 1 unconfirmed mail!]
A question appeared on Mina’s face.
who sent it? Company work is checked through a dedicated messenger, so there is no way to receive personal mail… .
<Sender: (hidden)>
Even the sender could not be identified.
‘Is this an advertisement? no. It’s an advertisement, but there’s no way there’s an item attached… .’
Mina, who had been making various inferences, moved all the items attached to the mail to her inventory with the intention of checking it out for now.
She didn’t know it at the time, but this moment was the biggest turning point in her life.
“… ?”
Mina looked at the items moved to the inventory with blurry eyes.
It was because it was full of things that he shouldn’t have.
After staring blankly at it for a long time, Mina came to her senses after about 30 seconds.
‘Hey, arrange them in order of rarity!’
As if possessed by something, Mina displayed the detailed information of the first item on the list.
[Luminous Magic Stone (Level 14)]
– A blue magic stone that emits light on its own.
-Used as a material for crafting and processing items.
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– The luminescence phenomenon was especially emphasized through the asymmetry of mana.
“This is what I made… !”
Realizing the identity of the item at a glance, she hurriedly opened the mailbox again.
The letter I received without thinking was accompanied by a message from the sender.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise to protect you. I said that if I die, I will take responsibility… . I don’t know if this will be enough. You seem to really like magic stone processing, so I prepared enough practice materials. Oh, I also sent the jewelry I made then, so check it out. I bought a new magic tool to use as a flashlight, but the luminescent magic stone is no longer useful.”
The letter continued after that for quite a long time.
Eventually, after reading all the letters, Mina’s mind was filled with curiosity, not surprise and joy, about the magic stones of great value that suddenly fell from the sky.
A man wearing a hood. The young guild leader!
What is identity?
Since Hyun intentionally hid his identity, Mina, who already had a shallow knowledge of Asrian, had no way to know.
after a long time
As expected by Hyun, Mina’s talent, which had been dreaming alone after leaving the company, was in full bloom.
The last link in their relationship was connected one day when Mina made a name for herself as the best jewelry designer.
‘It was him!’
Mina saw Hyun appearing in the magazine and clapped her hands.
‘really… really?!’
What he experienced in the cave and dungeon was an unforgettable memory.
Rather, it is a memory that becomes clearer as time goes by.
The reason why I was able to recognize Hyun’s perfectly disguised face was probably because the memory of that day was so impressive.
‘I met Hyun… ?’
Even with her main job as a jewelry designer, Mina has always longed for ‘adventure’.
Maybe from the day I met that guy.
Yes, even though he achieved his dream of becoming a jewelry designer, sometimes he felt an unknown frustration in his heart.
It was because a great temptation was wriggling in his heart.
I want to see you again.
If I become a ranker even now, let’s go on the same adventure together… !
“Whoop whoop… .”
Mina, who let her imagination run wild for a while, giggled to herself.
The two crossroads have already gone too far.
It will be really rare that his path and the path he has chosen will collide in the future.
‘Well, life isn’t bad right now.’
Mina decided to be content with reality.
‘Maybe it’s because I met him?’
The only moment I felt like fate had come.
If I were given a second life… At that time, I don’t think it would be bad to become an Assrian ranker.
‘Ah, then am I supposed to go beyond Ain? Umm… .’
When I thought about it, it didn’t seem like the road would ever be easy.
However, even if you fail, that path will be an attractive life that you want to follow at least once.
***
“Turn it off… . I think I slept for a very long time.”
Ain muttered as he stretched on the sofa.
Seohyun, who happened to be nearby, checked the time.
5 minutes left until connection is possible.
The reason why the death penalty was almost over even after only one day had passed was because of the following effects of Hyun’s equipment, the ‘priest’s robe of the one who prays’.
[Care of the transcendent]
<Prayer unlocked at Lv.6!>
– Enters invulnerability for 3 seconds when taking fatal damage. (Cooldown time: 24 hours)
– The time it takes to respawn after death is reduced by half.
– The effect is also applied to opponents who used ‘Assimilate’.
Hyun did not expect that Ain’s resurrection time would be shortened together.
This is because he hadn’t died so far, so he didn’t know the exact effect of ‘Care of the Transcendant’.
The effect is also applied to the opponent who used fairy tale.
That meant they shared all the effects listed in the tooltip, including 3 second invincibility.
“How many hours did you sleep? 20 hours… ?”
“It wasn’t just me who kept doing it. I’ll sleep in my room, then I’ll sleep in the living room again.”
Ain insisted that he slept longer than usual so that his lifestyle wouldn’t go out of order, but Seohyun’s doubts were not erased.
For some reason, it felt like Ajin would be able to sleep all day regardless of 48 hours.
“Hyeon, log in first, I’ll wash up and come out!”
“Phew, wake up soon.”
Knowing that it takes a lot of time for Ain to wash herself, Seohyun burst into laughter.
No, come to think of it, since I don’t need Ain’s help right now, I don’t think it matters much?
Maybe I should act separately from Ain for the time being.
[Connect to Assrian!]
[Choose a respawn location!]
[Eastern Village of Ufia Island (Recently Visited) / City of Vigilance (Private Room)]
‘Ufia Island.’
Hyun appeared in a small village by the sandy beach.
Tring! As soon as he logged in, the cheerful sound of the alarm rang in Hyun’s ears.
[You have obtained the quest item!]
‘huh? item?’
Hyun immediately opened his inventory.
At the top of the inventory, there were items not seen in the recently acquired list.
‘what.’
[A hand mirror that kills you when you look at it]
-Looking into the mirror for more than 10 seconds will kill you.
-This effect only applies to the owner of the mirror.
‘When did I get this?’
The inventory did not open in the Nether.
And I had never seen anything like this before I died.
In other words, it was highly likely that this was an object that spontaneously appeared immediately after death.
‘I don’t even know the purpose of the item in the first place. laugh… !’
Hyun, who looked at the mirror without thinking as he read the description of the item, put the mirror away in a terrifying moment.
He only looked at it for about two seconds, because his neck slowly began to bend backwards.
Surprised, I quickly put the hand mirror into my inventory, and nothing more hideous happened.
A hand mirror that kills when you look at it.
According to the name, he was about to die.
‘This mirror. Is it a quest activation item?!’
It wasn’t difficult to guess how to use it.
This is probably the thing that drags human souls to the Nether.
<Final Awakening Quest: Transcendence>
The list that still did not disappear from the quest window was adding to the certainty of the assumption.
The fact that I had to go back to the Nether to finish the quest.
‘I get it roughly.’
Hyun immediately grasped the situation going back.
Some quests had devices to help reduce cumbersome repetition.
This hand mirror is also a quest item of that kind.
Going down to the 13th floor of the haunted dungeon every time you challenge a quest is quite cumbersome, so it probably means to end your life with this mirror instead.
The moment you die, the quest will start again from the save point.
You can go to the Nether anytime, anywhere.
It was good news for the prefecture, which no longer needed to be tied to Yufia Island.
‘Should I do this quest alone?’
However, there were still unresolved issues.
First, it is difficult to expect help from Ain.
When the doorknob on the 13th floor was pulled, Ain’s soul disappeared without a trace, mingled with the purple torrent.
If he looked in the mirror while assimilating, there was a high possibility that only Ain would die meaninglessly like that time.
Also, I knew without even trying that the ‘Heavenly Coupling’ wouldn’t work in the Nether.
After all, this quest means you have to go through it alone.
‘And it’s not a quest that I can do at any time.’
The second was a more fundamental problem.
The place where the quest takes place is the Nether. A world where you can only go to death.
Every time you look in the mirror, you must incur a 24-hour access penalty.
‘At least I should finish it when I’m free.’
Hyun knows that the main quest comes without notice.
At that time, the 24-hour access penalty will be fatal!
Neither the celestials nor the human nations showed much movement, so it was at least a leisurely time.
It is clear that the final awakening will consume a lot of time, so Hyun decided to use this opportunity to proceed with the quest as much as possible.
“Hyun, I’ll log in now!”
Ain’s message came from outside the capsule when Hyun finished the rough plan.
Hyun checked the time and tilted his head.
“Did you wash everything already? It hasn’t even been 20 minutes.”
“I didn’t dry myself!”
“what… ?”
“Come to think of it, my capsule has a built-in drying function.”
momentary silence.
After that, Ain’s smirk was heard.
“Of course, I brought clothes… Hyun, what did you think just now~?”
“… no. than that.”
Hyun, who was about to be stopped by Ain’s pace for a moment, quickly conveyed the matter.
“If you’re going to revive, do it in the border city. Summon me from there.”
“huh? What about Ufia Island?”
“It’s like I don’t need to be on this island anymore.”
With Ain’s help, Hyun was able to return to the City of Vigilance.
First of all, I checked the inventory again.
A hand mirror that kills when you look at it.
“… … .”
Hyun gently touched the mirror and put it in his inventory.
It’s not yet time to start the quest.
It takes one life to enter the nether once.
In order to make the most of the cost of 24 hours, they had to be fully prepared before the quest started.
“Ain. I think we will have to work separately for a few days.”
“few days?”
“that… I don’t know either. It may take longer than planned.”
Mmm. Ain looked up into the sky and smiled as usual.
“Okay, turn on the broadcast instead!”
“Are you doing nothing else and just looking at me?”
“You can watch the broadcast while doing other things.”
Hyeon laughed at Ain’s answer and nodded.
If concentration is dispersed, the efficiency of hunting, etc. should drop a little, but Ain’s play would be far from efficient in the first place.
A few hours later after talking with Ain roughly like that.
Seohyun was checking the capsule.
A super-expensive capsule worth about 80 million won. At the time of purchase, it was activating all kinds of miscellaneous features that I thought I would never use in my life.
Automatic cleaning, ventilation, hydration and nutrition, muscle stimulation… . etc.
‘I thought I’d have something to use this function for.’
During a quest, you cannot terminate your connection or switch to a resting state.
Even so, once you enter the quest, you cannot do anything else for 24 hours. It can be compared to a so-called march.
‘Should I stay in the capsule as long as possible?’
The death penalty is counted from the moment you die, so you don’t have to fill 24 hours.
However, being unable to eat or go to the bathroom for over 10 hours was a huge ordeal for Seohyun.
Besides, it’s highly likely that it won’t end once.
Since this cycle of life could last for several days, Seohyun was fully prepared in advance.
‘Okay, at this point, the settings are complete.’
After connecting to Assrian.
Hyun sat on the sofa in the private room and stared at the hand mirror.
On the other side of the mirror, a guy who looked just like him was smiling, showing his teeth.
Soon after, the boy’s neck slowly began to turn.
Wooddeuk.
[died!]
In an instant, my vision darkened.
There was no pain at all.
If the death message hadn’t come to mind, I wouldn’t have realized that I was dead.
and after a while
Hyun faced a world filled with a subtle purple mist.
I still haven’t fully gotten used to this landscape with blurry outlines.
‘As expected, this is where it starts.’
I looked at the magic circle drawn under my feet and nodded.
save point.
The stopped time started to flow again in the same place, in the same place.
Hyeon, who discovered Shiina, a white-eyed ghost without feet, secretly greeted her.
It’s been almost a day since I saw her again.
“Did you wait?”
Shii?
Shiina tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.
Hyun, who hesitated for a moment, was able to intuit an important fact.
While he spent time in Asrian in real life, time here was completely frozen.
In other words, from Shiina’s point of view, it would be the same as asking if she had waited again after saying goodbye.
“Did the word wait have any other meaning?”
“no… Nothing.”
Hyun swallowed his words behind his back.
Shiina called the save point a ‘blessing’ and envied herself for being able to use it.
But she is destined to never be able to use this magic circle.
There’s no need to explain to Shiina what she doesn’t need.
“Let’s start again. They say you’ll be cursed if you stay still.”
「Shii! Then follow me. I will guide you to the next path.”
Together with Shiina, the two started descending to the unknown end of the world.
***
Hyeon and Shiina roamed the various regions of the Nether.
After passing through the mushroom tree forest, I left my body to the fast flow of the triangular valley and moved.
And now he was crossing a wide lake.
Stepping on the countless lotus leaves on the surface of the lake like a stepping stone.
“Why aren’t you flying?”
Hyun asked a question that suddenly came to mind.
It was because even though Shiina could fly, she didn’t seem to have any intention of flying.
Do you get tired from flying for a long time?
From what she said, it didn’t seem like that was the reason.
“It is dangerous to fly high. There are monsters hiding their presence above us.”
“monster… ?”
Hyun raised his head.
I caught a glimpse of a whitish figure high up in the distance.
Something resembling a giant bird. Shiina said it was a monster that feeds on souls.
“Because I don’t want to be eaten, I can’t fly away.”
“Is it safe to walk?”
“Yes. The natural enemies of the monsters upstairs are the monsters downstairs.”
Shiina pointed to the lotus leaf under her feet and said.
“This footstool. It’s no ordinary leaf. It’s a monster named Ross Frangui. Monsters that come this far will be eaten by monsters stronger than themselves!”
“what?!”
Hyeon was startled and killed his steps.
Doesn’t that mean they’ve been stepping on scarier guys all along?
Seeing Hyun react like that, Shiina giggled.
“are you okay. are you okay. Strong monsters won’t care about weak ones like us. As long as you don’t jump up and down.”
“This is a monster… .’
The nether was full of unimaginable things.
Shiina answered various questions from the prefecture.
「Do monsters have souls? hmm… Some are there, some are not.”
As she explained, the upper monsters had souls, while the lower lotus leaf monsters were soulless shells.
“Ahaha, but we’re the only ones as special as us.”
“Because you can talk?”
“Yes, yes!”
Half a day passed quickly.
While traveling with Shiina, there was no need to fight anything, and there was no risk of falling into a trap.
I just walk somewhere, run, sometimes just fly.
As a result, Hyun felt as if he was traveling endlessly to unknown places.
[Records the memory of the soul!]
It was already the 5th time I found the save point.
Even then, there was no sign of reaching the destination.
“How long do we have to get to the end of the world?”
「Um. I’ve never been there before. But if it’s the lowest area I’ve ever been to… 」
Shiina, who had been fingering herself, continued talking after a while.
“About ten times as many as now? You will have to go further than that.”
“Ten times… ?”
“What are you so surprised about? This is also the fastest way.”
“… You mean you have to go five full days from now.”
“5 days? How much is that? Is it longer than a year?」
“Not quite like that, but… It’s not short.”
Even the place that takes five days is said to be the deepest place Shiina can go.
They said we had to go a little further to reach our true destination, the End of the Nether.
‘This quest might take longer than expected.’
Hyun cleared his mind.
Long or short, as long as you have already started, there is no option to give up.
Just like learning ultimate skills and changing jobs, the final awakening quest is a quest that must be encountered someday.
Yes, I’m glad I did this quest when I was very free.
If you enjoy this feeling of traveling, one day you will arrive at the end of the nether world.
“Well, let’s just relax.”
“Shii, take it easy. That’s not bad either. It’s just the right time.”
“huh?”
“This is the only place where you don’t have to worry about the curse of indolence.”
While passing over the lotus leaves.
Shiina tore off one of the stems that were tangled up around her.
Is it okay to do something like that just because you’re a monster, not a plant?
Shiina, noticing Hyun’s concern, smiled leisurely.
“The one I just opened was the one that stopped moving a long time ago, so it’s okay.”
“Ah, was he dead?”
“Dead… ? I don’t know what that means, but there’s nothing wrong with us.”
The two sat on a lotus leaf.
The torn off leaves gradually began to swim in the lake, away from the crowd.
No, Hyun quickly realized that this place was not a lake.
It was because the calm water was speeding up as time went on.
“Shii, you’ve entered the ‘loop’.”
“ring? what is that?”
“It’s a huge current circulating the world.”
Even without asking, Shiina started explaining herself.
Here’s what Hyun found out.
A ring is like a lazy river that goes around the Nether.
It is said that if you entrust your body to the ring, it will return to its original point one day even if you are still.
In the meantime, the number of areas passing through is a whopping 3517!
“Because the area keeps changing, you will never be cursed here. How about a relaxing place?」
It is said that Shiina also came to Gori when she was too tired.
I lay there until I couldn’t think of anything else.
“Shiyi, I’ve been floating around here for a very long time too.”
“why?”
“I don’t know, I forgot why.”
“… .”
“I think I wanted to forget something… . Maybe that’s why you don’t remember?”
The size of the leaves was wide enough for about five people to lie down on.
I have to follow the ring for the next five hours or so.
He could have gone to sleep, but Hyun chose to talk to Shiina instead.
At first, it was intended to gather information, but later, various stories were shared without any particular purpose.
It took several hours to pass through numerous districts on the leisurely flowing lotus leaf.
‘that’s interesting.’
Hyun quietly listened to Shiina’s voice and thought.
Her voice, which I thought resembled Ain, actually had many differences.
He was more husky than Ain, but calmly settled down.
“What is your true identity?”
「Shiyi. That would be hard to answer. I don’t even know who I am.”
“You don’t even remember where you came from?”
“He must have been here from the beginning.”
Hyun looked at Shiina’s face.
Even though he doesn’t have eyes, he seems to be able to see his expression for some reason.
Is it because of the mood?
It was the first time I had experienced it after starting Asrian to feel so special about being so far removed from human beings.
“you. It must be 1.5 generations.”
Hyeonu let out a thought that suddenly came to him.
“Generation 1.5… ? I don’t know what that means. I think I forgot too many words when I went round the ring before.”
“It means you are special.”
「Shii, of course it must be special! Because I can talk to you!”
“no. Maybe even more special than you think.”
The atmosphere that emanated from her was something that even ordinary NPCs and celestials could not feel.
Yes, Shiina had a rich expression similar to Louise’s.
It is definitely the best among 1.5th generation artificial intelligence.
Even though it looked ordinary, it was clear that it was playing an important role in the worldview.
‘What is identity… .’
Hyun stared at Shiina, who kept wandering around.
Noticing that gaze, Shiina smiled awkwardly.
“Aha, did I bother you? Sorry, I end up smelling you without even realizing it.”
“smell? That one?”
“Yes. The smell at the end of the world is special.”
“I can’t feel it.”
Do ghosts have a good sense of smell?
“I don’t mind taking it in moderation, but don’t stick too close.”
“Shii, why?”
“Because someone might be watching this scene.”
Hyun recalled Ain and moved his gaze into the air.
His appearance must have been shared with Ain as well.
Ain wouldn’t be jealous of a guy who wasn’t even a human, let alone a user, right?
Still, just in case Hyun restrained Shiina from digging into her arms.
“Then can’t we go closer?”
“It’s okay to have contact between friends, but no more than that.”
“Shii?”
Shiina raised her gaze and blinked quietly.
It’s like trying to remember something you’ve forgotten.
“The word friend… I just remembered what you meant.”
“hmm?”
「An existence that can talk together… . Did you mean that?」
“It’s a little different, but it’s not completely wrong.”
Shii, Shii!
Shiina, who was excited about recalling the memories submerged in her unconscious, soon put on a vague expression.
The pupilless eyelid blinked several times.
Hyun, who was watching from the sidelines, could feel her mood suddenly change.
“what’s the matter… ?”
“Shiii, I suddenly feel strange… . I feel like my soul is melting It’s not like I’m cursed.”
Shiina lay down on the soft leaves.
Because they had been flying since they met, Hyeon was the first to know that she could lie down too.
“… are you okay?”
When Shiina’s wind noise subsided a little, Hyun asked softly.
“Yes. I’m fine. what was it This feeling… . I think something might come to mind.”
Shiina thought deeply with her head covered.
Hyeon watched her silently, then suddenly opened his mouth.
“don’t mind.”
「Shiyiyi… .”
“You said you tried to forget your memories in the past, so there’s nothing good about remembering them.”
And immediately changed the topic.
“Rather than that, how long do I have to follow the ring?”
Simultaneously with that question, Shiina looked around and jumped up.
“Oops, I went a little too far.”
“Is it too much? uh, how… ?”
“I didn’t miss too much. It will be soon as we fly again.”
Shiina grabbed the string with both arms and flew up.
“Look, it’s near the big rock you see over there. Are you close?」
after about 1 minute.
The strings flew off in Shiina’s arms and landed where she pointed.
It was a place where calm waves crashed under huge rocks.
The coastal cave revealed by the gap under the rock is the road that goes down to the next section.
“The water just went down.”
“ebb?”
“Right, low tide. If it is not this time, we will not be able to pass through here.”
All souls must constantly wander the Nether to escape the curse.
It is impossible to wait in place. It is also forbidden to return to the area where you have been for a long time.
If the timing hadn’t been right, the two would have had to wander farther to find a new descent.
“I was lucky. The other road goes around five times more.”
“that… I’m so glad.”
At Shiina’s words, Hyeon smiled and wiped his chest.
Are you telling me such an important fact now?
No matter how laid-back it was, it would have been fatal to take up five times as much time.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter because the results are good.’
Hyun decided not to ask Shiina.
I felt like I had never played a game while enjoying such a relaxed mind.
If I were my usual self, I would have just tried to clear the quest efficiently.
Why? I didn’t feel that way now.
Rather, it was a prefecture that looked forward to what kind of new scenery Shiina would show in the future.
***
Time flew by.
After meeting Shiina, Hyun spent all his time with her.
In fact, the death penalty doesn’t really matter as long as you can play 15+ hours straight every day.
This was because the access restriction time was applied from the point of facing the ‘mirror that kills when you look at it’.
In the meantime, Hyun enjoyed the adventure with Shiina.
Sometimes he even forgets that he’s playing Assrian.
This world was full of mysterious and thrilling things, enough to make me regret not being able to be with Ain.
‘Is it arriving soon?’
And today is the 5th day.
If Shiina had predicted, she would be able to reach the deepest point she could go today.
Not the end of the world, but a place very close to it.
「Shii, the deeper you go, the stronger the smell. Can you feel it?」
Shiina often asked Hyun as if hoping for an answer.
“sorry. I don’t know.”
「Shii, still?! Is it because it is your own smell that you are unaware of it?”
“No, it must be because my sense of smell isn’t as good as yours.”
Hyun went downstairs while chatting with Shiina.
end zone.
As if announcing that the end of the world was approaching, the surrounding environment began to change.
First of all, the purple aura became noticeably thicker.
It was a phenomenon that occurred when the fog that covered the world when he first entered the Nether was thick.
The further they went, the more difficult it was to distinguish between objects, so Hyeon followed closely behind Shiina.
‘huh?’
It was at that moment that the incident occurred.
Like ripples in a calm lake, the incident came suddenly.
No, maybe it was just that he hadn’t been aware of an incident that had happened a long time ago.
“Hey you… .”
Hyun held his breath as he watched Shiina go ahead.
I thought I might have misunderstood because of the fog.
A girl who resembles a human very much, except for the lack of pupils and lower body.
Her form was slowly melting like chocolate touched by low heat.
“Boo… ah… .”
Hyun’s heart sank at Shiina’s moan.
“What happened?!”
“under… right… .”
“Shina!”
No matter how much I called, she couldn’t come to her senses.
I couldn’t walk anymore and I just collapsed in place.
Am I cursed?!
The curse of indolence is said to eat souls that stay in one place for too long.
If this was caused by a curse, they had to move her to another area as soon as possible.
‘My hands are slippery, so I can’t hold them well… !’
Hyun immediately picked her up and ran.
Holding on to Shiina, who continued to melt, was a difficult yet unpleasant sensation.
If she squeezed too hard, her fingers would dig into her body.
However, the present Hyun did not even recognize such displeasure.
It was because the psychological impact was greater than the physical stimulation.
“… Did I just fall down?」
Shiina’s mouth opened while she was being carried from Hyun’s arms.
“Are you out of your mind?!”
“iced coffee… You looked miserable.”
“Wait a minute, because we are moving to another area!”
“Shiyi… It’s no use. It’s not because of the curse… .”
Shiina explained slowly.
With a calm tone, as if he knew this would happen from the beginning.
“My body can’t stand the energy of the terminal area… . I really like the smell.”
“I said I couldn’t stand it… ?”
Nodding Shiina quietly nodded.
Hyeon couldn’t open his mouth easily in shock.
Originally like this Then you can’t reach the end of the world in the first place.
Did this guy come all this way with himself even though he knew everything?
“Then what were you thinking!”
“Because you don’t look like anything… I thought it would be okay if we went down together… It doesn’t seem to work either.”
“Why, only one… ?”
“I don’t know… I don’t remember anything from the past.”
As I ran, the background around me suddenly changed.
Before he knew it, Hyun was climbing the steps of a temple full of torches on either side.
At the same time as the first step, the area is higher than before.
It is a place where there is no curse, and the purple fog has faded.
“It won’t stop melting. How far do you have to go… !”
However, no matter how much she ran, Shiina’s condition showed no signs of improving.
It only slowed down, but the melting of the form never stopped.
“It’s already too late. To completely free yourself from the effects of the extremity zone… You will have to go up for half a day more.”
“… !”
The word half-day was a word I learned from Hyun not too long ago.
“You too… You are more special than me.”
Shiina looked up and smiled faintly.
At that moment, Hyun opened his mouth in a clear voice as if he remembered something.
“Follow me from now on.”
“Yes… ?”
“Accept that message right now!”
Tring!
[Player ‘Hyun’ wants to rule your soul!]
[Do you want to accept? Y/N]
Shii? While Shiina questioned her, she silently nodded her head.
Even if I didn’t know the meaning of the word message, I could understand his intention.
[Contract completed!]
‘Fairytale!’
Pod! The effect of light scattering from Hyun’s body exploded.
Evidence that assimilation was normally triggered.
Even so, the string bounced out without entering Shiina’s body.
‘this… !’
In fact, it was expected to some degree.
Assimilation is the art of putting two souls into one body.
The skill to merge souls does not exist for oneself.
However, at that moment.
“ah… !”
Shiina’s eyes suddenly widened.
Then, as if struck by lightning, his body shook.
It was because the moment the two souls collided, a very old memory stirred in her unconscious.
***
A long time ago, there was a nameless soul.
All souls roam this world and the nether world, but she was an exception.
Because she was essentially different from normal souls.
<Your master will arrive soon, so you follow his orders>>
The soul knew that it was an attendant.
That’s why I waited and waited for the owner to arrive someday.
Even after nearly aeons of time passed, I never felt bored.
Only knowledge exists inside her, and the emotions given to all souls have never been learned.
When two thousand years passed, the door to the world opened for the first time.
“Shii, please give me your order.”
The soul immediately greeted the owner, but the answer that came back was completely wrong.
“I am not your master.”
“… ?”
“Rather than that, where are you? I was at the temple until just now, but it suddenly flew to an unknown place.”
I only muttered words that my soul couldn’t understand.
At this point, she too could understand that the man in front of her was not the owner.
According to the ‘knowledge’ he knew, he should have been able to recognize the owner at a glance, but the boy didn’t feel anything.
Shii- Shii- When he was confused by the appearance of a foreign being, he asked.
“Is he a strange-looking guy? what’s your name?”
“Shiyi… ?”
“Um, it’s difficult to call you if you don’t have a name. Shii-shii street, so can I call you Shiina?”
The boy’s name is Etna.
He introduced himself as a priest apprentice.
It is said that he caused trouble in the temple and was dragged into a magic circle.
“Where is this?”
Etna did not even realize that she was dead.
It was only when the boy had passed enough time to become an adult that he realized the situation he was in.
Even then, the appearance remained the same as a boy.
Etna was furious when she realized her own death.
After that, I despaired and lost even the will to move.
And after a very long time.
Etna had a pessimistic view of her own destiny and began to wander around the world with Shiina.
It was also at this time that Shiina understood the word ‘friend’.
5 years… 10 years… 15 years.
As time passed, new colors began to be added to Shiina’s emotions, which were as white as a sheet of paper.
“I wish I could meet you in the outside world. Ah, what is outside… .”
“know. Is it the world before death?”
“that’s right! You remember!”
Etna often told Shiina stories of unknown worlds.
Each time, a seed of curiosity blossomed inside Shiina, and the sprout that grew gradually turned into admiration.
“The outside world, can I go there too?”
“There is no way.”
「Shii, how?!」
At Shiina’s question, Etna recalled her childhood memories.
It may be one of countless tales, but these words circulated in the world he lived in.
The soul gains a new body at the end of the nether.
“When you reach the end of the world, your wish will come true.”
“The end of the world… ?”
At Etna’s words, Shiina fainted.
“But you can’t go down there.”
end zone.
From where the purple fog thickens, no one can pass.
It was because even the slightest touch of the mist would rip your soul apart.
“that’s right. can’t go I tried several times before, but I gave up in the end… . But maybe there is another way.”
「What way… ?!”
“that.”
Etna pointed to a geometric pattern painted nearby.
It is a mysterious magic circle scattered all over the world.
It was relatively recently that I was able to interpret the magic circle even slightly.
In a world where there was nothing, she would go crazy if she didn’t do anything, so Etna had no choice but to focus on useless things.
“It’s a blessing-type magic circle.”
“blessing… ?”
“That might be the key to the bottom. If only I could trigger it somehow.”
“What kind of blessing is it?”
“that… .”
Etna then muttered in a slightly unsure voice.
“It seems to stop time… If my interpretation is correct.”
Even as I said it, I wasn’t sure.
According to my childhood knowledge, handling ‘time’ was the ability of only ‘order’ among countless angels.
“Well, isn’t time overflowing to us anyway? No matter how many years it takes, let’s go slowly.”
“Shii, that’s right!”
One day you’ll find a way to reach the end of the world.
Shiina and Etna spent each day with such thoughts.
Until then, the two did not know each other.
that given time is never infinite.
The breakup came suddenly.
Wow-!
One day, Shiina was startled by Etna’s cries of anger mixed with crying.
To her who only blinked her eyes without knowing why.
“Those old men have done strange things to my soul!”
「Shii, Shii… ?”
“I’m sorry, Shiina… ! I don’t have time to elaborate. I will be gone soon.”
Etna smiled as if she would burst into tears.
