Episode 394 < The time he waited, the time he walked. (7) >
His teacher was not a perfect person.
[That’s not how it is done. Take a good look. ]
There was always a bit of joy mixed in with those words.
[You’re doing well. It’s pretty good. ]
There was always a hint of jealousy in those words.
[There is nothing more to teach about this part now. You’re better at it. ]
There was always a hint of frustration mixed into those words.
The reason he could feel them wasn’t just because he was particularly keen. That’s because his teacher didn’t bother to hide it.
When he was initiated, his teacher spoke clearly.
[I will treat you as is. ]
[…….]
[No decoration. Don’t hide it. Don’t cheat. You will always see my bare face. What you see of me will exactly match the height of my floor. ]
The teacher looked straight at him.
[Therefore, you will have to become strong. ]
[…….]
[Sometimes, there are people who use the phrase ‘I’m just being honest’ as if it’s an indulgence. What they forget is that any human mind is sharp enough to cut someone else’s heart. Just as there is no such thing as etiquette for carrying a raw knife with its sheath thrown away, treating someone as they are can never be a heartwarming story. ]
The teacher held both of his shoulders and spoke in a stern tone.
[Nevertheless, I will be honest with you. Your heart will be cut countless times by me. Be prepared. Do you understand? ]
He nodded.
It was just as the teacher said. The raw honesty was truly scary. He learned through actual combat that even when the people of Taeeumgul clung to him and even when the enemies pointed their swords at him, they were not completely honest.
The teacher also taught me how to deal with that knowledge.
[Don’t be considerate of things you can’t be considerate of. Cut it down. Don’t avoid it and don’t go back. Face it. Don’t accept what you can’t accept. Take it and hit it. Pick up the blade and face me with the spirit of sparring. It endured. Fight back. Be strong! ]
He did so.
I didn’t avoid getting hurt. I didn’t even try to get in the mood. He simply treated his teacher as he was… The teacher also treated him like that. Just as there can be no gap between the mountains and the fields, there was no misunderstanding between the two.
That’s why.
[It’s almost time to leave. ]
He couldn’t misunderstand the meaning of those words either.
[Master]
[It means holding out for a long time. ]
The teacher was dying.
Jinin are a race of people who live by receiving sunlight with their skin and sucking sap with their mouths. Although the size of the body does not change significantly from birth to death, approximate age can be inferred from the luminosity of the skin. The teacher, who had already been dim enough when I first met him, was fading repeatedly, like a candle that had died down to its wick and was about to be extinguished.
[I wasn’t strong enough to live forever. That’s all. ]
The teacher coughed. The teacher’s body flashed brightly once and then fell asleep.
He learned that not being able to get it wrong is scary and sad at the same time.
[Thank goodness. ]
Also, it is something that is as happy as it is painful.
[Because I can meet you before I leave. ]
Those words contained deep regret and deep gratitude.
[Because I can teach you many things. ]
Those words contained deep regret and great relief.
[I was fortunate to be your teacher. ]
Those words were filled with bottomless anxiety and immense pride.
[Master. ]
His teacher could have said this.
I’m sorry. I did it wrong. That I wasn’t good enough.
Please forgive my weakness for not being able to consistently walk ahead of you, and in the end, not even being able to stand next to you.
But instead, the teacher said… Instead of apologizing for his shortcomings, he was grateful for the meeting. And it wasn’t a lie. I wasn’t making up sounds that didn’t exist. Even though both were in exactly the same ratio, and neither choice would have been false, the Master nevertheless chose it.
He knew it without a lie.
thud!
He hit the floor with his forehead.
thud!
The teacher, who was lying on the hospital bed, looked at him while still blinking faintly.
thud! thud! thud.!
It was a bow to the teacher.
The teacher accepted the bow without saying a word. A feeling of gratitude in one bow, a feeling of sadness in one bow, and a feeling of regret in one bow. If it were said that there was a soul in each sky that was torn apart by the primordial slash, then the temples he made would surely have been to bring down each of those souls and bring them to the earth.
There were seventeen bows in total.
The teacher laughed. The Master’s face had no eyes or nose, so he could smile broadly just by moving his lips.
[Thank you. ]
The teacher closed his eyes.
It didn’t take long for the flicker to fade away and only the milky white body remained. When that time passed, he no longer had a teacher.
[…….]
Living in a world without a teacher, however, was not that daunting.
The teacher taught me. There were problems in the world that had nothing to do with the strength or weakness of his power.
Even one person’s mind could be sharp enough to hurt him. The fact that we must have the feeling of crossing swords every time we encounter someone shows us that this world is full of enemies. He could have killed all the people living alone in this world, but he couldn’t even save a single dying person.
He was not invincible.
I was just a little lucky.
I was just born with a little strength.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
That was it.
He was an ordinary person.
And at that moment, he realized that he was no longer lonely.
7.
This floor was also declared clear as soon as we entered.
[Key sculpting completed. ]
[The world fragments that your world has woven are now completely bound to your world. ]
[The worlds that were destroyed were given one more chance in the Lion World. ]
[The 97th floor is cleared. ]
However, the person who heard that declaration did not step on the stairs to the next floor. Instead, he walked around the world at a quiet pace.
No—the worlds.
“Once upon a time, harsh things happened here.”
That world was a museum.
The walls were spotless and white. Likewise, the pure white ceiling and floor were connected by pale, sparkling silver conduits. It had a hospital-like atmosphere. However, what was placed there were not specimens or hospital beds, but various statues, paintings, and tools.
The motifs of the statues were varied, but most had one thing in common: they were children. The content of the picture was about using tools with the young children.
And the tools were all torture instruments.
There were all kinds of tools that could cause pain to someone, such as tools to pull out raw teeth, tools to open up nails, tools that made steam pour out of a hose when you put water in it and turn it on, tools that ripped off the scalp when you pulled on hair, etc. .
A woman in a gown spoke as she led a group of boys and girls freshly dressed in school uniforms.
“When the constellation called [Preacher of Immortal Happiness] ruled, scapegoats were elected here. And the screams of the victims were used as power to produce food, run machines, and make medicine.”
The boys and girls listened to the woman’s story with bated breath.
“Is it reasonable to sacrifice the few for the many? If that is right, is it justifiable to sacrifice one person for the sake of all? “What is more unfair: death in an instant or the suffering that continues by postponing death?”
“…….”
“Many people may come up with many different answers. Some may believe that what happened here is our inevitable future, and that all human efforts are nothing more than a struggle to ignore it or a futile effort to postpone it.”
The woman looked around at each boy and girl, looking into their eyes, and continued speaking.
“It’s okay to think that way.”
“…….”
“No, it’s okay if one of you considers it an ideal and pursues it.”
The woman raised her head and looked around at the paintings hanging in the museum.
“Because the tragedy of this world is not the fact that it is such a world itself, but that everyone has become [accustomed to] the appearance of such a world, and [no one has even questioned it].”
A woman stood in front of a statue.
The subject of the statue was not a child. The woman swept the statue of a man holding a sword with the back of her hand.
“Actions without question become tasks that are taken for granted, and tasks that are taken for granted have no responsibility. And in a world where no one is responsible, there are no more possibilities, and where there are no possibilities, there is no future.”
“…….”
“So this world remained destroyed until someone from the outside came to find it.”
Few students understood the story.
Many people were interested in the provocative content of the picture. Someone giggled softly as they looked up at the statue of the man. One child even poked his fingers into his torture device to feel the texture of the metal.
But some (yes, some) were lost in deep thought.
“everyone.”
The woman spoke to some of them.
“It’s okay no matter what life you live. Just be a person who takes responsibility for your own life.”
The students answered yes.
A statue of a man was looking down at the students.
-……
A man who resembled a statue also watched the scene.
The man, whose presence no one could sense, began to walk slowly.
“Oh, I heard there is no news!”
The next place the man landed was a gorgeous palace.
A blonde girl with a trowel at her side was frowning and getting angry.
“shit! I want to know more! When will that damn guy come back! I wonder if I’ve really been knocked down! … At least that’s not true, right?”
In front of the blonde girl was a woman with long silver hair tied back. The woman answered, folding her fan and sighing.
“okay. “Seeing as my skill hasn’t been activated, it doesn’t mean I’m dead.”
“Are you really sure about that? Why is that? There was also an incident with Gayoung’s whole body. If you’ve just been sealed away or something like that… .”
“Then you would have asked for help.”
“ah! “You could have gone to the goal without even having time to ask for help!”
“That can’t be possible.”
The silver-haired woman sat with her legs crossed and rested her chin.
“Anyway, he is—my companion.”
The blonde girl lowered her head and sighed.
“Crazy couple with a lot of arms… .”
“What did you say just now?”
“I thought you said they were a crazy, generous couple???”
The silver-haired woman stared at the blonde girl. The blonde girl met the woman’s gaze with a ‘what, why’ look, but after about a minute she cleared her throat and put her hand into her arms.
“Anyway, this.”
“You’re changing your mind.”
“ah! That’s it, this is it. take it.”
The silver-haired woman accepted the item the girl handed her.
It contained well-dried fish. The silver-haired woman’s beautiful face frowned.
“What is this?”
“Hwangtae.”
“Why dried pollack?”
“Uncle Hwangtae asked me to bring it to you. “I heard you were sorry for this and that.”
“Anyway, that man… .”
The silver-haired woman touched her forehead… It was that moment.
“…….”
The silver-haired woman paused and turned her head. The blonde girl looked in the same direction in surprise, then raised an eyebrow.
“… … “There’s nothing, right?”
“What’s wrong? “Did you see a ghost or something?”
“… … “Hmm.”
The silver-haired woman smiled slightly without answering.
The blonde girl seemed creeped out by that sight, but regardless, the silver-haired woman stretched out her hand and accepted the gift.
“Tell them I received it well.”
The blonde girl opened her eyes wide.
“Hey? I thought you were going to throw it to the dog. “I guess it’s become rounder after some time has passed?”
“no.”
The silver-haired woman put her gift aside and rested her chin again.
“Somewhere I got the feeling he was jealous. “Isn’t it really cute?”
“Ah, the crazy chicken and chicken couple… . “I’m going.”
Even after the blonde girl left lamenting, the silver-haired woman was smiling while looking at one corner of her room for a while.
The man started walking again.
Such steps continued.
“As for the Iron Knight of this universe… .”
A place without stars. I walked through a world made up of only dots and lines, made up of countless artificial satellites and huge passages connecting them.
“There is a scary legend about this Dawn Mountain Lodge.”
“What legend is it?”
“I don’t believe in legends… .”
“What is this crazy old man?”
A mountain cabin built on a dark mountaintop. I walked through a world that was just that.
“mom! mom! “Look at this!”
“Yes, Soin’s daughter. She is called Hwangtae. Where did you get her from?”
“oh-! Uncle Hwangtae gave it to me!”
I walked through a world where a free-spirited girl was crossing a crosswalk holding the hand of a sick-looking woman.
In that world, women and men briefly made eye contact. Maybe even with the woman’s daughter.
It may be just a coincidence, or it may actually be a case of eye contact. Even the man himself didn’t know about it.
In fact, as a man, he couldn’t tell whether he and the silver-haired woman had really communicated in the previous world or whether it was just an incredible coincidence.
I just knew that I would find out soon.
Very soon.
-……
The last place where the man who crossed many worlds stopped was in front of a red peony flower that bloomed one spring.
Beyond that peony flower was a sword.
There was nothing else. There were no tombstones as tall as a tower, or burial mounds as large as a mountain. It seemed like they had been taking care of it, but there was no rust on the blade, but other than that, due to the lush weeds and randomly blooming wild flowers, it looked like nothing more than a flower garden.
But it wasn’t just a flower field.
The sword and the peony flower were just flowers along with the weeds and wild flowers.
-……
The man began to bow towards the flowers.
-……
In the first stanza, the man described the death and rebirth of a world in which he tried to achieve immortal happiness through the suffering of an innocent child.
-………
In the second verse, the man contains the heart of silver attached to eternity, the death and rebirth of the world that died out of duty beyond love and came back to life through love beyond duty.
-……
Another world in the third verse.
In the fourth verse, in the fifth verse, in the sixth verse… .
-……
Finally, in the last, ninth verse, the man included peonies that bloomed at the end of eternal winter.
-……
The man nodded and bowed his head.
Then he took a step back and only when the peony flower was out of sight did he turn around and start walking.
[Enter on the 98th floor. ]
etc,
