Chapter 751: Whispers (2)
Jingle, jingle–the moonlight wept. Countless silver threads swayed lazily, singing in notes that seemed to clash even as they fell into harmony. With the moon risen, the night was bright from sky to earth. It was, quite literally, a white night. The whole scene looked like it existed only to illuminate Crescent Moon’s path.
A moon that would wax full, take the sun’s place, and shine over the world instead. A new god that would push out the Source and ascend to its throne.
If Crescent Moon achieved her goal, the entire world would be overturned. The laws born from the Source itself would vanish. Maybe things would become better. That was what Crescent Moon claimed. The Source would no longer swallow all of you.
[If you would only give up one thing.]
The sound of bells whispered to me. Even now, if you stepped back, the ordinary life you wanted could still be yours. As always, it rang sweetly. If I took just one step backward, I could live in peace. Everything lay right there, just beyond that line. Every desire people longed for. Money, fame, power, and everything else besides.
“There’s nothing here you can take.”
I looked at Crescent Moon. Her silver form flowed in stillness. She seemed motionless, yet the moonlight that made her was constantly shifting.
“Not me, and not Park Hayul.”
And not Seong Hyunjae, either.
[You interfere with me every single time.]
Crescent Moon’s voice rang out. This time, it wasn’t a whisper meant only for me. Down below the wall, Yuhyun rose to his feet, tightening his grip on his sword. Moon Hyunah remade her shattered spear out of dreamstuff. The Puppeteer stepped forward, and Chief Song Taewon moved to stand at his side. Yerim and Seong Hyunjae also raised their weapons. I heard Peace’s low growl.
“I’ll keep doing it.”
[Yes.]
“I’m sure that’s incredibly irritating for you.”
I drew a short breath. That wasn’t Crescent Moon’s true body. No matter how many subordinates she had, a Transcendent couldn’t barge into a world like this carrying her full original power. But there was no way she would back down quietly, either.
Crescent Moon’s eyes curved faintly. She was smiling.
[That part of you is lovely as well.]
“…”
[Whatever road you walk, whatever shape your journey takes, every part of it is precious.]
My breath caught. Right and wrong, all of it seemed the same beneath the moon. I already knew that. Even so, it left me feeling hollow and stifled. What meaning could there be in love spoken by something that made no distinction at all about what I was? But even that frustration couldn’t reach her.
“…Then I’ll struggle to the bitter end.”
[I will persuade you as well. Step back.]
“No. You should be the one to back off. Half of Park Hayul already belongs to me anyway, and I’ve already made a possession contract. A long time ago.”
Even if Crescent Moon’s control over him went back to before Park Hayul’s seed was planted, it still would have come after Sigma and my contract. It had only been half a year ago, and at the same time it had been a contract made ages and ages before, back when the doppelgänger doll had gained a sense of self and grown into a Transcendent.
Crescent Moon lightly stroked Park Hayul’s head.
[This child has not fully awakened yet. Since half of him has already passed to you, even if I woke him now, there would be little I could do. More than that, you are rooted far too deeply within him.]
…Was I supposed to be grateful Park Hayul was obsessed with me? If he’d shown anything even remotely normal, I might’ve actually appreciated it. Crescent Moon’s gaze passed over me and landed on the Puppeteer. He gave her a slight bow.
“Guess I should say it’s nice to finally meet you. Raising the kid while keeping him out of the Scouters’ sight wasn’t exactly easy.”
[A strand that slipped free. Return it to me.]
“No. That child is mine too.”
[It is not something you can keep.]
Instead of answering, the Puppeteer only smiled coldly. The moonlight jingled again. Crescent Moon’s form scattered, dissolving into the moonlight like mist.
[But it will not be long now.]
Her voice faded with the bells. Soon only silence remained beneath the dimmed moonlight.
‘Did she really… leave?’
Just like that? I spotted Park Hayul sitting there, staring blankly into space.
“For now, nobody go near Park Hayul!”
At my shout, several people finally let out the breath they’d been holding. Emily, her expression colder than usual, stared at the place where Crescent Moon had vanished.
“She dares call herself a god. More than her presence, it’s her attitude that says it.”
A being that claimed to love everything equally, and yet could never be changed.
“I’ll pass on a god like that.”
I didn’t need one. I climbed onto the top of the wall. Chief Song hurried over to me.
“It’s dangerous!”
“It’s fine. I’ve got half of Park Hayul’s power right now.”
At the moment, I was probably the strongest one here. I kicked lightly off the stone wall. My body dropped straight down, but I landed without taking so much as a scratch. I didn’t even need Grace’s help.
“You okay?”
“…Yeah. Hyung, are you?”
Yuhyun looked at me with a hint of unease in his eyes.
“I seem fine. There’s still a good chance Park Hayul is under Crescent Moon’s control, so wait here. You too, Hyunah.”
“Be careful, hyungnim.”
“Do you know how much I’ve been through?”
With the same level of power, I could pin someone like Park Hayul down easily enough. Experience made all the difference. Still, I didn’t let my guard down as I walked toward him.
‘If Crescent Moon really gave up and retreated.’
I curled one hand into a loose fist. Maybe because most people had woken up from the dream, the halved power didn’t feel that strong right now. Still, maybe around SS-rank. If we spread the word outside and asked everyone to go back to sleep as much as possible, Park Hayul’s ability would strengthen again.
‘First, I need to send the others back.’
And then with the power that remained… if I could bring my brother back. My heart started pounding. If that became possible, then it would really be over. Completely. I’d been worrying about how to persuade Park Hayul, but that problem was practically solved now. I swallowed against my dry throat.
“Hayul.”
Park Hayul looked up at me. A little light returned to his dazed eyes. Right. Good.
“Hyuuung!”
“Hey! Don’t cling to me! Crescent Moon might still be controlling you!”
“I–I was really scared!”
He sniffled. He’d acted tough in front of me, but facing his actual master, a Transcendent, must have terrified him.
“But hyung, you saved me again this time!”
“Well… yeah, I guess I did.”
“I knew it, I really like you, hyung! Waaah!”
Park Hayul burst into loud sobs. Seriously.
“If you’d acted even a little normal, I wouldn’t have pushed you away so hard.”
“But, hyung, hyung–!”
“For starters, respect the things I like. Whether it’s people, hobbies, or possessions.”
“…Even if they’re dangerous?”
“I’m saying you don’t get to decide that by yourself! You talk to me. You have a conversation. Even if I said I wanted to go bungee jumping without a cord, you’d still talk to me first. You don’t kidnap me, lock me up, and destroy the bungee platform.”
“…If you tried to go bungee jumping without a cord, I think the police would get involved.”
For someone like him, that was weirdly reasonable.
“It’s an example, an example. And I could use an item and land just fine anyway. The point is, you have to hear the other person out and understand why they’re doing it. I’m a person who can think just as well as you can, and I’m an adult. Even if I weren’t, you’d still need to talk to me.”
“But…”
“Park Hayul, look at me.”
He lifted his head properly and looked straight at me.
“I’m F-rank, and yeah, I’m weak. That much is true. But look at what happened. I saved you from Crescent Moon, didn’t I? I saved you before too, when hunters stronger than me came after you. And a lot of other things have happened, but in the end, I’m still standing here in front of you.”
Park Hayul blinked. He rubbed at his wet eyes with the back of his hand, then nodded.
“You’re more amazing than I am, hyung.”
“Well, uh. Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
Honestly, I probably was more amazing than Park Hayul. Anyway.
“All right, Hayul. My companions need to go back to our world. You can’t do that right now, can you?”
“No. I’m too weak now.”
“I’m going to ask people to fall asleep again. And I’ll give your half of the power back too.”
“Really?”
“I have to.”
Sending everyone back and bringing Yuhyun home mattered, but this world also needed to be preserved. For at least over a month, and preferably longer. If Seong Hyunjae wound up under protection, there was no telling what Crescent Moon might try, so more safeguards were always better.
“This is how the contract will go. The moment Park Hayul receives his power back from Han Yujin, he will return Han Yujin’s companions to their original world, grant one of Han Yujin’s wishes, and then sleep for ten years.”
“…Ten years? Sleep?”
“If you stay awake, Crescent Moon will just come after you again. And hey, ten years isn’t even that long. You’ve got attempted murder, assault, aiding a kidnapping, and kidnapping on your list already. That’s a pretty decent lineup of charges. If you went to trial properly, ten years would be nothing. Since you’re basically a high-level awakened, there’d probably be extra special statutes attached and it might be even longer.”
Normally they used high-level awakened people instead of locking them away, but still. At S-rank, if it wasn’t an actual murder and only an attempt, you could probably pay a massive fine and skate by thanks to accumulated merit and vague social importance or whatever. Park Hayul nodded miserably.
“But do I really have to sleep for ten whole years? That’s too long…”
“I’m already cutting you a break. I’ll even add a condition saying you can be woken up depending on the situation. Crescent Moon probably won’t give up on you that easily, but maybe there’ll be a way.”
Maybe I could ask Rookie or Senior Tree. Once he fully awakened as a Transcendent, staying in our world would be difficult anyway, so maybe Rookie could just take Rookie’s recruit or something. I felt a little bad for Rookie. Still, Park Hayul didn’t seem rotten to the core… probably. He might even get along with them better than expected.
“…I want to stay with you, hyung.”
“If I dream, I’ll come find you where you are. We don’t have a choice because of Crescent Moon.”
“But I really do feel fine right now.”
Park Hayul said it while waving both arms wide.
“Ever since I first woke up in this world, I’d had this feeling like something was interfering with me, you know? But now I feel completely fine. Really.”
“She might’ve just made it feel that way. To lower your guard.”
There was no way Crescent Moon would simply let Park Hayul go. The Puppeteer probably had at least one high-grade contract on him. I waved toward the wall to signal that things seemed okay now. Yerim and Seong Hyunjae, who hadn’t been pushed back too far by the moonlight, slowly started coming toward us. The fortress gate swung open wide.
‘Now it’s really over.’
[This is the last time.]
The tension drained out of me. My body and mind both loosened.
Yes. Just one last thing.
[Kill Seong Hyunjae.]
Yerim, lightly gliding through the air, waved at Kang Soyeong on Comet. I turned my head and saw Seong Hyunjae. I walked toward him. The gold in his eyes widened faintly as he looked at me. We both felt it at the same time. My hand moved for his heart. We both knew exactly what was happening, but I didn’t understand why I needed to stop, and he had no way to avoid it. We were too close, and I was stronger and faster.
And so—
Crack.
The sound of bone breaking rang clear. Blood spilled down my arm. Golden eyes looked down at me. The light in them slowly faded.
“M–Mister?”
“Guild Leader!”
I heard Yerim and Kang Soyeong shouting. I caught his collapsing body. Before I could even process what had happened, I yelled,
“Don’t come any closer!”
The breath I dragged in tasted sharp and metallic red.
“Get back, all of you!”
I held his body against mine, still warm. Beyond the shoulder that filled my vision, I saw Park Hayul’s stunned face blur in the distance.
…Park Hayul had been right. Crescent Moon had let him go completely. Instead, she had poured every last scrap of her control into me and whispered.
But why? I stared blankly at Seong Hyunjae, clutching him with blood-soaked arms. The moon looked down on us. Then, at last, I heard breath at my ear again–the breath that had stopped.
Crescent Moon received a guest. An old connection looked at her.
“Why.”
Young Chaos asked the question.
“I thought you’d want to keep that one’s true nature from being exposed.”
Through the moonlight, the eyes of the Transcendents were watching them. Beneath that gaze, a power layered and layered again until it neared the Source began to reveal itself. Part of what had been hidden was pulled back, exposing that deep interior for a fleeting moment. Not every Transcendent would have noticed. But a great many had begun to stir.
Whether they were Unfilial Children, those who stood against them, or those who remained neutral, everyone harbored some desire directed toward the Source. And now, something akin to the beginning of all things stood close enough to touch if one only reached out.
“It’s been a while.”
Crescent Moon smiled.
“You never came to see me even once.”
“There was no reason to. We walk different paths.”
From beginning to end, Young Chaos had interfered with the world as little as possible. Crescent Moon, on the other hand, had at some point begun intervening actively. And she had done so while leading many other Transcendents with her.
“So you noticed after all. And you still left it alone.”
“That one wants to be human, and there’s a child who calls that one human. So what are you plotting? There’s no way you’d let go now of all times.”
“This is the last cup.”
Remembering the dream of moonlight falling, Crescent Moon spoke.
“The final cup to be filled. Originally, I was going to offer the seed I had planted.”
It had been lacking in many ways, but it was still the seed of a Transcendent. She had intended for the little moon to swallow it.
“But that failed, and now there are droplets overflowing to take its place.”
Transcendents desperate to throw themselves in. Beneath the falling rain, the cup would be filled.
–TL Notes–
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