The feeling of my feet stepping on the city streets was somehow unfamiliar.
That thought suddenly crossed my mind.
But it was only a faint sense of strangeness. When I came out of Aiden’s officetel carrying the unconscious Juna on my back, what awaited us was a far greater strangeness.
“…My phone just started working again.”
Han Iro said with a tired expression.
“And…”
He swiped on his phone and sighed.
The figure of ‘Love Born with Bubbles,’ who had been by his side, was nowhere to be seen. Having finished all her work, she must have returned. The clothes of Han Iro, which had been torn in several places, were now completely restored.
“It looks like news about Jeong Hangyeol has spread across the world.”
“I want to see too.”
Saying that, Jeong Noeul came close to Han Iro.
The two of them stared at the phone display for a while, then sighed simultaneously.
“So it ended up being reported as a fall…”
Jeong Noeul muttered in a gloomy voice.
“Well, we expected this.”
Han Iro shrugged, forcing a neutral expression.
Jeong Hangyeol was now recorded as having died by falling on the day he erased his existence. In other words, the timeline was restructured so that the member of Codess, known by his stage name Aiden, took his own life due to rumors, leading to Codess’s disbandment.<Mikael must have handled it.>
Star said with arms crossed.
<So fast. Sometimes it’s chilling how unbelievable it is that we’re brothers.>
Star explained that all this was a restructuring of causality. The death that should have been known was now inserted into the timeline, and people’s memories were also rearranged accordingly. In other words, among the crowds on the street, there would be those who remembered Jeong Hangyeol’s death and grieved over it.
“But in the end, nothing has really changed.”
Madojin spoke in a flat tone.
“Everyone is living their daily lives as usual.”
Just as Madojin said, people were continuing their daily routines. At least those visible on the streets were. Some were rushing along their schedules, others were smiling brightly as they chatted with friends.
“What about the Aiden we knew?”
Min Heejae asked while looking at me.<He would also be treated as dead. Or marked as missing.>
Star shrugged.
<That is Heaven’s procedure. You are familiar with such people who met mysterious deaths. They are all swept away in the restoration of causality.>
There was nothing surprising. We had already experienced too many shocking things.
“…Let’s go home.”
I sighed and started walking.
There was much to take care of. Han Iro had mentioned that our dorm had burned down, so we needed to check what state it was in. Since Mika was behind us, it wouldn’t take long to restore, but it still felt bitter that the place we’d lived in for over half a year was destroyed.
“It was crazy.”
Han Iro shook his head.
“I had no idea what was going on.”
As he spoke, he pouted his lips and looked at Jeong Noeul.
“You fought that Star after the Final Stage?”
“Ah, well…”
Jeong Noeul scratched his neck awkwardly and smiled.
“I told you. I just landed one punch. Enoch was truly a mighty angel. His appearance resembled Dojin hyung and looked gentle… but I had to squeeze out all my strength, and only after the prince helped me could I finally land a hit.”
“…You’ve been through a lot too.”
Han Iro sighed.
“I apologize.”
Madojin bowed to Jeong Noeul.
“Seems like everyone’s been through some interesting things.”
Min Heejae stretched and said.
“I was just pulled from a café by Noeul, so I didn’t really do much.”
“Do you think what we went through was fun…?”
I narrowed my eyes and asked.
“Just a figure of speech.”
Min Heejae smiled slyly and kept walking.
Really, it was an exasperatingly familiar scene. It felt as if everything we had gone through so far was nothing but a lie. Yet the data saved somewhere on the internet hinted at the rearrangement of the timeline. Like an archived obituary of an unknown person, those who had confronted us until moments ago were now listed as having died long ago.
“Um…”
Just then, the small weight on my back shifted.
“Where is this…?”
Juna opened his eyes and raised his head while riding on my back.
“Did you sleep well?”
I asked, looking back at him.
“Uh… Eunyul hyung.”
And the other hyungs too…
Looking around, Juna muttered with a dazed voice.
“Do you remember what happened?”
I asked, forcing a smile.
“Um, well…”
Juna thought for a moment.
“I’m not sure. I think I met a man at the park and went to a café…”
That’s such a classic kidnapping method.
I bitterly smiled at the thought.
His memories had also been modified to fit the timeline. Juna had lost most memories of encountering Aiden. This small child was one of the few traces of Jeong Hangyeol that we could perceive. In other words, he was Jeong Hangyeol’s reincarnation.
Come to think of it, I had once suspected that this child might be my father’s reincarnation.
There were too many similarities. But in the end, it was pure coincidence.
Or maybe…
Perhaps even a tiny fragment of my father’s soul was mixed into Juna.
<Wake up, creature.>
Star’s voice reached my mind.
<Don’t cling to hopes of soul inheritance. To infer an existence from a grain-like soul is nothing but searching for a needle in a haystack.>
I know.
Thinking so, I smiled.
It wasn’t that the souls were identical. Only certain aspects were.
Projecting the image of the deceased onto the newly born—it was one of humanity’s oldest habits that allowed them to continue. Like calling a future top star born on the day a former top star died “the reincarnation of the previous star.”
“You must be confused, right?”
Looking back at Juna, I said.
“I’ll tell you what happened.”
Just not yet.
Someday.
Someday, when people can talk about death more comfortably.
I swore silently that I would tell him then.
<It seems things are roughly settled.>
Komuri said while playing with a crystal ball.
“Indeed.”
Geahrzimen smiled with her chin propped up.
The outdoor lounge of the guesthouse.
Geahrzimen and Komuri sat facing each other, looking into the crystal ball.
Inside it was Ryu Eunyul. His expression as he walked looked somewhat lighter.
<That’s good, right?>
Komuri’s lips curved faintly.
<We don’t have to temporarily close the guesthouse.>
“What do you take me for?”
Geahrzimen raised one eyebrow.
“Sorry, but I’m not the kind of person obsessed with business. Of course, running the guesthouse is enjoyable and my livelihood, but… I could live comfortably even without it.”
<Yeah, yeah. I know.>
Komuri nodded.
<Still, you’re running this place because you chose to live this way.>
So this must be a very precious place for you.
Komuri smiled brightly as she spoke, and Geahrzimen let out a sigh-like chuckle.
“The body matters, but so does the place, when it comes to existing.”
Geahrzimen murmured.
She was a golem known as the walking hell. A being literally created to spread the environment of hell. The fact that she now ran a guesthouse where travelers stayed felt deeply ironic. That’s why she could not leave this humble place.
From afar, Geahrzimen had been observing the incident between Ryu Eunyul and ‘The Star Hated by All.’ Since the king of hell was involved, she didn’t expect any special problems, but she was prepared to rush in if trouble arose.
‘More than anything…’
The little Komuri sitting opposite her would surely pester her otherwise.<My master has grown so much.>
Komuri pouted.
<I haven’t changed at all.>
Komuri looked down at her own body with arms spread wide.
A body resembling Ryu Eunyul in his adolescence. She hadn’t grown at all.
But after becoming an adult, Ryu Eunyul seemed to have changed in many ways. His height hadn’t grown, nor had his body grown thicker, but somehow, he now gave off a distinctly mature aura.
“Though growth may be impossible…”
Geahrzimen smiled.
“If you wished, you could abandon that form and return to your original shape.”
Komuri was of the same species as Abyssal Sea King Muddorok. Her true form resembled a massive fish-like being, not human.
She only took this form because Ryu Eunyul had raised her from a juvenile. If she shed her shell once, she could once again return to the world as the return of Muddorok.
<I don’t want that.>
Komuri shook her head.
<It wasn’t my master who designed that form. It was ‘The Star Hated by All.’>
“That’s true.”
Geahrzimen chuckled while covering her mouth.
“If the king of hell were to create another being like you again…”
Her gaze narrowed.
Her eyes shifted toward the crystal ball.
There, she watched ‘The Star Hated by All’ walking beside Ryu Eunyul.
“I imagine it would turn out quite well…”
She was merely observing, but even ‘The Star Hated by All’ had undergone many changes. Surely if she were to speak of this before the king of hell, her existence would be erased. But clearly, the king of hell had learned much during his time in the human world.
After all, ‘The Star Hated by All’ even cherished his contractor enough to share part of his power with Ryu Eunyul.
It was a strange thing indeed. For the king of hell to care for someone so deeply.
That’s why she could feel relieved.
“Soon… it will be time to achieve his goal.”
Geahrzimen murmured, looking toward ‘The Star Hated by All.’
The true purpose he sought to achieve in the human world.
To find the Demon God.
The day to achieve it was drawing near.
Little Pink Starfish 
Leave a comment