I am not a returner Episode 268:
Interlude – Ah-Hyeok’s first memory (2)
My head is as hot as fire.
My heart is pounding as if it will explode, and I am out of breath all the way to my chin.
Thoughts erupt like a volcano and become tangled together.
“haha.”
He let out a rough breath and grabbed his head.
Starting with Lee Shin-hyuk’s memories that were first handed down, I calmly recalled them one by one.
“….Nothing.”
No matter how much I tried to remember.
The name ‘Heukseonghoe’ never came up in Lee Shin-hyuk’s memory.
“What the hell….”
Where did it go wrong?
Since when did it become wrong?
“…Satellite Bridge”
A word that was often heard in Lee Shin-hyuk’s memories.
Based on his memory, the Black Star Church and the Satellite Church were in fact the same organization, with only a different name.
There was Cheon Do-yoon, the king of owls, and Isabella.
therefore.
Naturally, I thought that the name had changed from ‘Black Holy Church’ to ‘Satellite Church’ through some reason.
I couldn’t help but think that way.
“But then… that doesn’t make sense.”
The memories passed down this time are memories from when Lee Shin-hyuk and Oh Jin were bewitched for only three weeks after they first met.
It was the timing when the gate opened in Mok-dong and Eugene entered, aiming for the Black Star relic inside the gate.
And then.
Eugene confidently announced himself as a member of the ‘Black Star Society’.
‘But why?’
In Lee Shin-hyuk’s inherited memories, did Eugene say that he was a believer of the ‘Satellite Church’ rather than the Black Holy Society?
‘It doesn’t make sense.’
The day Oh Jin and Eugene first met was November 15th.
And the incident where Lee Woo-hyuk followed the traces of the relic and encountered Eugene happened at least between the 21st and 30th.
At most, the difference is about 1-2 weeks.
There is no way the name of the Black Star Church changed to Satellite Church in that short period of time.
then.
There is only one possibility left.
“therefore.”
In the first world experienced by Lee Shin-hyuk.
Not once.
This means that the ‘Satellite Church’ has never been called the ‘Black Star Church’.
“What on earth happened…?”
Ohjin muttered, chewing his lip.
My mind was all tangled up.
Was Lee Shin-hyuk’s role wrong?
Were the memories that had been passed down through Heukcheon so far not actually Lee Shin-hyuk’s memories, but false memories filled with illusions?
“….no.”
There were too many cases where Lee Shin-hyuk’s memories and future events matched up to think that was the case.
The gate was opened in Mok-dong, the monster was sleeping under Seoul Station, and the lair of the Heavenly Dragon Barbatos was located under Pyongyang.
every.
It matched Lee Shin-hyuk’s memories.
‘Then what on earth is a satellite bridge?’
Why did Lee Shin-hyuk call the Black Star Church a Satellite Church?
Ohjin continued his thoughts with frowning eyes.
‘Did the future change when Lee Shin-hyuk died?’
no.
No matter how much I thought about it, the connection between Lee Shin-hyuk’s death and Saejeong Church’s name change to Heukseonghoe was too thin.
Of course, as the saying goes, the butterfly effect, I know that even very small and trivial things can lead to unexpected results.
‘Still, there is no way that the name of an organization could change in a short period of one to two weeks just because Lee Shin-hyuk died.’ The
Black Star Association is not an organization made up of local city affairs miscellaneous people.
It was an organization created by Cheonma himself.
There was no way such an organization could simply change its name overnight.
“Satellite Bridge… Satellite.”
Ojin, who was muttering that name while frowning, opened his eyes wide.
A conversation I once had with Isabella flashed through my head.
-Do you know anything about Cheonma?
-First of all… I’ve heard that he created a winding star.
-….what?
-Wait a minute. The black cheeks refer to constellations, right?
-yes. that’s right. It is said that the Heavenly Demon gave power to the constellations called ‘satellites’ and made them into black stars.
The Heavenly Demon made the constellations called satellites into black stars.
In other words.
The beings now called the Black Star Constellations were called ‘satellites’ before they met the Heavenly Demon.
“So… satellite bridge?”
If.
What if the Satellite Church that emerged from Lee Shin-hyuk’s work was an organization created by constellations called ‘Satellite’ rather than the Heavenly Demon?
then.
then.
then.
What about the Black Holy Society?
“….ah.”
Ojin’s eyes widened.
A cold shiver ran down my spine and spread throughout my body.
I had it wrong from the beginning.
The first piece of the puzzle I put down was misaligned.
“The Black Star Church… did not become a Satellite Church.”
The ‘Satellite Church’ changed its name to become the ‘Black Star Church.’
How could that be possible?
Why is it that the name Heuk Seong-hee, which did not even exist in the world Shin-hyuk Lee experienced, can now replace Sae-seong-gyo?
It cannot be explained by saying that the future has changed.
The Black Star Society existed before Lee Shin-hyuk died and Oh Jin bloomed into the Black Heaven and absorbed his power.
“Then…”
If the future had already changed before Lee Shin-hyuk returned.
What if the past had changed before the future changed?
Isn’t there only one answer?
“There was not just one returner.”
Someone.
He changed the future by going back to the past, which was even more distant than the time when Lee Shin-hyuk returned.
And the name of that being—
“……..Heavenly Demon.”
Cheonma.
A being that created the constellations called satellites into black stars.
He changed it.
Originally, the future where ‘Satellite Church’ should exist has been changed to a future where ‘Black Star Religion’ exists.
“under.”
Laughter flowed from Ojin’s mouth.
stagger.
His legs lost strength and his body swayed precariously.
What if the Heavenly Demon is another regressor?
Who exactly is he?
Who could go back further than Lee Shin-hyuk and change the future?
It didn’t take long to find the answer.
“There’s only one person who can do that…”
Why didn’t I notice it earlier?
Why didn’t I realize it earlier?
There were plenty of clues from the beginning.
From the beginning, the answers were written on the question paper.
They even changed the name ‘Satellite Bridge’, which did not need to be changed, to ‘Heukseonghee’ and made it known openly.
-You’re here. I was waiting.
When the black crack exploded and was sucked into the demonic realm.
He remembered someone whispering to him in a voice full of joy.
okay.
The Heavenly Demon was waiting.
I hope you notice.
I hope you realize it yourself.
myself.
May it reach him.
“….okay. That’s how it happened.”
The pieces of the puzzle that had been scattered around came together.
How could it be that in Lee Shin-hyuk’s memory, he had never once heard of the Black Star Association?
How could two Black Heavens exist at the same time?
How was the Heavenly Demon able to corrupt the constellations called satellites into black stars?
If you think about it, the answer was simple.
There was only one possibility that could explain everything that had happened before.
“You… it was me,”
Ojin muttered quietly, looking up at the dark cloudy sky.
***
Black sky.
In a fish dom where the sun has faded and even the moon has faded.
There was a hill covered with countless corpses.
On that distant mountain of corpses.
There was a goddess with brilliant silver hair and a young man.
“good. “Send me back to the past.”
Finally, a voice full of determination.
A dazzling halo of light enveloped the young man’s body.
The young man’s body, wrapped in starlight twinkling like the Milky Way, gradually crumbled into powder and flowed away.
[…………]
The goddess touched the silver light fluttering in the air with her hand.
The brilliantly shining cluster of lights gradually lost its luster.
A place where starlight has disappeared.
There was only a lonely space left there, as if nothing had ever existed from the beginning.
The goddess, who was silently staring into empty space, slowly turned her head.
A harrowing hill of corpses filled the surrounding area.
Countless humans have become heroes and constellations.
He lost his life on this spot.
By just one being.
Looking down at the sea of corpses without even a single ounce of life left, she opened her mouth quietly.
[The promise… was kept.]
To whom are these words addressed?
There was no living thing to be seen other than her on the hill made of blood and flesh.
The goddess clenched her fists while chewing her trembling lips.
The beautiful golden sparkling eyes looked towards the hill of corpses.
Where her eyes were directed, there was the dead body of a young man with a spear stuck in his heart.
When only the voice of the goddess echoes in vain on a hill of corpses filled with nothing but death.
Crack.
The corpse of a young man lying on the hill moved.
He grabbed the spear stuck in his left chest and slowly pulled out the spear stuck in his heart.
Panggrang.
The spear stuck in the young man’s heart rolled down the hill and crashed into the remains of a collapsed building.
The young man’s closed eyes slowly opened.
Two eyes burning with blue natural flowers.
He stood up unsteadily and twisted his neck left and right as if to loosen his stiff body.
“It hurts more than I thought.”
A dry voice came out from between the young man’s lips.
He looked down at his chest, where a fist-sized hole had appeared, and slapped his hand away.
Grumbling.
A dark cloud filled my empty chest.
“ha.”
Letting out a soft breath, the young man leisurely looked around at the hill covered with corpses, then the corners of his mouth twitched and he let out a dry laugh.
“Now… the curtain has come down.”
An eerie sound of laughter.
The golden eyes of the goddess who was looking at the young man shook.
She pursed her lips and looked at him with sad eyes.
The young man, who was leisurely looking around, turned his head towards the goddess.
Slap, slap, slap.
The young man who walked up the hill covered in blood placed his hand on the cheek of the slightly trembling goddess.
Kindly and warmly.
Like comforting a scared child.
“Good job Vega.”
The Heavenly Demon smiled brightly.
-Part 1 completed-
[Author’s Note]
Hello, dear readers, this is Butterfly Valley.
It’s already been almost half a year since I serialized ‘I am not a regressor’.
First of all, Part 1 has been completed as originally planned, but I don’t know if readers will like it. Haha
, of course, just because part 1 is over doesn’t mean Ojini’s story is over.
There are still more stories to tell in the future.
However, I think it is time to take a short break for the sake of the content and structure of Part 2.
Part 2 of ‘I am not a regressor’ is scheduled to resume serialization on April 14th, one month from now.
I also think that the break period is too long, but due to schedules overlapping with work on the revised version of my previous work, ‘Cheat Key Player’, I had no choice but to take a long break.
We ask for our deep understanding from our readers who are waiting _(__)_
Then!
We’ll see you again on April 14th!
I love all the readers who made it to the end of Part 1. Thank you for your support in Part 2 as well!