One World, One Family (7)
It was not a natural death but a murder.
He must have regretted and despaired so much for not being able to tell her that he loved them one last time.
"Was it easy for our parents to accept?"
"At first, I just pretended. But then, I gradually felt your memories mixing with mine. So it became easier to accept."
"I felt the same way. We're similar."
Jinhyuk was worried that his original personality might suddenly emerge and reclaim Reed's body.
But now, he seemed to understand.
It was the process of Jinhyuk's soul being fused into that world.
Complete fusion.
That meant, without a doubt, that he would never see his original reality again.
Both Jinhyuk and Reed were aware of this fact.
Thinking of each other's reality made them feel uncomfortable.
"Are our parents doing well?"
Jinhyuk casually asked the question.
"I'm doing my best to be filial. Recently, I bought them a massage chair."
"Massage chairs are expensive, aren't they? Do you have that much money?"
"Chest pocket."
Reed tapped his chest as if there was no need for a long explanation.
When Jinhyuk put his hand in his breast pocket, an elegant business card came out.
Shimsung Electronics
Director Jung Jinhyuk
"An executive?"
Jinhyuk's eyes widened, and Reed shrugged his shoulders.
"It was like eating rice cake while lying down. It was much easier than when I became the Tower Master. It's not a world where you need mana congenitally, so it's much more comfortable."
Considering that he became an executive in just a few years, he didn't seem like an old-fashioned nag.
'A genius who tried to go beyond the scope of the criminal.'
It wasn't strange for him to achieve anything in a world without congenital mana.
"So, are you in a relationship too?"
"…There was a girl named Hyemin. She helped me a lot."
"Hyemin is good at interfering, after all."
Ju Hyemin.
She was a girl he had known since middle school.
Their relationship was that of close friends, and they got along very well.
"She's a patient girl. She thought I had gone crazy, and she often came to teach me how to adapt."
"Knowing her, she probably hit you like a dog at first."
"…I did get hit a lot."
Reed smiled bitterly, recalling the not-so-pleasant memories.
From his perspective, it must have been embarrassing to be beaten by a girl who was still wet behind the ears.
"I see."
Jinhyuk nodded without thinking and then paused.
"But I asked if you were in a relationship, why did you bring up Hyemin?"
"…"
"Don't tell me?"
"…We're getting married next year."
It felt strange that the body he had become the target of his childhood friend's marriage.
'Does he have the same taste as when he looks at Dolores?'
When he thought about Hyemin, he could understand how it felt.
"Why did you bring that up to me?"
"Usually, you have to vent your anger first. When you have the upper hand in information…"
"But now that advantage is gone, right? So, shouldn't you do something?"
"…I'm sorry about that."
A moment of silence fell between them, as they were both dumbfounded.
"Did the girl who used to curse all the time have that side to her?"
"Good words usually taste bitter in the mouth. And she seemed to like you a lot."
"That's impossible. Isn't it just because she thinks it's an opportunity now that I'm successful?"
"What girl would take care of you so devotedly when she thinks you've gone crazy?"
Although he spoke harshly, Jinhyuk knew that Hyemin was not an opportunist.
She must have really liked Jinhyuk.
"I guess I'm more clueless than I thought."
"Relationships between men and women are like that. Aren't they subtle and complicated?"
Jinhyuk mulled over the life that Reed had created for him.
He was a director of a large corporation, consistently being filial, and next year, he was getting married to a girl he had known.
It felt like a happy life.
That's why he felt at ease.
"Do you want to go back to the world you used to live in?"
"What about you?"
Although it was just a hypothesis, they both remained silent.
The two could understand each other as if they had telepathy.
"This is the moment when it becomes our lives."
"I guess so."
Reed and Jinhyuk agreed.
They would not go back to each other's worlds, but live as they were.
Then, their consciousness seemed to be sucked somewhere, and when they regained their senses, Jinhyuk's consciousness was staring at Jinhyuk's face.
Reed and Jinhyuk's souls had returned to their original bodies.
They stared at each other.
And they realized.
Jinhyuk could not return to the real world, and Reed could not return to the game world.
However, they were relieved to know that they were both doing well in their respective worlds.
They would do well enough not to have any regrets in the future.
"Take good care of our parents, Jinhyuk."
"Be good to the kids, Reed."
They said goodbye to each other with their names, and the names that would no longer be theirs.
And they walked towards the worlds where they belonged.
***
A moment later, Reed, who had said goodbye to Jinhyuk's body, gradually felt the light get brighter.
He was slowly opening his eyes as he lay in bed.
He could hear the disarray of voices in his blurred mind.
Phoebe, crying.
Dolores, trying hard to swallow her tears.
And Rosaria, holding a teddy bear and smiling brightly as she welcomed him.
"Daddy, you're awake!"
***
* * *
Dream big tl dot com
***
-Did the hero die?
There was anger mixed in the dark voice.
There were several things he couldn't understand about his actions, but now it became clear.
-He betrayed us.
The dark voice didn't accept this situation easily.
From the beginning, he had manipulated others by excluding all possibilities of betrayal.
It was the same with Ludis Grancia Jade.
He made Ludis Grancia Jade the Tower Master of the Wallin, and even tried to solve the problem of qualification by allowing him to inherit the power of demons.
Ludis, who longed for power, naturally fell for the scheme.
He even seemed to welcome it, crawling and submitting everything.
His goal was not only to become the Tower Master but also to go beyond that.
- A man who couldn't control his desires, aiming for his brother's neck and even usurping the throne...
That's why it wasn't difficult to manipulate him until the time of disaster by stimulating his desires.
After all, the important thing was the object embedded in the body of Dolores Jade.
The most crucial person was, of course, the hero.
A man who had the mental strength to stand before the worst Demon King of his time, alone.
Having acquired an ageless body, he had the conditions to live as the strongest human among both knights and humans, accumulating endless experience as long as he was alive.
He began making the hero his own subordinate 200 years ago.
It was easier than he thought to manipulate him.
When the hero's mind and body were exhausted and his doubts about his journey grew, he approached him and succeeded in coaxing him.
And the hero worked as his faithful servant, receiving abilities that matched his loyalty.
He had no doubts.
If he didn't even know that his beliefs were twisted, he wouldn't betray him.
Was he arrogant?
If you ask that, it wasn't that either.
He was undoubtedly destined for that.
For 300 years, all that remained for him, whose soul had been worn away, were love for the goddess, sentimental memories, and a twisted sense of duty.
So the conclusion was one.
- Destiny has changed.
He changed three destinies and even changed the hero's mind, which was unwavering in his sense of duty.
If he knew all three of the remaining destinies, it wouldn't be difficult to change their minds as well.
The seven disasters will be eradicated, and the goddess who hope will rise again.
- Is this the difference between you and me...?
He was so different from her, who didn't even have a physical form.
A clear form.
Purity without any selfishness.
The easily stained pure white was still pure white.
Unlike him, who saw a clear past, her eyes were still fixed on a blurry future.
- If it's something that changed on its own, it doesn't matter if it's destiny...
Her will was strong, but she could only maintain it because of Reed's existence.
The man who was originally supposed to defile and turn purity into hatred was now teaching her how beautiful the world was.
- You're getting in the way.
The man who should have played the biggest role in corrupting the goddess, who had returned to her pure state, was now becoming an obstacle.
* * *
"Are you okay now?"
"I'm okay."
"Are you really okay?"
"I said I'm okay."
Although Dolores and Phoebe were looking up at him with worried faces, Reed was really okay, not just empty words.
He was trembling so much that he didn't want to lie in bed.
After hearing that he needed to rest for about a week, Dolores and Phoebe made sure that Reed rested comfortably, as if they were going to eat him up.
‘I appreciate their concern, but...’
It felt like being an overprotected child.
What's more, he wasn't a child, so it felt even more embarrassing.
"Phoebe."
"Yes?"
"When you found me, was there really no one around?"
At Reed's question, Phoebe nodded her head.
"You were unconscious all by yourself."
"I see."
That meant Freesia had slipped away secretly.
Reed looked at his right shoulder.
The memory of it being cut off was vivid, but it looked perfectly fine, making him wonder if it had all been a dream.
‘If I hadn't seen the scar.’
The clear boundary between the cut-off part and the regrown part confirmed that it had all happened in reality.
‘It's not just my arm that's strange...’
His whole body was bursting with energy.
It was different from the energy felt after resting.
Ever since he received that blood, he felt an excessive surge of vitality.
‘Is this Freesia's blood...’
Reed later found out how special that blood was.
The power of the 「Broken Link that Defies Providence」.
With that power, one literally becomes immortal.
Like the hero, one is not bound by the flow of time, but the downside is that one cannot die when they wish to.
Using a portion of her blood provides a vitality that is on a different level than a potion.
Even though there were magic spells to reattach severed limbs, there was no technique to regenerate them, so the value of her blood was immeasurable.
He still couldn't believe that he had received the blood she wouldn't easily offer to anyone.
‘I don't think Freesia trusts me...’
Reed had never properly kept his promises with Freesia so far.
He always joked around and threatened her, but he always stumbled upon it.
It was impossible for her trust to increase, and it wouldn't be strange if she was getting tired of him.
He couldn't think of any reason why Freesia would save Reed by giving him her blood, other than it being a simple whim.
‘I should at least be grateful for now.’
Even though he didn't know what had happened to his life, the fact that she had restored his severed arm remained unchanged, so he intended to express his gratitude to her.
Even if it was just a get-well visit, he waited for news about her but didn't hear anything.
He had no choice but to write a letter to the Black Sky Tower, but there was no reply.
He was undoubtedly being ignored.
***
A week later, Reed had fully recovered.
He secretly called Isel and Rachel, thinking that he needed to deal with the matter of the hero first.
"What's the matter?"
"I called you to give this back."
He handed them the Holy Sword.
Isel looked confused and asked Reed.
"Why are you giving this to us?"
"The hero is sleeping inside it."
"The hero?"
Reed explained everything in detail, from the fight with the hero to his last moment when he saved Reed and sacrificed himself.
Isel and Rachel held hands tightly, supporting each other as they listened to the whole story.
"I see. The hero... chose to change fate in the end."
Reed didn't know when he had started to feel that way.
Isel didn't bother to ask.
"But can we take this?"
Isel was worried.
He didn't go there just to seal it; he intended to harm Reed, which led him to the brink of death.
She only felt sorry for him as the hero's former comrade.
"Since you're closer to the hero, it seems right to give it to you."
They had an uncomfortable look on their faces, but they accepted the sword.
"Poor guy..."
Isel and Rachel gathered their hands and prayed for him.
Rachel, the Holy Maiden of Silence, held the sword.
They didn't store it back at the Althea Church.
Since they found out that the sect was obsessed with the sword that the hero had entrusted them with, they couldn't let them assign their own meaning to it and use it as a symbol.
The hero had suffered enough during his life, and now they, his former comrades were willing to carry him even to death.
Most of the ghosts of the past that the hero had summoned had been eliminated.
However, some of the lost heroes did not appear to have escaped when the castle was captured.
There were more than 30 of them.
At first, there were many voices that expressed concerns about how they would deal with them if they harbored resentment and attacked them.
However, as always, the ongoing peace made people complacent, and gradually those worried voices faded away.
The sudden disaster that had struck was slowly disappearing, and the Silence Tower was reaching its peak of prosperity.
