Sungjin clenched his fists. So that was it.
Sungjin felt like he had finally found the last piece of the puzzle, although he had thought that that might be the case for two reasons.
First, Kaiser Varka was praised for opening a White Silver Era, but he had planted chips in humans’ brains to control their every single move. It didn’t make sense. History said that he held absolute power and dominated the heroes, but the extras’ lives were peaceful. This kind of rulership wouldn’t be remembered as something that had given a peaceful life. When Varka had talked about the destruction of democracy, he had been emotional, as if it had been his own experience.
And he said: it’s a special place for special people.
This world was clearly a prison.
But it was not just a prison. It was a prison where Varka had brought everyone who was running into the destruction.
And the second reason was Dungpyong. At first, Sungjin had thought that he was just a guy who had betrayed his leader to get a bigger reward, but… although he had seemed like it with his facial expressions and looks, what Sungjin had felt while in close combat with Dungpyong was that Dungpyong wasn’t fighting because of his greed or obsession. Sungjin thought maybe Dungpyong had a story that was different from what he could see, and it wasn’t too difficult to assume that.
Varka’s illusion started to talk again.
“When you destroy the Stone of Closed Space, everything will go back to how it was. These vengeful spirits will create tribes according to their races and will follow their desires while calling those acts ‘freedom.’”
That was the free country that the people who were now locked in this world created. There was Sungjin, who was a clear exception, but the rest were like that.
“This world is clearly a prison that controls everything and everyone, but do you really think this is worse than the chaos where there was nothing but thieving, raping, and killing? Choose. If you want to destroy this Stone of Closed Space or put it back.”
“I…”
Sooryun fell down on her knees. Now she could remember. I was… I was…
She had died in the middle of the chaotic hell… and her death had been miserable. She had ended up imprisoned in this world with other vengeful spirits.
The place she was at before her death was a hospital made from tents. It didn’t really look like a hospital. She was a doctor who had gone there to take care of refugees, but soldiers had suddenly walked in, and she had tried to stop them.
What is going on?
She had known about the serious conflict between tribes, so she hadn’t tried to use her humanitarian methods, but found a better way.
She divided her team in two, and she built-up a refugee hospital in the middle of “Algal” tribe, while sending the other team to the “Tara” tribe to build a hospital there. That was the best that she could do while those two tribes fought against each other, and it was the way that she found that considered her goal to help them and the situation of the tribes, but… her devastating end came from a different source.
“It’s them. They are the cause of this epidemic!”
In that country, shamanism was still the biggest faith. The shaman pointed to the doctors who had come from the outside to help them as the cause of the epidemic because doctors were everywhere because of the endless death and dead bodies, but the truth was that the doctors were only trying to go where people were suffering because of the epidemic.
The stupid and conflicted country had a democratic revolution only to end up with… its own destruction.
So she died there like that, and the civil war and epidemic never stopped.
“Ah… ugh…” Sooryun started to scream from the powerful curses and pain from the vengeful spirits. Is this punishment for my wrongdoing? Did I do something wrong?
She had only wanted to make a world where everyone could have freedom and rights, but maybe that was wrong. Maybe Varka was right. Maybe it was a harmful wish. Her goal to set these people free only pushed them back to hell.
It broke her heart that she was pushing them into hell even though she had tried to help them. Why didn’t I… let it be as it was… It’s my fault. I destroyed their peaceful lives. She started to cry in despair and regret. I shouldn’t have destroyed the World Stone. Varka’s tyranny had been salvation for the people in this world.
This pain must be the punishment for my wrongdoings.
Sungjin had to decide now. What should I do? Should I leave this world as it is for Sooryun and for the people who think this world is their salvation?
It would make these people peaceful, at least on the surface, but then… what about the people who were waiting for him? His precious girls. People who counted on him for their future and Sungjin’s own dreams.
He felt bad for these people, but he had already started to play the game, where he couldn’t take even one step back.
So he had to decide now… Should I step on them and go forward? Should I ignore Sooryun and the vengeful spirits and destroy this world? They needed to deal with their own karma.
What would he do?
“It’s because of you… because of you!” The next moment, someone jumped on him, blaming him.
Fighting back the sword that tried to cut him, Sungjin looked at his opponent. It was Dungpyong. He looked like a total mess. He had lost his left arm and his left shoulder. He had holes all over his body, and his blood vessels were tangled with wires. It was almost unbelievable that he could stand up, but he kept trying to attack Sungjin. Dungpyong’s spirit was already beyond his physical abilities.
“Because of you… my lady…!” Dungpyong had felt it when he first saw Sungjin, that he could enable the lady to reach the World Stone, which would only make Sooryun find out the truth that she was better for not knowing.
This world was a distorted paradise, but this was the salvation for Sooryun.
Until Sungjin showed up.
The hope for freedom, which was impossible to achieve, was a little idea that Dungpyong had let her have to not feel boredom. A daily, peaceful life was a good life that he wanted to keep for Sooryun, so he had tried to stop her plan, first by stopping Sungjin, then by becoming a traitor. Even if she hated him for it, he wanted to keep her safe.
She was the most precious thing… She was the only one who had saved him when he was abandoned… she was his family… He wanted to keep her safe, but now they had ended up here.
“Without you… we can go back!” Dungpyong tried to attack Sungjin, screaming. He knew that none of his blows would hit Sungjin, but he didn’t stop. He didn’t care if his soul was burning away, he just wanted to save the lady, and killing Sungjin was the only way to do it.
The World Stone was not yet destroyed. If they let it heal for a while, it would recover from its crack and everything would become as it was before.
I can erase some parts of my lady’s memory and plant the strongest chip on this guy’s head and lock him in a faraway city. This is a distorted paradise, but at least it would be better than looking at Sooryun in pain, suffering by vengeful spirits in hell!
“I understand.” Sungjin avoided Dungpyong’s attack and tripped him, and then cut Dungyong’s leg joint to stop him.
“Ugh. What do you know! For her… are you going to give up leaving this world?”
Sungjin looked at the guy who couldn’t move but who was still glaring at Sungjin in anger. “No.” Sungjin’s answer was firm.
Dungpyong was angry that he couldn’t do anything against this conqueror who would never change his mind.
“Sure.”
Sungjin didn’t try to use Sooryun for his needs. He didn’t know the secret of this world. But at the last moment, he could make his choice, because he wouldn’t give up everything and everyone who was waiting for him for Sooryun, who was just a brief encounter in this world. So I want to stop it.
“Ugh…” I can’t stop this? This world is going to fall apart and my lady will fall back into hell again? I can’t let that happen, even if I need to give up my life to stop it!
Sungjin pushed him down with his sheathed sword. “Stop moving. I didn’t answer you yet.”
“What?”
“The world to go back to and this world: your question was what I will do. Let me show you. This is my answer,” said Sungjin, leaving Dungpyong in order to approach Sooryun and hold her tightly.
“Sungjin…” In Sungjin’s arms, Sooryun cried in pain and asked, “Did I do something wrong? So… they are punishing me now?”
“No, you did nothing wrong.”
“But… ”
“Your dream was not a wrong one.”
“But the result of it is bad. People became more miserable. This world is… really… really… so these people… blame… me… like this…” She was no longer the graceful lady; she looked like a little girl crying in pain.
“Yes, but sometimes failed idealism hurts many people.” Sungjin didn’t deny the fact. The world wasn’t easy enough to get a good result when people act on good will. So to change the world to a better place, Sungjin needed much more than good will and courage; he needed wisdom. It was a difficult thing to do, but it was his responsibility as a leader. “So I will take the responsibility from now on.”
“Huh?”
“I’m not going to make your wish to destroy this world to free everyone become a wrong one.”
She had joined him in good will, but the sin that had been accumulating in this world was distorting their good will.
Now it’s my job. “Listen! You shouldn’t blame her,” Sungjin shouted to the vengeful spirits. “You should blame me!”
The vengeful spirits started to look at Sungjin. “She was simply following my order! I was the one who challenged the one who created this world, and I’m the one who’s trying to defeat him!” Endless vengeful spirits were ready to attack him, but Sungjin was cool. “If you want to stay in this world, I’m the one you should kill! Not this girl!”
When Sungjin finished his words, vengeful spirits started to move and leave Sooryun’s body to jump on Sungjin. “Ugh.” A torrent of vengeful spirits covered Sungjin. From head to toe, vengeful spirits bit him. It was the scream of spirits that didn’t want to go to hell again.
Huh. Sungjin didn’t kneel, instead taking the pain. So this is the price I need to pay.
It was the price he had to pay for breaking the ideal world that Varka had created. The victims created from destroying its power stood against him, but Sungjin was ready to take them all.
“Yeah, blame me. But listen.” It was a fight of a soul against other souls. They didn’t need any power. It was a fight of will. It didn’t matter for Sungjin that it was his will against a few thousand souls. He was trying to create a new history for the world. There was nothing he couldn’t handle. “But what you really want is to live in a peaceful world controlled by the chip?”
The forced order and peace might have been better than the hell where they had to kill each other just to survive. They just accepted the less terrible thing, but… People always wanted to have something better, to live in a better place. It was almost impossible that they were truly happy with their comfort without freedom.
“This world can’t be the ideal world that you want to live in.”
“It is better than hell.”
“I don’t want to go back to that place.”
When the vengeful spirits screamed out, Sungjin answered, “I’m not saying you have to go back! I am telling you to move forward!”
“How?”
“I will take you there,” the conqueror of the continent promised the vengeful spirits.
His soul opened a world in their minds. Sungjin showed everyone the history of the continent that he had made.