Chapter 436: Lies (9) |
A pillar of black clouds rose into the sky. The bright blue sky, once bathed in sunlight, instantly darkened as though someone had spilled ink across it.
“W-What is that?!”
“The Black Heaven is going berserk.”
The Heavenly Demon’s heart had contained the last fragment of his consciousness. After Kwon Oh-Jin pierced and destroyed his heart, the Black Heaven’s black clouds completely consumed all that remained of his mind.
The clouds churned furiously.
Rrrrrrrumble!
Whatever stood there was no longer the Heavenly Demon.
It’s the Black Heaven.
This boundless mass of power, a darkness born at the beginning of creation, was driven solely by the desire to devour every star in existence.
Now that the Heavenly Demon’s consciousness has been devoured and the Black Heaven is running wild, the world will end just as Polaris’s prophecy foretold.
Before that greedy darkness, even Song ha-Eun, the one person the Heavenly Demon desperately wanted to protect, would become nothing more than prey.
To stop the rampaging Black Heaven…
Kwon Oh-Jin closed his eyes and deeply sighed. He already knew the way. After all, he had heard it from the master of the Black Heaven raging right before him.
I can only stop it by giving up some things, huh.
What a cruel irony this was. He had fought so desperately to hold on to the happiness he had finally grasped, only to learn that he had to let it all go to protect it.
“You knew all along, didn’t you?”
The Heavenly Demon understood better than anyone how hard, how painful, and how unbearable it was to give up the things he held precious. Because he knew, the Heavenly Demon tried to make it easier for Kwon Oh-Jin to let go of these things through him.
Kwon Oh-Jin dryly laughed. “Ha, haha.”
Just then, Song Ha-Eun frantically called out, “O-Oh-Jin, what are you spacing out for! Let’s quickly grab the others and get out of here!”
She ran over and tugged on his arm.
“You said it yourself before we came here! If the Heavenly Demon’s Black Heaven starts rampaging, we escape to the Sanctum and wait for another chance!”
Right, he remembered saying that.
Most of the Celestials had weakened from facing the Law’s restrictions. However, the Sanctum, where their powers could fully manifest, remained the safest place.
“Ha-Eun.”
“There’s no time! If we’re taking everyone with us, we have to move now!”
“Ha-Eun…”
Song Ha-Eun yanked his arm. “Don’t just stand there. Move!”
She looked anxious and afraid. Perhaps she had already sensed it.
“You… You’re not thinking of staying behind alone, are you?”
Kwon Oh-Jin smiled silently.
Song Ha-Eun’s face stiffened. “You said it yourself! That we’d run away first! You promised me!”
“I’m sorry.” Kwon Oh-Jin gently cupped her tear-streaked cheek. “It was a lie.”
She gasped through her trembling lips. “Ah. Y-You bastard!” She stumbled forward and furiously grabbed his collar. “You know exactly what happens if you stop that thing!”
The Heavenly Demon had clearly told them what it would take to stop the Black Heaven’s rampage. What one had to sacrifice and give up.
“Yeah… I know.”
He would probably never return to the Kwon Oh-Jin she knew. His memories would sink into the black clouds, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell.
“Then why?! Why are you staying here?!”
“Because I’m the Heaven-Defying Star.”
Only he could defy fate itself.
“This is my burden to bear.”
Only I can do this.
She tightly gripped his collar and shook her head. “No… No, no, no! Who the hell is the Heaven-Defying Star even supposed to be? There are other Awakeners and Celestials. Why do you have to be the one to sacrifice yourself?!”
“Ha-Eun.”
“Do you even understand what it means to lose all your memories? You’ll forget everything! Our time together at the orphanage, living together afterward, when I was cursed and lost my sight, and you helped me get it back. Everything! You’ll forget every single thing!”
Of course, he knew what it meant to lose his memories and what it meant for all of his past to disappear.
I’ll… forget everything.
Everything he had shared with Song Ha-Eun, Vega, Isabella, and Cassia. Everything he had done with the countless people he had met along the way. All the times they had argued and made up, fought and forgiven, wept and laughed, hated and loved.
All those moments of happiness as Kwon Oh-Jin would vanish without a trace.
I’m scared.
The thought of having his entire life erased and the path he had walked collapse into nothing felt unbearable. It was so terrifying that it could drive him mad.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced.
“Hey, you’re the new kid, right?”
It was the first time he had met Song Ha-Eun. He had been hiding on the orphanage rooftop, running away not just from the orphanage director, but from the whole world.
A girl had appeared in that tiny, shabby secret base of his.
“Let’s see… If this is a secret base, you don’t just let anyone in, right?”
“Even if Mom and Dad show up… I won’t let them in either. Ever.”
Abandoned by his parents, the little boy had built a wall of thorns around himself and rejected anyone who tried to come close.
“Then what about me, your big sis?”
“Huh…?”
“Will you let your big sis in?”
He remembered the girl’s smile clearly. It shone like the stars above the night sky.
“Big sis?”
“I’m two years older than you, so I’m your big sister!”
The little Kwon Oh-Jin could only remain silent.
“Even if your mom and dad can’t come in, I can, right?”
“Uhh… Y-Yeah?”
It was such a small, insignificant memory from childhood.
“Hehe. Now that I’m in, you have to think of me as your big sis from now on, okay?”
Looking back, those words probably didn’t hold any deep meaning. It was just a passing, playful joke.
Kwon Oh-Jin faintly laughed. “Ha…”
He looked at Song Ha-Eun, who was crying.
“Come to think of it, do you remember the first time we met?”
“H-Hic…? T-The first time?”
“Yeah. You know, on the orphanage rooftop. Do you remember what we talked about that day?”
Song Ha-Eun stammered, “Uh… w-well…”
Kwon Oh-Jin smiled faintly at her reaction. He knew that she didn’t remember what they talked about during their first encounter.
She didn’t have a bad memory and hadn’t taken their meeting lightly. After all, not everyone could recall every moment of their past.
With time, some memories faded and disappeared. However, that didn’t mean those moments never happened. Just like how the world didn’t disappear when one closed their eyes.
Song Ha-Eun didn’t remember what they talked about that day, but he still remembered it vividly.
“Geez! T-That’s not even important right now!”
“It is important.”
“Just what is—Mmph!”
He pulled Song Ha-Eun into his arms and kissed her deeply.
“W-What’s with you all of a sudden?”
“It’s okay.”
“What do you mean, it’s okay?”
“Even if you forgot, it’s okay.”
Right, he never needed to worry about this in the first place.
“What… are you talking about?”
“I still remember everything we talked about that day.” Kwon Oh-Jin hadn’t forgotten a single thing. He remembered all of it. “So…”
Just like how I remembered when you forgot.
“Even if I forget, you’ll remember.”
The Black Heaven’s clouds that had already covered half his body spread further.
Rrrrumble!
With only a beating heart remaining, Kwon Oh-Jin’s entire body turned into a mass of black clouds.
“O-Oh-Jin…”
“I’ll be back.”
He turned and walked toward the towering pillar of black clouds that pierced the sky.
Kwon Oh-Jin stepped toward the rampaging Black Heaven that had consumed every trace of the other Kwon Oh-Jin, who had walked a different fate.
Rumble!
As he approached, the pillar of black clouds came crashing down like a waterfall. The ravenous beast, driven only by desire and greed, bared its savage fangs at him. The two Black Heavens collided, twisting and writhing, each trying to devour the other.
Rrrrrumble!
The ground overturned, and space itself tore apart. A shock beyond comprehension swallowed the entire rift.
“Kugh…!”
The even battle began to tilt toward the rampaging Black Heaven. It swallowed Kwon Oh-Jin whole, greedily devouring his Black Heaven as well.
“So that’s how it is, huh.”
In terms of rank, Kwon Oh-Jin’s Black Heaven was the stronger one, but that alone wasn’t enough to stop the berserk force before him.
Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled faintly. “Ha.”
Suddenly, he recalled what the Heavenly Demon once asked him.
“How much are you willing to give up?”
If victory required him to make sacrifices, then only one right answer existed.
“Haaa…”
He slowly reached out and grasped the heart pulsing within the black clouds. Not the Heavenly Demon’s, but the one engraved with the Stigma of Lyra.
Kwon Oh-Jin smiled brightly while clutching his own heart. “This is my answer.”
Crunch.
His heart burst, and black clouds blanketed the sky.