Chapter 440: Lies (13) |
With a confused expression, Kwon Oh-Jin stared at the version of himself in the video. “The final lie…?”
It felt out of nowhere. What lie could there even be in this situation?
—Well, even if I say it like this, the me who’s watching this video right now probably won’t understand a thing.
He was right.
“Is this… really something I recorded?”
The Kwon Oh-Jin in the video wasn’t even talking to him directly, yet had somehow predicted this situation two years in advance with eerie accuracy.
“Yeah, it is. Oh-Jin would’ve definitely…” Song Ha-Eun trailed off, clenching her trembling fists.
Two years ago, she recalled how Kwon Oh-Jin had locked himself in his room for a whole month while muttering into his phone.
So, this was that.
—Before I start, I should explain something first.
The Kwon Oh-Jin in the video continued solemnly.
—Right now, I… no, would it be correct to call this you? Hm… whatever. I’ll just call you “you” for convenience. You probably don’t remember anything about me anyway. Is this what that bastard, the Heavenly Demon, felt like?
The Kwon Oh-Jin in the video grumbled under his breath.
—Not long ago, I had a run-in with the Heavenly Demon. Well, a “run-in” makes it sound mutual. In reality, I got completely toyed with.
The Heavenly Demon? Who’s that?
—Even if you can’t understand now, just listen. You’ll understand everything later anyway.
Kwon Oh-Jin faintly laughed. “Ha…”
His past self knew exactly what he was thinking.
—I couldn’t even fight him properly. Seeing him this time, I became certain of one thing.
He turned deadly serious.
—With the power I have now, I can’t stop him unless I give up everything.
Everything included even himself.
—Maybe it’d be possible not to give up everything if I only had to stop the Heavenly Demon. I had thought of a method.”
Song Ha-Eun flinched because she knew better than anyone what that method was.
—The problem is his Black Heaven. Even if the Heavenly Demon dies, that Black Heaven won’t just disappear.
“You… knew all along.”
She thought Kwon Oh-Jin had simply given up on everything and shut himself in his room. In reality, he had known everything from the very beginning.
—The only way to stop the Black Heaven after it devours the Heavenly Demon’s consciousness is to sacrifice everything I have.
He knew he had to give up everything to stop the Heavenly Demon. Then, why had he left this video?
—But the thing is, I don’t want to give up anything.
The day he first faced the Heavenly Demon in the Demonic District, he had vowed to protect everything in his hands. He would never let anything go.
—So, I thought about it. How to fight an enemy you can only defeat by giving everything up while also giving up nothing at all.
Giving up nothing while giving up everything?
“How would that be possible…?”
—I’ve tried a few things since deciding to do so. Long story short, no such method exists.
Of course, the premise contradicted itself.
—So, I’m going to change the order.
“Change… the order?”
The Kwon Oh-Jin in the video grinned as though answering his question.
—First, I’ll give everything up. Then, I’ll retrieve it all back later.
Ah. That’s what he meant.
If a door only opened after letting go of the treasures, then all one had to do was drop the treasures just long enough to open the door and pick them up again afterward.
—Listen carefully. This part is important.
Kwon Oh-Jin steadied himself.
—I have exactly two things that the Heavenly Demon doesn’t.
Two differences existed between the two Kwon Oh-Jins.
—One is the Stigma of Lyra. Thanks to Vega’s Stigma, I can control the Black Heaven better than he can.
Come to think of it, Cassia had told him to try using his Stigma when he first woke up.
“I… can’t use the Stigma.”
For the past month, he had poured blood, sweat, and tears into trying to activate his Stigma. However, the Stigma of Lyra carved into his chest had never shown even the slightest response.
—The second difference is the power of my lies. I can lie to myself and create fake memories or illusions. Think of it as a kind of self-brainwashing.
“Ah…”
The final lie he mentioned earlier referred to this self-brainwashing.
“Creating false memories through lies.”
If that were the case, would he just live his life believing fabricated memories to be true?
“That’s… how you plan to get back everything you gave up?”
Could living while clinging to fake memories and manufactured experiences really be considered retrieving everything?
—Why? You don’t like it?
As if he had predicted this reaction, the Kwon Oh-Jin in the video chuckled.
—Of course, you wouldn’t like it. Memories gained through lies are just fake, after all. No matter how good I am at lying, I can’t spend my whole life believing false memories are real. Eventually, the lie will unravel with time, and everything will reset to zero.
Then, what was he supposed to do?
—That’s why, this time, the one I’m trying to fool… isn’t you.
“Not me…?”
Who was the lie for?
—The Black Heaven I possess knows that I can lie and create false memories since I used it so many times while training, but the Black Heaven the Heavenly Demon possesses doesn’t know I can create false memories.
Their two Black Heavens had now become one. Even after merging, the Heavenly Demon’s Black Heaven hadn’t disappeared completely. Just like how mixing blue and red clay didn’t make the colors completely turn into blue or red.
—If a false memory created by lies is inserted, the Heavenly Demon’s consciousness will rush at it to devour it, thinking it’s real. The Black Heaven that I originally possessed will know it’s fake, so it won’t react. In that exact moment, the Black Heaven will split into two again.
It wouldn’t be a clean split like cutting it with a knife, but a chaotic tear in something that had once mixed into one.
—Of course, it won’t stay split for long. The Heavenly Demon's Black Heaven isn’t stupid. It’ll soon realize the new memory is fake and return to its original place. Before that happens—
With burning eyes, the Kwon Oh-Jin in the video stared intensely into the camera.
—Take my memories that have been trapped inside it and escape.
Kwon Oh-Jin gasped faintly. “Ah…”
He didn’t fully understand any talk about the Black Heaven or the Heavenly Demon, but one thing was clear.
Kwon Oh-Jin could regain everything he had lost.
Song Ha-Eun asked in disbelief, “V-Vega… is this even possible?”
“I’m not certain, but…” Vega trailed off and clenched her fist tightly. Her eyes shone like stars. “If it’s a lie created by Oh-Jin himself, it may indeed be possible.”
“Even so, this is…”
“You did not see Oh-Jin training as much as I did, so you may not know.”
Vega recalled the nights when Song Ha-Eun and Isabella were asleep, and Kwon Oh-Jin trained outside alone. While gasping for breath, his skin had necrotized as if he were truly wounded.
“The lies he speaks of may be fake, but the illusions he creates are indistinguishably close to reality.”
It was an illusion so perfect that it could even deceive the Black Heaven.
“Wasn’t that lying technique something he learned through the Black Heaven in the first place?” Song Ha-Eun asked.
Vega shook her head firmly. “No. He only used the Black Heaven to aid his concentration. The technique itself is not related to it.”
This power didn’t come from the Black Heaven or his Stigma. Kwon Oh-Jin had gained it purely through his own effort and through his life itself.
Even the Heavenly Demon, who had lived a different fate, never acquired this technique. It belonged solely to Kwon Oh-Jin. He had created this skill on his own.
—You only get one chance. If you’re too slow in finding my consciousness inside the split Black Heaven or if you can’t get out in time… then even the one month of memories you currently have will disappear completely.
Kwon Oh-Jin’s expression hardened like stone.
A month of memories… To others, that would seem like nothing. For him, it was already everything.
—So, what will you do? If you don’t want this, you can turn the video off. I’m not like that bastard. I won’t force my will onto you.
Kwon Oh-Jin stared at the phone and bit his lip hard. “I…”
Only now did he realize why he had given himself one month.
He wants me to choose. Just like you once did. No—just like I once did.
Kwon Oh-Jin dryly laughed. “Ha.”
“You bastard… you already know exactly what I’m going to choose, don’t you?” he asked the Kwon Oh-Jin in the video.
As if responding directly to his question, the Kwon Oh-Jin on the screen burst into mischievous laughter.
—Well then, the fact that you’ve watched the video up to this point means you’ve made your decision, right?
He deeply exhaled and nodded. “Haaa…”
—Of course, as I explained, it won’t be easy.
It sounded incredibly difficult just from the explanation.
—Even if you’re in a subconscious space, the pain will feel completely real. It'll be agonizing enough to make you want to die, but it’s fine. Since you're in a subconscious space, you won’t actually die as long as you endure it.
It didn’t sound fine at all. Kwon Oh-Jin bitterly smiled as he watched his past self in the video.
—If it’s you… No, if it’s me, I can do it. Because hardships you can overcome just by enduring…
Why did he suddenly know exactly what the next words would be? The answer surfaced in his mind without warning.
“…are nothing.”
—…are nothing.
