Chapter 385: Reunion |
The reappearance of his brother left Ryu Won completely bewildered.
“Wasn’t it just an illusion?”
Unable to believe it, he subconsciously reached out to touch his brother’s body.
Feeling the warmth, Ryu Won’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“It’s... it’s real. You were really alive...”
Ryu Min steadied Ryu Won’s trembling shoulders.
“Calm down and sit. We have a lot to talk about.”
With a smile, Ryu Min headed to the sofa, and Ryu Won, barely seated, couldn’t help but ask.
“What happened? How is it that... we buried your body, but...?”
“Then how?”
“I’ll tell you everything honestly because I don’t want to hide anything from you.”
After a sigh, as if he was slightly nervous, Ryu Min began to speak.
“I come from another timeline.”
“Another timeline...?”
“It’s a long story, but we have time, so I’ll explain it calmly.”
In a composed tone, Ryu Min continued his account.
“To begin with, I didn’t fail in the final round.”
“So?”
“In fact, I completed the round and was able to enter the Chamber of Wishes. There, I wished to turn back time.”
In his new attempt in the 101st cycle, Ryu Min perfected his strategy in the round.
As a result, he was able to bring 97 people to the final round.
“Many things happened afterward, but to summarize, I eliminated everyone involved in creating the survival game and acquired the power to control time.”
“Control time...?”
“With that power, I was able to go back. To a point in time where our parents were still alive.”
Parents.
It was a deeply longed-for word for Ryu Won.
“You met Mom and Dad...?”
“Yes. I found them, and we lived together. In a new timeline.”
“Timeline... you’ve mentioned it before... what exactly is a timeline?”
“Well, let me explain it as simply as possible.”
Ryu Min patiently explained about timelines.
That you can’t really go back in time; instead, parallel worlds are created each time you do.
That every use of time power creates countless parallel worlds, and each one of these is called a timeline.
Seeming to understand, Ryu Won’s eyes widened like those of a deer.
“So... which timeline is this?”
“This is timeline number 100. And where I live with our parents is timeline number 102.”
“So, the reason you didn’t come back is...?”
“Yes. I was in another timeline. And it seems the body in this timeline stopped breathing because I left it.”
He thought his brother had died in the final round, but that wasn’t the case.
His brother was facing greater enemies in another timeline.
Trying to break free from the shackles of the survival game.
“I thought you had died in the final round...”
“I’m sorry. I regret leaving you alone.”
Ryu Min hadn’t anticipated that things would turn out this way either.
He discovered later that moving to the past created another timeline.
Though, once he obtained the power of time, he could return.
But it was clear that the reason he didn’t return was the happiness of being with his family.
He hadn’t mentioned it earlier out of guilt.
It would have sounded like a cheap excuse.
“Jumping between timelines and dimensions... it sounds like science fiction.”
“It’s hard to believe, I know. But it’s the truth.”
“And you say that Mom and Dad are in another timeline? And that I’m there too...?”
“Yes. In every timeline, there’s another version of oneself with the same consciousness.”
“It’s incredible... and strange at the same time.”
Though it seemed hard to believe, Ryu Won continued asking questions, trying to understand.
“So, the brother I see now... is he the same one I knew?”
“Yes. I’m the one you knew here, in timeline number 100, who survived only until the Chamber of Wishes... It’s me. Although the current body is from timeline 102.”
“Oh...”
Ryu Won nodded slowly, trying to organize his thoughts.
Timelines and all, hearing something so absurd at once needed time to sink in.
“It’s hard to believe, but I won’t dismiss it. In a world with angels, traveling between timelines doesn’t seem impossible.”
“You believe me then?”
“Yes. I always believe you. It must have been wonderful... living with Mom and Dad in timeline 102...”
Ryu Won spoke with envy in his voice, curious about the other world.
“And how is the other version of me? Is he happy?”
“Of course. That world has no survival games, no angels or demons. He recently had his graduation. Well, my graduation.”
“My brother’s graduation... I wish I could have been there.”
There was a melancholy tone in Ryu Won’s voice.
This world was very different from the other, filled with happiness.
Of course, Ryu Min, who could read minds, understood his brother’s feelings well.
‘We lost our parents, and 1.8 billion people disappeared in the survival game. Besides, he thought I had died and considered suicide.’
His brother was closer to unhappiness than happiness in this world.
Knowing that truth broke Ryu Min’s heart.
And more so, responding to his brother’s next question.
“Brother, could I go to timeline 102...?”
“You can’t. There’s already a Ryu Won there.”
“I see... Can’t you turn back time here either?”
“No, it would just create more timelines.”
“I understand...”
Wishing to live with family was a longing shared by both.
But it couldn’t be fulfilled.
Only he could jump between timelines, thanks to his power.
“Do you have more questions?”
“You said you lived several years in timeline 102, how is that possible? Not much time has passed here...”
“The flow of time varies in each timeline. Like different rivers flowing at different speeds.”
“So, minutes here could be hours there?”
“Exactly. Any other questions?”
“Um... why did you come to this timeline?”
The key question finally came out.
Ryu Min was expecting this question and answered immediately.
“There’s an enemy that wants to destroy the timelines.”
“An enemy?”
“He’s a dimensional God named Deorant, a mad God who wants to destroy all timelines because he doesn’t like them multiplying. That’s why I move between timelines.”
“Is that god... in our dimension?”
Ryu Min shook his head.
“I haven’t found him yet. I don’t even know how to. But recently, I encountered a suspicious creature that seemed to be one of his henchmen.”
Ryu Min explained about the monster he had encountered in front of the shopping mall.
It had almost killed many people, but Ryu Min managed to stop it in time.
“It’s an alien that takes human form. And it seems he’s not alone.”
“Are there more of those on Earth?”
“Yes.”
“How will we find them?”
“There’s a Rune of Light Speed that allows me to move at the speed of light for three seconds. I’ll use that to search the entire Earth. In about 20 minutes, the cooldown will be over, so I’ll have to wait a bit longer to search again.”
“Oh...”
Ryu Min wasn’t just trying to protect humans from the survival games but also from this new danger.
“This time it’s not just Earth, but the entire dimensional universe.”
Ryu Won felt useless upon realizing this.
“And to think I was considering suicide over my brother’s death...”
Although he had no special abilities like his brother, he wanted to be helpful somehow.
“Is there anything I can do to help, brother?”
“Rest here. Oh, and just in case, let me do this.”
A light emanated from Ryu Min’s hands and was absorbed into his brother’s body.
“What was that?”
“Hero’s Protection.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s what I gave you last time.”
“The time two angels broke into our house?”
“Yes.”
Ryu Won remembered almost dying then, but thanks to the 10-second invulnerability effect, he had survived.
“It grants you invulnerability so you can avoid danger. It also sends me a notification so I can teleport to you.”
“It wasn’t necessary, but thank you, brother.”
Grateful for his brother’s protection, Ryu Won also felt a bit guilty.
“How embarrassing, I can’t help, only receive protection...”
It bothered him not being able to help his brother, but he also felt the need to do something.
“So we need to find the location of those aliens?”
“Yes, but...”
“I’m going to try to find them. Maybe there’s something in the news.”
“Are you going to check all the news in the world?”
“It’s the least I can do to help, don’t you think?”
Ryu Won smiled and began searching through the Korean news portals on his phone.
“Hey, brother!”
“What is it?”
“The monster you saw was at the Uijeongbu shopping mall?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“There’s an article about it here.”
Ryu Min looked at his brother’s phone.
As he thought, there were many articles and photos on the portal’s main site.
Ryu Won clicked on an article showing CCTV images.
———————-
Title: Breaking News! The Reappearance of Black Scythe We Thought Was Dead?
Content: Today at 7 pm, a naked old man appeared walking in front of a shopping mall in Uijeongbu. Two security guards tried to stop him, but the old man pulled out a weapon and stabbed them. The guards died on the spot, and citizens fled in terror. The old man began inflating his body like a balloon, revealing that he wasn’t an ordinary old man. At that moment, someone appeared who wouldn’t allow more victims. The one and only Black Scythe. Although he wasn’t wearing his usual mask, those fleeing recognized his characteristic scythe and began to calm down. Some even returned for a closer look. Suddenly, a black sphere surrounded the old man and Black Scythe. Moments later, the sphere disappeared, leaving only the old man’s corpse and Black Scythe. In that brief moment, Black Scythe had eliminated the monster. Black Scythe vanished into thin air as the police arrived. His reappearance has sparked curiosity and excitement among netizens. GTBC, reported by Han Dong-cheol.
Comments:
Did Black Scythe really come back?
Really? Is this a joke?
Where has Black Scythe been all this time?
I thought he was dead; there was even a funeral.
I don’t understand what’s going on.
Thanks to Black Scythe, many lives were saved today.
What was that monster?
It wasn’t an ordinary old man; it was definitely a monster.
They say the monster didn’t use a weapon but transformed its body.
Lucky that Black Scythe was there to stop it.
——————
“The world is going crazy over your appearance, brother.”
“Yes, that’s me.”
Ryu Min didn’t deny the news.
Although the sheer number of comments overwhelmed him a bit.
“This is chaos... everything is filled with articles about you.”
It was the moment when Black Scythe’s reappearance became known worldwide.