Chapter 411: Feeling |
“What is this sensation?”
Ryu Min felt a strange energy while moving at the speed of light. It was a feeling he had experienced before.
“It seems like my power is increasing.”
He had felt the same when another version of himself had died in Seo Arin’s timeline.
“Wait a moment. Could it be that if I die myself...?”
Ryu Min hurried his movements.
He was searching for someone—himself.
It was the Ryu Min who lived in Min Juri’s timeline.
“He’s not here. No matter how much I search with the Rune of Light Speed, I can’t find him.”
Ryu Min had no choice but to search for Min Juri.
“Min Juri.”
“Ah, what a scare!”
Min Juri jumped as if she had seen a ghost when Ryu Min suddenly called her from behind.
After all, who wouldn’t be frightened if someone suddenly appeared in an empty room and called your name?
“Ryu Min... How did you get in here? We’re on the tenth floor.”
“Well, I flew in through the window.”
“How did you know where I live?”
“That’s not the point now. Can you try to contact me—the other me from this world?”
“What?”
Min Juri knew very well that he was the original Ryu Min.
After all, how could she think of another Ryu Min if someone enters her apartment on the tenth floor through the window?
But she never expected the original Ryu Min to be looking for the other Ryu Min.
“Hurry. It’s urgent.”
“Ah, okay. I’ll try to contact him.”
Min Juri had avoided reading his messages and had blocked him.
If she tried to contact him now, it would seem strange, but since it was urgent, she decided to call him.
“Why isn’t he answering?”
“He’s not answering? Then let’s go to his house.”
“Go to Ryu Min’s house? I don’t even know his address...”
“Then where could he have gone? Where could this Ryu Min be?”
“Um... Ah! There’s a place. He told me he was working on a business.”
“A business?”
Ryu Min couldn’t believe that his other self was working just to earn money.
“Could he be interested in business?”
Whatever it was, he had to find him immediately.
“I’ll search online. I know the name of the business.”
Min Juri searched on a web portal and found a surprising news article on the main screen.
“Min, look at this.”
[Breaking News: A Lightning Strike on a Clear Day?]
At around 10 a.m. on Sunday, it was reported that a lightning strike occurred in downtown Seoul. The police confirmed that the lightning hit the roof of a building in the Seongsu-dong commercial district, resulting in one fatality. The police are investigating the incident in detail...
A lightning strike had occurred in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, and someone had died.
Although it was surprising, Ryu Min suspected that the deceased might be the Ryu Min he was looking for.
“Seongsu-dong? Is that where Ryu Min works?”
“Wait, let me check. Yes, that’s the place.”
The fact that lightning struck exactly where Ryu Min worked was too suspicious to be a coincidence.
“Ryu Min, do you think the deceased might be...?”
“Yes, I think it could be the Ryu Min of this world.”
“What?”
Min Juri covered her mouth, shocked.
Although she had mentally rejected the other Ryu Min, she realized that she loved the original Ryu Min.
But that didn’t mean she wished for the other Ryu Min’s death.
“No, it can’t be. It can’t be that Ryu Min died from a lightning strike, right...?”
“It’s just a guess, but the probability is high. Recently, Deorant has been looking for me furiously, determined to kill me.”
“Deorant? The Dimensional God? Have you already met him?”
“Yes. He’s quite powerful. I don’t stand a chance against him in my current state. That’s why I fled, and he became enraged when he saw that I killed the hosts and seeds.”
“So, the reason for the lightning from the sky...”
Ryu Min explained the truth.
“Yes, it was the work of the Dimensional God. He probably mistook the Ryu Min of this world for me and attacked him.”
“Ah...”
Ryu Min felt guilty.
After all, that person was also himself—someone living in this world.
“Because of me, the Ryu Min of this world, who had a relationship with Min Juri, has died. Though it’s just a guess for now.”
But soon, the guess was confirmed as fact.
-Min Juri... what are we going to do? My brother... he... he died on the rooftop...
A message from her brother informed her that Ryu Min’s funeral would be held soon.
After hanging up, Min Juri was in shock.
“It was true...”
“You still keep in touch with Ryu Won, right?”
“Yes, I recently reconnected while seeing Ryu Min... But I didn’t expect this to happen...”
Despite the sadness, the reality didn’t feel real.
How could the death of Ryu Min feel real when there was a man with his same face standing in front of her?
While Min Juri lamented the situation, the true Ryu Min was lost in other thoughts.
“So, the me of this world really has died. Without a doubt, it was Deorant’s doing. He mistook him for me and killed him. So, the reason my power increased is because... I died?”
Ryu Min had formulated a hypothesis.
That his power increased when he died.
He sought out the Ryu Min of this world to confirm it, and indeed, he was dead.
Probably due to the lightning sent by Deorant.
“It also happened in Seo Arin’s timeline. My power increased a bit before I left.”
What did Seo Arin’s timeline and this one have in common?
That Ryu Min, with the same face, had died.
“I need to investigate this in detail.”
If he were alone, it would be difficult, but fortunately, there was someone he could ask about this.
-Cronos.
-What do you need?
-I have a question.
-Hmph, you only look for me when you need something.
-Answer or I’ll destroy you.
-... What do you want to know?
-Another version of me from a different timeline has died. As a result, my power has increased, but I don’t know why this happened. I thought you might know.
-Hmm... You’re saying that when a version of yourself died, your power increased? What kind of power increased exactly?
-It seems like my tera has risen. Although it’s less than 1%.
-Your tera has risen? That means there’s room to increase your divine power...
-Do you have any idea why?
Cronos remained silent for a moment before responding.
-It seems that the power that separated from you has returned.
-What do you mean?
-For a timeline to be copied, an original is needed. In that process, part of the energy from the original being gets mixed in. Even at a sample level, timeline expansion is based on that.
-Speak more clearly.
-In short, the copied timelines contain, even if minimally, the power of the original. When your version from another timeline died, its power returned to you due to an instinct of belonging.
This meant that when Ryu Min from another dimension died, his power returned to him. It was surprising information.
If this were true, he could further increase his power.
“If I can boost my power, I’ll be able to confront Deorant.”
Though he had found a solution, there was a problem.
For his power to increase, Ryu Min from other timelines had to die.
“This is complicated. I can’t just go to other timelines to kill my other selves just to boost my power...”
As he pondered this, a doubt arose in his mind.
-Wait a moment. What about the timelines that have already been destroyed? There should have been a version of me there too. Why didn’t I gain their power?
-You can’t absorb the power of a self in another dimension. They at least need to be in the same timeline for you to absorb it.
-Ah... Is that it?
That explained why he had only absorbed power in the timelines of Seo Arin and Min Juri. In both, the original Ryu Min and his copy coexisted in the same dimension.
“Actually, the situation isn’t so bad. I already have a way to face Deorant.”
With an idea in mind, Ryu Min prepared to leave. He had finished his business in Min Juri’s timeline.
“It’s time to go.”
“What? You’re leaving? Where to?”
“Back to my original timeline.”
Min Juri couldn’t hide her displeasure from showing on her face.
“You’re leaving already? You said you had to find the host and seeds.”
“I already found and killed them all. Your timeline is safe now.”
“I see...”
Min Juri, unsure of what to say, asked a question in an attempt to make him stay.
“So what will you do now? How are you going to stop the God of that dimension?”
“I have an idea, but I don’t know if it will work. First, I’ll return to my timeline to check something.”
“What are you going to check?”
“If there’s any change in my memories.”
“Memories...?”
Min Juri seemed confused, but there wasn’t time to explain.
“Now I’m really leaving.”
“Okay.”
“Take good care of Ryu Won. He might have dark thoughts because of his brother’s death.”
“Ah... Alright. I’ll take good care of him.”
As Ryu Min turned around, Min Juri stopped him.
“Wait...!”
“Don’t worry.”
“...”
Without even looking back, Ryu Min said:
“I’ll return safely.”
——————–
While Ryu Min was dealing with Deorant’s underlings, the 102nd timeline, which he had named, was in chaos.
[One day, a puzzle of memories—’Player,’ ‘Survival Game,’ ‘Desire,’ etc.—triggers confusion among the population.]
[Memories of the survival game increase anxiety and fear among the population.]
[The memory implantation phenomenon causes widespread depression... Not only in South Korea, but worldwide.]
[Did I kill someone? Now, even memory confusion symptoms are appearing...]
Unlike other timelines, in this one, no one had been a player.
There had been no survival game.
Suddenly, vivid memories of angels, survival games, players, killings, desires, and rounds were implanted.
Those who had died early only remembered the first rounds, while those who survived longer recalled more rounds.
The clash of memories threw the world into chaos.
But.
“What is this? Everyone has survival game memories just like me.”
For Hwang Yong-min, this situation was amusing.
He would no longer be treated as a lunatic.
And best of all.
“It’s the perfect time to pull off a big heist amid all this confusion.”
If he committed a crime claiming mental confusion, he could avoid punishment.
It was the perfect excuse.
With that thought, Hwang Yong-min put on gloves and a mask.
Then, he picked up a large rock the size of his head.
He planned to smash the window of a jewelry store and rob it.
“Alright, let’s begin...”
“Drop it.”
Hearing a voice behind him sent shivers down his spine.
Hwang Yong-min turned around and dropped the rock in shock.
“B-Black Scythe!”
“Call me Ryu Min.”
The original timeline’s Ryu Min was there, smiling.