Chapter 98: Path of the Depth (7)
...
[ALERT! ALERT!]
[REMOVE INFILTRATORS!]
Adults from around the building began to chase after them. Small Jaehwan quickly killed the people blocking their way as they ran up. Sirwen wanted to ask, ‘Aren’t you afraid of them?’
However, she knew the answer. He would say-
‘I am not afraid.’ Or, ‘They are only numbers. They are not real.’
“It’s time we part ways.”
They had arrived at the roof.
“That’s your way out.”
There was a hole a bit further away from the fence of the roof, just enough to be reached if one jumped. It was getting smaller by the second.
[REMOVE THEM!!]
More adults began rushing out of the door to the roof. Small Jaehwan fought to hold them back as he spoke.
“I have a question.”
“Huh?”
“Do I have friends outside?”
Sirwen couldn’t ask. Did he have a ‘friend’? There were a lot who loved him. Chunghuh, Cayman, Euren, Karlton… leaders of Ten-Clan, and others.
But, were they his friends?
He was revered, admired, and worshiped. However, no one understood him.
He was just too powerful. Someone beyond imagination.
“Yeah. A lot.”
He was just a man, after all. He would feel lonely too.
SIrwen then realized that Jaehwan had been alone for too long.
“I see.”
She couldn’t see small Jaehwan’s face as he answered. She suddenly became teary as she looked at him. She knew it wasn’t possible, but she had to ask. She tightly hugged the boy from the back.
“What?”
Small Jaehwan flinched at the sudden contact.
“Do you want to go with me? Get out of this place, together.”
“Together…?”
“Yeah.”
The boy answered, “No. I have to stay.”
Even if there was no one around, even if the world itself was against him, the boy decided to stay. To protect this world. To never give up.
Sirwen then realized that his mother was right. That made-up story was not a lie at all. The Little Prince had not given up this world.
“Now, go.”
Siren felt tears flowing down her cheeks.
“Yeah. I’m going.”
Sirwen then turned back. Just like the boy, she had a job to do.
‘But maybe… this isn’t goodbye after all.’
She glanced back at the boy who was running against countless adults rushing in, towards his own world. Sirwen thought to herself, ‘Maybe I should tell him about the boy.’ When he became lonely, or when he could no longer bear the burden that had fallen on him, maybe then she would tell him.
‘Goodbye, Little Prince.’
When she realized it, she was back at the Wave of Memories.
‘I should give up on Godfather’s memory.’
She couldn’t risk falling into [Uncanny] again. Besides, she wasn’t sure how long had passed since she was inside. She didn’t know about the time flow yet.
‘But I think I can make a good tower now.’
She couldn’t find her Godfather’s memories, but her level as a [Nightmare] had increased.
‘I should join his expedition team. I’ll have him tell me the memories slowly.”
She thought as she held onto the red particle, ‘Oh, I didn’t check what this memory was about.’
Red was an important memory from what she heard. She caressed it, checking to see what it was about.
‘This…’
The memory came into her mind, and within it was the information from Mulack’s [Record from the Depth]. It was about a being that Mulack had met before he entered <Depth>.
The disaster of <Chaos> – Sole-King Catastrophe.
‘Sole-King Catastrophe?’
She read the memory.
[Information]
Individual: Sole-King Catastrophe
Title: The first Awakener, Disaster of <Chaos>, King of Dead Men
Approximate Power: ???
Description: Sealed away by ‘Void Factory’ made by the first [Masters] at the beginning of <Chaos>
Etc: Void Sword
Why was this memory red? She couldn’t understand it. They had to go through Catastrophe to get to <Depth>, but they didn’t need to fight him. If the one who entered <Depth> was an Adapter at the stage of a General, or an Awakener with their own world, he or she had the right to enter <Depth>.
Beside, Catastrophe wasn’t a being that could be fought.
And there was no one powerful enough to fight him in <Chaos>. Not even the Generals…
‘Wait. Is he…?’
Then, she began to puzzle out some of Jaehwan’s actions that had not made any sense. Suddenly, she felt her consciousness shattering into pieces.
‘No… I have to stop him!’
She hoped that she was not too late as she fell unconscious. Sirwen only woke up after two weeks, and it was after Jaehwan had faced Sole-King Catastrophe.