What was the most magnificent thing one could see after opening their eyes?
Some might say the antique sky, and others might say an [unknown ceiling], but I for one could give a clear answer to this question.
âGong-ja.â
That is Raviel.
âDid you regain consciousness?â
Raviel lifted her soft little finger and touched my forehead. Her index and middle fingers tapped my forehead, leaving a rhythmic sensation.
âRavielâŠâ
âmm.â
âI, it was so exhaustingâŠâ
I felt like I was about to burst into tears.
The place I was now was the Spire World. To be precise, the âSide Storyâ. This is where Kim Yul and Ja Soo-jung lived while attending the same middle school and high school. Our party had decided to stay in Ja Soo-jungâs house for the time being.
âIt was just supposed to be a dream⊠About God. The Tower Master. That person is just a crazy being whose entire life is a traumaâŠâ
Uburka and Ja Soo-jung(from this world) were staring at me, but I couldnât stop clinging to Raviel. The current me needed the soft scent of blue lilies to soothe my heart.
âHuh, the entire life is a trauma? How is that possible?â
âThat person is always watching other people die in her head. She even replaces them. [If I was on that battlefield, I would have been the one pierced by that spear]. Stuff like thatâŠâ
âArenât they just delusions?â
âIt would be great if they were just delusions⊠That crazy woman* really made it happen. She has a skill that allows her to traverse time, she remembers everything she experienced, and she has a grasp of all the causality in the world, and with thatâŠâ (*: aka crazy b**ch)
âMm. mm.â
Raviel patted me on the back.
She was smiling bitterly.
âMy wife must have seen some terrible things. Itâs rare for you to act like this. Itâs alright. Weâre safe here, nothing happened. You can rest on me a bit more.â
âRavielâŠ!â
âNo, you can take a long vacation. Didnât [The Lady Who Walks Through the Mirage] say it. The time in this city is completely isolated from the outside world. Rest for a week, a month, as long as you want to. Iâm glad this is my turn to comfort you, Gong-ja.â
Tears finally came out at that.
How is my wife so strong?
âIâve never seen Daddy cry before. UgorâŠâ
âIs that so?â
âUgo. I was wondering why Iâd never seen it before, but if I see it twice, I donât think Iâd be able to call him Daddy. In that sense, I think Iâve endured it pretty well until now. So Iâll go to sleep firstâŠâ
âAh. Iâll spread the bedding for you, Mr. Uburka.â
âThanks, house ownerâŠâ
With a bang bang boom, Uburka left the living room with Ja Soo-jung(from this world), their footsteps revealing their difference in mass.
Now, only Raviel and I were left in the living room.
âRavielâŠâ
âSay it, Gong-ja.â
As there were less people around and it was quieter, Raviel hugged me more comfortably. Gently. After kissing my forehead, Raviel patted her knees.
âIf it pushed my Gong-ja to the point of weeping, then it must have been terrible. But, I canât get a clear impression with just those words. Tell me a little more about it.â
ââŠyes.â
Pouk.
I laid my head on Ravielâs lap. Just in case my head might be heavy, I reduced the weight on Raviel by applying aura to my neck. This was natural. After all, when I go to get a haircut at the barber shop, the barbers always tell me to apply aura to my neck to make my head less heavy!
âKuku.â
Above my head, Raviel snickered.
âGong-ja.â
âYeah.â
âYour concern is cute. But I donât appreciate it. How heavy could your skinny head be? I want to take all of your weight. Honey, relax your neck.â
âHahâŠâ
âMm. Good job, good job. Itâs only when you relax your neck that you will truly relax.â
Summer.
A shadow covered the sky, and the living room became shaded. The feeling of the wind cooled twice by the clouds and the roof wasnât bad. It was refreshing. I pressed my head into Ravielâs lap as if I was trying to hide from the world.
âThis feels so good.â
Raviel laughed silently.
âMy lover went on a trip and came back safely. Thatâs a really good thing. I realized it from the start. Since the day I met you, good things keep happening in my life.â
ââŠâ
âWhat made you so sad?â
âJa Soo-jung⊠The Tower Master intends to comfort all of the people abandoned by this world.â
The cool summer evening air blew through the shade.
Here and there in the hanokâs shabby yard, grass bugs cried.
âIf there was a child who was burned to death, sheâd show them a new world. [If the Tower Master was with the child]. After creating that world, she would live happily with that child. Hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millionsâŠâ
âIt sounds like a very divine thing to do. Whatâs the problem?â
ââŠthere are people who want revenge, not happiness.â
The summer wind blew.
âPeople whose worlds are just hell. They canât change all of the pain they suffered in that hell, nor can they solve it. So the only solution isâŠâ
â[I will inflict more pain on the people who made me like this].â
ââŠyeah.â
I leaned more into Ravielâs body.
âThe Tower Master watches that person suffer in hell from start to finish. With her skills. And she doesnât help when she can, she doesnât stop them when she can, she just keeps watching.â
ââŠâ
Ravielâs hand paused.
However, it was only for a moment.
âIndeed.â
Raviel gently stroked the back of my head as if she understood everything.
âSo the cause of your distress is none other than the Tower Master. Thatâs what youâre saying.â
âYes.â
âThe resentment of the victims is naturally directed towards the Tower Master. Even if the Tower Master is God, no, because the Tower Master is God, they drag her down, lash out at her, tear her apart, trample her, just to relieve their own resentment. Is that itâŠ?â
âYes.â
I didnât nod.
I just left the weight of my head on Raviel blankly, without expression, and moved my lips.
âThatâs what they do.â
ââŠâ
âThatâs what she hopes for. For all the people who were made victims by the Kingdom to come to the Tower Master and return the exact same wounds and pain that they suffered in their life.â
âThatâŠâ
âWhatâs worse is that the Tower Master can see the lives of everyone who injures her. So she knows what is a lie and what isnât. That isnât normal compassion, she really knows and embraces the pain of others.â
ââŠâ
Cicadas cried in the grass.
âHer head is filled with scenes of people being stabbed to death, burned alive, or trampled to death. Always. Constantly. Those memories replay in her mind all day. She puts herself in that situation and actually gets stabbed, burned and trampled. Screams, Raviel. In the Tower Masterâs mind, all she can hear are screamsâŠâ
âRight. That is our God.â
Raviel let out a long sigh.
â[Happiness desiring happiness. Pain desiring pain.] The proposition is simple, the more the weight of humanity is erased, the more the Tower Master intends to shoulder the burden of mortals.â
ââŠyes.â
âItâs a terrible thing.â
Raviel ruffled the hair at the side of my head.
Her red eyes stared directly at me.
âIn the end, the solution is also simple, Gong-ja.â
ââŠright.â
âOne must find happiness within, not without. The Tower Master doesnât need to be that person. One should overcome their suffering on their own, not with outside help. They also donât need the Tower Master.â
âThatâs right.â
âEveryone has the right to bear their own misfortune. Itâs a natural fact, there are only a few people who can do it. How many people live a natural life in this world? Doing whatâs natural, saying whatâs natural, achieving whatâs natural and naturally having their dreams come throughâŠâ
It was a difficult task.
Looking up at the evening sky, Raviel muttered.
Perhaps, she was thinking of her own [difficult] points in life.
âDid the Tower Master say anything like [No one did anything wrong], Gong-ja?â
âYes. The Tower Master said [No one is wrong for being born].â
âItâs a sad story.â
Raviel skillfully opened a can of soda and placed it to her lips.
After quenching her thirst with a sip, she said.
âIn other words, that.â
Itâs this oneâs fault.
I apologize.
Sorry
âShe was saying that in this world, only her birth is wrong.â
ââŠâ
âGong-ja.â
âYes.â
âIs the Tower Master strong?â
I recalled the galaxy Iâd seen from the ruins of Harlem.
The countless butterflies flapping their wings. The stars made of butterflies.
âYes. Really strong.â
âCan you win?â
âI can win.â
Raviel looked directly into my eyes.
âIâll have to ask my man for a more definitive answer than that.â
ââŠâ
âI didnât love the person I might fall in love with. I didnât make a lifetime commitment with someone I might die together with. I loved someone I would love and promised to die with. Gong-ja, as the Moon of the Ivansia Duchy, you have to speak with more certainty.â
âYes, Raviel.â
I nodded.
âI will win.â
âWin.â
Raviel held my cheek in her palm.
âThe reason I chose you to be my lifelong companion is because you will win. Because you wonât fall. Because you will not forget your happiness. While the Tower Master uses misery to triumph, you, Gong-ja, will use happiness.â
Ravielâs face drew closer.
âMake all those around you happy. Share your happiness with those you are with. Be disciplined and train, so that you can be happy, so that those around you can be happy. And so this Tower can be filled with happy people.â
âI know itâll be difficult, butâŠâ
I smiled.
âLetâs do this slowly.â
âThatâs the man I fell in love with. HoweverâŠâ
Raviel smiled.
âMake me the happiest first.â
We kissed.
âUburka and the house owner might overhearâŠâ
âThe house owner doesnât seem to care. I already checked.â
âWhat about Uburka? Heâs a child who thinks of me as his real father.â
âIndeed. If he hears his daddy grunting and moaning in an unsightly manner, it might damage that childâs innocent heart.â
Raviel snickered.
âHoney, try not to moan.â
Um.
âRavielâŠ?â
âWhat is it? My love.â
âWhat are you doing with that towelâŠ?â
âIâm trying to be considerate so that you donât let out your moans subconsciously.â
âIs this really out of consideration for Uburka? Huh? Doesnât Raviel just want to have fun?â
âShh.â
Raviel covered my mouth playfully, her red eyes twinkling like rubies.
âThe child is sleeping. Be quiet.â
What could I do in this situation?
I had no choice but to follow my wifeâs lead.
I love you, Raviel.
I love you, forever.
4.
The next morning.
âHuaaa⊠aaaam?â
As I came out of the living room, I ran into Uburka.
Yawning, I waved at him.
âGood morning. Son.â
âBy the way, why does your face look like a snail who ate rock salt? Was your bed uncomfortable? Ah, you probably slept on the floor. I guess it canât be helped. Wait.â
Uburka trembled.
âDa-, DaddyâŠâŠ.â
âDaddy you shameless loseeeerrrrr!â
[The constellation âThe Musclehead Who Dreams of Sinning Against Heavenâ despairs]
With a lionâs roar, Uburka ran to the yard. Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, I was worried that the old hanok would be ruined by his violent footsteps. I checked the safety of the hanok before clicking my tongue.
âWhatâs wrong with him? Heâs not a child.â