And as soon as Zio recognized the area as a âspaceâ the background changed as if paint was spreading.
The new area was a small European-style lab that reeked of old books.
The titles of the books were all written in unrecognizable letters.
Outside of the half-open window, a field of rice could be seen.
The papers blown away by the wind fell towards Zioâs feet.
Zio chose one of the papers and picked it up.
âWhat were these calledâŠ? A formula?â
ăI see. Is this the landscape that comes from you? No, perhaps itâs a little mixed up with mine.ă
A voice echoed throughout the space.
She couldnât see anything. Zio was puzzled as she looked around.
And then a sound of laughter came.
Something touched Zioâs cheek as if it was caressing it.
ăI missed youă
ăMy â â â â ă
ăAh, I guess itâs âGyeon Zioâ now. Gyeon Zioă
ââŠwho are you? Where the hell are we? Did I get kidnapped?â
ăYou are still as fearless as ever. I wish I was a kidnapper, but this is just your unconscious world. I had forgotten that your rank is infinitely insignificant and weak compared to mine.ă
ăEven engraving a holy marriage is difficult, so I had to forcefully use it. So to be more precise, itâs your unconscious body inside me.ă
âWhat are you talking about?â
ăHmm. is it because you are still young? You have not grown enough yet. Havenât the runners talked about it yet? About the white world and encounter with the holy beings.ă
Higher being
A star(Deity)
And those chosen by them.
âŠthe incarnations.
As if a lightbulb turned on, these things suddenly came into Zioâs mind.
Zio shouted in surprise âStar?â
The star laughed.
ăPlease note that the process you would watch from TV isnât as peacefulă
ăWhat a merciful Deity I am. You are without a contract huh? The casualties I would have to deal with in case our cat gets hurtâŠă
âAwakening. An awakening⊠wait, dad!â
âDad, what about my dad? My dad is a hunter, he is out there in danger! I shouldnât be here. I need to go get my dad. Get me out of here!â
ăâŠă
The deity responded in a somewhat convincing tone.
ăWhat will you do if you go out there? Is there anything you can do by yourself?ă
âWhatâs the matter with you star-ahjussi!â
ăA-Ahjussi?ă (She basically referred to him as an old man)
A beam of light.
âLet me out! I am here! Open the door! Save me, Gyeon Zio!â
ăChoose your words carefully. You like the kidnapping play yet you donât intend on becoming a real kidnapping victim.ă
âDear mom and dad. Zio is okay, so donât give in to threats, and the 100 million won the kidnapper requests is for my brotherâs tuitionâŠâ
ăHey. can you put down that pen!ă
Zio rudely threw the quill and ink bottle, they felt uncomfortable to use.
Lying down, Zio glared at the air.
âWhat do you want! You filthy bastard.â
ăWhat the hell does your mother show to her daughter? Hold on a second⊠a husbandâs seduction, wanted, secret, whatâs wrong with all these titles? You are supposed to watch Pororo as a kid.ă
âAre you kidding? I stopped watching Pororo when I was 4 years old.â
Zio raised the bridge of her nose as if she was a prodigy of a thousand-character pen.
Then she glared with contempt.
âNow that I look at it, there is a stickerâŠâ
ăItâs not a sticker, Itâs a stalker.ă
The deity murmured in a tired tone.
ăI didnât want to say it in a situation like this, but you are not giving me a chance to set the mood.ă
âWho are you! What are you going to do to me!â
ăI will give you the world.ă
ââŠhuh?â
Hwak-
Little Zioâs short hair fluttered.
A wind flew by behind her back.
She was sure she was lying on the floor, but it suddenly disappeared.
Before she knew it, Gyeon Zio was floating in the air. And when she blinked againâŠ
Milky way
She was in the middle of it.
Hundreds of millions of stars were at odds with birth and extinction.
âWowâŠâ
Born noble, live fiercely, yet die in vain.
The said series of events were being constantly repeated around Zio.
A phenomenal yet overwhelming sight that a human eye wouldnât dare understand.
As she was looking at it with a blank stare, a sound came into Zioâs ear.
ăWealth, and power
Victory and glory
Omniscience and omnipotence.ă
ăI wonât fail and I wonât be defeated.ă
ăVictory for mortals canât last an eternity, but yours will.ă
ăThe world will be at your feet whenever you want.ă
ăIf you wish for it, even death wonât dare take you.ă
The sound no longer echoed throughout the room.
ăHowever, all this is only possible if you and I are connected.ă
He whispered closely, caringly and lovingly, like an affectionate lover.
ăYou belong to me. So once again be connected with me.ă
ăLetâs sign a contract, Gyeon Zio.ă
ăJust one word, and then both me and the world will belong to you.ă
Gyeon Zio almost gave an answer as soon as she heard it.
It was almost like that.
But the one word âI willâ stopped right before it came out of her throat.
The thing that caught the little girl who was about to fall into the temptation of a star wasâŠ
Her father, Gyeon Tae-song.
It was her back that she was watching a few hours ago.
Before she knew it, the space went back to its original white color.
Her feet touched the floor that didnât have a floor. Zio looked up into the air.
There was nothing, yet she could undoubtedly feel a gaze.
ââŠâ
The gaze of a hesitant nine-year-old Gyeon Zio.
The transcendent generously responded.
ăNot bad. You are a human being, and if we had to separate it, you would be in the middle, closer to the line.ă
ââŠcan you hear me?â
ăIs it an exception if I read your thoughts.ă
It felt a little embarrassing because this star was strangely sweet.
Maybe thatâs why. Zio groaned in a complaining manner.
âAre you stupid? I want to have power, but how come itâs not bad enough to want to be a hunter?â
Power came with responsibility.
Gyeon Zio remembered the eyes that stared at her fatherâs back.
Eyes that were violent and barbaric enough to be considered traumatic.
She wanted to have power to be able to protect her family and loved ones, butâŠ
She didnât want to be pushed aside just because she had that power.
To be more precise.
It was scary.
ăHmm.ă
The deity who was looking down laughed.
ăI am in a position where I am begging for a contract and wish to comfort you. Otherwise, I canât erase your sadness that comes from your useless worries.ă
It was a tone that would be used when dealing with a child. So of course, Zio was furious.
âWhat, the rest of us are serious right now!ă
ăYou donât have to.ă
âHuhâŠ?â
ăCome out only when you are angered.ă
ăYou can do that.ă
ăThatâs right. The play you are doing this time. Think of it as if you are the role of a king out there.ă
A bystander king, who had no work to do, yet was full of power.
ăYou are pushed back? You can hear the dog eating its grass.ă
ăWho dares to bark at the throne built by power? The world will be grateful just by having you.ă
The voice of the deity spoke sternly. It would have been even more perfect if he had said it while drawing faith.
Little Zio rarely felt embarrassed.
âNo, thatâŠâ
ăThis is why you chose the role of a king.ă
âT-Thatâs true.â
ăLazy, violent, capricious, and selfish.ă
ăWhat can I do about your true nature as a tyrant? You donât have to change your nature just because you got awakened.ă
âT-The ahjussi is just spitting out whatever he wantsâŠâ
ăI told you I am not an ahjussi.ă
Is also a bit petty.
Zio argued since she felt annoyed.
âHow old even are you? I am only nine years old.â
ăâŠAnyways. Itâs fine to just eat and play every day, or do whatever you wish, you just have to go to the tower often.ă
âTower?â
ăThe Babel Tower. Itâs less restrictive there.ă
There was no direction, but the wind blew through the bridge of her nose.
It was as if she was being tickled by fingertips. Zio shook her head to get rid of the feeling.
The deity gave a low laugh.
ăHow sad and unfortunate. It will take quite some time until we can talk directly like right now.ă
ăAfter completing the covenant, you and I will only get to communicate through âBabelâ.ă
âWhy?â
There were many echoes mixed in with his voice, but it felt clear as if it was only one to Zio.
ăBecause we are different.ă
âLonely.â
As if it was just an illusion, his tone changed yet again.
ăBecause you are so small. No matter how much I try to split, I canât even see you properly. What can I do?ă
ăBut when you visit the tower, the Babel will serve as a buff, that way I hope you can grow up fastâŠă
âBy the way.â
ăHmă
âI never said I would sign the contract.â
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