/
Jaehwan kept on going through the scribbles. There were the scribbles left from ones that were here for the ones that were to come. It was quite humorous at the beginning, but the scribbles became darker as time passed.
3 billion 200 million years.
-The original one, you motherf*cking bastard! Why did you f*cking have to come here?!
-Ah f*ck… f..ck….
-1974th. I’m out.
4 billion 980 million years.
-Please.
-Come on.
6 billion 780 million years.
-SH*T SH*T SH*T SH*T
-….
-aaaAAAaAaAAaaaAAAahaAAA…
7 billion 920 million years.
…..
9 billion 830 million years.
…
And finally, 10 billion 14 million 210 thousand years.
The scribbles quickly decreased in number at some point and disappeared. But there were so many scribbles that it might take a lifetime to read it all. However, scribbles were the only things that were there.
To the side of the scribbles were truths of the universe. There were some Jaehwan knew, but most were what Jaehwan did not know which ranged from various Settings, theories, Awakening, Adaptation, as well as magic to creation. The information seemed to be the collection of all knowledge of the entire world. There was 10 billion years worth of history written in there. It was protecting him.
Jaehwan realized he was crying. He understood the meaning of time, how he had withstood 10 billion years, and who these voices were that lived those years in his place.
‘It was them. They lived those times for me.’
Countless screams and moans… they all came from his conscious, or his ‘clothes’.
Go to sleep because it was okay? What was okay? It was not okay.
Jaehwan realized there weren’t that many ‘clothes’ left within him now. Jaehwan couldn’t even imagine the burden of time that his clothes had to take on.
[I see. So it was your ‘clothes’ that Transcended, not you.]
It seemed like Mulack also realized something after looking at Jaehwan’s unique world.
[But how did that happen… giving other ‘clothes’ control of your spirit might drive you out of your spirit forever. How did you trust the clothes to do such…]
Mulack mumbled for a while and suddenly burst into laughter. After a while, the laughter stopped as suddenly as it started.
[…You are a pitiful man. Sacrificed your ‘clothes’ to maintain your ‘being’? Did you really need to go that far to make this world fall? What made you become such a monster?]
“This ‘universe’, including you,” Jaehwan said while gritting his teeth. His voice cracked because of his cries. The clothes that were Jaehwan himself but also weren’t Jaehwan died for him. They died to let Jaehwan stay as a being, to have him keep up the reason for starting this journey.
Yet, even if those sacrifices saved him, Jaehwan couldn’t defeat Mulack.
The ‘beings’ that had a reason to destroy the System did not have enough power to do it. The ‘Transcended’ ones who had the power to destroy the System did not have a reason to destroy the System because they understood there was no point in the end.
Jaehwan stood up with his broken sword.
“I am…”
He couldn’t give up now. Even if he hadn’t Transcended, even if he didn’t have the power to do it, he had to stand. He never gave up just because he did not have power. Even if he lost here, he would not give up. That was the least amount of respect he could pay for his clothes that died for him.
“I am…!”
It was then that a voice came.
-Hey, you want help?
Jaehwan became dumbfounded. It was one of the voices he heard in the ‘Fall of time’.
-I mean, I don’t want to, but I think it’ll be stupid if you die here.
‘You are…’
-Oh, right. You must be curious about who I am. I am, uh… let’s just say I stabbed for 100 million years.
‘What…?’
-Note that it’s 100 million years. Not 100 million times.
Jaehwan’s right hand began to shake. Something was taking place in his right hand.
-HEY! You all should help out here! You all want to play dumb because you Transcended? I hope you all don’t want to become Big Brother! …Dammit, assh*les. They don’t answer.
The voice kept on going alone.
-I think I’m the weakest among the remaining 16, but even then… wait. You should be the one begging. Hey, original body. Beg me to take control of you to fight instead.
But Jaehwan couldn’t. The space was now pressing him down.
‘This…!’
Jaehwan realized this power originated from the ‘Fall of time’. It was the power that had entrapped him for 10 billion years. The power of the ‘Fall of time’ was crushing down on his unique world. As Jaehwan moaned in resistance, an annoyed voice came.
-Ah, dammit! This is not what I imagined.
Something came into his hand, and the hand began to move on its own. With some kind of light shining brightly, a dimension in front had ripped apart horizontally. It was the level that Jaehwan could not get to even after millions of years of stabbing. Part of Panopticon was destroyed and the spirits of the Master Craftsmen were sucked away. Mulack was shocked.
Awakening 6th step: [Edit]
It was the ultimate stab that had been repeated for 100 million years.