Chapter 6: The Stigma of Lyra (3)

On his way home, Kwon Oh-Jin stopped by a nearby burger joint to pick up dinner.

“Two Woppah meals, that’ll be 15,800 won! Will this be for takeout?”

“Yes.”

Damn, why are burgers so expensive these days?

His hand shook like that of an alcoholic as he pulled cash from his wallet. Paying over three times the normal price for a frozen burger made his stomach churn.

“Your two Woppah meals are ready!”

After taking his order, he turned away from the smiling cashier and headed down a narrow alley of rundown houses. The air was thick with humidity and the smell of mold.

He looked up at the dark sky and let out a short sigh,

“Haa.”

In the end, it’s another lie, isn’t it?

An old memory from over fifteen years ago resurfaced, a fragment of a time that now felt foreign to him.

“A lie? You’re saying it was a lie?”

When Kwon Oh-Jin was about eight or nine years old, he once pranked the director of the orphanage by lying that there was a fire in the kitchen. The director's bald head turned bright red as he stormed around. Kwon Oh-Jin flipped the director off, bursting into laughter as he did.

“You little brat!”

Flushed with anger, the director clenched his fists and approached Kwon Oh-Jin. The average middle-aged man with diabetes, high blood pressure, and hair loss had somehow mastered the skillful art of delivering punches without leaving a mark.

Kwon Oh-Jin curled up into a ball as the director beat him up.

“Don’t hit Oh-Jin, you bald bastard!”

A delicate-looking girl jumped in, her reddish-brown hair swaying like fire. Her movements were as fierce as a wild beast, but a ten-year-old girl was no match for a grown man.

“You brats!”

The director lashed out. Kwon Oh-Jin and the girl clung to each other as they endured the director's punches.

“Seems like I'm still that same kid from back then,” Kwon Oh-Jin muttered to himself.

With a bitter smile, he walked through desolate streets that seemed to have been terrorized by the monsters. Eventually, he arrived home.

Creak.

He opened the worn-out door to a cramped room that was just a little over 300 square feet.

“

Ugh.

”

The faint groan echoed, and the creaking of an old bed followed.

Did the sound of the door wake her up?

“I’m home.”

He carelessly set the burgers on the floor and took off his shoes.

A woman on the bed slowly sat up as she pulled back the blanket. Her fiery reddish-brown hair shone beautifully even in the mold-ridden shack, like a ruby drenched in mud. Meanwhile, her lifeless washed-out eyes turned toward Kwon Oh-Jin.

“... You’re back?”

With fumbling hands, she pushed away the blanket, revealing a single pale left leg where there should have been two.

He nodded with a faint smirk. “Yeah, I’m back.”

The girl stared blankly at him. She then smiled and gestured with her two fingers as if she were ordering a servant around. “Hurry up and light me a cigarette, then.”

He chuckled at the sight.

“Geez, you're bossing me around the second I walk in?”

“Oh,

geez

? Is that how you talk to your precious big sister?”

“Big sister, my ass.”

“I hear that’s a trendy way to be addressed these days.”

Is that so?

“Big Sister Ha-Eun?”

“

Ugh

, stop it. That’s disgusting.”

“You told me to say it, Big Sis.”

“

Hahaha

! It’s pretty gross to hear it in person.”

Seeing her act the same as always made Kwon Oh-Jin smile.

Looks like nothing bad happened.

Song Ha-Eun was two years older than Kwon Oh-Jin and had been his only solace during his hellish days at the orphanage. Even after leaving that place, their awkward yet strong bond persevered.“Here you go.”

He rolled up the receipt from the burger joint and stuck it between her fingers. He then lit it with a lighter.

Click.

“Haaa, ack! Cough, cough!

W-What the heck is this?!”

“A cigarette,” replied Kwon Oh-Jin.

“Cigarette, my ass!” Song Ha-Eun shouted. She angrily threw the burning receipt away.

Kwon Oh-Jin picked it off the floor and put out the flame.

“Cut back on smoking. What if you mess yourself up even more?”

Song Ha-Eun shrugged and smiled. “

Hmph.

For your information, I’m still way healthier than you.”

She wasn’t just bragging. Although she couldn't use the mana in her Stigma, she was still an Awakener and thus far stronger than him.

However, this was no longer the case.

I’m an Awakener now too.

“I brought some food.”

“Oh, thanks. What’s on the menu today?”

“Burgers.”

“

Heheh

! That's what I’m talking about! You’ve got good taste!”

Song Ha-Eun laughed in satisfaction. She loved burgers not because she found them particularly savory but because they were easy to eat. For someone who couldn’t see, using utensils was no simple task.

Rustle.

He unwrapped the burger and handed it to her. She then bit into it with her small mouth.

Chomp.

“Huh?”

Her eyes widened in surprise. She took a few more bites in disbelief.

“W-What? What is this? Why is it so good?”

“I bought it from the diner and not the frozen food aisle.”

Song Ha-Eun’s jaw dropped in disbelief. With her voice shaking, she asked, “What? A-Are you sick? Did a monster hit you in the head?”

He wondered if she was really that surprised over a cheap burger. However, he quickly realized that her reaction made sense, considering his usual demeanor.

“I made some money.”

“But it’s not like that was ever the issue.”

She was right. It wasn’t because he couldn’t afford it that he had been so extreme about saving money. While it was true that his job didn’t always pay well considering he put his life on the line, there were still times he earned millions of won in a single month. He could easily afford a burger meal at less than ten thousand won.

I’ve never actually bought one before today, though.

He had an obsession with saving as much money as possible.

There’s something I must buy.

He watched Song Ha-Eun devour her burger.

“You’ve got sauce on your mouth.”

“Ah, really?” She turned her head and stuck her chin out. “Here, I grant you the honor of touching my lips.”

“Oh, please.”

“You mean, ‘yes, please.’”

“You’re crazy.”

He wiped her mouth with a napkin.

“

Hehe!

Hey, what’s this called again?”

“A Woppah meal.”

Song Ha-Eun grinned with satisfaction. “

Aah

, as expected of the king of burgers!”

“From now on, I’ll get this instead of the frozen shit.”

Kwon Oh-Jin then took a bite of his burger too.

This is disgustingly good.

He was so overwhelmed that he felt as though he'd burst into tears. The burger was on a whole 'nother level.

A strange silence fell over them. After a moment, Song Ha-Eun turned toward him.

“Something happened, didn’t it?”

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded calmly.

“Yeah. I became an Awakener.”

Splash!

Song Ha-Eun's glass of cola spilled onto the floor.

***

Soft moonlight shone from a crack in the window that faced the night sky.

“Haa,

finally, some time to myself.”

Song Ha-Eun had bombarded him with so many questions that the sky had grown dark before he realized it.

Well, I guess it's only natural for her to be shocked.

After all, he had suddenly become not just an Awakener but also an apostle of the North Star, so Song Ha-Eun spent hours switching between worry, excitement, anxiety, and curiosity as she interrogated him. Of course, he didn’t fully explain the messed-up situation.

How the hell do I tell her that I tricked a Celestial into thinking I’m a Regressor?

His head started throbbing again despite the calm.

“Alright, let’s try and organize this.”

Kwon Oh-Jin headed to a nearby playground, sat on a creaky swing, and closed his eyes.

First, let's address the Black Heaven. It seems to be something I’ve had all along.

The mysterious power on his left chest had consumed the Stigma of Lyra. He didn’t know why this unknown power resided within him, but he was sure of one thing: the Black Heaven had always been his, which meant it had nothing to do with Lee Shin-Hyuk’s regression. If he hadn’t used the Black Heaven to absorb the Stigma of Lyra, Vega would’ve never even mistaken him for a Regressor.

And Vega believes that the one who possesses the Black Heaven will destroy the world in the future.

This implied that Kwon Oh-Jin would bring the world to an end, but no matter how many times he mulled it over, it made absolutely no sense.

What on earth happened to me in the original timeline?

He always knew the world was messed up, but he never once thought that wiping everything out would be the answer.

“Well, I can’t figure all that out right now, so let’s move on.”

The more pressing issue was the fact that he possessed the Black Heaven.

I have to keep this a secret no matter what.

If Vega found out about it, she would also figure out that he wasn’t actually a Regressor but an imposter who had absorbed the Regressor’s Stigma.

Seriously, though, what the hell is the Black Heaven?

A power that could absorb Stigmas and make them his own? He had seen plenty of Awakeners over the years, but he had never heard of such a power before.

Kwon Oh-Jin brought up the system interface that only Awakeners could see. He then selected 'Black Heaven.'

Ring!

A blue system window popped up in front of him.

[Inherent Ability List]

【Black Heaven】

1. Status: One-Star Enlightenment.

2. Traits:

3. Stored Stigmas:

Kwon Oh-Jin groaned lowly.

This doesn’t really tell me anything.

The system message was just a summary of the Black Heaven's abilities. It didn’t explain what the Black Heaven actually was or why it resided within him.

“I guess I’ll move on again.”

Eventually, Kwon Oh-Jin stopped thinking about why all of this was happening to him. Mulling over pointless thoughts on the swing here wouldn’t give him any answers.

Right now, he had to prioritize forming a game plan for his meeting with Vega next week. He would have to put on a convincing Regressor act for her then.

“A Regressor, huh...”

There’s a limit to how much I can convince her with just words.

If he couldn’t prove his skills and abilities, then it wouldn’t matter how clever he was with words. Vega would surely start harboring doubts.

For Vega to acknowledge my worth, I’ll have to get the Stigma of Lyra to at least a two-star before the week's up.

Awakeners had to meet two requirements to ascend to the next level.

The amount of mana contained within the Stigma and the ability to handle the Stigma.

Kwon Oh-Jin didn’t have to worry about the former.

I’ve got more than enough mana.

Having gained the Stigma from both Vega of the original timeline and Vega of this new timeline, his mana was practically overflowing. If he could just improve his ability to handle the Stigma, he could ascend far quicker than other Awakeners.

“I'll have to go to the gate again tomorrow.”

Two or three years ago, an Awakener he had partied up with mentioned that the fastest way to improve one’s control over a Stigma was through real combat experience; many high-ranking Awakeners frequently entered gates to experience quick growth.

Time to head home and get some sleep.

Creak.

He got up from the swing and left the eerie playground. On his way home, he decided to check his phone.

“Huh?”

A certain news article caught his eye.

[A strange phenomenon occurred in a one-star gate in Sinheung-dong, Incheon, where more than twenty Anthorns were seen together... Numerous victims reported.]

This was the gate he had gone to earlier today.

[The association advises against entering the gate for the time being, citing the possibility of a mutant appearance.]

“A mutant, huh.”

Kwon Oh-Jin squinted.

I didn’t see any mutants back then.

Maybe he had missed it. After all, he wasn’t in a situation where he could afford to pay attention to every detail at the time.

Will I be able to handle it?

Mutants were rare variants of monsters. While some mutants were weaker than the original species, they were normally significantly stronger. Newly awakened one-stars couldn’t even dream of fighting those things off.

However, Kwon Oh-Jin wasn’t an ordinary one-star Awakener. Even the apostles of the twelve Zodiacs were several times more powerful than other one-star apostles. Kwon Oh-Jin was the apostle of a North Star—a star incomparable to the twelve Zodiacs. Just today, he had single-handedly slaughtered an entire swarm of Anthorns. Sure, Vega had helped him at one point, but...

I was handling things just fine even before receiving her blessing.

In fact, he had already found the fight easy even when he only had Lee Shin-Hyuk’s Stigma from the original timeline. Now that he had both Stigmas from the two timelines, he didn’t even have to think twice about how much easier it would be.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Kwon Oh-Jin nodded.

“Good.”

His destination for tomorrow was set.

***

The next day, Kwon Oh-Jin made his way to where he had first met Lee Shin-Hyuk. As soon as he reached the gate, he heard the clamor of other Awakeners.

“I’m a two-star Awakener of Fornax! Is there anyone who would like to party up?!”

“Two-star Awakener of Canis Major here! Heading out to hunt mutants!”

Quite the huge crowd they’ve got over here.

Despite the Association’s warning to avoid the gate, there seemed to be even more Awakeners than usual.

They do say the Starstone of a mutant is sold for way more.

They all seemed to be here for the same reason.

Kwon Oh-Jin paused for a moment to think.

Should I join a party?

Now that he was a real Awakener, he no longer had to resort to his desperate shitshow act. He shook his head.

No. I'm confident enough to face the mutants on my own.

Partying up would mean having to split the rewards and lose out on the full experience of a proper fight.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

He stepped into the gate and headed toward the exact spot where he had encountered the Anthorns the other day.

The forest path was dim, and the sticky humid air made him uncomfortable.

Rustle

.

Hearing movements from the bushes, Kwon Oh-Jin grabbed the spear strapped to his back and then lowered his stance.

They’re coming.