Chapter 358: Origin Regression (3)

Back when my orphanage director was a child, kids his age would watch TV instead of scrolling on their smartphones. They couldn’t choose what to watch on TV, only whatever the broadcasting stations showed. Since employees were needed for the stations to run, the screen stayed dark during sleep hours. It was like a shop that closed at night. When the broadcasting stations were off their clocks, the TVs didn’t show anything.

Pzzzzz—!

When nothing played on the TV screens, static composed of black and white dots took over. They looked like bots playing a fast game of Go. That was what I saw when I stood up. It was a very... very... very dizzying sight.

Pzz, pzzzzzz—!

[The stage on the seventy-sixth floor has been terminated by force.]

The sky split in two. Black and white waste liquid poured out from the gap like mold. The sky was the first to be consumed, then the people under it. Finally, even the horizon was swallowed.

Pzzzzz!

[The Sixth Pillar, the Primordial Staff, has intervened.]

[The Primordial Staff maintains control of the stage.]

In a world where black and white mixed and created chaos, a mage leaned on her staff. She was one of the Pillars that ran this Tower—the Primordial Staff.

The Pillar looked at me.

“That’s an interesting claim, Death King. So are you saying that my choice was wrong? I’ve considered both this heaven and you to choose the most appropriate examiner, and that was Yoo Soo-Ha. Are you saying that it’s the wrong choice nonetheless?”

The Pillar’s eyes were silver, like water with a sword within it. I didn’t avoid the silver sword even though it was pointed at me.

“Yes. Even if Yoo Soo-Ha dies, he will never wish to be reborn here,” I said.

The Pillar remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, she grabbed her staff more tightly.

“Yes, you may be right, but what about this place then?” The Pillar raised her long staff high. With all her strength, she slammed it onto the floor.

[The Primordial Staff has activated her power.]

Swoooosh!

White waves rose from where her staff struck. A flood followed, washing away the darkness that had been eating away at this world.

The world of static noise changed.

[The Primordial Staff is teleporting you.]

[You have entered the seventy-seventh floor.]

[You aren’t allowed here.]

“This is the Mechanical Heaven Realm,” the Primordial Staff said.

It seemed she was using her magic because we were floating in the air. Below us, a futuristic city spread out. Smooth skyscrapers without a single visible pillar or joint stood proudly. The buildings were linked like neurons in a brain while roads stretched between the skyscrapers like spiderwebs.

“In this world, many mechanical dolls live. To use your terms, they’re NPCs.”

Many humans walked through the city. If the Pillar was right, most of them were NPCs, not Hunters who had been reborn with their souls intact.

“The Constellation of this world, the God of Machines, controls millions of mechanical dolls. The humans reborn here don’t know this and think the NPCs are fellow humans. It’s understandable they don’t get suspicious because the mechanical dolls that the God of Machines makes look and act a lot like humans. And...”

“And?”

“The dolls always lose to humans at the key moment of the humans’ lives.”

A boxing match was displayed on the city’s billboards.

She continued, “The humans reborn here

always

beat the dolls in such an intricate manner that the humans never notice that the dolls are letting them win, so they never suspect that their opponents are actually just mechanical dolls.”

Thump!

A boxer with red gloves hit his foe and sent him to the floor. Cheers rose from the crowd beyond the screen. The boxer in blue gloves staggered while the boxer in red gloves pressed forward.

“Those who are reborn here are meant to live a life of success. Even when their defeat seems imminent, they’ll still prevail and taste victory. The confidence that comes from overcoming life’s trials and all this joy are the gifts from the God of Machines to humans.”

Finally, the red boxer landed an uppercut on his opponent’s face.

Thud!

The blue boxer fell on the ring floor while the red boxer’s face lit up with the certainty and joy of his victory. The referee rushed over and separated the two.

“It’s a kind of game where victory is always guaranteed, but the residents never suspect it. They can’t help but believe that everything they have achieved is a result of their skill. What do you think, Death King? Don’t you think this is the apt place to be Yoo Soo-Ha’s heaven?”

The referee took the red boxer’s wrist and lifted his arm. With excitement, the red boxer roared, and the crowd answered with an even louder cheer.

“I’ll admit that you know Yoo Soo-Ha well,” the Pillar said quietly amid the cheers. “Yes, maybe I made a mistake. As the floor manager, I apologize for that. To make up for it, I’ll mark the seventy-sixth floor as cleared. You can start clearing the seventy-seventh—"

“How long do you think this can last?” I asked.

“What?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Those who wished to leave the outside world entered the Tower. If they want to abandon even the Tower, then they’re sent to one of the Nine Heavens, which are spread out from the seventy-first to the seventy-ninth floors, but is that it? What if the souls who come here want to leave again? Are you going to create another heaven inside heaven? Will you build a Tower inside a Tower, and then another Tower inside that one, and continue doing that forever? Even after building the thousandth, the ten thousandth, the hundred thousandth, the millionth floor?”

The Pillar bit her lower lip. Her staff trembled despite how tightly she was holding it.

[The Primordial Staff is teleporting you.]

[You have entered the seventy-eighth floor.]

[You aren’t allowed here.]

“How about here?” she asked.

The world changed again. A calm village by the beach spread out before them. People stood in pairs, chatting or eating.

“This is the Couple Heaven Realm. Here, everyone can find their match. Even if you didn’t meet your soulmate in your past life, you’ll meet them here and live forever—”

“There’s no end to this.” I deflected the sword hidden in the Pillar’s eyes with the sword in my voice. “Primordial Staff, I can tell who you are in the Tower. You’re the underworld judge of the Tower, deciding which level of heaven the souls who died in the Tower will go to. Like Yama[1] from the outside world. The difference is that you never send anyone to hell.”

[You have uncovered the Primordial Staff’s true identity!]

[The Primordial Staff has activated her privilege as the Pillar.]

[Distorting your memories related to the Primordial Staff.]

[The attempt has failed.]

[All the attempts to distort your memories have failed!]

My fox god was still wrapped around my neck. I nodded and stared at the Pillar, the judge who sentenced and sent all the souls who had died in the Tower.

I said, “You made two mistakes.”

“Mistakes? What do you mean?”

“The Tower never forces humans from the outside world to come here. That choice is theirs. They have to decide if the life of the Tower will suit them and whether they’ll abandon the outside world. All the Hunters here have voluntarily chosen to come here themselves.”

I clenched my fists as hard as I could.

“But you didn’t ask them what they wanted. You didn’t ask the Paladin if she would choose the Musical Heaven Realm when she dies. You just made your own judgment that this realm in particular will be the best heaven for her. You summoned the Countess, the Viper, the Inquisitor, the Chemist, and Yoo Soo-Ha without asking any of them if they wanted to be here. But your worst mistake is that everyone who goes to the heaven floors you manage forgets their memories.”

“What’s wrong with that? These souls left the world to go to a place that will make them happy. There’s no need to recall memories they hated or the world they abandoned,” the Primordial Staff replied.

“We didn’t choose to be born in the outside world, but we chose to live in the Tower. It’s the world we wanted to be born into. Unlike the outside world, where we ended up without knowing anything about it beforehand, we chose the Tower. That’s why the Tower has a meaning!”

I took a step forward. Perhaps the Primordial Staff’s magic ended. For a moment, I lost my balance and nearly fell, but I immediately used my aura to walk on air.

“But you made them lose the memories they chose to remember!” I shouted.

“

Urgh.

”

“Your heaven floors have erased the meaning the Tower barely managed to establish. You’re basically rebuilding the outside world inside the Tower. You aren’t qualified to be the judge of heaven.”

The Primordial Staff gritted her teeth. “Just because you say these things, that doesn’t mean you’re rig—”

“I’m not done.” I looked up. “Yoo Soo-Ha!”

Pzzzz—!

“You must be listening to this! You choose! It’s your decision! The Primordial Staff made her judgment! Is there a heaven between the seventy-sixth, seventy-seventh, and seventy-eighth floors that you want to go to after you die? Decide if the Primordial Staff is fit to judge!”

The sky crackled and opened up.

“Or you can just tell both of us to get lost! The Lion Realm is where you and I live. Is that realm your only world? If you die, would you want to be born in the Lion Realm again? Decide who is right: the Primordial Staff or me!”

—What will you give me?

Crackle!

From the gap in the sky came the same static noise as before. White and black dots flickered as Yoo Soo-Ha’s voice flowed down.

—You can’t tell me to choose without giving me anything in return. I don’t really understand what’s going on, but you’re competing with that Pillar or something, right? And you want me to take your side. Deal. Tell me what you will give me.

“Do you really have to be so true to yourself even in this moment?”

—I’m bound to act this way after some random kid killed me.

I clenched my jaw, but what leaked out wasn’t the sound of my grinding teeth—it was laughter.

“You crazy jerk. You’ve always been like this, even before I killed you.”

That was the kind of man Yoo Soo-Ha was. Even if he had to live in a pile of trash, he would still prefer to be alive and screw over the entire universe as long as he could keep his memories. He couldn’t and wouldn’t go to heaven. Unless it was a pleasure of his present, he would say fuck no to everything, even the afterlife.

I burst into laughter. “I’ll dance the hopak for you! For one day, two days, a week, it doesn’t matter! I’ll keep showing my dance skills until you ask me to stop. I’ll dance ten or twenty times longer than you ever did, you fucker! So screw heaven and keep living in our world!”

The sky fell silent for a moment.

—Hmm...

That doesn’t sound like a bad world.

Before the Primordial Staff could frown, the examiner sided with me.

—Deal.

A sharp warning sound pierced my mind.

[The seventy-sixth floor’s stage has been terminated.]

[The seventy-seventh floor’s stage has been terminated.]

[The seventy-eighth floor’s stage has been terminated.]

Pressing her forehead, the Primordial Staff cursed. “Seriously, you rascals—”

The Tower made their decision.

[A motion has been raised that the Primordial Staff is unfit to serve as a Pillar.]

[Inquiring Zrakua for confirmation.]

[Unable to confirm.]

[The answer to the motion exceeds the Tower’s authorization level.]

It had been a really long time since I heard these messages.

[The Tower is confirming the motion again.]

[Confirmed.]

[The raised motion is valid.]

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

[The Tower has conceded the Death King’s motion to be a formal agenda.]

.

[The Tower has requested the Six Pillars of All Life to convene for a majority vote meeting.]

White and black sand filled my vision.

1. Mainly known as the god of the underworld. ☜