Chapter 562

Puppeteer’s control over the Golden Ring was so fine-tuned that calling it godlike was no exaggeration. She edited the past, manipulated the present, and seized control of the future.

It was a truth that every chain of causality in their current world had effectively been decided by her. Regardless of whether one was a Perfect One or a Harbinger of Destruction, none could resist her.

After all, in the end, they were bound to the Golden Ring—to the world itself.

But I wonder if it works the same way for me.

Puppeteer could manipulate the world through the Golden Ring because the Golden Ring was the origin of the world. Then what if an irregular—someone who did not belong to the world, someone who escaped alone from a world that had already perished—existed?

Thump-

They could distort

everything

. A single variable created by that one irregularity would be enough to send a shock through that transcendent power that rewrote the past, present, and even the future.

Because that variable...

“... is the power of Regression.” The whisper, so faint that no one could have heard it, disappeared into the air.

However, the realization that came with it gathered all the scattered thoughts drifting through Se-Hoon’s mind like fog, weaving them into one, to reveal a truth he had failed to recognize until now.

Thump, thump-

He had possessed the answer, the truth behind the Perfect Ones, long ago. From the moment he learned about the Perfect Ones’ powers, or perhaps even before the power of Regression existed within him, he had possessed the truth.

Yet he had never been able to recognize it for one, and one alone, reason: never had he truly believed in himself.

Woong!

Could someone who failed to conquer the Tower of Heroes, someone who could not prevent the demise of the world once, really stand in the same realm as those figures? That question, originating from his defeat before regression, had shackled his synesthetic mindscape and continuously stopped him from taking that final step all the way to the present.

Crack-

But right now, in the current moment, Se-Hoon had broken free from every shackle that had bound him. Not even the origin of the world, the Golden Ring, could restrain him: the confirmation of that fact had

unbound

him.

Rumble!

Hope accumulated in humanity.

Destruction was unleashed by humanity.

One by one, every insight he had gained from witnessing the Perfect Ones fused into a single blueprint that drew a single ring around Se-Hoon’s heart.

Woong-

The palm-sized ring, made of pale gray light, was utterly insignificant and fragile-looking when compared to the Golden Ring that encircled the entire world. However, Se-Hoon paid it no mind.

Clatter-

Turning the ring counterclockwise, space began distorting like a corrupted screen as it slowly turned. And just as that distortion began spreading outward...

CRASH!

Golden light crashed down like lightning upon Se-Hoon’s head.

Instantly, golden cracks spread across Se-Hoon’s body like bulging veins. Just Doppelganger when she had bypassed the world’s rules to become a Perfect One, Se-Hoon was trying to ascend to that rank by forging a power of his own

without

climbing the Tower of Heroes—and thus the Golden Ring had begun its punishment.

“◼◼◾”

Was that the sound of his body collapsing or someone calling out to him? Se-Hoon’s senses had collapsed and twisted before he knew it, muddling together until he could no longer perceive even himself.

Neither his body, which had been honed to the limit through Soul Honing, nor his synesthetic mindscape could endure the crushing force. The existence known as “Lee Se-Hoon” was about to be flattened, snuffed out entirely.

Creak-

Yet the ring continued to turn. Despite his flesh falling apart and the crushing of his soul, the gray ring kept rotating around his heart. Slowly, endlessly, the ring turned counterclockwise.

And the very moment the spinning ring made contact with the Golden Ring’s interference pressing down upon him... the world

began changing

.

RUMBLE!

The Golden Ring surrounding the world stirred. In response, heaven and earth shook, celestial bodies reversing their courses.

The grey ring—Se-Hoon’s power of Regression—had resonated with the world. It began reaching toward the past—

“Stop!”

BOOM!

An impact that shuddered through his entire body followed the sharp cry. Feeling as though someone had snatched him mid-fall, Se-Hoon grimaced and looked toward the source.

Buzz-

The sight of the black ring formed of countless conglomerated letters made Se-Hoon quickly realize it was an enchantment made to imitate his gray ring.

“...”

He turned his head. There Lea stood, Sphere in hand, tense and focused.

He couldn’t understand. Why was she stopping him? How did she even mimic his ring? Could she be under the control of Puppeteer?

Swish-

Countless possibilities flashed through his mind, each unfolding into dreams before his eyes. And within those dreams, there was Lea’s betrayal, Puppeteer’s attack... and his pupils burning with a violent violet glow.

Squelp-

He pierced straight through his own chest with his left hand.

“H-hey. Se-Hoon?!”

Surprised, Lea panicked at the sudden self-inflicted wound and moved toward him, but Se-Hoon raised his right hand to halt her. Then, gripping the heart in his left hand, he slowly kneaded it to control his blood flow manually.

Thump- thump-

His frenzy of exhilaration gradually calmed, his turbulent blood settling. His thoughts began settling back into place one by one.

That was dangerous...

Finding the optimal solution given the situation was fine, but he had been far too rash afterward. No matter what, it was an attempt to forge a new power—a new law—so he should have acted more cautiously.

Reflecting quietly, Se-Hoon soon realized the cause.

That’s the precondition for the creation of the power....

The power he had created for himself was not merely rewinding time. More precisely, it was the power to return to a previous point in time to correct past mistakes. Thus, the moment he recognized a “mistake,” he was swallowed by an instinctive compulsion to regress.

No wonder Perfect Ones always seem to be out of their minds.

Understanding once again just how dangerous it was for one’s synesthetic mindscape to become “fixed” as a law, Se-Hoon looked down at the gray ring encircling his heart.

This is a bit of a waste... but I should set it aside for now.

There was no guarantee he could recreate it perfectly next time, but completing it now would clearly bring problems. With the memories of how the Perfect Ones were tormented and consumed by their powers, Se-Hoon opened his left hand and crushed the ring without hesitation.

Crack!

Splitting vertically, the ring on the verge of compilation vanished with the overwhelming strength filling Se-Hoon’s body; replacing it was a wave of weakness that washed in.

Crack-

“Huh...?!”

However, the dormant golden cracks suddenly flared again. Se-Hoon had thought destroying the power would stop the Golden Ring’s punishment, but that had been too optimistic.

His mind racing, Se-Hoon tried to deal with the Golden Ring that was rampaging with enough force to tear him apart—

“No.”

Lea’s firm voice resounded.

“Don’t.”

She glared at the Golden Ring beyond the cracks. She had no enchantments activated and her mana undisturbed. And yet...

Snap-

The Golden Ring stopped instantly, slipping out of Se-Hoon’s body.

“What...?”

Swish-

His body recovered just as quickly as it had collapsed. Additionally, the Golden Ring had even healed his injuries.

Stunned, Se-Hoon looked at Lea.

“Lea... what did you do?”

“Ah, well...”

She hesitated, then let out a wry smile.

“I just asked politely.”

“Huh?”

“If this place is Puppeteer’s ideal world... I figured it might listen to my request too.”

At that moment, he was reminded that they were currently in Puppeteer’s version of an ideal world. Naturally, the world’s standards were aligned to her—and he already knew well enough what Puppeteer was fixated on.

Puppeteer’s wish is happiness for her family. In other words, nothing that brings misfortune to her family—Lea—can happen in this world.

And if something ever did, the Golden Ring would immediately correct it. Seeing once again how absurdly unreasonable the world they were in was, Se-Hoon let out a hollow laugh.

“This world really is insane.”

“Agreed.”

Sharing bitter smiles, the two felt the situation had stabilized enough to talk.

“For now... shall we sit for a while and discuss this properly?”

“Yeah. There’s a table in the garden over there.”

Moving to a small garden beside the observatory, the two sat facing each other. A brief silence fell, then Lea cleared her throat.

“I... stopped you earlier partly because you looked too agitated... but also because this whole situation felt off.”

“Off? How so?”

“Do you remember what Tuner said at the end? He said he would gather all the remaining cards and force a conclusion.”

Tuner’s last desperate ploy after Puppeteer’s defeat had triggered Puppeteer’s awakening into a Harbinger of Destruction and the takeover of the Golden Ring—but there was something strange about that result that Lea felt.

“But there’s nothing in this world that would allow Tuner to win.

Everything he needed has been erased.”

The Demon Forces and Watchers had been annihilated. The Demonic Realms—including the Abyss of Demons—had all vanished without a trace. In other words, Tuner had stripped himself of every resource and essentially self-destructed?

“At first, I thought Tuner’s plan simply failed. Everything happened too suddenly, after all.”

“...”

“But watching you gain insight and clash with the Golden Ring using that ring... something clicked.”

Could Tuner truly have been unaware that things would turn out as they had? He understood Puppeteer’s wish, Se-Hoon’s potential, and the powers of both Perfect Ones and Harbingers of Destruction. When it came to him, was it really possible that he predicted

nothing

?

“If Tuner expected all of this... then where would he place his winning move?”

As their eyes met naturally, Lea took a quiet breath before voicing the answer with utmost certainty.

“I think he placed it on you.”

The man before her was the only one in the fabricated world capable of remembering the truth, resisting it, and returning everything that happened to its origin.

“What do you think? Se-Hoon... no—Mr. Regressor?”

Silence.

It was only after what felt like a long moment that Se-Hoon slowly opened his mouth. “...When did you figure it out?”

“Not that long ago. I realized it by chance while fighting Puppeteer back then.”

“By chance, huh.”

He had his guesses the moment she mimicked his power of Regression, but he hadn’t imagined she would discover his regression outright. And now that the hypothetical had become real, Se-Hoon felt strangely at a loss.

Well... what am I supposed to say?

Was he supposed to get angry because she found out or apologize for hiding it? Maybe praise her for noticing? Every option felt strange.

That was why, after thinking it over, he simply made the decision to shelve the topic for now.

“Let’s talk about that later. Figuring out Tuner’s goal comes first.”

“Okay. You’re right.”

Lea hadn’t expected an answer anyway, so she nodded obediently.

With that, Se-Hoon returned to the main topic.

“So you think Tuner realized I’m a regressor and prepared some kind of trap for it?”

“If we assume the worst.”

If that were true, Se-Hoon could already guess what kind of trap it would be.

“He wants to hitch a ride on my regression.”

A regressor’s greatest strength was having exclusive access to future experiences. In turn, that meant if Tuner had a way to retain his memory despite the regression, that advantage would be erased. And depending on how far back the regression went, Tuner could even gain an overwhelming edge in their fight.

If Se-Hoon returned only to Puppeteer’s awakening, then Tuner would still gain confirmation that Se-Hoon was a regressor. And if he were thrown back a year? Or further? Se-Hoon would lose everything he had built, while Tuner would return to full strength: his prime.

“No wonder he went all-in.”

Imagining Tuner ambushing him before he had time to grow again, Se-Hoon clicked his tongue softly. His advantage had always depended on the secret of regression remaining hidden. If Tuner knew, then Se-Hoon would have to tread far more carefully from here on.

But if activating regression itself is a trap... how am I supposed to fix this situation?

To restore the world, one needed power rivaling Puppeteer’s. Right now, the only thing that met those conditions was his power of Regression.

If Tuner had turned that into a trap, Se-Hoon couldn’t use it carelessly anymore.

Ideally, I’d find out where Tuner had set up his trap and eliminate it... but do I have enough time for that?

While the world was quiet now, with the Puppeteer controlling everything, trouble could strike at any moment.

“This is quite troublesome...”

Se-Hoon frowned in frustration.

“Se-Hoon,” Lea called out, wearing a serious expression. “There’s one method I’d like to suggest.”

“What is it?”

Looking toward her, Se-Hoon followed Lea’s finger pointing upward—toward the Golden Ring spanning the sky.

“What if you remodel that using your power of Regression?”