Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 1

The God-Given Top Star 001. A Strange Number? (1/401)

001. A Strange Number?

2021.11.01.

‘What the hell is going on?’ That was my first thought. Forget the pain, the absurdity hit me first. In my arms, I held a heavy, stiff, and utterly unfamiliar little body. [Yeon-woo-yaaaa!] A piercing voice rang out. It stretched like a slow-motion video, creating a bizarre noise. At the same time, memories began to play before my eyes like a projector. The very memory of how this messed-up situation came to be.

***

“Don’t even think about going out today! Today is just riddled with bad luck, so don’t even think about leaving and just stay put at home. Got it, Kang Yeon-woo?” As usual, my mother’s nagging signaled the start of the day.

“Again? When is it ever not riddled with bad luck?”

“You brat! That’s why I’m telling you to choose already! I’m dying of anxiety because of you!”

“Why do I have to choose only between those two? Why can’t I just live a normal life!”

“Normal, my foot. How can you live normally with that kind of power? You only have two paths. Otherwise, that power might become poison!”

Lately, my mother, Kang Yeon-hwa, seemed to be nagging even more.

“Aren’t the options too harsh? Either become a shaman or an entertainer.”

“That’s your fate! What can I do if your destiny is like that? Don’t even think about straying off course and just accept it as fate. Otherwise, something terrible will happen!” The woman’s sharp eyes gleamed fiercely. Most people would cower at that gaze, unable to breathe, but Yeon-woo was different.

“Where are you going! Today is seriously riddled with bad luck!” Instead, he darted out the door as usual. Escaping was the best way to avoid Kang’s nagging storm.

But today was a little different; there was a strange creature subtly tagging along. [Are you really going out? Yeon-hwa’s aura is ominous today; why don’t you just stay home?]

“Did Kang give you a reading? Why are you doing this too?”

[You’re the only one in the country who would ignore Yeon-hwa. People fly in from overseas just to hear a word from her.] Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a ‘creature.’ It wasn’t alive. Not a monster from a movie, nor a beast or monster from a novel, but a very bizarre being. No, a bizarre object. Outwardly, it appeared endlessly innocent, like a young child. It was a child dressed in a colorful traditional outfit. To be precise, it was a spirit in the form of a child. In other words, a ghost.

[People come from overseas to hear just one word from Yeon-hwa… If she’s saying it like that, shouldn’t you listen?]

The saying goes that a shaman lives in a blue-tiled house. Have you ever heard of it? Some might call it superstition, a rumor, or an urban legend, but it’s true. Well, that was a long time ago. Anyway, my mother, Kang Yeon-hwa, was a powerful shaman who read the nation’s fate. I’ve seen more than a few high-ranking officials come to her, bowing and asking for their fortunes to be told before leaving. Now she’s retired and runs a small fortune-telling shop, but her spiritual power hasn’t gone anywhere.

But.

“I don’t believe it. Fate, destiny, fortune. Who believes in that stuff in this day and age?” If fate were truly predetermined, what an incredibly boring life that would be.

It wasn’t a thought that Yeon-woo, whose mother was a renowned shaman with a divine gift, and who possessed even greater abilities than his mother, should have.

“And I’m going to live a normal life. I’m so sick of ghosts. Why would I become a shaman? Am I crazy?”

[Well… even if you don’t want to be a shaman, many people want to be entertainers. Don’t you want to do that either?]

“I hate being special. I just want to live a normal life.” Specialness. For Yeon-woo, it was synonymous with horror.

-Teacher! Yeon-woo is saying strange things! He says there’s an injured man over there! But there’s nothing there! Kang Yeon-woo is a liar!

Just for saying what he saw, he was met with scorn and gazes as if he were a monster. That ‘specialness’ made it impossible for Yeon-woo to belong anywhere. He tried to hide it thoroughly after he got older, but rumors continued to follow him. Especially after his father’s mysterious sudden death. Yeon-woo hated this ‘specialness’ even more. He even subconsciously sealed his powers. And now, they want him to become a shaman? Moreover, wasn’t being an entertainer the opposite of what Yeon-woo wanted? No way. Absolutely not.

“I’m going to live quietly, as if I don’t exist.”

[I think that ship has already sailed…]

The child spirit clicked his tongue. [A guy with open spiritual eyes can’t live a normal life. Besides, how can you live a normal life with more power than Yeon-hwa? Just choose one. If you don’t want to be a shaman, become an entertainer. Why don’t you want to do something so great?]

“Isn’t that what you want? Don’t try to satisfy your own desires.”

[Oops. I’ve been caught.] He’d been watching TV with my mother, Kang Yeon-hwa, every day and picked up strange habits. A ghost who watches TV every day. What a world.

[Still, let’s go home today. Yeon-hwa’s aura was really ominous.]

“Go home? Don’t you know Kang yet? Don’t you know she’s just trying to keep me tied down?”

[No way. I don’t think so…]

“I know Kang better than you do.”

[Are you sure?]

“Be quiet. You just made someone run away.”

[No. It’s because you’re talking to yourself while staring at empty space.] The child spirit chuckled. As he said, the man who had just made eye contact with Yeon-woo was slowly creating distance with a strange look on his face. Thanks to that, Yeon-woo was the only one standing at the large intersection’s traffic light. Of course, there were even more non-human entities. The intersection was a passage for countless ghosts. The fact that it was an accident-prone area also played a part. It was a common sight, so there was nothing special about it. But.

“Can you see that?” Yeon-woo’s face hardened as he stared at one spot. A vengeful spirit, spewing black, viscous resentment like dark clouds, had caught his eye. That was one thing, but the problem was the target the vengeful spirit was dragging along. It was only about six years old at most. A young child was holding the vengeful spirit’s hand and walking alongside it. The problem was that the vengeful spirit was leading the child to the crosswalk. And the light was red.

[Are you going to exorcise it?]

“How can I just ignore that?” After my father’s mysterious death, Yeon-woo developed a kind of trauma. My mother, Kang Yeon-hwa, tried to hide it, but it wasn’t hard to notice. He tried to hide his abilities after he got older, but the reason he occasionally got caught was because of this. When his trauma was triggered, he couldn’t help but use his powers like a spinal reflex.

Crack! His tightly bitten lip burst, and blood flowed. Yeon-woo smeared it with his finger and drew a spell. It was simple but effective. Especially since it was drawn with Yeon-woo’s blood.

[Kiyaaaaaak!] The vengeful spirit, who had been spewing resentment like dark clouds, screamed. However.

“It’s not disappearing?” Despite using the exorcism talisman, the vengeful spirit didn’t disappear. Instead, its chilling, resentful gaze turned towards Yeon-woo. The corners of its mouth stretched, tearing up to its ears. As if to say, ‘Is that all you’ve got?’

[Gasp. Yeon-woo, did it just deflect your talisman?]

The child spirit’s voice was panicked, but Yeon-woo couldn’t hear it. The cars passing through the intersection didn’t expect anyone to jaywalk on such a large intersection, so no one slowed down. At this rate, that child would definitely die. And it would be treated as a mysterious accident.

‘Damn trauma.’ Yeon-woo bit his lip again, drawing blood. He quickly drew a spell and created several protective talismans, wrapping them around his body.

[You, don’t tell me you’re going to run out there?!]

If a medium imbued with power didn’t work, there was only one thing left. To pour his power directly into it. To do that, one condition was needed.

[This guy’s crazy! Where are you going, it’s dangerous?!]

That was, to make direct contact with the target. It was a crude method, but it was the most efficient in the current situation. The important thing was to stop the vengeful spirit from dragging the child any further.

Yeon-woo, who had jumped into the road, immediately grabbed the vengeful spirit’s wrist. Sizzle!

[Kiaaaak!]

The part where his blood touched the spirit smoked and burned. The vengeful spirit twisted in pain and released the child’s hand.

‘Got it!’ Yeon-woo picked up the child, who had a clueless expression on his face. The sense of accomplishment from saving him was about to surge.

[Yeon-woo! It’s dangerous!]

The child spirit’s voice echoed loudly. At the same time, Yeon-woo saw the vengeful spirit. Although it had deflected the talisman, the spiritual power used directly with his blood as a medium should have dealt a significant blow….

‘…It’s smiling?’ A chill ran down his spine. Unlike when it screamed and retreated, the vengeful spirit was smiling with its mouth stretched wide, as if it was very pleased. There was only one time a ghost smiled. When it achieved its goal.

Flicker! Flicker!

All the traffic lights at the intersection malfunctioned. The moment Yeon-woo realized the traffic lights were flashing strangely and simultaneously, he turned and ran.

Screech! Screech!

The intersection quickly became chaotic due to the uncontrolled signals.

“What the hell is this…!” It wasn’t the time to be happy about saving the child.

Screech-!

Behind the unusually long screeching sound, there was.

Crash!

The sound of heavy metal colliding was heard. It was the beginning of a chain collision. And.

Baaaaaaam-!

A long honking sound rang out from behind. It was the horn of a large cargo truck. However, just because it honked didn’t mean the collision would stop or the road would clear. But strangely, the large cargo truck was speeding like crazy, crashing into the stopped cars and sliding in one direction. It was heading straight for Yeon-woo.

“This is bad.” He should have known it wouldn’t let go so easily. He should have known that creepy smile was ominous.

Even if he was wearing protective talismans, getting hit by a truck that size would send him straight to the afterlife. Just before the bright yellow headlights covered him, Yeon-woo cursed briefly and desperately threw himself to the side.

Baaam!

The truck’s horn blared loudly. A heavy pain enveloped his body.

‘What the hell is going on?’ Come to think of it, my mother, Kang Yeon-hwa, said so. That today was especially riddled with bad luck. So, she told me to stay home no matter what.

The memories of the morning flashed by like a slideshow. That was the last moment Yeon-woo remembered. And when he opened his eyes again.

A very bizarre scene unfolded before Yeon-woo’s eyes.

***

Yeon-woo could confidently assert. Even though he had seen all sorts of ghosts, he had never seen such a sight.

“Are you regaining consciousness?” An old man in a black suit, surrounded by burly men, had a number above his head. [+49 days]

“Old man. That number above your head. What is that?”

“Huh? Number? This… should we call the doctor again? Hey, Commander Song. Call the doctor again. Hey. Wake up. Hey!” The old man called out to Yeon-woo, but Yeon-woo’s gaze didn’t leave the air. Of course.

[Calculating your remaining lifespan.]

[Calculating…]

[Calculation complete.]

[Your remaining lifespan is -28,470 days.]

A very absurd phrase was floating in front of him, a semi-transparent window was sparkling.

“Hey! Hey?!” The phrase above the old man’s head, who was holding the staggering Yeon-woo, had already changed.

[Harvestable lifespan: +49 days]

As soon as he confirmed that, another window suddenly appeared in front of him.

[Do you want to choose death?]

There was no kind explanation of who, why, how, or for what reason. Only the YES and NO buttons were sparkling. But as if it wouldn’t give him much time to choose, the buttons were gradually fading. He wasn’t a full-fledged shaman, but he could definitely tell. If he missed this, he was screwed!