The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 146

146. Transcendental Being (2)

A pleasant breeze stirred the air.

Where am I?

Opening my eyes, I was greeted by rows of pristine white clouds against an azure sky.

Just gazing at it brought a sense of tranquility.

Slowly, I propped myself up, realizing I was in an ethereal space.

I was suspended above an emerald sea, sitting on the water as if I were a deity.

Looking around, I found nothing but the endless expanse of water.

Only small ripples disturbed the surface whenever my hand touched the sea.

I rose and began to walk.

I walked endlessly toward the horizon.

Aimless, I sometimes lost track of why I was there.

Nevertheless, I continued, following the direction of the clouds in a hollow state, untouched by hunger or thirst.

I wondered if I was dead.

Perhaps this was hell, and my soul was now adrift, unanchored.

The thought brought a strange comfort.

Death, a release.

After an indeterminate time, a voice broke the silence.

“120,491 years into Earth’s future.”

I turned toward the voice.

Standing there was a man who looked exactly like me.

The face was identical, but his hair cascaded down to his ankles.

Beautiful brown hair, like a lion’s mane.

The man spoke.

“This is what Earth looks like after 120,000 years.”

He was taller than me.

“All the land is submerged, and few creatures survive.”

He approached.

“How is it? Beautiful, isn’t it?”

He seemed to be seeking my approval.

Instead, I asked,

Gazing at the horizon where the wind danced, I inquired, “Who are you?”

“I am you. You are me.”

“……”

“I am the one who won the League and transcended. In your universe’s terms… approximately 10 to the power of -1,919,729,428-79,123,539,071?”

“What do you mean?”

“Roughly, the one who diverged from the original Kang Si-heon 10 years, 1,919,729,428 months, and 79,123,539,071 days later.”

The moment he said that, I instinctively understood the flow of the world.

Multiple universes.

The expansion of the universe stemming from the endless choices of individuals, the concept that another version of oneself, having made a different choice, exists somewhere.

Therefore, this man, sharing my soul, was living in another world.

My interest waned quickly.

I turned forward and resumed walking.

The man followed, continuing to speak.

“Aren’t you curious about how this world came to be, and why?”

“……”

“What is a transcendent being? Who are you? Why are you here?”

I remained silent, but he stayed two steps behind, undeterred.

“This place can be described as the realm of the unconscious, the far side of the universe. Winning the League and fulfilling a certain ‘condition’ allows you to come here. As you may have noticed, I won the League. I’ve been waiting for you.”

He gestured between us.

“Anyway, you’re here because some incompetent administrator tried to steal your ego. With your ego detached, you arrived in this place.”

He moved in front of me, then back behind.

“The important thing is that you are the most watched being in this universe right now.”

I turned to face him.

He grinned.

“Why?”

“Because you’ve approached the key.”

“What key?”

“The key to all things. The one that can liberate everything.”

He stepped closer.

“Should I call it the answer to the universe?”

“I don’t understand. I don’t want the answer to the universe. I just want to return to my ordinary life.”

“I can’t comprehend it either. How did you come all this way for someone named Kang Jun-ho? Why is the entire universe focused on you for such a mundane purpose? Why? Why? Who are you?”

“Don’t speak carelessly.”

“You want your brother that much?”

His voice dropped.

“Then take him.”

He clapped.

Clap-!

And countless people materialized around us.

All Kang Jun-ho.

From baby Kang Jun-ho to white-haired old man Kang Jun-ho.

“The brother you desired. I’ll give him to you until you’re crushed to death.”

The Kang Jun-hos stood silently, staring at me.

A sense of incongruity washed over me.

And a feeling of disgust.

These people surrounding me were my younger brothers, whom I had desperately longed for.

But something was off.

“This isn’t real? These are fake Kang Jun-hos? No, these are ‘real’ Kang Jun-hos.”

Real Kang Jun-ho.

“Your younger brother Kang Jun-ho, whom you have so longed for and wished for…”

Really longed for and wished for…….

“Do you perhaps think that Kang Jun-ho in the multiverse isn’t your brother? Okay. Then I’ll show you Kang Jun-ho who belongs to your universe.”

He clapped again.

The tens of thousands of Kang Jun-hos vanished, leaving only about thirty.

“From one year old to the Kang Jun-ho you can face now.”

Among them, one caught my eye.

Thirteen-year-old Kang Jun-ho.

The kid who looked exactly as he did when we parted was looking at me.

The younger brother I had been chasing in my memories was that kid.

My emotions wavered.

The kid in front of me was the child I had cherished.

But it was a fake.

A mirage created by another dimension’s ‘me’.

“You still think that’s fake. If you really think it’s fake, then it’s okay to kill that kid, right?”

The man’s nails elongated into sword blades.

He slowly approached the thirteen-year-old Jun-ho.

I remained still.

Because it was just a mirage.

The mirage would disappear.

“Come here, you fake.”

The man chuckled, advancing on the mirage.

But if that mirage bore my brother’s appearance and voice, I had no choice but to react.

“Hyung…….”

* * *

Thud! Squeeze!

I grabbed the man’s hand tightly and pulled him back.

“Eot? Ooh?!”

He staggered.

The air grew heavy.

Darkness descended, and waves crashed.

Heavy rain began to fall.

Shuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!

A fierce and sorrowful downpour.

The man was drenched.

He muttered, laughing as if insane.

“……The planet is… His emotions… are representing it. Ahahaha… As expected… You are finally… that.”

I stood silently, enduring the rain.

My curly hair straightened and clung to my face like seaweed.

The thirteen-year-old Kang Jun-ho sobbed.

I raised my hand and placed it on his head.

Thud-.

In the midst of the storm.

I offered a silent greeting, a simple touch.

A promise to meet again.

And an apology.

The man shouted, oblivious.

“Amazing-!!! Wahahahaha! As expected! The moment you touched your emotions, you were able to face a transcendent being. Come on-. Come on-. This is not the time for this. Finally, ‘our’ wishes can be fulfilled!!! You are the last puzzle. Would you believe me if I told you that this League was started to find you? Ahahaha!”

He rose and approached.

“Stay away from Jin Jae-hee. That woman is not helpful. From now on, follow my instructions. You’ll easily win this League. I will be your guide.”

I didn’t answer.

He continued, unheeding.

“The probability of winning the League is very low. But you just demonstrated your strength and dramatically increased it. This place is where your counterparts from the multiverse who have won the League gather. So if you don’t listen to me…”

Clap-!

He clapped again.

At that moment.

Kugugugugugugu, Chwaaaaaaaaaaaak-!

The sea parted.

Kang Jun-ho was sucked into the abyss.

Only I and the man remained floating.

Was this what witnessing the miracle of Moses felt like?

The sea revealed its depths, swallowing everything.

The enormous amount of water vapor created a haze.

I watched Kang Jun-ho until the end.

The abyss revealed.

In that place….

Kang Si-heons from different dimensions, numbering in the billions, were entangled in death.

“All eliminated from the League. They are you and my brothers who died without reaching a higher dimension.”

He looked down at the pile of corpses.

“You wouldn’t want to be stuck there, would you? Right? Si-heon. I am you. You are me. We share emotions. And we have the same goal. But the end may be a little different. I think we should become high-dimensional beings. But your current emotions are leaning towards wanting to turn everything back. That must be because of that woman next to you. Because that woman is next to you, your values are gradually shaking. The dream that woman has is a simple human dream. The dream you have is also a human dream. Let’s not just remain human, us. We have the ability to not be human. The world is irrational, unfair, and rejected us. Now, it’s our turn. Let’s destroy the world and become the one and only god of the human race. All the other puzzles have been solved. We only need you. You are our last puzzle piece.”

He held out his hand.

An invitation.

But I didn’t take it.

Even if he was another ‘me’.

Even if his proposal was the truth of the world.

I decided against it.

For one reason.

“……Too simple.”

His goal was simplistic.

A common desire to win the League and become the only god.

I envisioned something of a higher dimension.

In that short moment.

“Would that be enough?”

“……What?”

I began to speak.

The waves subsided, and the rain lessened.

Only my voice echoed.

“I will disrupt the order.”

* * *

At my words, the man burst into laughter.

“Wahahahahahahaha-!!!”

He chuckled, then laughed again.

He laughed so much I wondered if he truly was another version of me.

“Ah-. Good, so good. Ah, why such a thought. No, no. Honestly, we’ve been here for thousands of years, and that kind of talk has come up. But because you said it, it’s strangely persuasive. Ah-. Good. That’s good.”

He put his hand on my shoulder and chuckled, then patted it.

“Good. We will follow your will. You are a special being. But just words are not good. You have to prove it. So is there anything I can help you with? I think I can help you as much as possible.”

“Shut up and stay still, that’s helping.”

“Puhhehehe-. Good confidence. I’ll say it again, we will follow your will. Show us once. But I don’t think we have time to dawdle here anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it means go back quickly before you kill your precious thing yourself.”

“My precious……?”

He approached and pushed me with his finger, sending me falling backwards.

The space around me distorted.

He laughed.

“Oh arrogant one. I pray that the end does not end in arrogance.”

I pondered the meaning of his words.

But I was already swept away, opening my eyes again.

Her neck was in my hand.