Ch. 204 - An Old Story (1)

Chapter 204: An Old Story (1)

Today's diary entry:

Entered the casino → Lost everything!

The end.

'... I lost it all.'

Thinking of it as an entry fee to raise Silver Autumn Moon’s favorability, it wasn't too expensive, but it was still a large sum, so it was inevitable to feel the sting. 

Although Baek Yu-Seol’s bank account was piling up with an enormous amount of money thanks to the copyrights of his items, it didn’t change the feeling of having lost all the cash in front of him.

People often say that losing all the money you spent on gambling is like buying a life lesson at a high price.

No.

That’s just a way to console oneself. Not even the blessing of the Pink Spring Moon could soothe this stinging feeling.

“Ugh...”

While he was shedding tears of blood alone, Silver Autumn Moon suddenly spoke.

"Alright, good. I really love gambling. And your proposal is quite interesting even in my mere thousand-year-long life. I’ll accept it."

He burst into laughter while stroking his beard. That kind of laughter comes from winning money.

"I’ll return this money to you." At that moment, a broad smile spread across Baek Yu-Seol’s face.

"Oh, there's no need for that, but if you're returning it, well..."

"Anyway, I didn’t gamble for the money. However, I feel we need to have a deeper conversation."

Suddenly.

Baek Yu-Seol’s hand, which had been reaching for the coins, stopped.

Yes. The opponent was Silver Autumn Moon.

He had briefly let his guard down while conversing openly with him, but this wasn’t the time to worry about money.

"First question. You already knew my identity. How did you know?"

“...”

It was a common development in transmigration clichés. The protagonist surprises the opponent by figuring out their identity.

It would be great if he could lie and say he figured it out with his insight, but that wouldn’t work.

Although he had weakened his powers by dividing them among three sacred artifacts, his mental strength was top-notch among the Divine Moons.

A clumsy lie wouldn't work.

So, he needed to come up with the most plausible excuse...

“No need.”

“... What?”

“No need to ask further. I’ve become curious about your past. I’ll check it myself.” 

“No, wait, that...”

Baek Yu-Seol quickly tried to get up, fearing he might find out he was from 'Earth.'

But it was already too late.

"Calm down, and relax your mind."

The moment Baek Yu-Seol met his gaze...

Baek Yu-Seol’s body lost strength.

Time and space completely stopped.

[Silver Autumn Moon rewinds the 'clockwork of time.']

[You entrust yourself to the flow of time.]

Splash!

Silver Autumn Moon plunged into the sea. The sea called time.

It was different from the waterfall of time. Here, it was impossible to resist or go against the flow anymore.

However, Silver Autumn Moon was special. He could swim freely in this sea of time.

… It was vast. The moment he fell into the sea, the old man felt something strange. The very premise of the 'sea' was unusual.

If one were to briefly describe an individual’s time, it could be called a 'stream.'

Starting from a small watercourse, the stream widens and deepens as it becomes a river.

But.

'What on earth is this...?'

Silver Autumn Moon.

For a thousand years, he had observed all times across many ages. Yet, even for him, this was a first.

‘Such a vast amount of time... shattered into pieces!’

Baek Yu-Seol’s time was not just immense. This enormous sea of time was... fragmented like a kaleidoscope.

The past and future were mixed together with Baek Yu-Seol barely holding onto the thread of 'present'... He lived through this timeline.

It was unstable and incomplete. It wouldn’t be surprising if he shattered into dust and disappeared at any moment.

'How many years has he lived...?'

The thousand years lived by Silver Autumn Moon seemed trivial compared to Baek Yu-Seol’s time, which was so old and worn out that it was a miracle it still functioned.

'That is...'

A fragmented scene of some future caught Silver Autumn Moon’s eye.

Ten years from now. It was the scene of the world’s destruction, when the Demonic Black Dragon descended upon the earth.

A sight he had seen countless times since he was born... Yet, in Baek Yu-Seol’s time, that scene was vastly different from what he knew.

'The Demonic Black Dragon... has fallen.'

A being stood before the gigantic Demonic Black Dragon. He didn’t have to struggle to understand who it was.

… Flare!

The moment he confirmed it, Silver Autumn Moon’s body was pulled back, and he rapidly saw Baek Yu-Seol’s journey to reach the Demonic Black Dragon.

Hundreds, thousands of deaths and resurrections.

'How?'

It was... a scene even the old man couldn't comprehend.

One of the Twelve Divine Moons, Silver Autumn Moon. He certainly possessed the ability to manipulate time.

However, because his power was so immense and uncontrollable, he divided all his strength equally among three sacred artifacts.

One governed the future.

One governed the past.

One governed the present. 

And he... was content with simply observing the past, present, and future throughout his life.

Time regression? He could do it if he wanted. By bringing the clockwork of the past and winding it, he could go back as much as he wanted.

But time regression could never be perfect without a cost. 

There was a limitation that 'events that occurred in the future could not be changed by returning to the past.'

Even if a loved one died and he went back to the past, he would only witness their death again and could not prevent it.

Time regression?

It was called time regression, but it was no different from a recorded videotape.

He couldn’t interfere with anything,

He could only observe, nothing more. That was why Silver Autumn Moon lived resigned to the fact that the world would end.

The future could not be changed.

However.

'What on earth are you?'

Baek Yu-Seol undertook tens of thousands of regressions that he himself wouldn’t dare to attempt, and ultimately defeated the Demonic Black Dragon.

A future he hadn’t seen.

A future he couldn’t change.

The boy in front of him... was someone who had accomplished everything he thought he couldn't do.

… Clunk!

“Hmm!”

Silver Autumn Moon somehow emerged from the sea and slumped into his chair. Then, he brought a bottle of rice wine to his lips.

“... Huh?”

Baek Yu-Seol looked around in a daze. He felt as if time had briefly stopped, but everything had returned to normal in less than a second.

'What was that...?'

As he felt around his chest and looked around, the Garam Tribe guards and the dealer who had been handing out cards wore bewildered expressions. They couldn’t understand what had just happened.

“... Now that I see it, we’ve met before.”

“What?”

“Perhaps... At some point in the past, you and I met.”

On a different timeline from now.

‘Wh-What are you talking about?’

Regardless of Baek Yu-Seol’s puzzled expression, Silver Autumn Moon took a large swig of rice wine and then spoke.

“I understand why you came to find me. You probably need my blessing.”

Baek Yu-Seol hadn’t expected the conversation to progress that far.

‘This wasn’t part of the plan.’

Even if he managed to win over Silver Autumn Moon with a clever speech after beating him in gambling, his blessing comes at a steep price.

He had planned to visit him dozens, if not hundreds of times. Then, he would become a drinking buddy and gambling friend, and gradually bring up the topic of his blessing.

“Alright. I will grant you my blessing. However, with my current power, it’s impossible to bestow a proper blessing. I have divided my power into four parts and sealed them in three sacred artifacts.”

Baek Yu-Seol was aware of that.

While most of the Divine Moons sealed only a small portion of their power in sacred artifacts, Silver Autumn Moon had poured too much power into his artifacts.

Because of this, the sacred artifacts had developed physical bodies and could act independently.

Baek Yu-Seol didn’t know what forms they took.

Silver Autumn Moon's sacred artifacts always took on different appearances, species, ages, and genders, and they operated wherever they pleased.

There were a few locations he could roughly guess...

“Find one of my sacred artifacts. Then, I will gift you my blessing.”

“What? Is that really true?”

“Is there any reason to hesitate? Since I know your goal aligns with mine, I will help you as much as I can.”

Baek Yu-Seol hadn’t expected the conversation to go this smoothly. However, there was one problem.

How to find the sacred artifact. Scarlet Summer Moon’s sacred artifact was securely kept in the deepest part of the Adolevit Palace. Blue Winter Moon’s sacred artifact had frozen the Levian Coast, and Pink Spring Moon’s sacred artifact lay dormant in an ancient ruin.

All three had high difficulty levels to obtain, but the common point was that they all remained in one place without moving.

But Silver Autumn Moon’s blessing...

“Don’t worry. You’ve already met one of my sacred artifacts. And it seems to have quite a liking for you.”

“Met it? When?”

“Yes. It must have been very recent, so think carefully. It will be staying near you due to fate.”

“Ah...”

After saying this, Silver Autumn Moon stood up, holding the rice wine bottle. His face was slightly flushed from the alcohol, but his eyes showed no sign of wavering.

“Then, see you next time.”

——-

The Starcloud Expedition led by Jeliel successfully returned after conquering the ancient ruins of Karmenset. They were greeted by a barrage of cameras from numerous journalists.

The story of Jeliel, who had not only encountered the legendary ‘Karmenset’ but also challenged and defeated him at the young age of eighteen, was sensational enough to make headlines.

Of course, the Starcloud Company had also spread the word to the press in advance to boost Jeliel’s image.

Click! Click!

“---!!” 

“_!” 

“---!”

The journalists outside the carriage were shouting something, but Jeliel couldn't hear them at all.

‘Annoying.’

She let their voices pass through one ear and out the other. It was probably just the usual questions about how she found the ruins of Karmenset and how she conquered them.

She didn't need to answer them now; she could explain everything properly at the press conference later. There was no point in tiring herself out by listening to them now.

More importantly.

Jeliel was overjoyed at having gifted her father immortality.

At the last moment, Karmenset had said.

‘Your wish has been granted!’

Immediately after, all the expedition members standing inside the ruins were expelled, and the door to the ruins closed completely.

It didn’t matter anymore.

She would never need to visit those ruins again.

If she had extended her father’s lifespan, that was more than enough.

‘But... What was that vision?’

However, there was one thing that bothered her. At the moment she made her wish to Karmenset, why did she recall an event from her childhood?

The memory of the night when the moon rose, when she had rented an entire night amusement park to spend time with her father... It was the only memory she still cherished deeply.

Whenever and wherever she recalled it, it brought her a magical sense of peace.

Even now, thinking of that time made her smile and filled her with happiness.

‘Maybe.’

Maybe it was the exhilaration of finally saving her father that brought back the happiest memory from her childhood.

Jeliel reassured herself with that thought as she reclined in the carriage.

“… Miss.”

The automaton carriage driver turned around with a pale face. 

“Are you... really alright?”

“Huh, what?”

“Well, the journalists...”

Journalists?

What were they talking about?

As she thought this and started to listen more closely,

Strange questions suddenly flooded her ears like a tide.

“What do you think about the disappearance of the president of Starcloud?”

“There are reports that he suddenly vanished from the meeting room!”

“Do you know anything about this?”

“Can you guarantee that this has nothing to do with you?”

“... What?”

It was a strange question.

Why wasn’t it related to Karmenset? Weren’t they praising her? 

Jeliel turned her head towards the journalists with a blank expression.

The journalists' faces as they fervently thrusted their microphones forward were full of enthusiasm.

Why did their twisting faces seem so slow and vivid?

“What on earth are you talking about…?” Jeliel shook her head in denial as if she couldn’t accept the reality.

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