Translator: Alpha0210
Residue still did not know.
What form this world had taken, now that all worlds had rged and Destruction had appeared.
If he had to describe it in a single word, it would be chaos.
While walking across a desert bathed in moonlight, a vast sea suddenly appeared, and upon crossing it, he realized it wasn’t actually a sea, but an absurdly wide lake. At the end of the lake, the temperature suddenly began to rise, and before long, they encountered a lava field. After passing a few active volcanoes, a lush jungle stretched out before them.
The astonishing thing was that all these landscapes had been encountered within just two days.
Considering that Residue and Luca’s walking speed did not greatly exceed the limits of a mortal, it was hard to believe.
“But for now, is this the natural order of things?”
Residue stood atop a naless mountain peak, looking down. It was a fairly high summit, allowing him to take in a decent view of the surrounding landscape at a glance.
To describe it as spectacular would not suffice.
It looked like fragnts of planets with their own individual characteristics had been cut out and stitched together haphazardly onto a giant board.
The sky, with only a few stars left, and a large hole torn in it, added a further layer of strangeness to the scenery.
It was bewildering.
Yet, he found it more appealing than he’d expected.
“……”
When the wind suddenly blew, Residue had a sudden feeling that he would rember this mont for a very long ti.
So Absolutes, disguising themselves as weak beings, enjoy what they call a “ga life”, mingling among the worlds of mortals. Just as the word “ga” implies, it’s rely a plaything they enjoy in between their duties across the Three Thousand Worlds.
But only low-grade Absolutes can amuse themselves with such frivolous pastis.
Even a Lord would find no thrill in a re childish play. Not to ntion the Ruler, Lightning God.
Residue wondered whether he himself was enjoying a ga right now. The answer ca quickly.
No.
He had climbed the mountain one step at a ti, and now stood at the summit, facing the wind, gazing at the scenery. He was enjoying the process, not the outco, so this was no ga.
Moreover, he even had a companion beside him.
“……”
Luca, standing next to Residue, was gazing at the scenery, and suddenly shed a tear.
“Why are you crying again?”
“Ah. It’s just… my chest feels tight……”
Luca hastily wiped away her tears.
In the two days they had spent together, Luca had behaved in ways that didn’t align with the notion of Destruction at all.
She was curious and lively, had rich emotions, and above all, had such a strong aversion to killing that she wouldn’t even readily step on a blade of grass.
In every way, she could be seen as the complete opposite of Residue.
“Luca.”
“Yes?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Ah, okay!”
And above all, she was very obedient.
It was the most likable quality about her.
After wiping her tears, Luca hurriedly began preparing a al.
She gathered firewood and dry leaves to start a fire, then poured water into a large aluminum pot. When the water started boiling, she dropped in a preserved food pack, then waited for it to swell…
“Cooking’s done!”
“Mm.”
At so point, he’d have to properly explain to this kid what cooking really ant.
But if she asked to be taught afterward, that would be botherso, and it wasn’t like these 3-minute als didn’t suit his taste, so maybe he’d just watch for now.
*
Residue and Luca. Neither of them had bodies that required sleep.
But during their journey, they took breaks whenever they found the chance, allowing themselves a bit of leisure.
Most often, the resting spots were places where Luca, lost in awe, would look around blankly or exclaim “Wow”.
They had wandered quite a bit over the past week and taken in many sights.
Among them, of course, were many dangerous places. Though, from a general perspective, that is.
Most danger zones posed no threat to Residue. And the sa was true for Luca, who was in the midst of recovering her strength.
“Are you okay now?”
“What do you an?”
“The sound of the rain.”
“……”
Residue leaned against a tree and looked up at the sky. Through the blades of grass, he could see beads of rain softly falling.
“It sounds nice.”
“That’s a relief.”
Luca smiled brightly.
Then her expression changed, and she slowly opened her mouth.
"Hyung. I really—"
“Don’t.”
“…How do you know what I was going to say?”
“It was the perfect timing for a thank-you. You had that serious face ready to spout so cheesy words.”
Go ahead and deny it.
When Residue shot her a dull look, Luca scratched her cheek.
“I’m just really thankful. I never dread a day like this would co. I really thought I’d rot away in ltown for the rest of my life.”
“Kid. Life doesn’t usually go the way you think it will.”
“Isn’t that usually ant in a negative way?”
When Luca retorted with narrowed eyes, Residue shrugged his shoulders.
And then a brief silence.
Pitter-patter……
As the sound of the rain grew louder again, Luca spoke.
“When I beca Destruction… I was constantly scared.”
“Scared?”
“Because I didn’t know when I might lose myself.”
Residue quietly looked at Luca and then spoke.
“Seems like that’s still the case now.”
“…Yeah, kind of.”
“With this body, I can’t quite understand the reason for your fear.”
“Well, of course you wouldn’t. Ah, sorry. I didn’t an that in a bad way……”
“You’re wrong. You’re misunderstanding. It’s a matter of mindset.”
“Mindset?”
“If you substitute your fear with the concept of death, then it becos a fear that all mortals carry. They live always fearing death. Born with the promise of death, slowly walking toward it. In that sense, the old saying that life is a series of sufferings isn’t entirely wrong.”
“…I don’t quite get what you’re saying.”
“Death of a person, loss of self, if all of that happens suddenly, beyond the bounds of prediction, there’s no real difference. How many people can accurately foresee the mont of their own death? Death, by nature, is sudden.”
“Hmm.”
Luca clutched her head, groaning, then said as if squeezing it out,
“So… even if my sense of self disappears, since it would happen suddenly, there’s no point in worrying about it beforehand?”
“Ho. Smart girl.”
“Ha… I can’t believe this actually counts as comforting.”
"Kuk kuk."
Luca was dumbfounded, but truthfully, warm consolation didn’t really suit this man. And strangely enough, even though it was an almost absurd way of preaching, after hearing it all, she sohow felt a little lighter.
That change in her own feelings was just as baffling.
“The point is simple. There’s no need to try calculating things that can’t be calculated. Just live each day sincerely and don’t hold regrets. If there’s sothing you want to do, go for it without worrying about others. If you run toward it with everything you’ve got so you don’t regret it even if you die tomorrow, then you should be able to close your eyes peacefully.”
“Sothing I want to do……”
When living in ltown, the priority had always been simply not going hungry each day, so she’d never thought about what ca after. Now, there was no more need to worry about starvation. There was no longer any imdiate danger to her safety, and no tributes to hand over.
In short, Luca’s current state was one of leisure.
“…I don’t really know.”
“You’re feeling leisure for the first ti in your life, so it makes sense. There’s no need to rush, take your ti thinking it over.”
“If I figure out what I want… will you grant it for , hyung?”
“No. I’ll be watching, though?”
“Wow. That’s cold.”
“If you achieve it, I’ll praise you.”
“And pat my head too?”
“You sure want a lot.”
“Hahaha!”
Luca burst out laughing, then clenched her fist tightly.
“Alright. Then I’ll try hard to think about it!”
“Do that.”
Residue, who smiled faintly in return, looked up at the sky.
“Looks like the rain’s about to stop. Shall we start moving?”
“Ah. Co to think of it, you said there was a place we needed to stop by, right? How far are we now?”
“Who knows. It’s not like we were really heading to a destination.”
Luca blinked both eyes.
“Huh?”
“The tour’s over, so now we can start heading out.”
"To our destination?"
“To be precise, there’s sowhere we need to visit before going to that destination.”
“Oh, so all this ti we’ve been wandering around scouting for that place?”
“No. I’ve just been dragging my feet since it’s a place I can go to whenever and wherever.”
Luca had a puzzled expression.
“Where is that?”
Residue extended his finger and pointed upward.
***
There are many terms that refer to the world after the rge.
So call it the Great World or the Unified World, while others stubbornly stick to traditional terms like 'All Under Heaven' or 'The Whole World'. These days, many have shortened it to simply the 'world'.
Bardrog, the warden, and simultaneously the captain, of Amdal, a space prison that incarcerates the worst criminals in history and also functions perfectly as a warship, currently refers to the present world as the 'Great World'.
Not because he has any personal reason.
It’s simply because, in Bardrog’s opinion, the greatest being in the universe calls it that.
“…So you’re saying there’s been no change in the ‘hole’ since then?”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Hm. Good work.”
The crew mber exited with a perfectly straight salute.
Left alone in the room, Bardrog let out a sigh. Then, with a furrowed brow, he recalled the incident from a week ago.
A week ago, at the hole, that damned black hole which Bardrog personally referred to as the Arsehole, a major disturbance occurred.
Hundreds of ships from the Grand Galactic Alliance, reconnaissance units, and even nearby forces that had been monitoring the situation near the hole all vanished without a trace.
It was discovered about two days later that they had been destroyed so completely that not even proper debris could be found. The truth was chilling. So of the ships from the Grand Galactic Alliance were larger than asteroids. The fact that they had all vanished without leaving a trace…
Of course, there was no need to panic preemptively. The space prison Amdal was quite a distance away from the hole.
Still...
Bardrog frowned and gazed into the universe beyond the window.
Amidst the pitch-black expanse, the hole stood out with a different, foreign darkness. It was almost like a black sun.
“There’s no sense of distance.”
Whether he passed near the hole, looked up at it from the surface, or gazed at it from here, it always felt the sa size.
It seed both infinitely far and close enough to touch.
Beep beep-
“Hm?”
At that mont, a small anomaly appeared in the hologram showing the ship’s interior. A red light had briefly flashed at the very bottom of the warship, on the thick armor layer. Had it collided with space debris?
But in the blink of an eye, the light vanished.
Did he see it wrong? He hadn’t been sleeping well lately.
‘Still…’
Tap tap, Bardrog pressed firmly on the pad and began monitoring. His ticulous nature didn’t allow for letting things slide.
He checked not only the ship’s exterior but also every internal facility. Most importantly, the most dangerous prisoners were held in cells at the very bottom of the ship. If sothing went wrong there, it wouldn’t end with just a minor headache.
“No anomalies… huh.”
Hoo. With a light sigh, he slumped into his chair.
…Maybe he’d rest a bit? Just ten minutes. He’d been busy these last few days, so a bit of indulgence should be fine.
He pulled a cigar from his chest, cut off the cap with a cutter, and bit down on it. Then he searched his chest, but couldn’t find his lighter.
Click-
Just then, soone lit it for him with perfect timing.
“Ah. Thanks.”
Huuu, he inhaled deeply and exhaled smoke.
Then he realized.
A subordinate? In the captain’s room?
“It’s nothing.”
Click, the man closed the lighter lid with a smile.
“Y-you, what-”
Grip.
Before he could even raise his voice, a hand clamped over his throat. He felt a crushing force as if his jawbone was about to shatter.
“Keep your voice down. If a commotion breaks out, I may be forced to kill unnecessarily. That wouldn’t be good for either of us, right?”
An intruder? But how?
The captain’s room was located in the deepest part of the ship’s core. Even Bardrog himself didn’t fully grasp all the security systems that existed along the path to this room…
The man slowly released his hand, his eyes still smiling eerily.
‘Cough, cough…!’
“I want to et the head of the Grand Galactic Alliance.”
“What… who the hell are you…?”
Looking at Bardrog’s face, filled with shock, the man grinned widely.
“I am a space pirate.”
*****
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