TL/ED – Miso
“What do you an by that?”
“The World is hostile to the Fallen, but shows no interest in anything else. But you…”
Cheon-hwa blinked for a mont, then called my na.
“Undercurrent. You survived the World not by ceasing to be a Fallen, but by hiding that you were one.”
“Hmm, I suppose that’s technically true?”
“What I’m saying is that while you remain hidden and the Deep Sea cannot find you, you might be able to familiarize yourself with them and bend them to your will.”
It was a possibility I had never once considered. While I sat there unable to respond, Cheon-hwa brought up another topic.
“Show your Deep Sea. If I understand it, I can offer more concrete advice.”
“Well, I can manipulate the Current to move things.”
“The Current?”
Instead of explaining further, I let a gentle stream of water flow close to Cheon-hwa’s face so she could feel it.
She flinched in surprise, then nodded slowly.
“An ability similar to Telekinesis. What else?”
“I can also crush things from a distance using Water Pressure.”
I demonstrated this as well.
-Crack! When I lightly crushed a wooden figurine sitting on a bookshelf far away, her eyes went wide with genuine surprise.
“How far can you reach?”
“As far as my Current Sense extends, apparently.”
“Current Sense…?”
“Hmm, it’s a bit hard to explain. I can perceive everything within the sea in complete detail. And since this world is the Deep Sea, it essentially ans I can know everything happening inside this Spire even with my eyes closed.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Then why don’t you test ?”
“…”
Cheon-hwa asked her question with a skeptical expression.
“What’s in Room 305 on the 31st floor?”
“Hmm, there’s no Room 305, but there is a 304. It’s empty, with a few wine bottles lying on the floor.”
“What color are the bottles?”
“A dark bluish-green. Unusual.”
“…Tell what’s inscribed under the table we’re sitting at right now.”
“Wait here for two days, then kill the person sitting across from you… What is this?”
While I stood there dumbfounded by that sinister ssage, Cheon-hwa propped her chin on her hand and stared at , looking even more bewildered than I was.
“That’s sothing the Ocean cannot do. I thought the Deep Sea was rely a variant of the Ocean, but it seems I was mistaken.”
“It’s probably because almost no light reaches down here. I imagine other senses developed to compensate.”
“So to summarize, you could sit right here, surveil anyone in the Spire, and kill them instantly if you felt like it.”
“When you put it that way, it does sound rather terrifying.”
“It genuinely is. I’ve seen countless Worlds over the years, but…”
She looked around at our surroundings and let out a sigh.
“…this is the first one that’s both this strange and this overwhelming. What Burden did you receive in exchange?”
“I can’t breathe, and the mont my Water Barrier weakens even slightly, I’ll be crushed to death instantly. My entire body is freezing cold, and every movent ets water resistance, making it difficult to act quickly.”
“Yes, that seems about fair.”
“…”
I glared at her as her expression brightened slightly, then glanced at the Deep Sea Creatures swimming beside and continued.
“Actually, more than any of that, these Deep Sea Creatures are the real problem.”
“You an the life forms that dwell within The Three Evils.”
“Yes.”
Cheon-hwa already knew. Of course she did.
If the World hadn’t been shrouded in shadow, this was the very thing I had wanted to learn from Crimson Circle.
Calming my rising impatience, I posed my question.
“What exactly are these Deep Sea Creatures? You said they’re life forms dwelling within The Three Evils, but I can’t quite wrap my head around it. They seem hostile to , mostly… though so have felt friendly.”
“Typically, an ordinary Fallen’s World is created through a single human, making it small and insignificant.”
Cheon-hwa began her explanation in a asured tone.
“But The Three Evils, within their vast spaces, give rise to other possibilities. Three massive Worlds where life can flourish. They’re naturally limited to Space-types, and the reason they’re called The Three Evils is because every Fallen who awakens to one of these Worlds dies.”
“Why?”
“A vast World carries an equally vast Burden. What do you think would happen if another Fallen fell into your Deep Sea?”
They would obviously be crushed to death.
“What you call Deep Sea Creatures are actually the original inhabitants of that World. If you’re hiding your presence, they’ll either consider you Kin or simply ignore you. But the mont you reveal yourself, they’ll naturally try to eliminate you. Think of it like a wolf appearing in a village.”
“What about the ones that follow ?”
“Because wolves are also life forms of this world.”
Cheon-hwa turned to look at and murmured slowly.
“Don’t misunderstand. You didn’t fall into the Deep Sea as a human. The abilities you wield are powers that only creatures born in the Deep Sea possess. There may even be others of your kind.”
“…My kind?”
“Yes. They might regard you as such. I can’t say for certain, but it wouldn’t be strange for them to try helping you or opposing you. They’re life forms separate from the Burden or the World itself.”
I didn’t feel like jellyfish were my kin.
More importantly, I couldn’t possibly agree that the Deep Sea Creatures weren’t a Burden.
They were by far the most dangerous Burden I faced.
“What’s your biggest problem right now?”
“My Water Barrier is gradually shrinking as it endures the Burden. Once it’s gone, there won’t be anything I can do.”
“How do you increase it?”
“Last ti, raising my Stars to 2 helped a little. But my talent as a mage is abysmal. Even if I trained in magic my whole life, I’d barely manage three Stars by the ti I am eighty. So that thod is essentially impossible.”
“You don’t have much ti left.”
She nodded and pulled out several blank sheets of paper and a pen.
“But we have information. Those Deep Sea Creatures living in your World. We might find a solution there. Could you perhaps describe their appearances to ?”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary.”
I handed the bewildered Cheon-hwa the Deep Sea Creature Journal I had been keeping all this ti.
She tilted her head as she began reading, then looked up in surprise.
“You’ve been recording all of this the whole ti?”
“I thought it might co in handy soday.”
“You did well. This will be trendously helpful.”
She naturally reached out and patted my head as she read through the journal.
…It really did feel like she was treating like a child.
“I’ll need to examine their ecology and behavioral patterns. Give about a week.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Part of felt I was giving away too much information, but well, I’d just reset through death anyway.
Setting that aside, watching Cheon-hwa pore over the journal so earnestly stirred a small sense of hope in .
After all, these people had been researching the Fallen for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. If anyone could be called the foremost experts on the Fallen, it was them.
Maybe, just maybe, they could actually find a solution.
“So what should I do in the anti?”
“Learn what you need to know as a mber of the Upper Tier, and handle the odd jobs.”
“Odd jobs?”
“I won’t assign you anything serious, so don’t worry too much.”
Cheon-hwa pulled several thick books from a shelf and set them in front of .
“Everything we’ve discovered about all known Worlds is recorded here. Oh, and this is a Mission Book.”
“A Mission Book, ah… that thing?”
“Yes. You won’t be able to read it anyway, so just don’t lose it.”
When I opened it, sure enough, it was filled with sentences I couldn’t begin to comprehend.
Of course, even if I could read it, I had no intention of doing so. What excited far more was the book supposedly containing information on every known World.
“Understood. I can pick any room in the Spire, right?”
“Yes. Other Fallen will visit from ti to ti. Use your own judgnt in dealing with them.”
“Yes. I’ll do that.”
As I was about to leave the room, a sudden curiosity struck .
“Co to think of it, Cheon-hwa… no, Priestess-nim.”
“Do you have more questions?”
“Nothing major. I’m just curious about what your goal is, Priestess-nim.”
The pen that had been moving busily ca to an abrupt stop.
“If the other Executives act to achieve their own goals, what are you here to accomplish?”
“…An artificial Priestess has no goals. If I had to na one, it would be finishing the task.”
“What task?”
Her voice slowed, piercing deep into my chest.
“I was created to restore the Priestess to her original state.”
“What do you an by that?”
“You’ll understand if you stay in the Upper Tier long enough.”
Cheon-hwa clearly didn’t want to discuss this topic further.
I nodded and backed off.
“Understood.”
I still lacked information anyway.
There were plenty of other things to worry about besides Cheon-hwa.
***
Three days passed.
And I ca to learn sothing that wasn’t exactly new.
These bastards were out of their minds, and the Princess was simply a god.
“What the… what the hell is this?”
Among what Cheon-hwa had handed were ledger-like records of Crimson Circle’s activities, things only the Upper Tier was privy to.
I wondered what kind of things they had done. The mont I opened the first page, I was stunned by the sheer volu.
Then I was stunned again by the contents.
“5,892 attempts in ten years…?”
I had assud Crimson Circle had only started revealing their ambitions in the past two or three years, but I was completely wrong.
In reality, they had been targeting the Empire continuously, and after finding that nothing worked, they had tried everything in every possible direction until sothing finally stuck.
And Sharmia had thwarted nearly all of it flawlessly.
Now I understood why Void had created the artificial Priestess.
And why they eventually intended to bring the real Priestess, Sharmia, here.
This was absurd. It was far beyond what any individual could possibly accomplish.
If Sharmia had truly been on Crimson Circle’s side…
The Empire would have fallen long ago.
And Sharmia was absurdly capable. Blocking all these attempts while simultaneously making the Empire prosper couldn’t simply be explained by being a Regressor who naturally knows what’s coming.
That she hadn’t beco a Fallen was nothing short of a miracle. I was suppressing the chill running down my spine when soone knocked at my door.
“Co in.”
Only one person in this Spire could knock on my door anyway.
The mont I answered, the door opened and Damyu poked her head in.
I assud she was going to complain about being bored and ask if she could go out, but her expression seed unusual.
“U-Um… Undercurrent-nim…”
“I still have a lot to get through. Can it wait?”
I had so much left to study. Crimson Circle’s history was absurdly deep, and I needed to absorb everything I could while I had the chance.
I had already devoured enough high-grade information that dying right now would still feel like a net gain, but sothing still felt lacking.
I wanted to cram as much as possible into my head while I could.
Including everything about the Dark Veil.
I shot her a look, silently asking if this was worth spending my precious ti on.
“W-Well…”
Damyu spoke cautiously.
ntioning a na I had never expected to hear.
“Piercing Blood-nim has co to see you…”
…Ah.
Right.
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