“Hmph.”
Kim Soo-hyun stared at Hwa-jeong, who let out a chilly snort, his face a mix of surprise and confusion.
But soon, a gentle smile spread across his lips.
Hwa-jeong’s left eye narrowed slightly, a subtle glint in her gaze.
“What’s that? Why are you smiling? Am I funny?”
“No, it’s just… surprising.”
“Hm?”
“This problem had me tangled up for days… but after telling you, it’s like a weight’s been lifted off my chest. Thank you, Hwa-jeong.”
Her sudden sincerity hit like a fastball straight down the middle.
Caught completely off guard, Hwa-jeong’s expression went blank for a moment.
“…Isn’t that obvious?”
She tried to play it cool, a half-beat late, but Je-gal Hae-sol, who had been quietly watching from the shadows, clearly saw it.
Hwa-jeong’s shoulders had twitched ever so slightly.
“You’re always like this. Whenever something happens, you come running to me. I’ve stopped you from losing it more times than I can count. What would you do without me?”
“Exactly. You’ll stay by my side from now on, right?”
“Oh, please. That’s why you keep trying to tie me down with all those ‘wife’ and ‘main spouse’ nonsense. I’ve almost given up on it, but what can I do?”
“Heh.”
Je-gal Hae-sol, who had been eavesdropping, let out a low whistle, eyes half-lidded in admiration.
She thought she’d just learned a thing or two.
Despite the arrogance, Hwa-jeong slyly slipped in the claim of being the ‘main wife.’
A masterful move—subtle, yet unmistakably pointed.
“Wait.”
Je-gal Hae-sol flinched as a woman suddenly appeared from behind the stone pillar.
Kim Soo-hyun and even Hwa-jeong turned their heads, eyes wide with surprise.
The woman’s identity was none other than Gehenna, her deep, richly waved red hair shimmering in the light.
Hwa-jeong’s brow furrowed.
“We’re in the middle of something important. Step aside.”
“If you won’t move…”
“What?”
“I just heard something pretty irritating.”
With a confident stride, Gehenna stopped right in front of Hwa-jeong.
But Hwa-jeong didn’t back down.
Sliding her chair back, she stood up, bringing the two goddesses so close their noses nearly touched.
The ‘ultimate’ flame of the End—Hell’s Calamity Fire.
The ‘supreme’ flame of the Ancient—Hwa-jeong’s own fire.
Their eyes, each radiating a different aura, locked in a fierce stare at close range.
Je-gal Hae-sol wasted no time and used her warp ability to flee the scene.
As a wife caught in the daily chaos surrounding one man, her quick reflexes saved her from the brewing storm.
“Main wife?”
Gehenna struck first.
“How dare you call yourself the legitimate wife without anyone’s permission?”
“How dare I? Permission?”
“Yes. The title of main wife belongs only to the one who bears the husband’s first child. Yet you haven’t even shared his flesh, let alone a child. Where do you get off quietly claiming the title?”
“Ugh!”
Her usual calm, refined voice cut mercilessly to the core.
Hwa-jeong clenched her teeth, trembling with anger.
But then, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“That’s your opinion. You’re mistaken, so let me enlighten you. Listen carefully. The main wife is the one the husband trusts most, relies on, and acknowledges.”
“What did you say?”
“Isn’t that right? What good is just having a child? Besides— I’ve been called the main wife more times than I can count. I’m not like someone who used a king to revive the endless realm.”
“Huh?”
Though her tone was elegant and soft, it carried the sharpness of a finely honed blade.
Gehenna let out a short laugh.
“I’ll return your words to you. That’s just your opinion.”
“Stop playing games.”
The tension escalated.
“Isn’t your place here, in his heart? When will you go back? Why do you just swallow your saliva watching me and him make love? Just like before.”
Gehenna sneered openly.
“And you—when will you return? To hell? Oh, right, you’re not even here by your own will. You’re barely being kept summoned by the hell king. With that kind of obsession, it’s not just pathetic—it’s scary. If I were you, I’d be too ashamed to stay and would have gone back already.”
Hwa-jeong shot back without missing a beat.
Gehenna’s eyebrows twitched.
Her eyes suddenly widened, the black pupils splitting vertically like a dragon’s or a reptile’s.
She had finally lost her grip on reason.
At the same time, Hwa-jeong’s expression turned icy cold.
“…Do you want to die?”
Gehenna’s eyes glowed a deep crimson.
“Bring it on. Nothing to lose.”
Hwa-jeong’s eyes flared with a bright vermilion light.
Drip, drip, drip—
Suddenly, the space around them began to tremble.
“Uh…”
Kim Soo-hyun, who had been watching in a daze, felt alarm bells ringing in his head.
How did things get to this point?
The truth was, he had let his guard down.
No matter how many wives he had, no matter how much they fought and played, Gehenna and Hwa-jeong had never crossed certain lines.
But that was only natural.
As Hwa-jeong once said, gods don’t get jealous over humans.
From the perspective of a distant higher being, humans are nothing more than specks of dust.
Like animals watching other animals mate without a second thought, that’s the extent of their feelings.
But when it comes to gods of equal rank, it’s a different story.
Especially when they’re rivals and competitors.
Both were gods of the Ninth Heaven, proud and proud of their status.
And with the important title of ‘main wife’ on the line, it was no surprise they reacted so sensitively.
Thus, Kim Soo-hyun found himself facing the most dangerous crisis of the entire arc.
—Run! Now!
The first sign was Zero Code’s sudden outburst, usually calm and detached.
The second was the entire mercenary clan, having received the warning from Je-gal Hae-sol, scrambling to flee outside the city walls.
The third was the cracks forming in the air itself, unable to withstand the divine energy.
“We have to stop them…”
—Stop them? How?
“But…”
—No matter how much you try to keep your composure, those two are already sincere. Do you really think you can stop them?
“……”
—Don’t confuse fiction with reality. The moment you get caught in this, you’re dead.
It wasn’t an exaggeration.
Kim Soo-hyun knew well the true power a god from the Ninth Heaven could wield.
Hadn’t the mighty armies of the Seven Great Demons and the allied forces of the Southern Continent been wiped out with just a few gestures?
The problem was, these two goddesses were even stronger now.
Gehenna had the support of Suna’s magic, rated above Ninth Heaven level.
Hwa-jeong had Kim Soo-hyun himself, whose stamina had skyrocketed, backing her up.
If these two, already beyond their original limits, clashed head-on with even half their power, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the world would end that day.
Zero Code wasn’t interfering out of boredom.
In the end, while Kim Soo-hyun was frozen, unable to act, the two goddesses quickly put distance between them.
Gehenna’s right hand gripped a whip crackling with flames, while Hwa-jeong’s entire body was wreathed in blazing fire.
Moments later, both moved left simultaneously, stretching their right arms forward with force.
Just as the fiery whip and the blazing flames surged toward each other in a straight line, ready to collide—
“Damn it!”
In that split second, Kim Soo-hyun spread his arms wide, gritting his teeth as he leapt between them.
“You!”
“Hey!”
Gehenna and Hwa-jeong shouted in unison.
—You idiot!
Zero Code’s furious outburst came almost simultaneously.
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted, a terrifying burst of light engulfing the area.
It was a clash of unimaginable power.
Of course, they had moderated their strength somewhat, pulling back at the last moment.
Still, every window on the first floor shattered.
The impact left a massive crater where they had collided.
Only then did the two regain their composure.
Brushing away the thick smoke, they hurriedly looked toward the center.
As if on cue, both wore stunned expressions.
All that was visible was a ten-meter-wide crater, gaping like a mouth, and a space riddled with cracks, like shattered glass.
Kim Soo-hyun was nowhere to be seen.
A heavy force pressed down on my eyes, making them hard to open.
When I finally did, a blurry darkness flickered faintly before me.
I took a breath, inhaling a strange, indescribable scent.
It was neither gas nor liquid, but something in between…
“Tch.”
My foggy mind suddenly cleared.
Waiting for the dizziness to subside, I looked ahead.
Still, all I could see was darkness, but I felt an intangible presence staring right at me.
“Zero Code?”
—……
“Did you… save me?”
—I couldn’t get you out normally… You’re only alive because you got lucky.
There was a hint of reproach in the voice.
Still, I couldn’t help but ask,
“Where is this place?”
I looked around, scanning left and right.
At first, it was just endless darkness.
But on closer inspection, faint glimmers flickered here and there, and somewhere, weak rays of light seemed to be filtering in.
“Zero Code?”
—What is it?
“Where exactly have you brought me?”
— …sigh.
I thought I just heard a deeply exasperated sigh.
“Can you even explain it in a way I’d understand?”
“Where is this place?”
— Your world.
“That’s way too vague.”
— A place where space and time don’t exist.
“Be more specific.”
— A realm that constantly branches off according to the quantum wave function…
“That’s way too scientific.”
— ……
“Sorry.”
Before I knew it, I found myself apologizing.
Was it just my imagination, or did Zero Code press firmly against the bridge of my nose?
— Seeing it once is better than hearing about it a hundred times. Look behind you.
Without hesitation, I turned around.
— Welcome to the quantum multiverse, you idiot.
At that moment, a deep, resonant voice echoed sharply in my ears.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Made it through safely again today.
Now that the semester’s started, I really need to break this vicious cycle of my daily routine.
Being a senior, I can’t afford to doze off during lectures, so I collapse as soon as I get back to my apartment, then wake up at night to write… rinse and repeat.
Ugh.
But since my class starts at 10 a.m. today, I still have some breathing room.
Haha.
Oh, and I’ve read all your comments.
As expected, opinions were split between “I want to see more” and “I don’t need it.”
Since the majority want to see more, I’ve decided to continue in that direction.
To those who preferred otherwise, I ask for your understanding.
Ah…
And I still need to reply to some messages soon. ㅜ.ㅠ
P.S. The quantum multiverse is still an unproven theory.
For the sake of the story, I’ve partially borrowed from it.
Of course, it’s not exactly the same—I’ve twisted and adapted it to fit the Memorize universe.
I understand some of you might be skeptical, but please just think of it as part of the sci-fi fiction and enjoy the ride.
(__)