Splash!
“Ahhh…”
As I settled into the steaming bathtub, a soft moan escaped my lips. The water, already filled to the brim, surged up and spilled over the edge the moment my body submerged.
I rested my arms on the sides of the tub and slowly leaned my head back. It felt as if my entire body was quietly sinking into a boiling swamp. The indescribable sensation of my skin heating up moment by moment…
“Haha.”
But the pleasure was fleeting. I caught sight of a dark liquid swirling through the once-clear water like black ink, and a bitter laugh slipped out. Looking closer, the grime on my skin was no joke. If it reacted this way to the hot water, just how filthy had I become?
Well, after being trapped for days on end, it was only natural to be this dirty. First things first: I needed a proper wash. I shampooed my dry, matted hair, scrubbed off the grime, lathered soap into every nook and cranny, drained the old water, and carefully poured in fresh.
After investing a full two hours in the bath, my body and mind felt soft and refreshed. Stepping out, the sunlit world outside the bathroom seemed breathtakingly beautiful. There was Im Hanna, patiently waiting in my room, and I strode confidently toward her, reborn in my primal form.
But having been pranked like this several times before, I’d grown immune; the cute screams of old were nowhere to be heard. She just gave a wry smile, unfolded a large towel she was holding, and wrapped me up completely. Like a mummy, I collapsed onto the bed.
Im Hanna giggled and began carefully drying me off. Not long after, having removed all the moisture, she grabbed me and shook me gently. I lay still, pretending to be dead, ignoring her.
Eat well, sleep well, wash well. Add in her gentle touch, and my body and mind melted into a pleasant drowsiness. I almost wanted to curl up in her arms and fall soundly asleep.
“You know, sometimes you really do act like a spoiled child.”
A brief tussle ensued, but in the end, it was Im Hanna who surrendered. With a long sigh, she fetched my clothes and gear and began dressing me herself. Heh. Im Hanna will make a wonderful wife someday.
Silence stretched between us for a while. Even though dressing was easy, putting on the gear could have been tricky, yet she handled it skillfully without a single grunt. Just as she slid me into my armor, she spoke up.
“By the way, when will you be back today?”
“Today? Why?”
“There’s a festival tonight. To celebrate your return and catch up on things… I was wondering if you’d have time.”
Her gentle voice carried a hint of hesitation. She seemed to have just remembered, but couldn’t hide the awkwardness. Probably trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere she’d created earlier at the restaurant.
Suddenly, a mischievous impulse crept in. I relaxed my neck and let out a dry, bitter remark.
“I see…”
“Hm?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“What? What’s wrong? Is something bad happening?”
Her hands stopped moving abruptly. Her worried gaze fixed on me, but the desperate look soon shifted to a sharp glare. She must have noticed the sly smile curling on my lips. I spoke quietly.
“Yeah. Got it. I’ll come back early.”
“You’re mean. Really.”
Im Hanna pouted prettily, poked my cheek once, then turned away. I chuckled, stood up, gripping the Zero Code in my left hand and Excalibur in my right, and left the office.
The sky was clear, the sun warm. The garden buzzed with Sunaro laughing gleefully atop a unicorn, and the city bustled with returning and resurrected users. It was a lively scene of everyday life, free of worries.
Yet…
“…”
Why was it that, on the way to the temple, a strange unease wrapped around me? Just moments ago, I’d been happy enough to joke with Im Hanna.
But the moment I stepped outside clutching the Zero Code—no, the moment I faced the reality of the end—the excitement drained away completely.
I didn’t know what to call it. It wasn’t sadness or joy. An emotion impossible to define. It felt like relief from a long chase, yet strangely calm. Wasn’t this exactly the same as back then, on that day?
Then it happened. My absent-minded foot suddenly bumped against something solid. My boots had reached the white steps. Reflexively, I looked up—and was suddenly seized by a vivid vision.
“Should I celebrate, or mourn?”
Along with a phantom voice, I saw a man scrambling up the stairs. That man was none other than me. No sleek armor or cape, just a pitiful figure barely surviving a battlefield. But that man was definitely me.
More precisely, my past self—because he was clutching the Zero Code tightly in one hand.
“I’m curious about how your end will be.”
The voice echoed again. Whose was it? The Zero Code’s voice. I’d only heard it once before, but its unique tone was unforgettable.
“Go. Face it. Clash. And then…”
So what was the purpose of showing me this past? A silent pressure to hurry and tie things up? Or some unknown reason I wasn’t aware of?
“Show me your end.”
Suddenly, my past self vanished inside the temple. The vision faded with him. I stared blankly at the temple for a long while, then slowly moved forward—up the stairs, inside, down the corridor, and into the portal.
And then—
“User Kim Suhyun.”
Fifteen years. After all this time, I had finally achieved what I longed for and dreamed of, and now stood here.
“Welcome, User Kim Suhyun.”
My mind was blank. I rolled a small orb in my left hand. The summoning chamber that marks both the beginning and the end of everything.
“User Kim Suhyun, I will ask you.”
A calm, beautiful voice echoed in my ears. Drawn upward, my eyes caught the gray brick floor. When my gaze took in the thirty-pyeong space, it finally settled.
“Seraph.”
At the center of the room, on a rectangular altar, sat an angel with translucent wings fluttering behind her. As always, her hands were politely folded, lips slightly parted.
“User Kim Suhyun, do you wish to rewind the time of the Whole Plain once again?”
Just as I was about to meet her eyes, the sudden question stopped my gaze at her lips.
“You.”
Just that one word. Yet my voice sounded icy cold. Even I could tell I was not the same person I was back in the castle. Seraph continued.
“User Kim Suhyun is the user who has claimed the summit of the Whole Plain.”
“…But.”
I blurted out a question before I could stop myself.
“But… is not the case.”
I realized then what the feeling I’d sensed earlier truly was.
“You have obtained the Zero Code you so desperately desired. User Kim Suhyun is qualified. Within the limits of that qualification, you can achieve anything you wish.”
It wasn’t unease. It was déjà vu… or perhaps a sense of familiarity. Ah, maybe they’re the same thing.
“Return to Earth? Very well. If you choose that path, you may return to Earth while retaining your current user information.”
“Not bad.”
“Stay in the Whole Plain? Fine. With the Zero Code, you could rule the entire continent as king… no, as User Kim Suhyun, you could become something even greater.”
“Not bad at all.”
Before I knew it, I was matching Seraph’s words. Yes. Back then, I was like this too. Looking back, I couldn’t say a word in this very place because I had no choice. No power.
But now, things were different. I had a path to choose. I had power.
It changes. It doesn’t change. Now I finally understood what that meant.
“Do you have anything to say?”
Though the circumstances had changed since then—
“Is that all?”
I myself had not changed one bit.
Slowly, I raised both arms forward. The Zero Code in my left hand, Excalibur in my right, gripping the hilt until my knuckles cracked. I summoned the immense magical power coursing through the circuits.
Just as the voice, which had been quietly continuing, abruptly cut off—
“Then… if not those two.”
Seraph’s voice pierced my ears again after a brief pause. Surprisingly calm.
“User Kim Suhyun, do you wish for the extinction of angels?”
At that moment—
Suddenly—
I couldn’t help but laugh. A laugh with no reason or cause.
I laughed silently for a long time.
Serialization will resume on September 1st.
Thanks to that, I had a good rest over the past three days.
Thank you sincerely for waiting.
With only a little left, I’ll keep going steadily without any breaks until the end! :)