Chapter 137

At Yu Junghyeok's words, I reflexively asked,

"You know those guys?"

"One of them."

Yu Junghyeok knew about the Salvation Sect? Had those bastards shown up in the second round too? I couldn't remember. Still, I knew the Salvation Sect well enough myself. According to the original work, the Salvation Sect was a group that had completely cast off the religious cliches attached to the word salvation.

「There is no salvation in the afterlife.」

That was how the Salvation Sect's first sermon began.

「What matters is the story of now, and what we must liberate is 'today.'」

At first glance, there was nothing particularly wrong with their doctrine. Value the present, not the past or the future. It was the sort of thing people had said plenty of times even before the world fell apart.

Muttering incomprehensible words, the Salvation Sect group came right up in front of us. The elephants bellowing harshly were all Desert Thorn Elephants, Tier-7 Monsters. That meant someone among the Salvation Sect could use [taming].

"O-ohhh...."

"It's the Salvation Sect!"

The Salvation Sect was supposed to appear much later, and yet they were already here. Which meant someone was interfering with the future I knew.

And not just anyone. Something extremely powerful.

A voice came from the palanquin atop the lead elephant.

"Young Incarnations. Come to the Salvation Sect. We will free you from the Scenarios."

The Salvation Sect followers at the front spread their arms toward the Incarnations. One of the hesitant Incarnations stepped forward.

"...What do you mean by liberation?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. We will grant you the freedom not to be humiliated by the Scenarios."

The words were still hard to pin down, but the terms they used were exactly the kind to catch an Incarnation's interest. Liberation, freedom. Sweet words to people who had been forced into this place.

"If I join the Salvation Sect, can I become stronger?"

Some Incarnations were already swayed. Others were cautious. They were the kind who trusted the power in front of them more than some vague word like salvation.

"Strength...."

The shadow inside the palanquin moved. Perhaps because of the strange profundity woven into that voice, it was impossible to easily guess their age or gender.

"What do you believe strength is?"

"Having strong skills, or better items than other people.... Isn't that what you mean?"

"Strong skills and good items.... Do you mean things like this?"

Mana slowly extended from the palanquin and took the shape of a gigantic palm.

Mana materialization. A technique only a decently trained returnee could use was being performed by a mere Incarnation in the Scenario.

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband displays hostility toward the palm.]

The gigantic palm was overwhelming just to look at. It covered the sky as it came crashing down toward the man.

"U-uaaaah!"

Everyone screamed at the overwhelming spectacle of Mana. But the moment the palm covered the Incarnations, it vanished along with a fearsome gust of wind. In its place remained only a warm, gentle current wrapping around the Incarnations.

"You pursue what is fleeting. Strength and weakness are nothing but illusions made by stories."

The curtain of the palanquin was drawn aside, and the owner of the voice revealed themself. It was a being radiating light from their whole body, as though a brilliant sun had risen. Like a god descending, the light landed lightly on the ground.

Only then did I realize it too. I had hoped I was wrong, but the Salvation Sect leader I knew really had entered the Scenario already. The Incarnation who had been crying out for strength hesitated, but still opened his mouth.

"What kind of bullshit is that.... So if I follow you, can I become strong or not?!"

The Salvation Sect leader spoke from within a benevolent smile.

"Foolish one. You cannot even see the truth before your eyes. Such things have no meaning."

"N-no meaning?"

"Poor living being trapped beneath a heap of time. You are being deceived by the Scenario right now."

Tap. The Salvation Sect leader's hand touched the Incarnation's forehead.

"Tell me. Who urged 'strength' upon you? Why do you so desperately wish to become strong?"

As if spellbound, the man answered.

"Th-that's.... I-I have to become strong.... so I can survive...."

"What does it mean to survive?"

"To survive is.... just to stay alive! So I get strong again, and then survive again...."

It was a foolish refrain, as if his thoughts had stopped altogether. But perhaps that was the most honest answer of all.

"Is that your life?"

"What...?"

"If you must live every waking hour in order to become strong, then where is your 'life' in all of that?"

The Incarnation's body trembled as if he had realized something he was never meant to know. His lips moved desperately, trying to find an answer.

"Th-that's...."

"......"

"Huh...?"

Something spilled from the man's eyes. As if he couldn't believe it, he blankly stared at the tears dropping to the ground. When humans come face-to-face with emotions they cannot comprehend, they try to force an explanation onto them. Everyone watched that scene in a state of exhilaration, as though they wanted someone to resolve it for them.

When the Salvation Sect leader slowly approached and wiped away the man's tears, a few people let out sighs.

"That is the trap of stories."

When I looked up into the air, I could see the dokkaebis listening with interest. The Salvation Sect leader spoke.

"Do not let the Scenario devour you."

That one declaration drove itself into every Incarnation's chest like a wedge.

"Do not be deceived by the salvation of an afterlife that may someday come."

All the Incarnations who had entered the new Scenario looked at them as if spellbound. Whether they understood the words or not, they had already become a kind of resonance and were sinking into everyone's hearts.

"Salvation is here, right now, and this is where you should be."

To live in the now and protect the present. To keep from being devoured by the future and reclaim human dignity.

"Struggle here and now! Leave yourself behind as a new story! That alone is the path to liberation from this 'Scenario'!"

It was a beautiful idea to hear. It would have been, if the one saying it weren't the Salvation Sect leader. I turned to Yu Junghyeok.

"Yu Junghyeok."

Yu Junghyeok was already drawing his sword. Savage hostility was spreading across his face.

"Your method of raising suicide squads with grandiose bullshit hasn't changed."

At Yu Junghyeok's words, the Salvation Sect leader turned this way. The moment their eyes met, Yu Junghyeok continued.

"You'd be better off stopping here and getting lost, Salvation Sect leader."

"...You are?"

In an instant, it felt as though a vast aura swallowed up the surroundings. Before I knew it, the Salvation Sect leader was floating in midair and flying this way. The exotic, fluttering ghagra streamed behind them like the robes of a heavenly maiden. Then they said,

"Yu Junghyeok?"

Why was that? A pure white smile spread over the Salvation Sect leader's beautiful face.

"Yu Junghyeok! Do you know how long I've been searching for you?"

A warning cry rang through my head, stronger than with any Incarnation I had ever met. According to the original work, this person wasn't supposed to appear until much later. Which meant I had made absolutely no preparations for them.

I immediately activated [Character Profile].

[The Exclusive Skill Character Profile has activated!]

[There is far too much information related to this individual. Character Profile is being converted to Summary Profile.]

Then a message I had never seen before appeared.

[There is still too much information related to this individual. Character Summary Profile is attempting another summary.]

[Information summarization has failed.]

[The related information for this individual cannot be summarized with Summary Profile.]

What a ridiculous thing to hear. The information couldn't be summarized? I thought for a moment, then changed the settings so it would show only that individual's first attribute.

[Listing settings have been changed.]

+

<Character Summary Profile>

Name: Nirvana Moebius

Exclusive attribute: Reincarnator (Legendary)

+

The moment I checked the information, chills ran down my skin. Damn it, so it really was this bastard. The third method for surviving in a ruined world. The figure before my eyes was that third method itself.

Reincarnator Nirvana. Human, and yet not human.

"Yu Junghyeok!"

It was a voice crying out in delight. Watching the approaching bastard, the palm gripping my sword hilt grew slick. That bastard didn't think like an ordinary human. No matter how much of TWSA I'd read, there were limits to how much I could use them. So then, what should I do...?

Spreading their arms wide, Nirvana cried out with a radiant smile.

"Yu Junghyeok! Become one with me!"

In that instant, I got a sense of how I could use them.

* * *

Nirvana clearly remembered the first moment they opened their eyes in this world. Ridiculously enough, Nirvana had been a water beetle then.

'......'

And the moment they opened their eyes, a frog ate them. In the next life, Nirvana was born as a frog.

'This won't be an easy life.'

In that life, a rattlesnake ate Nirvana. In the next life, Nirvana became a rattlesnake.

'At least I can eat frogs.'

In that life, an anaconda ate Nirvana. In the next life, Nirvana was born as an anaconda.

'I'll devour every snake.'

In that life, Nirvana evolved into a powerful monster species. Not long after, they found themself on the verge of being hunted by Incarnations. Incarnations blinded by rewards came after them, and Nirvana was badly wounded. With death right in front of them, Nirvana hid in the forest to escape the hunters.

But in the end, they were spotted by a man.

"...Looks like you're hurt."

Why was that? Even after seeing them, the man didn't harm them. He treated Nirvana's wounds and released them back into the forest. Nirvana couldn't understand that kindness, but they remembered his touch for a very long time.

And in the next life, Nirvana was born human.

[The Constellation Mandala's Protector watches over your life.]

They realized that someone was observing their life. They only learned much later that it was a great being called a Patron constellation.

From that point on, Nirvana kept being born as a human. They became an outstanding farmer, or a landowner who led farmers. They became a foot soldier, or a Sword Master admired by soldiers. They became a slave, or a noble who ruled over slaves.

They passed through countless deaths and lived countless lives.

They passed through countless Scenarios.

And they realized that they alone were a unique existence in this universe.

'Only I reincarnate with all my memories.'

That fact made them unbearably lonely. Because they were lonely, they threw themself into enjoying life all the more fiercely. As if they would never live again. As if this one time alone were everything. They lived that way and taught others how they had lived.

And every time, they alone came back to life again.

Then one day, a message came to them.

[You have been caught in the great wheel of time.]

[Your cycle of reincarnation has become subordinate to the wheel of time.]

[The Constellation Mandala's Protector pities your fate.]

[You have joined the Scenario of Planetary System 8612.]

Nirvana came face-to-face with one man.

'Yu Junghyeok.'

For the first time, Nirvana discovered another being who repeated lives the way they did. The method was different, but like them, he too was bound to the wheel of eternity.

'You are the same as me.'

That alone filled Nirvana with a kind of trembling salvation. In this vast universe, the only being who could understand them.

'I failed in my last life. But this time will be different.'

As the Salvation Sect leader approached Yu Junghyeok, they cried out,

"Yu Junghyeok!"

Watching Yu Junghyeok step back in disgust, Nirvana smiled deeply. From the day they had been caught in the great wheel and bound within Yu Junghyeok's 'time,' Nirvana had waited for this day alone.

"Yu Junghyeok! Become one with me!"

"Quit spewing bullshit and get lost. Before I kill you."

Even at Yu Junghyeok's prickly attitude, Nirvana smiled. At this point, even that petulance felt cute to them.

'You pretend to hate me, but I know you want me more than anyone. You need my power!'

Last time, they had ruined things by showing consideration, but they wouldn't do that this time. Nirvana kept shouting.

"I will help you. Have you forgotten the failure of your last life? Only I can become your true Companion! In the cogs of eternity, the only one who can understand you...."

"I don't need the likes of you."

"What?"

In a dazed voice, Nirvana asked back. Yu Junghyeok glanced at his side and spoke again.

"Because I already have a Companion."