Episode 358 < Return to origin. (3) >
4.
Let’s talk about the past for a moment.
It is said that when the director was young, staring blankly at the television rather than a smartphone was a child’s pastime.
On TV, you cannot choose the video you want. I watch whatever the broadcasting station plays.
Since the broadcasting station is also a place where people work, nothing is played on TV during the time when people have gone to dreamland.
It is the same as a restaurant that is not open 24 hours a day. rest. Closed. A pause (休止) that is clearly there, but its role does not work.
Jijijijik-
And the TV shows strange images during rest. Black spotted and white spotted birds crackle and tangle in a chaotic manner. Blink, blink. Black dots and pure white dots mix together, as if machine AIs are playing their own game of baduk at high speed. Dizzy. Dizzy, dizzy.
Jijijijik, Jijijik-
That was the scene from where I was standing now.
[The 76th stage was forced to end.]
The blue sky suddenly split. Black and white vomit poured out of the cracked crevices, as if mold were growing. First the sky was eaten away, then the humans wandering under the sky were eaten away, and finally the horizon was eaten away.
Jijijijijik!
[The sixth pillar, ‘Primordial Staff’ intervenes.]
[‘The Primordial Staff’ seeks to maintain control of the stage.]
In the middle of a world where black and white orgy existed, there was a wizard leaning on a lonely staff.
One of the pillars that runs this tower. It was an ancient staff.
“… … You’re telling an interesting story. “Death King.”
The wizard looked at me.
“So you just said that my choice was wrong? Who is the right person to be the judge of this heavenly layer? Who is willing to judge whether you pass or fail. Considering all of that, I chose Yoo Soo-ha as the judge, and my judgment was wrong?”
“yes.”
“…….”
The wizard’s eyes were silver, like water dipped in a sword. I did not avoid the gaze of the silver blade pointed in my direction.
“Even if Yu Su-ha were to die, he would never wish to be reincarnated here.”
The wizard could not answer right away. Kuuk. After some time had passed, the wizard held his staff tightly.
“… … okay. You might have a point. But then, how about here?”
The wizard raised his long staff high. And with all his might, he hit the floor with a thud.
[‘The Ancient Staff’ manifests its power.]
Sigh!
A wave arose around the place where the wand was struck. White waves. The white waves rushed into a torrent at once, driving away the black that was eating away at every corner of the world.
At the same time.
[‘The Primordial Staff’ transports you.]
The world of crackling noise has changed.
[You have entered the 77th stage.]
[You are entering a place that you cannot normally enter.]
“This place is Gicheon (機天).”
Did the ancient wand work magic? We were floating in the air.
A dazzling future city unfolded far below our feet. Skyscrapers rose smoothly without pillars or joints, and buildings were connected like neurons in the brain. The passageway that stretched like a spider’s web between the skyscrapers was constantly glowing.
“There are countless mechanical dolls living in this world. “To borrow your parlance, they are NPCs.”
Numerous humans were walking around in the future city.
If what the wizard told me is correct, the vast majority of them are NPCs. In other words, they were not hunters reincarnated with souls.
“The constellations of this world… [The God of Machinery] is said to control hundreds of millions of mechanical dolls. Of course, the humans reincarnated here don’t know that. Even NPCs believe that they are all human beings just like themselves. of course. All the dolls ruled by the [God of Mechanical Devices] are as lifelike as humans. and… … .”
“and?”
“Dolls are always defeated by humans at [crucial moments in life].”
A boxing-like match was shown on the city’s electronic billboard.
“The humans reincarnated here [always] beat the dolls. So cleverly that the dolls would never realize that they had lost on purpose. No, never let them realize that the people they defeat are actually just puppets.”
Pow!
A boxer wearing red gloves knocks out his opponent. Wow! The cheers of the audience could be heard beyond the electronic display board. The blue glove player stumbled and was cornered, while the red glove player triumphantly cornered his opponent.
“Those who are born again here will live a prosperous life. Even when faced with a crisis that makes them feel like they will lose, they are the ones who ultimately win. The sweetness of victory. Confidence that you have overcome a lifetime of difficulties. “All joy is a gift prepared by [the God of Machinery] only for humans.”
In the end, the upper part of the red player went straight in.
Coo! The blue athlete could not stand it and fell down on the ring. The referee rushed over to block the two players, but the red player’s face was already filled with confidence and joy that he had won.
“It’s a game. A kind of play. A game where you always win. However, I never have any doubts that [I am being treated well]. “You can’t help but believe that you achieved all the victories because you were so good.”
“…….”
“How do you feel? Death King. “Isn’t this place worthy of Yoo Soo-ha’s paradise?”
Oooooh!
The red player roared. The referee grabbed his wrist and held it up. The red player was so intoxicated by his victory that he howled like a gorilla, and the audience responded positively. Even louder cheers rewarded him.
“I admit that you know Yoo Soo-ha well.”
The wizard spoke softly in the sky filled with cheers.
“Okay, maybe I made a mistake at least once. sorry. It’s the manager’s responsibility. As an apology, I will acknowledge that you have cleared the 76th floor automatically. So from now on, let’s attack the 77th floor… … .”
“How long can this go on?”
“… … what?”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Those who wanted to abandon the world outside entered the tower. Those who want to abandon the world of the tower will go to one of the heavenly floors from the 71st to the 79th floor. Is that the end? What if the souls who arrive here decide to abandon the world once more?”
“…….”
“Are we going to create another heavenly paradise then? Are you going to build a tower within a tower, and then a tower within a tower, and build a tower that goes up a hundred stories, a thousand stories, ten thousand stories, a hundred thousand stories, a million stories, forever?”
The wizard bit his lip.
[‘The Primordial Staff’ transports you.]
——————
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The wand that the wizard held tightly shook.
[You have entered the 78th stage.]
[You are entering a place that you cannot normally enter.]
“…How about here?”
The world has changed again. A quiet but perfect beach town unfolded. People were chatting peacefully or enjoying a meal in pairs.
“This is Ssangcheon (雙天). Anyone can find a match that will be their match made in heaven. Even if you are a human being who did not meet your destiny in your past life, you will definitely meet it here and live forever… … .”
“There is no end.”
I said. To cut off the blade in the wizard’s eyes at an angle with the knife in my voice.
“An ancient staff. Now I know who you are. “You are probably a judge of the underworld, like King Yeomra, who decides which level of heaven the souls who die in the tower will go to.”
“…….”
“The difference is that they never sentence you to hell.”
Top’s voice rang in my head.
[You have discovered the identity of the ‘Ancient Staff’!]
[The privileges of the ‘Ancient Staff’ as a pillar are activated.]
[Your memories related to the pillar are distorted.]
[misfire.]
[Any action that distorts your memory will fail!]
The fox was wrapping my neck like a scarf. I nodded and continued to look at the wizard in front of me. I glared at the judge who was judging and distributing all the souls who died in the tower.
“You made two mistakes.”
“… … “What a mistake.”
“The tower never forces humans from the outside world to come here. That’s a matter for people to decide for themselves. I wonder if the world of TOP really suits him… . Are you really going to abandon the outside world? “The hunters who live here are people who decided to come here on their own.”
I spoke forcefully.
“But you didn’t ask the other person’s opinion. To the paladin, he didn’t ask if he would choose this paradise if he were to die. You just decided that the heavenly layer that best suited a paladin would be the evil world. “The Count, the Serpent, the Inquisitor, the Lord of Alchemy Castle, and Yu Su-ha, you summoned them [without asking anything].”
“…….”
“But there are worse mistakes.”
that.
“People who go to the heavenly levels you manage completely forget their memories of their past lives.”
“… … What’s wrong with that? These are souls who have abandoned the world and gone to heaven where they will be happy. “There’s no need to remember things you don’t like, things about the world you abandoned, etc.”
“We were not born because we wanted to be in the outside world.”
but.
“But the Tower is the world we chose.”
“…….”
“This is a world I was born into because I wanted to be born into it. This is the world I decided to go to and came to. Unlike the outside world where we just fell into it without knowing anything—we chose this place. That’s why the tower is so meaningful!”
I took a step.
Has the wizard’s magic been broken?
For a moment, my feet lost their weight in the air and almost fell. However, I immediately mobilized my Aurors and created a transparent stepping stone. Stepping into the void. The sky could no longer mean falling to me.
“And you made me lose [memories of my own choosing]!”
“…Ugh.”
“The heavenly layers you manage have destroyed the meaning the tower had barely achieved. Same. “It’s as if a world identical to the outside world has been rebuilt inside the tower.”
I stood in the sky and spoke.
“You are not fit to be a judge in heaven.”
The ancient staff clicked.
“With an open mouth, you can talk arbitrarily… … !”
“yes. And it’s not over yet.”
I looked up into the sky.
“Yoo Su-ha!”
Jijijik-.
“You must be listening! You choose! You decide! According to the judgment of the [Primordial Staff] here, is there a heavenly level among the 76th, 77th, and 78th floors that you are willing to go to? So, does the [Primordial Staff] have the qualifications to be a judge? or not… … .”
The sky crackled and cracked, opening a gap.
“Or, tell them to f*ck off! Where you live, where I live, the world of the dead is your only world! If you die, tell me if this is where you want to be reborn! So you decide who is right between the [Primordial Staff] and me!”
『What are you going to give me?』
The same noise as before could be seen through a gaping hole in the sky. White and black dots were blinking noisily. From there, Yoo Soo-ha’s voice came out.
『It’s not right to tell you to choose with your bare mouth. I’m not sure, but anyway, you’re competing with that pillar or something, right? I’m asking you to raise your hand. Then this too is a deal. Tell me what you want to give me.』
“Such a down-to-earth bastard… … .”
『After being abandoned by someone else’s bastard, I started to take care of reality.』
I bit my teeth. But what came out between teeth was not gnashing, but laughter.
“Crazy guy.”
I laughed.
“You were like that even before you fell for me, you bastard.”
Suha Yoo. You are that kind of guy.
Even if you end up in a field of shit, you are still better off, and even if your life is like shit, if you can keep the memories of your life intact, you are a person who will throw shit at the whole world. He is a man who cannot and will not go to heaven. He is a human being who will say that if it is not a pleasure that will bring him joy in his current life, he will get away with everything, including the afterlife.
“I’ll do the Cossack dance!!”
I screamed, f*cking laughing.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s one day, two days, or a week! I’ll show you my dancing skills until you tell me to stop! I’ll dance 10 to 20 times longer than you danced, you piece of shit! “Get out of heaven and continue living in my world!”
“hmm…”
The sky was silent for a moment.
『Sounds like a not bad world?』
Before the Primordial Staff could even distort his expression, the Judge raised his hand towards me.
“call.”
A warning sound flooded my consciousness.
[The 76th stage is forced to end.]
[The 77th stage is forced to end.]
[The 78th stage is forced to end.]
“really,”
The moment the ancient staff touched its forehead and swore,
“You damn kids—–.”
The tower’s declaration was made.
[An objection was raised that the ‘primordial staff’ was unsuitable as a pillar.]
[Request confirmation from Zuraqua.]
[Unable to confirm.]
[This question is beyond the Tower’s authority.]
It was a declaration I hadn’t heard in a long time.
[Top reaffirms the question.]
[Pass. The issues raised are relevant.]
[The Tower recognizes Death King’s raising of the issue as an official agenda item.]
and.
[The tower requests a majority vote meeting from the six pillars of all life.]
White and black sand once again covered my vision.
etc,
