Infinite Regressor, Chapter 416 - I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell

3 The world had ended. It was the 2,230th apocalypse. ‘Is this the life Go Yuri has traversed?’ Each time the world ended, she was born anew, as a different person, in a different status, and to a different family. Yet, the scenery of apocalypse remained similar. In a world where the media crooned, screams were harvested, and rain and humidity seeped up from the underground, leaving everything damp, I let out a sigh into the gray sky absentmindedly. “Ah, this really isn’t easy... Truly.” -Ha ha ha ha ha. Snap. Her head was severed by a monster. In a world yet to possess a regressor, where one must still endure the apocalypse of Hanghasa if one hoped to exist. This was the conclusion of the ‘first iteration’ which had already been repeated 2,230 times. 4 Regressor and reincarnator. What’s the most significant distinction between the two? As the Undertaker, the first witness in human history to experience both, I could confidently provide an answer. ‘The boundary of identity is blurred. For reincarnators.’ How should I put it? The boundary between ‘self’ and ‘others’ for reincarnators was as wobbly as transparent jelly. “Um, uh, Captain...?” “Yes, Sim Ah-ryeon.” “Why are you being so kind to me? Of course, I appreciate the food you bring. I really do... But why to me?” For example, there was Sim Ah-ryeon standing before me now. During those nights of the Thousand and One Nights that already felt like a distant past, just as Go Yuri had recounted at an exhibition hall, I too experienced ‘reincarnation’ and was born as Sim Ah-ryeon’s younger sibling. Was it because of that? Sim Ah-ryeon couldn’t feel like a stranger to me. “Hmm-. Because you don’t feel like a stranger.” “Pardon?” “Sim Ah-ryeon. Looking at you somehow brings me peace.” With a broad smile, I tried to convey my honest feelings. “Uh, uh, haha... That’s, um, embarrassing.” Sim Ah-ryeon, though flustered, nibbled on the Digestive biscuits I’d secretly brought from the storage, like a hamster. It wasn't just Sim Ah-ryeon. “All clear.” The soldier who saluted me while I roamed the corridors of the underground bunker built along the final defense line. “Captain!” The woman who cautiously approached trying to hand me a piece of fruit while I patrolled the civilian area. “We’ve completed the preparations to sail the ship to Jeju Island. Give the order, and we can commence the operation anytime, sir.” Even the officers at the final defense line who joined operational meetings with me. ‘Everyone is my family.’ Others did not feel like others. They too did not perceive me as a stranger. ‘Ah.’ Indeed. ‘A regressor is ultimately an individual who relives their own life infinitely.’ ‘On the other hand... A reincarnator embodies others, living among them.’ There’s a hypothesis. Imagine a personality A, and a personality B. These two were originally different individuals. Now suppose one day A acquires a bizarre ability and undergoes occurrences identical to B’s—conception at the exact moment B was conceived, birth under the same parents, growing up in the same environment, experiencing the same life journeys, and following the same life path. Then is A a different entity from B? Or are they the same individual? ‘Indistinguishable.’ A reincarnator, especially an infinite reincarnator like Go Yuri, was such an existence. An indivisible entity. With each reincarnation, her personality altered. Her way of interacting with people shifted. It was natural. Her DNA changed entirely; how could she maintain a perfectly identical personality? It was something to be accepted. The more she lived, the more she died, ‘I’ was gradually becoming ‘we.’ An existence as the ‘red flesh.’ “…Haha. Indeed.” In the deepest part of the bunker. As the sole distinguished dictator of the Human Alliance and the person in charge of the final defense line, ‘I’ muttered alone in the solitary cell where I was left. “It wasn’t a desire to become one. I was always one. Returning to the original state as one is all it is.” KUUUUUUNG...! The underground reverberated at that moment. The foreign entity ‘Hecate’ bombarded Earth’s surface with a meteor shower unfurled in the night sky. As vibrations were felt on the body that could truly turn Earth into ashes, far beyond mere nuclear explosions. I concluded this chapter of life. 5 The time of destruction passed. ‘I can now fully comprehend Go Yuri’s reflections.’ Countless reincarnations had now been experienced. In the midst of it, Go Yuri must have faintly carried some confidence. ‘I will inevitably transform into a monstrosity one day.’ That was a constant. The ultimate conclusion the world would reach remained unknown. Whether it would be a bad ending, a normal ending, or an unexpectedly dreamed happy ending for humanity. Regardless of where humanity’s route would culminate, Go Yuri, ‘a person of one and all,’ as a reincarnator’s ending was predetermined. ‘The worst foreign entity.’ When ‘the red flesh’ descends one day, people won’t feel repulsion. Neither will they entertain hostility. On the contrary, they will certainly welcome it. ‘A longing for what was lost. Nostalgia for the happiest life. A far, far happier ending than this hellish world for humanity as a whole...’ Such an ending. ‘The One.’ Despite knowingly heading towards such an ending, the reincarnator couldn’t stop reincarnating. ‘Because the moment I stop, humanity loses its unique chance to oppose the monstrosities.’ Therefore. ‘By preemptively separating the human self from the monstrous self, one could sneakily avoid the catastrophe already scheduled in the ending.’ A vivid enlightenment befell. ‘But how do I separate [the human self of Go Yuri]?’ It was simple. ‘...If one could [remember] every single step and sorrow from the life lived as a human.’ An ability for perfect recall. ‘By finding, creating someone like that. Becoming one, and making them experience the life living as me—’ The Undertaker. “……” Myself, and yet another. “Indeed.” A smile spread across my lips. “This is exactly what I am doing right now.” Process of the Plan. Step 1: Reincarnation. To make this world strong enough for humanity to stand against the anomalous beings, reincarnation is repeated to create awakeners. Step 2: Corruption. At this juncture, Go Yuri is already suffering irreversible side effects from reincarnation. She falls, becoming a single foreign entity, 'The One,' as she gathers her family as the Red Flesh. Step 3: Destruction. In this state, the [Udumbara] virus is deployed to Go Yuri, removing her ability of reincarnation. Furthermore, using [Time Seal] to erase the very existence of Go Yuri from this world. Step 4: Replacement. However, the memories and experiences of Go Yuri's life as a human are entirely transferred to the 'Regressor' Undertaker. The Undertaker possesses the ability of perfect recall. Even after experiencing billions and trillions of lives, he can sustain and remember his humanity. Thus, the regressor Undertaker, who has experienced every aspect of reincarnator Go Yuri’s life— ‘Can remain as a Go Yuri more human, far more human than Go Yuri herself.’ Shiver. A slight tremor ran through my shoulders. A gentle thrill. ‘From the being destined to inevitably become a foreign entity to save humanity… remove the corrupted monstrous parts and leave only the humanity.’ Like a rocket discarding its boosters. After eliminating the void pulling humanity into hell, restore a world where humans can live as humans. A world where there are no more anomalous entities. Including the demise of Red Flesh, the reincarnator herself. “Aha.” What a magnificent plan this is. What a—meticulously crafted suicide it is. ‘Go Yuri and yet the Undertaker.’ ‘The Undertaker and yet Go Yuri.’ Surely. ‘The declaration to become one was no fabrication.’ Now, only one question remains. ‘Upon inheriting the memories and personality of Go Yuri, the reincarnator, and continuing as the existence known as the Undertaker, the regressor—[I]...’ In a world where humanity finally triumphs, how should [I] live? “……” I do not know. I cannot know. For even a reincarnator and regressor having endured countless lives have yet to live ‘a life after a happy ending’. An uncharted territory. “…For now, I must focus on living out Go Yuri’s lifespans.” After all, even that was no easy feat. As I spoke to myself, once again, for failing to control the variables, Hecate had incinerated the surface to ashes. 93,248,578th death. 93,248,579th lifecycle. ‘What if I reverse the concept?’ Hecate was exceedingly powerful. Not only does she command the celestial bodies of the solar system as if they were her limbs, but she can summon meteor showers and unleash meteor strikes at will. The power balance was utterly insane. ‘But now, I can devise strategies with much more flexible thinking.’ Because I have lived as Go Yuri. As the one who feared more than anyone the conclusion of becoming a anomaly, as someone who pondered how to ensure the human side of oneself would be passed on, I reached a certain conception. ‘Trick Hecate.’ How do I deceive her? ‘Make her believe she is human!’ An astounding reversal of ideas. It was the kind of idea where if my other reincarnated selves heard it, they would clap excitedly and say, “Are you crazy?” ‘Hecate is, after all, a meteor.’ ‘So, Hecate has a nature that reacts to human wishes. Let’s utilize this trait.’ ‘Select one [sacrifice] who aspires to live as a human and die as a human, beyond anything else.’ Sacrifice. Eventually, the term wouldn’t be well-received, so it would later be called ‘maiden,’ but frankly, the term ‘sacrifice’ was more fitting. ‘Let the sacrifice wish for it. To live as a human and die as a human, let them pray to the stars above...’ ‘Would it work?’ My heart pounded. ‘To make that fearsome foreign entity, Hecate, believe and misunderstand that she’s just a mere human, and make her truly believe it!’ It was a form of experimentation. I, Go Yuri, feared more than anyone becoming an anomaly in the end. Therefore, it was natural to consider trying the humanization of the anomaly. “Who would be the most suitable sacrifice?” Go Yuri pondered. ‘…….’ I, living as Go Yuri, could already anticipate the project’s outcome. “The desire ‘to live as a human’ is quite elusive. Most people don’t really feel such yearnings. Hmm. What intrigues one into this peculiar desire is….” When their humanity has been desecrated. “They’ll need to be brutally killed by a grotesque.” And it shouldn’t be a sudden death. “They should die slowly. Yes. Slowly enough to truly realize what a disgraceful death they face.” And merely dying alone wouldn’t suffice. “Oh, and their family needs to die in exactly the same way. Because often, people rage more over what happens to their family than what happens to themselves.” The candidate for the sacrifice needed to be the most radiant human. “They must live with one of the most close-knit families. I must remember this point for future reincarnations. Attempt it if it seems viable.” ……. “Hmm, this one doesn’t quite fit.” ……. “This one too. Failed again. Perhaps human desires more naturally lean towards simply gaining strength for revenge rather than the genuine wish to live as a human.” ……. “Ah.” ……. “I found her.” Dang Seo-rin. “A fondness for...Harry Potter? Perfect. Especially when Hecate appears, she resembles a witch, so it seems like a great match!” Is that so? “Let’s prepare the plan. Aim to reincarnate as the youngest in her family and thus carve a path.” That’s how it was. “Being brutally killed is a field I excel in. The only question mark is whether Hecate will fall into the trap as planned—” Time passed. “Success!” Go Yuri rejoiced. "Success... It's a success! Unbelievable. I... I've done it! Ah, ah, I did it! I conquered Hecate! That cursed foreign entity of the night sky pretending to grant humanity's wishes, destroying everything! I... ahhh!" Go Yuri lamented. "I did it... everyone. Mom. Dad. Everyone! I... No. Now. I must research more diligently, to ensure this miraculous route can be repeated." Dang Seo-rin was already a being of the past. The excluded god known to me as 'Nut' was merely remnants of the foreign entity Hecate shattered into pieces. The hell on earth where shooting stars fell with every conscious or unconscious human wish into the night sky was no more. Now only occasional void meteors fell onto the earth, maybe once every seven years, or as briefly as one year. Compared to the hell created by Hecate, these meteor 'drops' were insignificant, no more than regular occurrences scattered here and there. "Oh. Hmm... Indeed. It turns out that it was an essential condition that the family ran a flower shop. Well, it's much more ideal to see a family’s dreams fulfilled in such a picturesque, harmonious setting. This is something I can easily manipulate as a variable whenever necessary." Time passed. "Wishing becomes stronger only when Dang Seo-rin has at least two younger siblings. Is it a sense of responsibility as an elder sister? I'm not sure... but consider this fixed." Time passed. "—Done." Time passed. "June 15. Dang Seo-rin's entire family running a flower shop in Busan will be annihilated. The family composition remains as it is. Dang Seo-rin will die last. ...Perfect." The reincarnator carved the path. "From now on, regardless of who I am reborn as or what life I lead, I must ensure that this 'June 15' event occurs." Dang Seo-rin's death was set in stone. "..." The reincarnator, Go Yuri, felt a faint unease. It wasn't out of guilt towards Dang Seo-rin. Feelings of regret were like perpetual wallpaper, decorating her heart at any given moment. "Aha." Rather than that... "No matter who I am reborn as now, as far as the timeline related to Dang Seo-rin is concerned... I absolutely must uphold it?" The path was now fixed. The reincarnator’s once virtually boundless schedule, akin to being wrapped in a weak chain, now had a slight touch of constraint. Almost like a regressor’s calendar filled to the brim over a span of seven years. That was the source of the discomfort. “…Hmm. Well, as long as I can prevent Hecate’s hellscape, it’s a price I’m more than willing to pay.” The reincarnator regarded the light chains on her wrists and ankles not as obstacles, but rather as medals for the accomplishment of shredding apart the foreign entity known as Hecate. And then. “……” Splash-. Go Yuri looked down at her feet. Leather boots. Go Yuri knew full well that the puddle beneath her was actually the blood of a foreign entity, and desirous of avoiding even the smallest splatter of muddy water, she always wore leather boots. “Leviathan…” Seeing her reflection in the puddle, Go Yuri, or perhaps my own lips, murmured. “Could I offer a sacrifice to it in the same way?” Clink. Clank. Somewhere, the sound of chains seemed to resonate.