Infinite Regressor, Chapter 434 - I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell

The ones who are perpetually reborn — the Reincarnated. Those who mesmerize like a phantom — the Phantasm. Beings embodying two intertwined meanings. The prison that sealed himself away was slashed open by the sword of Emit Schopenhauer, the Swordmaster. And then. -Brother. Fragments of the shattered glass prison scattered into the air. Before the fragments of mirror falling, something clasped onto my nape tightly. -Go Yo-il. It was an illusion of Go Yuri. The scent of apples pleasantly invaded my senses as a delicate voice and familiar gesture from a past life embraced me from behind, whispering softly. This was not an experience unique to me. -Father. -You found me all the way here? -Yo-hwa sis. -I'm so happy. -Ye-ji. Everyone in the raid. Hundreds of illusions, reincarnations, emerged from the shadows of these people, each whispering sweetly to the raiders. Laughter reverberated softly throughout. “……!” Gasps, distinct and out of sync, echoed all around. A sense of warmth filled the void in their hearts, a void they had sought to fill since birth, overshadowing the mission to save this world. -Let's become one. No matter how robust the mind, the gentle murmur melted away their consciousness. Barely ten seconds had passed since the glass prison shattered. Yet, before a proper battle could even commence, the raiding party was on the brink of incapacitation. Moans burst forth like bubbles all across the battlefield. “Ugh……!” “Everyone, snap out of it! It's an illusion!” -Oh, it's mean to say it's an illusion, Dad. “Ah, ahh. Ah―.” The voice of the awakened urging was devoid of vigor. Only then did I realize. While Go Yuri naturally maxed out likability with everyone around him without intention, even that was the result of him exercising considerable restraint. ‘Just hearing it feels as if my nerves are about to catch fire.’ The Phantasm had no self-control in this state where even the minimal will to remain human had evaporated. Hungry? Devour. It was a primal urge as basic as appetite. With that same insatiable desire, the phantasmal illusions of the reincarnated caressed, brushed, and reeled in the raid members. “Ji-won!” In the pink whirlpool of temptation, only two people remained entirely conscious from the onset. One was the skeptical thinker who had ended the life of the reincarnated when it was a mere baby, reasoning it was too painful a world to live in. “Yes, Matiz.” The other resisted such ‘meager’ illusions, desiring the one true, authentic Go Yuri above all else — a lone false regressor in this world. Yu Ji-won clasped her hands in prayer. In that instant, an aurora spread across the ground. “Gasp……!” “Th-Thank you! Leader!” With a pop! The aurora surged out to the horizon, rattling with the sound of bursting bubbles on all sides. As the seven-colored aurora swept over the ground, it erased every shadow cast by the raid members. Once the shadows disappeared, Go Yuri's illusions that had thrived on them vanished as well. “Nice! Ji-won unnie!” Oh Dok-seo exclaimed triumphantly. Not long ago, she had been melting into Go Yuri’s touch with drooling delight, but she had already scrubbed away any evidence of her unprofessional lapse with a scrubbing mitt. “See! If mind control doesn't work, it doesn't matter if she's been reincarnated billions of times! This pink tentacle of manipulation!” “It seems there’s a culture within this raid leader to summon predictable horrors upon themselves….” “Huh? What's that supposed to mean, mi―.” Oh Dok-seo's words never reached completion. “―――? ……!!” Lip movements alone couldn't produce a sound. Rather, the entire battlefield had fallen silent. “……, ……!” “………!” A silent outcry. Not just voices but even footsteps became inaudible. Despite the presence of hundreds of Awakened, no breathing sound pierced the silence. A bizarrely cold silence had taken over, yet I remained unperturbed. ‘This is Go Yuri’s doing.’ [Sound Suppression]. Go Yuri, who had lived countless lives, possessed an array of countless abilities. Most of which she couldn't clearly remember herself. This was due to her lack of a power to retain memories. Yet, even if she couldn't recall, the abilities were undeniably real. Thus, in her prime, Go Yuri didn’t fight with the intent of activating a particular ability. ‘I find the noise a little bothersome’ was all she needed to think. And with just that thought, the sound would disappear. A realm nigh omnipotent in its limitlessness. [……, ……!] The suppression of sound was not confined to audible noise. The telepathy being channeled by the Saintess stationed at the rear was promptly nullified. Yet, the Saintess was swift to adapt. [Everyone, please don’t be alarmed.] The Saintess quickly comprehended the situation and shifted her mode of communication from ‘sound’ to ‘text.’ [We presume the enemy has chosen to incapacitate rather than directly assault us.] [However, we have contingencies for every scenario.] [Though it may be unfamiliar, please trust the command and proceed with the engagement.] Text appeared sequentially without a moment's lapse. The Saintess likely harnessed time-stopping intervals to spare even the tiniest wasted moments in her typing. [Please tie the threads spread by the Puppeteer, Lee Ha-yul, around your wrists or arms.] [In the rare case that even text transmission is blocked, piece together messages according to the color of the glowing puppet thread for you■■■, ■■■.] [■■■ ■ ■ ■ ■■■ ■■■―.] The text was scrambled with black noise. Eventually, communication was entirely severed. Upon glancing towards where the Saintess should’ve been, I realized no one was there. Yet, I felt someone firmly grasp the opposite hand. “Undertaker.” Time had come to a standstill. Before I knew it, the Saintess had approached and taken my hand. Despite her usual stoic demeanor, beads of sweat had formed on her brow. “What’s happening? Ah, we can communicate here, it seems.” “When time is stopped, we can somewhat resist Go Yuri’s power. However, I don't know how long this will last.” “What?” “Go Yuri has the ability to [Accelerate Time].” The Saintess groaned several times, as if overwhelmed. “If I hadn't rushed to stop time, tens of years, by this plane's standard, would have passed in the blink of an eye.” “……!” “No matter how slowly time flows in a dream within a dream, after tens of years, there’d be no resolution. In the external reality, the polar day would arrive, and our operation would have immediately failed.” Insane. The arm of the Saintess, who held my hand, was trembling as if caught in a small aftershock even now. A nasal moan escaped her. Surely, at this very moment, [Time Stop] and [Time Acceleration] were fiercely contesting dominance. “Did Go Yuri have... such an ability?” “Something similar existed. However, it was merely accelerating the flow of thoughts. We didn't think she could radically hasten the time itself... Oh!” I instantly realized the anomaly's cause. “We're not in reality but within Go Yuri’s divine realm! It’s practically the deepest layer of her dreams. Therefore, accelerating [Thought Flow] ultimately aligned with accelerating [Time Flow]!” “...The ability to speed up dreams.” The Saintess groaned. “We misjudged. We devised our strategy based on Go Yuri's abilities in reality… If Undertaker’s guess is correct, those abilities have become significantly more menacing.” “Yes, but there's no need to panic. It's only natural for an extraterrestrial deity to become more powerful within their own realm.” “That’s also... true.” Static crackled. The Saintess's voice became distorted with noise. Her message too was punctuated, expressed in fragments like ‘That’s/also/true.’ Even the Saintess, the most formidable of the Awakened, was being overpowered, her might yielding to the crimson-fleshed nightmare, the oldest dream of mankind, and the power of the extraterrestrial reincarnation. “Within this situation, regression might be the solution.” The Saintess spoke, barely maintaining composure as she grinded her teeth. “Having scouted the true force of the enemy, this loop possessed its significance. We could then entrust the task to Oh Dok-seo and Undertaker in the next iteration….” “That option is always available. But we can’t easily assume this loop's data will solely flow in our favor.” Reincarnated Go Yuri possessed an ability akin to [Memory Reading]. “No matter what plans we prepare, the moment we come into contact with an illusion conjured by Go Yuri within the shadows, our intel leaks instantly to them.” “Ah…” “That’s why this reincarnated being is sealing away sounds and texts, all while accelerating time. After fully grasping our strategy, they chose the most efficient route.” “It’s like countering our strategy with another strategy…” An enemy truly formidable. “There’s no point in retreating now.” There was a reason why even Go Yuri decided on sealing herself away. Even if humanity, excluding Go Yuri, united entirely, combating this reincarnated monstrosity seemed a distant hope. Reincarnated beings couldn't simply choose to end their lives either. For her, self-termination was another beginning of life, and at the end of that beginning awaited the awakening of yet stronger powers. The Saintess looked up with concern in her eyes. “Then, I will entrust the decision to Undertaker.” “…….” “We prepared ourselves as much as possible, but in the end, you're the only one capable of seeing eye to eye with this reincarnated being, Undertaker.” ……Time was running out. We originally plunged into this dream within a dream to overcome the absurd 1-minute time constraint. Now that the enemy had sensed it and begun their counterattack, the conflict would inevitably revert to sheer power struggle. With the Saintess joining Oh Dok-seo early on for deliberate level-ups, she’s holding for now, but at this rate——. ‘Wait.’ A flash of brilliance illuminated my mind. ‘Divine realm. Intentional level-up?’ I opened my mouth to speak. “One level deeper.” “What?” “Let's descend one level further.” The Saintess's hair, soaked in cold sweat, tilted slightly. “One level further… downward? I apologize, Undertaker. Wasn’t this the terminal point of Go Yuri’s divine realm?” “For Go Yuri, yes.” I raised a finger. My index finger pointed at my chest. “But wouldn't I be different?” “…What?” “Since there's no one else listening, I confide this only to you, Saintess. I was a seed with a high risk of corruption from the start, and after living through Go Yuri’s entire life identically, I’ve stepped beyond the axis of a mere human.” “…….” “This place manifests as Go Yuri’s memories descend to the unconscious and envelop it. Even she, with her unclear memory retention, could unfold a divine realm of this extent. Then… what about the dream within a dream of someone who remembers all those lifetimes?” “……….” The Saintess’s expression turned complex. It was a delicate mixture of solemnity and slight incredulity. “In the end, you’re admitting that you, in the current iteration, aren't much different from being corrupted…” “That’s why I intended to get sealed away and quietly vanish. The repeated retries over hundreds of times, that was Oh Dok-seo’s fault pulling me along.” “Oh Dok-seo did it because she wanted to save you, Undertaker.” “Saintess. There’s not much time.” I hurriedly interjected. “I will sleep first, so connect all available personnel to Ha-yul’s puppet threads. And prearrange with Yo-hwa so that the moment [Time Stop] dissipates, you bring the raiders into my dream. Do you understand?” “…Yes.” The Saintess paused her reproach. Having entrusted strategic authority to me in the first place, she showed her resolve not to question further. In an instant, the sensation of the Saintess holding my hand vanished――. “Ha-yul, I’ve spoken with Yo-hwa.” The Saintess, navigating through the on-and-off phases of time stop, once again materialized right before me. With her right hand, she grasped mine, and with her left, she held onto Yo-hwa. Released from the shackles of time stop, Yo-hwa regarded me with a serious gaze. “Teacher, I was briefed on the operation plan!” “Good. Saintess, how much time do we have?” “We barely let it go, but already, ten seconds have passed in reality. Undertaker, everything must be resolved in those remaining ten seconds.” I nodded. “I’ll sleep first. Please follow with the others.” “Understood.” “Yo-hwa, I'm counting on you.” “Yes!” When Yo-hwa, currently masquerading as the master of dreams, interlocked our fingers, my mind quickly grew hazy. ‘If this was Go Yuri’s divine realm, the battlefield is now shifting to my divine realm.’ Of course, this didn’t entail any weakening of Go Yuri's powers. As I told the Saintess, I remembered every moment of her life, and so long as there was memory, the reincarnated could wield her abilities at will. But. ‘The difference is that [allies] not found in Go Yuri’s divine realm exist in mine.’ Before I knew it, my eyes had closed without me realizing. “Aha.” In the instant I opened them. “Aha-ha, ahaha―.” An orange ponytail fluttered before my eyes, breaking the air. A face identical to Yo-hwa's appeared. Yet, instead of white, this girl was clad in a black school uniform, laughing joyfully. “Aha-ha-ha-ha! Ahaha-hat! Ahahaha―!” A manic laugh. Her face was flush with exuberant excitement. Her brow trembled in thrilled anticipation, and a flood of joy surged from her throat. “Ahaa, see?” Cheon Yo-hwa, the heavenly transformation. “I was right! I was right! Yes, senior triumphed! Though there were many unforeseen variables… who cares! I bet on the winning side! That’s what matters!” A former member of the regression alliance, maintained precariously at the brink of existence solely by me. As the others from the raid party followed and joined the new battlefield, Cheon-hwa paid them no mind and clasped my hand. “Welcome, senior! The master of my divine realm! You really worked hard getting here! Absolutely!” The final member of the raid party. One half of the eternal dual, forming the Taiji with her twin sister, the other half of the extraterrestrial entity. “Let’s finish the final battle together!” Thus, the first and final raiding party was complete.