Chapter 197 – Black Dragon (7)
Black valley. High-purity Exsidia shone brightly in the deep valley where the rocks hung so that even light could not enter. As if sending Morse code to someone, the bracelet, which had been shining sadly by itself, was consuming the light on its own, like a lighthouse extinguishing the light while watching the morning sun, raking in thoughts.
Thoughts.
When the bracelet completely lost its light, something black and mushy took its place. The being opened its eyes in the dark. This was the first question that popped into my head in the darkness where I couldn’t see anything.
Who am I?
Who was it?
After rewinding my mind a few times, I was able to come up with a name. My name is Yeonjoo Choi. S-class Hunter. What I like is historical dramas, and the name of the person I love is Jeong Su-hyeon. He lives separately from his parents, and has no memory of his bitter fight with Choi Sun-hong.
Only then did Choi Yeon-ju try to look around her. But she couldn’t turn her head. She was blurry of the concept of sight. She tried to reach out, but she couldn’t feel her hand. She was startled and tried to struggle, but she couldn’t. She even tried to escape by transforming the soil around her.
However, the limit of what she could change with her ability was around 1M. The objects she could change were also limited. At best, she could turn dirt into stone or minerals, but she couldn’t turn it into complex machinery. She felt like she had gone back to her D-class abilities.
She tried to push and switch around several times, but her ‘body’ did not move. As if she could only move if someone moved her, even on the downhill road she just floated like a wisp of fire.
Yeonju Choi let out a deep sigh. She was naturally devoid of the despondency that is usually felt when she sighs. Only then did she know. That her own body is no longer human. That she has become [She is a fragment of the Almighty Sacrifice].
She couldn’t help but laugh. She didn’t know how much time had passed since she died, and she didn’t know what to do with her. As a fragment of the Almighty, how long must I stay underground? Am I really the Almighty Emperor of Jung Soo-hyun? All of this just coincided, and what if someone else takes me?
In her confused mind, she repeated it over and over again without forgetting. I am Yeonjoo Choi. At the same time as a fragment of the Almighty, he was once a Hunter. I’m waiting for a person named Jeong Su-hyeon who lives in Korea, and if you find me, I hope you send it to him.
That person is the one I love.
She repeated it over and over again, leaving her alone in the shadows. The cold of the rough soil did not block her thoughts.
****
Who was I?
A thousand years have passed like that. Choi Yeon-ju has now forgotten her name. The only thing she was desperately holding on to was the keyword [Fragment of Almighty Emperor]. She couldn’t remember whether she was a man or a woman, or what she had done in the past. What remained in her memory was that she herself was a fragment of the Almighty Sacrifice. There was only one.
“You are lonely.”
She was alone with her. Over the course of a thousand years, she had countless fantasies to endure her loneliness. At one time, she thought back to the historical dramas she had watched, and sometimes she thought of the places she wanted to go on a date with Jung Soo-hyun.
Rather than going on a date that I hadn’t actually experienced before, it took more time to think of historical dramas I’d seen for a long time.
As she repeated her lines over and over again and recalled funny scenes, her tone gradually changed. She couldn’t tell where from where and where from where was real and what was real.
The gates were opened countless times, but no one visited the depths of the earth. She occasionally felt a sound digging through her own head. She could also hear voices that she couldn’t understand. I heard her throw away the shovel she had been digging in and go somewhere else.
Choi Yeon-ju looked up at the sky with her face full of anticipation, and then let out a deep breath as she expressed her regret. She wanted to meet anyone. Sometimes she would dream. She dreamed of walking on the beach with a faceless person.
They held hands and laughed brightly while strolling through the garden, and she also ate delicious food in a city hidden in her memory. She sat at the table, drank tea together, and laughed.
She was happy when she dreamed, and when she woke up she sighed again. Loneliness that can’t be filled.
She wanted to go out.
She wanted to go out and see the world. And, she wanted to find her memories.
It was only after countless years had passed since then that the machine sound began to be heard.
The sound of digging the ground violently enough to wake her from her sleep. From the moment she heard the sound, she couldn’t sleep. It was a sound I had heard before. The sound of digging into the ground was coming from a closer location than before.
She felt her own body squirm loudly. Because she instinctively felt that this time she could get out.
She could not stand her impatience at the sound of a drill digging deeper day by day. She wanted to run out at once, but she couldn’t move on her own. She was just waiting She was just waiting for someone to take her out someday.
What kind of look should I greet? She thought as she tumbled at her feet that didn’t even exist. What should I do?
As her anticipation reached its peak, Choi Yeon-ju heard the sound of something rolling down from the sky. She heard the sound of a piece of dirt falling closer and closer, and it came heavily. The moment I finally saw a man rolling down in front of me, Choi Yeon-ju forced herself to scream.
It shouldn’t be like this. She came to her senses again. Because she was a fragment of the Almighty. I don’t know what the Almighty is, but it’s a fragment of a very great and wonderful being, so she had to dress accordingly. The man who fell to the floor stared into space for a moment, shook his head, and screamed in a fit of phantom.
“No! Fuck!!!!! Fuck!!!!!”
Yeonju Choi found the man’s behavior interesting. She felt a little strange, but it was just fun to look at that man. He is this man She was Yeonjoo Choi and she instinctively felt that she should go with this person. She couldn’t figure out why.
She said in a calm tone.
[Come here.]
When she made a noise, the man rolled over her in surprise. The soil rose up and rainwater fell again.
“Who, who are you?”
A young man’s voice. The moment Choi Yeon-joo heard her voice, her entire body trembled. How long had she waited for someone to take her out? She laughed. She thought she was laughing. And yet she spoke in the most graceful, dignified tone.
[Come here. For thousands of years, I have waited for a righteous man to bring me out of this underworld.]
“Who, who are you?”
[I am a fragment of what was once called the Almighty, now nameless. You. What is your name?]
A little time passed. The man answered in silence. Yeonju Choi began to feel nervous. He said it was a fragment of the Almighty Sacrifice, but was it not accepted outside? It was dark, so I could barely see the silhouette of a man, who sat still in one place, curled up, as if he were dead.
After being silent for such a long time, she suddenly got scared. Is she dead? Did she pass out from the shock she just fell on? Or are you just going to throw away the black mass you’re talking about because it’s unpleasant? Yeonju Choi said urgently.
[My dear, is she dead by any chance? Don’t die He is a righteous man who came to this place after several thousand years. Can you answer me? If you’re afraid of me, it’s good to have a conversation here. Please don’t die.]
As she continued to speak in a plaintive tone, she saw the man move. He didn’t die He looked up briskly, raised his head, and said with a smile:
“Uh… Hello?”
Yeonju Choi felt like she was going to cry.
*****
The Almighty Emperor was blinking his eyes now. I was facing Jung Soo-hyun in a pure white space. Jeong Su-hyeon, who had been crying for a long time, was finally able to face Almighty Emperor. He wiped away his tears and asked the Almighty.
“Do you remember anything?”
That was her first meeting. A funny man who fell out of nowhere, in the dark. The Almighty laughed.
“Well…”
In her physically worn memory, the image of Jeong Su-hyeon vaguely came to mind. As if a new picture was being overlaid on her faded film, the image of a red-haired woman was superimposed on her memory, which remained only as a dream.
The woman was conversing with Jung Soo-hyeon with a faint smile, sometimes with a calm expression. She raised her eyebrows to show her irritability and to pamper her childishly.
The Almighty licked his lips. Memories of her came like waves. Faint but clear memories were slowly filling the beach of memories, like the sand on a sandy beach being washed away. Who she was and what she was waiting for.
“I remember what I was waiting for.”
She thought about the memories she would make in the future. She will probably be accompanied by a woman with her dark hair, wearing a hanbok, and using a bizarre tone.
I also saw Jung Soo-hyun’s face. Almighty Emperor hugged Jung Soo-hyun tightly. She wrapped her arms around his back and stroked his hair. Jeong Su-hyeon brushed the Almighty’s head without saying anything.
“I waited too long.”
“That…”
Suhyun didn’t seem to know what to call her. Almighty Emperor embraced Jeong Su-hyeon and her lips. From her softly pressed lips, a familiar scent wafted from her memory. At that moment, Jeong Su-hyeon knew exactly who the Almighty was. As much as Almighty Emperor cried, Jeong Su-hyeon also shed tears.
Yeonju Choi said.
“I was waiting for you.”
