Stigma of Pyxis II

[What's wrong?]

Looking at Ohjin's face that had suddenly stiffened, Vega tilted her head.

The mysterious voice echoed throughout his head.

He did his best to recover from his mental turmoil.

'Shit.'

Gulp—

Desperately suppressing the shaking at the tips of his fingers, he nervously swallowed his saliva.

'Think.'

Just how, with what method would he be able to solve this mind-boggling situation.

'Should I tell her that I lied because I thought I would die?'

He thought for a moment about letting everything go and telling her the truth.

He didn't have to contemplate for a long time.

Nibbling on his lips, Ohjin clenched his fist.

'No.'

It was already too late.

Whatever the reason was, the fact that he had lied against a celestial wouldn't change.

A mere human… had dared to make a fool of a god.

'…I need to deceive her.'

He couldn't go back on what he had already done since it wasn't like he was a Regressor like Lee Shinhyuk.

'I'll need to see what I started through to the end.'

Ohjin's eyes lit up.

That was often how lies worked.

Though you could decide to not lie at all, you couldn't lie just once.

Once you decided to deceive someone, you would have to go through with it perfectly.

Just like he had done with the Awakeners that had never even realized he had deceived them.

'If that's the case…'

He organized his thoughts.

Devise a method, make a plan.

It wasn't hard.

It was something he had done as if breathing, for the past eight— no, for his entire life.

[Hmm?]

Ohjin looked up towards the goddess that had been watching him with questioning eyes.

he said with a trembling voice.

Drip—

Transparent tears flowed down his cheeks.

[—What?]

He could see the goddess's eyes widen.

One step at a time.

He headed towards her.

"I thought… I would never be able to see you again."

Whoosh!—

He pulled down on Vega's wrist.

Naturally, her wrist didn't actually get pulled down, since there was no way a newborn Awakener would be able to pull down transcendent beings such as celestials.

'It doesn't matter.'

His goal wasn't to pull her down anyway.

"Hick…uuuuhhk!!"

Kneeling down in front of her, he cried like an animal.

"It's a relief. I-It really is… a relief… hick!!"

[…W-What are you doing?]

The cold goddess that had seemed to be devoid of any emotions took a step back, flustered.

He could clearly see the unrest in her golden eyes that shined like starlights.

'Good.'

He somehow succeeded in making her flustered.

'This is just the beginning.'

Making the opponent flushed was incredibly important when deceiving.

Although people weren't easy to deceive, when placed in a situation of sudden confusion, they would collapse easily beyond one's imagination.

It was the same reason why phone scammers started off with phrases such as 'I've kidnapped your children.'

'I'm not sure if celestials are like people, but…'

There wasn't any time to make confirmations.

"Vega! I-It's me! Ohjin… ah," he spat out in a short breath, dropping his head with hollow eyes.

"That's right… you forgot everything about me…"

With a bitter expression, he slurred the end of his sentence.

[…Just what kind of relationship did you have with this lady in the future?]

Vega asked with embarrassment left in her voice.

Ohjin's lips tightly closed as he slowly nodded his head.

"No, I apologize. It's… yes. I-It's nothing. Please forget about what just happened."

He backed off with an expression that screamed out that it wasn't fucking nothing.

[It doesn't seem to be nothing. Hurry up and tell me. Just what kind of relation—]

"Later."

Cutting off the goddess's words, he bitterly smiled.

"I will tell you… later"

He shook his head with a grieved smile.

The important thing here was making an expression that seemed to have a story behind it.

Scrupulous glances with a bit of trembling in the eyebrows.

Even gently biting his lower lips, with his fingernails digging into his palms.

'There's no way one wouldn't get tricked by this.'

He wasn't so sure about other things, but he had the confidence to create a mood and make detailed expressions.

[…I understand. It seems that you have a story. Moreover, to say that you thought you wouldn't see me again, huh… I see. This lady must have eventually ended up perishing.]

Vega nodded with quite a composed expression.

'Eventually?'

Her reaction that was so composed that it felt candid made Ohjin raise his eyes.

In order to make her completely believe that he was a 'Regressor' for the time being, he had roughly thrown out plausible words that seemed to make sense, but, looking at her reaction, it seemed that there was something she knew.

'Does an existence that can make a top-rank celestial perish even exist?'

Even when he thought of the powerful monsters that were notorious amongst Awakeners, he couldn't imagine it.

You could say it was obvious.

In the first place, the reason why celestials couldn't kill the monsters that took over one-third of the earth was not because they were weak but because of the commandments that restricted them.

'Well, whatever.'

It was only good for him if the opponent was willing to play along.

"…were you already aware?"

With a surprised expression, Ohjin widened his eyes.

The goddess nodded with a dark expression.

[Yes, I'm already aware. The fact that this lady… no, that all of the celestials will eventually get devoured by the darkness of the Black Heaven.]

"That's right. By the Black Heaven…"

'Huh?'

'Black Heaven?'

'Isn't the Black Heaven the thing from earlier?'

In that moment of desperation.

The power he had awakened.

The dark cloud that absorbed Lee Shinhyuk's stigma.

'Why do I have that?'

A chill ran up his spine.

An ominous feeling passed by his head.

'A few moments ago, she mentioned something about the end.'

When Vega first appeared, she had titled him 'The one and only savior of a world that was destined to meet its end'.

End.

That's right; the Earth was a 'world destined to end'.

Though there was no way to tell if it was a prophecy or a prediction.

Vega already knew the fact that the Earth would be in peril from the beginning…

'And Lee Shinhyuk regressed in order to stop that.'

Up to that point, it didn't really matter.

The problem was…

'—The existence that brings about the end of the world is me?'

Hah.

It was such a ridiculous story that he couldn't even joke about it.

'What kind of bullshit is that.'

Aside from having the ability to end the world, there wasn't a reason to do so in the first place.

'Fuck.'

His mind went blank white.

In his heart, he just wanted to shove his fist up his mouth and cry.

[You're spacing out again.]

Vega spoke out as if she was worried.

Like a splash of cold water, his confused mind was woken up.

'Not good.'

If he continued to show weird appearances, she would start to have some doubts.

'I need to stop doing that.'

"It's just that I was thinking about… the memories from back then," Ohjin said with a sinking voice.

[The memories from back then?]

"I'm talking about the memories from when this Earth had met its end."

Vega closed her lips in silence.

"The sky… was colored by a thick darkness. A lot of people—an uncountable amount of people—died."

[…Is that so?]

'I don't know, I'm just spitting bullshit as it comes.'

"However, I returned."

One step forward.

"I gained the opportunity to change the world."

He approached Vega and carefully held her hands.

Her hands in his grasp were soft to the point that it was hard to believe she was a god-like existence.

[L-Let go.]

"I won't let go."

Firmly nodding his head, he increased the strength of his grip.

"I won't lose you again."

"I'll protect you this time."

[Regressor…]

"It's Ohjin. Gwon Ohjin."

[…This lady has no memories of you.]

"I know."

'Because the truth is, I don't either.'

"We'll just have to make new memories; we can recover the things we've lost."

Gently releasing the strength in his hands, he smiled faintly.

"So that we can do that—"

Once he decided to trick her, he couldn't be satisfied by simply deceiving her.

No, he couldn't be satisfied.

'I need power.'

In order to become a Regressor, to at least prove that he was the 'one and only savior', it was necessary to have power.

And in order to achieve that,

"—could you lend me some strength?"

He would use anything at his disposal.

Even if it was an existence that could make celestials bow down with their presence.

Vega slowly closed her eyes and shortly after started to slowly nod her head.

[Regressor… No, Awakener Gwon Ohjin.]

She continued with a solemn expression.

[The existence who goes against destiny, the heaven-defying star.]

The goddess slowly reached out her hands.

[For you with a dark and perilous road ahead, may this lady's starlight illuminate up the path.]

The tips of her paper-white fingers touched his forehead.

-Ring!

[Star of the Weaver Girl, Vega, wishes to appoint you as an apostle.]

[Will you accept?]

Feeling the cold sensations on the tip of his forehead, he slowly nodded his head.

Owooong!!!—

Radiant starlight bloomed.

He could feel the silver light that shot out from her hands pushing into his body like a tsunami.

And then,

[The 'Black Heaven' is absorbing the stigma's mana.]

[You have achieved part of the conditions required for the 'Black Heaven's second awakening!]

A blue message appeared in front of his eyes.

A power one step higher than when he first awakened spread throughout his body.

"Thank you, Vega."

Putting aside the message box, he once again gently grabbed the fingers touching his forehead.

"I will vow on this spot."

He continued in a low voice.

A vow that contained a firm resolution.

His two eyes that burned with willingness stared into the gaze of the goddess.

[What a truly dependable vow.]

Nodding her head, Vega silently giggled.

[By the way… who is that person?]

The place her eyes headed to was the corpse of Lee Shinhyuk, whose entire body had been burnt to a crisp.

"In the past… no, it's in the present now. He's a scammer that tricked me into this gate."

Ohjin answered immediately—like he had been waiting for this question all along.

'It'd be weird to not ask this question when there's a corpse burnt to death right next to me.'

Since it was something he had predicted beforehand, there was no need to hesitate.

[A scammer?]

"Yes, haha… I went through some tough times because of this bastard; I got robbed of all my money and equipment."

[Is that why you took revenge right after regressing?]

"It's not just because of that."

He shook his head with a serious expression.

"In a couple of years, that person will become a member of a crime organization made up of Awakeners and become a malicious being that plunders from the innocent.

[Aha.]

Vega nodded her head.

[Eliminating the evil of the future, huh… it truly is the actions of a Regressor.]

With no intentions of inquiring any longer, her gaze left the corpse of Lee Shinhyuk.

Bzz—

[Uht.]

At that moment, a blue spark jumped out of the goddess's body that was observing the surroundings.

[Although I wish to share a longer conversation… it seems that the commandment's restriction has started.]

"Commandment's restriction…?"

[Didn't I grant you a blessing a few moments ago? Even though it wasn't direct, it was still an action that clearly violated the commandments.]

"Ah. I see."

Celestials were fundamentally restricted by the commandments which prevented them from directly intervening with the world.

'Still, I can't let my guard down.'

Just like she had done when granting him a blessing, celestials could endure the 'restriction' and slightly intervene in the world.

In fact, the appearance of monsters no different from calamities that no Awakener could possibly face had caused the celestials to personally step in a couple of times.

Which meant—

'If they put their mind to it, they can easily kill a mere scammer that dared to make a fool out of a god.'

—the commandments couldn't protect him.

The moment that he was caught not being a Regressor, the commandment's restriction wouldn't mean shit, and he would end up crushed within the hands of the furious celestial.

'It'll be better if I die alone.'

'But possibly…'

'By any chance…'

'If the aftermath reaches my 'surroundings'…'

'No. I need to prevent that from happening, no matter what.'

[As a matter of fact, because materializing this form is already an act that violates the commandments… this lady will now return to her sanctum.]

Sanctum.

A dimension that celestials would usually stay in, they were able to use them like gates to enter and exit through select areas around the Earth.

Although, as only Awakeners were able to enter, he had never been to one before.

[In one week's time, come find this lady at her sanctuary. Let's talk about future plans when that time comes.]

"Yes, I understand."

He respectfully bowed down his body.

Owoooh!—

Soon after the sound of low-pitched echos, the goddess's body became silver stardust and dispersed into the air.

"…haaa"

Ohjin, who was left alone, took a deep sigh and sat down on the spot.

'God dammit, just how did this happen?'

"…First, should I start by returning home?"

He had a splitting headache with so many thoughts swimming through his head all at once.

'Still.'

He pulled his shirt and looked down at the left side of his chest.

On that place, not the fake stigma that he had inscribed with a knife, but a 'real' stigma could be seen.

Smirk.

Looking at the stigma, the sides of his mouth went up on their own.

"I guess not only bad things happened."

Actually, this was a rather good opportunity.

If he could take advantage of this opportunity, he could possess strength other Awakeners couldn't dare to imagine.

'Although there are still many mountains left to cross.'

Thinking about the regression and Black Heaven once more, he started to have a splitting headache again.

'Let's think about it at home.'

It wasn't a problem that could be solved by sitting around and contemplating.

"Well then…"

Before exiting through the gate, there was one final thing left to do.

"Should we take a look at how much mister Regressor had been carrying around?"

He started to rummage through the coal-black corpse of Lee Shinhyuk.

Even though the leather armor was ruined by burns, fortunately, the wallet was unharmed.

"Holy shit, why does this bastard carry $2000 in cash around?"

Once Ohjin saw the wallet stacked with cash, he started to lick his lips while cackling out loud.

After the gates turned the Earth into chaos, even though cases of people carrying around cash had increased, it was still abnormal to carry thousands of dollars around.

"I'll also use your weapon well, bugger."

While smirking, Ohjin stood up after looting all the things that looked to be worth money off of Lee Shinhyuk's corpse.

"Huh?"

At that moment, something strange stood out in his eyes.

He took a closer look at the face of the burnt Lee Shinhyuk.

"The fuck? Is this guy smiling?"

'Maybe he's having a good dream?