Chapter 88

The guy who looked kinda washed-out just now realized he was all sweaty, and stared down at his drenched clothes.

It was hilarious how Soo-oh hesitated while falling and her hands flailed around trying to grab something that wasn’t there.

Is the warmth of people actually warm?

A precious person hasn’t been gone for very long.

They say that when someone’s by your side in tough times, that gratitude stays with you for a long time.

No, it’s not like I set this up intentionally with Soo-oh or anything.

I just interpreted her actions.

I don’t think about people like some master strategist, predicting they’ll follow my plans. I just know how regular people generally think – I can’t predict individuals.

Man, it’d be great if I had amazing intelligence.

Or at least some special mind-control powers.

But since I’ve got neither, I’m just going with the flow!

“Are you feeling a bit calmer now?”

That washed-out guy put down his bowl and started putting his clothes back on. He’s making a face like he really doesn’t want to wear those damp clothes. Yeah, nobody likes wearing sweat-soaked outfits.

But what can you do? Walking around shirtless would just make you look like a creeper. Total creeper.

As he fiddled with his collar, he turned to me and spoke.

“Is this why you’re seeking warmth?”

Uh oh…

Umm… yeah, that’s right. It’s kind of similar to the sensation of cold, but fundamentally different. If you noticed even a little, then you caught me messing around with the concept of “warmth”!

There’s lots of ways I could try to wriggle out of this – making excuses, twisting words, changing the subject, putting on a serious face…

But since I only tell the truth, I don’t have to worry about contradictions. In moments like these, I’m absolutely sure I made the right choice!

Anyway…

“Yeah. Aren’t you cold?”

When I asked, he slowly nodded. Meanwhile, Soo-oh hugged me tightly from the side. Not that kind of warmth though – hugging won’t help. Sorry, Soo-oh.

“Desperately.”

The expression on his face is super complicated. But I can see he feels sympathy for me. Oh ho, sympathy, huh?

That means he empathizes with me. Why? Is it because he doesn’t just see me as some monster craving warmth to avoid freezing to death?

“How can you stay sane?”

Huh? Wait… does he actually see me as human? He believed I was human, and felt empathy… Hmm, I might have found an opening here.

I need to choose my words carefully.

What should I say?

Gah! It frustrates me that I can’t come up with an answer right away. Guess I’ll just stick to telling the truth.

“I went crazy a long time ago.”

I’ll only speak the truth.

I begged endlessly – please save me, then please kill me… Since I didn’t have a physical body, I couldn’t even decay, so I just kept begging forever.

By the time light appeared in the sky, the faded man’s memories had become mere specks.

I don’t know if that much time really passed, or if it just felt that way because there was no way to measure time.

I tried escaping reality. Maybe I even attempted creating another personality. But my body isn’t human.

Even if I wanted to see myself as someone else, there was nothing but coldness around me. No matter how stressed I got, my brain never broke down – it simply couldn’t.

Most importantly, the coldness was so intense that it prevented any escape into fantasy.

To ease that, I became capable of doing anything.

“But you don’t need to feel sorry for me like that.”

I really appreciate it. You see me as a victim.

Strictly speaking, I am a victim. But I’ve also become a perpetrator. I’ll do anything to get what I want. Anything.

So whenever opportunities arise, I’ll take advantage of them.

“What does it look like to you, Cheonma? Do you understand why I can’t use power?”

Cheonma closed his eyes. Not to avoid talking to me, but to organize his thoughts.

Then he opened his eyes and began to speak.

“If the principle of this world is that all things are born from one flow, exist through time, and return to the flow, then you must exist on the other side of that principle’s shadow.”

Another poetic statement. Hard to decipher. What does it mean?

Can’t you explain it in simpler terms?

Since I don’t understand, I gave him a look asking for clarification.

He looked at me with disdain, like “How is this guy still alive?” It reminded me of how the faded memory of a man reacted when someone older than him tried explaining flat Earth theory.

Is this what it feels like to be a regular person stuck between humanities and sciences?

“If internal energy and qi are the foundations of this world, then you represent the rule that denies their existence.”

In short, I can’t use power because of who I am.

“But didn’t Eunjae manage to use it fine?”

“So that’s why it’s so destructively terrible. This isn’t just raw power – it’s a principle that negates everything.”

Cheonma suddenly stopped talking and seemed to have a realization.

“Oh, that’s why they said he saw the end of Cheonma Sin Gong. I used to think he’d become arrogant after reaching godhood.”

With a bitter smile, he lifted his hand to look at his palm.

“He was right.”

He clenched his fist and lowered it.

From what she said, it seems she figured out I’m dangerous.

I was experimenting with my abilities earlier – did things really escalate this way? Isn’t this unfair? How should I respond?

While I was thinking about that, Cheonma approached me.

There’s no killing intent.

Rather, he’s looking at me with an unusually blank expression.

“Did you come here to destroy the world?”

See? No matter what expression he has, it always ends up like this.

But I can answer this question truthfully.

No, this is actually an opportunity. Flood him with information. Overwhelm him with truths until he forgets the real questions.

Speak sincerely.

“I don’t wish for the world to end. Quite the opposite. The world needs to expand. People need to go where they haven’t gone before, reach places they can’t touch yet, and advance toward infinite space beyond the skies.”

Only then will people start killing each other more.

Once people exceed a certain number and become mere figures on paper or numbers on screens, they grow numb.

They murder countless others without even realizing it.

Numbers desensitize people.

A murderer kills one person, but a ruler kills hundreds or thousands without being aware they’re killing people.

It’s not because they’re psychopaths.

It’s because people have become numbers, making it impossible to feel.

I like those kinds of people.

Those kinds of people will bring me warmth. Every day, they’ll exploit and drain those who have nothing until they die. That way, they’ll give me warmth by killing countless people.

They’re perfect candidates for the harvesting system.

For that to happen, there need to be more people. Billions more.

Until people become indistinguishable from numbers.

“The world must not perish. Never.”

An event like the first world must never happen again.

“That’s right. You don’t lie. At least not outright lies.”

Saying that, Cheonma looked up at the sky from the kitchen. The kitchen has no wall on the west side, only a small door on the east.

So stepping outside is easy.

Cheonma, who had been looking at the sky, lowered his head.

“I’m pretty tired, so I’ll head home early today.”

As he started walking, he suddenly stopped and turned around.

“You can’t use qi anyway. Well, see ya, kids. See you tomorrow.”

He added that last part before leaving.

A faded memory brought up the term “tea bagging.” What’s that picture of a kid repeatedly sitting and standing in place?

It barely got any reaction in the first world, but it’s working well in this one. This memory.

After seeing Cheonma off, I turned to Soo-oh.

I wonder what she’s thinking after hearing our conversation.

The tiny kid who only comes up to my waist answered without much thought.

“Choseol is weak. Poor thing.”

She’s showing great warrior potential.

But Soo-oh came closer, like she had more to say. Then she hugged me.

“Don’t worry! I’ll get stronger and protect you!”

Is that what you got from listening to our entire conversation?

Isn’t there something else you should be saying?

Considering you watched me talk with Cheonma, I thought you were smarter than that.

“Why am I Choseol, but Cheonma gets to be a martial arts master?”

“Because Choseol is weak?”

Straight to the point. Where did she learn that?

Though it makes sense in this world’s culture to respect martial arts teachers. So it’s not surprising Soo-oh picked it up.

“Still, why does Choseol call her ‘martial arts master’ instead of using her name?”

“When they exchanged names, she introduced herself as ‘Cheonma.’ To me, that’s her name.”

I explained what I knew, and she told me her name was Cheonma.

That won’t change in the future.

Why not?

Because she achieved her wish, and I got what I wanted. So she’ll always be Cheonma to me.

Soo-oh is staring at me intently.

“Are you just mad she didn’t teach you her real name?”

Hehe…

I raised my index finger to my lips.

Soo-oh gave me a disappointed look.

“You must not have much heart if you don’t have boobs.”

It’s true I’m tall, and Cheonma is both tall and well-endowed. Though considering Choseol’s age, probably around 14, her height is due to physical modifications. They likely kept her in a state close to zero gravity, tied to the ceiling, which made her grow taller without developing supporting muscles. She was horribly raised like livestock.

But watching Soo-oh speak, I realized something.

Could this kid actually be a natural-born fighter?

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