Fragment of God

Fragment of God

[HAHAHAHAHA]

Cheonmun (Sky Script) laughed.

[A perfect answer! Yes. You are a mage. A human who commands our scattered bodies! Indeed. You truly resemble us.]

His voice was so loud with delight that everything around me trembled, making me feel nauseated in my already poor condition.

[Worthy successor to our power! Now, I have no more regrets. Let me tell you the method.]

…Huh? After all that boasting, he’s not going to do it himself?

[Am I not already dead? Please understand. Kukuk.]

Cheonmun explained what I needed to do.

The explanation wasn’t even that long, but by the time I’d heard it all, it was already time to leave. My body was approaching its limit.

“Let me ask one thing.”

[Isn’t that dangerous for you?]

“Ignore that and just answer. You know it too, right? That there are forces that want the world’s destruction. Do you know who they are? Is it those behind Mimir, the Well of Wisdom?”

Cheonmun didn’t answer immediately. The pure white light that had been the source of his power slowly darkened, as if suppressing something. After a brief silence, Cheonmun finally spoke.

[I cannot answer that. I cannot mention it. I don’t want to disappear before I can even help you.]

…What? Is he scared right now?

“What is it? Is it a god? Is it a god that survived? What is it that you can’t tell me?”

[It’s not one of us. Let’s stop here.]

Cheonmun cut the conversation short.

Suddenly I felt weightless. The surrounding darkness grew hazier, and the pressure on my body lightened. Cheonmun’s voice became increasingly distant, like a voice outside a dream.

This bastard. He’s pushing me out!

“Wait, wait! Then something else! Just something personal!”

[Speak. I can still hear you.]

“Like you, do many fragments of broken god-souls exist?”

[Most were pushed out even from the dimensional fault and vanished into nothingness. Still, quite a few fragments remain. But none would be capable of conversation like me. There were few peers comparable to Cheonmun to begin with. Perhaps you could count them on one hand.]

His voice grew more distant, but I could still understand him.

“You said your fragments are secretly preventing extinction?”

[Yes. To prevent the Akashic Record from changing too rapidly. And even if changes occur, to ensure minimal restoration and adaptation are possible.]

“Why? Do you still believe you can prevent the world’s extinction? Perhaps there are contingencies you’ve prepared?”

I heard a butterfly-wing-like laugh. By now I had to strain to hear his voice.

[No. Extinction cannot be prevented.]

“That’s contradictory! Then why are you preventing extinction? If it can’t be prevented anyway, there’s no reason to grant my request! Stop being evasive and just tell me clearly!”

I had to shout now as his voice had become almost inaudible.

[I know. How foolish. I know very well.]

From a distant place, I heard a self-deprecating yet strangely warm laugh.

[But for you humans, wasn’t that still life?]

With those final words, I was ejected from the Simulation. I was standing in the banquet hall again.

…

“What a jerk. Showing off until the end… HUURK! Cough cough! Kek!”

Ugh… right. My body was in terrible condition.

“Divine Mage!”

“Jun-woo!”

I extended my hand to calm Pan-Dalus and Yuria, who were rushing toward me with pale faces.

“Ah, I’m fine. Time Reversal!”

The blood covering my entire body was gently reabsorbed, and my split wounds closed. The magical power that had shriveled from the strain of layering [Simulation] became plump and firm again. Well… what would I have done without [Time Reversal]?

“Phew…”

Having confirmed my body was fully recovered, I faced Pan-Dalus.

He was bombarding me with all sorts of questions, asking if he should be worried about my sudden hemorrhaging, wondering if it was a symptom of the great cataclysm.

Meanwhile, Yuria, realizing I had attempted [Simulation], quietly watched my mouth.

I slightly raised the corner of my lips, and a smile formed on Yuria’s face as well.

“2038th Creation Factory! Broadcast! This time, project images in the skies above the cities. Make it so that even ordinary people living near cities can see and hear!”

-It’s possible, but that would require more energy than allowed for remote control. Future remote control between facilities may be restricted. Administrator authorization would be needed to lift the restriction.

“I don’t care, just hurry!”

-One. Two. Connected.

Piiing-!

A massive image appeared in the sky above the Waiting Stairs. My face, enlarged to be visible even from the horizon, was projected as a three-dimensional image.

Even through the massive skylight forming the banquet hall’s ceiling, my enormous face could be seen.

I sharpened my gaze and kept my mouth firmly shut. They say 70 percent of persuasiveness comes from first impressions.

It would be problematic if my enormously magnified face looked ridiculous. Hmm, let’s also work on my voice.

This was a worldwide broadcast.

“I am the Divine Mage.”

Whoong! Zing-zing zing-

Wow… I’d only spoken one sentence, but my voice amplified and traveled with the wind.

Normally, sound becomes quieter and less distinct with distance, but this way, everyone would hear the same volume of sound.

“If you want to live, chant this spell. The spell is <Designer Cheonmun>. Then I can perform the great magic to stop what’s happening now.”

…This is a bit embarrassing.

Now that I’ve said it, I sound like a scammer.

But there was no time for detailed explanations. Even at this moment, people in the wilderness would be dying.

“Designer?”

“Cheonmun?”

The newly joined wizards Sonnet and Kim Ji-woong looked bewildered. Others had similar expressions.

“Designer!”

Cutting through the awkwardness, Yuria was the first to shout.

“Cheonmun!”

Pan-Dalus followed.

“Designer!”

“Ahem… Cheonmun!”

The Wizard of Refinement Oh Si-jin joined next, followed by the Wizard of Extraction Ak-hu with an embarrassed face, and finally everyone at the Waiting Stairs chanted “Designer Cheonmun.”

Yes. That’s it.

At least the people here should be doing this. Even if I had demanded the spell “Underpants Refinement” instead of “Designer Cheonmun,” they should be shouting like this. Certainly.

I closed my eyes.

Mages in other cities and staircases probably wouldn’t follow my request. But for residents of the wilderness facing death without any recourse, for that 99 percent of the population… the spell <Designer Cheonmun> would be their only hope.

I could feel it. The mana of the entire world, the Akashic Record, was trembling.

Designer! Cheonmun! Designer! Cheonmun!

Countless dying people were summoning him with their last strength, voices burning with desperation.

-Why does this feel so nostalgic?

-It’s him!

-That bastard! No… is it him?

-It’s been too long.

-How dare! How dare! Khuhuhuk…

The magical powers were particularly emotional. White and blue magical powers showed only feelings of deep emotion, while red and black magical powers exhibited extreme emotions of love and hate, alternating between welcoming and cursing.

The name “Designer Cheonmun” that people were chanting now.

The pronunciation wasn’t exact. The sound made by magical power doesn’t spread through air but through mana, so it’s fundamentally different and impossible to translate directly. I had merely translated its meaning into a similar term in our language.

But the magical powers understood even such an imperfect translation perfectly.

The entire world was shaken by this spell chanted with raw voices, without using Circles.

Of course, I provided the finishing touch.

Wow… you really were a special being among the gods, weren’t you?

Right?

[Chun Muuuun天文]

A single clear pronunciation through my Circle.

Finally, he who had been submerged at the dimensional fault, at the bottom of the world, rose up.

‘How’s that? Is this enough?’

[It’s sufficient. All his scattered fragments have awakened. Well done.]

Then he spoke stiffly.

[There’s no time, so I’ll begin immediately.]

Thud!

Huh? What’s happening suddenly?

Is that… the banquet hall ceiling? The skylight and… white frame…

Did I just collapse?

Splash-

The world melts like honey and pours into me.

[You might feel dizzy. But watch carefully. It will help you. This… is the world!]

‘!!!’

After momentarily losing myself, I came to my senses with my cheeks completely wet. Tears had flowed down to my earlobes and nape. It felt like I’d spent an eternity, but when I opened my eyes, only an instant had passed. The heat left by the incomprehensible time difference escapes through my ears and nose.

During that brief moment when Cheonmun was adjusting the Akashic Record, I became one with it.

I knew all the stories of the world. That’s why I couldn’t help but cry.

To start with a trivial example:

Last night, someone left their window open while eating warm milk and bread when suddenly the nostalgic scent of wind brushed their nose. Having become one with the Akashic Record, I knew how that wind mixed with a child’s laughter. I also knew how it tickled the cheek of a girl who, though fated never to cross paths with me, would have become a good friend if we had met. I knew how that wind pushed a single grain of sand that would change history, all the correlations between every trivial connection and major event from beginning to end. All in a single moment.

And then I forgot it all.

In that flood of information that vastly exceeded my brain’s capacity, I had to forget all those miraculous stories to remember just one most important story.

When I came to my senses, I was crying.

The Akashic Record… it’s not something humans should carelessly access… I newly realized how extraordinary the Gift [Simulation] truly is.

[Well done. You didn’t forget your purpose. Excellent mental strength.]

Don’t say such things. I just want to cry right now.

[Hehe. Anyway, you did very well. As promised, I’ve postponed extinction due to water for one year. Try to… live well.]

Those were his last words. His name… I no longer remember it. As he had said, the one who was revered even in the mythological era has now completely vanished from this world. That’s how humanity gained one chance.

I wiped away my embarrassing tears and stood up.

We had stopped the water-caused extinction for now, but that wasn’t the end. The most important story I saw in the Akashic Record was this: The great cataclysm that had already begun hadn’t stopped at water transformation but had also greatly shaken the binding force that held the world together. What that means is…

Criiiiick-

The sound of something tearing that should never be torn. It’s as chilling as having your heart ripped out.

The pale sky split wide open, revealing the night sky beyond the Tower. The continents that had broken away – the stars – trembled like candles in the night sky.

-Administrator… the world is collapsing.

I know, cube.

-It hurts. I feel like I’ve seen this before… my chest hurts so much…

It’s okay, Ari.

I stroked the ball of wind nestled against my chest.

Yes. The world is being torn apart again.

Staircases will collapse and continents will split.

After this cataclysm ends, there will be many more stars in the night sky.

We need to respond to that.

“Everyone pack your things. We need to evacuate within the next hour.”

“Huh…? What?”

“Umm…”

What’s this? Why is everyone so dumbfounded? I understand it’s sudden, but now isn’t the time for this…

“Yuria?”

I called to her, who always showed quick action.

But this time, even she seemed stupefied.

“Jun-woo… your hair…?”

Huh?

Only then did I pull at my hair and see that it was ordinary black.

Yes.

It was black.