Rooftop.
It is dark and stars litter the sky. I see the full moon above us hovering, and its moonlight like a spotlight shines on the stage with its pure white splendor.
I am the first to arrive and in my wait… I start counting the stars.
The schedule of the meetup should be the afternoon around 4 o’clock, but Kim Suho decides to change the meeting time which I have no complaints about. I find it curious though.
I hear the door opening behind me. I dare not look. If it is Chae Nayun, I dare not risk accidentally provoking her. After a few more minutes of waiting, another person comes to the rooftop. I turn around.
Kim Suho. Chae Nayun. Me.
These three will decide their future. From here, a lot of changes will happen.
“Let’s talk.” I open the table for discussion eager to dig my figuratively hungry fangs into their trust and consume it raw for the sake of my own nutrition. “Will the two of you please hear me out, first…” I start.
The two, Chae Nayun and Kim Suho, become apprehensive at my words. Both of them already has weapons in their hand which is understandable. It might seem they are looking out against me. But that is not really the case.
I sense from their gaze, and the space between them that they are as much wary as the other.
That is how much of frightful an existence of a Devil is. I fear that even the regressed Chae Nayun in her current state has no chance against one. Someday, Kim Suho might. However, right now, he is not at that level yet.
“Where are your daggers, Hyon Hyung?” Kim Suho addresses me by my full name.
“I am weak. There is no use. So… Since none of you wants to start, can I?”
This time, it is Chae Nayun who voices her doubt. “No, we cannot hear anything that you might say. Devils are manipulative creatures capable of lying in a way you will think that they are speaking the truth."
Yeah. Nayun should know. I recall her history with the Devil’s Seed with her big brother, and how the disguised big brother is able to act so convincingly the same as the original big brother that Nayun knows…
It should be the same for Suho who witnesses it firsthand in the otherworld of his past life.
What I have here are two yet different kinds of existence— a Transmigrator and a Regressor— the former comes from a different world and reincarnates here as a different person, while the latter comes from a different time and returns to her past.
I only need to win over one of them, and the other will have no choice but to comply.
“Akatrina,” I mutter, while my gaze remains on Suho. “I was there… Knight Eren…” I address Suho by his past life's name.
I can briefly recall the short story about young Eren, Kim Suho’s past life when he is but a budding knight. It is a short story that explains Kim Suho’s origin. And this… shall be the core of my lies.
Kim Suho’s eyes tremble, and his grip on his sword continues to tighten. “Who are you?”
He is buying my lie.
I resist smiling, afraid that he might see through my deception.
“I was your fan. I know you... That’s all…” I utter the age-old ‘I was your fan’ excuse which works wonders. “Also Prihi is shit…”
Suho’s confusion recedes, changing into an awkward smile as he hears me insult her liege from his past life. He inaudibly gives a sigh of relief.
Akatrina. That is the name of Suho’s past world where his origin comes from and where he learns his swordsmanship. That world is Kim Suho’s true beginning.
“Are you an orphan from the temple? No, maybe a knight?”
Kim Suho starts overthinking an answer, forcing himself to connect the available dots only to arrive at the inevitable conclusion— that I am a Transmigrator too.
Meanwhile, Chae Nayun is feeling a great sense of confusion as what she is seeing is too out of context. Akatrina? Orphan? Temple?
“Suho, I thought you have a family…”
Suho ignores her as he and I are in our own world.
Our gazes collide, challenging each other and gauging the truth in our words.
“I trust you,” Suho declares.
I nod in gratitude to his answer. It is an easy matter for him to conclude it like this. People who Transmigrate inherit their past life’s physical attributes like the face and some other features.
The only way I know Kim Suho’s past life is that I know his face in that life, and am able to connect the two different people to one. Coming to this conclusion is an inevitability for Suho.
That is why Kim Suho can easily deduce that I cannot be the Devil as even they cannot tamper Transmigrated Souls.
In the first place, I cannot be a Devil anyway. I lack the potential. I have no riches or special powers that a Devil will want. It is plain as day to any observer how shitty my specs are. The only reason we are doing this is that we know something that people should not know yet— the mention of the term ‘Devil’ is what brings us to this current situation.
“Thank you, Suho… We… should talk about this some other time…” I address the problem at once, driving Nayun to the corner. “Miss Chae Nayun… Will you please kindly explain yourself?”
Kim Suho warily glances at Chae Nayun with his sword at the ready.
The atmosphere only gets tenser.
In the end, Chae Nayun decides to lie by telling us a different truth. “Devil’s Seed. My brother is afflicted with the Devil’s Seed. After incubation, a Devil will then be born. My brother will become a Devil…”
Instead of revealing her Regression, Chae Nayun decides that it is better for her to get hurt.
Kim Suho falters in his stance as his sword gets lower, and his gaze turns softer. “Nayun,” He calls to her, but she is hearing none of it. “I am sorry…” Suho tries to call her, but Nayun simply shakes her head.
“I don’t know what is up between the two of you. But you have my trust, Suho…” She bitterly smiles and sets off leaving me and Suho alone on the rooftop.
***
In this regression, Cha Nayun is hoping to uncover Hajin’s secrets and learn more about him. She wants to know how Hajin knows of the Devil’s Seed that is sleeping dormant on her big brother’s body.
Is it really because her brother is afflicted with the Devil’s Seed that's why the sad things have to happen?
If not for Yoenha back then informing her of his motivations, Nayun will end up completely breaking. Now, Nayun wants to fix that. If it comes to it, she will kill her brother with her own hands. No, she will kill the Devil. So that Hajin will not have to do it.
But then. This happens.
“Hajin, what should I do?” Chae Nayun feels herself tearing up, but she endures, not letting a single tear drop escape her eyes.
Apparently, it is not just Hajin who is hiding deep secrets.
Nayun sits on the stairs thinking of the mysteries around her. There is too little information, but she is discovering a lot. “Perhaps, is Hajin really a Regressor too like Yoenha suggested back then? Should I settle with that conclusion?”
She recalls the time when Yoo Yoenha reveals in her past life the burdens that Hajin is carrying. Despite learning them, she and Yoenha remain clueless about Hajin’s true nature.
How about Suho? He doesn’t seem like a Regressor to her.
“This is getting more complicated than I thought…”
The past life and original timeline are hurtful memories to her... for now.
Someday, it might become a truth. She dreads that happening once more. Chae Nayun is hurting again and again as if some cruel God is toying with her fate. She doesn’t like that past which gives her motivation to Regress and she resents herself for it.
That time before the Tower of Miracles, Chae Nayun can still vividly recall it. How does the world suddenly forget the existence of Kim Hajin after the war with the Devils? Why? What does Hajin have to do with everything?
There are so many questions and too few answers.
***
I remain on the rooftop with Kim Suho.
Hopefully, the drama will end here.
“Heh~ this is awkward.” Suho scratches the back of his head displaying his nervousness to me.
I smile at him feeling all too happy with the development of my scheming. I am now in possession of possibly the sharpest sword in the world— Kim Suho.
Of course, I might not be able to freely wield it, or him, as I want, but it gives me a sense of comfort and security in this wild world of sword and magic. I am over the moon.
“You don’t have to be awkward, Savior-nim…” I greet him with the same form of address I use back in the train station the first time I meet him at the Cube Entrance Ceremony.
As a sword, Kim Suho is a valuable weapon for me.
But there is more that I want from Suho.
Something more permanent.
I approach him with serious momentum, and in one single motion, I place myself into a kowtow. “I BEG OF YOU! PLEASE ACCEPT ME AS YOUR DISCIPLE, SIR!” My forehead lies flatly on the ground, and my back is as low as it can get.
“Uuhm…” Suho hesitantly backs off from my powerful offense.
I am sorry, Savior-nim. I cannot let you go.
I slam my forehead on the ground as much as I can tolerate until red dyes the concrete pavement. My forehead is bruising and hurting. Doing this stunt is unlike in anime or novels as it seems to get the concrete pavement to become bloody wet is an impossible task.
Still, I persist. “PLEASE TEACH ME! THERE MUST BE A REASON WHY I AM HERE! I WANT TO FIGHT, SO TEACH ME!”
I desperately want to live. While Kim Suho as a metaphorical sword is quite powerful, I prefer something more long-term and permanent. The only way I see out is through learning from the best.
In this life, the only arms I can rely on are my own.
Rooftop.
It is dark and stars litter the sky. I see the full moon above us hovering, and its moonlight like a spotlight shines on the stage with its pure white splendor.
I am the first to arrive and in my wait… I start counting the stars.
The schedule of the meetup should be the afternoon around 4 o’clock, but Kim Suho decides to change the meeting time which I have no complaints about. I find it curious though.
I hear the door opening behind me. I dare not look. If it is Chae Nayun, I dare not risk accidentally provoking her. After a few more minutes of waiting, another person comes to the rooftop. I turn around.
Kim Suho. Chae Nayun. Me.
These three will decide their future. From here, a lot of changes will happen.
“Let’s talk.” I open the table for discussion eager to dig my figuratively hungry fangs into their trust and consume it raw for the sake of my own nutrition. “Will the two of you please hear me out, first…” I start.
The two, Chae Nayun and Kim Suho, become apprehensive at my words. Both of them already has weapons in their hand which is understandable. It might seem they are looking out against me. But that is not really the case.
I sense from their gaze, and the space between them that they are as much wary as the other.
That is how much of frightful an existence of a Devil is. I fear that even the regressed Chae Nayun in her current state has no chance against one. Someday, Kim Suho might. However, right now, he is not at that level yet.
“Where are your daggers, Hyon Hyung?” Kim Suho addresses me by my full name.
“I am weak. There is no use. So… Since none of you wants to start, can I?”
This time, it is Chae Nayun who voices her doubt. “No, we cannot hear anything that you might say. Devils are manipulative creatures capable of lying in a way you will think that they are speaking the truth."
Yeah. Nayun should know. I recall her history with the Devil’s Seed with her big brother, and how the disguised big brother is able to act so convincingly the same as the original big brother that Nayun knows…
It should be the same for Suho who witnesses it firsthand in the otherworld of his past life.
What I have here are two yet different kinds of existence— a Transmigrator and a Regressor— the former comes from a different world and reincarnates here as a different person, while the latter comes from a different time and returns to her past.
I only need to win over one of them, and the other will have no choice but to comply.
“Akatrina,” I mutter, while my gaze remains on Suho. “I was there… Knight Eren…” I address Suho by his past life's name.
I can briefly recall the short story about young Eren, Kim Suho’s past life when he is but a budding knight. It is a short story that explains Kim Suho’s origin. And this… shall be the core of my lies.
Kim Suho’s eyes tremble, and his grip on his sword continues to tighten. “Who are you?”
He is buying my lie.
I resist smiling, afraid that he might see through my deception.
“I was your fan. I know you... That’s all…” I utter the age-old ‘I was your fan’ excuse which works wonders. “Also Prihi is shit…”
Suho’s confusion recedes, changing into an awkward smile as he hears me insult her liege from his past life. He inaudibly gives a sigh of relief.
Akatrina. That is the name of Suho’s past world where his origin comes from and where he learns his swordsmanship. That world is Kim Suho’s true beginning.
“Are you an orphan from the temple? No, maybe a knight?”
Kim Suho starts overthinking an answer, forcing himself to connect the available dots only to arrive at the inevitable conclusion— that I am a Transmigrator too.
Meanwhile, Chae Nayun is feeling a great sense of confusion as what she is seeing is too out of context. Akatrina? Orphan? Temple?
“Suho, I thought you have a family…”
Suho ignores her as he and I are in our own world.
Our gazes collide, challenging each other and gauging the truth in our words.
“I trust you,” Suho declares.
I nod in gratitude to his answer. It is an easy matter for him to conclude it like this. People who Transmigrate inherit their past life’s physical attributes like the face and some other features.
The only way I know Kim Suho’s past life is that I know his face in that life, and am able to connect the two different people to one. Coming to this conclusion is an inevitability for Suho.
That is why Kim Suho can easily deduce that I cannot be the Devil as even they cannot tamper Transmigrated Souls.
In the first place, I cannot be a Devil anyway. I lack the potential. I have no riches or special powers that a Devil will want. It is plain as day to any observer how shitty my specs are. The only reason we are doing this is that we know something that people should not know yet— the mention of the term ‘Devil’ is what brings us to this current situation.
“Thank you, Suho… We… should talk about this some other time…” I address the problem at once, driving Nayun to the corner. “Miss Chae Nayun… Will you please kindly explain yourself?”
Kim Suho warily glances at Chae Nayun with his sword at the ready.
The atmosphere only gets tenser.
In the end, Chae Nayun decides to lie by telling us a different truth. “Devil’s Seed. My brother is afflicted with the Devil’s Seed. After incubation, a Devil will then be born. My brother will become a Devil…”
Instead of revealing her Regression, Chae Nayun decides that it is better for her to get hurt.
Kim Suho falters in his stance as his sword gets lower, and his gaze turns softer. “Nayun,” He calls to her, but she is hearing none of it. “I am sorry…” Suho tries to call her, but Nayun simply shakes her head.
“I don’t know what is up between the two of you. But you have my trust, Suho…” She bitterly smiles and sets off leaving me and Suho alone on the rooftop.
***
In this regression, Cha Nayun is hoping to uncover Hajin’s secrets and learn more about him. She wants to know how Hajin knows of the Devil’s Seed that is sleeping dormant on her big brother’s body.
Is it really because her brother is afflicted with the Devil’s Seed that's why the sad things have to happen?
If not for Yoenha back then informing her of his motivations, Nayun will end up completely breaking. Now, Nayun wants to fix that. If it comes to it, she will kill her brother with her own hands. No, she will kill the Devil. So that Hajin will not have to do it.
But then. This happens.
“Hajin, what should I do?” Chae Nayun feels herself tearing up, but she endures, not letting a single tear drop escape her eyes.
Apparently, it is not just Hajin who is hiding deep secrets.
Nayun sits on the stairs thinking of the mysteries around her. There is too little information, but she is discovering a lot. “Perhaps, is Hajin really a Regressor too like Yoenha suggested back then? Should I settle with that conclusion?”
She recalls the time when Yoo Yoenha reveals in her past life the burdens that Hajin is carrying. Despite learning them, she and Yoenha remain clueless about Hajin’s true nature.
How about Suho? He doesn’t seem like a Regressor to her.
“This is getting more complicated than I thought…”
The past life and original timeline are hurtful memories to her... for now.
Someday, it might become a truth. She dreads that happening once more. Chae Nayun is hurting again and again as if some cruel God is toying with her fate. She doesn’t like that past which gives her motivation to Regress and she resents herself for it.
That time before the Tower of Miracles, Chae Nayun can still vividly recall it. How does the world suddenly forget the existence of Kim Hajin after the war with the Devils? Why? What does Hajin have to do with everything?
There are so many questions and too few answers.
***
I remain on the rooftop with Kim Suho.
Hopefully, the drama will end here.
“Heh~ this is awkward.” Suho scratches the back of his head displaying his nervousness to me.
I smile at him feeling all too happy with the development of my scheming. I am now in possession of possibly the sharpest sword in the world— Kim Suho.
Of course, I might not be able to freely wield it, or him, as I want, but it gives me a sense of comfort and security in this wild world of sword and magic. I am over the moon.
“You don’t have to be awkward, Savior-nim…” I greet him with the same form of address I use back in the train station the first time I meet him at the Cube Entrance Ceremony.
As a sword, Kim Suho is a valuable weapon for me.
But there is more that I want from Suho.
Something more permanent.
I approach him with serious momentum, and in one single motion, I place myself into a kowtow. “I BEG OF YOU! PLEASE ACCEPT ME AS YOUR DISCIPLE, SIR!” My forehead lies flatly on the ground, and my back is as low as it can get.
“Uuhm…” Suho hesitantly backs off from my powerful offense.
I am sorry, Savior-nim. I cannot let you go.
I slam my forehead on the ground as much as I can tolerate until red dyes the concrete pavement. My forehead is bruising and hurting. Doing this stunt is unlike in anime or novels as it seems to get the concrete pavement to become bloody wet is an impossible task.
Still, I persist. “PLEASE TEACH ME! THERE MUST BE A REASON WHY I AM HERE! I WANT TO FIGHT, SO TEACH ME!”
I desperately want to live. While Kim Suho as a metaphorical sword is quite powerful, I prefer something more long-term and permanent. The only way I see out is through learning from the best.
In this life, the only arms I can rely on are my own.
