“Well, there is a reason that happiness is taught. However, it’s too early to bring up that story.”
At the nonchalant response, another crackle broke out again.
Soon, a new image appeared on the empty wall.
“Everything must be done in order.”
This time, it was a glimpse into the days that she had been a protagonist in an internet novel, when she was entangled in fights with bullies.
Without waiting for a response, God continued explaining, seemingly unaffected by my silence.
“This, too, was by my own grace. I thought you wouldn’t be able to endure being pushed into fights for life and death right away.”
Ha. That’s quite the grace given.
It’s not like I was slowly eased into the water from head to toe before I was allowed to play in a pool.
“And when it seemed like you were getting used to kids’ fights to some extent…”
BAAANG—!
Suddenly, on the screen, a truck rushed toward the ‘young me’ of the early days that I was in the ‘internet novel’.
My body hovered in the air for a moment and then fell straight down.
Thud.
A dull sound echoed.
My body, pinned to the ground, didn’t make any further movements.
I watched the scene quietly.
It’s not a common experience to see your own death from someone else’s perspective, so it felt strangely peculiar.
That’s how the version of me from the ‘internet novel’ died.
Soon, a butterfly and a book emerged from my lifeless body.
With a fluttering sound, the butterfly entered the pages of the book, just like the scene I saw in the dream of the hunting festival.
And, once again, snap—!
The screen changed.
White flowers in full bloom.
Green grass brushing against one’s calves.
A white flower field.
In it, a figure stood alone, dressed in white clothing with long, flowing black hair.
‘Mog-i Oraboni…’
Tsk.
With the appearance of my brother, God clicked their tongue.
“Occasionally, there are individuals like that. Those who possess extraordinary power as humans. It’s quite amusing, really.”
Mog-i Oraboni, who stood silently, slowly raised his hand and pulled down the cloth covering his eyes. The smooth fabric made a soft sound as it slid away, revealing his face.
Beneath his long eyelashes, his sapphire-blue eyes met mine. It felt as if our gazes had locked.
Oraboni curled his lips into a sad smile.
“Are you doing well, Seol-ah?”
“Mog-i Ora—”
Before I could finish calling him, the scene changed abruptly with a distinctive sound.
I sighed at the rather inconvenient timing.
“Isn’t it unnecessary to watch useless scenes like this?”
God, seemingly noticing my reaction, added with a chuckle.
I let out a small sigh and refocused on the screen.
The new scene displayed me from my days as a warrior in a martial arts novel, wielding a fan and swiftly dispatching enemies by slashing their throats.
There was no hint of mercy or hesitation in my gestures.
In fact, at first glance, it even looked like my black eyes carried boredom within them.
That was undoubtedly me in that scene, but watching it felt strangely unfamiliar. Did I really have such a determined expression while I was fighting others?
God chuckled softly.
“At that time, I tried to give you strength. Look at how strong you were. Well, just watching you warms my heart. I can’t express how moved I was when you single-handedly brought down over a hundred enemies. So, I thought…”
Now’s the time.
Snap—!
Amidst the silence, the sound of snapping fingers echoed.
I stared at the slowly unfolding scene, my lips moving in a thoughtful, contemplative manner.
Even without looking, I could anticipate what scene would appear next.
A face as pale as snow.
Long, winding golden hair.
Deep-set eyes and long lashes, beneath which shone bright blue irises.
Rita.
As Rita, I was sitting on the bed in a daze, my vacant gaze not fixating on anything in particular.
Just through the air.
Into nothingness.
“Well, care to guess why I sent you there? What could be the reason?”
The voice that posed the question was as unsettling as it was light.
The reason you sent me here?
Ha, isn’t that a rhetorical question?
The answer already lies deep within me.
I smiled broadly, cynically.
Then, I replied.
“It was to steal happiness from me once again, wasn’t it? To take away happiness, snatch away my life, trample on my emotions. To tear me into pieces.”
To ensure that I couldn’t live like a human, devoid of any guilt or empathy, and utterly lacking in humanity.
—A catastrophe named ‘Rosetta’ reborn.
To bring about the destruction of the world, one doesn’t need much sanity. No, perhaps the goal was to ensure that I never had any sanity to begin with.
I smiled deeply.
Damn, insufferable god.
It felt like the invisible face was smiling back at me.
“Correct. Of course, everything went awry because of your foolhardy actions, but nonetheless.”
The voice carried a hint of coldness, carried by the wind.
“It’s because I took the blade instead of Urien, wasn’t it?”
“You know it well. I already had plans laid down for you, but who knew that you would greet death so early.”
“It must have been because you let your guard down.”
“Perhaps. I did let my guard down because I believed you would follow my wishes, and for a moment, I relaxed. But, in the meantime, you caused an accident.”
‘Accident…’
As God just mentioned, the way I died instead of Urien was an accident that deviated from the plan.
“Due to the accident you caused, the fabric of space and time twisted and opened up. Through that gap, an uninvited guest entered. In any case, this matter is giving me a terrible headache.”
At the mention of an uninvited guest, Urien’s face immediately came to mind.
Urien’s presence in this world had always been a mystery to me.
It seemed that Urien, who shouldn’t have been here, had crossed over to this world with me due to the accident I caused.
This was quite the trap I’ve fallen into, it seems. It was even my own doing.
‘…No, still, it’s better this way.’
Rather than letting myself languish in the rest of the period allotted to me as Rita, it was better to return as Rosetta with an uninvited guest in tow.
Since I hadn’t filled all of ‘Rita’s’ time, I hadn’t become the monster that had lost ‘guilt, morality, and humanity’ as God desired.
‘If I had completed that period…’
I would have fulfilled the conditions for my wish to be granted, according to God’s plan.
I touched my head momentarily, feeling dizzy. I stared at my pale, thin fingers as if they were numb, not pulsating like bloodless ones.
If I had filled all the time and finally made my wish come true…
‘With these hands, Alicia, Cassion, my family…’
I would have killed them all.
“…Ha…”
The choked breath I barely managed to exhale resembled a laugh.
Silence followed.
The images that had been flashing all around ceased simultaneously and disappeared into nothingness.
Once again, an entirely white space.
Somewhere, a dazzling light poured in.
My head began to feel increasingly fuzzy.
I blinked my heavy eyelids a few times, and then my legs gave way, collapsing me to the ground as if all strength had left them.
Even with my head resting on the ground, the light flowed in.
I closed my eyes tightly as the brightness was blinding.
During that moment, the question returned.
“Now, Rosetta, you have yet to answer my question.”
The direction of the voice, which had been unclear all along, was clear now.
Above my head.
An incorporeal hand passed through my hair.
“What do you think, Rosetta. Is your wish still valid?”
God posed the same question once again.
‘…Is my wish still valid?’
My wish for the world to collapse.
My wish for Alicia to disappear.
My wish, more fervent than any other, was one I had deeply desired when I made it as Rosetta.
The emotions of Rosetta—the resentment, the jealousy, the anger, and above all, the sorrow—were all vividly alive in my heart.
However, the memories from my life as Lee Mina to the present were just as vivid.
Returning to Rosetta’s body, making a vow to protect Alicia, meeting Cassion, meeting Blanca, meeting Diana.
Meeting many people, opening my heart to Damian and Father.
And finally, arriving at this moment.
I laughed.
How ironic.
Humans were quite amusing and fragile creatures.
Even if you accumulate negativity, resentment, and sadness, if tiny acts of kindness pile up like specks of dust, you tend to focus on the positive rather than the negative.
Even if you resolve to let go of regrets after accumulating sadness, receiving just a small bit of attention can quickly make you hopeful again, just like that.
…In truth, the Rosetta who made the wish back then didn’t need anything grand.
Just people on her side.
People who cared for her.
People who believed in her completely.
All she needed were those things back then.
What about now?
Do I possess those things?
“…I have them.”
Murmuring softly, I let out a silent laugh.
The emotions of the ‘me’ who made the wish back then no longer held any significance.
I may feel sorry for my past self, but I am a person who values the present more.
I am like this.
So selfish.
Instead of moving my tired body, I looked upward as far as I could to look at the source of the voice.
Where the voice was coming from.
The place where God was waiting, probably with a mocking smile, for my answer.
Originally, the wish for the world to collapse wasn’t even a proper wish.
Even if it was a fervent desire, it was an empty wish that I had no expectations of coming true.
Since it was a wish given to a ‘sacred relic’, you’d be half-expecting that there’d be some fantastical direction to it. Or at the very least, some disembodied voice would ask, ‘What is your wish?’
Could words muttered to oneself be considered as some grand wish?
“You don’t have to grant such a wish.”
“Oh, I see that your wish has changed. Alright, then. Let’s hear it. What do you want now?”
I blinked at God’s question.
So now God was willing to grant wishes, huh.
“My wish is…”
Well, even though I already used the sacred relic’s wish, it feels more like I’m satisfying my curiosity by asking.
But still, if I were to make a wish…
My wish is…
“Don’t make my younger sister the protagonist.”
Ever since I made that decision and up until now, the spark of determination in my heart had never once gone out.
My little sister should not become the protagonist.
“Well, there is a reason that happiness is taught. However, it’s too early to bring up that story.”
At the nonchalant response, another crackle broke out again.
Soon, a new image appeared on the empty wall.
“Everything must be done in order.”
This time, it was a glimpse into the days that she had been a protagonist in an internet novel, when she was entangled in fights with bullies.
Without waiting for a response, God continued explaining, seemingly unaffected by my silence.
“This, too, was by my own grace. I thought you wouldn’t be able to endure being pushed into fights for life and death right away.”
Ha. That’s quite the grace given.
It’s not like I was slowly eased into the water from head to toe before I was allowed to play in a pool.
“And when it seemed like you were getting used to kids’ fights to some extent…”
BAAANG—!
Suddenly, on the screen, a truck rushed toward the ‘young me’ of the early days that I was in the ‘internet novel’.
My body hovered in the air for a moment and then fell straight down.
Thud.
A dull sound echoed.
My body, pinned to the ground, didn’t make any further movements.
I watched the scene quietly.
It’s not a common experience to see your own death from someone else’s perspective, so it felt strangely peculiar.
That’s how the version of me from the ‘internet novel’ died.
Soon, a butterfly and a book emerged from my lifeless body.
With a fluttering sound, the butterfly entered the pages of the book, just like the scene I saw in the dream of the hunting festival.
And, once again, snap—!
The screen changed.
White flowers in full bloom.
Green grass brushing against one’s calves.
A white flower field.
In it, a figure stood alone, dressed in white clothing with long, flowing black hair.
‘Mog-i Oraboni…’
Tsk.
With the appearance of my brother, God clicked their tongue.
“Occasionally, there are individuals like that. Those who possess extraordinary power as humans. It’s quite amusing, really.”
Mog-i Oraboni, who stood silently, slowly raised his hand and pulled down the cloth covering his eyes. The smooth fabric made a soft sound as it slid away, revealing his face.
Beneath his long eyelashes, his sapphire-blue eyes met mine. It felt as if our gazes had locked.
Oraboni curled his lips into a sad smile.
“Are you doing well, Seol-ah?”
“Mog-i Ora—”
Before I could finish calling him, the scene changed abruptly with a distinctive sound.
I sighed at the rather inconvenient timing.
“Isn’t it unnecessary to watch useless scenes like this?”
God, seemingly noticing my reaction, added with a chuckle.
I let out a small sigh and refocused on the screen.
The new scene displayed me from my days as a warrior in a martial arts novel, wielding a fan and swiftly dispatching enemies by slashing their throats.
There was no hint of mercy or hesitation in my gestures.
In fact, at first glance, it even looked like my black eyes carried boredom within them.
That was undoubtedly me in that scene, but watching it felt strangely unfamiliar. Did I really have such a determined expression while I was fighting others?
God chuckled softly.
“At that time, I tried to give you strength. Look at how strong you were. Well, just watching you warms my heart. I can’t express how moved I was when you single-handedly brought down over a hundred enemies. So, I thought…”
Now’s the time.
Snap—!
Amidst the silence, the sound of snapping fingers echoed.
I stared at the slowly unfolding scene, my lips moving in a thoughtful, contemplative manner.
Even without looking, I could anticipate what scene would appear next.
A face as pale as snow.
Long, winding golden hair.
Deep-set eyes and long lashes, beneath which shone bright blue irises.
Rita.
As Rita, I was sitting on the bed in a daze, my vacant gaze not fixating on anything in particular.
Just through the air.
Into nothingness.
“Well, care to guess why I sent you there? What could be the reason?”
The voice that posed the question was as unsettling as it was light.
The reason you sent me here?
Ha, isn’t that a rhetorical question?
The answer already lies deep within me.
I smiled broadly, cynically.
Then, I replied.
“It was to steal happiness from me once again, wasn’t it? To take away happiness, snatch away my life, trample on my emotions. To tear me into pieces.”
To ensure that I couldn’t live like a human, devoid of any guilt or empathy, and utterly lacking in humanity.
—A catastrophe named ‘Rosetta’ reborn.
To bring about the destruction of the world, one doesn’t need much sanity. No, perhaps the goal was to ensure that I never had any sanity to begin with.
I smiled deeply.
Damn, insufferable god.
It felt like the invisible face was smiling back at me.
“Correct. Of course, everything went awry because of your foolhardy actions, but nonetheless.”
The voice carried a hint of coldness, carried by the wind.
“It’s because I took the blade instead of Urien, wasn’t it?”
“You know it well. I already had plans laid down for you, but who knew that you would greet death so early.”
“It must have been because you let your guard down.”
“Perhaps. I did let my guard down because I believed you would follow my wishes, and for a moment, I relaxed. But, in the meantime, you caused an accident.”
‘Accident…’
As God just mentioned, the way I died instead of Urien was an accident that deviated from the plan.
“Due to the accident you caused, the fabric of space and time twisted and opened up. Through that gap, an uninvited guest entered. In any case, this matter is giving me a terrible headache.”
At the mention of an uninvited guest, Urien’s face immediately came to mind.
Urien’s presence in this world had always been a mystery to me.
It seemed that Urien, who shouldn’t have been here, had crossed over to this world with me due to the accident I caused.
This was quite the trap I’ve fallen into, it seems. It was even my own doing.
‘…No, still, it’s better this way.’
Rather than letting myself languish in the rest of the period allotted to me as Rita, it was better to return as Rosetta with an uninvited guest in tow.
Since I hadn’t filled all of ‘Rita’s’ time, I hadn’t become the monster that had lost ‘guilt, morality, and humanity’ as God desired.
‘If I had completed that period…’
I would have fulfilled the conditions for my wish to be granted, according to God’s plan.
I touched my head momentarily, feeling dizzy. I stared at my pale, thin fingers as if they were numb, not pulsating like bloodless ones.
If I had filled all the time and finally made my wish come true…
‘With these hands, Alicia, Cassion, my family…’
I would have killed them all.
“…Ha…”
The choked breath I barely managed to exhale resembled a laugh.
Silence followed.
The images that had been flashing all around ceased simultaneously and disappeared into nothingness.
Once again, an entirely white space.
Somewhere, a dazzling light poured in.
My head began to feel increasingly fuzzy.
I blinked my heavy eyelids a few times, and then my legs gave way, collapsing me to the ground as if all strength had left them.
Even with my head resting on the ground, the light flowed in.
I closed my eyes tightly as the brightness was blinding.
During that moment, the question returned.
“Now, Rosetta, you have yet to answer my question.”
The direction of the voice, which had been unclear all along, was clear now.
Above my head.
An incorporeal hand passed through my hair.
“What do you think, Rosetta. Is your wish still valid?”
God posed the same question once again.
‘…Is my wish still valid?’
My wish for the world to collapse.
My wish for Alicia to disappear.
My wish, more fervent than any other, was one I had deeply desired when I made it as Rosetta.
The emotions of Rosetta—the resentment, the jealousy, the anger, and above all, the sorrow—were all vividly alive in my heart.
However, the memories from my life as Lee Mina to the present were just as vivid.
Returning to Rosetta’s body, making a vow to protect Alicia, meeting Cassion, meeting Blanca, meeting Diana.
Meeting many people, opening my heart to Damian and Father.
And finally, arriving at this moment.
I laughed.
How ironic.
Humans were quite amusing and fragile creatures.
Even if you accumulate negativity, resentment, and sadness, if tiny acts of kindness pile up like specks of dust, you tend to focus on the positive rather than the negative.
Even if you resolve to let go of regrets after accumulating sadness, receiving just a small bit of attention can quickly make you hopeful again, just like that.
…In truth, the Rosetta who made the wish back then didn’t need anything grand.
Just people on her side.
People who cared for her.
People who believed in her completely.
All she needed were those things back then.
What about now?
Do I possess those things?
“…I have them.”
Murmuring softly, I let out a silent laugh.
The emotions of the ‘me’ who made the wish back then no longer held any significance.
I may feel sorry for my past self, but I am a person who values the present more.
I am like this.
So selfish.
Instead of moving my tired body, I looked upward as far as I could to look at the source of the voice.
Where the voice was coming from.
The place where God was waiting, probably with a mocking smile, for my answer.
Originally, the wish for the world to collapse wasn’t even a proper wish.
Even if it was a fervent desire, it was an empty wish that I had no expectations of coming true.
Since it was a wish given to a ‘sacred relic’, you’d be half-expecting that there’d be some fantastical direction to it. Or at the very least, some disembodied voice would ask, ‘What is your wish?’
Could words muttered to oneself be considered as some grand wish?
“You don’t have to grant such a wish.”
“Oh, I see that your wish has changed. Alright, then. Let’s hear it. What do you want now?”
I blinked at God’s question.
So now God was willing to grant wishes, huh.
“My wish is…”
Well, even though I already used the sacred relic’s wish, it feels more like I’m satisfying my curiosity by asking.
But still, if I were to make a wish…
My wish is…
“Don’t make my younger sister the protagonist.”
Ever since I made that decision and up until now, the spark of determination in my heart had never once gone out.
My little sister should not become the protagonist.
