Chapter 158
“Where are you going…”
“It’s okay. Don’t be nervous.”
Elohim, who walked without hesitation and opened the door, said to me.
“Now, Se-hyun-ah. Look ahead.”
I lifted my head, which was resting on his shoulder. It was a little blurry because my eyesight hadn’t yet fully returned, but it was enough to see the splendid sight unfolding before my eyes.
A huge temple built of pure white marble could be seen over the wide field. A single ray of golden light descended from the distant sky illuminating the temple and the transparent papers were scattered all around it.
“This is the place where you and I will be staying for the next 70 days. It’s a real ‘home’.”
“Then the place I used to stay…”
“It was made urgently for deceiving eyes. Hm, if you still like it, you can stay there.”
“……”
After thinking for a while, I slowly shook my head. Now that Ha Tae-heon was forcedly sent back, even if I was there, he only came to mind. It was better to change the place.
“That’s a good choice.”
Elohim with a smile as if he understood my feelings entered the temple. There were still many transparent papers floating in the air, even in the temple. I pointed to it.
“What is that?”
“It’s what we use when we use our power.”
“Who are we?”
“You will see him soon.”
Elohim, who entered the first room in the centre of the temple, lowered me on a large bed. All of the senses returned to normal, but my hands still trembled slightly.
‘I thought that Cheon Sa-yeon’s ability to block the energy was also a scam, but Ha Tae-heon wasn’t easy either.’
I looked at my hand and sighed. Then Elohim handed me a glass of water.
“There must be a lot of things you want to know, Se-hyun-ah.”
“Of course.”
I nodded my head, quenching my thirst with lukewarm water.
“From the novel, how do you know my real name… I’m curious about everything.”
“I’ll explain them slowly. Every single detail about it. But, there’s something you have to do.”
I immediately understood the meaning of what he was trying to say. Second price. Putting down the glass of water, I made eye contact with Elohim.
“For 70 days from now, you have to eat the candy I give you and dream.”
“…is that all?”
“Yeah. It’s just a dream, but it’s going to put some strain on your body, and above all else, it’s going to be hard mentally. But it’s a necessary process.”
Elohim, who was explaining with a firm expression, grabbed my shoulder lightly.
“I will ask you one last time, kid. Are you really determined?”
“If not, what would you do?”
“I will send you to Korea. Like Ha Tae-heon, by opening a new passage.”
It was the most unsatisfying word I had ever had with him. I replied with an awkward smile.
“I’ll do it.”
“That’s good.”
“Are we starting right away?”
“Dream later. Get some rest for now. You must be tired. We have a lot of time, so there is no need to overdo it.”
“No. It’s gotten better to some extent.”
After examining my condition for a moment, Elohim grabbed my hand and lifted me up.
“Okay. After all, there will be nothing else to do today other than listen to the explanation.”
I left the room with my held hand and crossed the wide main hall. Large, white marble pillars were embedded everywhere and several golden lights with unique shapes floated in the air on the ceiling.
Kugugung!
At the innermost front of the hall, an arched marble door engraved with a golden pattern was visible. It was so huge that I wondered how to open it, but strangely, as Elohim got closer, it opened on its own with a heavy sound.
Beyond the open door, a large library full of bookshelves appeared that was incomparable to the study found on the second floor of the existing house.
“Oh…”
“Do you like it?”
Elohim, who smiled at me as I looked inside, led me to the inside of the library.
“I’d like to introduce someone to you from now on.”
“Yes?”
“I hope you’re not too surprised. It’s not a bit ordinary, but it’s because he is my only family left.”
“Family?”
Confused, I soon realized why he was worried.
In the centre of the library, right next to the sofa and table, I saw a man floating in the air. He looked strikingly like Elohim, but his hair was about the same length as mine and he had long sleeves and was dressed in white, loose oriental robes.
With his eyes closed as if he had fallen asleep, a swarm of pure white lights revolved around him, twinkling like stars.
“Elahah (엘라하). He is my twin brother and one who shares the ability. I can’t live without him and he can’t live without me. We are connected.”
At the sound of Elohim’s voice, Elahah slowly opened his eyes. When I met his eyes, I understood Elohim’s words that he was connected.
Unlike Elohim, whose right eye was gold, Elahah had gold eyes in his left eye. Although he had the same face, he gave off integrity and clean feeling, he looked somewhat gloomy and heavy, unlike Elohim.
“…everything is fine.”
“You worked hard.”
“I need some rest.”
After talking with Elohim, Elahah came down from the air. Even the voice was the same.
“Kwon Se-hyun.”
He called me in a tired voice.
“Ha Tae-heon returned to Korea safely.”
“Yes?”
“Now he’s moving towards the gate exit. The last time he came to China, he dealt with all kinds of monsters, so he should be able to get out of there today.”
Elahah gave me a cynical smile as I blinked blankly.
“Isn’t that what you wanted to know?”
“That’s true, but how…”
“I and Elahah can see.”
Elohim, who supported the staggering Elahah and sat him on the sofa, spoke with a slightly puzzled expression.
“I didn’t mean to tell you this. I’m sorry if I upset you.”
I asked Elahah, who was lying on the sofa with a groan in pain, for a moment.
“You can see Ha Tae-heon? With… that eyes?”
“You know I’m a prophet.”
Elohim stood with his back straight. His right eye began to shine as bright as gold.
“We can see most of what happens in this world. What actions a particular person does, what they think, and what choices they ultimately make.”
“Is that an ability?”
“It’s more about ‘power’ than ability. If I had to say in your words… it must be an out-of-class ability.”
Out-of-class ability. It meant that it was higher than SS-rank. The great energy I felt when I lost my sight and couldn’t see anything. As expected, it was the size of the energy Elohim had.
“Both me and Elahah can see, but only Elahah can record. That’s why I do other things. Meeting Ha Tae-heon with you, or visiting in your dreams.”
At some point, the light in his eyes dimmed. Elohim smiled and walked towards the nearest bookshelf.
“Perhaps that’s why the children who met us call me a prophet and Elahah a recorder. It’s not wrong. We see more than anyone else.”
Elohim pulled out a black-covered book from the bookshelf and handed it to me. I took it involuntarily and checked the title of the book then I stiffened coldly.
「Abyss」
“How do you…”
“You missed it.”
My heart was beating loudly and a strong pain ran through my head. Elohim watched me calmly as I twisted my forehead and staggered.
“It’s a novel. Read it.” (Chapter 97)
“What… I don’t read things like this.”
“Why? It’s pretty fun. It’s been stuck on this bookshelf for more than 10 years ago. It’s not my father’s taste, but who brought it.”
Yeon Seon-woo’s voice was heard. I saw three books with the same title, which he was putting next to me.
“I’ll bring the book when I get back later. Take it and read.”
Yeon Seon-woo said brightly and smiled. The book that he gave me even if I refused because it was bothersome, in the end…
“This is the back volume of the ‘Abyss’ you read.”
“…you already know that I’ve only read up to book four.”
“That’s why you must have come to me. You don’t know the end of the story.”
I nodded my head, trying to control my rough breathing.
“That’s right. I wanted to make a proper plan for what to do next in order to survive.”
I stroked the cover of the book with a complicated mind.
“How the hell did ‘Abyss’ exist where I used to live?”
“Just as I made a passage when I sent Ha Tae-heon, there are many passages in the world. It’s often connected to another world.”
If there were many passages… did it mean a gate?
“You mean you sent the book through the passage?”
“We didn’t send it. That flowed out. Like destiny.”
He tapped the book with his white, long fingers.
“I can only describe it as fate that you were able to come here. As for probability… it would be less than 0.01%.”
“Are you saying that because I had ‘Abyss’, I was able to come into Han Yi-gyeol’s body?”
“It’s not that simple.”
As Elohim raised his hand and swung it horizontally in the air, a white ray of light appeared. He continued to explain, pointing to a group of golden lights embedded in each middle of the ray of light one by one.
“The world has weakened a lot due to the repeated passage of time, so the passages leading to other places have increased more than before and one of them flowed out and the world the book arrived in was the world you lived in 10 years ago.”
“…is that possible?”
“I didn’t know either. What’s certain is that the book helped you get here, but… if it hadn’t been for a body whose soul was worn out after suffering for a long time, you wouldn’t have been able to live.”
A body whose soul was worn out. I asked, biting my lip in embarrassment.
“Are you saying that’s Han Yi-gyeol?”
“You understand quickly.”
Elohim, who had cleared the white ray of light, opened his mouth with a firm voice.
“How do you think? Se-hyun-ah.”
“……”
“Is all of this really just a coincidence…”
He looked at me with a heavy face and then showed a sad smile.
“Or did the crumbling world bring you here to survive?”
Elohim, who slowly closed his eyes and opened them, grabbed my shoulders.
“I’m curious about that and we\'re going to try to find out from now on.”