NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1
God, oh God.
Please grant my wish.
The Seer told me a story.
He said that while everyone serves a different God, they may all be the same being.
So wherever we are, God must be watching over us all, right?
The Gate has appeared, and while people are dying and it’s become terrifying to wander outside…
I know this is a punishment for my mistakes.
It’s all my fault.
I’ll reflect on it.
I am reflecting.
So please grant my wish.
I hope my deceased mom and dad are in Heaven.
I wish that no one who blames me has to experience the same sorrow as I do.
Please let it be a world where everyone can be happy, except for me.
And when everyone is happy, then…
Can I go to be with my parents too?
Thank you for listening to my prayer.
So, I will serve until I die today.
The boy praying lifts his head.
His face, previously hidden by blue hair like water, is revealed, and tears of blood flow from his hollow eyes.
He’s a mere shadow of a body with no limbs left, yet the amount of blood pouring out makes one wonder where it’s even coming from.
“Oh! Ohhh! I, I’ve really become young…!” (Old man)
The more the boy suffers, the brighter the face of the old man sitting opposite him becomes.
The shadows in his eyes lift, his once cloudy, grayish gaze becomes clear, and the crumpled wrinkles disappear.
“Hey! I can’t feel any lower back pain anymore!” (Old Man)
“Congratulations, Chairman!” (A Suit-wearing man)
It’s a rejuvenation.
The Gate opens, and even though humans have gained various abilities, they have never succeeded even once in the Forbidden Territory.
The miracle of reversing time has been realized right here.
“Ha, ha ha! This can’t be happening! Good sir, I’ll buy my next prayer too!” (Old Man)
“I’m sorry, but the next in line is First Lady, so…”
The old man rises from his seat…
No, the young man hops up and down, stomping his feet without a hint of pain.
His body, which would wear out with the slightest movement, now feels like a treasure. No, it wouldn’t be too much even if it was worth trillions.
“Getting the next one will be fine. Who am I! I can give you enough money to buy a city. Just contact me anytime.” (Old Man, now Young Man)
“Then I will discuss the details and come to see you.”
“Sure! You fellows can drop by any time!” (Young Man)
The two of them naturally chat while exiting.
Thud-!
No one paid attention to the frail boy who collapsed behind them.
It’s only natural.
Could such a miracle occur without a price?
The old man had to pull out 3 billion dollars worth of laundered U.S. bonds through various channels for this one miracle. That’s about 4 trillion won.
Guilt?
It’s a contract agreed upon mutually, so what’s the problem?
At the time when the boy couldn’t easily regain consciousness and was sinking into a pool of his own blood…
“Let’s go. Why make such a fuss? Your parents must have suffered more pain than this before they died.”
A Suit-wearing man who came from another room pulls the chain connected to the boy’s neck.
He’s being dragged like a beast about to be slaughtered.
The boy didn’t respond.
He couldn’t even answer because he lacked a tongue.
“The next guest is very important, so don’t slack off. This time… Hmm. It’s said that their child wants to awaken. That should be possible, right?”
The boy only nodded silently.
His body was already at its limit, but he wasn’t afraid of death.
After all, the miracle of being able to achieve ‘anything’ by sacrificing something was a power bestowed by the God.
Ultimately, dying like this means I’ve completed my atonement, so I couldn’t be happier. If this miracle has brought at least one more person happiness, that’s good enough for me.
So how many days have passed now?
“…Tsk. Is this really it?”
“Yeah, well. To be honest, we kept him alive with potions and drugs. Just being alive is a miracle at this point.”
“Can’t I use him just once more?”
“If consciousness breaks in the middle, the effect of the prayer might not manifest.”
“Damn. Considering the aftermath, it’s better to just dispose of it.”
“I’ll handle it as planned.”
The boy had become a free man. He received a gift of a run-down house in a corner of Seoul for his efforts. He was laid down on a sofa with cockroaches crawling over it. It was a kindness allowing him to live his remaining hours freely.
It was surprising that the members of an organization that viewed human lives as less than those of flies would show such consideration. It felt rewarding to think they had become somewhat human through their work.
The boy smirked subtly.
“You crazy bastard.” (A Girl)
And he was cursed at. It was a familiar voice.
“I warned you early on, didn’t I? Doing everything they asked would end in a miserable death.” (A Girl)
The boy shook his head. Who would die a miserable death?
I’m completely satisfied.
In fact, it was precisely because they were such terrible people that I was able to care so fiercely for so many.
If I had been with good people, I would have been too concerned with my stamina, limits, and condition to do anything.
Thanks to this, as promised, I’d be able to go to Heaven to be with my parents…
“What are you mumbling about, you moron? If you wanted to speak, you should have kept your tongue.” (A Girl)
But no matter how much the boy answered internally, it was useless.
The girl was an excellent Seer, but she didn’t have the ability to hear others’ inner thoughts. So she continued on without caring what the boy responded.
“Anyway, you’re about to die now, and I’ve waited quietly as promised.”
The boy nodded.
Although she was always cursing, it was true that she kept her promise.
“But if you die, the promise is over, right? I’ll do what I want from now on.”
Srring—
For some reason, an eerie sound echoed. The boy flinched at the sound, but lacking eyes made it hard to identify the source.
The girl kindly pressed a cold blade against the boy’s thin abdomen.
“Can you feel it? It’s a tanto. It cuts through steel easily since it’s the weapon I used.”
So? Are you planning to kill me?
The boy was confused, tilting his head. Blue hair flowed down and drew the girl’s gaze.
‘Aha, why are you still pretty even in this state…’
The girl gritted her teeth and raised the knife.
“Okay, I’m going to commit suicide with this from now on.” (A Girl)
“……?!!”
Suicide?!
That’s a sin.
The compassionate God who showed mercy even to a boy who had devoured his parents wouldn’t forgive suicide; it is something that should never be done.
The boy thrashed about angrily, shaking his head in protest.
“But you can’t see it because you have no eyes, and you can’t stop me because you have no arms? You’re just going to have to listen to me die in agony from there!” (A Girl)
In a state worse than a weeble, the girl wouldn’t stop her rant.
“So promise me that you’ll grant my wish as agreed.”
What kind of wish could warrant such threats?
Is she hoping for the world to end?
Despite being afraid, it didn’t take long for the boy to start nodding in agreement.
Saving a person comes first.
Above all, she was the only reliable person in his life. He couldn’t just stand by and watch her head to hell with suicide.
At the boy’s frantic gestures, the girl burst into giggles.
“Well then, start praying. You’re going to take over my body.” (A Girl)
“…!!”
“Since your body is dying, I’m saying come into mine. That way, you can live!”
The boy shook his head.
The girl, seemingly heedless, swung the knife around dramatically.
“If you don’t want to, I might as well just commit suicide! Should I just slice my wrist? Or perhaps do seppuku? If I sit on you and slice open my belly, my guts will spill everywhere—it’ll be quite the sight!”
That was a horrifically gruesome threat.
If he had had eyes, or at least one arm left, he might have been able to stop her somehow.
But right now, he could do nothing.
He had to either grant her wish or watch her commit suicide.
In this dire choice of death, there was effectively only one path for the boy.
The boy started to hum a tune.
It was the only song he remembered from his childhood: “The Island Baby.”
A song that had always made him feel the warmth of his mother’s embrace, but today it was filled with nothing but desperation.
“Right. That’s how it should be.”
A strange hand caressed the boy’s head.
He felt a warm sensation.
Perhaps because the only thing that had come down on his head was a hard stick, tears began to flow unexpectedly.
Down it trickled—pink with mingled blood—as tears wet his cheeks and dripped onto the floor.
“Blame me. But even if I’m blamed, I don’t want to just let you die.” (A Gilr)
Blame? How could I possibly blame you?
The boy, while humming and praying, coughed up blood.
To fulfill his last player, he had to sacrifice nearly all parts of his body: heart, brain, stomach, and more.
The repercussions began to unfold as he stumbled.
As the boy was about to collapse, he heard the girl’s voice whispering.
“Don’t die. Don’t give up. This is my body, so don’t use it recklessly. Bite your teeth together and take care of it. Treat it like it’s yours.”
A lullaby-like voice echoed softly.
“Don’t die. Take care of my body.”
The girl repeated those words over and over again.
Again and again.
Until the boy’s consciousness completely faded, and his last breath escaped him.
She didn’t stop until her own consciousness began to vanish as well.
“…You idiot. Being so kind is why you always get taken advantage of.”
The girl, staggering as she stood up, quickly broke the round capsule she had hurriedly brought.
Immediately a translucent aura rose up, surrounding her body.
A liquid clearer than water began to swell, warmly enveloping her.
With this, no one should be able to touch her until she woke up.
This would work.
Outwardly, the boy was dead, and the girl had survived.
No one would notice.
Since it wasn’t her own body, she couldn’t recklessly throw herself into danger.
The boy would finally be able to live his life again after ten years.
“Heh, parting ways like this… I wonder how he’ll react when he finds out he’s still alive…?”
Gradually, her consciousness began to fade away.
Like a sleep anesthetic, a hazy sensation quickly engulfed her mind.
“I’ll see you later…”
Consciousness cut off.
The girl’s body slumped and floated atop the liquid.
Psss—
The sphere grew dim and vanished along with the girl’s body.
It was a perfect death, and several days passed.