NOVEL NEXT Chapter 216
Chapter 216
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The Nameless One II
The original Undertaker from the first cycle, whom I couldn’t remember at all. For the sake of convenience, let’s call him the Original Undertaker, Undertaker: The Beginning, or Undertaker the First.
"Teacher, you said you wanted to call him something simple, but doesn't that sound way too grand?"
The person grumbling had orange hair thrown up in a ponytail, wore a white sailor uniform, and sported Jordan basketball shoes. It was none other than Baekhwa Girls' High School Student Council President, Cheon Yo-hwa, a VIP guest specifically invited to participate in this Original Undertaker "Spot the Difference" project.
"Anyway, Yo-hwa, I really need your help to piece together the Original Undertaker. Well, more accurately, I need assistance from Infinite Void."
"Ehck." Yo-hwa made a clearly displeased face. Despite how expressive she was, it never seemed to offend others—one of her curious traits. "Infinite Void? Why her?"
"Well, the Original Undertaker that appears in other people's dreams... How should I put it... The resolution is poor."I led Cheon Yo-hwa through several dreamscapes and showed her the blurry silhouette that was supposedly the Original Undertaker.
"Oh, it's real! It’s like looking at an old black-and-white photo that hasn’t been restored yet!"
"Right?"
"Yeah! But even with this poor quality, you can tell right away—this little guy is adorable! Teacher, you used to wear a fuzzy hat when you were younger, huh? Hehe! Hehehe!"
Though she had been somewhat grossed out by the mention of Infinite Void, Yo-hwa’s mood quickly lifted the moment she got a peek at my childhood self. With loud exclamations, she started examining the silhouette from every possible angle, moving around me excitedly.
I cleared my throat. "As of now, we’ve found 13 dreams featuring the Original Undertaker. This one shows the youngest version of him. The Original Undertaker that appears in these dreams is generally younger than a college student."
"Ugh, just look at those chubby cheeks! So cute! Teacher, is there no way to record these dreams, like take a video and keep it?"
"You’re trying to show off to Dang Seo-rin, aren't you? Please, control yourself."
"Tsk." Yo-hwa’s cheeks puffed up like a hamster.
"Anyway, call Infinite Void for a moment. I’m thinking of restoring the image quality based on the data that Infinite Void accumulated."
"Ugh... I hate loosening that bastard’s leash even a little. But, fine. For the chance to see your childhood self up close... I’ll allow it. Give me a second!"
Yo-hwa closed her eyes, and then, slip—the hairband tying up her ponytail loosened, causing her orange hair to cascade down.
Blink.
When her eyes reopened, her pupils and irises were gone. Only a dark, eerie red remained, staring back at me.
"Hello, sunbae."
A faint smile spread across the red well of her eyes.
"Been a while. Missed me?"
"Been a while. Let’s skip the small talk."
"Oh, but sunbae, you’re the one holding my hand, not the other way around."
Indeed.
Whether in the Void or in dreams, it was better to hold hands with your companions to avoid getting lost.
I scoffed and let go. Then Infinite Void, sealed within Cheon Yo-hwa’s form, shrugged.
"You’re so cold. Remember, I was born from this girl’s personality because I got caught up in your schemes. It hurts to be treated this way by someone I like."
"Thank you for the feedback. I’ll express my disinterest even more clearly from now on. Now, you know why you’re here, right?"
"Yeah. I’ve been watching the whole time." Infinite Void tapped its lips thoughtfully. "But you know, it’s hard for me to work at full capacity. After all, sunbae, you’ve placed so many seals on me, like Doppelganger, Split Personality, and Weakened Ally."
"You brought that on yourself."
"Oh, come on. Split Personality was all part of your master plan, wasn’t it? By giving this girl a new name, you demoted me to being a mere second personality. Only someone as wickedly cunning as you could come up with that strategy."
"......"
"Not that I mind my current state. You know, they say it's better to be dumb than smart when trying to be happy. Self-awareness is fun in its own way."
I sighed. "Even for you, gathering data on my childhood should be intriguing, right? So, cooperate."
"Ah, fair point. Sure thing."
The agreement came more easily than expected.
Infinite Void reached out and touched the fuzzy hat of the Original Undertaker with its fingertips.
Crackle!
The surroundings crackled to life. The faces of the passersby, the size of the streetlights, and the shapes of the trees all began to warp. Even the bark of the trees seemed to grow detailed veins.
"Hold on a second. Ugh, this used to be easier when I had the Baku working under me. Now, it’s a bit overwhelming thanks to a certain someone."
"Shall I make it even harder?"
"No thanks. Ah, got it. This is the best I can do."
With those words, the scene sharpened, becoming as detailed as reality, though the colors seemed slightly muted as if a brown filter had been laid over everything.
The blurry silhouette of the Original Undertaker’s face became clear.
"......"
It was an ordinary child's face. Aside from the fact that his hat was a bit large and unusual, there were no distinguishing features. Just a regular elementary school boy.
Completely unaware that he was fated to endure thousands, no, tens of thousands of years in the future.
"...Is this really me?"
"Didn’t the Baku tell you? They probably cross-referenced your name and personal info."
"Hmm."
"If you don’t trust them, I can access the Baku's data myself and double-check for you."
I ignored that nonsense. "More importantly."
"Hm?"
"That woman holding hands with the boy here—she looks like my mother."
The elementary school boy was walking hand-in-hand with his mom. After confirming the appearance of the Original Undertaker, I immediately tried to examine her face as well, but...
"Why can’t I see her face?"
Her face was missing.
More precisely, the "noise" Infinite Void had spread throughout the dream to restore the image wouldn’t clear around her face. In the center of the noise, the words [404 - Not Found] flickered. It was probably Infinite Void’s handiwork.
"Huh?" Infinite Void tilted its head at my question, already perched on a railing, swinging its legs. "Are you really asking because you don’t know, sunbae? I thought you had a hunch."
"......"
"Time Seal. She’s gone. There’s no data left. Actually, her entire outfit should be covered in noise too, but I photoshopped it a bit to fill in the blanks."
So it was as I thought.
I wasn’t particularly disappointed. How could I grieve over the loss of a memory that no longer existed?
"I see. Let’s move on to the next dream."
"Yes, sunbae."
Using Infinite Void, I pressed on in search of the Original Undertaker.
Not only the 13 dreams I had already discovered, but in any dream where I could successfully restore the image, I tracked down more characters and unearthed their dreams as well.
At first, in the perspective of the dream’s owner, the Original Undertaker was merely a distant extra walking past a store. But as I traced each connection in these dreams, his proximity to the dream owner changed.
From a ‘customer who bought a hamburger with friends’ to ‘a kid who had a snowball fight near the same apartment’ to ‘a student in the neighboring class when I taught third grade’ and, eventually, ‘a casual friend of a friend who occasionally hung out with us’.
But then...
"Huh?"
Just as the Original Undertaker was about to go from ‘friend of a friend’ to ‘close friend,’ Infinite Void hit an invisible snag.
"Sunbae, this one’s deleted too."
"Deleted? You mean Time Sealed?"
"Yeah. Look, your high school friend."
The friend walking home from school with the Original Undertaker was now distorted by noise, just like my mother. This time, not only the face but the entire body was covered in static, as if Infinite Void couldn’t be bothered to edit it properly. In this hyper-realistic dreamscape, only the friend’s outline stood out unnaturally, with the words [404 - Not Found] displayed over it.
In conclusion, the Original Undertaker wasn’t actually walking home with a friend. To anyone else, it would look like he was smiling and talking to "empty space."
"Uhhh."
"......"
"Somehow, I think I know exactly where this is going."
The same pattern repeated over and over.
I could trace the Original Undertaker as a ‘friend of a friend,’ a ‘neighbor of a neighbor,’ or even someone in the next apartment. But no matter how close I got, at the final step, I always hit a [404] error.
No matter how precisely the dreams were restored, or how carefully I traced the human relationships, the result was always the same. In the end, the Original Undertaker would always be smiling and talking to "empty space."
In other words.
"Wow, sunbae, you really erased everyone around you, huh? How’d you even manage that?"
No one could get past a certain point with the Original Undertaker.
He had no family. No relatives. No friends. No acquaintances.
Only the remnants of distant relationships—those that could barely be considered extras—remained, like vestigial organs.
In other words, from the perspective of the people in the world, the Original Undertaker was just an extra in their lives, too.
He had no ties.
No connections.
He was the nameless one.
This wasn’t just in the legal sense of the term. In the truest, most objective sense, the Undertaker of the first cycle was entirely excluded from the web of human relationships on Earth. It was almost awe-inspiring how perfectly he had erased himself from existence, leaving no connections behind.
"Aaah. No wonder I was powerless against you when I was Infinite Void. This explains so much."
In a hospital hallway, Yo-hwa leaned against the wall, watching the sparse crowd of patients passing by. This place was presumably where my mother had once worked. But it didn’t provide much useful information. All I could deduce was that my mother had likely been a nurse. And even that conclusion was met with a [404] error.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when I was a Void God, I governed over all matter and data, right? But compared to other humans, sunbae had no data at all. I couldn’t calculate your behavioral patterns."
"Hmm."
"And on top of that, that weapon you carry around—Do-hwa, right? It gives off a similar vibe. Seriously, your compatibility with me was awful. It’s practically cheating."
I stood next to Infinite Void in the hospital hallway, arms crossed, muttering to myself. "...Something feels off."
"Huh? What’s wrong?"
"If I had truly gone this far to erase everyone around me with the Time Seal, then there should be Crystal Tombstones everywhere related to those people."
"Crystal Tombstones...? Oh, you mean those things only you can see, and that no one can enter without your permission?"
I nodded. "I’ve searched nearly all the Crystal Tombstones in Korea, but I haven’t found a single one belonging to my family, my friends, or any of my acquaintances. Isn’t that odd? Given how much we’ve explored, at least one should’ve turned up by now."
"Hmm..."
"And more importantly, the fact that I don’t have any memories from before the 4th cycle is strange as well. Even if I erased my mother with the Time Seal, I should still retain memories of her."
"Wasn’t that thousands of years ago? Isn’t it natural to forget?"
"No, it’s not."
I used my Aura like ink to write words into the air.
"I gained the Complete Memory ability in the 5th cycle. At that point, I shouldn’t have completely forgotten about my mother. Not enough time had passed for that."
"Right..."
"So, by the 5th cycle, all the memories I had should have been permanently preserved by the Complete Memory ability. Things like my mother’s face from the dream, or memories of my family." I frowned. "It makes no sense that I’d completely forget such important memories."
"...Oh?"
Infinite Void’s expression grew intrigued.
"...You’re right. By now, it might be a distant past, but to the 4th cycle version of you, this was only a few years ago. No matter how bad a person’s memory is, it’s impossible to completely forget family and friends."
"Exactly." My eyes narrowed. "There’s another reason why the Undertaker of the 1st cycle has been completely erased."
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