The Divine Twilight's Return

Chapter 452: Star, Peter (2)

Chang-Sun had never expected to run into Hsan in this place, but in a sense, it was expected. The future timelines that Chang-Sun had seen through Sinmara included both his own possible futures, and timelines that contained other Chang-Suns. Thus, other Chang-Suns had likely already gone through the same events in parallel universes.

That was how it was possible for a timeline where Chang-Sun became Hsan to exist among the infinite future timelines. Hsan seemed to be a high-class Outer Celestial, so he had to have freed himself from the restrictions of time and space long ago. It was in no way odd that Hsan could observe Chang-Sun too.

No, considering that Hsan’s goal was to change something called a turning point, perhaps he wanted Chang-Sun to visit him...! The possibility crossed Chang-Sun’s mind for a moment, but he quickly realized that his speculation was wrong. ‘No, he isn’t looking at me.’

It looked as if Hsan was seeing something behind Chang-Sun, so he instinctively looked in the same direction. That was when he met a familiar stranger...

Tap, tap!

『Good to see you, Hsan.』

Chang-Sun narrowed his eyes. ‘Peter.’

Chang-Sun had seen the man from the past of Simon Magus and Ithaca, but he had not been able to observe Peter’s appearance, which had been cast in shadow. Although Peter’s exact appearance was still unclear due to his hooded robe, he had a slender figure. For some reason, Chang-Sun felt that he resembled Ithaca.

Gender, appearance, aura... Everything about Peter and Ithaca was different, so why did Chang-Sun have such an impression?

『It was you who sent Ithaca to me, wasn’t it?』

Hsan spoke as he looked at Peter with emotionless eyes.

『That is right.』

Peter answered, looking bitter as if he was suppressing his sadness.

‘Did this take place after Hsan took Ithaca?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

Judging from the conversation and current scenery, Chang-Sun could tell that the conversation was from not long after Hsan had sent Ithaca to join samsara.

『The reason was to create a turning point—no, a singularity point. Isn’t that right?』

Hsan voiced his speculation.

『You speak as if I’m the only one who hopes for that.』

『It’s just a remnant of my distant past that I barely remember anymore』

『But it’s a remnant you have lingering feelings about, at least a little bit.』

『...Lingering feelings, huh?』

Hsan looked elsewhere with his hands clasped behind his back.

<Darkness> was visible in the distance, but it was different from the Great Universe’s dark region. The inside of the Great Universe was filled with numerous galaxies, so beautiful starlight shone through all over.

In contrast, the world of Nyx, where Hsan was, did not share the same luxury. Everything was dark and chaotic, so no laws of nature could be established here. That was why beings who had lived in Nyx for a long time went mad, because no one could survive in this empty world without losing their sanity. However, Hsan had maintained his sanity unlike the other Celestials, and Peter seemed to know the reason for it.

『Yeah, of course, I have lingering feelings. To fight that thing... I struggled very hard... and reached where I am now.』

Hsan answered slowly, an emotional look briefly appearing on his face. However, the look lasted only for a second, as fighting through an eternity of struggle had long since caused Hsan’s emotions to fade.

『But I still haven’t found a way.』

Hsan looked at something, despite being in a world where nothing but darkness existed. Then, he turned back slightly and looked into Peter’s eyes. As they locked gazes...

...Chang-Sun was struck with the impression that both Hsan and Peter resembled each other. Their ways of speaking and personalities looked different, but their gestures and habits were subtly similar.

‘No way...’ Chang-Sun stood up straight as a possibility crossed his mind.

Peter had made many preparations for Chang-Sun’s journey until now. Ithaca’s reincarnation, Hsan’s intervention, the golden key, the encounter with Simon Magus, observing future timelines... Those preparations had been made as if Peter already knew the entirety of Chang-Sun’s journey, which was also why Peter had the nickname of ‘Prophet’.

Chang-Sun had believed that Peter could see the future as his nickname implied, but what if he was wrong? What if Peter had come to the past from the distant future, and naturally knew all about Chang-Sun’s journey? When he reached that conclusion, Chang-Sun felt suffocated. If his guess was correct, he was a true sinner.

『Can you find it?』

Hsan spoke with a face that resembled Peter’s.

『Of course.』

Peter nodded with a face that looked like Hsan’s and Ithaca’s.

『Of course I can, ■■■. That is why I’m running around like this.』

The censored part weighed heavily on Chang-Sun’s heart.

『Ha! It doesn’t really feel great to hear that from a child who didn’t exist in my past.』

Hsan grumbled.

『But isn’t it true that I could have been in your past?』

Peter continued to smile gently as he replied.

『I hate what-ifs. They only eat away at a person.』

『I don’t think someone who has lived until now for just such a what-if can say that.』

『...Hmph!』

Hsan turned away, but Chang-Sun did not miss how the ridge of his nose had slightly reddened.

『But thank you for your help, ■■■. Your assistance was a huge relief, and I think I can finish my preparations now.』

『I already told you this, but I still don’t agree with this whole thing. I don’t even know if the me from the distant past can manage to do that.』

『And yet, you want your past self to succeed. That’s all I need to know.』

Peter laughed quietly.

After gazing at Peter, Hsan clicked his tongue and waved his hand in the air. Peter stretched out his arms, and seven scrolls fell into them. Peter’s eyes sparkled as he realized what they were; they were pieces of the <First Star’s Fragment>. Ithaca had once owned that fragment, but Hsan had received it from her. The energy mass, which existed in every Worldline, had been split into seven pieces; one was sealed in each scroll. It seemed that this was how the [Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan] had been dispersed across the Worldline.

『You need those, don’t you? Take them.』

『...I will!』

Peter held them close to his chest as if he were holding onto valuable treasures, then quietly turned away to leave. He was only here to express his gratitude to Hsan, and still had a lot of work to do.

『Lee ■■.』

Hsan suddenly spoke a name, causing Peter to come to a halt in surprise. It was Peter’s name, from a past he barely remembered anymore. Hsan’s voice as he spoke of the name...sounded just like a part of Peter’s ordinary life that he wished to return to/

『Be careful.』

Hsan gave Peter a warning. His voice remained emotionless, but Peter was still happy.

Drip!

『...What is wrong with me? I’m sorry about this.』

Peter quickly wiped the tears rolling off his cheeks and tried his best to smile as he replied.

『I’ll be careful. See you next time.』

Paaah―!

Peter bowed deeply and quietly vanished. After watching where Peter had been for a while, Hsan turned to look at the <Darkness> again, his eyes filled with an indescribable mix of turbulent emotions.

.

.

.

Chang-Sun finished watching the future encounter between Hsan and Peter, but stood blankly for a long time, stunned. Just as Hsan’s eyes were filled with various emotions, all sorts of thoughts ran chaotically through Chang-Sun’s head, but he eventually came to a conclusion.

‘...I need to follow up on this.’ ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ ɴovᴇl(F)ɪre.ɴet

Chang-Sun was sure of it. There was no need to look into any more future timelines, because the timeline in which the encounter between Hsan and Peter had occurred was the world of hope that Bel-Marduk had mentioned. However, it was still not enough, and Chang-Sun needed more clues.

What could Chang-Sun do for more clues? He briefly considered looking for more future timelines related to Hsan, but it was unnecessary. Hsan could not reach Eros right now due to the law of causality, so Chang-Sun’s only possible lead right now was Peter. The place Peter was likely to head next was not the distant future, however.

‘It’s the past,’ Chang-Sun thought as he began to look toward the past. Countless timelines became visible below his feet, connected to one another in complex patterns.

[You have activated the Authority ‘Past-Seeing’ of your Subordinate ‘Sinmara’!]

『H-Hey! Master!』

『I feel as if all my circuits are already burning up, but you’re asking me to process the past?! Stop bullying your AI, please!』

Sinmara and [Wait] hurriedly shouted, but Chang-Sun had no time to pay attention to them.

[Processing.]

[Scanning all your past causations and the causations of Worldline #801 and #802.]

Various images flashed before Chang-Sun’s eyes like a film, and he picked out everything that was relevant to Peter.

『So you’re the famous Prophet who wants to give me a message, huh?』

This was a scene from the ancient past, not long since Worldline #801’s creation. Bestla, the ancestor and monarch of all Giants, had been in the middle of a war of conquest to solidify her footing as a Celestial King.

Various Giant warriors stood near Bestla. Fire Giants emanated thick clouds of sulfur, while Frost Giants watched Peter with cold eyes. There were also other Giants with distinct and bizarre appearances.

Bestla and her Giants were in the middle of a feast, after destroying a <Society> that had ignored the Giants’ advice to surrender. That was when an unidentified guest had requested to meet her, and Bestla had readily allowed the guest to enter.

Of course, Bestla’s subordinates had dissuaded her, as an unplanned audience could be an attempt by their enemies to assassinate her, but Bestla had not minded one bit; to her, that would only be a great pretext to wreak more destruction.

Watching Bestla confidently, Peter brought up a subject that would normally be difficult to even mention in front of her.

『You’ll fail in accomplishing your ambition, Bestla.』

That was how Bestla had met Peter for the first time. It was also probably how Chang-Sun had discovered [Peter’s Key] in ‘Bestla’s Tomb’. Although he thought he would be able to learn more about the history of [Peter’s Key] and understand it better if he watched the conversation for longer...

‘No, I have to go a little further.’

There were several things that Chang-Sun had to confirm first, which were Peter’s identity and goal. And...

‘How exactly is he related to me and Ithaca?’

[Scanning the more distant past!]

[Scanning the future!]

[Scanning the present!]

...

[The Authorities ‘Past-Seeing’, ‘Present-Seeing’, and ‘Future-Seeing’ are active!]

[All timelines lay beneath your feet.]

Peter was a time traveler who had existed in the distant past, but was presumed to be from the far future. Thus, Chang-Sun needed to look at every part of the timelines in detail. The world around Chang-Sun quickly began to spin again.