I’m not a Regressor

I’m Not a Regressor

Chapter 240: Baptism of Stars (2)

Didn’t people say that time flew when you were having fun? A week passed in the blink of an eye while Ohjin spent time at home chatting with Ha-eun and waiting for the baptism.

“Ugh.” He woke up early in the morning and stretched before turning to Ha-eun, who was asleep next to him, and lightly stroking her hair. Isabella hadn’t bothered them for the past week, and Vega was busy preparing for the baptism, so he’d spent the entire time alone with her.

They watched movies, went shopping, and spent every moment they could in each other’s company—it was such a joyous time that he wouldn’t have been able to even dream of it a year or two prior.

“…” He looked down at her and seemed somewhat sad. Would he forget such joyous memories someday? ‘It’s alright.’ Losing someone precious was much more painful than losing a memory. ‘I can keep making new memories, after all.’ He smiled and stroked her cheek.

She curled up like a cat and rubbed her cheek against his hand.

“Still, it’d be best to avoid using Heaven Unfolding.” Ohjin got up and changed his clothes. It wasn’t like he was strictly ruling out using the ability, but he wanted to avoid it if he could ‘I don’t want to lose my virginity three times.’

A smirk crept onto his face as he left the room. "Is it spring?" Winter had ended, and a warm spring breeze took its place. That meant a year and six months had passed since he entered the gate with Shinhyuk and awakened the Black Heaven.

His life had changed beyond recognition in that time, though it had been for the better so far. ‘Now I have to protect it.’ He had so many things he enjoyed in life that he needed that much more power to protect them.

"Let's go." Ohjin strolled through the drifting cherry blossoms toward the sanctuary.

* * *

“You've arrived!” Vega came out to greet him as soon as he entered.

“Why aren’t you in the shrine?” he asked.

“I wanted to see you as soon as possible,” she said before giving him a smile as warm as the breeze and stroking his head.

Ohjin was used to such childish treatment, but he felt a bit embarrassed and couldn’t help but awkwardly smile and scratch his cheek.

“Are you embarrassed?” Step by step, she moved closer and smiled at him. “Fufu. Come here. I haven’t hugged you in a long time.” Just when she was about to wrap her arms around him…

“Aack! Vega, you’re so mean!” A woman with pink, bobbed hair cheerfully shouted and ran toward them.

Spica, the Celestial of Virgo…

If Vega’s atmosphere was reminiscent of the spring breeze, then Spica’s was as bright and cheerful as the midsummer sun.

"Long time no see! This is the first time since the proxy battle." Spica’s eyes sparkled as she approached. "Hehe. Do you know how surprised I was back then? You suddenly grabbed your arm and ripped it off!"

Suddenly, chatter filled their ears.

“…”

“Huh? What’s with that expression?” Spica stopped her incessant chatter and shuddered.

Ohjin couldn’t see Vega’s expression since she’d turned away from him, but it wasn’t difficult for him to guess what it was based on how Spica was trembling.

“You still talk a lot,” Vega said. “Too much.”

“Oh… Um, s-sorry.” Spica visibly drooped and faltered.

Vega gave a deep sigh and pulled on Ohjin’s hand. “Follow this lady, the celestials who’ll be participating in the baptism are waiting for you.”

"Huh? Weren't only Vega and Deneb coming?" Ohjin asked.

“There were too many celestials who said they wanted to see you at the baptism, so I had to narrow down the list a little.”

"How many people are participating?”

“There are six of us.”

Six was an ambiguous number that could’ve both been a lot and a few at the same time.

"Why exactly six?" Ohjin asked.

“It has a slight ritualistic meaning. Aren’t there Seven Stars? Six celestials gather to bless you and acknowledge you as the seventh. It’s something like that, I suppose.”

"Aha!" Ohjin nodded as if he understood.

"Oh,” Vega added on. “Just so you know, the blessing’s effect also increases depending on who those six celestials are!"

Spica said, "You can look forward to it since Vega and Deneb are participating in the ceremony."

"Who else will participate?" he asked.

Spica smiled brightly, pointing a finger at herself. "First of all, me! I’m still one of the 12 zodiacs, so the blessing will have a pretty sweet effect!”

Did that mean that the blessing was more effective depending on the status of the celestials? If so, then it meant that, since two of the North Stars were participating, it would certainly be worth looking forward to.

"Who else?" Ohjin asked.

"Hehe. I'll explain it to you when we meet them!" Spica ran forward with a cheerful smile on her face.

They guided Ohjin to an area where three other celestials were already waiting.

‘Is Deneb not here yet?’ Ohjin wondered as he approached the three others.

A middle-aged man with a loud voice came up and gave a booming laugh. “Hahaha! So, you’re that famous Lightning Wolf! I watched the proxy battle, you know!”

He had red-tinted skin and horns sprouted from both sides of his head. One could mistake him for a devil if they didn’t know he was a celestial. "I am Aldebaran, the Celestial of Taurus! Congratulations on being chosen as one of the Seven Stars!"

"I'm Gwon Ohjin. Nice to meet you." Ohjin bowed his head and shook Aldebaran’s pot-lid-sized hand.

"Come to think of it, you seem to have a friendship with some of my apostles!" the celestial exclaimed.

"Oh, are you talking about Manager Han?" Ohjin asked.

"And there's one more person in Japan, isn't there?"

Was he talking about Sakaki Ryo? "Yes, I would consider him a friend."

"Hehe. Those two are apostles I have great expectations for, so please continue to take care of them!”

“Of course.”

* * *

Translator - Rainypup

Proofreader - ilafy

* * *

He hadn’t been in touch with Sakaki Ryo lately, but he had talked to Manager Han on the phone about the baptism just that morning

"Are you done with your greeting?" A man with a blank expression asked. He had the aura of a sharp and well-maintained blade; the long scar across his right eye gave him a charismatic air. “I am Regulus, the Celestial of Leo.”

Naturally, he thought of Namgung Hui, whom he had seen a while ago.

"I heard that there was friction between you and one of my apostles recently," the celestial said.

Ohjin shrugged his shoulders and maintained a calm expression like it wasn’t a big deal. "It was only a slight disagreement."

“…” Regulus closed his eyes and gently said, “A stigma is a seed—a seed that leaves the tree and flies far away eventually takes root on its own and begins to sprout independently.”

“…?” What did he mean to say?

“So…” Regulus dodged Ohjin’s gaze and couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence.

“What he means is that there’s nothing he can do about the shit his apostle did!” Spica exclaimed.

Regulus gave her a bewildered look. "Keuk! Shut up, Spica!"

Spica burst into giggles and stuck out her tongue.

“If it’s about Namgung Hui, you don’t have to worry.” Ohjin shook his head and smirked. He knew that celestials couldn’t dictate their Awakeners’ personalities.

Regulus loudly cleared his throat before continuing. "Still, parents are somewhat responsible for their children's mistakes. I'm sorry."

"That's alright, and it's not like I have only negative relations with your Awakeners.”

“Oh. Come to think of it,” Regulus said, “I’ve heard that kid talk about you a few times.” He was, of course, referring to Lee Woohyuk.

"Lee Woohyuk… That child will rise to a higher peak." A calm smile appeared on Regulus’s face—like he was a father thinking about his second son getting accepted into the most prestigious national university after struggling to fix the mistakes of the eldest.

‘It seems that celestials commonly consider their apostles to be their children.’ There were a few exceptions where the celestials didn’t seem to care at all, of course, such as with Draco.

“Am I the last one?” The woman standing in the back walked forward. She seemed to be a goddess. Blonde hair extended down to her feet, and she was beautiful enough to attract attention anywhere she went—though slightly inferior to Vega. "Nice to meet you. I am the Celestial of Aries, Ari." She approached Ohjin and warmly smiled.

Ohjin’s eyes shook as he noticed how bold her dress was—it resembled something worn in ancient Rome and displayed her cleavage.

"Fufu. Where are you looking?" Ari gave him an alluring smile and gently cupped her hands over her chest.

When Ohjin tried to look away and awkwardly coughed…

"I'm kidding. Feel free to look. Or..." She smiled and pulled on Ohjin’s hand. “Would you prefer to touch?”

Thud—

Something knocked Ari’s hand away.

“Take your hands off!” Vega exclaimed.

"Oh, my, it was just a light prank. No need to be so—"

“I told you to take your hands off!”

Kzzzzzt—!

Blue lightning wrapped around Vega’s body, and an eerie light shone in her golden eyes as the area around them started to shake.

“L-lady Vega?” Ari looked flustered and quickly distanced herself from Ohjin.

Vega pulled Ohjin by his arm and gave both Ari and Spica a wary glare. It looked like she was a mother kangaroo trying to protect her babies from stray cats.

With a sigh, a boy wearing expensive treasures all over his body approached. "Really... who is calling who a kid?”

“Hmm. You’re here, Deneb?”

“What, are you going to keep him by your side forever?”

“Shut up.” Vega hugged Ohjin's arm.

Deneb sighed and took out a blue gem. "Let's get ready to go."

“Alright.”

Deneb placed the blue gem in the center of the group.

"Are we going to the Milky Way Spring now?" Ohjin asked.

“That’s right,” Vega replied.

The six celestials reached for the blue gem and concentrated their mana into it, causing the wind to howl.

Wooooooooong—!

A colorful aurora covered the sky and cracked apart. Ohjin watched in amazement as the beautiful fissure in the night sky unfolded into a sparkling display of the Milky Way. Such a fissure could only be opened when six celestials joined forces.

“Just where is the Milky Way Spring and why is it so hard to get to?” he asked.

“The Milky Way Spring is where the first celestial was born in the distant past,” Vega explained.

"The first celestial?" If it was the first Celestial, then that had to mean…

“That’s right.” Vega toward the countless twinkling stars in the fissure.

“It is where Polaris, the Celestial of the Little Dipper, was born.”