I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell
chapter-212

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The Antagonist IX

If someone asked me who the easiest Korean to find in the world was, I would pick Yu Ji-won without hesitation.

If the Korean Peninsula's civilization were still intact and the presidential system still running smoothly, then Ji-won would live near the Blue House.

If the Eastern Holy State went mad, marched south, and founded the Holy Korean Empire? Ji-won would be delivering a eulogy next to Mo Gwang-seo and Christ.

If former Busan Mayor Jung Sang-guk miraculously begged forgiveness from Lee Ha-yul, rallied the Zainichi Koreans, created a multinational coalition, and succeeded in returning to Busan—well, Ji-won would be standing on the bow of the first ship to arrive, her silver hair fluttering in the wind.

In the end, Yu Ji-won was like a living, breathing Yeouido weather vane. Wherever she lived was modern-day Yeouido, Bukaksan, and Yongsan all rolled into one. If she packed up and moved, it would signal a major shift in the power structure of the Korean Peninsula.

You know how animals sense an earthquake before it happens and run away? She’s that beast of power.

"This is the Magic Mirror."

Naturally, I was able to find Ji-won's lodging as easily as breathing.

It was exactly 11 meters away from the personal room of Noh Do-hwa, the National Road Management Corps leader.

"Oh. Have you visited this place before? After all, you've been alone for 2,000 years. Surely, you've seen quite a few places?"

"No.” The Saintess shook her head. “I've seen it with Clairvoyance, but this is my first time actually coming here."

The room’s interior was quite barren. Maps of the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago, both large and small, covered the walls. There were hand-carved chess pieces and an empty armchair by the window. The only decoration in the room, besides a bookshelf lined with Romance of the Three Kingdoms texts, was nothing at all.

By the way, every time the name of one of my favorite characters appeared in those books, it was neatly highlighted in yellow.

All and all, it was terrifying. For your sake and for the sake of those around you, I hope you never encounter a genius psychopath of Yu Ji-won’s caliber.

"Honestly, it still doesn’t feel real to be seeing this in person."

"Come again?” I asked, surprised. “What do you mean?"

"Around the time 1,000 years had passed, my perspective became fixed in a 'third-person omniscient' view."

Ah. Now that she mentioned it...

"Are you saying you look down at things like in StarCraft, controlling units from above?"

"Wait a second."

The Saintess briefly let go of my hand, only to grab it again. In the instant that Time Stop was activated, I was petrified while she flitted somewhere and returned.

"Yes, something like that."

"...Did you seriously stop time just now to look up what StarCraft was because you didn’t know?"

"Mr. Undertaker," the Saintess calmly replied, "it’s a bit unreasonable to expect me to understand a game that was released in 1998."

"......"

But you said you were my age!

You said you’d aged the same as me!

A wave of betrayal swept over me. How did StarCraft end up being labeled as Korea's national pastime? Why not make Yutnori the 'ancient game' and tease me for that?[1]

A nation that forgets its history and traditions has no future. There's a reason why the Korean civilization collapsed.

"Moreover, I don’t have an excellent memory like you do, so I forgot things like game names over a thousand years ago," the Saintess added.

"Ah. I apologize. My memory sometimes makes me inconsiderate of others' situations."

"It’s fine. But that’s why even now, it’s hard for me to look you in the eye."

"......"

"It probably won’t get any easier."

In the past, in the 107th cycle when she had fallen as an Executioner, the Saintess had said the exact same thing.

‘...That’s why you avoided meeting my eye and kept trying to cling to physical contact, wasn’t it?’

It was difficult for her to confirm her position through sight. From the Saintess’s point of view, everyone, including herself, was seen equally from an omniscient perspective. Because of that, she became more attached to physical touch.

Only the sensation of skin was proof that she still existed in this world.

‘Hmm. Hugging her was definitely the right call.’

While still carrying the Saintess princess-style, I used my aura to tear through the blanket covering the magic mirror, revealing a smooth, full-length mirror.

In a normal cycle, the mirror would’ve greeted me with a, "Why don’t you just die already?" the moment it saw my face―

"Mr. Undertaker, do you believe this mirror is a gateway to the Hidden World?"

"Yes. But it seems like it can’t perceive us because time is stopped."

Strangely, neither the Saintess nor I were reflected in the surface of the mirror.

I suddenly felt like a vampire.

I pressed my palm against the glass experimentally, but there was no reaction. My hand didn’t pass through, nor did anything unusual happen.

"Could you release the time stop for a moment?” I requested. “Two seconds should be enough. Let’s place our hands on the mirror together."

"Okay."

The Saintess blinked.

- Please die immediately.

As soon as time resumed, the mirror spouted out its automatic response, and our reflections appeared on the surface. However, even though we pressed our palms against the glass, our bodies didn’t pass through to the other side.

‘Did it fail?’

After two seconds, time froze again.

At first glance, it seemed like nothing had been achieved, but I wasn’t disappointed. When dealing with anomalies, you had to try everything.

"Saintess, could you bring in Tutorial Fairy No. 264 and Yu Ji-won?"

"Sure."

In the blink of an eye, the Saintess had disappeared, only to return with Fairy No. 264 and Yu Ji-won lying at my feet.

"I’m back," she greeted.

"Good work...?"

It was at that moment I realized something.

'Wait a second. The Saintess is still in my arms. Which means... she got down from my arms, went out, retrieved the two, then climbed back up and took my hand again?'

"......?"

The Saintess, who didn’t seem to notice, tilted her head at me with her usual blank expression (which, to be fair, was always her expression).

In my head, a 1920s-style Disney short film played automatically: A stone-faced Saintess getting down, retrieving the fairy and Yu Ji-won, then clambering back up into my arms and taking my hand once more.

"Is something wrong, Undertaker?"

"...Nothing at all. In any case, please hold the fairy’s hand and release the Time Stop."

"Alright."

0.1 seconds later.

"Holy shiiiii—!"

Freed from the petrification of time, the fairy screamed and convulsed.

"What the hell is going on?! My breathing...! No, it feels like my very existence is being coated with white paint in real time...! Ugh! It’s disgusting! Disgusting! The fairy’s dying! I’m dying! I’m already dead...!"

"Here. I’ll protect you with my aura."

"Ah. It’s suddenly so much more comfortable. The fairy lives again."

The fairy went from looking like her eyes were about to pop out of her head to shaking that head of hers violently. "Hoek! Comrade Secretary! What is that counter-revolutionary thing?! Just being in the same space is enough to crush me into paste...!"

"She’s an ally, so show some respect."

"Oho. Are you in your right mind, Comrade? This feels like the time when I heard the old Steel Secretary signed a non-aggression pact with an art school applicant."

"Then you know the Steel Secretary's specialty. Want me to call someone else?"

"Eek! Anything but a purge...! I swear eternal loyalty to the Secretary!"

I briefly explained the situation. "Alright, you need to set up a dream. Do you see this silver-haired human here? We’re going to enter her dream."

"Oho."

"The dream’s setting has to match the room we’re in right now. See this mirror? Make sure it appears in the dream."

"Understood... But are you really going to enter this being’s dream?" The fairy glanced nervously at the Saintess, beads of sweat rolling down her face. If this were a comic, I’d expect the word “gulp” to appear in a speech bubble.

"Yes."

"But Comrade, if we enter this being’s dream, my mind will be toasted like a 120% charcoal-flavored toast."

"I’ll protect you as best I can. Do a good job, and I’ll give you a hundred sausages."

"Only the brave win the prize!"

We listened to the lullaby and entered Ji-won’s dream. Once inside the dream, we found her sitting by the window, frozen in place.

So Time Stop still worked even in dreams.

The Saintess lifted her power.

"...Hmm?"

Ji-won blinked open her eyes.

"Undertaker, Your Excellency? And the Saintess too? What brings you both to my private quarters?"

"This is a dream, Ji-won."

"Excuse me?"

"Do you see that Tutorial Fairy? We entered your dream by riding the lullaby of the nightmare."

"Mm? Oh? Hmm...? Oho."

Ji-won looked around curiously.

"As expected of His Excellency, the Undertaker. As an awakener of your caliber, you can freely enter anyone's dream. No matter how sly a sycophant they may be in reality, they cannot hide their true nature in a dream. Who could ever conceal their essence from your shining, righteous eyes?"

"Please, just keep it to yourself."

"If Your Excellency has visited my dream, then there must be a reason—an urgent one, at that. How may I assist you?"

This one always knew how to word things when talking to me.

"First, let’s take a look at the magic mirror together."

"Understood."

Without a second thought, the power-hungry psychopath trudged over and yanked aside the curtain hiding the mirror. The Saintess, Ji-won, the fairy, and I all appeared on the surface at once, making the mirror seem incredibly cramped.

- Please die immediately.

- Please die immediately.

The mirror spat out the automated message repeatedly as if it had a stuck button.

"Now."

"Yes."

Simultaneously, the Saintess and I reached out.

- Please die imme...

Shatter.

With a soft cracking sound, both our wrists passed through the 'inside' of the mirror.

We hadn't broken the glass. The surface remained intact. It had simply made the sound of something shattering.

"......!"

The Saintess’s transparent aura flared for a brief moment.

A sign of surprise.

Having long since lost the ability to express emotions with her eyes or facial muscles, this was the Saintess’s unique language.

A subtle, invisible expression of Aura—no one but me could understand this lonely foreign tongue. So instead of responding with words, I spread my aura and pulled hers closer. I matched my sentences to her grammar.

‘Shall we go, Saintess?’

‘Yes, Mr. Undertaker.’

A wordless conversation.

Hand in hand, I took the first step into the mirror, and the Saintess followed, her steps light and sure.

Shatter.

Shatter.

Shatter!

Each step we took across the narrow width of the mirror was accompanied by countless shattering noises. The sound was likely the Outer God throwing a tantrum after detecting foreign intruders in its domain.

But the moment the Saintess followed me inside and froze time once more,

Sh――

even the sound of glass breaking came to a halt.

When I lifted my gaze, we were standing hand in hand in the middle of Seoul Station.

Hundreds of people were frozen in place, turned to stone. The world was painted in monochrome, like a scene from an old black-and-white film.

The Saintess’s power had covered the “reality.”

I smiled. "We did it."

There, in the center of the sky where the sun should have been, the Outer God and Goddess of the Night, Nut, hung frozen and still with a wide-open eye.

Footnotes:

[1] Yutnori is a traditional board game played in Korea, especially during Korean New Year.