Record of a Thousand Lives

The boundary between life and death.

Kang Yoon-soo opened her eyes.

‘This place……. ’

It was a place I was used to getting bored with.

A blacksmith's workshop.

It's so worn out and humble that no one uses it.

The restart point of life.

It was a place where he would return every time he was killed by the Mage.

‘...... I won't be able to come back now. ’

At first, I wondered if he had returned to the past again.

However, it was not a regression.

The date indicated on the handset was now, and above all, the workshop was unfamiliar.

All objects were lively but unrealistic.

The shape of the object was blurry but abstract somewhere.

I felt strongly that this was not the reality I knew.

‘I'm definitely dead. ’

At the last moment, the emperor's grip lowers and presses down on him.

Kang Yoon-soo examined his body.

Your right arm is still severed, and the hole in your stomach cracks open.

But there was no pain at all.

Not a drop of blood flowed.

‘I don't know what happened. ’

Kang Yoon-soo decided to move.

It was when I opened the door and left the workshop.

“ ……. ”

He faced an incredible sight.

People gather around the fire under a pale crescent.

Their wounds were deep and brutal.

Some had a hole in their neck or a man with a piercing heart.

They commonly had unreasonable eyes like corpses.

But he was surprised because they all looked familiar.

The largest of them suddenly stood up.

“I remember your face! ”

The bruises on his cheeks were disfiguring with long cuts and a piercing wound to his neck.

“Clearly. I've been waiting to see the man who killed me again. ”

Heavy anger stares at you with powerful eyes.

Kang Yoon-soo narrowed her eyes.

“Hwang Yong-ho.”

Kang Yoon-soo, who was alone in the workshop, was leading the charge.

Kang Yoon-soo looked after the people who were gathered around the impossible.

‘The first villains I killed on my return. ’

Why are they here when they're already dead?

Kang Yoon-soo was not interested in reuniting with his killers.

Rather, I doubt this is the world of the dead.

“Where is this place? ”

“Shut up and die! ”

Hwang Yong-ho rushed toward him with a huge forward.

However, it was a slow motion in Kang Yoon-soo's eyes.

He dodges lightly and stretches out his left arm to counterattack.

“ ……! ”

Suddenly, the appearance of Hwang Yong-ho in front of my eyes suddenly disappeared.

When Kang Yoon-soo was dumbfounded, other evil men looked frightened.

“Why did he suddenly disappear? And what are you? ”

But the wicked did not answer his question.

A gentle breeze blows in the wilderness and they vanish.

It was time to stare at Kang Yoon-soo suddenly empty in front of his eyes.

“Oh, my God. Why are you here already? ”

I heard an annoying voice.

Turning his head, a man frowns and walks.

He was a young man with very dark black hair and green eyes.

The young man was dressed in a dark suit, but it was uniquely similar to the world in which Kang Yoon-soo originally lived.

Kang Yoon-soo was cautious.

“Who are you? ”

“Don't you respect me when I'm new? ”

“No.”

“What?"

“Identify yourself first. ”

The young man frowned.

He was about the same age as himself, but the impression was mild and clean.

“I knew it, but he's not that friendly. ”

The young man muttered.

“Hey, uh, um... I'll do the same for you. You're not supposed to be here. ”

“Somewhere here. ”

“The boundary between the world and the system. One who has no clear soul or life will come here. ”

Kang Yoon-soo looked around again.

It feels similar to Sylphia, but different somewhere.

It reminded me of a time when I was a soul in the orderly trials, but the atmosphere was different from then.

“Am I dead? ”

“It's like that now, but maybe it won't. ”

“What are you talking about? ”

“You shouldn't be here. And I'm here for you. From now on, you and I must accompany each other. ”

Kang Yoon-soo was instinctively alert.

“Are you going to take me to the Order? ”

“What do I look like, the Grim Reaper? ”

The young man was confused.

Somehow, Kang Yoon-soo strangely felt that he should accompany him.

It wasn't just an intuition.

I needed a companion in a strange place.

After accompanying him, he decided to fall if he was not trustworthy.

“Your name was Kang Yoon-soo. ”

The young man already knew himself.

Kang Yoon-soo asked.

“What are you? ”

“You don't need to know that. ”

The young man answered helplessly.

Kang Yoon-soo raised her eyebrows.

“So what do I call you? ”

The young man froze.

“Just call it death. I'm sort of like that to you. ”

Death.

Kang Yoon-soo suddenly remembered the emperor, but decided to follow the young man.

* * *

Kang Yoon-soo lived with death.

I walked through the barren wasteland all day and camped at night.

Even after more than a week passed here, the time indicated on the terminal remained the same.

The handset may not fail, but there is no guarantee that it has stalled until real-time.

“Where are we going? ”

“Just follow me. ”

Death didn't even tell me where he was going.

It was similar to reality, but the space was abstract and constantly changing.

So it was inconvenient to find the way.

Death has been asking questions every night.

“How did you end up dead? ”

If it were normal, I would ignore it.

But strangely, death shook my heart.

Kang Yoon-soo answered me every time death asked me a question.

“I was killed by the Mage. ”

“The Magician? Tell me what it is. ”

Kang Yoon-soo told me about her situation.

The emperor who has always killed himself has lived a thousand lives because of him.

Death listens to the story with no regrets or mourning.

“It's morning. Let's walk. ”

One night after talking, I quickly remembered.

There was no need for sleep here.

“Why don't you walk at night? ”

“Spirits who cannot go to the Order at night and hold grudges against you are wandering around. Just like the other bad guys. ”

There were many people killed by Kang Yun-su.

As long as he died without regrets, like Cartheon or Argoric, he was fine.

But there are thousands of monsters that have been killed for a reward.

‘We must be careful at night. ’

They walked for a long time and talked for a long time.

When Kang Yoon-soo cut his throat, death gave him a cold bottle of wine.

Suddenly, I didn't know where I got the liquor, but Kang Yoon-soo didn't ask.

“In the end, I couldn't protect anyone. ”

Kang Yoon-soo swallowed a sip of alcohol.

“I failed. It only hurt the emperor a little. ”

Two sips, three sips, four sips.

The bottle quickly emptied.

“For the 10,000th time in my life, I told myself to destroy fate. But I couldn't find an answer to that. ”

The bottle is completely empty.

Death has suddenly asked a question.

“Was it the death you wanted? ”

“No.”

Kang Yoon-soo's voice deepened.

“I didn't want to die like that. ”

He looks at the empty bottle and says,

“No, I shouldn't have died like that. ”

His tone became steady.

“That's right. I have to go back. We have to go back and fight the Emperor. This wasn't the time to be here. ”

At that moment, death spoke an unexpected word.

“Then why are you here? ”

“…… what does that mean? ”

It was just then.

The inevitability that lay between the two suddenly turns off.

Along with the sudden darkness, countless souls began to appear.

The dark and united souls were hard to distinguish, but the vengeance was fierce.

“Grub-!"

“The evil trickster who killed me! ”

“Exterminate him immediately -! ”

Kang Yoon-soo woke up straight away.

But he had no weapon, and even his right arm was missing.

It was time for the spirits to come.

Death is one step ahead.

Suddenly the young man's green eyes turned dark green.

Death shakes his hand.

Pa 'a.

Suddenly, the souls that were rushing in disappeared.

Kang Yoon-soo asked as she watched them disappear.

“What have you done? ”

“Forcibly sent to the commandment. That's not a very nice gesture. Well, it was supposed to be a commandment, so it's not against neutrality.... ”

Death frowns at what was not meant to be.

The sun came up one day.

“It's morning already. Let's walk.”

Death came first.

Kang Yoon-soo followed without saying a word.

After many walks, they reach the edge of the wilderness.

The edge of the wasteland was completely opaque, like the rest of the world.

“Then that's as far as I go. From beyond, it's up to you. ”

Kang Yoon-soo looked at death.

“What did you mean by that? I came here on my own? ”

“You accepted death at last. That's why I'm here. ”

Kang Yoon-soo died last.

I shouted, "I'll kill you."

Inside, however, I felt that I could never win against the emperor.

He will only go last and admit that he was defeated by the emperor.

Kang Yoon-soo told death.

“Now I know who you are. ”

He saw the eyes of death.

A familiar green aura.

Kang Yoon-soo politely said.

“I've borrowed your powers from your summoned bones in the past, Lord Commandment. ”

A moment of silence passed.

The king smiled lightly for the first time.

But it was closer to cynicism.

“Your interpretation of me is your freedom. A man who lives a thousand times. ”

Kang Yoon-soo calmly asked.

“Why did you help me? ”

“Help. You're welcome. I am equal to everyone. It's death."

The king pointed to him.

“You came here even though you weren't dead. So I've only accompanied you for a short time to banish you. ”

“I didn't die? ”

Kang Yoon-soo clearly saw the grip of the emperor coming down on him.

However, the Myung Kyung Dynasty was positive.

“Because you're alive, I'm going to banish you from here. ”

Kang Yoon-soo was suspicious.

“Lord Commandment, are you a normal being? ”

Sylphia said in the past:

Almighty is not God, but the existence of a normal being that no one knows.

However, the king shook his head.

“I am merely a ruler of the previous dimension of death. You're just one of the seven people I look up to. ”

His whole body was engulfed in green flames and his suit was completely burned.

Half of his body turned to white bones and wrapped around his whole body in black robes.

“There are interesting people in every dimension. Some of them are just as crazy as you. I'll just watch, but one day I want to see everyone together. ”

Kang Yoon-soo bowed his head.

“Thank you, Commandment King. ”

While I was talking to the king, my mind was cleared up.

“I just listened. ”

“That helped. ”

The king smiled.

“I never thought I'd hear that from you for being so cavalier to Sylphia. Then fuck off. You don't belong here. ”

The appearance of the king disappeared.

Kang Yoon-soo was left alone.

He sets foot on the edge of the wilderness.

* * *

Deep, dark space.

Kang Yoon-soo walked there endlessly.

I didn't see anything, but he calmly walked forward.

From some point on, every step of the way, the light around me was young.

‘The first life. ’

Kang Yoon-soo stopped.

As a blacksmith, my life was illuminated when I died in vain.

He took it one step further.

‘Second life. ’

As the commander of the mercenary squad, I picture the life I died fighting on the front lines.

Kang Yoon-soo went on.

The more I walked, the more life passed by before his eyes.

‘The third life, the fourth life.... ’

I recalled all the regrets, happiness, futility and regret I had experienced in my past life.

‘72nd life, 73rd life.... ’

I was happy with my colleagues and enjoyed traveling the unknown continent.

‘198th life, 199th life……. ’

Used past experience to culminate in one area

‘341 Life, 342 Life……. ’

Of course, I didn't have all the good memories.

‘466th life, 467th life.... ’

I almost died many times, and I've been hurt by someone.

‘617th life, 618th life.... ’

On the contrary, I often hurt someone or killed them in anger.

‘729th Life, 730th Life……. ’

Whenever I was killed by the emperor, my heart was filled with despair when the world was destroyed.

‘834th life, 835th life……. ’

After my colleagues died, I felt like I was left alone in the world.

‘920th life, 921st life.... ’

But...

998th life, 999th life. ’

It was a memory he couldn't get rid of.

Kang Yoon-soo paused, leaving one last step behind.

You hear a familiar voice behind him.

“You still haven't forgotten me. ”

Kang Yoon-soo did not look back.

A man's shadow rises from behind him.

A child who was born to him and Shanette, who is now dead.

A remnant of memories that constantly appeared and troubled him no matter how hard he tried to forget.

There was a word that I heard from the one who appeared in my dream one day.

‘…… give up. ’

‘You... have to let go. ’

At that time, I couldn't hear that voice completely.

But now I hear voices more clearly than anything else in the world.

“Give up your happiness. ”

“You have to let go of the past. ”

Kang Yoon-soo said without looking back.

“I've already decided. ”

He had to destroy his fate.

To kill the Mage.

So I had to fix my mind.

Why are you trying to live a happy life after killing the emperor?

To kill the Mage, he had to give up his own desires.

Even if it's a sacrifice that completely destroys your own happiness.

He gave up the life he had hoped for.

Then, ironically, I began to feel confident that I could kill him.

‘…… a thousand lives. ’

Kang Yoon-soo took the last step.

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