Chapter 33: Champions
Dan Woo sat stiffly as the transfigured bodies slowly took form from the various splices of lives, while the strange light and mist condensed into the shapes of various animals.
The whole domestic scene of the dinner table had dissolved, and the four transfigured people were now seated at cardinal points—north, south, east, and west—reflective of the door in Dan Woo’s room.
The mist churned into various scenes, one reflective of the green expanse of spring, another a white expanse of snow for winter, another painted in yellow and orange for autumn, and the last beneath the blazing sun of summer.
Yet Dan Woo wasn’t paying attention to any of what was happening around him, his own inner thoughts churning over the fragmented memories he had just experienced. The memory seemed to be of the same instance he had seen through the lens of Sang Hun Lee’s life, with his mother being a participant in either that church or perhaps a participant in the game, but he couldn’t be sure. His memories were foggy throughout.
He thought of contacting his sister. Maybe that way he could gain a better understanding of how his mother had died.
"Your Divine Majesty."
Choi began, her voice powerful and full of authority, reverberating through the entire space and shaking the very quarters of it, making Dan Woo break off his train of thought as his now glowing skin, which looked as though it had been carved from light, turned toward the girl.
Choi herself seemed to be startled by the power behind her own voice before quickly recovering her bearings.
"We wish to know what you have in store for the War of the Stars and Constellations. As we are now your stars."
Dan Woo was startled by the question, for he had no idea what war the girl was talking about. He knew nothing about stars, constellations, let alone a war involving them. Then his conversation with his ex-wife surfaced in his mind, but before he could grasp what Baek Hari had said during that bizarre dinner, another voice interrupted.
"War? What war? Do you mean the Battle of Champions?"
Hearing the question, Choi Ae Ran turned toward Sang Hun Lee, ready to inform him of the situation they were in.
"Affirmative, sir. You may think of yourself as something akin to a champion..."
"Champion? I never gave my consent for any of this!"
Sang Hun Lee suddenly burst out emotionally as he gazed at his transfigured skin, at the new foreign meaning flowing through his entire system and the intrusive spirituality coursing within him. The spiritual pressure he was emitting made him feel as though he had been defiled in some way. And the culprit sitting at the center of it all was possibly his worst enemy—the one who had taken everything from him.
Yet whenever those raw negative feelings tried to surface, he could feel them being washed away by a familiar presence. That only made him feel even angrier and more disgusted, but there was nothing he could do. His head and body seemed to be doing different things, with his own concept working against him.
He gazed at the ethereal figure before him in all its glory and majesty, yet his eyes couldn’t help but carry malice, his tongue grew sour, and his nose—the one that once felt the beauty of the world—ran dry.
"Can we refuse to be your champions?" he asked the ethereal figure, turning away from Choi Ae Ran, who seemed as though she wanted to say more.
"It’s impossible to turn from a star back into an anomaly once the process has been initiated. The meaning of the spirit body has already synchronized with the source of the constellation."
"What do you mean?"
"It’s like a soul contract, where both entities share in losses and gains, where one can neither betray nor be betrayed. We are almost an extension of His Divine Majesty."
Sang Hun Lee was confused as to why his subordinate was acting the way she was, and why she possessed such a wealth of information about the process.
"No. From what I know, champions can change hands, can they not?" he asked, turning back to Choi Ae Ran.
"You are right, but that is a different case. A champion is but a piece of the story granted special privilege by a constellation. But a star is a different case. We are part of the constellation."
"How... how do you know this much?"
"Captain, have you forgotten what my concept is? Truth and information are my field."
Dan Woo was confused by all the terms and information being thrown around, yet he made sure to commit every detail to memory because he wasn’t sure what he had just gotten himself into. He would have to search for Baek Hari later and see if he could gain more information.
Suddenly, a wave of lethargy washed over him as his head strained from something unknown to him, just as it had at the Church of the Forgotten Ones.
"Stop!"
The word reverberated through the entirety of the space as the different visages of the seasons passed and shrank back into mist, and the bodies of everyone present returned to being human.
Everyone turned to look at him as the grey fog and mist churned gently around them.
"Let’s end it here today."
He spoke as he prepared to eject the members from his fog. But then he remembered that the agents had information about his living space. Once he ejected them, wouldn’t they come back with a huge team ready to get rid of him? Especially that guy, with the intense hatred he carried toward him.
Then he remembered his Domain Sync ability. Couldn’t he simply drop them at the Church of the Forgotten Ones? That way they wouldn’t know where his house was.
That seemed to make sense... didn’t it?
No.
They had already been at his door when he returned, so they already had an idea of where he lived. They would simply come back the next day.
If only he could take away their memories of what had happened today. Maybe then he wouldn’t have to deal with all this nonsense of acting like a god.
He entertained the idea before immediately chastising himself.
How could he do that to living, breathing humans? Wouldn’t that be a breach of free will?
He wrestled with the thought, but what right did he have to feel that way? Hadn’t he already intruded into their very souls, from the explanation Choi Ae Ran had given? He felt disgusted with himself, even though he had done it unknowingly.
In the end, he decided to give up on the idea because, even if he wanted to, he didn’t possess the ability to erase memories.
Of course, there was the concept of time...
But he wasn’t really sure how that worked. It would have been great if he could simply erase the entire situation altogether, but now...
His thoughts suddenly returned to Choi Ae Ran’s explanation.
Their souls were linked to his.
Could he use that connection to take hold of their memories?
He could feel something tethered to his soul, just as Cha Hwa Rim had when she linked herself to the guilty through her Mark of the Guilty, only this connection ran even deeper.
He traced the tether back toward the other souls.
Suddenly, the movie-like timeline appeared once again.
Their lives lay bare before him to peruse, making him feel as though he was violating the four people in a way, but he had to.
As he navigated through the timelines, he found the moment they had discovered where his house was, along with everything that had followed afterward, and reached out to take those memories away.
All four of their spirits fought fiercely against the intrusion, making him even more anxious. His body became increasingly exhausted while his head pounded with a massive headache.
After a prolonged struggle, he finally managed to steal their memories before ejecting them from his domain through the mist, depositing them at the Church of the Forgotten Ones.
Their memories of meeting him, sharing the dinner, and becoming stars...
Gone.
He felt terrible after carrying out the act, but he told himself it was for the best.
As soon as he finished, the mist dissolved once again into an endless sea of fog, with four doors standing at the distant ends.
Something emerged from his chest.
A book.
It glowed brightly as unintelligible words rapidly filled its pages, with only a single phrase appearing to be legible.
"The Sanctifier and Redeemer."
The book soon closed before sinking back into his chest.
[Ding]
[Core Concept under Development — 7%]
[Portrayal: Good]
{
Physical Embodiment: B+
Character Essence: B+
Presence Consistency: B
Authenticity: B+
Transformation: B-
Evaluation: B
Reward: The Seven Rings of Hell
}
[Title Acquired: The Sanctifier and Redeemer (Revived)]
Dan Woo felt puzzled by everything he was seeing.
He continued staring at the notifications, but just as he did, his familiar timer began to appear once more.
Before he could give it another thought, his vision blurred.
His body finally gave out.
He collapsed into the endless fog and mist, losing consciousness.