Chapter 42: True names
"We are arriving at Confession Station. Those who are alighting at Confession Station, please get ready."
The words landed as Cha Hwa Rim suddenly opened her mouth.
"Time is up."
The golden scales that had been in front of her suddenly turned back into the flaming sword. She was once again the Executioner.
Dan Woo could only look around, hoping the people would understand the game as he did. He seemed unable to reveal anything, only allowed to act in such a stilted way. He looked back at Go Nana.
Her incomplete True Name had just been shared with everyone, allowing any one of them to use that name to force a connection with her. Sure, True Names were living meanings, shifting and changing with the changes that happened to the person, but they could still be used to compel or even curse lower-order beings or those of equal level if the conditions were right. Even glimpsing one’s fate, destiny, history, and cause and effect—to the point one could usurp her identity—was possible.
He could only hope that whatever meaning the group extracted from that small part of her True Name was nothing more than her birth name... and nothing else.
The train cabin suddenly grew heated as all those who had not presented their hearts to Lady Justice began panicking, thinking they had missed their chance. Meanwhile, the few who had already done so wore smiles on their faces, some even contemplating the next stop, surely believing they had already fulfilled the requirement through their confession.
Sang Hun and a few other agents were now subtly checking on each other, trying not to draw the attention of the possible Manifest in front of them. They were attempting to establish contact with the other team that was supposed to follow the convoy, yet they found they couldn’t use their devices inside the train.
It was to be expected, he thought.
After all, she was a Stage 5 Manifest, beings said to be capable of creating their own domain, under which the authority drawn from their own Meaning could be exercised, rendering other laws within that domain useless—or at least bendable.
He could only wish that he had Choi Ae Ran with him right now. Although the teenager was a bit of a handful, her abilities were incredibly useful.
The team of Bureau agents wanted to find a possible way of stopping what was happening by revealing their identities as agents, whether the woman was part of the Children of Entropy or not. After all, what she was doing was harming innocent civilians, and they couldn’t just sit aside as all the blood was spilled.
But at the same time, they were still afraid.
After all, this was a Stage 5 Manifest they were dealing with.
Stage 5 Manifests could wipe out towns, even cities, if they wished. That was how powerful they were. And with all of them being Seeded and not Awakened, they could only turn to Sang Hun Lee. Even though his abilities were sealed, he was the most senior among them and the most competent when it came to dealing with situations like this.
While all these discussions were taking place, Sang Hun Lee’s own mind was somewhere else.
His thoughts drifted to the revelations the symbol on the back of his hand had just revealed. His own abilities seemed to be undergoing a metamorphosis, and he was developing a Vestige. That was why he could no longer use a Concept Heart. It was all because he was no longer Seeded, but an Awakened, starting from Stage 1—Spark.
He wasn’t sure why, but his instincts were telling him that the Stage 5 Manifest was somehow connected to how he had become an Awakened.
Was he the chosen champion of an Archetype?
There were only two Archetypes in Korea: Anomaly 0-01, Once Upon Reality, and Anomaly 0-23, The 23 Enigma.
This couldn’t be a foreign Anomaly... could it? He couldn’t help but ask himself.
No, it couldn’t be a foreign Anomaly, and it couldn’t be Once Upon Reality, as this wasn’t Once Upon Reality.
Maybe Impermanence?
But the way the teenage girl was treating the tattooed woman was different. It was as though she was her superior.
He was beginning to think that this was the work of The 23 Enigma.
But what was the endgame?
Was The 23 Enigma the one responsible for this game?
What was its endgame?
Was it looking for champions?
Speaking of champions...
Was he one?
Sang Hun Lee’s thoughts churned and churned, only growing more confused. This seemed like something the Children of Entropy would do, yet at the same time there was this one variable that threw everything into chaos.
Who exactly was the tattooed woman, and why was she a Stage 5 Manifest?
Was she truly the champion of a newly developed Archetype?
And what was the relationship between that Archetype and the Children of Entropy?
Sang Hun Lee was still thinking when suddenly—
"We have arrived at Confession Station. All who have reached their destination, please alight."
The doors to the train slid wide open, allowing anybody to pass through.
At first, just like the previous time, there was hesitation. Everyone looked toward Cha Hwa Rim, waiting to see how she would react, yet she seemed utterly indifferent. So they stood there for only a second before realizing the doors would be closing in a few moments. After a bit of jeering from those who hadn’t received the first wave of confessions, people flooded outside.
Only a few exceptions remained—Sang Hun Lee, Go Nana, and two other people. Everyone else who had confessed their sins alighted.
The cabin that had initially held eighty-five people, then fifty, now held a little over twenty-five.
The doors soon closed as the people outside looked at each other, a bit anxious, glancing down at their own hands and feet as they waited for what would happen.
But nothing happened.
They seemed to be free.
Those still inside could only watch with sinking hearts as the people outside checked themselves over in relief. The train once again prepared to make its move, with all the passengers inside watching, wishing it was them.
Then suddenly, a fight broke out between two people.
One had merely bumped into the other before the other retaliated with a punch. The surrounding people tried to stop them, but before they knew it, everyone was fighting everyone else with undisguised rage. People smashed into one another. What had begun as a small scuffle quickly became anarchy and pandemonium.
It looked as though Confession Station would follow in the footsteps of its predecessor—Reflection Station.
The train quickly pulled away as the people continued hitting one another. Men against women, women against teenagers, everyone against everyone.
The PA system flared to life once again.
"All violators of the rules have been dealt with accordingly. Please ensure you follow the rules."
"Next station is Surrender Station. All who are alighting at Surrender Station, be prepared."
Everyone in the cabin visibly deflated, overcome by a mixture of fear, anger, and frustration.
What was the true exit to this hell?
Sang Hun Lee himself was left confused as he looked down at his tattoos.
Maybe the answer lay within the tattoos, but he couldn’t be sure unless he asked.
He looked toward Cha Hwa Rim, steadied himself, and began walking toward her.