CH 160

The story Elohim told me gave me the feeling of listening to a myth or fairy tale rather than their past. I asked Elohim, who closed his mouth after saying Kali had left at the end.

“Why did she leave?”

“Because she got everything she wanted from us.”

“Do you mean the oath?”

“A place to stay safe until she got her memories back, basic knowledge of this world, and finally, using an oath to bind our hands together.”

Elohim answered with a dry voice and looked at me with a sad smile.

“Use. Right. Kali used us. And I and Elahah crossed a river that couldn’t be returned to a moment of misjudgement.”

Elahah’s expression, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, gradually turned pale. As if he was unwell, he occasionally covered his mouth with his hand and let out a brief gasp.

“One year after Kali betrayed us and left, the world started to get weird. Large and small passageways opened, and living beings from other worlds began to invade. Humans have also changed as a result.”

Passageways opened? Without too much difficulty, I knew immediately what he meant.

“Gate…”

I remembered the explanation of the gate from ‘Abyss’.

Gates appeared 20 years ago and people’s abilities were awakened six months after that. So it was all because of the existence of Kali?

“Is that possible?”

“We didn’t know either. But if you think about it, there were plenty of possibilities because Kali had crossed the world that way in the first place. Only the child knows the details.”

“But didn’t she say she loves living things?”

“Kali believes she is evolving humans. The weak should either fall behind or die, and only the strong survive to fill the future.”

“……”

“She said that only then can we have a proper ‘happy ending’.”

I frowned at the words beyond imagination. I couldn’t believe there was really a person with such an absurd idea.

“Kali, who thought that gate alone couldn’t achieve a perfect evolution, began to feel the need for a stronger calamity. Like the story of Noah’s ark.”

A red light flashed through the light green tea set in front of me for an instant.

“In order to become a perfect god, she searched for a human to play the role of disaster.”

“…did she find it?”

“Yeah.”

Elohim didn’t open his mouth easily who it was. Elohim, who had been contemplating for a while, spoke another word.

“Anyway, Kali can’t kill us, the biggest stumbling block in the plan, so she’s got several people to act on her behalf. Se-hyun-ah, you have already met them.”

I have already met them? I hastily rolled my head, listed the people I had met so far, and asked with a curious mind.

“Are they Samael and the Puppeteer?”

“There are more than those two. It’s just that they haven’t been active yet. In particular, the number of people who follow her and follow Samael, who is a talented person with mental control ability, is considerable.”

“Those who wore black masks I met when I was kidnapped.”

“That is very few. There are cases where Samael used his ability to make them lose their mind, but there are many people who agree with Kali’s ideas and sincerely follow them.”

“Ha…”

As I recalled the memory of being kidnapped, I reflexively shuddered.

Although I didn’t regret following along to protect Kwon Jeong-han, who was injured, and Edward, who was controlled, the creepy things I experienced at that time were deeply engraved in my mind.

There were more people like that. Not even being subject to Samael’s mental control, they obeyed on their own will?

“Se-hyun-ah. You know, they’re after you. Those touched by Kali’s power are invisible to us. So we have to be more careful.”

“Is it because of Han Yi-gyeol’s wind ability?”

“Ability doesn’t matter. In fact, they didn’t even care until you became Han Yi-gyeol.”

I was taken aback by Elohim’s immediate reply. Naturally, I thought it was because of the wind ability to provide air support.

“The important thing is that Kali’s followers will come again, and you have to come up with countermeasures accordingly.”

“I don’t want to go through anything that causes damage to my surroundings like last time. That’s why I left. If I don’t go back to Korea for a very long time, will things be different?”

“No. They are spread not only in Korea but all over the world, and there is a risk of being discovered whenever you leave here. Until then, it was okay because Ha Tae-heon was by your side, but now it’s different.”

Looking at Elohim’s softly smiling face, I let out a sigh of relief.

“…it means that I should return to Korea after I have spent 70 days here.”

“For now, that way is the safest.”

“I don’t think I can keep avoiding it, but I’m afraid of how that choice will affect the people around me.”

“That’s true.”

Nodding his head, Elohim stretched out his palms. Then, a black, round candy was made on top of it.

“That’s why you need this.”

“Candy?”

I was bewildered because I couldn’t figure out what the hell he was doing with the candy, and Elahah, who was sitting across from me, looked at me, wondering if I didn’t understand that.

“It’s not about candy, what you need is dreaming. Of course, it’s not just a dream, but your past to be precise.”

“……”

I still didn’t understand and rolled my eyes. Elahah now looked at me pitifully.

“Se-hyun-ah. The reason you use dreams that remind you of the past is so that you can perceive your ability more clearly.”

“It means that you, not Han Yi-gyeol, who also have the ability.”

Elahah intervened with a harsh voice as if he was frustrated.

“Have you never felt it before? There have been many strange times. Either you weren’t dragged into the sand at the SS-grade gate, or the S+-grade Banshee’s magic didn’t work. Well, it’s not always blocked because it’s unstable.”

“No, that…”

“Most recently, you were able to properly block SS-rank mental control. But how do you not know?”

“Wait a minute. Wait.”

The sudden rush of unexpected information gave me a headache. I stopped Elahah and turned to Elohim.

“What does all this mean?”

“Um…”

Elohim, who was looking at Elahah and me awkwardly, answered with an awkward look.

“Se-hyun-ah. You have the ability, too.”

“What… I don’t have anything like that.”

“No, there is. We don’t know exactly when from when it existed in your past, but it’s certain that it exists. It seems to me that you awakened just before you died. So, I think you crossed the passageway more easily thanks to your ability.”

“The world I live in has no gates or awakenings.”

“If you go through intense experiences while aware of the existence of ability… I think you were able to awaken with a low probability. It’s different here and there, but it’s the same.”

It was a kinder and more detailed explanation than Elahah, but it was still hard to understand.

Awakening right before death. My real body must have already disappeared as ashes a long time ago, but now it was Han Yi-gyeol’s body. And yet…

“Are you saying I can use Kwon Se-hyun’s ability?”

“You can use it. But it will be different from Han Yi-gyeol’s wind ability.”

“How?”

“The pressure will be heavy due to the gap between Han Yi-gyeol’s body and Kwon Se-hyun’s ability. It will probably take some time to use it again. So you should use carefully.”

“Gap…”

Han Yi-gyeol’s body was A-rank. Still, if my body couldn’t stand it, it would probably be A-rank or higher. As Elahah said, even SS-rank Samael’s mental control didn’t work…

“Are you sure it’s SS-rank?”

This time, I confidently opened my mouth with the certainty that it would be the correct answer, but Elahah laughed at me and Elohim sent me a pitiful gaze like a child who lacked a lot.

“No?”

Maybe a B-rank or C-rank that is lower than an A-rank? Just as I was about to be disappointed, Elohim spoke as if to be relieved.

“It’s an out-of-class ability.”

“Out-of-class?”

“Right.”

“Like you two?”

“No. We’re not ‘the real’ out-of-class. Se-hyun-ah, you are out-of-class.” (우리는 ‘따지자면’ 등급 외인 거고. 세현아, 너는 등급 외가 맞다)

After correcting my words, Elohim lightly tapped the back of Elahah’s hand as he sighed.

“The ability is, hm, what should I name it? Intuitively speaking, it should be called ‘Intervention’ (개입). Think as you please.”

“Intervention… huh?”

“Not only reality but also the past or someone’s memory. It means you can intervene with anything you want.”

What are you saying now? I looked at Elohim for a moment and answered.

“I have no idea.”

“…that’s okay. This can happen. To put it simply, do you remember when you went to C12 Area?”

“Where did Han Yi-gyeol live?”

“You had a special experience there.”

An unidentified fantasy that accurately embodied the first meeting of Han Yi-gyeol and Cheon Sa-yeon, which didn’t appear in ‘Abyss’. Was that my ability?

“Before that, you had forcibly boosted your memory by looking at the documents.”

“But that.”

“Weren’t you very tired after going through such things? It’s like when there is no energy left because you use your ability to the limit.”

“……”

I kept my mouth shut, unable to respond to the added explanation.

It wasn’t that I doubt what Elohim and Elahah had said. However, it was difficult for me to accept the fact that I had other abilities other than Han Yi-gyeol’s ability.

I lived in this world like Han Yi-gyeol or Ha Tae-heon… It wasn’t special at all like Cheon Sa-yeon. I couldn’t live a normal life, so I always thought that I lacked a lot more than others.

As I touched the corner of my mouth and made a complicated expression, Elohim spoke kindly.

“There is no need to think in a hurry, Se-hyun-ah. If you build your hidden presence in your dreams more than you are now, you will be able to do it naturally.”

“If I can use the power that El said, will I be able to protect my surroundings from Samael?”

“You will be able to protect more than that.”

Elohim’s voice was strong and determined. I clasped my hands, which were cold with cold sweat, and fell into depressing worries.

“Isn’t eating candy and dreaming a second price?”

“Right.”

“You are using my ability to stop Kali.”

“Se-hyun-ah.”

“I said yes, so I’m not going to stop now, but… I have neither the strength nor the confidence to do so.”

“There is a misunderstanding.”

The candy placed on Elohim’s palm floated in the air and flew in front of me.

“It’s been a long time since one child has been trying to stop Kali. What makes you realize what your ability is and how you can use it is because of the scheduled collision.” (예정된 충돌)

Collision. I asked, staring at the candy floating in front of me.

“…does Kali know me?”

“Not yet. But she will find out soon.”

“So, you mean the scheduled collision?”

“It’s a future that won’t change. And the collision.”

“It will do damage.”

I followed Elohim’s words I had heard before and grabbed the candy with my hand.

“When do I start?”