Chapter 9

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Determinist II

I had visited China numerous times in past cycles. It was closeby and featured an inspirational locale for the martial arts-obsessed Old Man Scho, who had once taken me to Mount Hwa.

The destination for this trip was Beijing, a city just outside my usual stomping grounds. But who was I, really? To an infinite regressor, few things were truly impossible. After a thorough, on-site investigation spanning the 82nd through the 85th cycles, I finally completed the 'Hitchhiker's Guide to Beijing'.

"First, we acquire a boat in Incheon and head to Tianjin Port."

"Um, Mr. Undertaker, it’s my first time on a boat, so I feel a bit, oh, that's dangerous, ah—"

First thing's first, I turned on the sound of the refreshing waves of the sea off Incheon as ASMR (with some additional background noise for ambiance), and we crossed the Yellow Sea just like that.

"Next, we shouldn't move above ground. There are too many anomalies. We could break through, but that would draw too much attention, so it's better to move underground."

"Wait a minute. Underground...?"

"Yes. The Awakeners in China have set up a base in the Beijing subway system. What are you doing? Why not come this way?"

"Um, actually, I'm a bit claustrophobic, Mr. Undertaker, uh, um, oh, danger—"

The Awakeners who hadn’t yet escaped the anomaly-ravaged Beijing had formed what’s called the 'Beijing Liberation Assault Team'.

Among the stations they controlled, the one I took special note of was Ciqu Station.

The stationmaster there, who also served as the 17th commander of the assault team, was a character with whom I got along well.

They were considerably fond of a foreigner who could speak the Beijing dialect with such proficiency.

By this point, I had already been upgraded from 'this bastard' to 'you'.

And once an anomaly that had been troubling him was sliced into several pieces like serving a rolled omelet by the stroke of my sword, my title was promoted to 'Doc'.

Finally, when I presented a top-grade Pu-erh tea as a gift, the stationmaster finally remembered that we were brothers of faith, who had once served the way of Gong-Meng together in ancient times.

"Brother Undertaker!"

"Bro!"

The identification card issued to me by the 17th commander was as good as a free pass. We immediately entered Beijing.

"...Isn't that just a bribe?"

"Oh my."

A bribe? Who would call a gift exchanged among brothers a bribe?

I had merely gifted a small tea leaf out of goodwill, and the other party had rightly accepted it with grace.

Some complain that China's guanxi culture is practically its own league, but this is simply because they have forgotten the fine traditions of East Asia.

Having gobbled up plenty of regressor experience, I possessed not only expertise in tea ceremony but also numerous other virtues.

First off, the traditional East Asian game of Go could not be ignored. The commander of the liberation team, who preferred Go to three meals a day, shook my hand after a game and exclaimed, "I now know that a master has come from the East!"

Next was calligraphy. The 1st commander, who believed a person’s handwriting revealed their true character, performed a deep bow on the spot after seeing my calligraphy of '有朋自遠方來 ("friends come from afar")'.

"Behold this dignified yet immaculate script! You truly are the reincarnation of Yan Zhenqing!"[1]

Of course, I knew the ways of propriety. How could I act arrogantly after receiving such high praise?

At each of these events, we would modestly sip Pu-erh tea and exchange pleasantries.

Exactly 48 hours after arriving in Beijing, I could freely access the information network held by the Liberation Assault Team.

The Saintess, who had observed this whole process by my side, muttered incredulously, "Mr. Undertaker, you seem to have a knack for befriending anyone within ten minutes of meeting them."

She looked at me with eyes that seemed to ask, "Is this the life of a social butterfly?"

"Ah, this isn't my first time. I created this shortest route after four cycles of exploration."

"Indeed. Then, this isn’t really my first trip abroad, is it? I must have traveled with Mr. Undertaker in previous cycles."

"No? It’s your first time."

"Really?"

"You’ve crossed into North Korea by yourself before, but this is your first time traveling across the sea. Why else would I invest so much to find the shortest route? I wanted to make your first journey as comfortable as possible."

"......"

"Well, with the world in such a state, this is about as comfortable as it gets. So, Saintess, how do you find it? Any anomalies in sight?"

"...Just a moment, please." The Saintess took a deep breath. "Only a moment."

Then she closed her eyes.

Her role here was singular: a radar.

Despite the Assault Team members hiding underground in Beijing, surveillance personnel were scattered everywhere above ground.

The 17th commander was on brotherly terms with the 1st and 10th commanders, and the 10th commander was close with the 6th, 8th, and 9th commanders, and the 1st commander was well-acquainted with the 2nd, 4th, and 5th commanders.

Their 'favor' and my 'goodwill' combined to manifest this moment, emphasizing the importance of surface surveillance that the assault team members usually neglected.

And the Saintess's ability was [Clairvoyance].

Exactly ten minutes from now, the Saintess would be able to observe all of Beijing without missing a spot.

"..."

One minute.

"..."

Two minutes.

"..."

Three minutes.

In the heart of the tornado was... a small sapphire-colored 'butterfly' flapping its wings.

Blue wings. A morpho butterfly.

This was indeed the identity of the dragon's ascension. An anomaly that proclaimed itself as the current Son of Heaven.

Perhaps on stormy days like this, some of the tornadoes spawned by this 'butterfly' might have traveled beyond Beijing to the opposite side of the Earth.

‘...Literally the Butterfly Effect.’

I gripped my cane-sword.

Normally used as a walking stick, it could convert into a sword by twisting the handle—my weapon of choice.

How I came to use such a peculiar weapon is a story for another time.

For now, I'll just briefly mention the target my sword was slicing through.

Noticing my presence, the butterfly tilted its head, fluttering its wings.

-C̶̝͑a̶̘͊ṅ̷̳ ̵̡̏a̸̼͠ ̸̀ͅs̶̩̕ĩ̸̘n̴̲̎g̶̛̬l̴͙̏e̴̺͆ ̶̻̓b̶̤͊l̶͔͛o̵̬̐ẁ̸̗ ̷̥̓f̵̧͘ŕ̵̜ỏ̵̻m̸̙͒ ̴̯̔t̶̥̒h̵̲̑ė̸͜ ̵̗͐r̵͚͗ê̵͎g̴̯͛r̶̭̿e̸̛͚s̶̙̓s̴̀͜i̸͕͂o̷̥̐ṇ̶͘ ̸̪̽d̷͍͐e̸̻̍m̴̢̊ȏ̵̦n̵̙̾ ̸͔͗c̴͕̆u̴̞͊t̵̥̃ ̷̛̩i̸̤̚t̷̝͐?̵̗͆

The wind howled.

I swung my sword.

Amidst the booming thunder, a dark blade streaked silently across the world.

The blade tore through a butterfly that claimed to be the new lord of the Earth.

-T̴͎͐h̸̆ͅẹ̸͊ ̸͔̀ù̶͍n̵̹͠f̵̟͘ǎ̴̜i̶̟̓ṟ̷͘n̷̠̓ë̶͚s̸͈̾s̶̨̀ ̸̣̑o̷̠̾f̵͍̾ ̷̗͋b̶̗̕ȇ̶͓i̴̊ͅń̵̳ḡ̵̨ ̷̱̀c̸͚̎ȗ̷̙t̵̪͠ ̸̘̆d̷̨̒ỏ̵͓w̵̥̍n̴͖͛ ̴͍͛b̴̼̋y̴͍͑ ̴̯̒ǎ̸͖ ̵͇̂r̸̠͒ē̴̩g̴͉̉r̵̬̍e̸̥͘s̸̤̐s̷̞̾o̸̟͋r̴̼͒,̵̥̈́ ̷̦͆p̶̠͋e̸̼͗r̸̩̈́ḩ̵̄ạ̸͘p̷̥̃s̷̤̈́?̸̹́

But tasting the bitterness of a celestial revolution was also the natural course of history for one claiming to be an emperor. I only wished to hasten their liberation from Earth.

Amidst the storm and thunder, the dragon's ascension cried out, and then, as if always a lie, the noise of the world quieted.

[...Ah.]

As the clouds parted, a final shower poured down. The raindrops cast transparent shadows like sunlight.

[It’s beautiful.]

My aura unfurled, detecting the presence of still countless numbers of anomalies. Surely after realizing their leader had been defeated, they would swarm this place.

But they wouldn't be faster than sunlight.

During our brief respite, the Saintess stepped down from my arms to look around.

“I’m glad we came on this trip.”

The sound of water trickled beneath the Saintess's shoes, akin to a small fish escaping from an aquarium to a stream.

The Saintess turned and moved her lips. Then, in a whisper audible only to me—

[The Saintess of National Salvation praises your achievements.]

I stood there, dumbfounded for a moment, before bursting into laughter.

Surprisingly, this was the first joke I had heard from the Saintess during our 86 cycles together.

There’s an epilogue to this.

As a determinist, the Butterfly Effect was an anomaly I could never accept. Yet I, too, am human. Occasionally, I grow weary of the repetitive cycle of life.

At such times, even the Butterfly Effect, twisting the flow of causality to create random variables, didn’t seem too bad.

After all, anomalies are also what you make of them.

In each cycle, I typically quelled the anomalies of Beijing within six months before the Butterfly Effect fully stretched its wings, but sometimes I deliberately let them be.

...It was during the 173rd cycle that my complacent attitude finally led to an irreversible 'Butterfly Effect'.

[Mr. Undertaker.]

“Yes.”

[Perhaps I have been acting with a preconceived notion of the Constellations until now. Maybe we need to refurbish the image of the Constellations in a more familiar and friendly way?]

“Ah, yes. As you wish.”

[I had a great idea last night.]

“It must be a wonderful idea.”

Although it was the first time I heard such a proposal, I fundamentally trusted the Saintess and approved without much thought.

The next day.

[Hello, hello! Grrreetings to all the Awakeners of the Korean Peninsula! Nice to meet you, meow!]

[Frrrom now on, I will be the Constellation watching over you, the Saintess of National Salvation, meow!]

[Meow! I look forrrward to our future, meow!]

“.......”

Oh my God.

I accidentally dropped my coffee cup.

...Indeed, anomalies and humanity simply cannot coexist under the same sky.

Footnotes:

[1] Yan Zhenqing was a Chinese calligrapher, military general, and politician. He was a leading Chinese calligrapher and a loyal governor of the Tang dynasty.

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