Chapter 319: Star, Gaia’s Curse (1)

Chapter 319: Star, Gaia’s Curse (1)

For a long time, Chang-Sun looked blankly at Cha Ye-Eun, not knowing what to say—no, he forgot that he was supposed to speak. His mind simply... turned blank. He realized he was supposed to say something, but he could not bring himself to speak.

“What’s wrong? Are you still feverish?” Ye-Eun asked, frowning slightly, then leaned closer with a worried expression.

She put one of her hands on her forehead and the other one on Chang-Sun’s, comparing their body temperature. They were so close that Chang-Sun could feel her breath. The first thing he noticed was its fresh minty scent, which was just like Ithaca’s.This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.

Chang-Sun became certain that the woman in front of him was Ithaca. She was the person he had been desperately missing, and yet could not meet. However, they had been reunited in the most unexpected way.

Despite his reputation for heartlessness, Chang-Sun’s heart ached painfully. He felt as if a hundred apologies would be insufficient to express his remorse. She had been in his vicinity, but he had not recognized her at all. Although they had already met several times, he had not realized it until now.

“It’s weird. It looks like your fever is gone, so...!” Ye-Eun began.

“...Ithaca,” Chang-Sun suddenly said, choking up.

After looking into Chang-Sun’s eyes for a moment, Ye-Eun smiled and hugged him tightly. She replied, “Awww, did you miss me that much? You’re called all kinds of cheesy nicknames here, like ‘the merciless Tyrant’ and ‘Overlord of the Century’, but I see my Sun has become very soft-hearted.”

Right at that moment, Chang-Sun felt as if all the fatigue that had been tormenting him disappeared. He was a little worried about feeling awkward around Ye-Eun, because she was a little—no, a lot different from the Ithaca he had known. Even her way of speaking differed.

In contrast to Ye-Eun, who spoke roughly, Ithaca was usually very quiet, although she had her moments of intensity. However, fortunately, it seemed that Ithaca’s original personality remained strong in Ye-Eun. Her minty scent and warmth were the same as Ithaca’s.

“Ithaca...” Chang-Sun repeated, hugging Ye-Eun back as if he was never going to let her go. As he sat, he seemed to be holding his head against Ye-Eun’s chest, but she gently stroked Chang-Sun’s head as if it did not matter.

“Yes, yes, my baby. Do you want to say something to me?” Ye-Eun asked jokingly.

“You smell like a cigarette,” Chang-Sun replied.

“...Do you have a death wish?” Ye-Eun asked with a frown..

“I hate the menthol smell.”

“I don’t smoke cigarettes with menthol.”

“You still smell like that.”

“...The packet I had ran out yesterday, so I borrowed one and it happened to have menthol.”

“That’s an excuse.”

“Hey!” Ye-Eun exclaimed, pushing Chang-Sun away in annoyance and nearly snapping at him.

“Urgh... My whole body aches...” Chang-Sun groaned, grabbing his arm and feigning sickness.

Ye-Eun opened and closed her mouth, feeling too dumbstruck to speak any further. After a while, she asked, “...Where did you learn to do that?”

* * *

“Have your memories caused any confusion?”

“I get migraines from time to time, but I’m fine otherwise.”

“Good.”

Chang-Sun and Ye-Eun sat next to each other in the hospital room and talked for a while. From the conversation, Chang-Sun learned that Ye-Eun was the one who had rescued him and brought him to a hospital after he was thrown out of R’lyeh. She had to have been feeling unwell due to [Gaia’s Curse], but she had sorted out all the chaos.

It seemed that her more capable side belonged to Ye-Eun, not Ithaca, so Chang-Sun was a bit concerned. She currently had the identities of both Ye-Eun and Ithaca, so even if they shared the same soul, the two different personalities could end up conflicting. After all, Chang-Sun had fought his past incarnations, including Odin.

However, Ye-Eun concisely answered that she was fine. She experienced Ithaca’s memories as if she were retrieving her own lost memories, so she did not really feel any confusion regarding her identity.

Thus, it was easier to talk about their lives after they had been separated. Chang-Sun explained how he had become ‘Divine Twilight’, lost the <Myth War>, and subsequently returned to Earth from the <Underworld>. On the other hand, Ye-Eun explained her current life as Cha Ye-Eun.

“...What? <Olympus>?” Chang-Sun repeated in surprise.

He thus found out that Ye-Eun had been born with divine blood and was a direct descendant of the ruler of <Olympus>. In other words, her biological father was Saturn, the Celestial of death and time, who had led <Olympus> into a golden age before Jupiter took power. When Chang-Sun heard about that, he became extremely shocked.

Saturn was currently in seclusion, so his whereabouts were unknown. Even though he had been such an exceptional king during his reign that he earned the title of a Celestial King, traces of him had appeared here, of all places. Meanwhile, Ye-Eun’s mother was Ops[1], Saturn’s wife and the previous queen of <Olympus>.

Another issue was the question of how long [Peter’s Key] would remain effective. The best case would be if it lasted permanently, but if the seal loosened in the slightest, Ithaca could immediately fall into danger.

Chang-Sun gritted his teeth. [Gaia’s Curse] was so lethal that even he had been unable to dispel it; the only possible countermeasure at present was the Effect of [Impervious Body]. The problem was that he could not use that for Ye-Eun right now.

‘In the end, the only remaining method is...’ Chang-Sun thought, looking in a certain direction.

[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ observes his student!]

‘...the Changgong Library...?’

The library, which was also known as the Akashic Record, was where all the events of the many universes were recorded. <Deus Ex Machina> had certainly said that he would increase Chang-Sun’s clearance level in the future, so the thought of finding a solution there crossed his mind.

‘Even if that weren’t the case, Mephistopheles might be able to create a path for me.’

Chang-Sun came to a decision. He said, “Ithaca.”

“Call me Ye-Eun. It’s my name now,” Ye-Eun replied.

“...Ye-Eun. Just wait...” Chang-Sun said.

“You want me to wait for a moment?” Ye-Eun asked, tilting her head.

Chang-Sun nodded and said, “I think I’ll be able to find a way.”

“I thought I’d finally have fun with my old boyfriend, but you’re already going somewhere?” Ye-Eun remarked with a quiet sigh. Narrowing her eyes, she continued, “You aren’t going somewhere dangerous again, are you?”

Chang-Sun was about to say no, but he could not due to the memories suddenly flashing through his mind.

“What? Who in the world is this guy?”

“The fact that you hauled ass without cleaning up first already pisses me off! You’re all dead meat!”

His golden machine eye blazing with light, <Deus Ex Machina> had beaten up Odin and the other past reincarnations. When Chang-Sun recalled that temper... he could not be sure whether he could really say that he was going to a safe place. He wondered if he would be able to come back in one piece, and cold sweat formed on his back.

He replied, “...Maybe?”

“What’s with the pause?” Ye-Eun asked.

Chang-Sun calmly shook his head to reassure her.

“Phew... Should I believe you or not?” Ye-Eun wondered with a sigh, scratching the back of her head.

Then, she suddenly grabbed Chang-Sun by the collar with both hands and pulled him closer. Although it happened in the confusion of the moment, Chang-Sun could see the seriousness in her eyes.

“Listen to me carefully, Lee Chang-Sun,” Ye-Eun said.

Chang-Sun nodded without saying anything else.

Ye-Eun continued, “It took us a really long time to finally meet again, so I’ll never let you go again. Even if you run away from me, I’m going to chase you to the ends of the multiverse, and then I’m going to smack you in the back of the head and drag you back by force. You hear me? You’re mine for the rest of our lives, so take care of what’s mine well, okay?”

That tough side of her was quite unlike her past self, but...

“I’m not sure about the other parts, but I think I do know one thing,” Chang-Sun answered quietly.

“What?” Ye-Eun replied.

...Chang-Sun did not dislike this side of her—no, he actually liked it, because he was able to tell how much she loved him.

“I think this side of you is sexy,” Chang-Sun said, smiling faintly.

Ye-Eun quietly giggled. She asked, “Do you want to see something sexier?”

As soon as she finished speaking, she pulled Chang-Sun’s collar closer. Their lips naturally met, and their eyes closed.

The moment lasted for a long time.

1. The Roman name of Rhea. ☜