Chapter 104:

Chapter 104:

“...This is troublesome.”

Yu-hyun did not think that his actions would not cause a butterfly effect.

Every action has its consequences and costs.

Yu-hyun had taken that into account.

“I didn’t want this to happen.”

What he wanted most was for Kang Hye-rim and Kwon Jia to inspire other collectors to clear the world of thoughts.

No, he didn’t even hope for that much.

He thought it would be enough to lead the stagnant collectors to a better direction.

However, contrary to his expectations, the most active group was the religious one.

“Judging by your reaction, I can guess the situation. It must be because of the achievements that Geomhu made.”

“...I don’t want to admit it, but it seems so.”

“Surely, Geomhu had been active for half a year longer than I knew. I thought something would change. But, the ones who moved were more annoying than I thought.”

Baekryeon, who had been listening quietly, asked.

[Why? Isn’t it a good thing if those religious groups encourage clearing the world of thoughts?]

‘It’s not that simple. Just because they have the same goal, it doesn’t mean they have the same intentions.’

[What do you mean?]

‘All they want is blind faith in the gods. They don’t know that clearing the world of thoughts will prevent the end of the earth. They just think that the gods have given them a trial, and the collectors have to follow it. This is our homage to the god we believe in, and those who don’t follow it are all heretics who deserve to burn in hell. That’s their argument.’

[Wow, so they’re just shouting without any noble purpose?]

‘Yes.’

There was no reason in their actions.

Only fanaticism and madness.

They weren’t like that in the past.

There were people who spread their religion with their own firm beliefs.

They thought that faith could save them from mental pain.

They thought they could help others too. There were many people with such noble wills.

But now, there were hardly any left.

‘At least Korea is better off. Overseas is worse. People are killing each other over their different beliefs. And that’s not all. There was a case where they brutally killed the family of a politician who criticized their actions.’

[Wow. They’re not just crazy, they’re great crazy!]

‘That’s why they’re raising their voices more, thinking it’s an opportunity.’

[...Then isn’t this a big problem?]Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

‘Yes. It is.’

Yu-hyun looked at the protesters with a cold eye.

They acted as if they could easily give up their lives for the gods, but their actions were all hypocritical.

They shut their mouths as soon as the end began.

‘Disgusting humans.’

Yu-hyun couldn’t think of any other words to describe them.

They forced the collectors to fight and die for glory, but when they had a chance themselves, they ran away.

The fake madness born in peaceful times crumbled easily in front of real fear of death.

Their claims might seem righteous at first glance, but if you peel off a layer and dig into their inner selves, you only see disgusting duplicity.

‘But what can we do? We can’t do anything about those loudmouths.’

In the end times, if you opened your mouth carelessly, you would get a knife thrown at you, so everyone kept quiet.

But now it wasn’t like that.

It was too peaceful.

They thought they could say anything without any threat to their lives.

‘Rather, they say it’s freedom of expression, it’s the right thing to do.’

[Wow. I’m annoyed just listening to it. Those who talk with their mouths usually can’t do anything when asked to do so. Don’t they need to break some dishes to come to their senses?]

‘They don’t break any dishes, so they can’t come to their senses.’

You could tell by how they picked on collectors.

In serious cases, they even went to the front of famous collectors’ houses and caused trouble.

If the state tried to arrest them, the religious groups would immediately oppose them as a group, saying it was oppression or something.

The government couldn’t ignore the religious power either, so it was stuck in a dilemma.

‘What can collectors do about it?’

Collectors couldn’t use their power against ordinary people.

Even if they committed the same crime, collectors would receive harsher punishments than normal people.

She pretended not to care, but she felt suffocated when she saw the radical actions of those protesters.

“How did it end up like this?”

“Because the world changed too easily.”

The world, the frame that sees it, the justice that everyone believes in.

They all changed too easily.

“Did you know? In the early days of the transformation when Earth entered the mixed system, collectors were called monsters.”

“I’ve heard of it. They taught me when I was trained at the collector academy.”

“Then collectors were later called heroes who saved the world, and as time passed, they became the most desired profession for everyone. But now they are called heretics or corruption. Isn’t it funny? The meaning of collector has been the same since it first appeared, but people are changing it arbitrarily.”

He said with a smile, but this was actually a serious issue.

“In the end, when the frame that fixes the world changes, the meaning also becomes distorted. And in a very short period of time. I’m still the same. My world changes so easily that it seems to have no integrity.”

Then what are those who can’t adapt to this changed world?

Those who claim to have adapted to the changing world point their fingers at those who haven’t changed.

They say they are outdated people who refuse to change and can’t follow the flow of time.

“I don’t think people who can’t adapt to the changing world are bad. They were just pursuing the justice of their time.”

“But you can’t always see justice as right.”

“Yes. Justice and moral correctness are not always the same. But I still think that a person with conviction is better. I prefer someone who has their own opinion and stance, rather than someone who pretends to be right without any basis. Even if their path is twisted, they have a clear way in their heart. That’s what makes them truly alive.”

Yu-hyun was confident that he would gladly accept and nod his head even if someone pointed fingers at his ideology and called it dangerous.

Yu-hyun had lived in a peaceful era, experienced a rapidly changing world, and walked through a horrible apocalypse.

Yu-hyun was the biggest witness of the turbulent world.

Yu-hyun had seen various people on that path.

People who changed and people who didn’t.

“There was a person who didn’t change until the end and died in the apocalypse. But I didn’t think he was ‘bad’. It was his choice. But those people don’t know that and just shout that he’s wrong, that he’s bad. They believe that they are on the side of justice and act righteous.”

To someone, a person who sticks to their own justice may seem like stubbornness to another.

But even if he explained this, people wouldn’t listen to him.

People always see what they want to see, and hear what they want to hear.

The people who hold pickets and protest over there.

The people who are fascinated by the flashy appearance of collectors and want to become collectors themselves.

The people who become collectors and obediently conform to the given reality.

They are all the same.

‘Is this reality ruled by these people, the world I have to protect?’

Yu-hyun felt a slight doubt about it.

“But.”

What broke Yu-hyun’s worry was Kwon Jia’s strong and clear voice.

“You have your own firm conviction.”

Kwon Jia spoke as if she was striking Yu-hyun’s dry heart.

“Even if the world is twisted, you are not. Your path is always fixed. It doesn’t matter what the world is like. What matters is, we still have our job to do. Why are you thinking so weakly? Just act like you always do.”

It was the same voice as usual, but unlike usual, it slowly seeped into Yu-hyun’s chest.

A big wave rose in Yu-hyun’s heart. Yu-hyun slightly opened his eyes wide, and unknowingly nodded his head.

‘Yes.’

She was right. In the end, even if everything around him changed, he didn’t change.

Even if the world tilted, and people pointed fingers at him for not tilting.

Even if everyone changed and betrayed him.

He couldn’t deny the truth that he didn’t change.

Even if the people around him said something, that one fact remained unchanged and still shone in his heart.

Realizing that fact, Yu-hyun finally shrugged his shoulders and burst into laughter.

“Ahaha!”

Feeling relieved as if his stifled chest was cleared, Yu-hyun thanked Kwon Jia.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, my uncomfortable feeling is gone.”

“Hmph.”

Kwon Jia snorted and avoided answering, but her true feelings were different.

‘I also received your help. Let’s call it even.’

She wasn’t ready to say that out loud, so Kwon Jia deliberately hit Yu-hyun’s arm with her hand and said.

“Stop being noisy, and let’s go in. We have to get our reward.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

The two people who still didn’t understand each other’s hearts headed to the association headquarters as they originally planned.