Chapter 397:

Chapter 397:

["You look like a mess."]

Sun Wukong exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders, wearing a playful expression.

Even though he had ascended from being the prankster of the Celestial Realm to a Buddha, his attitude still carried traces of his mischievous past, showing a hint of carelessness.

["Well, you can't entirely blame yourself. Who would've guessed that those Olympus guys would call Hercules?"]

Sun Wukong had heard plenty of tales about Hercules from the Mixed Dimension.

Hercules was regarded as an unusual being even in the world of Divine Spirits.

A demigod who inherited divine blood but wasn't a Divine Spirit from birth.

In fact, when he was first born, he lived unaware that he had inherited the blood of a Divine Spirit and was instead known as a hero.

Considering how many heroes had come from Olympus, it wasn't that special.

There were plenty of beings like Hercules in the Mixed Realm as well.

Beings who inherited divine blood, became heroes, and eventually took their place as third-generation Divine Spirits.

In that sense, most people believed Hercules would meet the same fate as others in the grand scheme of things.

However, Hercules defied that expectation.

Perhaps it was because he was born with the destiny to defy fate. Or maybe it was due to his own efforts. Even when he was still called a hero, Hercules easily defeated the terrifying monsters that made the gods tremble, and he even displayed fearsome power that frightened other gods.

After overcoming the Twelve Labors set by Hera, the main deity of Olympus, he burned his mortal body at the end, shedding its confines to attain divinity and rise to the highest heavens of Olympus.

It was then that he was reborn as the strongest being.

["Anyway, whoever came up with the idea to create something like him, what were they thinking?"]

Hercules was a one-of-a-kind existence, even in the Mixed Dimension. At the same time, he was also a very unusual existence.

Though he inherited the blood of a first-generation Divine Spirit, it seemed that some mutation occurred, causing his development to take an extremely abnormal direction—a freak of his era.

Everyone feared his immense power, praising him as a hero, but from Sun Wukong's perspective, that guy was nothing more than a monster born from Zeus' ambition.

The altar itself was bound by a restriction that no longer allowed Divine Spirits to have children, all because of Hercules. This made the weight of Hercules' name even more apparent.

"Did you come to help?"

["If not, why would I have thrown the first punch at that monster?"]

Sun Wukong responded to Yu-hyun, snapping his fingers. The severed arm of Yu-hyun reattached itself to him.

Yu-hyun brought the stump of his severed arm to his shoulder. The pain lingered for only a moment before the arm reattached itself.

Yu-hyun clenched and unclenched his left fist. Thanks to having Darwin’s body, the wound healed instantly, but the shock of being defeated by Hercules had yet to subside.

["Don't worry about that monster. I'll deal with him."]

"Can you win?"

Sun Wukong made a subtle expression at Yu-hyun's concerned question.

["Well... I've heard the rumors about him, but I can't say I've ever thought I'd lose."]

If he had remained the mischievous monkey who once rampaged through the Celestial Realm, he would have undoubtedly been defeated. But just as Hercules had ascended to divinity, Sun Wukong had also attained Buddhahood after completing his journey to Tianzhu with Sanzang.

Hercules, who had become a god, and Sun Wukong, who had become the Victorious Fighting Buddha.

Given the level of their stories and their existence, it wouldn't be strange to say that they were evenly matched.

"Then I’ll fight alongside you...."

["Don’t even think about it. Even though you’ve healed, with your current state, there’s no way you’d stand a chance against that guy."]

"Is it because I lack strength?"

Sun Wukong smiled faintly at Yu-hyun's fiery gaze.

["Well, look at that. Seems like you really hated losing just now, didn’t you?"]

"I haven’t lost yet."

["Sure, sure. But let’s think rationally. My opinion hasn’t changed. In your current state, you cannot defeat that monster. It’s not about lacking power. You might not realize this, but in terms of sheer strength, you’re stronger than any Divine Spirit I’ve ever seen."]

"Me?"

["You don’t understand, do you? Honestly, I felt the same way when I first saw you. But after receiving Buddha’s request and watching you closely, I’ve come to understand. You have potential. You might not have realized it yet, but I can see it."]

Sun Wukong raised his hand, pointing at Yu-hyun's eyes.

["Don’t try to win with just your internal energy or willpower. Those alone won’t let you defeat that monster, even if you came back to life a hundred times. You have to use something fundamentally different. Isn’t there something you’re especially good at?"]

"...I don’t understand."

["Well, it does sound a bit vague, I admit. But this is the best advice I can give you. The rest is up to you to figure out. So, make sure to remember this: use your eyes. Something only you can do. Use it well."]

"What do you mean by...."

["Consider this a little gift to help you out."]

As soon as Sun Wukong finished speaking, Yu-hyun felt a sharp pain in both of his eyes, as though they were being stabbed by needles. The sensation crawled from his eyeballs, up his optic nerves, and into his brain, leaving him with a peculiar feeling.

Even Yu-hyun, who had experienced the agony of death, faltered under this sudden pain. It wasn’t merely physical—it felt as though something immense had been etched onto his very soul.

"Kuh! T-This is...."

["It’s the eye I mastered at the brink of death. No one could use it better than you."]

Yu-hyun raised his head. His eyes, no longer hidden behind the Mask of Aporia, gleamed with a golden light.

"Surely you didn’t just grant me the *Fiery Eyes Golden Gaze*...."

For Sun Wukong to so easily hand over the eyes that see through all things left Yu-hyun puzzled. He couldn’t understand why Sun Wukong was doing this for him. Just as he was about to ask, Sun Wukong’s expression turned cold.

At the same time, the Ruyi Jingu Bang, which had been flung far across the horizon, came hurtling toward them at terrifying speed.

With a swift motion, Sun Wukong stretched out his hand, stopping the Ruyi Bang right in front of him. But the force behind the throw was so great that the end of the staff trembled slightly.

A fierce gust of wind whirled around them.

Sun Wukong whistled.

["Whew. To throw something this heavy like that. Guess the rumors about his monstrous strength were true."]

"Great Sage Equal to Heaven."

Hercules slowly appeared before Sun Wukong. His face was twisted with displeasure, clearly irritated by the interruption.

"You dare stand in the way of Olympus? Have you lost your mind?"

["Does it look that way?"]

The end of the universe, repetition? Waiting for this moment? Did that mean that the hazy memories of the past she had experienced were, in fact, a glimpse of the future that was about to unfold?

He couldn’t comprehend it. Baekryeon’s words were too vague, too abstract to grasp.

[That’s all I can tell you.]

“Baekryeon...”

[So, use my book.]

“......”

[Just as you once forcefully placed my soul into this sword to save me, it’s time for me to return to where I belong.]

Yu-hyun’s gaze turned toward the longsword from the Salio Empire, which had once belonged to Prince Patrick.

“So, that’s what it was.”

Finally, all the pieces fit together. Why she had ended up like this, why remnants of a long-destroyed empire lingered in the present.

The existence of reincarnators and the endless cycle of repetition, the confusion of past and future.

Yes.

This world...

It had already repeated itself countless times.

“How long... has it been?”

Just how long had it taken?

How many times had the universe perished and restarted before she finally met the person she had longed to see?

Baekryeon—

No, Baek Seo-ryeon—how long had she wandered through this lonely world?

More than the immense truth he had glimpsed, Yu-hyun was overwhelmed by the realization that a single fragile being had endured such suffering in that vastness.

“For so long...”

[I don’t know. I don’t remember.]

“......”

[How long it took, I can’t tell.]

Baekryeon wasn’t certain either. Perhaps as proof of how long she had lived, she had spent most of her time in slumber, and naturally, there were far more things she didn’t remember.

[But there’s one thing I’m sure of—I’ve endured all this time for this moment. For a long, long time. So, Yu-hyun, now’s your chance. The only chance to save me.]

“I...”

[Back then, you didn’t have enough of my story to do much.]

In the past, in a universe generations before, Yu-hyun had failed to save Baek Seo-ryeon.

The best and worst choice he made was to place her story into the longsword of the Salio Empire.

He had been so desperate to save her that he made that choice.

That was the memory Baekryeon held. In the end, everyone died at the hands of Hercules, and Yu-hyun managed to put her soul into the sword and fled.

At that time, Yu-hyun had cried, apologizing to her. Apologizing for not being able to protect her, for being too weak.

The man who had wept while apologizing to her, the man she had longed to see.

He was right there by her side now.

“If I do that, then what happens to you? What will happen to you?”

[I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far.]

“If I use your story... you could die. You could disappear.”

[But she’ll live, right?]

Baekryeon smiled, as if it didn’t matter to her.

[Or maybe I’ll live?]

“I...”

[It’s your choice. But Yu-hyun, there’s one thing I’m sure of. I’ve only been alive for this moment. And I know the path you won’t regret the most. Of course, you know it too, don’t you?]

“......”

Yu-hyun’s gaze shifted to Baekryeon’s book. And then to the dying Baek Seo-ryeon.

He had to make a choice.

To save one, he had to give up the other.

“Why...”

[...]

“Why do I have to make this choice? Why must someone disappear for someone else to be saved?”

Baekryeon and Baek Seo-ryeon were both irreplaceable companions. Yet he was being forced to choose between them. Why was this happening to him?

“Why is there no ending where everyone can be happy...?”

[I’m sorry. I can only apologize.]

“You...”

[But if you really want the answer, don’t stop and keep moving forward. At the end of this world, at the end of our story, you’ll find the answer you’ve been searching for.]

Baekryeon thought that this was enough.

Even though Yu-hyun might be sad and heartbroken, at least he wouldn’t shed tears.

There is no ending where everyone is happy. In the end, someone will suffer, and someone will fall into sorrow.

In this repetitive world, there was so little she could do.

All she had managed to do was slightly lessen the sorrow. She hadn’t been able to change the fundamental outcome.

Even so.

[At least this time, you didn’t cry.]

With those words, Baekryeon—Baek Seo-ryeon—smiled brightly.