Chapter 144: The Owner of the Empty World

“Why are you all acting like this?
You’re the ones who asked who Seon Jaeyul is, so why isn’t anyone saying a word?”

X complained in a playful tone, but I was far too shocked to speak properly.

Hearing it directly from X’s mouth, rather than as a vague assumption, made it impossible to believe.

“So you’re saying there are countless versions of me besides you and me…?”

“It’s not just us.
There are endlessly many worlds identical to the one you live in now.”

“…What, like some kind of multiverse?”

“Ah, that’s the closest concept.
Yes.
There are countless universes exactly like this one, differing only in time.
Jin Sehyun and I crossed over from one of them to here.
Which means there are two Seon Jaeyuls in this world.”

How am I supposed to believe that?

That I exist across countless dimensions, and that every one of those versions of me meets the same ending.

Probably as some nameless extra, slaughtered by X.

“Then by your logic, shouldn’t there be two versions of my hyung as well?”

Right.

So why is there only one of me?

“He probably just entered the body of the Jin Sehyun who originally lived here.
To be honest, I don’t know the exact mechanics either.”

My head hurts.

The desire I had to learn Jaeyul’s and X’s secrets completely evaporates.

These are the kinds of truths you’re better off not knowing.

“Hey!
Aren’t you asking way too many questions?!
How many are you planning to ask?”

“You haven’t answered everything yet.
I get why there are two of me, but what about us?”

Our Jaeyul is sharp.

He piles on questions and then blames X for it.

Seeing them like this, the two really do feel completely different.

“Us….”

X, who had been speaking playfully until now, suddenly turned serious.

“You already know this, but Seon Jaeyul’s life was never smooth from the moment he was born.
It’s like he was cursed.
Every kind of misfortune clung to him.
After enduring endless hardships, he grew tired of a world where he had no one on his side.
Then one day, he got lost inside a gate.
He realized that even if he went back outside, he’d never live a comfortable life.
So he chose to go deeper instead.
And surprisingly, life inside the gate wasn’t that bad.
There was plenty of food, and no people to make his life miserable.”

The place X is talking about might be that hidden chamber inside the gate.

The one where Jaeyul’s name was written in the notebook.

The place we entered following Poppi.

“While living there, I happened to meet a certain being.
Not human, not a monster, neither alive nor dead.
Something you can’t see with your eyes or hear with your ears, yet unmistakably perceive.”

Normally, I would’ve dismissed this as nonsense.

But now, I can believe it without a shred of doubt.

Some entity that wants to destroy the world using Seon Jaeyul as a puppet.

Only with such a being does everything finally add up.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know its exact identity.
Anyway, after learning about my pathetic life, it made me an offer.
It promised me the power to rule all monsters, and strength far beyond what I had.”

X’s inhuman durability and regeneration must have come from that bargain.

He never died, no matter what kind of attack he took.

You couldn’t even call him human.

“That’s it?”

“As if.
Nothing in this world is free, right?
In exchange for that power, I had to destroy the world on its behalf.
Not my own dimension, but other ones.
By borrowing the gate to those dimensions, I could also send Jin Sehyun here.
Ah, I got sidetracked.
In the end, I become the owner of an empty world.
That’s our inescapable fate.”

Ah….

Now it finally makes sense.

X, who slaughtered humans without hesitation.

Maybe it was easier for him because they weren’t the people of his own world.

A person scarred endlessly by the world, and an entity that seeks to erase all worlds for some unknown reason.

A terrifying combination.

“Then why does that thing want to destroy the world so badly?”

“Who knows.
There’s no way to know the exact reason.
But it did say this.
That this world, riddled with errors, needs to be ‘reset’.
And for that to happen, all humans across every dimension must die.”

X’s long explanation came to an end.

At the same time, a heavy silence settled over us.

No one could speak easily.

We’d learned truths about the world we were never meant to know.

What kind of reaction is even possible after that?

“My turn now.
This is the last question.”

X, having composed himself, returned to a lighthearted tone.

The last question…?

That means something will happen after this.

I have a bad feeling about whatever he’s about to ask.

“Have you been happy with the life you’ve lived so far?”

X really is an unfathomable existence.

Asking such an unexpected, bizarre question.

Whether we were happy?

Why would that even matter?

“That’s obvious.
Unlike someone, I didn’t live a loser’s life.”

“Hey!
That bastard is asking for a beating.
What about you, Jin Sehyun?”

Happy… happiness.

What kind of life have I been living since coming to this world?

I get irritated, angry, and frustrated all the time.

There were moments when I sincerely wished the world would just end.

But even when I pile all those negative emotions together, they don’t outweigh the good memories.

Which means… I’ve lived a mostly happy life.

Thanks to Jaeyul.

I answered by nodding.

When our eyes met, Jaeyul gave me a small smile, as if telling me not to worry.

Nothing about the situation had improved, but seeing that smile eased my heart a little.

If only the light bomb floating next to my head would disappear.

“Then now—”

“Wait.
Shouldn’t the final question be ours?
You started first.”

I cut X off as he was about to end the conversation.

I need to buy time, somehow.

“Haa… even after I told you all that, you still have questions?
You’ve gotten greedier.
You used to live like an emotionless robot.”

Say whatever you want, but calling me a robot is too much.

I need to ask a question, but nothing comes to mind.

No—there are too many.

I can’t choose.

While I hesitated, Jaeyul spoke up.

“Why did you tell us all of this?
If you were going to kill us anyway, there was no need to waste time explaining.”

He’s right.

X told us far more than necessary.

He was never the most serious type, but this level of chatter is unusual.

“At the very least, you should know why this world is going to end.
Because you didn’t awaken as X, one world failed to be destroyed.
Since it’s my mess, I have to personally fill in for the incomplete X.
What choice do I have?”

X let out a deep sigh.

“Graaah!”

With a familiar howl, the light bomb floating beside my head vanished.

“Run!”

At Jaeyul’s shouted command, I slammed the back of my head into X’s face and sprinted straight toward Jaeyul.

“Tch.”

We did it.

Thanks to Poppi drawing X’s attention, we managed to break free.

If we could just escape riding on Poppi like this, X wouldn’t be able to chase us easily—

…Huh?

“Didn’t I tell you?
I can control monsters.
I knew that thing was sneaking up on me ages ago.”

“Grrr….”

Poppi, who had appeared so boldly, was now lying at X’s feet, looking miserable.

She couldn’t move of her own will.

“L-let her go!
She’s useless anyway, just a monster!”

Jaeyul grabbed me as I tried to run toward Poppi.

Poppi isn’t just some monster.

She’s not an ordinary pet either.

She’s special.

Precious.

Our family isn’t complete without Poppi, Jaeyul, and me.

I’ve never once imagined a moment without her.

“If you want her back, kill me and take her.
Though there’s no way you can.
You can forget about that mutt and hide somewhere, holding hands while you watch the world end.”

That was X’s true goal.

To destroy this world.

After ending one world, he now intends to erase every trace of humanity here too.

No—more urgently, Poppi.

“Stop!
You crazy bastard, get down right now!
Get off Poppi!”

X mounted Poppi’s back like she was a beast he owned.

“Hyung, calm down.”

How am I supposed to calm down?

Poppi is being taken right in front of me.

“Alright then.
Enjoy the show.”

With that final farewell, X leapt out the window riding Poppi.

The moment he disappeared, countless spheres of light filled the sky.

Like white snow falling from the night sky.

But the instant they touched the ground, violent explosions rang out in every direction.

Boom.
Kraaaash.

It seems the true beginning of the apocalypse has arrived.

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