Regressor Instruction Manual-Chapter 1492. Extinction (2) [Illustration]

“Altanus doesn’t exist in this place,” Mikael said.

‘Damn it.’

“To be precise, Altanus doesn’t exist in this world,” he said, clarifying things. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“...”

“...”

‘So she really isn't here.’

I wasn't exactly certain of it. To be honest, it would be more accurate to say that I simply didn’t know, but it wasn’t so shocking that it went beyond my expectations.

Altanus was already dead, after all. Of course, considering the case of the Mole Saint’s Cozy Sanctuary, one could think that she was still somewhere on the continent. No, Altanus’s will was certainly drifting somewhere across the continent.

Thanks to the Mole Saint’s Cozy Sanctuary, I remembered her clearly. However, the possibility that she did not exist within this world inside the hexagram was more than sufficient for me to know that this wasn't the continent of Altanus and Benigoa, but the continent of Kim Hyun-Sung and me.

This wasn't a world created by Altanus and Benigoa, but a world that Lee Ki-Young and Kim Hyun-Sung had created. From another perspective, Altanus' existence here would be a contradiction.

Of course, I still had questions. If Altanus wasn't here on this continent inside the hexagram, then who was managing this place? Who granted the Holy Sword to Sung Ji-Hoon? Who sent those messages to him? How were the priests using holy power, and the Empire’s religious order was serving whom?

Perhaps he would give me the answers to those questions.

“Of course, even I can’t accurately determine how this world continues to function without Altanus,” he said.

“...”

“It’s not just me. I believe no one can give a precise answer regarding this situation. As I mentioned earlier, this is unprecedented. In a sense, this situation is like a newly defined law of nature,” he added.

“So there are things even you don’t know?” I asked.

“We’re not—no, we’re not perfect. In most cases, we’re immortal and proclaim ourselves gods, but in truth, we’re nothing more than administrators permitted by the system to operate within a limited scope. Some take that characterization as deeply unpleasant or insulting, but from what I perceive, we’re still not omnipotent.

"There appear to be those with greater access privileges, but even they cannot be completely free beneath the system,” he explained.

“That sounds like you can at least enjoy a limited degree of freedom,” I commented.

“...”

“Are you one of those who possess more access?” I asked.

“I am merely a Level Four administrator,” he answered.

“Then who are the ones with more access? Would someone at Level 1 have higher clearance? Is it possible for them to directly influence the system?” I asked.

“...”

“You’re already well aware that this isn’t the first life in its complete form,” he said.

‘So he’s just going to ignore my question.’

“It'd be more accurate to describe it as a newly created first life, formed after the Sunset Swordsman and the God of Sacrifice and Revival had made this continent independent.

In the actual first life, there was neither the hexagram nor any intervention from the Sunset Swordsman or the God of Sacrifice and Revival,” he said.

“...”

“For convenience’s sake, the original first life should be classified as the zeroth life. The worldline that vanished along with Lady Altanus. Of course, all of this is merely conjecture. However...” he trailed off.

“However?”

“I’m convinced that the first life inside the hexagram had directly downloaded portions of the zeroth life,” he said, continuing his previous train of thought.

‘Yeah, I just came to that conclusion myself.’

From the beginning, that was the only possible answer. For example, the messages received by the Holy Sword Hero were likely cut and pasted as they were. No, not just the messages. It was easier to assume that all the humans existing on this continent were cut and pasted as well.

I briefly considered whether the humans living inside this hexagram could be mere dummies, but if they weren’t copied and pasted but instead cut and then pasted, then calling them dummies wouldn't exactly be accurate. Of course, from the perspective that neither the zeroth nor the first life truly existed, then all of them wouldn't exist.

‘That’s not what matters.’

What mattered wasn't the files that were transferred into the computer; it was the file called "Altanus," which was completely erased. Naturally, it was a severe problem. The second life’s worldline was created through Altanus sacrificing herself. Altanus wasn't just another ordinary file. Of course, major files like the Holy Sword Hero, Lee Ki-Young, Kim Hyun-Sung, and Jung Jin-Ho were important.

No, it wasn't just them. The files of the continent’s inhabitants, such as the young ladies of the Black Rose Salon or the members of the Big Boy Family, were essential files necessary to carry the story forward.

The very foundation of this world and the divinity that sustained the continent were also critical files that made up the hexagram, but those files wouldn't have been made without Altanus.

Altanus wasn't merely a file. She was the program that had to complete the most important narrative running through our continent. Without her, rebooting this computer was simply impossible.

“...”

“...”

If Altanus did not exist, then someone had to replace her in the end.

‘Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.’

Wasn’t this entire situation the process of fulfilling the condition for this place to become the continent of Kim Hyun-Sung and Lee Ki-Young? This was probably the most important condition we had to fulfill.

‘Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.’

I felt like I had just found the answer. I felt like I understood why Kim Hyun-Sung's extinction happened in the first place. The reason he turned into sand was painfully obvious. It was also obvious why the Regressor Instruction Manual had ended.

I even had the answer to why so many of the quests that sustained Kim Hyun-Sung were locked.

“...”

“...”

“Kim Hyun-Sung... took her place?” I questioned.

“...”

“So... that’s why Kim Hyun-Sung... or rather the Kim Hyun-Sungs, can’t exist on this timeline,” I said.

“...”

“Right now... this world is being reconstructed because of Kim Hyun-Sung,” I said.

“...”

“Is that why he could not tell me anything? That stupid idiot...” I mumbled.

I found myself staring up at the sky. The sunset looked redder than usual. I chuckled hollowly. Where else could one find a story that fulfilled every narrative condition so perfectly? The crimson sunset illuminating me and this world right now was him.

Where else could one find a story with such a flawless ending? The Sunset Swordsman sacrificing himself, dyeing the world in sunset so that everything could be reborn... Was that not the kind of legendary story one would only hear in some forgotten myth?

To begin with a sunset and to end with a sunset, one would never find a story more perfect than this. The continent was rebooting, and it was all because of him. The world was being reborn because of him. He was illuminating the world that he was trying to revive.

The sunset felt warm, and it wasn't just an illusion.

It wasn't just an illusion that it felt as if the crimson light was watching over every corner of the world.

“...”

I felt like I understood why he spent every day staring at the sunset from Michele’s hospital. I felt like I understood why he looked so relieved the day before he disappeared. By that point, he had to have already understood the world inside the hexagram.

He could have been exploring it from then on. The flow of time inside the hexagram wasn't the same as the second life's, after all.

I couldn’t confirm the exact ratio and had no way of measuring it, but the time spent inside the hexagram amounted to no more than a fleeting instant in the second life’s world.

The reason Kim Hyun-Sung had never returned and had vanished instead was that he had already chosen to become the sunset within this hexagram. Perhaps long before that, he had vaguely—no, he had instinctively understood what had happened here.

He was that kind of idiot. As he stared blankly at the sunset in the second life’s world, he had to have been contemplating his own end. He had to have sensed that a story that began with the sunset had to end with the sunset.

He had to have realized that there was no other answer. Perhaps he had already reached a conclusion on his own, and so, he had to have been preparing for his end by himself. There was no doubt he was thinking about what choice would benefit me the most.

Yes, he obviously allowed his useless thoughts to spiral into more useless thoughts as he worried over countless possibilities. Of course, he had to have been afraid.

If there was anyone who hated being afraid, it'd be Kim Hyun-Sung. I wasn't talking about fear of death. If anything, he feared being alone far more than death itself.

He didn’t know for certain whether there was an afterlife, nor did he fully understand what would happen after his disappearance, but more than anything, he had to have been terrified of the possibility that, after closing his eyes, he would be alone.

Due to that fear, he had to have hesitated until the very last moment. In the end, he chose to become the sunset. No, perhaps he convinced himself that he wasn’t going to disappear but become the sunset instead.

Otherwise, Kim Hyun-Sung could have gathered the courage to do that.

By becoming the sunset...

‘There's no way... You didn’t actually think that you wouldn't be alone, did you, Hyun-Sung?’

By becoming the sunset...

‘You didn’t think that you would be able to meet us, did you? That you would be able to watch over us? You’re not that stupid, right?’

By becoming the sunset...

‘You didn’t seriously think that meant you would be with us or some idiotic nonsense like that, right? Our Hyun-Sung isn’t the type to think something that ridiculous, is he?’

It was an absurd idea; it was a bunch of nonsense so absurd that it almost made me laugh. To come up with something that stupid and so creatively self-destructive, he truly deserved to win the Darwin Awards.

I couldn’t understand how he could make such a huge decision for such a trivial reason, but since it was Kim Hyun-Sung...

‘Wow, damn it... he really is an idiot...’

If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t believe it, but because it was Kim Hyun-Sung, I find myself nodding at it.

‘There really is no bigger fool out there. I knew he was dumb, but he’s way dumber than I thought.’

It was practically the same as that bastard selling me a sunset sky.

‘No, damn it, wasn’t he supposed to talk to me first?’

What the hell did he think he knew to make decisions on his own and run around pulling this kind of nonsense? Of course, in a sense, he perfectly carried out his role. I could even understand what he had to have felt while watching Lee Ki-Young's Sacrifice Show all this time, but still...

‘It’s canceled. Fuck apologies and everything else, it’s all canceled.’

'Of course, I can reverse this. No, I’ll reverse this no matter what. Regression doesn’t happen in a single instant. The reboot is still in progress.'

Thinking back to when we altered Rohen, there were anomalies, and it took quite some time to do so, so there was still some time left. It was also true that Kim Hyun-Sung, who had yet to become the sunset, was wandering somewhere in the past.

I knew that he simply couldn't exist at this particular point in time, but I could bring Kim Hyun-Sung back.

‘When I see that idiot, I’m going to curse him for hours.’

More than ever, I had to stay calm.

‘I’ll make sure to properly educate him.’

Yes, I had to stay calm, but...

‘You idiot, what would you have done if it hadn't been for me...’

My breathing grew uneven.

‘Damn it, this is so frustrating. I’m going to lose my mind...’

My vision became blurry. Without realizing it, I lowered my head and covered my face with my hand. Something ran down my fingers, and it dripped onto the ground, drop by drop.