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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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At some point, Undecided vanished from beside me. Instead, I saw her standing in the middle of a forest, frozen as if time had stopped.
Then, the stillness broke.
The wind rustled through the trees, and Undecided walked deeper into the forest, a single candle in her hand, despite the pitch-black darkness.
“Undecided! Undecided! Hey!”
“Hmm…hee hee…”
She didn’t respond to my calls, simply walking forward.
[It’s useless. This is just a materialized memory, it can only output the data in her mind. No matter how you try to interact, nothing will change. Just observe.]
“Is Undecided watching this too?”
[Yes. I’ve stopped the rewinding and started playing it forward. She’s watching this scene through her past self’s eyes.]
So, Undecided was inside that memory, trapped in a body she couldn’t control, forced to watch the events unfold.
“Gasp…gasp…!”
Undecided continued deeper into the forest, her movements practiced and fluid as she navigated the fallen trees and thickets.
I followed her and realized… these trees, this terrain… it was the Sancheong Forest. But it wasn’t filled with the negative energy and demonic aura of the present-day Sancheong Forest.
It was just a normal, lush forest.
It was surprising to see how different it was just ten years ago.
The pleasure city of Cheongna, built to suppress the negative energy, didn’t exist yet.
Then where did all that negative energy come from?
“I found it! The Moonflower!”
Undecided climbed onto a large rock, her face lighting up. A small bud grew between the crevices.
The clouds parted, and the full moon illuminated the rock, causing the bud to bloom.
A silvery-white flower, round like the full moon. The Moonflower, a rare and valuable medicinal herb used in elixirs.
“This will cure Mom’s illness… huh?”
Undecided froze.
My sixth sense tingled, and I found myself standing in front of her, on guard.
I knew it was pointless, but…
“Hmm?”
Ahead, a cave within a steep cliff. An overwhelming amount of demonic energy was emanating from it.
“I’ll check it out.”
I left Undecided, who was trembling, and cautiously entered the cave. It was a familiar place.
This was where Guiho had trained me, Undecided, and Sogong. But this demonic energy… it wasn’t Guiho’s.
Yet, it felt familiar.
Who was it…?
|Child…|
A chilling voice made me frown. I couldn’t forget that voice. It sounded like… Nameless.
Kali’s voice echoed through the dark cave.
|You’re unlucky. How dare you touch the flower I was raising…|
Kali clicked her tongue, and two red eyes glowed in the darkness.
They lunged at me. I drew my sword and swung, but the shadowy figure passed right through me, unaffected.
“No…!”
A wild dog.
A wild dog transformed into a blood ghoul.
It rushed out of the cave, climbed onto the rock, and…
“Kyaaa! It hurts! Ah!”
…attacked Undecided, biting her thigh.
I watched helplessly as she screamed in pain, the color draining from her face, her eyes turning red.
“Ah…ah…”
The dog, hearing a whistle, returned to the cave.
After a while, Undecided, noticing that the bleeding had stopped, limped back the way she came.
“No, don’t go. Undecided, stop, please…”
Unaware that she was dead, unaware that her body was growing cold, she desperately tried to get home.
Her newfound agility as a blood ghoul allowed her to easily leap over trees and rocks, moving much faster than before.
“I’m home…”
She reached the village, relieved to see the faint lights of homes. As she walked towards her house, she stopped.
“Hmm…?”
She saw a cow inside a fence. Her eyes glowed red, and she tilted her head.
Then, the light in her eyes faded, and she climbed over the fence and attacked the cow, biting and tearing at it.
“Hey! What are you doing?! Stop that!”
“Food…”
“W-What?! Get away from it! Get away!”
Undecided killed the cow, then turned on the farmer who had rushed out, biting his neck.
She left the dead cow and farmer and continued towards her house, her eyes vacant. The farmer’s eyes turned red, and he stood up, walking towards his house.
Screams echoed from inside.
The screams multiplied as the red glow spread, and the blood ghouls swarmed the village.
But Undecided didn’t care. She just kept walking towards her house, clutching the white flower tightly in her hand.
She reached her house and burst through the door. Inside, her family was waking up.
A smile appeared on her face.
“M-Mom…”
Her voice was raspy.
A flicker of awareness returned to her eyes, then vanished as her bloodlust took over.
“Agh?! What are you doing?! Why?! Why?! Aaaah…!”
“Sister, snap out of it! Sister! Aaaaagh!”
The white flower fell to the ground. Having lost the moonlight, its petals closed.
A struggle ensued in the dark room, blood splattering on the closed bud.
The struggle ended. Undecided’s family lay dead. A moment later, Undecided’s eyes cleared, and she stumbled back.
“A-Ah…”
She was in a state of panic, realizing what she had done. Her mind was collapsing. I wanted to comfort her, but my hand passed right through her.
“Aaaaaaaaagh!!!”
She screamed and ran outside. Fires were raging throughout the village, and people were attacking each other.
Undecided, her bloodlust sated, had regained her senses, but she couldn’t join the frenzy.
She stood alone, amidst the chaos, weeping in despair, the only sane one in this nightmare she had created.
A giant spider monster emerged from the darkness, reached into Undecided’s house, retrieved the white flower, and disappeared.
I gritted my teeth.
This carnage was all because of Kali.
“Because of me…! Because of me…! Aaaaagh!!!”
Undecided’s cries were ignored by the blood ghouls, who were searching for their next victims.
No one comforted her, no one cared. The chilling moans of the blood ghouls sounded like curses directed at her.
Consumed by pain, guilt, and despair, she descended into an abyss.
The emotions in her eyes faded, replaced by emptiness. Her screams subsided, and her expression hardened.
It was a painful sight to watch.
She closed herself off, suppressing her emotions, never to laugh freely again.
This is how Undecided became… Undecided.
“I won’t let that happen…”
I couldn’t stand by and watch. My body moved on its own. I reached out to her, even though I knew my hand would pass through her.
I reached out to the small, fragile Undecided. I knew it had already happened, that nothing I did could change the past. But I couldn’t stop.
Something in my bag vibrated, then stopped.
My hand touched Undecided’s shoulder.
“Undecided.”
“Yes…?”
Had my wish been granted?
My hand didn’t pass through her, it rested gently on her shoulder. I could feel her trembling, the cold touch of a blood ghoul.
She hadn’t been dead for long, there was still a hint of warmth.
[Impossible! How?! How did you touch her?! This world is just a materialized memory…!]
I ignored the old man’s frantic outburst and embraced the empty-eyed Undecided, sharing my warmth with her, filling her still-beating heart with the warmth she had lost so long ago.
“It’s not your fault.”
That’s what I wanted to say.
Those were the only words I could offer, knowing that anything else would only hurt her more.
“It’s not because of you. It’s not your fault…”
I couldn’t tell her not to suffer, not to be sad. I couldn’t tell her to be happy.
I was the one who brought back these painful memories, the one who forced her to confront her past. I couldn’t utter such hypocritical words.
All I could do was hold her, let her know that I was here, and I would always be here.
I would be on her side, no matter how much she suffered.
I would help her, no matter what.
I would let her know that with me, she could face any past, overcome any future.
“Hee… hoo… ugh…”
Her hardened expression crumbled. Her tense muscles relaxed.
Her face contorted, and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
Undecided buried her face in my chest and sobbed, pouring out all the tears she had held back for so long.
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