午夜影院和集1000

Translator: Seven ED: Sei

3.

What was the most magnificent thing one could see after opening their eyes?

Some might say the antique sky, and others might say an [unknown ceiling], but I for one could give a clear answer to this question.

“Gong-ja.”

That is Raviel.

“Did you regain consciousness?”

Raviel lifted her soft little finger and touched my forehead. Her index and middle fingers tapped my forehead, leaving a rhythmic sensation.

“Raviel…”

“mm.”

“I, it was so exhausting…”

I felt like I was about to burst into tears.

The place I was now was the Spire World. To be precise, the ‘Side Story’. This is where Kim Yul and Ja Soo-jung lived while attending the same middle school and high school. Our party had decided to stay in Ja Soo-jung’s house for the time being.

“It was just supposed to be a dream… About God. The Tower Master. That person is just a crazy being whose entire life is a trauma…”

Uburka and Ja Soo-jung(from this world) were staring at me, but I couldn’t stop clinging to Raviel. The current me needed the soft scent of blue lilies to soothe my heart.

“Huh, the entire life is a trauma? How is that possible?”

“That person is always watching other people die in her head. She even replaces them. [If I was on that battlefield, I would have been the one pierced by that spear]. Stuff like that…”

“Aren’t they just delusions?”

“It would be great if they were just delusions… That crazy woman* really made it happen. She has a skill that allows her to traverse time, she remembers everything she experienced, and she has a grasp of all the causality in the world, and with that…” (*: aka crazy b**ch)

“Mm. mm.”

Raviel patted me on the back.

She was smiling bitterly.

“My wife must have seen some terrible things. It’s rare for you to act like this. It’s alright. We’re safe here, nothing happened. You can rest on me a bit more.”

“Raviel…!”

“No, you can take a long vacation. Didn’t [The Lady Who Walks Through the Mirage] say it. The time in this city is completely isolated from the outside world. Rest for a week, a month, as long as you want to. I’m glad this is my turn to comfort you, Gong-ja.”

Tears finally came out at that.

How is my wife so strong?

“I’ve never seen Daddy cry before. Ugor…”

“Is that so?”

“Ugo. I was wondering why I’d never seen it before, but if I see it twice, I don’t think I’d be able to call him Daddy. In that sense, I think I’ve endured it pretty well until now. So I’ll go to sleep first…”

“Ah. I’ll spread the bedding for you, Mr. Uburka.”

“Thanks, house owner…”

With a bang bang boom, Uburka left the living room with Ja Soo-jung(from this world), their footsteps revealing their difference in mass.

Now, only Raviel and I were left in the living room.

“Raviel…”

“Say it, Gong-ja.”

As there were less people around and it was quieter, Raviel hugged me more comfortably. Gently. After kissing my forehead, Raviel patted her knees.

“If it pushed my Gong-ja to the point of weeping, then it must have been terrible. But, I can’t get a clear impression with just those words. Tell me a little more about it.”

“…yes.”

Pouk.

I laid my head on Raviel’s lap. Just in case my head might be heavy, I reduced the weight on Raviel by applying aura to my neck. This was natural. After all, when I go to get a haircut at the barber shop, the barbers always tell me to apply aura to my neck to make my head less heavy!

“Kuku.”

Above my head, Raviel snickered.

“Gong-ja.”

“Yeah.”

“Your concern is cute. But I don’t appreciate it. How heavy could your skinny head be? I want to take all of your weight. Honey, relax your neck.”

“Hah…”

“Mm. Good job, good job. It’s only when you relax your neck that you will truly relax.”

Summer.

A shadow covered the sky, and the living room became shaded. The feeling of the wind cooled twice by the clouds and the roof wasn’t bad. It was refreshing. I pressed my head into Raviel’s lap as if I was trying to hide from the world.

“This feels so good.”

Raviel laughed silently.

“My lover went on a trip and came back safely. That’s a really good thing. I realized it from the start. Since the day I met you, good things keep happening in my life.”

“…”

“What made you so sad?”

“Ja Soo-jung… The Tower Master intends to comfort all of the people abandoned by this world.”

The cool summer evening air blew through the shade.

Here and there in the hanok’s shabby yard, grass bugs cried.

“If there was a child who was burned to death, she’d show them a new world. [If the Tower Master was with the child]. After creating that world, she would live happily with that child. Hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions…”

“It sounds like a very divine thing to do. What’s the problem?”

“…there are people who want revenge, not happiness.”

The summer wind blew.

“People whose worlds are just hell. They can’t change all of the pain they suffered in that hell, nor can they solve it. So the only solution is…”

“[I will inflict more pain on the people who made me like this].”

“…yeah.”

I leaned more into Raviel’s body.

“The Tower Master watches that person suffer in hell from start to finish. With her skills. And she doesn’t help when she can, she doesn’t stop them when she can, she just keeps watching.”

“…”

Raviel’s hand paused.

However, it was only for a moment.

“Indeed.”

Raviel gently stroked the back of my head as if she understood everything.

“So the cause of your distress is none other than the Tower Master. That’s what you’re saying.”

“Yes.”

“The resentment of the victims is naturally directed towards the Tower Master. Even if the Tower Master is God, no, because the Tower Master is God, they drag her down, lash out at her, tear her apart, trample her, just to relieve their own resentment. Is that it…?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t nod.

I just left the weight of my head on Raviel blankly, without expression, and moved my lips.

“That’s what they do.”

“…”

“That’s what she hopes for. For all the people who were made victims by the Kingdom to come to the Tower Master and return the exact same wounds and pain that they suffered in their life.”

“That…”

“What’s worse is that the Tower Master can see the lives of everyone who injures her. So she knows what is a lie and what isn’t. That isn’t normal compassion, she really knows and embraces the pain of others.”

“…”

Cicadas cried in the grass.

“Her head is filled with scenes of people being stabbed to death, burned alive, or trampled to death. Always. Constantly. Those memories replay in her mind all day. She puts herself in that situation and actually gets stabbed, burned and trampled. Screams, Raviel. In the Tower Master’s mind, all she can hear are screams…”

“Right. That is our God.”

Raviel let out a long sigh.

“[Happiness desiring happiness. Pain desiring pain.] The proposition is simple, the more the weight of humanity is erased, the more the Tower Master intends to shoulder the burden of mortals.”

“…yes.”

“It’s a terrible thing.”

Raviel ruffled the hair at the side of my head.

Her red eyes stared directly at me.

“In the end, the solution is also simple, Gong-ja.”

“…right.”

“One must find happiness within, not without. The Tower Master doesn’t need to be that person. One should overcome their suffering on their own, not with outside help. They also don’t need the Tower Master.”

“That’s right.”

“Everyone has the right to bear their own misfortune. It’s a natural fact, there are only a few people who can do it. How many people live a natural life in this world? Doing what’s natural, saying what’s natural, achieving what’s natural and naturally having their dreams come through…”

It was a difficult task.

Looking up at the evening sky, Raviel muttered.

Perhaps, she was thinking of her own [difficult] points in life.

“Did the Tower Master say anything like [No one did anything wrong], Gong-ja?”

“Yes. The Tower Master said [No one is wrong for being born].”

“It’s a sad story.”

Raviel skillfully opened a can of soda and placed it to her lips.

After quenching her thirst with a sip, she said.

“In other words, that.”

It’s this one’s fault.

I apologize.

Sorry

“She was saying that in this world, only her birth is wrong.”

“…”

“Gong-ja.”

“Yes.”

“Is the Tower Master strong?”

I recalled the galaxy I’d seen from the ruins of Harlem.

The countless butterflies flapping their wings. The stars made of butterflies.

“Yes. Really strong.”

“Can you win?”

“I can win.”

Raviel looked directly into my eyes.

“I’ll have to ask my man for a more definitive answer than that.”

“…”

“I didn’t love the person I might

fall in love with. I didn’t make a lifetime commitment with someone I might die together with. I loved someone I would love and promised to die with. Gong-ja, as the Moon of the Ivansia Duchy, you have to speak with more certainty.”

“Yes, Raviel.”

I nodded.

“I will win.”

“Win.”

Raviel held my cheek in her palm.

“The reason I chose you to be my lifelong companion is because you will win. Because you won’t fall. Because you will not forget your happiness. While the Tower Master uses misery to triumph, you, Gong-ja, will use happiness.”

Raviel’s face drew closer.

“Make all those around you happy. Share your happiness with those you are with. Be disciplined and train, so that you can be happy, so that those around you can be happy. And so this Tower can be filled with happy people.”

“I know it’ll be difficult, but…”

I smiled.

“Let’s do this slowly.”

“That’s the man I fell in love with. However…”

Raviel smiled.

“Make me the happiest first.”

We kissed.

“Uburka and the house owner might overhear…”

“The house owner doesn’t seem to care. I already checked.”

“What about Uburka? He’s a child who thinks of me as his real father.”

“Indeed. If he hears his daddy grunting and moaning in an unsightly manner, it might damage that child’s innocent heart.”

Raviel snickered.

“Honey, try not to moan.”

Um.

“Raviel…?”

“What is it? My love.”

“What are you doing with that towel…?”

“I’m trying to be considerate so that you don’t let out your moans subconsciously.”

“Is this really out of consideration for Uburka? Huh? Doesn’t Raviel just want to have fun?”

“Shh.”

Raviel covered my mouth playfully, her red eyes twinkling like rubies.

“The child is sleeping. Be quiet.”

What could I do in this situation?

I had no choice but to follow my wife’s lead.

I love you, Raviel.

I love you, forever.

4.

The next morning.

“Huaaa… aaaam?”

As I came out of the living room, I ran into Uburka.

Yawning, I waved at him.

“Good morning. Son.”

“By the way, why does your face look like a snail who ate rock salt? Was your bed uncomfortable? Ah, you probably slept on the floor. I guess it can’t be helped. Wait.”

Uburka trembled.

“Da-, Daddy…….”

“Daddy you shameless loseeeerrrrr!”

[The constellation ‘The Musclehead Who Dreams of Sinning Against Heaven’ despairs]

With a lion’s roar, Uburka ran to the yard. Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, I was worried that the old hanok would be ruined by his violent footsteps. I checked the safety of the hanok before clicking my tongue.

“What’s wrong with him? He’s not a child.”

Was he going through puberty?

Raising a child was hard too.