< 172. Hate to Hate (10) >
Crash! Crash!
The rustling darkness engulfed Dotes. Inside the shadows, sounds of breaking and tearing echoed before finally coming to a halt. By that time, she remained still, not moving even a single tentacle. There was no sign of a will to save her subordinate.
Ugh!
As the darkness parted, the intruders revealed themselves. Del's gaze briefly swept past an alien with three eyes carrying what looked like coffins, and a young dragon gazing at her with a near-frothy expression. Del, however, seemed to have no time to spare for them and focused solely on the seething core of darkness.
There he was.
The true reason she had come to this remote dimension.
The one who had restored her memory and motivated all her actions.
'So you've come to me this time.'
Until now, it had always been her seeking him out.
She remembered the time she had endured nearly a century and finally reunited in Korea. The moment when everything in the world was covered in monotonous gray, and only he shone in full, vibrant colors.
And now, a contrast even more intense than that moment was unfolding. A man stood in the darkness that devoured everything, an abyss whose depth could not be measured. To her eyes, he appeared as a single ray of light tearing through and splitting the darkness. A brilliant light, not allowing even a single black stain.
Her ex-husband, standing at the sharp edge of radiance, had a gaze that seemed ready to peel off flesh. In that gaze, Del pulled out conflicting emotions.
"······."
Just before speaking, she pondered what to call him.
Cain? Min-jun?
But it seemed the other had no such hesitation.
In a dry voice, he spoke. Though the form of the sentence was a question, its content was closer to a pronouncement.
"You knew everything, didn't you?"
After a brief silence,
He addressed his ex-wife.
"Endelion."
Min-jun saw not just the individual named Del, but the entire species as a whole.
He also saw the tentacled monster crouching here now, along with the monsters from the distant past of the remote planet.
It came back vividly.
The monsters, who had been engaging in meaningless slaughter, suddenly ceased their movements, and the experimental subjects, struggling for survival, could finally catch their breath. The mammals kept their guard up, gazing at the sky.
Why had those monsters stopped? Was it a brief pause to prepare for the next attack? Or…
In the crossroads of life and death, the experimental subjects' minds raced. Was it a deception? The cursed tentacles might strike the land again. Survival instincts warned them to remain on alert.
Yet, seemingly indifferent to these mammals, the monsters' eyes were fixed solely upwards.
Naturally, the experimental subjects followed their gaze. But there was nothing there. Just the usual blue sky and the warm sun.
"······!"
The experimental subjects did not guess that the monsters could see a world beyond their comprehension. The tentacled beings were staring out into the vastness of space. Wonder and terror permeated their pupils.
In the future, they would witness a massive entity drifting in space, calling itself Endelion. They exchanged signals busily, trying to interpret the situation.
=Oh my, what is that? Are you all seeing it too?=
=Yes, I see it. Unbelievable. What is it? A newly appeared star?=
=No. Stars don't look like that or move like that.=
=It moves? Is it alive? Oh my, it really seems alive. It even moves just like us!=
=Similar, but so huge!=
The entity appearing beyond the atmosphere was a being that looked exactly like them.
Or rather, the term "similar" didn't quite cover it. The shape, proportions, color, even the smallest details were identical.
The only difference was size.
'It' was enormous.
Endelion felt the bastion of natural laws and common sense crumble like a sandcastle. Like other species, they had interpreted the world centered around themselves. In a world governed by steadfast rules, there had been no creature greater than themselves. It was an undeniable truth and an immutable premise.
Today, that premise had collapsed.
'It' looked down upon the planet from space with an all-encompassing gaze. The monsters instinctively knew they could not escape that gaze. 'It's' tentacles were so thick and long, they seemed capable of wrapping around several planets and rolling them like beads. And such a miraculous structure seemed capable of traversing between galaxies in mere seconds.
Moreover, despite its enormous body, the being didn't cast a shadow on this planet. There was no eclipse of the sun by its tentacles. It hinted that 'it' was not bound by the laws of this world. Endelion felt a soul-shaking sensation.
The signals exchanged between them gradually diminished and eventually ceased altogether. A new, unfamiliar emotion welled up. In the future, they would decorate it with words like awe, reverence, and overwhelming sensation.
Or perhaps with a long sentence describing 'the emotion of worshiping incomprehensible fear.'
"Who… who are you?"
What the tentacle of the northern continent said was almost a monologue. It was uncertain if this voice would reach the being fixed in space.
Yet, it did.
I have come to you in that form because I love you.
The voice conveyed through the mind was warm and sacred. They would later create the adjective "holy" for such a feeling.
And the tentacles felt a shock as if they had collided with an asteroid. It was a very pleasant shock. Even though they still didn't know who the entity was or where it came from, it no longer mattered.
'It' loves us!
'It' came here because it loves us!
"···Ah!"
The certainty of being noticed and loved by a transcendent being. The tentacles began to express this strange and profound emotion in various forms. Observing the tendrils of a colossal being unfolding in the void, 'it' pondered.
'It seems appearing in this form worked well.'
Appearing as an even more colossal entity in front of the giant tentacle was a good idea.
Physical similarity is an important criterion for uniting or excluding groups. The more primitive the civilization, the more so.
Love because of appearance, hatred because of appearance.
In other words, he himself had acted in a primitive manner. The intervention and breaking of the unwritten rules were due to the experimental subjects' strong resemblance to humans. Meanwhile, the tentacles had killed the experimental subjects because they looked so different.
Instead of reflecting, he contemplated the next step. They were already ready to worship him. Now, it was time for a revelation.
He spoke solemnly.
That beast is harmful, so do not approach it.
The first commandment.
In early civilizations, taboos served as excellent control mechanisms. It could be expected to cut off curiosity and prevent any approach to the planet.
Upon hearing this, the tentacles, previously moved by emotion, spoke with fervor.
"Is it right to kill and eliminate all that is harmful?!"
He felt irritation.
He emphasized again.
Do not approach. Do not stain your bodies with unclean blood.
"W… What?!"
The experimental subjects stopped their attacks and watched the monsters receding into the sky. Some cried tears of joy for surviving, while others gritted their teeth in front of the bodies of their dead siblings. They would pass down the story of the tentacled demons from the sea of stars.
Leaving the mammals behind, the Endelions left the planet's atmosphere. And they gazed at 'it' in space. They tried to get closer, but the great being receded at the same pace as their approach. This would be why the Endelion word for 'mirage' included the morpheme 'god'. Due to their racial characteristics, the idea of building high structures to bridge the gap was impossible. Realizing that distance was a gap from the great being, they humbly stopped their attempts.
It was only natural that they could not reach it. The deity of the tentacles did not exist there, and what was visible was more like a projected shadow.
Watching the tentacles waiting for the next revelation, he thought.
'Having enforced discipline, I must give them a reward too.'
It was a fundamental training method.
After the whip, the feed.
Religious discipline cannot be eternal. He had seen too many faithful species making various excuses and compromising on doctrine. The most excellent leap that rusts iron-like patience is time.
"Make sure they continue to follow my words. They should be afraid of losing their rewards if they disobey."
However, developing new resources for them or sending them to that place was too troublesome and difficult. Moreover, it didn't fit with the concept of an 'unreachable' being. The moment material was sent to them, it would create a bridge between the transcendent world and the physical world.
Therefore, the rewards must be conveyed in a way that could be delivered by a voice like the one now.
"Perhaps sharing a little knowledge will do."
Of course, just a little.
By intervening at all, the rules had already been broken. Though they couldn't dare to defy him, it was best to avoid excessive deviation.
So, let's provide only a small amount of knowledge that won't cause significant issues.
"Those creatures have a poor concept of 'tools,' don't they?"
Their civilization had developed in an abnormal manner due to their extraordinary physical abilities. They were trapped in a cycle of focusing solely on their bodies because they could solve everything with telekinesis and other powers.
Seeing this gap, he made a decision.
I will give you tools. To be precise, I will give you the wisdom to create them.
It was like teaching humanity how to use fire for the first time. It might seem insignificant by absolute standards, but by relative standards, it was a dazzling revolution.
You will come to know me, and my wisdom will become yours.
He gave knowledge to the Endellions, and in return, the Endellions served him.
The Endellions were his first worshipers.
And at the same time...
"You can't not know. You must know."
Shifting his consciousness to reality, Min-jun still gazed at the nearby tentacle with a mix of emotions.
He had always felt the conflicting emotions of affection and resentment towards that single entity or the entire species.
Perhaps, it was love and hate.
"······."
The tentacle remained silent as if in acknowledgment. Observing her, Min-jun slowly took a step forward. He repeated in his mind.
Endellion.
Those monsters were the first alien species to serve him.
The first role players.
"You must have known the moment you regained your memory after escaping your imprisonment. Who I am. What my true identity is."
If her status were that of a princess, she wouldn't have been unaware. As the heir who inherited all the wisdom of the Mother Queen, the most precious treasure.
Knowledge surpassing other races was one of the two great weapons of their kind, alongside their strong physical bodies capable of navigating the universe. If they had only overcome a minor limitation, the war with the dragons might not have ended in a truce.
"So why have you remained silent until now?"
"I..."
The tentacle spoke defensively.
"I only wished for your eternal happiness."
It added with difficulty.
"Whether in the past or now, that wish remains the same."
As an unusual conversation passed between the giant tentacle and the agent, a dragon behind them began to make noises like a prayer patient receiving Heimlich maneuver treatment, but neither of them paid attention.
Min-jun continued to approach Del, and Del neither avoided his gaze nor retreated.
Then.
Boom!
An explosion occurred again on the screen that had displayed the terminal. Del, who kept her eyes on the scene, said.
"If you make a mess of the terminal like that, you'll lose your escape route. Everything except New York is sealed off. That place is the only exit."
It sounded as if she was still willing to help. But Min-jun continued to approach with a venomous expression. Del read a violent impulse from his face.
Was this the expected result?
The fight had ended inconclusively when their marital ties were severed. Del had ignored Min-jun's accusations. Perhaps they had never truly finished it.
Thus, Del had a premonition at that moment. Perhaps it was time to see the end of the fight that had been postponed for over a hundred years. Regardless of her will. She couldn't be killed by Min-jun like this, nor could she kill him. Paradoxically, this meant she had no choice but to fight.
Perhaps this time, the words battle or war might be more appropriate than just a fight.
An unexpected sentence was thrown at Del, who had steeled herself.
"I don't need it. I never intended to escape using the launch pad from the start."
Del did not understand those words.
But continuing the conversation was a good sign.
"Are you not here to fight? Aren't you here to kill me?"
Reluctantly easing her tension, Del asked the ex-husband.
"Are you giving up on escaping? But staying on Earth doesn't give you any advantage."
"Leaving is correct. But I'll be using something else."
"What do you mean? What will you use?"
Min-jun only looked at her without answering. Del felt anxious. Time was running out.
"If there's a way I can help, I will. But if I don't know your plan, I can't use my tentacles..."
At that moment, a thought flashed through her mind. But she couldn't believe it. It was something she had never considered possible. She had never attempted it.
Even at that moment, Min-jun continued to gaze at Del with a heavy and direct stare.
Min-jun's silence was not a refusal to provide an answer. The look that accompanied his silence was the answer to Del's question.
What would he use to escape?
Del's pupils shook as if there was an earthquake. She had realized the intent of the man she had lived with for decades. Despite being inconsistent with common sense, it was undeniable.
The ex-wife asked.
"······Me?"
< 172. Hate to Hate (10) > End