The Gamer's POV

Chapter 348: An Observer No Longer

In this memory, Cedric recognized the man instantly. Of course he did. The man in the memory was Kim Min-jun, after all. Yet, because it wasn’t truly him, he could tell instantly that this was probably the other version of himself.

This Kim Min-jun was wearing a long black trench coat with both hands in his pockets, and he was standing on a familiar beach, staring into the blue lake.

It didn’t take long for Cedric to realize that this was the White Shore of Ophidia.

Standing beside Kim Min-jun was a young woman whose form was shrouded in a blinding ethereal light that blurred her features. She seemed distraught as she paced back and forth.

"I can’t do it," she repeated in a cracked voice.

Kim Min-jun then turned to her and, without any empathy, he said flatly, "You’ll need to kill them all. Every single one of them, Proserpina."

"I said I can’t do that!" Proserpina cried and the ethereal light around her flared intensely. "You are asking me to wipe out all of humanity in my world like it’s no big deal! How can you expect me to do something like that?"

He sighed. Then in the same emotionless voice, he replied, "You do know that if they all die to that plague, things will get worse for us. And brother will become even stronger than he is now."

She halted and clenched her fists.

The only sound that could be heard for a few moments was the faint lapping of the water against the shore.

Eventually, she spoke up. "I won’t kill them. I can’t. But if things come to worst, since #### needs humans, I will transform my humans into something inhuman."

Kim Min-jun stared at her blankly for a few seconds, before finally nodding at her words. He then looked away, and all he muttered was, "Mm."

After a few seconds, he slowly turned to leave, but Proserpina suddenly reached out and stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"However," she added, "I can’t leave them like that. Please, brother, you know what will happen to the rest of us soon. You know that we will not be around any longer. Since you have planned to destroy yourself in order to return to the worlds, you need to promise that you will come back and save my people after the plague is gone. I’ll preserve their souls by making them into undying shells. That way, they will remain alive until you come back again. Please... break their shells and restore them. When you do, the light I will have taken from them will shine again. I pray thee, ####..." She bowed her head solemnly. "...He who is benevolent and embodies restoration."

Kim Min-jun smiled.

"Unfortunately, I can’t," he replied, causing her to freeze in despair. "You know that I’m just an observer after all."

Proserpina’s hand went limp as he spoke.

"Despite really wanting to, I can’t."

He then exhaled and began walking away. However, after a few steps, he halted. Then he sighed and looked up at the gloomy sky with his brown eyes.

"But do not worry, I have found a way to change myself. If all works out, a different version of me will come into being. One who will no longer have the two cosmic forces inside him. He might seem incomplete because of this, but he will be perfect because he will no longer be an observer. If that happens, then maybe... just maybe he’ll do what you ask. If he wants to, he’ll restore them."

Slowly, he turned to her and smiled again. "That is my promise."

Proserpina fell to her knees, but Min-jun turned around again and continued walking.

Then he raised a hand in farewell. "I’ll miss you, my little sister."

...At that moment, Cedric was pulled out of the memory and tossed back into the chaotic graveyard.

By now, the sky was raging with streaks of lightning. Of course, all the corpses were already covered in the cocoons of Chrysalis, but something else... something strange was happening.

The dark clouds above were beginning to thin and part.

Everyone looked around in confusion and awe. Then, while this was happening, Cedric slowly stood up, causing Athena to step back and everyone to turn to him.

Slowly, he raised his right hand to the sky and muttered in a daze, "When I do, the light will shine on them again."

He clenched his fist, and another streak of lightning flashed. Instantly, the darkness tore apart all the way up north, and the light from Bhujanga Dwipa suddenly flooded the land.

Just as the Goddess had spoken, the light she took from them returned. The sunken city brightened as the illumination hit it, and at that moment, the cocoon of black flames dissolved into nothingness, revealing human children lying on the ground. There were also a few adult humans among them. These adults were the first to open their eyes to their new world.

Seeing that, Cedric smiled weakly through his exhaustion.

"I did it," he whispered. "Ha. I restored..."

He wasn’t able to finish his sentence as his vision suddenly faded and his world turned black.

***

...

..

.

"Ah... crap," Cedric muttered upon finally waking up. He blinked a few times, but just remained lying on the bed with a blank expression.

Eventually, he sighed deeply and slowly sat upright. His long black hair fell over his face, so he lazily pushed it away and tied it back.

When that was done, he let his hands fall to his sides and just sat there like a depressed statue. After a few seconds, he looked down, then slowly raised a hand and touched his chest as he could feel a large amount of essence flowing into his core.

"All together, I managed to restore four hundred and twenty people," he mumbled. After a few seconds, he sighed. "I wish I could restore all of them."

Slowly, he turned to his right, where a screen floated into view.

[Available Karma points: N3,470 / P235]

"...maybe when I farm a bit more positive karma in the future, I’ll come back here?"

As he turned away, the screen disappeared, leaving him in silence. It was then that Aika’s soft voice echoed in his head.

’Hey.’~~

He took a deep breath, exhaled tiredly, and just responded languidly, "Mm."

’Looks like your plan worked.’~~

His expression remained blank. There was no joy on his face or any emotion for that matter.

After a short moment, he exhaled, "Mm."

It was silent again for a few seconds, and then her voice echoed again.

’I heard from Athena that you had passed out after the restoration. You’ve been out for four days.’~~

Cedric slowly looked around the room, then muttered quietly, "Where is she?"

’I had to resummon her here,’ Aika explained. ’You know she’s currently in a tournament and has duels to win.’~~

Cedric closed his eyes and rubbed them, then groaned softly, "Ah..."

Just then, the door creaked as it was gently pushed open. When Cedric slowly turned to it, he could see two children walk in. Both looked to be somewhere around twelve years old, and one of them was holding a bunch of candles.