Chapter 422 - Divine Dialogue
After the war ended and Egostic's death, three months had passed.
*
[Bring back Egostic bring back Egostic bring back Egostic bring back Egostic bring back Egostic bring back Egostic]
[Huh...? Why hasn't the world ended yet even though Mango is gone? Huh...? Why hasn't the world ended yet even though Mango is gone? Huh...? Why hasn't the world ended yet even though Mango is gone?]
[Day 95 of praying for Mango's resurrection Day 95 of praying for Mango's resurrection Day 95 of praying for Mango's resurrection Day 95 of praying for Mango's resurrection Day 95 of praying for Mango's resurrection]
[Like if you're just barely surviving lolololol Like if you're just barely surviving lolololol Like if you're just barely surviving lolololol Like if you're just barely surviving lolololol]
[I cried again today watching Egostic's videos from when he was alive... Do I have depression?]
[But for real I'm confident Mango will come back to life somehow]
[Bring back the true hero Mango dammit]
[Why Mango fans aren't following Egostic to death) Because we know Mango will return someday. ...So, come back. I'm struggling so much]
*
...Still, while the people of the Republic of Korea couldn't forget him and continued to make a fuss about his eventual return, the world was somehow moving on without him.
[Stardust selected as internationally certified hero leader... Leading heroes worldwide]
[Celeste emphasizes continued cooperation between the Association and Kathedal according to the late Egostic's wishes. Are the distinctions between heroes and villains disappearing as they move toward a mutually beneficial relationship?]
[Yu-seong Group rises to become the world's #1 company by market cap... Will Lee Seol-ah, chairwoman of Yu-seong Group who has dominated Korean industry, now take on the world?]
...Even those who were once close to Egostic had returned to society and calmly resumed their activities. As heroes who saved the world alongside Egostic, they were all under tremendous attention and influence.
However.
...For some reason, they all rarely appeared in public except at official events, keeping to themselves. People generally understood this as the shock of losing someone close, so it didn't become a major issue. Though no one knew why they had prevented Egostic's funeral from taking place.
And so.
These people.
...All of them, though no one expected it.
In fact, they were all gathered in one place, doing something.
...Something so important that everything else seemed trivial to them.
"Seo-eun, how's it going?"
"...Oh, Ha-ru unnie."
In the basement of the Ego-stream mansion.
A massive machine device located in the center.
Whoooooom-
The device, with its incredible visuals reaching all the way to the ceiling of the enormous underground cavity, looked like something from a sci-fi movie.
It was the Quantum-Spacetime Continuum Observation and Destruction Device, a groundbreaking invention that Han Seo-eun had developed over the past three months without sleep.
It was.
A device created by Han Seo-eun for the plan to resurrect Egostic.
And there.
With a tired face from lack of sleep but wearing a small smile as she turned around, she accepted the coffee Stardust handed her.
"Thank you."
As Seo-eun quietly drank her coffee.
Stardust calmly walked toward the others who were standing next to the seated Seo-eun.
"Ha-ru, you're here?"
"Haah. It's finally starting..."
"Hmm. I wonder if it will succeed."
"...Stardust."
Lee Su-bin, Seo Ja-young, Shin-ryeong, Choi Se-hee, Lee Seol-ah, Celeste, and others... They were all standing behind the glass window.
And they all greeted Ha-ru, who had just arrived, with small smiles.
Stardust nodded to them and naturally joined the group.
The past three months.
...The past three months, united by the single determination to bring back Egostic.
It was enough to bring together Stardust and Celeste, who had once fought, and the Ego-stream members.
Everyone shared the same pain and worked toward the same goal.
In a situation where even he was gone, they had no choice but to rely on each other.
...Even though they had once been enemies. Naturally, they grew closer as they stayed together under the common goal of resurrecting Egostic, constantly talking and getting to know each other better.
'Stardust... no, Ha-ru unnie. She was actually a good person...'
From the beginning, Stardust, Shin Ha-ru was a good person who lived with the sole intention of saving people.
And the others, too, were actually kind-hearted. After a few weeks, their misunderstandings were somewhat resolved.
...After all, they gathered every night, sniffling tears and sharing their stories.
'...I was actually Da-in's lover.'
'...What did you say?'
Of course, there was some commotion when Stardust confessed that she and Egostic had been lovers... but the reaction wasn't that intense. Whatever happened, what mattered now wasn't the story of Egostic's life, but bringing him back.
So for three months, they did many things.
To establish a concrete plan to resurrect Egostic.
'Then, how should we handle the physical body...'
'I don't think that's right. Looking at what Da-in wrote here, if we turn back time, even the Sun God would...'
'I found an ancient text, if you look here...'
Through endless meetings, they discussed hundreds of times how to bring Egostic back to life.
'...This should work.'
Finally.
They found a method.
The most promising plan to resurrect Egostic.
And the first step of that plan.
To meet the Moon God and ask him to open the path to the afterlife.
And the preparations for that had finally been completed.
"Eun-wol, are you ready?"
"Huff... Yes."
Again.
Everyone gathered around the massive quantum-spacetime machine.
Beyond the glass window where Stardust and the others stood, a large magic circle was drawn on the floor in front of the machine.
And there.
Baek Eunwol, dressed in white priestess robes with her black hair flowing down. She was sitting quietly with her eyes closed.
This magic circle was meant to access the space where the Moon God resided.
...To create this, they had to gather knowledge and tools using every method available, referencing what Egostic had left behind.
The magic circle was extremely complex, required processing a material called moonstone, and they had limited information.
However, under the leadership of Eun-wol, the Moon Priestess, they finally created this magic circle to meet the deity.
...And naturally, Baek Eunwol was chosen as the one to meet the Moon God.
After all, she was the daughter of the Moon God.
According to Egostic... unlike divine manifestations who simply received power and were called children by gods, Moon Priestess Baek Eunwol was truly a genuine manifestation sent down from heaven by the Moon God for humanity.
...She had been sealed after the war between the Sun God and the Star God, and after many years, she was unsealed by the Moon Light Cult leader, having lost her memories.
In other words, Baek Eunwol had the greatest chance of persuading the Moon God.
[Are you ready, then?]
"...Yes."
[Let's begin.]
And so.
With Seo-eun's words echoing through the speakers, the machine finally started operating.
Crackle-crackle-crackle-
As the magical energy created by the quantum machine was injected into the magic circle through the circuit.
The magic circle on the floor flashed with purple light.
And then.
Whoooooosh
Baek Eunwol felt her surroundings transform before her eyes.
And.
"...Where is this?"
Finally, when she opened her eyes again.
She found herself standing in a pure white space.
And at that moment.
"My daughter."
She.
...Could see a man with long black hair, dressed in white silk clothes, standing before her.
Like her, he had red eyes and a familiar presence.
Seeing him smiling bitterly at her.
...Baek Eunwol quietly addressed him.
"Father."
The Moon God and his daughter.
Their meeting took place again after thousands of years.
***
After meeting the Moon God.
...Baek Eunwol had the conversation with him that they couldn't have for so long.
And then.
She immediately got to the main point.
And so.
"Why are you saying it's impossible...!"
"Daughter. That method is too dangerous."
Currently.
Baek Eunwol was confronting her deity with tear-filled eyes.
Looking at her with sad eyes, the Moon God continued calmly.
"...To begin with, even I don't know the current state of the afterlife, and I can't be certain that souls remain intact there. Especially with so many souls there, how would you find him among them? Moreover..."
Saying this, the Moon God sighed with his hands behind his back.
"...Da-in. Since he is a soul from another world, I can't even be certain if he's there or not. In this situation, I cannot tell you the way to the afterlife where you might be trapped forever if you make a mistake. I'm sorry."
"...Dad."
At his words.
Baek Eunwol, with tears in her eyes, confronted her father.
"So you're telling me to give up? Dad. Do you know how much I've suffered? Being captured by that strange cult, losing all my memories and being used as a puppet. Being ordered to kill people. Do you know how hard that was for me?"
"..."
"I wanted to die then. I didn't want to live anymore! But... but what were you doing then, Father? You didn't do anything. You just watched."
"....."
"Do you know who helped me then? It was him. Thanks to brother Da-in, I was able to escape and live. I'm not blaming you, Father. But... but, people shouldn't be like that. In a situation where I've only received his kindness, and after he suffered so much to end up like this. I can't just do nothing."
"....."
"Father, please. Okay?"
And so.
Baek Eunwol appealed to her father with tears streaming down her face.
Finally.
"...Haah. Alright."
She was able to hear the answer she wanted.
"I'll tell you how to get there. But be careful..."
***
Back in the basement of the Ego-stream mansion.
Those who had been anxiously waiting for Baek Eunwol, who had disappeared with the glowing magic circle, rushed to her when the magic circle shone brightly again and she returned.
"How did it go...?"
And to their careful question.
Baek Eunwol, who had been sitting quietly with her eyes closed.
Finally, calmly stood up and opened her eyes.
...For the first time since Egostic's death, she smiled and spoke.
"I found out."
And so.
Their operation to resurrect Egostic moved one step closer to success.