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Chapter 183

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Sage II

3

This might seem out of the blue, but I\'d like to ask you all a question.

When watching stories where the protagonist is an infinite regressor, have you ever wondered:

- Final boss defeated! The protagonist finally reaches a happy ending! The end!

- So, what happens next?

- If the protagonist grows old and dies surrounded by loved ones, what then? Do they regress again? Do they live the same life over and over?

Exactly.

The truth is, for a regressor, a happy ending isn’t the important thing.

From the perspective of someone who possesses infinite regression, a happy ending is nothing more than a gacha (a game of chance) that you keep trying until you get the desired outcome.

The real problem lies beyond the happy ending—the true ending that awaits.

The hypothesis is that a regressor might have no such thing as an \'end.\' They might be doomed to repeat their life and the life they will live for all eternity.

This is what I call the Never Ending Story hypothesis.

Various means are employed in countless stories to avoid the Never Ending Story scenario.

The simplest and most effective method is to grant the protagonist immortality.

- So if the protagonist dies a natural death, they\'ll be trapped in Infinite Tsukuyomi (a dreamlike state of eternal recurrence)? Then let’s make it so they can never die of natural causes.

This solves all problems. The protagonist will never die of old age, and thus will never have to repeat the cycle of regression.

The problem is that life is always real, and in my world, immortality doesn\'t exist.

But there was something resembling immortality—a virus.

“Well, what can you do? If I get infected with Udumbara, I’ll lose my regression ability and eventually die a normal death.”

I answered calmly.

I had already pondered this issue countless times, even before Yoo Jiwon asked me.

“No, this is a serious problem!”

The one who was truly flustered wasn’t me but Yoo Jiwon. The forehead of the psychopath who had staked their entire life on my success crumpled like tinfoil.

“Your Excellency! Such a harmful anomaly must be eradicated on sight immediately!”

“Don’t worry. I’ve been going to Onyang to hunt it down every time I regress.”

“No, Your Excellency! I’m extremely concerned that you’ve even come into contact with such an anomaly. Please, from now on, leave the hunting to me!”

“Alright, so your plan is to keep the Udumbara seed as a trump card in case you ever have to betray me?”

“Heavens! How can you imagine such a dreadful scenario? How could you misunderstand my loyalty to you...?”

Ignoring Yoo Jiwon\'s usual hysterics, I looked at the magic mirror again.

- From now on, get infected by Udumbara and then die immediately.

“Hm.”

It was strange, indeed.

The mirror seemed to understand exactly what could truly kill me, a regressor.

“Jiwon.”

“Yes, Your Excellency! If you wish, I will cut open my chest right now and show you my heart to prove my loyalty...”

“If you spout nonsense one more time, I won’t tell you that I’m a regressor in the next turn.”

“Come to think of it, I don’t think the concept of loyalty ever existed in my mind.”

“Right. Anyway, about this mirror—it seems to know that I’m a regressor, doesn’t it?”

“Hmm? Hmm? Hmmmmm...”

Yoo Jiwon, with her chin resting on her hand, came close to my shoulder.

The full-length mirror reflected both of us standing side by side.

- Die immediately.

- Next time, get infected by Udumbara and then die.

Like a clever chatbot, the mirror responded with two different versions of the same answer, fitting the number of users.

“See? The mirror is telling me to die not \'right now,\' but \'next time.\'”

“Hmm. That’s correct.”

“By ‘next time,’ it must mean ‘next turn,’ right? So it’s saying that when the next turn comes, I shouldn’t hunt down Udumbara, but rather, get infected and then die.”

“Indeed. Listening to you, it does seem to imply that.”

The furrow on Yoo Jiwon\'s forehead deepened.

“If that’s the case, this anomaly must possess extraordinary power. It has managed to grasp both your identity and your abilities instantly.”

I nodded.

“I think the same. This isn’t just any ordinary anomaly.”

“But then, it’s strange. Your Excellency, for an anomaly with such insight and information, why is it wasting its power by only cursing people to die with words? That seems like such a waste of its abilities.”

“That’s exactly what I’m wondering too.”

“...”

We stared at each other silently. Our thoughts eventually led to the same question.

What on earth is this anomaly?

“…Well, one thing is certain—it’s the mirror from the fairy tale ‘Snow White.’”

“But, Your Excellency, in ‘Snow White,’ the queen asks the mirror questions first. But here, the mirror speaks on its own without us asking anything.”

“And all its answers are the same. When it comes to me, all it says is \'die.\' What kind of a rigged answer is that?”

“Could this anomaly perhaps retain its identity across turns? That’s how it could have gained information about you being a regressor.”

“If that’s true, it means this anomaly is so powerful that it can transcend turns. But that’s even stranger. If it’s that powerful, why does it just sneak into your bedroom and keep telling you to die? Is it a stalker?”

“Hmm. Maybe because I’m such an important asset?”

“That anomaly must be blind.”

“…I have no idea what it is.”

“…Neither do I.”

In the end, in turn 41, we admitted defeat.

We surrendered. Honestly, we couldn’t come up with any idea about this anomaly\'s true nature and purpose.

In one turn, out of sheer frustration, I even tried breaking the mirror, but that only backfired.

“Your Excellency, didn’t you destroy the magic mirror and throw it outside last time?”

“I did.”

“After you abandoned the glass shards, the appearance rate of voids around that area skyrocketed. The number of anomalies also increased exponentially.”

“...”

Later, we found out it was the so-called \'Broken Window\' effect.

You know, that theory where the crime rate around that area starts to rise if a broken window is left unattended.

Like the heart of a certain archer who participated in the Holy Grail War, the magic mirror was also made of glass.

And if both broke, the same phenomenon occurred. In other words, the surroundings were doomed.

“So, to summarize: we know almost nothing about the nature of this anomaly...”

“But the anomaly seems to know everything about you and possibly all other humans as well.”

“And if we destroy it, the Broken Window effect will occur, attracting other anomalies like flies?”

“Yes. Leaving it alone feels unsettling, but destroying it will lead to disaster.”

“And yet, when left alone, it does nothing but tell people who look at it to die. It doesn’t actually cause any harm?”

“Exactly.”

“Damn. What the hell is this thing?”

“The mystery deepens.”

This anomaly was something that really made me question reality.

What’s more, as the turns progressed, the mirror’s responses began to change subtly.

From turn 41 to turn 116, it kept giving the same answer, but in turn 117, its reaction suddenly updated.

- Preserve all newly born lives. It’s all the same anyway. Then, get infected by Udumbara and die.

“...”

Newly born lives.

It referred to those who weren’t born in previous turns but were newly born in this one.

For example, the little girl who gave me a sugar-coated donut at Haeundae. Jeong Seoah, the daughter of a bakery owner, only existed in turn 19.

- Preserve all newly born lives. It’s all the same anyway. Then, get infected by Udumbara and die.

The magic mirror urged me to \'preserve\' such lives.

“Preserve? What does that mean, Your Excellency?”

“...”

Yoo Jiwon didn’t understand the meaning at all and tilted her head in confusion.

Probably anyone else in the world would have had the same puzzled reaction.

But only I fully understood what the mirror meant.

‘…It’s telling me to use [Time Seal].’

The preservation of time. The sealing of time.

A power that allows someone to live their happiest day repeatedly, but at the cost of being forgotten by everyone.

The magic mirror was pointing out that ability of mine.

‘Not only does it know about my regression ability, but also my Time Seal power. This mirror...’

In the 19th turn, no one remembered Jeong Seoah anyway.

Including her parents.

Because in other turns, a different child was born instead of Seoah.

So whether I used time-sealing or not, it was \'the same anyway.\' After all, no one but me could recall Seoah.

Therefore...

- Preserve all newly born lives as specimens. It\'s the same anyway. Then, become infected with Udumbara and die.

The result of being forgotten and not remembered by anyone would be the same, so wouldn\'t it be better to allow them to repeat ‘an eternally happy day’ instead―?

Isn\'t it far happier to taste eternity in the grave you’ve dug rather than fall into the abyss of death, oh regressor?

That was what the magical mirror whispered.

‘Ah.’

Only then did I realize the true nature of this anomaly.

Or rather, I awakened to the principle behind its behavior.

The magical mirror from the fairy tale of Snow White.

It might sound strange, but this anomaly was merely informing people of a ‘happy ending.’

4

King Midas.

Such a figure appears in Greek mythology.

Yes, the very king famous for his \'Midas touch.\'

Whatever he touched turned into gold. He was practically the Federal Reserve of the ancient world.

There is a slightly less famous legend associated with Midas.

One day, the king captured a sage who was half-man, half-beast.

A creature with a human\'s upper body and a horse\'s lower body (or goat).

And as it is now, the fate of a creature caught by humans was pitifully miserable.

The king threatened the sage and then made a very human demand.

- You wretch! Quickly give us humans the greatest and finest happiness!

- Hieeek...

The sage didn’t really want to answer. Honestly, he was tired of humans treating him like a lottery ticket.

As the captured creature resisted, the human king resorted to a \'very human\' solution.

He forced the sage to drink potent liquor until he was completely inebriated!

Only then did the sage, thoroughly drunk, answer the king\'s demand.

- You foolish mayflies. I was silent for your lowly race\'s sake, yet why do you keep forcing me to answer? It\'s... infuriating...

- What?

- The ‘greatest and finest happiness’ for your race... is utterly impossible.

Because...

- That ‘ultimate happiness’ is never to be born, never to exist, to remain in nonexistence. For humans, not being born is the best. Once born, dying quickly is the next best option.

- ...

After hearing this infamous statement, what happened to the human king isn’t clearly recorded.

This story, introduced in Nietzsche\'s works, essentially says this:

- Humans always ask about happiness.

- But for humans, ultimate happiness doesn’t exist. Because life is suffering.

- Therefore, the only happiness lies in being free from suffering, and wisdom lies in escaping suffering as soon as possible.

- It would have been better not to be born.

A truly resolute conclusion.

The reason I suddenly recalled this story while talking about the magical mirror was simple.

“Jiwon. The magical mirror has been receiving and answering our questions all along.”

“What do you mean, Sir?”

“Think about it. No matter what we ask, all questions eventually lead to one ultimate question.”

“One ultimate question.”

“Yes.”

Mirror, mirror.

Tell us how to be happy.

“Whether it’s asking which lottery number will win, how to reconcile with family, or how to succeed, the questions humans ask the magical mirror ultimately aim for their happiness and well-being.”

“...”

“From the mirror’s perspective, our questions are superficial, and the core content is always the same.”

“Tell me how to be happy... That’s the question the mirror hears from us, right, Sir?”

Exactly.

The mirror knew what questions we would ask even without hearing our voices.

So, every time our reflection passed before the mirror, it automatically gave an answer.

- Die immediately.

Immediate death.

Only that was the only happiness allowed to humans in this world tainted by emptiness.

I tapped the mirror.

“In the fairy tale of Snow White, this object is called the magical mirror. Since ancient times, a wizard has been a symbol of a sage.”

“A sage.”

“Yes. Also, in the Harry Potter series, the magical mirror is the secret location where the Philosopher\'s Stone is hidden. So, the true name of this anomaly before us is――.”

The Mirror of the Sage.

That was the true name of this anomaly.

“The Mirror of the Sage... Indeed. It seems like an appropriate name.”

Yoo Jiwon nodded thoughtfully, resting his chin on his hand.

“As expected of you, Sir. Then, what is the strategy for dealing with this anomaly...?”

“There isn’t one. Since it suggests death even to humans, it probably wishes for its own disappearance as well, so it won’t cause trouble.”

“...”

“If it becomes too noisy, just cover it with a blanket. For the mirror, perhaps true happiness is in reflecting nothing but darkness.”

“Indeed. That makes sense.”

Yoo Jiwon brought a blanket (probably picked up from somewhere, old habits die hard) and covered the mirror.

Just before the mirror was fully enveloped in darkness, it spoke in a voice as emotionless as Yoo Jiwon’s.

- Die immediately.

Swish.

And then the mirror fell silent.

5

There’s an epilogue.

In every turn, the ‘Mirror of the Sage’ almost always appeared beside Yoo Jiwon.

Since its strategy had already been revealed, we didn’t pay much attention to it, but every time I visited Yoo Jiwon’s room, I would sneak a peek under the blanket covering the mirror.

Why, you ask? Just because. I was curious if it had changed.

- Preserve all newly born lives as specimens. It’s the same anyway. Then, become infected with Udumbara and die.

Of course, the mirror’s answer didn’t change easily.

I checked from the 117th turn to the 430th turn, and the ‘sage’s’ answer remained the same.

He still advised that I should die soon, and before dying, hold funerals for the poor creatures.

‘A completely useless answer. Well, that’s how the sayings of sages usually go.’

Even a regressor’s curiosity has its limits.

When there was no sign of change, I finally stopped checking the mirror for a while.

Then, suddenly, during the 593rd turn, I remembered it.

‘By now, has the answer changed?’

The 593rd turn was the one where I finally succeeded in defeating The Admin of All-Play.

It was also the turn where the annoying little reader declared that they would save me.

The mirror was still placed in Yoo Jiwon’s private room during this time. For the first time in a long while, I lifted the blanket.

A reunion after a thousand years.

“...”

The mirror was clean.

And silent.

Although Yoo Jiwon hadn’t particularly cared for it, the mirror was spotless. It reflected not only my face but also my inner self.

Silence continued.

Just as I was wondering why it was so quiet.

- Keep on living.

“...”

- Keep on living.

I heard footsteps behind me.

“Hmm? Sir, you’re here?”

“...”

“It’s surprising to see you come directly to me. Did something happen?”

Yoo Jiwon\'s figure also faintly appeared in the mirror.

Then, once again, a low voice echoed.

- Keep on living.

“...”

I quietly covered the mirror with the blanket and stood up.

Then, I smiled at Yoo Jiwon.

“No, nothing happened.”

“...?”

“Let’s just grill some meat and have a drink.”

“Ah, sounds good.”

- Sage. The End.