ushernet Chapter 383
Chapter 383
Everything came back to him.
As the scattered puzzle pieces slowly came together, revealing his true form, he finally understood. However, if someone asked him whether this was the picture he envisioned, he would likely admit he wasn’t sure.
"Sob... Sob..."
Yurim was crying with her mask on.
The mask was a prison from which she couldn't escape.
"Yurim... take off the mask."
"But... I..."
Upon looking at the hesitant Yurim, Seol realized something—Yurim was Yaksha, but at the same time, she wasn't.
The time she spent here proved that she wasn't Yaksha—or at least, allowed for its possibility.
Swoosh...
Of course, Shin Yu's thoughts weren't the same as Seol's.
"Seol... we must kill Yurim—no, Yaksha."
"She isn't Yaksha."
"But you saw it yourself! She knows it too! That she's Yaksha!"
All Yurim could do was nod reluctantly. She wanted to say that a girl called Yurim was still behind the mask but couldn't.
"I don't want to stay in this terrible dream for another moment... I'm going to kill her and get out of here. Answer me, Yurim. That's the only way, right?"
"..."
Seol stood between Yurim and Shin Yu.
"What are you doing?"
"Shin Yu... give us time. We're going to find a way."
"Seol, are you seriously planning to stop me?"
"Yes."
My whole body screamed that it had to be done, no matter what.
Whir...
At that moment, an unprecedented power surged from Shin Yu's body.
"Seol, don't be mistaken."
A rough and violent energy started to spread from Shin Yu's body.
'He's become stronger than before!'
If time was given to a genius like Shin Yu, no one could predict what might happen.
"You aren’t a match for me. Not before... not in the future, either. But will you still try to stop me?"
There was no need to think.
They needed time.
"Yes."
Bzz...
Lightning began gathering in Shin Yu's hand.
"Well, then, I have no choice. Since it's all just an illusion, I'll..."
At that moment...
"What are you all doing here...?"
Step...
Step...
A lone man had come out from within the castle that had become a battlefield.
'Come to think of it...'
The noise that had been coming out from the castle had ceased—meaning all the bloodshed inside had come to an end.
"Seol, Yurim."
"Master!"
It was Yoo Hyun.
"Please, explain properly. What is that strange mask... and explain what Shin Yu just said."
Yoo Hyun glared at Seol.
His eyes were seeking the truth.
But...
'There's no way I can say it...'
What he wanted to hear wasn't something I could say to someone dear.
That he was just a fantasy lingering in someone's soul, a memory of mine from the past. The life of the Yoo Hyun in front of me was false and fabricated. ṛâ₦оbËš
'How...'
However, it seemed that someone's thoughts differed.
"Long time no see, Master."
"Shin Yu... I'm glad you look healthy."
"I'll answer your questions. After all, we spent some time together before."
Shin Yu seemed to have changed.
"Shin Yu, don't!"
"You're a fake."
"A fake...?"
Yoo Hyun's eyebrows twitched.
"This world is, at best, someone's dream—and everyone here except me, Seol, and a few dead guys are all fabricated fakes!"
At Shin Yu's shout, Yoo Hyun smiled.
"That's absurd..."
"I know it's hard to believe..."
"I believe you."
"You do...?"
"My disciple was a child who didn't know how to lie. That's still the case... right?"
"..."
Before Shin Yu became aware of the dream, the Veil had taken him. Alongside Yurim, he had swung his sword, preparing for the future under Yoo Hyun.
Crunch...
Shin Yu ground his teeth.
The past was already gone.
"However, I have one question."
The master asked his former disciple.
"If I'm a fabricated being... is Yurim also fabricated?"
"That's..."
"You are really bad at lying."
It was just as Yoo Hyun said, even if Shin Yu had a reason to, he couldn't bring himself to lie.
"Yurim... isn't."
"But why are you targeting her?"
Shin Yu grabbed his head.
"No... No... This is all wrong. Yurim has to disappear. Then, all of this would be as if it had never happened."
At his strange reaction, Yoo Hyun's eyes widened.
"Shin Yu... don't tell me you took the drug the Faces had given you."
At his words, even Yurim lowered her head.
"D... Drug?"
"Is that why..."
Drug?
'Don't tell me!'
The Faces weren't kidnapping people just for unknown reasons and purposes. There was also information that useful people were constantly brainwashed through drugs.
The drugs were rumored to have severe side effects; they significantly shortened one's lifespan and caused hallucinations or delusions.
"Shin Yu..."
"This isn't my fault... it just became like this. But it's okay. This is just a dream, a hallucination. When I wake up, it will be like none of this had ever happened."
Swoosh...
Shin Yu lifted his cloak.
"Oh my God..."
There were scars all across his body. Horrific wounds that Yurim would have experienced had things gone ‘normally’.
Instead, the hell she experienced was split between Shin Yu and Seol. Although she was briefly saved, others had fallen to hell in her place.
Swoosh...
Shin Yu's gaze turned to Yurim.
While still wearing the mask, Yurim trembled and said.
"I'm... Yaksha. I was born as Yaksha... I have killed many people... and have always brought misfortune."
Yurim clutched her head.
"I was wrong! This is all my fault!"
"Yurim."
Yoo Hyun placed his hand on top of Yurim's shoulder.
"Take a deep breath."
"Sob... Sob..."
"Don't cry. You aren't Yaksha. You're Yurim, my disciple."
Seol realized something upon looking at Yoo Hyun's demeanor.
He was very confident about his actions and judgment.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry for being born... It's all my fault. If only... If only I could disappear. I'll let go of everything. I received things that were too much for someone like me..."
Swoosh...
THUD—
"Huh...?"
One of Shin Yu's arms was cut.
"AGH... AAHH!"
"Shin Yu!"
Seol and Yurim unknowingly rushed to the suffering Shin Yu.
"I... why... This is a dream... yet..."
Intoxicated by the drug, Shin Yu mumbled incoherently and staggered backward.
Thud...
"Huh...?"
Shin Yu disappeared over the cliff.
Paaf—!
Fortunately, someone was able to catch Shin Yu's remaining hand.
"You... mustn't... fall..."
"Yurim..."
"Yurim, who was wearing Yaksha’s mask, shed tears."
"Don't fall. Hold on!"
Thud...
Thud, thud...
Yurim's tears fell over Shin Yu's face.
Shin Yu's eyes, which were reddened, slowly regained their original light.
"Yurim... my friend. Oh my Godv"
"Come up! You must come up!"
Thud...
Thud...
It had started raining.
WHOOM—!
Lightning streaked the sky.
"I... What have I done..."
Seol tried to help Yurim pull Shin Yu up.
Splash...
Splash...
As it rained, the waves grew fiercer.
Soon, Shin Yu's face hardened, as if he had made a decision.
"Next time we meet, you must choose without fail."
Swoosh...
"All of you."
"NOO! SHIN YU!"
Shin Yu let Yurim's hands go.
Splash...
Shin Yu disappeared into the waves.
"Sob... Sob... Why..."
Seol supported Yurim up. It wasn't just Shin Yu who was in a bad state.
Seol and Yurim were both shocked.
"Cough..."
Yoo Hyun, who was leaning against a fallen tree, panted heavily.
His cloak was stained with blood.
"Master!"
"Ugh..."
Bleh...
Yoo Hyun vomited blood.
"Oof... Oof..."
Seol quickly tore Yoo Hyun's cloak to check his condition.
"This can't be..."
His torso bore numerous wounds—each one exposing raw flesh and streaming blood... and the wound that seemed to have been inflicted just now.
- I have no time. So, I'll have to reprimand you rather harshly for your sake.
'Could it be that him not having time...
He was in a state where it wouldn't have been strange if he had already collapsed when they had just arrived at the meeting place.
"How could you with this body..."
"Cough... Today's events... Oof... will buy you time."
Time...
Time to make a choice...
Yoo Hyun mumbled.
He was right.
He didn't have time.
"Seol... My disciple... I have something I must tell you..."
"Yes..."
"Yurim follows you..."
"..."
"If you ask her to die, she won't just pretend to die... She's an innocent child who might really die."
Yurim quietly shed tears.
"That's why... you must make the right choice... What form do you want Yurim to exist as...?"
Yaksha and Yurim...
Seol's choice wasn't one to hesitate over.
Swoosh...
Seol placed his hand on Yurim's mask.
"Take off the mask, Yurim. It's our Master's final moments."
"..."
Swoosh...
Yurim took off her mask.
Her face was a mess. Tears and snot were smeared all over her face.
"Yurim, a smile suits you the best."
"Master!"
Clank...
Yoo Hyun untied the sword from his waist and handed it to Yurim.
"Everything I’ve been through, I gave it to you. Even though... I'm just a fake."
"..."
"To think all my life was a fake Oof... But still... wasn't I quite useful for a fake?"
"Such a thing."
"If the time I honed... can open your future... How valuable was it?"
Oof...
Oof...
The end was approaching.
"Now that both the Veil and Faces have disappeared, Shin Yu is currently the strongest. He has already surpassed me—and... he will probably only grow stronger. Opposing him will... require a strong resolve, Seol."
"Yes."
"Can you do it? Can you fight with everything you have to protect Yurim from such a person?"
"I'm... still not sure."
What was the correct choice?
"Then, I'll watch from the underground what choice you make."
"..."
"The hardships that you have endured weren't of your choice. However... When it's about the ending of this fake world!"
Grab—!
Yoo Hyun grabbed Seol's hand.
His eyes had already turned gray, and lost their vision.
This was his final strength.
"The ending... choose it yourselves."
Thud...
Swoosh...
Drowned by the sound of the rain, people left.
Many who had been fabricated by lies were washed away by the rain.
Although they were fabricated, they had lived sincerely. The rain at least spared them that much.
[The end of the dream is approaching.]
[The collapse of the dream is starting.]
...