Etranger Chapter 129

“We shouldn’t give up in shame. This is an adventure. Until we meet the ‘Creator’, we’ll persevere. I need to know why he did this to us. Do you agree?”

“No… I don’t agree,” Biyeon said as she shook her head.

San narrowed his eyes.

Biyeon continued, “I will be the protagonist. We will definitely see the ending. I won’t quit in the middle nor feign false pretenses. I need to see that son of a b.i.t.c.h.”

“You don’t mind the endless waves of frustration, struggle, and stress that we’ll be facing?” San asked as he laughed bitterly.

“No, I don’t mind. And another thing, never die before me! This is not a request. It is an order.”

***

The battle was over. Traces of the previously fierce battle remained in the square. The day was gradually getting dark, heralding a cold night in the desert. The heat that seemed to suffocate them in the daytime had already gone. The air became cool and refres.h.i.+ng.

[It didn’t meet my expectations.] San mentioned to Biyeon in their private channel.

[When I first saw how it or they used illusions, I got a sense of how it worked. The illusions were never meant for combat.]

[Was it put in place as a warning system? The machines themselves also had very weak attack power… what did you make of it?]

[The weapons they used were non-fatal.] Biyeon answered.

[Then…?]

[Anesthetics were mixed into their projectiles. Perhaps most of the previous visitors here were probably captured alive through fear and hallucination. There was also a mild hallucinogen mixed into the battlefield air.]

[Why do you think they did that?]

[I’m not sure. Possibly because it’s economical? I would have chosen this method if I needed to protect something for a long time with a small force. The maintenance costs are high to maintain proper combat power for a prolonged period of time.]

[What do you think will happen in the future?]

[Since the first line of defense has been broken, the owner of these ruins will probably either send someone with stronger combat power or try to negotiate with us.]

[What do you think?]

[They were the ones who chose to isolate while being defensive… If it was me, I’d choose to negotiate… Huh? Is something coming up down the road?]

The warriors and crew members were looking at a new sight. Against the backdrop of the darkening desert’s black shadows, the buildings were lighting up one by one.

It may have been the first lighting of the buildings in thousands or hundreds of thousands of years.

“There-!”

The street lamps on the roadside leading up to the large octagonal building were lit as if guiding and encouraging the group to progress forward. At the entrance of the building, a man in a white robe was looking at them with his hands behind his back.

Soon, the lights in each building turned on, and people in white clothes appeared in front of each building one by one.

A soft and sensual melody flowed out from the buildings.

The piano and wind instrument noise plus the bleak darkness and mysterious figures in white clothes created a grotesque atmosphere as if the group had just walked into some weird afterlife area.

“What is this?” San murmured.

“I guess we’ll soon find out. It’s been a while since I’ve heard jazz. It doesn’t sound too bad.”

Biyeon responded in a deadpan voice.

Rain sighed as she glanced at San and Biyeon. So did the other people in their group. It became a habit to look at these two people whenever the group faced an unknown situation.

***

“What rude visitors. The property damage is so great…” said an old man in a stern voice. He was a Caucasian man in a white robe. He stood on the path where the group had been walking.

“You didn’t make a great effort to communicate with us beforehand. No one was in the mood to resolve anything through words, right?” San replied bluntly. 

The old man shrugged his shoulders before replying, “I was just trying to scare you. I never thought you guys would destroy everything. The damage is huge.”

“We’ve only broken a few metal cans, it’s not even that much…” San said as he rolled his eyes at the old man. The group members held their breath as they listened in on the conversation.

“Well, I guess that’s true. Anyway, do you guys want to see this place?” the old man replied as he bitterly laughed.

“Are you the owner of this place?” Biyeon asked.

“Let’s say I’m an overseer, not the owner. Thanks to my lazy owner, I’m acting as a temporary owner, but…” the old man explained as he shrugged again.

“Are you allowing us to look around this place?”

“You are welcome to look around. However, in return, I would like you to grant me a few simple requests.”

“Do you know who we are?” San asked warily. His fingertips were fiddling with the hilt of his sword.

“Of course. You both are quite famous.”

“That’s not enough of an explanation. Let’s get to the main issue. Did you lure us to this place?”

“Don’t rush. You’ll soon find out. Is that your only question? If you decided to come here, I’m certain you prepared a lot of questions… Will you come along with me? We can speak further in another area.”

The old man shuffled his feet and turned backward. He started walking with San and Biyeon closely following him from behind. The others in the group also started following them.

“Is this an ancient ruin?” Biyeon asked.

“It was made in ancient times, but it is not a ruin. It’s still moving and alive.”

“What is the relations.h.i.+p between this place and America?” San asked.

“United States of America? America… Ah! You’re referring to the country in the era of scientific civilization in Episode 285. Yes… some of these buildings contain quite a few parts from that time.”

“Episode 285?”

“It was a very short-lived Episode 300,000 years ago that was based on iron and carbon. It was an Episode that challenged the balance between the process of human collective evolution and individual evolution. Eventually, the Episode tilted too much to one side and eventually self-destructed. At that time, a country called the United States seized hegemony of the world. However, it had liberated the greed of humans too much, causing greed to stand at the forefront of all decision-making. Unfortunately, if I recall correctly, that Episode is no longer running.”

San swallowed dry saliva. Biyeon’s face turned completely white.

Everything became more confusing. As they kept reconfirming the promise that they made to each other, they started to dig deeper into the subject.

“So… what Episode is it now?”

“314.”

“What is an Episode? How do you tell them apart?” Biyeon asked.

“The Original Being defined an Episode as ‘a set of ordered events.’ Usually, the events within an Episode are arranged in chronological order. Sometimes the order is deliberately reversed to shake up the rule of causality, but such non-linear progression of Episodes is very rare.”

“Non-linear progression?”

“We don’t cla.s.sify Episodes in chronological order. For example, the Episode 285 that you belonged to doesn’t have to necessarily be behind the current episode 314 in terms of time. It will be difficult to understand with your sense and knowledge of time. Simply, an Episode is an evolutionary record of a dominant organism.”

“I’m finding it difficult to follow. So how does an Episode end?” San asked.

“When it reaches termination, or what you would call ‘Judgment Day’…”

“Can an Episode be repeated?”

“It’s very rare, but it does happen. You can think of it as a film being recycled.”

“What is your name?” Biyeon asked.

“I’m called ‘Senun’. I am a representative of the dragons that you despise.”

San looked at Biyeon. Biyeon was staring at Senun.

“What is your relations.h.i.+p with the Magic Dragon, Siluone?” 

“We were of the same ilk.”

“Not now?”

“She had a falling out with the Original Being. So, she mutated herself and became a magic dragon. Many of my people have chosen a new life, and I respect their decisions. I’m also in a situation where I have to make a choice.”

“It seems that the Original Being has lost his love for the dragon race. Why?”

“There’s no reason to get into the details. Suffice it to say that there were differences of opinion about humans.”

“Why didn’t you choose to mutate like Siluone and the other dragons?”

“I thought it wouldn’t be too late to make my decision after meeting the Original Being in person and confirming his will.”

“When will that happen?”

“I can’t tell you that right now. But if you really want to meet him, there will be a way. He enjoys trading. It’s a pity that he loves humans so much…”

“What can we do?”

“The Original Being needs some arrangements to be put in place and made.”

“What kind of arrangements?”

“For one, he needs a reason to descend. So, what do you think? Are you willing to try? By the way, just so you both know, you’re not the first.”

San and Biyeon paused for a moment. They were pa.s.sing the entrance to a large building.

Episode 3. Book 3: Adventure – Chapter 2

“If we cooperate… what can we expect in return?” Biyeon asked.

“You will get what you want. However, it will be limited to what I can do,” Senun answered.

“What should we ask for? It’s like we met a rare mountain spirit… should we ask for a golden axe? A silver axe?” San muttered sarcastically as he turned to Biyeon.

On the two’s faces, complex and diverse expressions that were difficult to express in words were drawn. Composure. Enthusiasm. Hope. Despair. And a cold rage…

“In these turbulent, chaotic times, cash is best. About 30 million dollars? Does that sound like enough for severance pay?” Biyeon asked with a serious face. However, her eyes were closely examining her surroundings.

“Isn’t gold safer than dollars? However, it’s heavy, so it does possess the disadvantage that I can’t carry much around,” San said as he also swept his eyes past the ceiling and stairs of the building.

“Then wouldn’t jewels be better?”

“Non-intrinsic valued things don’t retain their value very well…”

“Wait, isn’t real estate invincible? Like buying land in Gangnam…”

“Don’t you know that the real estate bubble burst in 2007 and almost destroyed the world economy?”

“Should we ask them for digital currency? Bitcoin?”

“We need to ask for a diversified portfolio of various holdings!”

“…” Senun shook his head as he listened to the two’s conversation. He had never met such a weird couple in his 10,000 years of life.

“I’m sure you’re really interesting and entertaining people. However, shouldn’t you stop fooling around now?”