NOVPUB"I expected it, and I prepared for it."
But as soon as I made eye contact with the fake younger siblings manifested by my abilities, I felt suffocated.
The last images of my deceased siblings flooded my mind endlessly.
Every time this happened, contradictory thoughts would emerge all at once.
The thought that I was relieved to see their faces because they had risen. 𝔫𝔬𝖛𝖕𝔲𝖇.𝖈𝖔𝖒
The thought that if they had stayed asleep, I wouldn’t have had to be harsh with them.
At this point, these were meaningless thoughts.
So, I tried to focus on important thoughts.
‘Don’t be fooled by what’s in front of you. I know what kind of ability this is, and I know how to counter it.’
Right now, I was facing an ability used by the former head of the Korean branch before his death.
His ability manipulates past regrets, future fears, and the emotions surrounding them to completely seize the mind of the target.
The countermeasure was simple.
You just had to choose the present.
Rather than distorting past events as regrets or getting caught in the fear of an uncertain future, you just had to accept the present as it is.
But it wasn’t easy.
Even without falling into such an ability, how many people are captured by regret and fear, turning away from reality?
“......”
I silently looked down at my siblings.
They were wearing the pajamas I had gifted them.
Without any complaints, my younger siblings wore my hand-me-down clothes, and I felt sorry about it, so I often bought them new clothes whenever I could.
Considering they were still growing, I bought generously sized pajamas, but by now, they fit my siblings perfectly.
At the time, I hadn’t thought much about it, but as I reflected on it, I realized they had grown when I saw those pajamas fitting them so well.
Even so, my siblings were still much smaller than me, and they would remain small for the foreseeable future.
“There’s some chocolate in the fridge...”
“Oppa...”
When I didn’t respond, my siblings looked at me anxiously.
Even though it was nothing, I remained silent, angry for no real reason.
I was extremely sensitive because of the upcoming match, and I ended up spending my last moments with my siblings like this because of all the pent-up frustration.
‘If only I didn’t act like this next time, I would say goodbye properly, say I’d be fine, rest more, and thank them always... I thought I was thinking that way back then too.’
Something rose up from within me.
If I didn’t swallow it forcefully, it seemed like it would spill out into words.
If I sensed any energy from an enemy or another ability user nearby, I felt like I could maintain my composure, but right now, everything felt as though I had returned to the past, with only my family present.
If I let my guard down even slightly, I might mistakenly think I was back in the past.
I focused my mind coldly, reminding myself that the people in front of me were not my real siblings.
‘The quality of this ability is much higher than what I experienced in the old simulator. Could it be that the former head of the Korean branch’s ability is combined with the power of the Reaper?’
I tried to maintain my composure, but what came out was just an excuse for being swayed by the illusion.
I knew that the ability in reality was far stronger than the illusions the old simulator’s AI showed me.
As I repeated random thoughts, they stopped, and I recalled the fact that Seong Guk-eon, during his replay, managed to break this ability without prior information or training.
Seong Guk-eon in the Plimago was the same.
‘In Seong Guk-eon’s case, whenever he faced past regrets, there was always only one option to choose.’
Seong Guk-eon, with his firm mental resolve, had never hesitated.
He had chosen the same path even before realizing that he was being attacked by an ability that targeted his mind.
And now, Seong Guk-eon was in danger, trusting me and following my strategy.
The thought that my past regrets could put Seong Guk-eon’s life at risk brought me back to my senses.
‘By now, the Fomor demons must have moved and contacted Seong Guk-eon. According to my agreement with Ryu Jang, that side should be fine.’
I thought of others involved in this operation, alongside Seong Guk-eon.
Then, the overload in my mind seemed to subside.
With the fake siblings in front of me, I was already being deceived, but my mind had cooled.
Thanks to this, I could remain silent like I had in the past and watch the situation unfold.
“Oppa...”
“Hyung...”
When I remained silent, my siblings looked like they were about to cry.
Seeing them sad still bothered me, but why had I kept my mouth shut the entire time?
Even while criticizing my past self with a cold mind, the pain from where my younger sibling’s gaze had landed felt like a knife in my chest.
“Hyung must not be eating the snacks because he has to catch the plane.”
My parents gently calmed my siblings down.
At that moment, I felt a sense of disappointment, even at that sight.
Even if my siblings took my share of snacks, my parents would tell me to let them have it instead of scolding me.
There were times when I thought my parents cared more about my siblings than me, or that maybe they didn’t like me very much.
‘To have such childish thoughts even after seeing that.’
My parents had dark circles under their eyes, likely from a lack of sleep.
Additionally, there was an exhaustion in the way they patted my siblings’ heads.
Considering the time, there was little left before they had to head to work.
Still, they had made sure I ate breakfast, checked that nothing was missing from my suitcase, and were here to say goodbye to me.
Raising three kids while working full-time, especially one of them being a sports player under media scrutiny, must have been incredibly difficult, but they were always so kind.
They probably thought of it as just doing what any parent would do, but without love, they wouldn’t have been able to do all of that.
‘...I have to leave now.’
Just like my past self, it was time to leave without saying a word.
What if I stayed with my family instead of going to the competition?
My siblings would have been happy, and my parents would have reluctantly accepted it while still worrying about me.
That impulse crossed my mind, but reason held me back.
If I let that thought grow stronger, my mind would be bound here.
Right now, I should not even think about staying, let alone saying a proper goodbye.
“Take care. Listen to your coach, and if anything happens, call me even if the time zone’s off.”
“...Take care!”
My siblings kept calling out to me until the very end.
How had I been so harsh on such kind kids in the past?
Now, whenever I interact with someone younger, especially children, I try to be more thoughtful, but I still couldn’t understand my past self.
“......”
I nodded as I looked back at my family and turned away.
When I opened the front door and stepped outside, I was alone.
Every time I saw my family’s faces, it hurt, but now that I couldn’t see them, I felt an emptiness inside that was even more painful.
I tried to fill that empty space with my thoughts.
‘My regret isn’t over yet.’
Even as I stepped out through the door, the illusion didn’t break.
I had successfully reenacted my farewell with my family, but since my regret hadn’t been completed, the ability continued.
I joined the coach, headed to the airport, did interviews with reporters on-site, and prepared for the competition.
In the meantime, I had to suppress an impulse.
‘The accident hasn’t happened yet. The fake family is still alive. If I contact them now or go back, I’ll see a different scene than the past.’
If I did that, the illusion would change, and the competition would fall apart, but my family would stay alive by my side.
My mind and memories, tangled with my ability, would continue to show me a happy illusion, and I would be trapped by it.
If I were a player, there would be a way even if I made a mistake.
Eventually, I would realize I had fallen for a mental ability and could reset the illusion through the ability user.
However, after resetting, I would have to choose again through my past and regrets, fighting my way out of the ability.
“Eui-shin, wait a moment. Wear this.”
Finally, I reached the final round of the World Junior Chess Championship, just before the last match began.
The coach handed me a player’s uniform with a sponsor patch, while I was still in my school uniform.
This had happened just as the coach had tried to hide the family accident as per my parents' wishes.
The coach’s attitude was different from usual.
If I had pushed through that awkwardness, I might have realized what had happened to my family and might have been able to attend the funeral.
“I focus best when I wear my school uniform. You know that.”
“I know, but they specifically asked you to wear this for the final round...”
“I didn’t hear anything about that.”
I ignored the player uniform the coach handed me and walked on, but I could hear the coach calling my name from behind.
Even though I had been cold with my family, ignoring the coach was no different.
‘Since my regret isn’t complete yet, they’ll make sure I play chess. I won’t let it slide. They must have noticed that chess is my weakness and are planning to use it against me.’
Just as I expected, the match began.
It seemed like I had to finish the game in order to complete my regret.
Having come here by coldly parting ways, I now had to play chess without knowing what had happened to my family.
The hand moving the chess piece suddenly became cold.
‘I never knew what it felt like to have cold hands, even if the weather wasn’t cold.’
Things were different before I lost my family.
I had warm hands, so whenever the weather got cold, my siblings would hold one hand each and wouldn’t let go.
Now, with no siblings to hold my hand, perhaps my hands had turned cold.
Even though the game hadn’t finished yet, my hands felt frozen.
‘...How do I play chess again? How do I move these pieces?’
Even though I had memorized all the moves from that day, my hands wouldn’t move properly.
When the crisis came, I rummaged through my memories, trying to find a way to get out of it.
Then, memories of the matches I had played after entering Eungwang High flashed in my mind.
Ma Jin-seung, Kim Ga-ram, Yeom Jun-yeol, Park Seung-hyun, Cheon Dong-ha, and Baek Ho-gun.
I had played a fair number of matches after entering Eungwang High, so why hadn’t I thought of them right away?
And then, something important clicked.
‘That day, my class had come to cheer me on. If they hadn’t, I would have lost.’
On the first day I played chess again, I almost collapsed in the second round without making many moves.
But when my fate skill activated and I looked up, I saw my classmates had come to cheer me on.
Seeing their support, I was able to make my next move.
I thought of the people I had met in this world, starting with my classmates.
As that thought continued, my hands no longer felt cold.
“Check.”
I finished the game according to the moves I had remembered.
At that moment, a portion of the space shattered.
The illusion, which had been perfectly replicating the past, started to shake.
Choosing from preset options in the midst of past regrets was over.
Now, it was time for me to fight against the ability as a player.
“This will seem strange. Even though I was mentally shaken, I still managed to make the moves until the end.”
Crack...!
A massive crack formed throughout the chess tournament hall.
The space twisted and tried to change around the crack.
“I know well that the moves once made cannot be undone. I’ll review them, but even if I regret, I won’t take back the move.”
Crack...!
As I spoke words of negation, the illusion shattered more forcefully, and clouds rose from between the cracks.
The dead former head of the Korean branch’s Gwanglim was shattered, and the power of the Reaper intensified, causing the illusion to crack even further.
The opponent seemed to be preparing for the next move.
“I won’t let you peer into my future and fears.”
For a moment, the movement of the clouds froze, as if asking how I knew their next move.
I seized that moment and activated my ability.
[Skill 'The Eye of Life and Death' has been activated.]
The eye that separates life and death pierced through the blurry illusion.
