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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Rewound Time
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United States Association Headquarters.
A deep underground bunker, hidden far beneath the surface.
Only a select few knew of this place's existence, a sanctuary where even the President of the United States could not enter without permission.
Isolated and cut off from the outside world, it was equipped with every conceivable security measure to prevent any empowered individual from intruding.
Just in case anyone tried to move here. There were no mirrors, no televisions. Given the existence of an empowered individual who could move freely as long as there was darkness, the place was always brightly lit, and all necessary devices to prevent teleportation were also in place.
This was the place where the hero who needed to be protected most in America — no, in the entire world — resided.
It was the residence of 'Ex Machina,' the only individual in the world with the power to turn back time.
And he.
Currently, he was leaning against the wall, vomiting blood.
"Cough, cough."
Haa, haa.
He gasped for breath, letting out deep sighs.
His brown hair had turned yellow, and his skin was deathly pale, perhaps from terror.
He stumbled, walking down the deep underground corridor.
'....I stopped it.'
He muttered in a hoarse voice he didn't recognize.
Cough. Another gush of blood.
Clenching his trembling hands with difficulty, dragging his feet, he barely managed to walk to his room.
The path he had taken was stained with blood.
"Haa, haa."
Cough.
As soon as he finally reached his room, he collapsed onto the floor.
Ex Machina. Real name, James Machina.
He coughed up blood, then placed a hand on his chest and muttered.
"....With this, it all ends."
Too much time had passed. Beyond the scope of what his ability could handle, the time he could rewind. If he were to rewind now, he would have to stake his life. The life he had so carefully preserved to prevent humanity's demise.
But.
'...Heh. How laughable. What good is it, when humanity has already been annihilated?'
Indeed.
As he was presumed to be the sole survivor, there was no longer any meaning. He had preserved his life until now to prevent the apocalypse? Yes. This was that apocalypse. To stop this, he had lived until now.
However.
"Next time..."
James muttered, his eyes trembling. His face was pale with terror.
...He had figured everything out. The genesis of this disaster and its solution. Now, by rewinding time and activating the 'device' he had last discovered to prevent the destruction, he would fulfill his duty.
Though he would lose his life in the process.
It didn't matter.
Because he was a hero.
A hero who protected people, who had to save the world.
His own life.
He could willingly sacrifice it.
Yet.
For now, he had somehow stopped it. Sent it back.
...If that thing were to return again next time.
Who would stop it then?
Would it even be possible to stop it?
"God... save this world..."
He muttered those last words without realizing it.
Not to God, but to his own god.
And then, he clutched his heart even tighter.
At that moment, the white basement filled with a blinding yellow light.
And so,
Not just the basement, but the entire world was bathed in yellow light.
The devastated world, completely. It was all filled with yellow light.
And then.
Time, rewound.
***
Ego Stream Headquarters, the Big House.
"Yawn..."
"Oppa, what are you doing?"
"Huh? Oh, just watching TV."
"...What on earth is that, that you're watching so intently?"
Seo-eun asked me, picking up a slice of apple with her fork, a puzzled expression on her face.
The living room in the morning.
Everyone was gathered there at that moment.
I was watching TV intently.
To feel the moment of destruction.
[Currently, in the United States, celebrations are still underway in front of the Statue of Liberty, commemorating the founding anniversary of the US Branch Association.]
The image of the Statue of Liberty appeared on screen, accompanied by the anchor's words.
I was watching it intently.
Yes, it's almost time.
The moment when it would be decided whether I was caught in the time period of destruction or not.
[[The head of the Statue of Liberty suddenly exploded, and the tragedy began.]]
That line was clearly mentioned in the original work.
If the head exploded, it meant the destruction was about to begin.
But.
"..."
What if it didn't explode?
That would mean the destruction had already occurred, and time had rewound thanks to Ex Machina's sacrifice.
It would mean I had already experienced all of that destruction, but with time rewound, I was sitting here without any memory of it.
So, then.
To explode or not to explode.
That was the question.
I watched the TV with such focus.
Finally, the moment the minute hand pointed to the hour.
"...."
...Nothing happened.
[Yes! A considerable amount of time has passed, yet people are still enjoying the festivities in front of the Statue of Liberty. This has been reporter Kim Yu-mi, reporting from America by night.]
"Whew..."
I slumped back onto the sofa.
...Thankfully, it seemed this wasn't a timeline where I had to deal with the mess.
Well, technically, my past self might have already dealt with the mess. But since that would have been undone anyway, it wasn't my problem. My past self surely handled it well.
"...Dae-in Oppa, are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
"Huh?"
"No, it's just that you've been sighing so much since earlier..."
That's when Eun-wol, sitting opposite me, looked up at me with a worried expression.
I told her not to worry and gently patted her head. It was a sigh of relief, Eun-wol.
I leaned back against the sofa again and put my hand in my pocket.
...I felt something round and spherical.
If the Statue of Liberty's head had exploded and destruction had begun, I would have immediately detonated this sleeping gas first.
But since this wasn't that timeline, there was no need for it now. I'd have to put it back somewhere in my room.
"Ja-young Unnie, I was eating that...?"
"Oh, Seo-eun. What's yours and what's mine? It's all ours."
"Hmm. This apple tastes sweet. It wasn't this sweet the last time I ate one."
"Ms. Shin-ryeong. Shall I peel another one for you?"
And so. In the midst of the bustling living room.
I quietly fell into thought.
"....."
...Seeing as there was no particular news on the internet, it seemed the destruction had indeed been averted. Ex Machina must have sacrificed himself to rewind time on a grand scale.
The original work never properly explained the cause of this incident or how Machina stopped it, so there was no way for me to know... But in any case, it was a relief.
Regardless, the event had occurred. Now I had to think about what to do next.
...Soon, the news of Ex Machina's death would probably be suddenly revealed worldwide. I remembered his identity, which had been kept strictly secret, somehow being exposed due to his sudden demise.
Anyway, that was a story for a few days later, so never mind that.
There was something more important to think about.
"....."
That was, what I had done in that destroyed timeline.
According to my plan, I was supposed to meet Stardus, who was suffering without knowing time would rewind, and comfort her so she wouldn't needlessly suffer. I wondered if I had done it well. Stardus might not have listened to me. It was probably something I'd never know.
...But, if things had gone well.
If she had believed me and stayed by my side.
Then, I probably wouldn't have hidden my secret and would have told her everything. After all, it was a timeline that would be erased.
A memory that would be forgotten.
"Haha... I wonder what Stardus's reaction was."
"Huh? Stardus?"
"Oh. Nothing."
To Seo-eun, who turned her head, wondering what I was mumbling about, I smiled and brushed it off, then excused myself and walked to my room.
...What kind of reaction did Stardus have, I wonder?
Did she get angry? Did she despise me? Or was she flustered? Perhaps she even laughed in disbelief.
Well. It was something I would never know now.
And naturally, I couldn't remember anything either.
However.
"..."
As I gripped the doorknob, I unconsciously felt a slight ache in my chest.
Time flows... moments gather...
"Tsk. What's wrong with me? Arrhythmia?"
I.
I, you.....
"....."
I don't know.
Why does my chest keep aching?
Why do I feel like I've forgotten something I shouldn't have?
Why does my heart keep pounding?
"Seriously, I don't know."
I sat in my chair and muttered.
Was it a side effect of time regression? ...But I hadn't regressed. That's strange. Or perhaps I just feel empty inside.
However. A sudden thought occurred to me.
A thought that inexplicably came to mind.
I muttered it out loud without realizing.
"...Stardus, I miss you."
***
-Click, click.
Korea Hero Association Headquarters.
Stardus's office.
Shin Ha-ru, sitting there, clicking a ballpoint pen, unconsciously pouted as she looked at the calendar.
"...Liar."
...'Well, you'll be able to see me again soon.' It had already been a month since Egoistic, riding a dragon, said those words during the last terrorist attack. He said 'soon,' but a month had passed. What was so 'soon' about that? Was he planning to show up three months later, as usual, and call that 'soon'?
"Sigh..."
Shin Ha-ru let out a small sigh, leaned back in her chair, and looked up.
Then, her eyes fell upon the TV screen hanging on the opposite wall of her office.
[Currently, in the United States, celebrations are still underway in front of the Statue of Liberty, commemorating the founding anniversary of the US Branch Association.]
The screen showed Americans enjoying the festivities.
And.
"..."
For some reason, she couldn't take her eyes off the screen.
She found herself watching the scene continuously.
As time passed.
[Yes! A considerable amount of time has passed, yet people are still enjoying the festivities in front of the Statue of Liberty. This has been reporter Kim Yu-mi, reporting from America by night.]
"....."
Well, nothing much happened.
It was just a news broadcast that ended after showing normal festive scenes.
...Why did I even try to watch that?
Turning her gaze away and turning her head, she went back to her work.
And then.
Just as she was doing so.
-Plop.
"....Huh?"
A drop of water suddenly fell onto her document, and she tilted her head. ...Where did that come from?
Puzzled, she brought a hand to her eye, sensing something strange.
"....What?"
And only then did she realize.
Looking at her own face reflected in the turned-off computer screen.
A single tear was tracing a path down her cheek from one of her eyes.
"....What? Why, hiccup. Why is this happening?"
...Am I going crazy?
Shin Ha-ru thought that, wiping her eyes.
And yet.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.
...I feel like I've forgotten something.
'This won't be the end.'
'Even if time rewinds.'
'In the end, it's just the two of us.'
A lump of emotion settled in a corner of her chest.
"....Seriously, why am I like this..."
...I wanted to remember. I didn't want to forget.
If I forgot it like this. We might never know each other, forever.
This feeling, as if I've forgotten something I desperately wanted to remember.
And.
Along with that feeling.
She suddenly felt a strong urge.
...I can't let this go.
Even just this feeling. Please, remember.
Surely.
'Someday, a day will come when we can talk like this again.'
And so.
Confused by the sudden, unwitting thoughts that flooded her mind, she eventually stopped crying. Her swirling thoughts cleared, and her chaotic emotions settled.
Then. She quietly leaned back in her chair.
...She didn't know why this was happening. Why she had suddenly cried was a mystery. She could only guess it was due to recent stress.
However.
A certain thought that had been lingering since before.
The feeling that emerged at the end of those chaotic, inexplicable thoughts.
Shin Ha-ru quietly muttered.
"Egoistic... I miss you."
Why, all of a sudden? She didn't know why.
But she missed Egoistic.
Right now.