Chapter 520 – Regression.
Change arrived in an instant.
The view of the classroom in my eyes transformed into a strange space filled with darkness.
Hyeji, who was in front of me, reached out to me like a dog.
The high-pitched sound that Hyeji was making was now the voice desperately uttered by Piece.
And countless pieces of information flowed into my empty head.
[You there! Are you finally back to your senses?]
‘……What on earth happened…?’
Struggling through the throbbing pain in my head, I spoke to Piece.
[That bastard pressed his finger on your left eye, and you suddenly froze.]
‘He pressed his finger…?’
Indeed, as Piece said, that dog’s finger was touching my iris.
But strangely, I didn’t feel anything touching my left eye.
Rather, it felt like that finger was part of me.
As if the droplets that were separated had merged into one.
‘……Is that so…? How much time has passed…?’
[At best, less than a few seconds.]
Hearing Piece’s words only seemed to amplify the confusion in my head.
Just a few short seconds.
That was all it took to experience such a long dream.
A nightmarishly vivid nightmare.
[What’s wrong…?]
‘I had a nightmare…’
On the other hand, the sight of that bastard reaching out to my left eye felt a bit strange.
I was slightly bothered that he was just standing there like a fool, just like me.
But more than that, it was the reaction he was showing.
– “No, what the hell is that crazy woman doing!”
That didn’t mean I could just take his head off right then and there.
My hand gripping the knife was definitely tense, and it had moved just a little bit.
But beyond that, I couldn’t move at all.
It felt as if someone was strongly holding my body down, telling me I shouldn’t move.
As if there was some law here that I couldn’t understand.
I was grateful that I could barely open my mouth to ask.
“Fuck… what the hell was that…”
– “Why is the very possibility causing the world line to collapse!!!”
Of course, that bastard didn’t seem to have any intention of answering me.
While doubts about what had happened filled my mind, Piece suddenly began to speak to me.
[So, you said you had a dream.]
‘It felt a bit too vivid to call it a dream though…’
[Tell me about it.]
Eventually, I quickly explained to Piece as she had requested.
The overall flow of the dream was similar to what I had experienced until now.
But there were definitely different parts when it came to certain details.
Those sequences were so vivid that it felt like I was experiencing another reality.
And the moment I saw the impossible object, that was when the dream crumbled away.
To be honest, I didn’t understand it even as I spoke.
Right now, I was in a tremendous crisis and suddenly fell into sleep, right?
It felt too lively to be a dream, and conversely, it made no sense for it to be reality.
If someone heard this story, it would be natural for them to treat me as a crazy person and laugh.
But Piece didn’t laugh; instead, she bluntly offered her opinion.
[That was probably one of the possibilities through regression.]
‘So, you’re saying there could be such world lines when I regress?’
[Right. Even if imperfectly, the two have become one, so that woman made you experience regression.]
Regression that others had experienced and I hadn’t.
But as Piece said, my left eye and that bastard were connected right now.
Thanks to that, I felt like I had glimpsed a possibility through the regression that that dog had.
It was a bit of an unexpected statement, but I thought it had a degree of validity.
In the world line I had experienced, no one had regressed.
At the same time, I had never seen the numbers above others’ heads.
I merely lamented personally about my lack of ability.
‘Then do you know the conditions under which the possibility gained through that regression ends?’
[It would either be a possibility that cannot exist, or you completely meet your end in this world line.]
‘Is just being aware of it not enough?’
[Unfortunately, that isn’t enough.]
And this time, it seemed that the regression ended imperfectly due to the former reason.
‘Then wouldn’t killing myself at the moment of realization solve it?’
[You can’t really claim to have ended it with suicide.]
‘Because suicide is just like an intermission in life?’
[That’s correct. Even if it’s a possibility, it can’t simply end if it’s not complete.]
It was a possibility that shouldn’t exist.
A possibility that could never exist.
No, it was an absolutely worst-case possibility that should never exist.
[But what the hell happened there to cause such a situation?]
‘……Hyeji had a huge chest…’
[……That kind of thing shouldn’t exist…]
At that moment, a question arose.
That bastard knew about the contents of the regression I had just experienced.
Of course, I could make sense of it given that he made me regress.
But why didn’t Piece know about it?
If I and that bastard were imperfectly one through my left eye.
Wouldn’t Piece—who was parasitizing my soul—also have to know this?
Yet, why did she ask me about it?
‘But why didn’t you know about this, Piece?’
[What you experienced is a possibility; rather, it’s a new world created by that bastard.]
‘What’s the difference?’
[To exert influence there, I must sacrifice my existence.]
Then I roughly understood.
Piece had said from previous times that to interfere in another’s world, one must sacrifice their existence.
Thanks to that, every time Piece intervened with me, she would say she was dwindling her existence.
Moreover, the possibility I experienced was created based on the foundation of that bastard’s regression.
Therefore, Piece couldn’t know what I had experienced through regression.
‘So if you want to interfere with that, your existence would dwindle too, right?’
[That’s right. If I ever did that, this weak body would soon vanish.]
To be honest, I thought that was an extremely unfavorable condition.
Right now, that bastard could regress me over and over.
But after experiencing that nightmare, I couldn’t do anything.
However, Piece had a different opinion than I did.
[It’s not necessarily an unfavorable situation for you.]
‘Why not?’
Of course, I didn’t fully understand the following answer.
[Instead, you have moved a little bit, haven’t you?]
‘……So is that the reason he can’t move?’
[As long as he keeps his hand on your eye, he will be like this. Though he doesn’t seem to have the intention to do so.]
At least I felt I could temporarily set aside the thought that it was unfavorable.
Right after ending the regression, I remembered that my arm had moved just a little.
Right now, it wasn’t moving at all, as if it wasn’t my body.
But conversely, that meant I could gradually move a little each time I experienced another regression.
[And whatever you do, you won’t be able to revert back to before you moved.]
‘So if I do nothing, wouldn’t that be the end?’
[Then all the monsters that bastard prepared would get sliced up, wouldn’t they?]
‘Ah, so that means it’s mandatory for me to experience regression.’
Then one day, I should be able to stab that blade I was holding.
Although the time would be deceptively short.
Experiencing an utterly long time in my perception.
Of course, that would involve going through numerous lives, making it incredibly tough.
‘But then, thinking about it, wouldn’t it be better for that bastard to attack me directly?’
[He’s not specialized enough in combat to move his own body.]
‘At least that’s a relief.’
But I didn’t feel any desire to give up on this idea.
No matter how arduous and painful the process was,
I considered it a pretty cheap price to pay to beat that bastard down.
[So just cut off the arm that is touching your eye. The moment you do, it’ll be absorbed into this body.]
‘Got it.’
But fundamentally, one question arose in me.
What on earth was the reason this dog suddenly made me experience regression?
From what I could see, it looked like he simply wanted to take the power from my left eye.
But this question was quickly resolved.
– “Shut up and hand it over to me!!!”
“Get lost.”
[Not get lost, but shut up.]
Through what that dog was saying in front of me,
‘No, you crazy woman.’
[Isn’t that what you should say?]
Right now, the possession of the regression point lies with none other than me and Piece.
Honestly, it’s true that I can’t really feel what this is.
But at least if I hand this over, that would be the end.
I didn’t hear it from someone; I just felt it instinctively.
‘So in any situation, as long as my will doesn’t waver, then it’s fine?’
[Additionally, you mustn’t get complacent in that illusion, nor fall into despair.]
‘Sigh, these conditions are harsh.’
In the end, what I had to do was simple.
I simply had to diligently fulfill what I needed to do.
Regardless of the possibilities, never despair or give up.
And do so without being satisfied.
[You’re not seriously going to be satisfied with Hyeji’s big chest, are you?]
‘……That’s…hell…’
[Agreed…]
So I steeled my resolve and prepared.
“Try again, you bastard.”
– “……I was going to do that anyway.”
Another possibility that would unfold through regression.
That bastard’s cruel world line he’d arranged for me.
And my determination that my will would never break.
– “This time, I will make it collapse.”
In that moment, once again, the world began to turn dark.
Words that were chilling and worth refuting lingered hazily in my ears.
