Chapter 930 – 930. Changes in Consciousness (1)
Joo Hyun-seong, who entered Eun-hyeon’s nightmare with Lily’s help, looked around at the atmosphere changing in an instant.
The pure white space where there was nothing was the living room in a house filled with deep darkness.
“… Tsk.”
Perhaps because Joo Hyeon-seong never thought he would see this scene again, he couldn’t help but frown and click his tongue.
Just as for Eun-hyeon, this family background was a place that gave her the worst and unforgettable experience, it was the same for Joo Hyeon-seong.
I immediately turned my head and looked towards the table in the living room.
I saw Eunhyeon lying down with her back against the wall.
And something covers Eunhyeon, who is staring blankly into space.
A monster that looked like human flesh melting and turning into slime was covering Eunhyeon’s body.
“…”
Even though Eunhyeon was in close contact with the monster’s body, she didn’t care at all.
Rather, the sight of Eunhyeon looking up blankly made her look like a person whose soul had slipped out.
“It’s the same. “To hell with it.”
Suddenly, monsters appeared all over the Earth.
The Earth at that time was truly in chaos.
Monsters that appeared in droves everywhere, regardless of country or region, massacred and ate humans, and destroyed or halted the functioning of many countries.
As soon as the situation broke out, Hyeonseong Joo cleared out the monsters with his bare hands.
Although he could not explain how he was able to do it, Joo Hyeon-seong was suddenly able to handle the unfamiliar power of the new concept of magical power.
As if he could not specifically explain how he breathes, sleeps and remains alive.
Joo Hyeon-seong learned this sensuously and applied it to his martial arts.
The sight of a monster that did not die even when stabbed with a knife and poured with bullets exploded with a single fist is an extremely contradictory and unrealistic phenomenon.
After dealing with the monsters, Joo Hyeon-seong went straight to Eun-hyeon’s house.
It was to confirm whether Eun Yeon-hwa and Eun-hyeon were alive or dead.
And this is how we arrived at the scene in front of us.
It was the same as back then.
In a dark house, the sight of a monster covering Eunhyeon and her body as if embracing her.
“There really are no nightmares.”
It was the same, terrible nightmare for Joo Hyeon-seong.
And his subsequent actions are also eerily similar.
He forced Eunhyeon, who was sitting blankly against the wall, to stand up and gave her a hard slap on the cheek.
Wow!
The burning and tingling sensation I felt on my cheeks awakened my mind, which had been exhausted as if eaten by insects.
“… Hyeonseong… Brother?”
“Wake. “You bastard.”
Eunhyeon was greatly agitated and looked at the face of Joo Hyeonseong who suddenly appeared.
“How did you… ?”
“Does it matter now? “How long do you plan on staying here?”
“…”
Eunhyeon avoided looking at Joo Hyeonseong’s question.
The embarrassed attitude was instantly erased and the expression calmed down.
It was a reaction that roughly predicted the hardships I had experienced so far.
Joo Hyeon-seong waited quietly until Eun-hyeon answered.
“… “I can’t do it.”
“What?”
“I said I couldn’t do it.”
“…”
“I tried to do it at first too. But bro…”
Eunhyun’s expression, which she had been holding back, collapsed.
“Can you kill your mother?”
“…”
“I still remember that time… “It’s vivid.”
Eunhyeon looked at her hands and trembled.
The memory of the night his own mother died could not be erased.
The memory of stabbing his mother, who had turned into a monster, into the throat with the kitchen knife he was holding in his hand.
The terrible sensation of the blade cutting into the flesh, digging in, and snapping something remained in both of his hands.
For Eun-hyeon, experiencing that experience one more time was like killing his mother twice.
Even if she turned into a monster, Eun Yeon-hwa was Eun-hyeon’s mother.
“How could you kill her mother twice? I am… I can not.”
Eunhyeon’s expression fell.
His trembling hands were in such a precarious state, as if he could strangle himself at any moment.
Joo Hyeon-seong immediately recognized Eun-hyeon’s mental state.
‘… ‘It’s more serious than I thought.’
Eun-hyeon’s spirit, which had been worn down and dried up, was already on the verge of collapse.
Although this situation was originally intended to artificially accelerate the rate of collapse, the seriousness of the situation did not change.
In fact, the pace of progress is faster than expected.
The reason there have been no major problems until now is also because his mind was protected by the ‘Goddess’ protection.’
‘It was because of that blessing that the current situation occurred.’
‘Goddess’ protection’ is a double-edged sword for Eunhyeon.
It has a positive function as a mental barrier that protects against mental interference from the outside, but of course it also has disadvantages.
Protecting the mind by blocking it means, on the other hand, that there is no way to relieve the mental stress that builds up inside you knowingly or unknowingly.
It was like a faucet that never opens.
The water contained inside gradually stagnates and rots, polluting the place itself.
Eunhyeon’s current mental state is such that the stress accumulated from not being able to go outside is eating away at his spirit.
‘That guy must have known. This is what this guy will become.’
The important thing was that Eunhyeon was at a crossroads as to whether or not she would go beyond this stage.
If Eun-hyeon’s heart is on the verge of being broken and recovery is impossible, Eun-hyeon’s mind will be broken and she will never be able to come out of this nightmare.
Could it be that another Eunhyun was assuming this situation?
Of course, it was assumed that he was thrown into a nightmare, but there were some things that I didn’t understand.
‘It doesn’t look like Hyun-i will be able to get out of this nightmare on her own.’
Considering Eunhyeon’s current mental state, it seemed almost impossible.
What Joo Hyun-seong didn’t understand was the confidence that Eun-hyeon showed.
He was confident that Eunhyeon would definitely come out of this nightmare.
He hadn’t even experienced it himself.
Another Eunhyeon’s request to retrieve the goddess’s protection, which functions as a mental barrier, was rejected.
On what basis was he able to be confident about something he had never experienced?
The result was an action and attitude that seemed to have seen an expanded future.
It’s like looking at a math problem where you don’t know the solution process at all, but you only know the answer.
It was a nerve-wracking part, but Joo Hyun-seong decided to put that aside.
He looked at Eunhyeon again and asked.
“So? “If you can’t do it, what are you going to do?”
“…”
Eunhyeon couldn’t answer.
He also couldn’t think of a suitable solution.
“Do you plan to stay here for the rest of your life? Until the spirit collapses and the soul perishes?”
“That… !”
“Do you know what it means to give up here? It means giving up everyone involved with you. “Your friends, your colleagues, your wife and your daughter.”
“Nice…”
Eunhyeon groaned at Joo Hyeonseong’s words.
It was a fact he also knew.
There was no way Eunhyeon, who had a strong sense of responsibility, could not recognize that fact and turn away.
But even so, he couldn’t kill his own mother twice.
“But I want my mom again…” .”
“Hyuna. “You are mistaken now.”
“… Yes?”
“Do you really think you can get rid of this nightmare by stabbing and killing that monster here again, or Yeonhwa’s body?”
“…”
Eunhyeon looked at Joo Hyeonseong’s face with a blank expression.
“That can’t be possible.”
In fact, if that happens, it may leave an even bigger wound in your heart.
“He really made you do that? “That guy must also be another version of yourself.”
The other Eun-hyeon was extremely cruel and pushed Eun-hyeon to an unreasonable level, but there was a reason for it all and ultimately it led to Eun-hyeon’s growth.
There is no lie there.
There is no way he threw Eun-hyeon into a nightmare with the intention of getting rid of this trauma by killing Eun-yeon-hwa.
In any case, he was also Eunhyun, and he knew his limitations very well.
Now that the goddess’s protection has disappeared, can he, who is mentally unstable and falling apart, really kill his mother?
It must be something that even I can’t do.
“Ah…”
Eunhyeon, who realized this fact late, opened her eyes wide and looked at Joo Hyeonseong.
This was something I hadn’t even thought about.
And he also realized that his mind had become so weak that he didn’t even notice it.
“Then… What on earth am I… ?”
What can I do to get rid of this nightmare and trauma?
“You should think about that. Hyuna. This is your dream. In any case, you are the subject of this dream and you are also the owner.”
Dreams are a truly ambiguous concept.
It refers to a series of images, sounds, thoughts, and sensations that one experiences while sleeping, but at the same time.
“It also means the hopes or ideals you want to realize.”
“…”
“Hyuna.”
“… Yes. Brother.”
“What dream do you really want to achieve?”
“…”
After hearing Joo Hyeon-seong’s words, Eun-hyeon remembered her dream.
It’s a dream I hope for.
The ideal I want to achieve.
What kind of reality do you want to live in?
I heard a voice in my head.
[Oh my.]
It was an auditory hallucination as if someone was actually talking to me, but it was very clear and clear.
[Hyuna.]
[You.]
[Master.]
[Hi-Hi! Hyuna!]
The warm and affectionate call to oneself eventually became connected to a single emotion.
[Love.]
[Hehe, Dad!]
[Dad!]
Like releasing watercolor paint, the blurry vision in my head gradually became clearer, like a photograph.
The goddess and her wives who greeted him with a wide smile, and the two twin daughters born to him and her goddess.
[Abba!]
The image of her cute daughter in Iliana’s arms, stretching out her hand toward her, comes to mind.
The ideal and reality she wanted to achieve.
A world where your family and loved ones can live safely and happily.
I want to live in that reality.
“I remembered it.”
Seeing Eun-hyeon’s expression smiling without realizing it, Joo Hyun-seong smiled with satisfaction.
“The reason you haven’t been able to escape this nightmare until now is not because you couldn’t get rid of Yeonhwa, who had turned into a monster. “Because you didn’t do anything.”
“…”
Didn’t do anything.
She couldn’t kill her mother again.
I didn’t even run away from here.
Just trying to come to terms with this nightmare, driven by the guilt and guilt that filled her own heart for not being able to save her mother, for killing her mother.
“Try anything. To live, for the ideal you want. Anything.”
Joo Hyeon-seong continued speaking.
“No matter what decision you make or what choice you make, if you don’t break down, only the decisions and choices you make are ‘your right answer.'”
Your family, friends, and colleagues who like you will support that correct answer.
So, shake off the black stains of guilt right away and move forward.
Eunhyeon engraved Joo Hyeon-seong’s words deeply into his heart.
And to get out of this nightmare, I thought.
Try anything.
To shake off this trauma.
But Eun-hyeon knew best that the way to do that was not to kill her mother, Eun Yeon-hwa.
As Joo Hyeon-seong said, the subject of this dream is Eun-hyeon.
Then he wants and deeply desires.
‘I want to get out of this nightmare.’
Eunhyeon confirmed that her body became light and disappeared as if responding to her wish.
In the nightmare, he realized that his mind was slowly being pulled to the surface.
“Under…”
Eunhyeon let out a helpless laugh without even realizing it.
It was absurd.
Unable to think of this simple thing, unable to recall it, he accepted that nightmare and his broken heart was dragged into the abyss.
Eventually, he noticed his body gradually disappearing and looked at Joo Hyun-seong.
“Brother. I am…”
“Are you okay. “I know what you’re trying to say.”
Joo Hyeon-seong smiled and shook his head.
In the future and ideals that Eun-hyeon was drawing, Joo Hyeon-seong was not there.
Because he has already died and does not exist in reality.
The epiphany before his eyes was nothing more than an illusion created by his dream memories.
Eun-hyeon, who was extremely realistic, could not imagine her future with Joo Hyun-seong.
“I’m already dead. I am… As long as our Hongi grows up well, I don’t want anything else. “You’re going to raise me well, right?”
“… Yes.”
“That little one will meet his partner someday and get married. Actually, I think I’ve already met someone like that…”
In his heart, he wanted to take care of that bastard himself, but Joo Hyun-seong knew best that that was impossible.
“If you really get married… I want you to take on the role of Hongi’s father. I am… “Because it would be impossible.”
“Yes. Yes. I will definitely, definitely… !”
In the end, Eun-hyeon couldn’t bear it anymore and lowered her head and shed tears.
Although he has lived a long life of 400 years, the current Eunhyeon is like a young man who has just turned 20.
“Boy. Crying. Men don’t cry that easily. Hey!”
Eun-hyeon said goodbye to Joo Hyeon-seong, who came to help her, in a nightmare.
◆ ◆ ◆
Eunhyeon saw that the nightmare that had been eating away at her mind was slowly disappearing.
That was when he felt his bright white consciousness gradually rising to the surface.
“Son.”
Eunhyeon heard a gentle voice calling her.
It was not a terrible voice coming from cracked and melted vocal cords, but the warm voice of my mother, whom I had missed so much.
“… Mom.”
“Huh. “Why are you calling me?”
“… Sorry.”
“What?”
“You couldn’t do anything.”
He couldn’t even keep his promise that he would get a good education when he graduated from college.
He couldn’t even save her mother, who had turned into a monster.
He even killed him by stabbing him in the neck.
Eun Yeon-hwa committed suicide by stabbing the knife Eun-hyeon was holding into her own throat.
Until just before she died, she only thought about her son and worried only about his safety, and in the end, she protected her son from being eaten by the monster.
By taking her own life.
“No. Son. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
Pure white light enveloped Eunhyeon’s body.
The voice, which was warm and kind, but somehow contained regret and sadness, comforted Eunhyeon.
“I gave you a truly terrible experience. “I’m truly sorry.”
I never thought that the experience of committing suicide with the knife in his hand would lead to the guilt of stabbing her mother to death with my own hands.
In order to protect Eunhyeon, Eunyeonhwa could only think of a way to get rid of herself.
It was the best choice that could be made with the remaining reason.
“… Mom.”
“Huh.”
“I’m married.”
“Huh. Know.”
“There’s a baby too. “They are beautiful daughters.”
“Saw. I really wanted to hug you too. My granddaughters. “My son won’t know.”
Even Eunyeonhwa had imagined it once.
She imagines that when her son grows up and she becomes an adult and gets married, she will have children and she herself will become a grandmother.
She wanted to give lots of love to her cute grandson, just as she held her granddaughter in her arms and sang her lullaby to her newborn baby Eun-hyeon.
It was a dream that could no longer come true.
“… I will work hard. “So that I can live happily with my wife and children.”
“Huh. “That’s great.”
Pure white light enveloped Eunhyeon’s head.
It felt like a gentle touch, as if praising a test paper that had received a perfect score.
“I was really wondering when I was going to raise them all… “Did you become such a cool guy before you knew it?”
Eun Yeon-hwa’s happy laughter flowed from the pure white light.
“Son.”
“Huh.”
“As Hyunseong said, I’m always on my son’s side. Know?”
She knew well what Eun-yeon was talking about.
Joo Hyeon-seong’s words came to mind once again.
[No matter what decision you make or what choice you make, if you do not collapse, only the decisions and choices you make are ‘your right answer.’]
[Because your family, friends, and colleagues who like you will support the correct answer.]
[So, just shake off the black stains of guilt and move forward.]
“… Okay.”
Eunhyeon nodded his head.
Now it was different from the past when one could not place any value on one’s life.
He did not ‘kill his mother’s life.’
The moment I realized that ‘my mother saved my life.’
A change began to occur in Eunhyeon’s mind.
“Love you. Son.”
“Me too… “I loved you.”
Eunhyeon said goodbye with those words.
It was time to wake up from the terrible nightmare that was eating away at his mind.
