Chapter 46: Revolution (4)
When I possessed Hoaquin, the demon he originally had—the very foundation of his power—disappeared. Hoaquin's strength, his essence, was that demon. So of course I saw nothing during the Revolution. It had already vanished somewhere.
Then… does that mean I should give up the Revolution?
"So what now? Don't tell me… my Revolution failed?"
At my question, the God of Guardians chuckled.
"No. You cannot give up on a Revolution that easily."
"A Revolution is the process of discovering the 'true you,' yes… but it is also the process of creating that 'you.' Think of it as the difference between discovering and inventing. If it's not there—then you simply create it."
In other words, if the 'self' I was supposed to find no longer exists, then I must craft it myself. That is who I am—so he said, encouraging me. Once again, the rice pot lid closed, gears turned, and waves of Shinsu surged in.
"Do not rush. A Revolution is something achieved over a long period of time. A revolution never happens overnight. Remember that, boy."
With those final words, my consciousness was pulled deep into darkness once more.
A pitch-black space where nothing could be seen. A sensation like sinking underwater—no, more like plunging into the deep sea. Just like my first Revolution, I followed the faint white light far below, descending deeper, and deeper still.
.....
A thin silvery light guided me through the pitch-black void, illuminating only a small circle around me.
Eventually, I reached the same place: the massive scale and the broken chains.
But this time, something drew my attention.
What… is this?
This giant scale, bound together with chains—what did it represent? It didn't seem to have much connection to the original Hoaquin. As I examined it more closely, something happened—something that hadn't occurred before.
The gears and mist that had blocked my descent last time… began to open.
A passage leading deeper—far deeper—revealed itself.
A space so dark that even the faint guiding light vanished entirely.
A true abyss.
Staring into that fathomless pit, I felt as though something in the darkness was staring back at me.
Someone once said you should never stare too deeply into the abyss.
But entering it should be fine… probably.
So I jumped in without hesitation.
A strong feeling told me: my true self was down there.
If it's something I must eventually confront, then better to face it now.
There was no sensation of being underwater anymore.
It felt like free-falling from the sky—nothing but gravity pulling me downward.
The difference was simple: underwater, I could always swim upward.
But during a fall, there is no going back up.
A cold sweat ran down my back. Maybe I really would be trapped in this abyss forever.
But the die was cast. Now that I'd chosen this path, I had no intention of giving up until I completed this Revolution.
....
Time passed.
How long?
A day? A week? A month?
…A year?
All I knew was that I had been falling endlessly, and the bottom was still nowhere in sight.
Given infinite time and nothing to do but fall, the only thing I could do was keep thinking—holding on to my sanity.
Who am I?
I am Hoaquin.
No… I am someone from the outside.
No… I am someone who possessed Hoaquin.
Then what am I?
Hoaquin?
A being from Earth?
Both?
Neither?
A child of the Arie clan?
No—the body is his, but the mind and soul are mine.
Then am I…
A laugh escaped me.
I'd thought I had a pretty firm sense of self. Maybe not.
Even when the Guardian God explained what a Revolution was, I hadn't felt much.
I simply thought: I'll figure it out easily.
Arrogance.
And now look at me—lost, spiraling, drowning in self-reflection.
What should I define myself as?
A Korean from Earth? But I no longer live there.
Someone living as Hoaquin in the Tower? But I wasn't originally him.
The outer has become the inner.
A paradox.
A contradiction.
A mess.
Does this even need defining?
At that moment, the endless darkness turned white.
No—not turned.
A blinding white flash erupted.
It felt like I'd finally reached the end.
.....
Snow.
Endless snow drifting from the sky and settling across the world.
People walked through the decorated streets, chatting as they looked at the falling flakes.
Green traffic lights blinked in the distance.
Church bells rang faintly somewhere nearby.
And in the middle of the street—
I stood there.
Wearing a winter coat, just staring blankly around me.
Yes.
This was the scene.
The last image I saw before entering the Tower.
Me, before becoming Hoaquin.
I remembered it clearly: walking along this very street, and then suddenly waking up on the 1st Floor of the Tower.
But why was the rice pot—my Revolution—showing me this?
Was it telling me that my real self was this Earth version of me?
Was it telling me that the true "I" was not Hoaquin, but the person from before?
But that wasn't how I felt.
If I claimed that this Earth-self was the only real one, then my life as Hoaquin—my time in the Tower—would become nothing but a performance, a fake role on a stage.
I didn't want that.
I refused to invalidate the life I had lived here as Hoaquin.
So why was the Revolution showing me only this moment?
Why did my innermost self contain only the Earth version of me?
I wanted to accept both sides—Earth and Tower. But—
"You've already decided, haven't you? What you're going to do."
Yes.
I already had my answer.
The Revolution wasn't asking me to choose.
It was guiding me to realize the answer I had already reached.
Who am I?
Am I a human from Earth?
Am I the Hoaquin of the Tower?
I don't want to call either one fake.
Then the solution is simple:
I choose both.
What matters is not who I am, but who I consider myself to be.
The Earth-self is me.
The Tower-self is also me.
Neither is false.
I deny none of them.
I only face the present reality.
A person from Earth became Hoaquin. That's all.
And now, all my bonds—my connections—are here in the Tower. For nearly seven years, I've lived here.
The relationships I've built, the marks I've left—
those define my present self.
And honestly… I prefer the Tower over Earth.
That alone is enough reason.
Why value the past more than the life I live now?
If someday I meet Urek Mazino, we may not agree on that point.
But so what?
This is my Revolution—free from society, people, and ideology.
Exactly as the Guardian God said.
So—
Who am I?
I am Hoaquin.
The original Hoaquin belongs to the original story.
But in this Tower, I am Hoaquin.
He and I are not two separate things—we are one.
Not parallel beings. A single existence.
I simply continue forward, building my own path.
In short: I am Hoaquin, an irregular who happens to have a past life as a human from Earth. But my real life—the one I choose—is here.
I will live happily in the Tower.
That is my Revolution Road.
....
POP—
Like a dead device suddenly receiving power, something deep inside me switched on.
The surrounding space shattered, and I returned to my inner world.
Where the broken chains once lay, a small white orb radiating a warm, pleasant energy floated in their place.
My new self.
My new power.
After observing it briefly, I rose upward to end the Revolution.
Chiiiiiiiik—
The rice pot lid opened, and the Shinsu drained out.
My body collapsed to the floor, and the God of Guardians rushed toward me.
"Boy! Are you alright?"
"Hah… haha…"
All I could do was laugh, now that I had found my answer.
I stood and said:
"Looks like it worked. I completed my Revolution."
"Hmm… yes. Something has clearly changed. In a way unlike any before you."
"Shall we test it?"
With a refreshed mind and a desire to confirm the transformation, I drew my trusted sword—Baekya—from my waist.
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