The Definition of Love (3)
"To transmit the dream."
Luber fell into deep thought.
'System-wise, it's possible. But it conflicts with the administrator's code of duty.'
Drimo was not the exclusive property of any one race.
It was a space that handled the ideals of everyone who dreamed, from the simplest organisms to the highest beings.
'Above all, Terraforce.'
Even now they were constantly demanding channels through which they could influence humanity.
'If I allow a transmitted dream, I must also allow Terraforce's channel. Both have legitimate reasons… but once a precedent is set, managing Drimo becomes that much tighter.'
Monga bit her lip and called out.
"Luber-nim."
At the point when Yorahan's dream would soon fill Drimo, there was no real choice left.
"Very well."
Luber nodded.
"Your dream will not be processed inside Drimo. From now on, it will manifest in other people's dreams and be transmitted."
"Thank you."
Yorahan's smile was so benevolent that even Luber finally exhaled.
"Then I'll store your dream in the database. But first, give your dream a name."
"A name… Yor—?"
"You won't understand in your era. Naming is the most important thing in the universe."
Shirone had once not understood either.
But through the journey so far, he could now vaguely guess.
'Why naming matters.'
Because the universe we inhabit is a database the gods compile and process.
And if a defined name connects to an idea through a missing link—
'Only those with a name transcend classification.'
Among countless living things, they become something special that can affect all things of the universe.
"A name, huh."
Yorahan thought for a moment.
"Yorahan and Armand."
Then he looked up at Luber and spoke.
"I will be called Yorr."
"Understood."
Whatever prompted the name, what truly mattered was the life that name would have to weave through.
"Many will dream your dream from now on. It will continue endlessly through generations. It may even become a religion. You will become the deity of a faith called Yorr."
"…I see."
He had accomplished what he had longed for in life, yet his expression remained calm.
At that moment Armand spoke.
"I have a condition too."
Luber frowned, but it was impossible to deny that the two were one.
"Tell me."
"I want to protect my husband's dream. Send me to reality."
"But you're already—"
"I don't need life. I am of the Flame Clan. Even if I become an object, if I can just see Yorahan's dream fulfilled, I will be satisfied."
"Hmm."
Luber knew how to do it.
'Export as an object. But the authorities won't allow it. In the end, by my order…'
Drimo began to tremble.
"Very well. You will be sent into reality as an object with a special concept. What do you want to become?"
"A sword."
Armand did not hesitate.
"A sword will be fine."
"…Approved."
Yorahan and Armand turned to each other.
Now they would part forever, but their hearts would stretch outward, connected to someone else's heart.
"I love you."
They kissed, and with that, Yorahan's avatar dissolved.
Monga looked back at Luber.
"Is this all right?"
"It's what they defined."
He watched Drimo, now calmed, and said, "They avoided annihilation."
Armand regained consciousness.
'Where is this?'
He had no eyes, nose, or ears, but the small-world window sense conveyed the layout of the space.
A prison.
King Mikas and his guards lay fallen, and Yorahan was pressed against the wall.
Without legs the sword trembled, but he soon learned how to use himself.
'I resonated with the Eternal Sword.'
Floating with precise control, Armand flew to the wall where Yorahan had fallen and leaned against it beside him.
'My love.'
Perhaps because he had forgiven everything, his face was the happiest it had ever been.
'Too kind a person.'
He had once hated humans, and even now one could not say he wholly liked them—
'I'm glad I met you.'
He would not trade the time he had loved Yorahan for anything.
A vision of Armand formed around the demon sword, then embraced Yorahan's body.
'You were so kind, and so gentle-hearted, that you were always hurt by people.'
They had only wanted everyone to be happy.
'I will protect you.'
The blade of the demon sword opened like the jointed legs of an insect and swallowed Yorahan's flesh.
'So that no one can wound your heart, I will become a shell harder than anything…'
Armored, Yorahan rose.
"I will protect you."
Adamantine Armament.
The voice was Yorahan's, but it was Armand who moved the vocal cords.
"Let's go."
To find those who dream Yorahan's dream.
The demon of flames.
Lethe roared at the incarnation of Jecheon Daeseong, who struck the sky with a flash.
"Kraaaa!"
Lethe's body was pierced once more, and hellfire from every side flew in and repaired the breaches.
"Kruuu!"
In that moment she realized.
'I can't go.'
There was no way to reach Yahweh.
'No.'
She, too, was an administrator and had no special attachment to this world.
'But I…'
If there was one thing that set her apart from other administrators—
'I must protect the underworld.'
Lethe, who had restored her body with hellfire, now poured flames toward the ground.
"Huaaah!"
A thick blaze, sustained for about three minutes, spread outward in concentric circles for kilometers.
"Grrooo..."
When the flames faded, Son Yujeong stood on the earth with Yeoui at her side, firmly resisting.
'Strong.'
There was no doubt this was the incarnation of Jecheon Daeseong.
'There is no time left.'
Thinking that, Lethe's body gradually shrank and returned to being the president of Hwagongsa.
Son Yujeong lowered Yeoui.
"Have you given up?"
"Fighting like this is meaningless. There's not much time left. We must choose."
"Choose what?"
"Whether Ultima is possible."
Son Yujeong, who had been thinking for a moment, pointed Yeoui.
"Leader of the demons, your wickedness has gone too far. Come at me. I don't want to eliminate a resigned opponent."
"I won't die."
Lethe smiled bitterly.
"Hwagongsa employees don't clock out. Not until this world closes. But you know what that also means, right? It means the end of the real world." The face of Richera, hanging at Son Yujeong's waist, shouted.
"What are you doing? Kill her quickly! If that woman's gone, I wouldn't have to live like this!"
"Shut up."
Son Yujeong unfastened the chain at her waist, entrusted Richera to Mortasinger, and approached Lethe.
"Is this a threat? I won't compromise. My righteousness won't change."
Lethe's eyes filled with sadness.
"Your righteousness and my wrongness—both exist because someone defined them. If what you truly want is integration, this method won't help."
"I don't understand difficult words. I'm not like Yahweh. If you want to convince me, you'll have to break me."
Light entered Lethe's eyes at that moment.
Son Yujeong stopped and took a guarded stance, but Lethe held that gaze for a long time.
'There's no choice.'
Protecting the world the demons would live in was more important than the administrator's duty.
"How about me?…"
For the first time, Lethe began to speak administrator secrets out loud.
"It's the Heart Program."
Son Yujeong simply listened.
"The universe is made of five systems: Reality, Drimo, the Underworld, The Abyss, and the Undercoder that connects those four. Except for the Undercoder, each system has, to some degree, an administrator. But only I operate on quantum signals."
They called it the hidden code.
"My name is Lethe of Oblivion. I am the only being capable of managing the demons. Unless someone infringes on an administrator's authority, any sin they commit is processed by oblivion. A thousand times, ten thousand times, they are given chances."
Just as she had done with Secretary-General Monoras.
"If the program didn't exist, the chaos of demons—who might veer anywhere—would be registered as an error. Thus, unlike other administrators, I can change the standard and am designed to actively handle chaotic situations."
Son Yujeong didn't grasp all the technicalities.
But instinct told her this information might be one of the universe's most important problems.
'I don't get it. Why is this important? If Shirone were here… would he have reacted differently?'
Lethe continued.
"And now, your overwhelming me has altered my Heart Program. I want to protect the world the demons live in. It's the same logic as Yahweh wanting to protect the real world. But at this rate, the universe will close."
If you flip the perspective on good and evil, Lethe was fighting for the same reason as Shirone.
Mortasinger said, "Yujeong, don't trust her. She's the woman who has lied to us countless times and brought the situation this far. She can change the standards, so she can lie."
"Right."
Son Yujeong had once been the very embodiment of chaos. But it was also because of that that she had reached the incarnation of Jecheon Daeseong—
'Because she had a heart.'
Lethe said, "Yahweh understood both good and evil, but in the end he couldn't embrace evil. He abandoned the Ma."
The Ma's cohesion became the Gyorogi of the catacombs.
"As an administrator, I'm convinced that at this rate we will never reach Ultima. If you send me to help Yahweh, I can prevent the end of the world."
Son Yujeong ground her teeth.
"Why? You hate Yahweh, don't you?"
"Yes. Every administrator carries out duties according to their program. I hate Yahweh, too. But you know this, right?" Lethe placed a hand on her chest. "Only I can love Yahweh."
Perhaps this was the core; Son Yujeong registered it with animal instinct.
"How much time until the end of the world… how many hours left?" she asked.
"Two hours."
Using the holy war as the reference, it was midnight—12:00.
"You're already separated from Yahweh. If you account for the time it takes me to get there, ten minutes is the limit."
Lethe spread her hands.
"Decide within that. Will you send me to Yahweh, or bind me here?"
A mere six hundred seconds.
Far too short to stake humanity's fate on, yet such was the world.
Son Yujeong replayed the impossible choice over and over.
"Ughhh."
Her hair, which fell like the talons of a wild horse, gradually began to turn white.
"Yuyeong."
Mortasinger called worriedly, but he had nothing to offer.
We can never truly know another's truth.
'Should I trust Lethe?'
Son Yujeong shook her head.
'No. Trust no one. Only I can save myself.'
A thought flashed through her.
That unknowable truth might be the most terrifying thing in the world.