‘A gamble, huh…’
I’d never thought of it like that before.
No, maybe I couldn’t afford to.
The moment when all my suspicions and hunches started fitting together like a puzzle—it had left too strong an impression.
Knowing everything had been orchestrated by a god gave me comfort, but it was also terrifying.
If everything had been predetermined… maybe even my feelings for Reizen were just part of the plan.
I brushed it off, but I couldn’t forget.
It stuck with me.
That’s why I couldn’t bring myself to consider it differently.
“Maybe you’re right.”
That first time Reizen and I met in Korea… did the god already know?
That Reizen, somehow free from the curse, would offer his hand to the pathetic, wounded me?
That I would take it—and long for him for so long after?
“Honestly… everything I know about love, I learned from my brother.”
I didn’t know if he thought of me as someone special back then.
But one thing was certain—I learned how to treat others gently, kindly, from him.
To me, back then, kindness was love.
[Tch.]
‘Tch?’
Seol gave a little snort and shifted his posture.
[I know, I know. You’ve told me that, like, a thousand times…]
He stopped mid-sentence.
[Anyway. You got what you wanted in the end. Right?]
“Yeah… I guess I did.”
[So, you’ll keep accomplishing things. Everything you want.]
His voice was blunt, but sincere.
I suddenly pulled Seol in for a hug and then let go.
[Ack! What the hell was that for?!]
He jumped away from me in alarm.
Watching him warily in case I tried to grab him again, I moved to sit on the edge of the bed.
I was suddenly self-conscious about being in pajamas, but it wasn’t like this was the first time he’d seen me like this, so I decided to ignore it.
[What are you doing?]
Seol crept closer and asked. Instead of answering, I summoned a screen I hadn’t used in a long time.
“Inventory.”
A familiar item window popped up in front of me.
Inside was the Conversation Ticket I’d received as a quest reward not long ago.
I reached in and took it out.
“I’m going to use the Conversation Ticket.”
A rectangular golden paper appeared in my previously empty hand.
In the center was a circle inscribed with unreadable characters—at a glance, it looked like some sort of banknote.
“You’re okay with me meeting them, right?”
When I asked Seol, he nodded.
Without hesitation, I tore the ticket.
[Would you like to use the ‘Conversation Ticket’?
Yes / No]
I tapped [Yes], and the next message appeared.
[Which god would you like to contact?
- Noah
- @\$^@
- ■■■
- ★♣♣★]**
Aside from Noah, the other gods’ names were unreadable—corrupted text, filtered characters, deliberate-looking symbols.
They weren’t just glitches; they felt intentional.
I tapped number 1, the only real option.
[Using the Conversation Ticket on the ancient god, ‘Noah’.]
The torn ticket shone gold and slowly disintegrated.
Once it had vanished without a trace, a voice echoed in my head.
[It’s been a while.]
“Ghh…!”
The moment I heard the low voice, a sharp pain twisted through my entire body.
Blood gushed from my nose and mouth.
[…Just endure a little longer.]
‘Seriously… what the hell…’
If it hurt even a little less, I might’ve been able to say that out loud.
But all that came out of my mouth was dark, bloodied spit.
What was really annoying was that the pain, which felt like it would last forever, gradually began to subside.
Noah tossed a few words at me as if testing my condition, and with each utterance, the pain dulled slightly.
[Feeling better now?]
‘Goddamn it…’
I wiped my face with a wet towel Seol had handed me, glaring at the empty air.
[Yeah. Your voice still rattles in my skull, but I’ll live.]
Even though I’d lost quite a bit of blood.
[Good. You’ve grown.]
I had forgotten something: Noah wasn’t just any god—he was an ancient one, completely and utterly mad.
[What the hell happened? I was out for almost four years, and when I woke up, I was completely ghosted. Or no—more like you saw and heard everything and just ignored me, didn’t you?]
I hadn’t planned on starting like this, but the moment I saw how he acted, all the frustration I’d bottled up came bursting out.
Damn bastard.
Sure, it was Baldur who had planned everything, but Noah’s faction was the one that yanked me into this world without even telling me what was going on.
And then he just disappeared.
[Kim Minsoo possessed way earlier than the novel said he would. You told me—assured me—that he wouldn’t be involved this time, remember? Okay, sure, I didn’t fully believe it, but I did kind of believe it!]
Then he started giving me these weird, disjointed quests.
Yeah, thanks to that I met Seol, but the nature of the quests had clearly changed.
They used to connect like a chain, and then suddenly—they just stopped.
Even though it felt like there should have been more.
[And you let me keep running away. Or maybe you knew nothing would happen for a year, so you didn’t care? Anyway, giving me something like this Conversation Ticket as a reward makes it clear—we’re not going to be chatting like we used to anymore, are we?]
I didn’t know why I kept rambling like this.
It sounded… almost like I was whining.
‘Yeah. I’m whining.’
[If you brought me here—then act like we’re at least a little close! Do something! Show some damn consideration!]
I was so worked up I could barely speak.
[I trusted you… even just a little, Noah!]
Unlike the other ancient gods, he’d gradually shown signs of affection toward me.
Before I came to understand love from my family, before I met Seol—Noah had been the only one I could talk to about everything.
[You could’ve at least told me what you wanted! If not that, then something, anything! But instead, you just disappeared without a word!]
[…]
[Just because you’re a god, you think that makes it okay?!]
I shouted everything I had, but it didn’t make me feel any better.
Seol’s soft tail brushed against my arm gently, as if to comfort me.
I barely calmed myself down and continued.
[Just tell me. Anything. Whatever you can say. Whatever you need to say.]
I already knew what the answer would be—stop Kim Minsoo, defeat the dark mages, something like that.
Noah ignoring what I said and doing whatever he wanted wasn’t new.
[…I’m sorry.]
…Wait, what?
[What did you just say?]
[First, let me explain why you were asleep for nearly four years. The day that he… manifested… you began experiencing the Manifestation Fever too. The concept of ‘traits’ is a law we added into this world, and it’s absolute. Every human awakens at a set age, enters heat at a set time—that sort of thing.]
[…]
[So those rules couldn’t and shouldn’t be broken. Any irregularities pose a massive threat to this world.]
Noah paused briefly, then continued.
[There was only one solution. We had to freeze your time before your body completed its manifestation. We couldn’t stop the world’s time, so we separated your soul and hid you away from the world. To everyone else, it looked like you had just fallen into a deep sleep.]
[…]
[Originally, it was supposed to be brief. A year, at most. Once Sean Kreveta’s body reached the age when awakening was acceptable, we planned to wake you. Everything was set. The dream world your soul was placed in was under our full control. But then…]
[It wasn’t perfect, was it.]
[No. We lost track of your soul again. And you wandered for nearly four years before finding your way back.]
Noah drew a quiet breath.
[With Baldur’s guidance.]
So it was Baldur who had led me through that chaotic dream world.
And the one who had whispered “I’m sorry” before I woke up—it must have been him too.
‘Why did he say sorry…?’
The thought surfaced and faded almost immediately.
[In the meantime… our situation worsened. We were betrayed. The traitor stole Kim Minsoo’s soul and escaped. They overturned our plans and caused Kim Minsoo to possess someone—earlier than in the novel. It was all their doing.]
I’d more or less expected that.
The ancient gods were split—those who still hated humans but believed humanity must survive, and those who wanted to see it destroyed.
According to Noah, the “Scales of Judgment” had long tilted in favor of his faction.
But after repeated failures to stop Raizen and the catastrophes he brought, even the ancient gods began to fracture.
[So, according to the rules, we began a “fair competition”.]
It was almost exactly what I’d guessed.
For the sake of fairness, Noah was no longer allowed to speak directly with me.
It seemed they’d decided it was better to maintain equal communication for both sides than to risk Kim Minsoo catching on to my presence too quickly.
“So that explains why Kim Minsoo went to such insane lengths to confirm I was a transmigrator.”
It was so predictable that I was almost dumbfounded. Still, hearing it directly clarified a lot.
[So, while I was running away and floundering for a year, Kim Minsoo steadily solidified his position?]
[…Well, yes.]
Noah didn’t bother denying it.
