Ranker Who Lives Twice

Chapter 772 - Li's Fragment (6)

On the planet, ‘Fomalhaut’, the farmers were engrossed in plowing their fields under the scorching heat of summer. However, they soon turned their attention to a different matter.

“Ugh, really, this weather…!”

“Didn’t they say that it was going to be cloudy today?”

“Meteorologists are all such liars! It’s not like they only get one or two days wrong, right?”

“Dang, it’s hot. We have to do all of these within today, is this even possible? Even with magic tools, there are limits. Hmpf!”

The farmers collectively let out a sigh as they looked at the fields. Recently, they had been putting off their fieldwork because of the unusual heat, but after hearing the news that the weather was projected to be cooler, they planned to work today. Unfortunately, rather than being cool, they felt that the sun’s rays were getting hotter, so they felt crazed and dazed. They could not help but feel that they would not be able to finish their work before the deadline.

Although old man Ji-joo seemed like a good person in regular times, he was very strict when his orders were not completed on time. And as peasant farmers, they had to do what their landlord requested. They wanted to just throw their plows on the ground and run away, but they knew that they would not find another job with as good conditions. Moreover, there were no landowners who took care of the welfare of the fieldhands like old man Ji-joo… Thus, they had nowhere else to go. In the end, everyone sighed deeply at the thought that they had to work another tireless day.

“By the way, Tun, that guy is something, no?”

“Yeah. Everyone else seems to be on the cusp of collapsing, but that guy has been working non-stop all day.”

“He was like that yesterday as well.”

“It wasn’t just yesterday and today, right? He’s been like that all month.”

“Hmm! I’m wondering if he’s going to waste all the energy he has as a young man at the speed he’s going. One must take it easy to last a while.”

The farmers looked worriedly as they saw a young man plowing a field alone in the distance. Probably about a year ago, their landlord, Ji-joo, introduced the young man as a new field hand. The young man had not gotten close with anyone, as he was on the quiet side, but since he was always working the hardest, the other field hands were concerned about his health. It was thanks to that young man that the field had been cultivated to this extent, even in this scorching heat. In fact, if he were to ever collapse from heat stroke, the other field hands would be at a loss to figure out how to meet their quotas.

“Hey, Tun! Take a break!” In the end, someone shouted out loud and suggested that Tun take a break, but the young man only nodded before getting back to work.

“If there is such a thing as a past life, that friend must have been a cow. How can a person live like that? I mean, it’s amazing.” The peasants had no choice but to shake their heads. They knew that the young man was stubborn and headstrong. He would never follow their suggestions.

“Would it be too much to ask for a deluge of rain? If that should ever happen, I feel like I wouldn’t mind working. Hmpf!” As one field hand raised his head up to the sky, the others followed suit. However, the sky was clear. Not a single cloud could be found.

***

[The Heavenly Demon stares at you silently.]

“…” Nocturne, who the other fieldhands called “Tun”, silently devoted himself to plowing. He knew that the other field hands were chatting quietly with each other and talking about him being a cow or some such nonsense, but, as always, he pretended not to hear them.

[The Heavenly Demon stares at you silently.]

Nocturne continued to ignore the message that appeared on his retina. If others knew about him receiving such messages, they would be terrified. However, for Nocturne, it was just an obstruction that obscured his view.

[The Heavenly Demon stares at you silently.]

If possible, Nocturne wanted the messages to disappear altogether. He had no idea why the Heavenly Demon was constantly focusing his attention on him. In addition, Nocturne also felt a distant gaze placed upon him. The gaze was from a place so far away that Nocturne could not fathom its distance.

‘I knew there were beings who could gaze from afar, but this is an extreme, no?’

Once the Martial King passed away, Nocturne recognized the Heavenly Demon’s gaze fixed on him. At that time, after losing his one and only teacher, Nocturne failed to exuviate and transcend, so he wandered around the universe aimlessly. In the meantime, he helped Yeon-woo bring down the Tower, but that was only because Yeon-woo was a fellow disciple.

Nocturne had no interest in world affairs. His powerlessness and aimlessness were to the point that Ice King and Twice eventually left his side…which illustrated the extent to which he wandered aimlessly.

Then, by chance, Nocturne realized that the Heavenly Demon was observing him. He felt dumbfounded at the attention and felt that it was absurd. Was the Heavenly Demon trying to relieve his aching heart after losing his son by vicariously living through Nocturne? Whatever the reason was, it was unknown.

However, as Nocturne, there was no reason for him to act favorably towards the Heavenly Demon, so he just ignored the Heavenly Demon’s attention. He did not ask why or get angry. He just acted like the Heavenly Demon’s attention did not exist.

It was always the same message, that the Heavenly Demon was staring at him silently. Nocturne acted as though the message did not exist. The Heavenly Demon also did not show any other reaction.

‘Then, things changed a bit after I arrived on this planet.’ The Heavenly Demon’s message seemed more explicit, more emotional. Nocturne felt, though very weak, a sense of emotion mixed in the Heavenly Demon’s gaze. It was a feeling that Nocturne knew all too well.

Longing. Lament. A sense of feeling sorry. It was the same feeling that Nocturne had toward the Martial King. The Heavenly Demon openly longed and lamented for Allforone to Nocturne. For Nocturne, the Heavenly Demon’s reason for doing so was somewhat understandable.

‘Is it because of the memories that remain in my subconscious? Obviously, this place is very similar to the world where Son Jae-won was first summoned. No, I’m sure it’s the exact place, though a lot of time has passed since then.’

After coming out of the Tower, Nocturne wandered aimlessly around the universe and occasionally had a recurring dream. To be precise, it was a daydream. While puttering forward, Nocturne would suddenly recall fragmented memories. The daydreams were so vivid and influential that Nocturne sometimes felt confused about his identity.

In one daydream, Nocturne was surrounded by a weird family with everyone laughing aloud together. On other occasions, Nocturne would be suddenly overwhelmed with emotion and psychological shock. It was to the point where he had to crumble onto the ground and cry.

They were all…Allforone’s memories. Precisely, they were memories of the days when Allforone went through life as ‘Son Jae-Won’, before the time he became ‘Vivasvat’.

It was not just one or two times that Nocturne felt confused about his identity. Even now, he felt unsure what his true identity was. In those daydreams and memories, there were memories of the planet where Nocturne was now.

This was the world where Son Jae-won first came to when chasing after his father, a savage world where human sacrifice was commonplace. At that time, Son Jae-won had been pushed to the brink of giving up, but eventually, Son Jae-won was able to defeat the monster who wanted to become a god and succeeded in taking the monster’s spirit energy.

It was also the moment when Son Jae-won started harboring a grudge against transcendents, beings who played around with mortals for their own benefit. The reason why Son Jae-won cried so much in the Tower was because of the memories he had of this place, a place that left a very deep scar and trauma on Son Jae-won.

Nocturne had arrived at such a place. In this vast universe, where there were seemingly infinite civilizations and planets, Nocturne could not understand how he stumbled onto this exact place… But, regardless of the reason, Nocturne could not help but feel a sense of shock. It was because everything felt like déjà vu.

It was also the reason Nocturne remained on the planet for over a year. Of course, there was a significant time difference between the time Son Jae-won was present versus now. The nonsensical custom of human sacrifice had long since disappeared. Also, even though the civilization on the planet was not very developed, atheism was very widespread and mainstream.

It was not just atheism. There were a lot of people who had a very negative stance on interpreting abnormal phenomena with gods or other supernatural beings. Don’t rely on unproven beings like gods. Stand up on your own and make your own way in the world.

The world Son Jae-won once dreamed of, a world where the division of heaven and earth was taken for granted, was here. No matter how much time had passed, it was rare for a civilization, which had been so thoroughly controlled by divine beings in the past, to change so drastically.

Was this…the influential mark that Son Jae-won had left on this place? The strange thing was that, if such an influential hero had come and gone, he should have been revered as a legend and remembered as a mythical figure, but here, Son Jae-won’s tales remained in only heroic stories or fairy tales.

Nocturne, who was slowly recalling Son Jae-won’s memory, could not help but feel strange. And the more memories he recalled, the more intense the Heavenly Demon’s gaze became. This was the reason why Nocturne had been feeling strangely frustrated lately. ‘I have to leave this place soon.’

Nocturne did not forcefully block or refuse Son Jae-won’s memory. In the past, he would have been fed up with these foreign memories, but since Master had told him to live his own life, Nocturne regarded these memories as one of the elements that made up his being, so he decided not to neglect the memories. Nocturne decided to just go with the flow. That was the life Nocturne longed for…

[A guest has visited.]

Having and practicing these thoughts, Nocturne tilted his head at the sudden message. ‘A guest? What is this about?’ His gaze turned in a completely different direction from the other farmers.

***

“You are…!”

“It’s the first time we’ve met like this. Yes?”

“Heaven Wing… Have you been completely revived?”

Nocturne looked curiously at Cha Jeong-woo, who had the same appearance as Yeon-woo, but a completely different temperament and aura.

“It’s similar. By the way…”

Cha Jeong-woo quietly nodded and tilted his head. He also felt a similar gaze peering down into this place. And it seemed to Jeong-woo that Nocturne felt the same way.

Smile. Nocturne laughed lightly.

“Somehow, it seems that a certain someone who’s famous for being insensitive to worldly affairs has suddenly become interested in something recently.”

Cha Jeong-woo fell into thought for a moment. He became the new leader of Day, so it was obvious that he would always feel the Heavenly Demon’s gaze, but he wondered if the Heavenly Demon’s gaze was also on Nocturne. It did not seem like the gaze had just appeared after Jeong-woo decided to bring back Nocturne. This meant only one thing, that the Heavenly Demon’s gaze on Nocturne had been on him for a long time.

‘Was Nocturne a part of the Heavenly Demon’s larger plan all along?’ Although he could not quite put his finger on why, Cha Jung-woo felt confident that his guess was correct.

“Nocturne. I have something to ask you.”

“Yes. I’ll go.”

“Alright. Will you come with me to… Uh, huh?” Cha Jeong-woo stopped mid-sentence. He was going to try and convince Nocturne to come with him, but Nocturne had already nodded and agreed before Jeong-woo even asked. Jeong-woo could not help but widen his eyes.

Nocturne did not ask where they were going. Actually, Nocturne did not ask any questions. He just replied as if expecting Jeong-woo’s request.

Cha Jeong-woo expected to take a considerable amount of time to try and convince Nocturne. Jeong-woo had met with Ice King and Twice while searching for Nocturne, so he had come to the planet with the firm resolve of convincing Nocturne with whatever it took…so he couldn’t help but be surprised by this outcome.

Regardless of Jeong-woo’s shock, Nocturne spoke in a comfortable voice, “Master’s last words… There are only two disciples left in the world now, so he did not want us to fight between each other. He wanted us to live our own lives and be well. I can’t say I have a good relationship with my fellow disciple…but you’re going to go and help him, right?”

Cha Jeong-woo opened his eyes wider and then nodded heavily. “That’s right. I need your help.”

“Fine. But just wait a day.”

“A day?” Cha Jeong-woo did not understand Nocturne’s words and tilted his head.

Nocturne responded with a very natural tone. “It’ll take me a day to properly restore my skills.”

‘Nocturne will regain his skills?’ The Martial King had once mentioned to Jeong-woo that Nocturne’s skills were comparable to Jeong-woo’s. Hearing Nocturne’s explanation, Cha Jeong-woo bowed his head with a grateful heart.