*Hmmm... That's truly strange,* he mumbled, staring at Hwa Ryun's unmasked face. The two of them were inside the dorm, having what could loosely be called a food trip—though really, it was just Hwa Ryun eating apples. For a while, Shinso didn't take his eyes off her.
She didn't seem to mind but eventually spoke. "You keep staring at my face. Is something wrong? Or perhaps… do you want apples too?"
Instead of answering, Shinso's eyes narrowed into slits. *She really reminds me of Hephaestus from Danmachi. Both wear an eyepatch and carry that same mature aura. If her hair weren't so long, I'd honestly mistake her for the goddess herself.*
"Nothing. You just resemble someone," he said, shifting his gaze to the ceiling as he leaned back in his chair.
"Is that so?" Ryun replied. She took a small portion and bit off her apple, chewed thoughtfully, and then asked, "The place you came from… what kind of place is it?"
"Are you curious?"
Shinso thought back to his life on Earth, the people he met, their way of living—everything.
"Let's just say… it was both pleasant and unpleasant. A beautiful and spacious world. Peaceful, loving, even. But the people there—or perhaps, what you called parasites—tainted it. And I was one of them."
His answer was vague, yet something about it gave Hwa Ryun enough to piece things together. "Are they worse than you?"
He sighed deeply and nodded. "Yes. I've been called evil for the things I've done, and I won't deny that. But compared to others... I wouldn't even hold a candle."
"You're familiar with the red-light district, right?" he asked, not waiting for a response. "Back in my world, people may not have powers, but through technology or workshops, you could say—they achieved feats as horrifying as anything you'd imagine in this tower. The only difference is... it's not limited to one place. The darkness there spans the entire globe. Not just a few individuals past… but the collective rot of humanity."
"I see… no wonder you're capable of doing something gruesome," Hwa Ryun said calmly.
A flash of someone experiencing his so-called torture pops up in his mind. Who is that unlucky individual? It's obvious.
"Hah. So you can see that far? Feels like I'm being stripped naked in front of you," Shinso joked, pretending to shyly cover his chest with his arms. Hwa Ryun stared at him deadpan, which only added to his embarrassment.
After a moment of silence, Shinso asked, "Tell me, Hwa Ryun... is that person connected to me—from this Tower? He's still around, right? Somewhere behind a hidden door?"
"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head. "Even I can't tell you that. I can see your future, not your past. I only suspected you were different based on it."
"Different how?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Your path is... a single way, and it's straightforward," she said, then placed her fork on the pristine white plate. Before looking at his eyes, her crimson pupil gleamed sharply, piquing interest. "Most people have multiple threads of fate, leading to different futures. But yours… only has one and is unknown."
"I see… yeah, that sounds like me." A sly smile formed on Shinso's lips. *Even if the world turns against me, I'd still walk my own path. I already knew that… but it's reassuring to hear it from someone else.*
He picked up the fork Hwa Ryun had just used, stabbed a chunk of apple, and popped it into his mouth. Normally, he would just use a fresh batch, but why? There's already one in here.
"By the way... Hwa Ryun, you didn't actually give me 12 billion points for something trivial, right? What do you want from me?"
At first, he thought it had something to do with Elaine and fug involvement, but in hindsight, maybe he misunderstood her intentions. It turns out that things he will do in the future aren't within the scope of f.u.g. after all; Hwa Ryun in this verse is a little different.
"Hmm..." She pondered for a moment, then fixed him with her usual deadpan stare.
"I want you to assist my god… when 'that time' comes. And I also want to know more about your world."
*That time...* Shinso tried to recall the events; after a minute of understanding, he found it acceptable.
"Sure," so he agreed without hesitation.
"You can come find me whenever you're curious. Not like I could hide from you anyway," he added with a sigh of resignation.
"You guys sure talk a lot."
The sudden voice drew both their attention. The dining table was just in front of their bed, so even the small talk could wake up someone.
Yihwa had just hopped out of bed, still wearing her night outfit, a pair of pink pajamas with a cute baby Zygaena design. Her hair was a mess, and blouse buttons were misaligned, exposing her fair skin.
Seeing this, Shinso complained inwardly, *So much for a proud descendant of the Yeon family.*
KNOCK! — KNOCK!
"Who's coming so early in the morning?" Yihwa muttered, stepping forward. She subconsciously moved to open the door—but Shinso stepped faster and grabbed her wrist. Yinhwa paused for a moment; being in a half-sleep state, she doesn't realize anything yet. If she gets out in that and someone sees her, especially a man, they would probably be killed.
Shinso has a vague understanding of who it was, so to prevent disaster, he must stop her.
"I'll get it, Lady Yihwa," he said, pointing his finger to her body. "Also, you might want to pay attention to yourself. Your body's exposed in broad daylight… you wouldn't want any male visitors to see you like this, would you?"
She looked down, eyes widening at the sight of her disheveled state. Her face flushed crimson seeing her body and clothing exposed. Noticing Shinso still holding her wrist only made it worse. He becomes the subject of her wrath.
"Y-you!"
Her fist clenched—and then flew at him with ridiculous speed.
SMACK!
A clean, solid hit. 10/10 form. In that moment, Shinso understood what it was like to be punched by Mike Tyson. Even with his reinforced body, he couldn't block the pain.
Creak...
Shinso opened the door; his single imaginary blackened eye peeked through, and then with just enough gap, he slipped through. Standing outside were two familiar figures.
"Let's talk somewhere else," he said plainly. "There are two ladies inside resting inside... in nightgowns... You don't want to receive a beating like me, right?"
He didn't elaborate, but the two glanced at each other and nodded in understanding. "Sure. The cafeteria's already open—we can talk there."