The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 486

It was dead silent; the air itself had stopped in place. Likewise, the sky itself was also suspended. Everything… seemed to have been taxidermized.

Both time and space were shackled, anchoring everything within their confines to the present. There was no more future to move toward. The door leading there was just closed.

“…”

Unable to do anything within that world, Se-Hoon could only continue to gaze toward the sky. A frozen world, a halted flow, the Golden Ring enveloping the world—staring at them all, Se-Hoon tried desperately to figure something out. He had to understand and resolve the situation somehow.

But nothing came up. Both he and his thoughts were stuck, unable to move forward and unable to focus on anything but the circle in the sky.

Swish-

A small eye materialized before him all of a sudden.

“…”

The faint gray iris stared at Se-Hoon for a long time.

“So this is my limit…”

A gloomy murmur—though unheard by anyone—echoed throughout the frozen world. Heaven Eye calmly stared at the unresponsive Se-Hoon.

“Even after stealing the source of power, deciphering the principles behind it, and accumulating an endless amount of experience, this… is all I can produce. It feels like something’s shackling my ankle.”

Though Heaven Eye was aware his words wouldn’t reach the other, he didn’t stop speaking.

“Perhaps this is what Tuner meant by the shackles of the abyss and the limit of a demon who chose to fall into the Abyss of Demons…”

From the moment he accepted demonic aura and became bound, he had lost the ability to encompass the world with his eyes—and thus every future—like the Visionary.

Letting the bitter truth of reality settle, Heaven Eye lifted his gaze toward the final legacy left behind by Baek-Yeon.

“Even I know continuing is meaningless. My fate won’t change if I steal that legacy. That seems to just be how it ends for one who has become a demon.”

Whether it was forcing the Visionary’s Final Revelation, coming here to speak meaningless words, or anything else… everything amounted to nothing more than a futile lament. At that moment, Heaven Eye acknowledged he was a failure who kept delaying choices over and over due to overwhelming greed, only to end up reaching nowhere.

For now, he had delayed the future he couldn’t accept, but that wouldn’t last long.

“When I recovered the first legacy fragment, the Visionary’s remnant told me I had crossed the line, that all that awaits me is failure…”

Letting the words linger, Heaven Eye lowered his gaze to stare intently at Se-Hoon.

“And that her authority would remain hers, preserved as a unique law known only to her.”

Countless emotions churned within the gray demonic eye that was staring at Se-Hoon: rage and envy for what he could never possess, desire and hope for the opportunity that had come again.

Woong-

The conflicting emotions stained Heaven Eye’s synesthetic mindscape, feeding the growth of new potential in the Cursed Eye of Perception—stirring up a storm of black wind currents that filled Heaven Eye’s gray iris.

Yet Heaven Eye kept his gaze on Se-Hoon through it all.

“So, I will pass the Visionary’s power to you.”

Unlike his incomplete self, he knew the monster before him would adapt to the Visionary’s power in the blink of an eye and wield it with ease. What calamity that would bring upon him he wasn’t sure, but Heaven Eye was resolute nonetheless.

“Because only then… will I be granted one final chance.”

Shatter the future realized by the Visionary, then even he could claim a new possibility and seize the future with a power of his own. After postponing it for so long, Heaven Eye finally made the choice.

Woong!

Radiant gray light burst out from the Cursed Eye of Perception, then gathered and dropped into Se-Hoon’s eyes like a liquid—which Se-Hoon accepted as if it were natural.

“Just what kind of monstrous aptitude do you even have…?!”

Unlike him, who had needed to undergo Tuner’s forced surgery to fuse with the eye, Se-Hoon was assimilating it so smoothly that it filled Heaven Eye with a tangle of new emotions.

And yet, Heaven Eye never stopped injecting the power of Perception.

Flap-

A purple butterfly fluttered gently across his vision. Seeing it, Heaven Eye’s eye widened. The Dream Butterfly, the same as those once often seen around his old comrade Dream Demon, shouldn’t be moving in the still world.

How…?

He was sure all variables had been frozen; how could there be a change he was unaware of? Unable to comprehend the situation, Heaven Eye’s gaze followed the butterfly.

Swish-

And then, his eye met Se-Hoon’s—which was when he saw purple and gray intermingling in Se-Hoon’s irises.

“Dream Manifestation: Transcendence.”

At the moment a whisper sounded in Heaven Eye’s mind, the two colors swirling within Se-Hoon’s eyes exploded. Out of the blue, an omni-directional tidal wave of countless possibilities was sent outwards.

“What the…!?”

The flow swept through the surroundings, expanding across the entire frozen world and making the gray circle Heaven Eye created crumble.

Just one person, just one variable—that was enough to shake the world that had been robbed of all possibilities and push it forward toward a new future.

How… is this possible…? Heaven Eye stared in disbelief.

He hadn’t transferred even half the power of the Cursed Eye, yet Se-Hoon was single-handedly bringing about such a change? Heaven Eye was so flabbergasted that he forgot he needed to respond and just dumbly looked up at the sky.

However, upon feeling something, Heaven Eye snapped out of it and slowly lowered his gaze.

Se-Hoon, who had been staring at the sky, had slightly lowered his head and was now staring directly at the floating Cursed Eye.

“So that’s it…. This is the level of talent I needed to have.”

As the effect of the Sealed Heavenly Net slowly weakened, Heaven Eye just quietly stared at the monster that had created endless possibilities leading to his death. And all he could do… was let out a hollow laugh.

Standing before the man who had the talent that allowed him even the choice of becoming a Perfect One or a Harbinger of Destruction, Heaving Eye now painfully understood why Tuner had always mocked him as mediocre.

“But even so… I can’t give up like this…!”

The arrow had already been fired; there was no way to get it back. There was only one path left: die trying to reach the new future or be buried in the past with nothing left behind. However, his resolve was unshaken.

Splurt!

Heaven Eye’s Cursed Eye shattered in midair, and simultaneously, seven eyes that each represented a piece of Heaven Eye’s entirety emerged within the gray circle that looked ready to collapse. But immediately after, they were forcibly merged into an incomplete ultimate technique that bloomed into a new power of his own.

Sevenfold Cursed Eyes: Extinction Gaze

Crack-

The gray circle fractured, turning into seven arrows that launched across the world.

Boom!

Free from Heaven Eye’s control, the world began moving once again—and Se-Hoon’s fragmented thoughts snapped back into full connection. With it came all of Heaven Eye’s rambling—which Heaven Eye had assumed would be lost—that had actually been piling up in Se-Hoon’s mind until everything moved once again.

He’s trying to transform into something…!

Processing it all, Se-Hoon quickly realized. Whether it was a new Harbinger of Destruction unseen even before his regression or something else entirely, Se-Hoon knew: if he didn’t react now, a catastrophe would likely unfold.

His mind raced, organizing all his thoughts in that fleeting moment and preparing him to inform the completely unaware Lea—

Crack- Keeeeeeee

Everything shattered like a broken mirror. Accompanying a screech ringing in his head, the feeling of his brain being torn to shreds surged through him. Trying to endure the agony, Se-Hoon clenched his fist tightly and opened his mouth—but was unable to utter a sound.

This is…

The side effects of manifesting the power of Perception in a roundabout way, combined with the backlash from inheriting Heaven Eye’s Cursed Eye and the unknown change born from using Metamorphosing Dreams, unfolded at once in that fleeting moment.

There was just too much; both Se-Hoon’s brain and synesthetic mindscape were reaching their limit.

Don’t tell me… he planned this from the start…

It was then that Se-Hoon understood. Even if it was to shatter the future Baek-Yeon had realized, there was no way Heaven Eye would hand over such immense power to an enemy he was about to fight for no reason. In other words, Heaven Eye’s goal was to exclude him from the board altogether.

Se-Hoon staggered and collapsed to the ground.

“Now you can deactivate—wait, Se-Hoon?”

Noticing his condition, Lea was completely startled. She quickly deactivated her Phase Manifestation and rushed over to him.

“Se-Hoon! Are you okay?!”

However, despite being by his side, Lea hesitated to reach out; she couldn’t help but worry she would just make everything worse. Thankfully, though, Se-Hoon managed to force his words out as he pressed on both of his eyes.

“Lea… first, issue the alert status…”

They had no idea where or what Heaven Eye and the Demon Force were planning next, making immediate readiness essential. Lea knew that too, so upon hearing his words, she—still worried—swiftly pulled out her mana communicator to signal those carrying the receiver devices.

Woong-

In an instant, the alert signal reached everyone: Gregory, high-ranking heroes close to Se-Hoon, and two Perfect Ones. Judging that would suffice for now, Se-Hoon turned his attention to Terra.

“The final legacy is above the summit of Mount Baekdu… tell her to stay on standby nearby in case the Demon Force makes a move…”

“Y-Yes! But Administrator, your voice… what’s going on…?”

“Hurry.”

“Ah, understood!”

Terra’s voice vanished. Pressing his palms tighter against his eyes, Se-Hoon began piecing their situation together.

I’m not sure… if Jason will end up being able to see the final legacy or not… but at least… we won’t lose it so easily.

The alerts had been sent out. All that remained was to play the cards they’d prepared in response to whatever the enemy planned next. Heaven Eye’s unexpected move had indeed thrown a wrench into their plans, but things hadn’t turned catastrophic yet.

The remaining problem is…

Se-Hoon recalled the moment right before the world started moving again, when Heaven Eye unleashed an unknown technique using the entirety of his Cursed Eye. Just what exactly were those seven arrows sent across the world aiming for?

Had his eyes been functioning properly, he would have confirmed their locations with the power of Perception himself—but now no one could.

They should’ve… regenerated by now…

Had the overload of his synesthetic mindscape rendered him incapable of using his powers and skills? Still unable to sense any recovery in his eyes, Se-Hoon tried to assess the sensation in his palms.

Woong-

It felt like trying to cover a shattered bowl with his hands. Something was clearly leaking from within him through his eyes, but what it was, he couldn’t tell. It was too faint to be blood and too foreign to be mana.

Whatever it was, it gave Se-Hoon an ominous feeling that made him furrow his brow—

“I’ve sent the signal to everyone!”

His thoughts were interrupted by Lea returning to his side.

“Anything else you need? I’ll get it right away.”

Thinking, Se-Hoon then turned his head toward the direction of her voice.

“Do I have anything on my right hand?”

“Huh? No… I don’t see anything on it.”

“Anything dripping off nearby?”

“Not that either.”

So nothing was visible; Se-Hoon focused again on the sensation in his palm.

If Lea can’t see it… then it must be visible only to me.

What exactly was happening to his body? Just as he was about to fall into contemplation, the communicator in Lea’s hand blinked once more.

Tiiing! Tiiing! Tiiing!

Responses poured in from the allies he had signaled earlier—all perfectly synchronized, as if they’d agreed beforehand.

Se-Hoon and Lea stiffened. Any communication following an alert protocol was supposed to be solely about enemy incursions.

“What’s the situation?”

“I’ll check now.”

Tapping away on the communicator, Lea assessed what was happening globally… and her expression quickly twisted in alarm.

“Strange gates are opening all over the cities, and monsters with parts of their bodies made from black slime are showing up. They’re devouring people and using them as human shields.”

“…What about countermeasures?”

“They’re trying to kill the monsters without harming the civilians, but it’s not easy… the monsters are physically fused with the bodies, apparently.”

Connecting the dots to the exact same strategy used at the Ha Sect, Se-Hoon quickly deduced the enemy objective.

They want to perform an elaborate hostage tactic using the Blessing of the Eternal.

It was already well known that those who committed heinous crimes like murder couldn’t receive the Blessing of the Eternal. But what wasn’t known was how the system responded when civilians were killed not by will, but due to manipulation.

Because of that uncertainty, the heroes couldn’t fight freely out of the fear that they might accidentally kill civilians and lose their blessing.

Only one bastard would pull something this dirty… Tuner.

The monsters appearing in cities were likely test subjects created by Tuner’s faction under the Watchers: Exuviation.

“What’s the status of the Netherworld?”

“Well…” Lea checked the sky of the Netherworld and her Sphere, then answered awkwardly, “The link between the two worlds has weakened a lot. We fused them using a workaround and never really cleaned it up properly afterward.”

For such a thing, Se-Hoon could just use the power of Boundaries to stabilize it. But of course, that was impossible right now.

In that case, the Netherworld’s Gates are probably sealed too…

In essence, external support from the Netherworld was cut off. With a full grasp of the situation now, Se-Hoon fell into thought, pondering the situation.

“Lea.”

“Yeah. I’m listening.”

Lea focused with a serious face. She truly believed that even though the surface was in utter chaos, Se-Hoon would still find a way.

Until then, she just waited tensely.

“Puppeteering. You’ve practiced it a lot, right?”

But a rather unexpected question came.

“Well… to some extent?”

To defeat Puppeteer, she had to have at least a basic command of puppeteering, the technique for controlling automata. That was why she’d been training in her spare time with the automata they had seized from Puppeteer.

“Hmm. Good.” Satisfied with her answer, Se-Hoon gave a slight nod.

“Then from now on, you’re the commander of the Netherworld.”

“…?”

Just like that, she became the Netherworld’s second-in-command.