Chapter 39: (an unknown era) 1,999,899 Years Befor Zero : The bittersweetness of eternity [1]

"Hahaha... hey, look."

"Isn’t Arsy so cute? She’s really adorable when she plays with the bubble gun with the other children."

Van showed Beluga the screen of his camera, which was playing a video of Arsy, while Beluga relaxed and sunbathed at the edge of the lake formed by the waterfall.

Beluga sighed. The scent of fish wafted up from the lake as his eyes, hidden behind black sunglasses adorned with gold and diamonds, tried to shield themselves from the aurora’s dancing display beneath the icy ceiling.

Beluga lowered his glasses, revealing his blue eyes, and looked to his left, where Van was still holding out the camera with a smile.

Van’s golden hair had now grown long enough to almost touch the river rocks even while he was lying down, while his mustache had begun growing unevenly along with his beard.

"Are you starting to become senile? You keep showing us their videos every day. For a hundred years."

Van smiled faintly. He laughed again when another video appeared.

"What can I do? I think I’ll forget their faces and voices if I don’t see them for even a day."

Beluga shook his head. His gaze fell on the two fishing rods planted in front of their resting spot.

"Hey, you should cut your hair—"

Beluga’s words stopped when he looked toward where Van had been lying.

It was empty.

Van was already approaching the four demons, who were frozen and unable to move, staring out at the lake and waterfall. Van had brought them from in front of the Hell Gate to enjoy a vacation, even though they couldn’t move.

Van held up the camera screen with the same enthusiasm as when he had shown it to Beluga.

"Hey... look at this video—"

Van’s words were cut short when Azazel, Grok, Lily, and Aryn all complained at the same time.

"Come on, Van, put that thing called a camera away... we’re already sick of it."

"Hey, perverted Van, find yourself a hobby or something... and clean yourself up."

Van’s shoulders drooped. He looked down at himself. He was now wearing nothing but polka-dot shorts and a pair of flip-flops.

Van ran his fingers through his oily golden hair, which had now reached his knees. He scratched his itchy mustache and beard while looking at the four demons whose view he was blocking.

"Good grief... even though I’ve only shown it tens of thousands of times."

Aryn cleared his throat several times after hearing Van’s words.

"Are you bored? Want me to tell you about the war that happened thousands of years ago? You know, knowledge is important when the gate opens later, right?"

Van crossed his arms and walked away from them.

"You’ve already told me that tens of thousands of times... if I forget, I can just watch it in the video..."

Van sighed. With every step toward the place where he had been relaxing earlier, his footsteps felt heavier, even though it was only a few steps away.

His heart no longer pounded the way it had when he first arrived in the underground world beneath Antarctica.

Van stopped for a moment to rest, even though only a few steps remained before he reached his destination.

There was no wind caressing his body. Reflected in his eyes was only the aurora, which continued dancing until Van had memorized every one of its movements.

There were no sounds of insects. There was only the sound of water pouring from the waterfall, continuously filling the lake surrounded by the forest.

Van hadn’t felt pain for a very long time.

Perhaps he missed the time when his chest had been repeatedly pierced by the fallen angel statue.

An unfamiliar-sounding sigh escaped Van’s lips. He continued walking, placed his camera on the chair, then sat down on a moss-covered rock at the edge of the lake, leaning against the chair where he had been lying earlier.

He stared at the two fishing rods planted in front of him, wondering when they would move.

Van’s gray eyes followed every movement of the water as it churned toward the edge of the lake from the waterfall that fed it.

"Hey... did you really connect this lake to the sea already?"

Van didn’t turn toward Beluga when he spoke. He simply heard Beluga’s voice answering him.

"Of course... why? Be patient, bastard... or do you want to go snorkeling? Hunt fish like you’re hunting mammoths?"

Van blinked several times.

He didn’t nod. He didn’t speak. He didn’t answer.

All he did was stand up and walk toward the boundary between the moss-covered rocks and the lake water.

He stepped into the lake without taking off his sandals.

The cool water immediately touched every pore of his body. He continued walking farther away from the shore.

His long golden hair began to hold him back as he sank deeper. Once his sandals were no longer touching the bottom, he dove into the lake.

He left Beluga, Azazel, Aryn, Grok, and his camera behind without saying a single word.

They simply let Van do whatever he wanted.

Inside the lake, Van’s vision was swallowed by darkness.

He didn’t use his adaptive potential.

He didn’t even use invisible space to wrap himself in order to keep from getting wet. He didn’t use his flying potential to dive into the sea.

He simply held his breath and moved every inch of his body, swimming deeper into the darkness that seemed to have no end.

Bubbles escaped from his mouth. The veins on his forehead bulged, and his face began turning red as he reached his limit for holding his breath underwater.

The freshwater of the lake slowly entered his body.

His ears rang. His eyes stung. His nose felt as though it were being stabbed, and his mouth slowly opened, allowing the freshwater to enter and invade his body.

His movements grew weaker as he swam until Van finally stopped moving, like a stone sinking into the water.

His already-dark vision began to grow even darker.

He surrendered his body to the current, not knowing where it would carry him.

Van’s forehead twitched when a salty taste greeted his mouth, which had already grown accustomed to freshwater.

Smoke slowly emerged from Van’s pores as his regenerative potential began repairing his internal organs, which had already filled with water.

His adaptive potential then activated, allowing Van to breathe underwater as freely as he breathed air on land.

Van’s eyes slowly opened.

His previously dark vision gradually became clear.

Along with the salty taste that still lingered in his mouth, he saw a giant sea turtle swimming by, carrying fish on its shell.

He also saw a swarm of jellyfish bump into him, giving him a little introductory sting.

Van stared at them in silence, his mind empty as his body continued drifting between freshwater and saltwater.

Van spread his arms and legs like a starfish.

He finally began greeting every sea animal he happened to encounter.

He asked them only one question, regardless of their species.

"Do I still look okay?"