Chapter 335: Earth (2)
I had been harboring several doubts while listening to the Goddess of Dimensions' story.
Specifically, how I was able to withstand her power.
Regardless of being a transmigrator or whatever, the Goddess of Dimensions' power isn't something a mortal should be able to endure.
Even the Grand Duke who absorbed her couldn't properly digest her power.
Yet somehow, I managed what the Grand Duke couldn't.
Me, who had been nothing more than an ordinary person.
*But what if...*
What if the Goddess of Dimensions created me by separating a part of her soul, just like Cain did?
Then everything would make sense.
Why I could withstand her power.
Why I transmigrated into Cain.
While I was inwardly surprised by this realization...
"So who are you? Why do you have the same power as me?"
The Goddess of Dimensions looked at me with a wary expression.
As I was wondering how to respond...
"I'll explain that part."
The Goddess Who Sees Fate stepped forward and spoke up.
Then she began explaining everything she had heard to the Goddess of Dimensions.
***
After hearing the full explanation, the Goddess of Dimensions wore a shocked expression, her eyes trembling.
Her surprise was understandable.
In a way, she was hearing about her own future.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"You should believe it. We even have evidence right here," the Goddess Who Sees Fate said confidently, pointing at me.
I pushed away her pointing finger and spoke up.
"Everything the Goddess Who Sees Fate said is true. And you—your future self—sent me here."
"......"
"Anyway, there's something else I need to tell you."
"Huh?"
The Goddess Who Sees Fate beside me tilted her head curiously.
Then she asked, "There's more to tell?"
"Yes. Dimensions."
At my call, she lifted her head, breaking away from her complicated thoughts.
I looked at her and spoke in a serious tone, getting straight to the point.
"You need to separate a small part of your soul here to create me."
"What?"
Both goddesses widened their eyes at my words.
Ignoring their reactions, I continued with my explanation.
"From what we've heard, how could I have withstood your power? Your power is something even transcendent beings can't handle."
"Now that you mention it..."
"There's only one answer. I must have been like Cain—someone created from a fragment of your soul. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for me to be able to accept your power."
"Ah...!"
The Goddess Who Sees Fate's eyes widened as if she'd just remembered something.
Then she continued, "That's right! During the Constellation Meeting, they mentioned there was a soul in the continent that matched one from another world! Could it be..."
"It seems that was me."
"Ah..."
The Goddess Who Sees Fate nodded with an understanding expression after hearing my words.
Then, the Goddess of Dimensions, who had been silently listening to our conversation, let out a deep sigh.
"Haaah... I came to investigate that soul, but I never expected to discover a truth like this. The Goddess Who Sees Fate was right."
"Hmm?"
"What you said about my fate—that I would die or lose my status. It wasn't a joke; it was the truth."
"Huh? Ahahahaha, that's right!"
Wait. Didn't she say that was a joke last time?
While I was inwardly dumbfounded by her shameless lie...
"I don't know if I'll follow the future you've described exactly, but as payment for revealing the truth to me, I'll grant your request."
The Goddess of Dimensions began emitting an aura I'd never seen before.
Simultaneously...
*Woong!*
A small, shining orb appeared before our eyes.
Then...
*Crack!*
It slowly began to crack.
The next moment...
"Waah!"
A baby that looked exactly like my younger self appeared.
*This isn't Park Hyeokgeose... why is it hatching from an egg?*
Seeing myself being born with my own eyes was quite bewildering.
The Goddess Who Sees Fate carefully poked the baby's cheek.
"So this is what Cain looked like as a child before the transmigration. He looks quite similar to how he is now."
"Well, that's natural since they share the same origin."
"So now we just need to leave him there?"
"Yes, that's all. And as a precaution, I'll cast a hypnosis spell too."
"Alright, understood."
With those final words, the Goddess of Dimensions left baby-me at the orphanage.
***
About another month passed after that.
Not much happened during that time.
The Goddess of Dimensions left Earth to confirm the truth, and she instructed a corporate CEO to support the orphanage.
Besides that, I spent my time leisurely as usual.
*Hmm. Waiting several decades like this seems a bit much.*
It's not bad, but to be honest, I miss seeing the others.
No matter how comfortable it is here, it's natural to think about my female companions.
*Come to think of it, I don't really need to wait.*
I couldn't control time freely before, but that's not the case now.
There's no need to wait here.
*Let's go see those creators right away.*
With that thought, I sat up in bed.
As I turned my head...
"Aaaagh! Stop stealing my last hits!"
I saw the Goddess Who Sees Fate, angrier than usual.
From what she was saying, it seemed someone had stolen something from her.
"Fate, let's get moving."
"Huh? Now? I'm in my promotion match!"
Ah, that explains why she's more sensitive than usual.
I silently shifted my gaze to the screen for a moment.
Seeing it, I couldn't help but smirk.
After all...
*3 kills, 8 deaths, and 2 assists? Isn't that a bit too much?*
Even though I hadn't played that game for long, I could tell she was performing terribly.
Without hesitation, I hit her with the facts.
"At that rate, you don't deserve to be promoted anyway. Just quit and come with me."
"Ugh!"
"Besides, you're already losing, so what's the point?"
"Nnngh... Fine. Just give me a moment. I have one last thing to do."
The Goddess Who Sees Fate made a solemn expression.
Then...
-Do you know why Itachi is strong?
-Ah! Shit. Don't tell me?
-Please, don't do that.
-Because he's a rogue ninja!
She logged out after dropping that line.
"Phew... That should be good enough."
"Wait, didn't I do that last time?"
"You follow trends too, so don't complain."
Left speechless, I pretended not to hear her and headed toward our destination.
***
Shortly after, we arrived 15 years in the future.
Was it because 15 years had passed?
The advancement in civilization was clearly visible.
*It finally feels like I'm back home.*
Until now, it was too far in the past to really feel like Earth, but seeing the current level of civilization made that feeling disappear.
As I was looking around and taking it all in...
"By the way, Cain, why did we come here?"
She tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
I stretched slowly and said, "Oh, remember I mentioned before? About the guys who made your world into a game."
"Yeah, I remember. I was so shocked when I heard that."
At the time, the Goddess Who Sees Fate was quite stunned by my words.
She even accused me of lying, despite having believed everything else I'd said until then.
"I thought waiting would take too long, so I came to three years before it was created."
"Ah, so we're finally going to see the real mastermind?"
"I guess you could say that."
Finally, after all this waiting, I could meet the creators.
I was certain they wouldn't be ordinary people.
*If they know the future of the continent, they must be beings comparable to transcendents.*
It wouldn't make sense otherwise.
With that thought, I headed toward where the creators would be.
I wanted to open a dimensional gate and go directly, but...
*They might notice our presence.*
So it wouldn't hurt to be cautious.
Well, they might have detected us when we traveled through dimensions anyway.
A short while later...
We arrived at our destination.
The Goddess Who Sees Fate looked around at the buildings in admiration.
"Wow. Humans here have developed so much in just a few decades."
"Well, unlike your world, they don't have magic, so they had to develop civilization instead."
"It would be nice to bring the others here sometime."
"Yeah, it would."
Imagining how the female companions would react, I led the Goddess Who Sees Fate into the building.
Then...
*Hmm. As expected, the regular employees are all ordinary people.*
People in business attire moving busily, just like any other company.
It was clear that unless they were developers, they were mostly ordinary individuals.
*Then it would be best to meet the developers directly.*
We cast a hypnosis spell on everyone around to make them unable to perceive us.
Unlike dimensional travel, this level of hypnosis required minimal effort, so there was little risk of being detected.
Shortly after...
*Is this the place...*
We finally reached our destination.
The beings who knew everything about the continent.
The ones who could be said to have created the beings in the continent.
*Sigh. It's hard to even see the faces of these damn creators.*
With an inward sigh, I slowly opened the door before us.
*Creeeeak!*
And what we saw was...
*What?*
Just an ordinary middle-aged man.
Someone anyone would consider ordinary.
He clearly wasn't hiding his aura, as I couldn't sense anything from him.
Moreover, his body was quite plump, suggesting he drank a lot.
"Who are you—"
*Woong.*
I cut off the man's words and temporarily stopped time around us.
Of course, excluding the Goddess Who Sees Fate beside me.
"Cain, isn't that person obviously just an ordinary man?"
"......"
I could only remain silent at her question.
I spread my energy to thoroughly check our surroundings.
And as expected...
*Something's off.*
There was no trace of the game I had played being developed.
Typically, it takes years to create a game.
At the very least, there should be some attempt at development, but there was nothing of the sort.
*Wait a minute...*
Suddenly, a hypothesis flashed through my mind.
And that hypothesis quickly turned into certainty.
"So that's what it was..."
If my hypothesis was correct...
It would explain why there were so many extra settings.
Why some parts lacked coherence.
Why Skaya, whom I thought was the villainess, didn't bully Rain unlike in the original work.
If the creator's identity was as I suspected...
"The great creator who made that masterpiece game was me all along."
Everything made sense now.