The Nature of Possession

432 – EP.16 Alpha

***

Kang In-ho let his tears flow into the stream, and added his scream-like cries to the sound of the clear flowing water.

He felt his face, repeatedly wiping his tear-blurred vision with the back of his hand.

It’s not an illusion, it’s not an illusion.

He continued to mutter.

For a moment, I thought it was an illusion created by Chunhyang.

But he felt it intuitively. He had no way of explaining it, no clear evidence, but it was not an illusion.

I couldn’t figure out the principle or reason as to why I had regained my original form.

But those were trivial things that didn’t really matter to him.

“My, my face…. Whoa, it’s my original face.”

Although he lived his life with many different appearances, deep in his heart there was only one appearance.

It was a face that I never forgot even after traveling through countless dimensions.

He felt his body.

It’s not a solid, muscular body.

He is not a tall man with a high field of vision.

It is not soft skin that sinks in when pressed.

It was his face, it was his body.

Kang In-ho grabbed a handful of green grass. The grass came out in a tattered manner, staining his hands.

I wet my hands and the remaining water dripped through the gaps in my clenched fists.

It was only after he had barely calmed down his agitated emotions that he noticed someone approaching him.

A thick shadow covered him, almost as if he was looking at a cloud.

Kang In-ho raised his face.

Neutral face.

A tall man who could be called a giant if he were just a little bigger.

The body shape with graceful curves and solid muscles were in contrast.

The first life form I met after dimension travel.

Kang In-ho exchanged glances with the intimidating presence.

“I am alpha.”

After a brief exchange of glances, the tall figure introduced himself.

Kang In-ho also opened his mouth at the beginning of a smooth conversation that did not feel hostile.

“I am….”

As Kang In-ho opened his mouth, the being who revealed himself as Alpha raised his hand.

“No need to say anything. Kang In-ho, the owner of a noble soul.”

“Do you know me?”

“I can know anything. From the moment you entered this dimension, I can know everything about you.”

“Are you… the Dimension Management God?”

Kang In-ho stood up hesitantly. After releasing his intense emotions, his body felt weak.

“Dimensional Management God?”

Alpha snorted. The face and voice that seemed to be either male or female confused Kang In-ho even more.

“Are you talking about a servant of God who manages the imperfect dimension?”

Alpha sneered. Kang In-ho shut his mouth at Alpha’s words that were like catching a cloud.

“Even though you’ve been through so many dimensions, you still don’t know anything about them. Well, that’s not surprising. After all, only the chosen ones can understand them.”

“What do you want to say?”

Kang In-ho sharply criticized Alpha’s attitude.

Alpha only smiled crookedly at the sharp words.

“You know about cause and effect, right? That’s why you were sacrificed.”

Kang In-ho nodded at Alpha’s words.

“What does it mean to break causality? Have you ever thought about it?”

“Do you think you had time to think?”

Adapting to a new world was also difficult for him.

“Hmm, I wonder if there’s a suitable analogy that even your dull mind can understand…”

Alpha muttered, rubbing his chin. After thinking seriously, Alpha soon sat down on the floor, as if he had thought of something suitable.

Even though Alpha was sitting, he was at the same eye level as Kang In-ho.

“I guess you can think of it as a program.”

“program?”

“Yes, there are dimensions… worlds, each running according to its own rules. They generally function as designed. Birth and death, creation and destruction, repeat.”

Alpha explained, drawing a picture on the meadow with his long fingers.

Kang In-ho’s eyes turned to the finger.

“But programs are bound to have flaws. Over time, from a hundred years to ten thousand years, the world’s flaws gradually accumulate. The more the idiot dimension manager interferes with the world, the more flaws occur in the world.”

“…that is the flaw of the world.”

“The flaws accumulated over a long period of time in an imperfect world. That is the law of causality.”

“Then the role of the Dimensional Management God would be to eliminate that flaw.”

“You understand faster than I thought. And it takes a noble soul to adjust that causality.”

Causality and sacrifice, Kang In-ho recalled his old conversation with Lanael.

“So, every time the law of causality breaks down, is the soul of a noble person needed?”

Alpha shook his head at Kang In-ho’s question.

“If it’s a very small causal misalignment, the soul of the Dimensional Management God can sufficiently adjust it. This is because the time it takes for the Management God to increase in rank is faster than the cycle of causal misalignment. However, there is an exception. That exception is what brought you to this point.”

“This must be a case where the law of causality is greatly misaligned.”

“Yes. At some point, there will be a time when the causality gap becomes too big. It will be a gap that cannot be resolved even if you pour in all of the Dimensional Management God’s power. It will be a huge loss to correct the causality by exhausting all of the Dimensional Management God’s power that you worked so hard to cultivate. So who should you use?”

“People like me.”

“You’re not such a fool.”

Alpha laughed, exposing his gums in a strange way.

A gust of wind blew. The wind gently caressed everything on the meadow.

Any beads of sweat that might have formed disappeared without falling to the ground.

“So? What do you want to talk about? I asked about your identity.”

“You have a short temper. Let me introduce myself again. I am a complete mortal, Alpha.”

Kang In-ho was impressed.

“A perfect mortal… is like a hot iced Americano.”

“That may be what a criminal like you think. But I, who belong to a unique dimension, can be said to be perfect.”

Alpha spread his arms.

“Unique dimension? How is it different from other dimensions?”

Alpha frowned at Kang In-ho’s question.

It was because I didn’t like the way Kang In-ho dared to compare himself to other dimensions.

“There is no causality violation in the original dimension. It can be said to be a perfect dimension.”

“Just now you were saying that every dimension has flaws, and now you’re saying the word perfection.”

“Of course. This is a dimension created by the omnipotent ‘God’.”

“god….”

Kang In-ho’s face became more wrinkled.

Alpha raised his body, regardless. A huge shadow covered Kang In-ho once again.

“How could I, a mere mortal, know about you? This is your own dimension. Why did you, who changed your appearance every time you moved through dimensions, regain your original form? It is because this is your own dimension. It is a place where the form of the soul is revealed as it is.”

“The unique dimension is a place created under God’s plan. That is why the unique dimension is great. Therefore, the unique dimension is special.”

What’s exciting, Alpha explained about the unique dimension, smiling broadly. It was as if he was showing off something he treasured to others.

“Why don’t you just create a world where there is no causality violation from the beginning? If everyone has their own dimension, there won’t be any tiring things. What is ‘God’ thinking?”

But unfortunately, Kang In-ho did not understand Alpha’s pride.

“Do you dare question ‘God’?”

Alpha’s face hardened for the first time at Kang In-ho’s dissatisfied words.

“No, that’s weird. If the original dimension is a world without flaws, then there’s no reason to create another dimension with flaws, right? Haven’t you ever wondered about that?”

“…is disrespectful.”

Kang In-ho felt that Alpha’s body had grown even bigger.

“Then on the contrary. Why is a unique dimension necessary? Is it a place created to observe a so-called ‘perfect mortal’ in this vast plain?”

“Shut your mouth!”

Alpha slapped Kang In-ho on the cheek.

The huge wind pressure created by his right arm crushed Kang In-ho’s body.

Kang In-ho flew over the meadow, screaming in one word.

After flying for a while, he fell back to the ground and vomited blood.

As soon as he hit the ground, Alpha leaped and landed around Kang In-ho.

His flushed face looked quite feverish.

What is a perfect mortal? One who cannot even control his own temper.

Kang In-ho muttered even while groaning in pain.

“Oh, and… On the topic of perfect dimensions. Does it make sense that it can be penetrated by a spell created by the Dimensional Management God? Isn’t it just a poorly designed dimension?”

Kang In-ho shouted at Alpha,

“You are right. You are an impurity that should not exist in this perfect world. That is why I will destroy you now. You will not face a new life, but eternal death.”

Alpha, taken in by the provocation, screamed and punched him in the face.

extinction.

It’s nice to hear that.

Kang In-ho closed his eyes as he watched the approaching Alpha attack.

“…….”

But the expected death did not come.

The surroundings were terribly quiet. Kang In-ho slowly opened his eyes.

“What is this? Why the protection of the Dimensional Management God?”

Alpha’s fist, which was heading towards Kang In-ho’s head, was blocked by a curtain that spread out around Kang In-ho’s body.

A white light emanated from the curtain.

Kang In-ho looked at the curtain with a bewildered expression. On the surface of the curtain, he saw a religious pattern that he had seen somewhere.

[I have blessed your soul. It is a blessing from a 4th-grade god, but… isn’t it better than nothing?]

I remember joining forces with the Dimensional Manager.

“Solari…!”

Kang In-ho muttered as he recalled the name of the Dimensional Management God that he had forgotten.

The shield that had received Alpha’s fist began to vibrate.

The white light began to grow brighter and brighter, soon spreading so much brightness that it was difficult to open my eyes.

The shield glowed for a few minutes and then disappeared.

“Is there anything else you want to show me?”

Solari’s protection, which had once blocked Alpha’s attack, still had more use left.

Clang!

Something appeared out of thin air, accompanied by the sound of breaking glass.

Cracks began to appear in the empty space.

Gold gradually began to run across the sky, and its presence gradually became more evident.

Damn it!

And then something started to force the gap open.

The gap in the air that had been tightly shut began to gradually open.

The sky literally began to split apart.

“How on earth…!”

Alpha’s face turned pale with embarrassment.

Something appeared through a passageway created by the splitting sky.

Something with short black hair, black eyes, and wearing a woman’s suit fell to the ground.

It landed, creating a crater in the meadow, and its black eyes glowed at Alpha.

“…Mr. Inho, our story isn’t over yet.”

The words it uttered sent quite a chill down my spine.