The Tales of an Infinite Regressor

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 85 – Collaborators III

The final resistance force wasn’t just comprised of awakened individuals; ordinary people also participated in large numbers. Consequently, immediately after they were swept away, Busan felt eerily deserted, like a ghost town.

Even as we hung the [Open for Business] sign and surveyed the streets, not a single passerby could be seen. Noh Doha and I sat on a bench in front of the workshop, quietly taking in the scene.

“….”

“….”

“Hmm. Would you like some coffee, Master?”

“Oh. Yes, please. Anytime, Assistant.”

The silence of the streets didn’t feel awkward.

Instead, amidst the end of the century, the occasional familiarity of the days gone by occasionally felt strange.

Deserted streetlights.

Crosswalks with torn white stripes.

Deciduous trees. Aurora of sunlight. Sirens as cicadas that hadn’t yet gone extinct searched for their mates.

“It’s summer…”

Noh Doha’s breath, mingling with the aroma of Café au lait, rose like transparent smoke.

The world seemed to have finally regained its original calmness.

9 AM, 11 AM, lunchtime. The menu was steaks I cooked myself. Even at 1 PM, 3 PM, 5 PM, not a single customer visited Noh Doha’s usually bustling workshop.

The sun set.

The eyelids of the night sky were the color of dusk.

The world, which should have fallen asleep long ago, had spent the past eight years tossing and turning, finally closing its eyelids.

“It wouldn’t be bad to witness the end alone like this.”

That’s when it happened.

Amidst the lying sunset, a familiar sound suddenly reached my ears.

My ears perked up.

“Well, I guess it’s time to close up shop. Hmm. Today was a complete disaster. You must be enjoying yourself, huh… Huh? Why the long face, Assistant?”

“…Someone’s coming this way?”

“Oh…?”

The sound of footsteps grew louder. But it was strange. Each step seemed to be accompanied by something else. Thud, thwack, thud, thwack, as if footsteps were overlaid with another sound.

It was the sound of a cane.

“Oh.”

I got up from the bench to greet the visitor. Lo and behold, an elderly man, leaning on his cane, was hobbling down the street towards us.

I quickly approached and supported the old man.

“Oh, young man! So, you’re still in Busan. Why are you still here? Oh? And why is Noh Doha still here? What’s the point of young people like you being here? Huh? What’s the point…”

“…?”

As I helped the old man into the workshop, I saw Noh Doha inside, wearing his usual white lab coat, adjusting his glasses and holding up a medical chart.

“Isn’t this Mr. Ban Songdong? What brings you here?”

“Oh, it’s nothing much. Just, um, my ankle support has been squeaking since last week. It’s old, you see…”

“Hmm. If it’s squeaking, it means it’s worn out. Didn’t I tell you not to touch it? Seems like my words mean nothing to you…”

“No, um, that’s not it-”

“And if the support seems to be off, you should come for repairs right away. Why did you wait a whole week to fuss over it?”

“Oh, sorry, sir. I’m so sorry. What should I do now? If it’ll take too long, I’ll just leave it.”

“No, it’ll only take 10 minutes…”

Noh Doha took out an extension and began repairing the misaligned part of the device, chatting casually with the patient.

Just like usual.

Clang— the sound of a hammer echoed.

“….”

I sneakily went to the entrance of the workshop to check outside.

In the night sky descending with the sunset, there was a strange noise mingling.

Instead of starlight, red spots flickered like sparks, and instead of the Milky Way, blue veins pulsated like arteries.

The voidification of the sky. No, the voidification of celestial bodies beyond the sky. It was evidence that the end of the world was truly near.

“…Not good at all.”

Even the sunset was being infected in real-time. What was once tinted with crimson and yellow gradually began to take on a sickly hue, as if it were being drenched with black blood, little by little.

If you imagined the sky as an experimental beaker and dropped red liquid into it, would you understand?

The air turned into a surface, light into mucus, clouds into blades, and the ground into the Milky Way.

If powerful anomalies were left unchecked, they would intersect and merge at will, becoming one mass.

Nut, the goddess of the night. It was an anomaly and void that was difficult to infer the cause of for me at this time. It was an end-of-the-world scenario that occasionally appeared.

The night of this world was swallowing cities step by step.

Soon, the beings on the surface would fall into eternal slumber. Even if it was extended, not even 10 minutes remained.

“Master, it’s time to-”

“Assistant.”

I turned around. Noh Doha was coming out of the workshop with the patient.

Our eyes met.

Two black islands emerged in the middle of a white sea, staring at me.

“Take Mr. Sin Subin home.”

“….”

A brief exchange of glances conveyed more silence than words ever could.

“Have you gone deaf, Assistant? Take the patient home and come back. If he falls on the way, who do you think will be responsible?”

“Yes. Understood.”

“Good.”

Noh Doha chuckled faintly.

“That’s how my Assistant should be.”

The old man kept saying he was fine and could go alone, but Noh Doha was adamant.

I gently hugged the old man and started walking.

“Oh, I’m really fine. Anyway, Noh Doha cares too much about her patients… Oh oh oh oh oh!”

The old man turned soprano towards the end, thanks to my tight grip.

He looked around with widened eyes. The scenery of the street passed by in an instant. I supported the patient’s body, avoiding fallen walls or traffic lights.

‘If I hurry and take the patient to his home in Bansong-dong… and then return to the workshop, it’ll be a close call, about five minutes. Hopefully, until the world ends… But, the timing of when the Void will reach the location of the workshop is still a variable.’

“Young man.”

While using aura, the old man suddenly spoke up.

“Yes?”

“Drop me off here.”

I blinked. I still had four more minutes to take the patient to his home.

“No, sir. I’ll take you.”

“Oh, stop it. It’s fine. Isn’t the way home important? The path to home is important. And the ankle support is fixed now, so I want to walk the last bit home myself.”

“Ah.”

“I’ve lived in this neighborhood all my life. My elementary school was around here, and this was the way home. I’ve walked this path back and forth for decades. Today, I walked out of the house because I didn’t want to die alone inside, but there’s no one here. I didn’t know Noh Doha would be in the workshop. She’s really a thoughtful person.”

“….”

“Thank you, young man. Noh Doha cares about you, right? Then this isn’t your path. Let’s go together.”

I helped the old man down the slope of the sidewalk. He made grunting sounds and leaned on his cane, tapping the asphalt.

It was the one-lane road that Noh Doha had paved in Busan with his own savings.

The old man leaned about thirty percent of his weight on the cane and waved his hand.

“I’m fine now. Go back.”

“…Thank you.”

“What’s there to thank? I should be thankful…”

With grunting sounds, the old man, like a shadow, descended the hill.

The sound of cicadas echoed. But from beyond the concrete forest, the cries of cicadas gradually decreased, one hand, two hands, three hands, until they disappeared.

The night of the world was closing in.

“Until next time, sir,” I nodded, turning in the indicated direction with a slight bow of my head. Moving even faster than when carrying the elderly man.

[Proofreader – Gun]

The rooftop of the workshop.

What was once just a two-story building when I first joined, had undergone reconstruction and renovation over the past eight years, now reaching five stories. At the top, the “Noh Doha Workshop,” its rooftop painted with a distinctive Korean waterproof green, an interior sense of style difficult to find elsewhere.

“Oh…”

Noh Doha stood motionless, holding a wine bottle and opener in hand.

With a flick, he tossed the cork over the rooftop’s edge as I settled down on the rooftop like a butterfly, Noh Doha looking at me as if it were entirely natural, despite this being the first time I’d used aura in front of him.

“You’re back sooner than I expected. Did you properly escort Mr. Sin Subin home?”

“The gentleman insisted on walking the last leg himself. I had no choice but to let him.”

“Ah. Hmm. I didn’t consider that…”

Pop- the cork of the wine bottle was removed.

With a toss, Noh Doha flung the cork over the rooftop’s edge.

“A drink…?”

“If it’s from the Workshop Owner’s collection, I’ll indulge.”

“Hmm.”

Swish- the red liquid flowed into the glass, mirroring the wine-colored twilight sky.

“To whatever… for something, anyway…”

“Cheers.”

Clink.

The glass chimed crisply. The red wine in the glass resembled a golden flower suspended in mid-air.

We stood side by side, peering at the city sky through our wine glasses. The sky itself now seemed like transparent glass, creating a feeling of glass looking through glass.

Now, only five minutes until annihilation. Maybe six minutes at most.

“Assistant.”

“Yes?”

“You know, I can make weapons…”

I glanced at Noh Doha. He wasn’t looking my way.

“Pardon?”

“Weapons, equipment. You know in those games where characters get stronger when they get weapons… My ability, as you know, is to make limbs feel like part of the body, even if they’re prosthetics. Well, actually, it applies perfectly to other equipment too…”

“….!”

My eyes widened.

Indeed. The human arm and leg were the earliest extensions and tools. If Noh Doha were to create swords or spears, the extensions of the arms, using his ability…

“Sword as One with the Body…!”

“…? What are you talking about?”

“Ah. Um. Nothing… Just means it’s impressive.”

It was difficult to convey my admiration to someone with no connection to subculture, purely a voluntary nerd (this person hadn’t even watched a Marvel movie).

“…Why did you hide such an ability, Workshop Owner? You must truly be a born blacksmith. You could have established a stronghold, avoiding the gaze of the authorities and gangs, and made them all jittery.”

“Hmm. I just explained the reason… If rumors spread that I can make incredible weapons, there will be even more annoying awakened individuals pestering me for favors…?”

“Ah.”

“But if I knew the world would end like this, I would have made weapons for at least one person. Since I wouldn’t have to worry about spreading rumors to others…”

“….”

The sky turned red.

And then, as if the guillotine’s blade had fallen, the pitch-black night followed, swallowing everything. Veins and arteries spread across the sky, imitating the Milky Way, its color wriggling.

“…Then, please make one next time.”

“Hmm. Well, it’s a hassle to the point of death. Since we’re going to die anyway, I suppose I can endure the inconvenience now…”

“Indeed.”

“Yes. If you don’t want to make it, I’ll force you to make it…”

Crack-

From the rooftop across the way, near the traffic light at the intersection, came the sound of something breaking. A metallic crunch.

It sounded somewhat comical, as if a joke, but the result was not funny. Everything on the other side of the intersection was consumed by the night sky.

Crack, crack. Crack-

Crosswalks and buildings were gradually devoured by the void of the night. Like a half-eaten apple, the upper parts of the buildings were sliced off.

300 meters, 250 meters, 180 meters, 120 meters. In an instant. From all directions, the pitch-black night sky surged forth, devouring space as it approached.

The world’s embrace had now narrowed to the point where only our breathing could be heard.

“Assistant.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you…”

Clang.

The last sound I heard was the wine glass Noh Doha was holding. Perhaps it was the sound of my wine glass shattering against the teeth of the night sky.

The glass was fractured.

And the world closed its eyes.

[Proofreader – Gun]