Chapter 411
Within a small cafe on the outskirts of Paris with only one or two other customers present, Se-Hoon leaned back against his chair by the window.
“Phew...”
A sigh escaped him as the tension left his body.
It had only taken five minutes to travel from Babel to the meeting place, but within that short time, countless thoughts had swirled through his mind.
So she really managed to ascend the Tower of Heroes...
Aria had sounded nonchalant when delivering the news, as if she had merely climbed a small hill in the neighborhood. But when considering the specific Tower she was referring to, it was anything but trivial. Aria reaching the peak of the Tower of Pristine—where the new laws of the world had been forged—made his brow furrow in thought.
Did she really mean it, though?
Even though he knew Aria wasn’t the type to joke about such a thing, he just found it that difficult to believe. He had always believed that she would one day become a Perfect One, just like before, but never had he expected it to happen so suddenly.
If I had to guess the reason she went... it must be due to the change in her synesthetic mindscape.
During the process of taking down the Destroyer of Swords, Aria finally dispelled the doubts that had plagued her and resolved the contradictions that had taken root in her psyche. Thanks to that, her synesthetic mindscape had stabilized—becoming so rigid that in Se-Hoon’s eyes, she was, in fact, no different from the other Perfect Ones.
If I look at it that way, I guess it’s not all that strange.
To ascend a Tower of Heroes was to realize one’s deepest wish. And at long last, she had finally gained the opportunity to fulfill her long-cherished desire. Who would turn down such a chance?
Yet, despite understanding that, an inexplicable unease lingered in his chest.
“...”
Se-Hoon fell into deep thought, trying to pinpoint the source of his discomfort.
Chime-
At the soft ringing of the cafe’s entrance bell, Se-Hoon broke out of his thoughts and naturally shifted his gaze toward the door—to see Aria step inside.
And like how she always did, she smiled at him the moment their eyes met.
“...?”
Something about her felt strangely off. He pondered over it, trying to make sense of the feeling, and in the meantime, Aria finished ordering at the counter and took the seat across from him.
“Sorry for keeping you waiting.”
“It’s fine. More importantly, the message you sent earlier—”
“Hold on.”
Raising a hand, Aria stopped Se-Hoon just as he was about to get straight to the point.
“Sorry for calling you here and then saying this, but... could you give me a moment? I just came out from the Tower, and I need to collect my thoughts.”
Her gentle tone made Se-Hoon pause.
“...Alright.”
“Thanks. By the way, how’s Jake? He seemed to be pushing himself a bit too hard.”
“He’s more or less the same. The other day, someone lobbed an egg—no, never mind. He dodged before the egg hit him. Don’t get mad.”
The two casually chatted, talking about what they had been doing for the past few days. Soon, the cafe owner arrived with Aria’s tea, placing the cup gently on the table.
“Try it. It’s not bad.”
Taken aback by the offer, Se-Hoon paused before awkwardly picking up the cup and taking a sip. A mild yet soothing fragrance filled his mouth.
“How is it?”
“It’s... just hot tea.”
“Glad you liked it.” Even though his response was bland, Aria still responded playfully.
Like that, they continued chatting for a little longer until silence naturally settled between them as both sank into their thoughts.
“...”
His mind filled with countless thoughts, Se-Hoon stayed silent, watching Aria’s reflection in the window.
Then, at long last, Aria spoke. “To get straight to the point.” She set down her teacup. “I managed to ascend the Tower of Heroes. I completed it.”
“...”
Turning to face her, Se-Hoon’s expression became complicated. He had already found out from her text message, but hearing it face-to-face gave it a completely different weight.
“...When exactly did you clear it?”
“In my perception, about a week ago. But in real-time... maybe twelve hours ago? I can’t say for sure.”
Recalling her time in the Tower of Heroes, Aria absentmindedly ran her fingers along the handle of her cup.
“The Tower assigned me six floors in total. I had already cleared three before, and this time, I finished the rest.”
“That’s... quite short.”
In his memory, the shortest recorded completion was eight floors. He hadn’t expected there to be an even lower one.
“I guess my synesthetic mindscape was already nearly complete. Plus, I think the Tower prioritizes completion over directionality.”
“Directionality...”
Wurgen’s remark about the Tower of Heroes being 444 floors flashed through his mind.
Well, that old man did struggle with it quite a bit.
The theory—that the Towers of Heroes assigned floors based on how clearly defined a person’s synesthetic mindscape, their heroic ideal, was—had been proposed several times back in the previous timeline.
Recalling it, Se-Hoon remembered something else.
Wait... My version of the Tower had ten floors, didn’t it?
He had never really considered it before, but did that mean the directionality of his synesthetic mindscape was less defined than hers? It was an unexpected realization that gave Se-Hoon some food for thought.
“The trial given to me was to hone my sword aura and cut through objects. The fourth floor was the ocean, the fifth was the land, and the final sixth was the sky.”
“And you cut through all of them.”
“Mhm. It felt similar to when I temporarily became a Harbinger of Destruction. Thanks to that, I was able to handle it easily.”
From her words, Aria’s trial tested whether she could perceive and sever fundamental laws of the universe, not just physical matter. Her task sounded similar to the power of the Destroyer of Swords, however, if it were the power of Severance that Aria had wielded before, there was a distinct difference.
The Destroyer of Sword’s power erases, while the power of Severance can also rewrite.
For example, if both were to cut through space, the Destroyer of Sword’s power would leave a lingering scar that slowly devoured the surrounding area. In contrast, the power of Severance would split it cleanly—and make it as if it had always been split from the start.
In terms of destructive power, the difference made the Destroyer of Sword’s power superior. But in terms of speed and precision, the power of Severance was far faster and more precise. In fact, that difference had enabled Aria to kill the Destroyer of Swords before the regression.
But from what she’s said, her power doesn’t seem to be much different.
As Se-Hoon contemplated the differences between past and present, Aria calmly ordered herself another cup of tea.
“Anyway, I completed the trial and arrived at the sand desert at the peak of the Tower.”
“...A sand desert?”
Seeing Se-Hoon’s confusion over the unexpected setting, Aria explained calmly. “The top floor of the Tower perfectly portrays a Perfect One’s synesthetic mindscape. The desert must have been a reflection of mine.”
A boundless expanse of pure white sand stretching beyond the horizon, beneath a deep indigo night sky adorned with golden stars.
“And there, I saw the Golden Ring in its complete form.”
While Aria had been aware of the Golden Ring since childhood, she had never fully seen it before. She knew its structure, yet it had always appeared to her as a never-ending arc, as though she were trapped inside it.
So only when you reach the top of the Tower can you finally see it in its entirety...
Se-Hoon fell into thought. What could be the significance of the difference between seeing part of the ring and seeing all of it? The answer quickly came to him.
“Ascending the Tower of Heroes... it’s equivalent to an expansion of one’s perception, isn’t it?”
The Tower, the Abyss of Demons, blessings, curses—the very foundation of everything. The Golden Ring, quite literally, was the universe itself.
Upon reaching the peak of the Tower, one could perceive it completely. And there, when they realized their wish, they would connect to it and be granted direct access to the power to reshape reality—to wield powers of their own that could reshape the universe itself.
I had a vague idea... but this is ridiculous.
At such a scale, planetary destruction wasn’t even the primary concern. Depending on the nature of the power manifested at the top of the Tower, its impact could extend beyond Earth—perhaps across the entire universe.
For all I know, that’s already happening somewhere...
Just like the butterfly effects caused by his own regression, there was no telling what kind of influence the Perfect Ones and their powers were having on the universe.
Frowning at the implications, Se-Hoon debated whether it was worth serious contemplating or if it was just paranoia—
“There's no need to overthink it.”
Snapping Se-Hoon out of his thoughts, Aria tilted her teacup, her voice even.
“Just think of it simply. Imagine the Golden Ring as a mysterious machine with two buttons.”
“...”
“The first button—‘Perfect One’—adds new rules to the machine. The second button—‘Harbinger of Destruction’—destroys it.”
She set her teacup down and met Se-Hoon’s gaze.
“The first option is risky but can be used in various ways. The second option is similar, but since it involves destroying the machine, it’s trickier to handle. And you...”
She paused briefly, seemingly reconsidering her words.
“Never mind. Anyway, in the end, we need to use both buttons appropriately to control the machine as we see fit. Simple, right?”
“...You’re right.”
Perhaps he had been overcomplicating things lately, exposed to too many unnecessary theories.
Trying to clear his mind, Se-Hoon studied Aria, who had been speaking more gently than usual.
“I understand more about how the Towers of Heroes works now.”
“Good. I was worried it might be too complicated.”
“It’s all thanks to how well you explained it. Still, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask...”
“Go ahead.” Aria smiled softly.
Despite conquering the Tower of Heroes, she hadn’t changed much. Wondering why, Se-Hoon had been thinking about it all throughout their conversation. And now, Se-Hoon believed he had figured it out.
“How did you come down from the Tower without becoming a Perfect One?”
Originally, he had thought the difference was simply too subtle for him to notice. However, the more he observed her throughout their conversation, the more convinced he became.
Aria didn’t become a Perfect One.
She was closer than before—but that was it. She stopped just short, remaining human.
How did she manage to do that?
As far as he knew, reaching the top meant becoming a Perfect One. He had never heard of an exception.
“You’re asking me how I came down?”
Surprised by the question, Aria blinked once, then tilted her head.
“Huh. I wasn’t expecting that question...”
Trailing off, Aria took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing.
“To put it simply... I just copied what you did.”
“...What?”
In sheer disbelief, Se-Hoon forgot his formal tone. But while Aria narrowed her eyes slightly at that, she didn’t address it.
“Reaching the top floor doesn’t automatically make you a Perfect One. You have to connect your synesthetic mindscape to the Golden Ring and then manifest your wish inside. It’s only then when you fully become one.”
“Which means... if you do nothing up there, you don’t need to become a Perfect One and can leave?”
“Exactly,” Aria confirmed, calmly sipping her tea.
On the other side, Se-Hoon was speechless, unable to believe what he had heard.
Although ascending all the way to the top floor of the Tower of Heroes and then walking away sounded simple, it was far from it. To do such a thing, one had to abandon the deepest—most desperate—wish of their soul on the precipice of its realization.
In the first place, the foundation of becoming a Perfect One, of ascending the Tower, was a fervent desire to see one’s wish fulfilled. Walking away? It was an absurd notion.
“Of course, it wasn’t easy. I hesitated, too—because of my attachment to my wish.”
The higher one climbed, the clearer their wish became. Naturally, attached to that was the intensification of the longing to achieve it. It was an inescapable primal impulse, an instinct ingrained in every sentient being.
Even Aria, upon recalling it briefly, had closed her eyes for a moment, as if trying to suppress lingering temptation.
“But it wasn’t impossible. More accurately, I knew it was possible. Because I had seen someone do it before.”
“...Are you talking about me?”
Seeing Aria nodding, Se-Hoon frowned slightly. What had she seen that made her think he had climbed to the peak and turned back? Even before regressing, the highest he had reached was the ninth floor.
Maybe she mistook something Wurgen did... no, that was just a simulation.
Revisiting his memories, Se-Hoon struggled to piece everything together. And upon seeing him like that, Aria chuckled at his expression.
“You really have no idea, do you? It’s quite rare to see you struggle.”
Taking her words as a hint, Se-Hoon reflected on his own actions instead. That was when something clicked.
The powers of the Perfect Ones were the manifestation of their wish through the Golden Ring. In other words, one couldn’t use their powers without first perceiving its complete form.
“Wait. Then... what about Jake? Or Richard?”
“They learned it from you, obviously. Your training and the Perfect Ones’ training are worlds apart.”
To the Perfect Ones, training meant simply learning how to use their power. Se-Hoon’s training, on the other hand, broke down the entire mechanism behind the power—turning a single sentence of knowledge into volumes of understanding.
Thanks to him, those with even a modicum of talent could instinctively grasp the Golden Ring’s complete form and wield the powers of Perfect Ones.
“...”
Se-Hoon’s expression stiffened at the revelation.
Ever since regressing, he had suspected that there was an exact reason the Perfect Ones’ powers had suddenly become accessible to him after regressing. What if the reason was that he had once ascended the Tower of Heroes and had just forgotten...?
Wait... Could I have lost my memory like Wurgen?!
Had he truly somehow completed the Tower, only to return without becoming a Perfect One? His mind racing, he immediately shifted through his memories, searching for clues—
“Oh, by the way, I have something to ask you too.”
“...Huh? Oh, uh, sure. What is it?”
For some reason, Se-Hoon felt a sudden tension in his chest, worried about what she was going to ask.
“Se-Hoon.”
Aria locked eyes with him.
“You know the future, don’t you?”