Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea - Chapter 101

I thought Kanu was knowledgeable, but I never expected him to reveal with his own mouth that he’s a member of the Infinity Church before he did. Although I haven’t interacted much with people in cults, if I judge solely based on prejudice, can they really look no different from normal people on the outside like this?

…I felt strange. A nauseating and uncomfortable feeling crept up into my head like I swallowed a bug. I suspected there could be more Infinity Church believers among people I never thought of. Maybe even among the people who helped me.

Unlike me who was secretly startled, the people around me treated the religion Kanu believes in as no different from Emma who believes in the deep sea Dagon. Ah, there was an attitude of “there’s another strange religion believer here”, but rather than respect for the religion the other person believes in, it was closer to a lack of interest or indifference. Am I the only one frightened?

I wanted to immediately shower Kanu with questions about the Infinity Church occupying the underwater base. However, if I misspeak or seem overly interested, I was hesitant to ask questions myself out of fear they would inquire how I obtained such information or why I’m interested in such things. Anyone else curious about the Infinity Church? …Guess not. I carefully asked Kanu,

“What kind of religion is that religion?”

“It’s a religion where people who want to turn back time gather.”

Wasn’t it a religion that likes sharks? They were doing very aggressive things like nature conservation and preventing environmental destruction, was that a smokescreen? The information I obtained from the people I met in my dreams differed from what Kanu was saying. Then what information should I believe?

“To when do they want to turn back time?”

“To the time they want. Everyone has a past they want to return to or an event they want to make as if it never happened.”

As soon as he heard those words, Benjamin, who was quietly in the corner, sneered at Kanu.

“He’s a completely insane psycho bastard. How can a person go back to the past?”

To think there would come a time when I agree with Benjamin’s words even a little. How can a person go back to the past? …I must have just had a really vivid and strange dream. It’ll just be something that coincidentally matches reality bit by bit. Kanu spoke with an attitude of not caring about Benjamin’s sneers and swearing.

“There are people who think like that too. I have no intention of taking the lead in changing the thoughts of such people. I have no intention of insisting that others believe what I believe either.”

There was a brief silence. If, really if it’s true that I didn’t dream but actually went back to the past, why did this happen to me when I didn’t even join the Infinity Church?

Anxious that if the silence gets longer, the topic will completely change, I asked Kanu again.

“If you join that religion, can anyone get that benefit? Of going back to the past?”

Asking such a question won’t make me look suspicious, right? Do I look suspicious? Do I seem too interested in the Infinity Church? …I seem very interested. Damn it. Kanu answered my question as usual.

“Hmm. Benefit. The hope that you can go back to the past? That’s the biggest one. I don’t know if everyone can obtain it. Because even I didn’t join believing it 100%.”

“…Are there conditions to joining the Infinity Church?”

Now I’ll definitely look like a cult membership hopeful. I’ll look like a very new membership hopeful. …I had a bitter taste in my mouth. Since other people didn’t seem interested whether Kanu believes in barracudas or squids, I was the only one who could ask questions.

The more questions I asked Kanu one by one, the gazes of people looking at me didn’t seem very good. The number of people making expressions as if asking if I’m one of them gradually increased. I can’t help it. If not now, who will I ask such things to?

Among the people who revealed themselves to be Infinity Church members, including those I met in my dreams, there was no one who showed me such a kind and good-natured attitude towards me as much as Kanu, and he was the only one who didn’t have a weapon. After thinking for a bit, Kanu slowly answered,

“As far as I know, there weren’t any particularly large conditions. Just whether those who requested to join actively want to go back to the past or not. Donations are given by those who want to give, and the volunteer activities we gather to do were also left up to individual will. If a believer wants, they can receive financial support from the Infinity Church or receive free treatment at a related hospital. I think in the past, there were detailed membership conditions, but now they seem to have almost disappeared. …I don’t know the details well. Because I didn’t join recently.”

I recalled one of the believers saying they joined the Infinity Church and received money. I thought the ultimate goal of cults was to make the church leader’s fat belly fatter or make the believers’ thin wallets thinner. Combining Kanu and Tyler’s stories, it didn’t seem like a place where money was the purpose. Logan frowned at Kanu and said,

“You receive financial support? Free treatment at a hospital? Hey. If you join such a strange religion and offer money, you’ll end up ruining your body and becoming a beggar?”

Kanu grinned and said to Logan,

“My body is already ruined, and I already gave about 415 billion won.”

“…Lies. Where do you have that kind of money?”

“Now the ten thousand dollars in my account and this is all I have.”

Kanu, who spoke calmly, took out a lighter from his pocket and shook it. In the middle of the lighter, a diamond the size of a thumbnail was embedded in a sophisticated design. Kanu rubbed the embedded diamond with his fingertips. Seeing Kanu, who had no particular reaction even as time passed, Logan, who works at the same center, got up from sitting on the floor and shouted,

“Are you crazy?!”

“What is?”

Unlike the other person’s calm voice, Logan jumped up and down in excitement. That vibration instantly spread throughout the elevator. At Emma’s shout asking if we all want to die together in the stopped elevator, Logan glanced around and sat back down on the floor.

Carter and Benjamin, who were pretending not to know from afar, also flew to Kanu’s side in an instant. Sam and James also walked to Kanu’s side as if they were hearing the story about donations for the first time, and gathered around.

I was also surprised to hear the amount. …I had a sudden feeling that people would no longer pay any attention to me at all. So I also started to comfortably listen to Kanu’s story. Logan raised the veins in his neck.

“You gave that much money just to join a cult? Have you lost your mind?!”

“I can give. I don’t really need money. There’s no one to inherit it anyway.”

The man dying at a young age said,

“Did you just dump your house and everything into the cult? Did you become completely penniless?”

“I’ll pass down my house and remaining savings to my younger sibling through inheritance.”

Then Carter said as if he was exploding,

“You should have given it to me! Even now, you can tell that Infinity whatever it is and get the money back and give it to me!”

“Are you kidding? It’s not that your mind is just a little gone because something strange happened to your brain, it’s completely gone, isn’t it?! 41.5 billion, you pu-pu-put that money into a cult?!”

Logan stuttered as if he was in shock. Sam, who came close, put his large arm around Kanu’s shoulder. On the other side, James put his arm around Kanu’s shoulder.

“Bro. If you need an account to donate to, I’m always next to you. I can lend you my account anytime.”

“Did you have that much money? Seeing how you spend, it doesn’t seem like you don’t have it.”

“You should have donated to an environmental organization or volunteer group instead.”

Kevin was muttering softly while watching this from afar. I don’t understand either, but it seemed like the fact that he threw a large sum of money into a cult itself was a huge shock to the people here as well. Well. It is an amount that’s hard to comprehend. 415 billion won? 415 billion won?

No matter how many times I thought about it, the amount itself wouldn’t input into my head. If it were me, I would never offer such money to a religion. Never. What is 400 billion? If I had just 5 billion, I could do my mom’s surgery, pay my younger sibling’s college tuition, and pay off my debt. Yoo Geum-yi, who was quietly listening, quietly asked Kanu,

“Do they issue donation receipts for what you gave there?”

At that, Kanu giggled.

“That was funny. Expecting such a thing from such a small religion is asking for too much.”

Before Kanu’s words were even finished, Kim Ga-young was whispering softly into Yoo Geum-yi’s ear, and because I was close to the two, I heard everything they said.

“…He’s the craziest person I’ve ever seen.”

Hearing those words, Yoo Geum-yi made a puzzled expression and whispered in Kim Ga-young’s ear,

“Didn’t you say earlier that the person named Arthur or something was the craziest?”

“Even that guy wouldn’t spend money like that?”

As Kanu didn’t deny the amount he spent on the cult even as time passed, unlike Logan who shut his mouth, Carter said as if he was exploding with anger,

“It’s not a joke, it’s true? You really dumped that much money into a religion! Hey!”

Carter asked Kanu as if he was flabbergasted.

“Did you get anything for putting in over 400 billion won?”

“As I already said, the opportunity to go to the past.”

“I’ve seen countless drug addicts and alcoholics, murderers and all sorts of lunatics, but you’re a first even for me!”

Kanu shrugged at Carter and said,

“There are people like this in the world too.”

Kim Ga-young let out a low sigh, frowned, and asked,

“Why on earth did you give such a huge sum to go back to the past?”

“…Because I want to go back to about 600 years ago.”

Not 6 years or 60 years ago, but 600 years ago. Are the minds of people who believe in cults all like this? There’s no part I can understand at all? What was there in the 1400s? I’m weak in history. I only remember it was the Joseon Dynasty then. Was there anything special? Carter and Benjamin looked at each other and started talking.

“Is that possible if you give that money?”

“Do you believe that?”

“If you have a lot of money, you can go to Mars. Wouldn’t it be possible to go to the past if you gave that much money?”

“Does he look like he has that kind of money?”

As Benjamin sneered at Kanu, Yoo Geum-yi asked Kanu as if it was absurd,

“Are there many people with the same religion as Kanu in this underwater base?”

Nice, Yoo Geum-yi! It was a question I kept wanting to ask but couldn’t because I was afraid it would seem too strange. Kanu shrugged and said,

“I don’t know. I’m not an Infinity Church HR manager or PR person.”