Return of the Shattered Constellation - Chapter 542: Celestial King, the Father and Son Reunion (7)

In a certain Worldline that could be in the far past or future, Nemea regained consciousness long after his Worldline faced <Extinction>.

‘Where… am I…?’ Nemea thought, blankly watching the darkness around him.

He had to try for a very long time to remember his past, and only then did he realize why he had ended up in this odd darkness. After Ubbo-Sathla appeared, his wife had died and his Worldline had faced <Extinction>. Everything had happened in a flash. By the time Nemea tried to stop it, everything had already been ruined.

The Rollback loop? Yes, it felt as if he had gone through it. As the Worldline’s Wheel was rewinded countless times, Nemea had desperately struggled not to meet the preposterous <Extinction>, but repeating failures and the unending Rollback loop had driven him insane…

Facing complete <Extinction> had been inevitable in the end. By the time Nemea accepted that reality, he had lost consciousness, thinking he would never be able to open his eyes or regain consciousness. And yet, he did.

His fragmented memories were where he discovered the reason. Before the completion of <Extinction>, his wife had given her <Star Fragment> to Nemea, turning him into a <Star> that freed him from their Worldlines’ restrictions.

Nemea’s Divine Class had been reassembled based on the <Star Fragment> despite his existential collapse. He was still Lee Chang-Sun, but he was now a different Lee Chang-Sun.

“Please save our son.”

His wife’s last words had to have worked as a kind of trigger to revive Lee Chang-Sun, who had fallen apart once.

Nemea clenched his fists. Although he was sad about his wife’s sacrifice, Nemea was also at a loss how to find their son, unable to understand how he could still be alive in their <Extinct> Worldline…

Nevertheless, Nemea did not think she had said her last words without a good reason, because she had always been a woman who had the insight to see through to the truth. Even when he could not understand her reasons at first, Nemea had often found himself nodding in realization as he slowly came to understand what she meant. He believed this time was no different.

Ever since then, Nemea had begun to scour the Great Universe. He did not know how long he had wandered. By the time he felt exhausted and considered giving up, he coincidentally discovered his son’s traces left all over the Worldlines.They were preparations made over a long time so other Lee Chang-Suns could fight against Ubbo-Sathla. The moment Nemea realized that such preparations could not be made without knowing who Lee Chang-Sun was very well, he felt as if he had been hit in the back of the head.

“Ahhh… You also went everywhere your fathers were, my son.”

Nemea continued to look for those traces, determined to find every one of them. He had to travel back in time and head to different Worldlines, causing him to run into several conflicts, but he kept on moving without caring about that at all. That was how he had met Bel-Marduk, who promised to help Nemea search for his son if he took the seat of ‘Leo’.

However, Bel-Marduk had vanished, so the only person Nemea could rely on was Odin. The thought that Odin would be of little help, like Bel-Marduk, crossed Nemea’s mind; still, Odin gave his words

“Your—no, our son is held captive by the ‘Resident of the Border’, so let’s rescue him together. If you get your son back and I acquire the key, it’s a win-win for both of us, isn’t it?”

Odin had delivered on his promise. Nemea could finally see his dear son in front of him.

***

As Nemea watched her with a scowl, Cha Ye-Eun looked back and forth between Peter in her arms and Nemea in disbelief. ‘He’s… this child’s biological father?’

“…I heard that this child’s Worldline faced <Extinction>,” Ye-Eun murmured.

“Yes, it did, but…” Nemea began to explain but stopped midway, letting out a long sigh. Glaring at Ye-Eun, he said, “I don’t think I have any reason to explain every bit of what happened, and I don’t want to hurt someone who looks the same as my son’s mother. Just give him to me now.”

Nemea reached out to Ye-Eun, his eyes glued to Peter. She could sense concern, sorrow, and longing in those eyes, of the sort only a biological father could have for his child.

Ye-Eun was left unsure what to do. Peter had been bound to his contract, so he had to be rescued from his tragic and pitiful present. Perhaps letting his biological father take him was also the right thing…

‘Can I really give the child back to a person from an <Extinct> Worldline…?’ Ye-Eun wondered.

That was the biggest problem. As ‘Universal Dawn’, Chang-Sun could save Peter as his Divine Class was high enough to let him travel between Eros and Nyx, earning him the right to meet <Deus Ex Machina> in person.

<Deus Ex Machina> oversaw all <Laws of Nature>, so he had been likely to have a way to save Peter. Even if that was not the case, Chang-Sun could freely use the ‘Changgong Library’ with his current Divine Class, allowing him to continue searching for a way to save Peter.

It was different for Nemea, who was just a Star Sign. He had been forced to make the decision to find Peter, who had traveled across many Worldlines, but he had no means to save Peter. Ye-Eun knew how <Deus Ex Machina> treated Star Signs, so it was obvious that he would refuse to help Nemea.

In the end, Peter would have to resume wandering the Worldlines, unable to settle down anywhere. If that happened, Ye-Eun would be committing an unforgivable sin as a mother once again. However, separating a father and a son who shared the same blood was also preposterous.

―Was Ye-Eun supposed to choose a way that could save Peter in the future, or let him be with his biological family?

Ye-Eun was forced to stand at the crossroads of two choices she could not make with ease.

“…You aren’t going to give him to me,” Nemea muttered as he withdrew his hand, noticing how Ye-Eun was hesitating.

Whooooosh!

Nemea unleashed his sacred light, which was so bright that Ye-Eun felt as if she would be engulfed in it. Sensing the madness in Nemea, Ye-Eun released her own sacred light as she held Peter tightly in her arms.

‘No, I can’t do it. I know he’s the child’s biological father, but… it’ll make both of them miserable if I trust him with the child.’ Ye-Eun bit her lower lip.

Parenting was never easy. Parents had to trust their children as well as their own selves, but Nemea was only left with obsession. If Ye-Eun chose to hand over Peter to him, Nemea would only project all his past regrets onto the child, coercing and manipulating him. The chance of them becoming unhappy together was too high.

Paaah―!

That was why Ye-Eun decided to fight against Nemea. She was willing to give Peter back to him someday, but not in Nemea’s current condition. She felt that she had to persuade him to change his mind first.

‘Besides… Something is strange. His Divine Class is too unstable.’

That meant there was a problem that kept Nemea from maintaining his existence. In many cases, such people were unable to maintain their rationality and were only left with obsession, like the residents of Dungeons. Too many things about Nemea concerned Ye-Eun.

“Yes, I didn’t think I was going to get him back with ease after everything I’ve gone through to get here.” Nemea smiled crookedly, revealing his canines that resembled a lion’s fangs. He muttered, “I’ll just kill you then.”

Boooooom―!

At the same time, an enormous explosion occurred, causing <Nihil> to tremble.

Rumble, rumble, rrrrumble―!

Ye-Eun spread wings of light wide and flew high; it was a technique she had created based on Chang-Sun’s [Jigwi’s Wings]. She was not only spiritually connected to Chang-Sun; the <Star Fragment> that greatly contributed to the birth of ‘Universal Dawn’ had also belonged to her. The connection allowed her to share some of Chang-Sun’s <Myths>, so she would not helplessly lose in a fight against Nemea.

Regardless, Ye-Eun did not want to defeat Nemea or use her full power to fight against him. She could end up hurting Peter, and besides, she did not want to inflict injuries on his biological father. The only thing she wanted was for Nemea to come to his senses, so she tried hard to think of a way to quell Nemea’s madness. However, if nothing worked, she would have to keep Nemea away from Peter at all costs.

Nevertheless, Ye-Eun was just a kidnapper in Nemea’s eyes. Even if she looked the same and had the same kind of soul as Nemea’s wife, Ye-Eun was an enemy that he had to eliminate to recover Peter.

Paaaaah!

Nemea’s sacred light engulfed him, and he transformed into his light form the same way Bel-Marduk had in the past. It seemed that Nemea had learned a lot of Bel-Marduk’s abilities after spending a long time together.

『Where do you think you’re going?!』 Nemea shouted in his Divine Voice, springing forward.

Boooooom―!

It looked as if <Nihil> itself was being distorted as Nemea turned into a ray of light to reach Ye-Eun’s position instantly.

Roarrrrrrr!

As if he was showing how he had become ‘Leo’, Nemea swung his lion claws down, tearing apart <Nihil> as he went for Ye-Eun. She clenched her teeth harder and swung her arm, creating raging gales that turned into wind blades and parried away his claws.

Swoosh, whoosh, swish!

Thump, thump, thump―!

『Hmph! It’s useless!』 Nemea scoffed and continued to claw Ye-Eun.

Nemea’s attacks caused her to lose balance and tore apart her sacred light almost immediately.

‘What should I do?’ Ye-Eun thought momentarily.

Nemea seemed to be a lot stronger than Ye-Eun had expected. Neither running away nor fighting in earnest were options, but she and Peter could get hurt if she did nothing. On top of that, Nemea’s madness had intensified to the point that it made Ye-Eun’s skin sting. In the end, she was left with no choice but to consider using her full power.

Right before she came to a decision, however, Nemea struck her with his lion claws. At the same time, Peter, who had been quiet despite the ongoing battle, opened his eyes and began to cry.

“Waaaaaaa―!”

Nemea came to a halt with his hand right above Ye-Eun’s head, his eyes glued to Peter as his lips trembled.