The message flashing before my eyes caught me off guard, making me stiffen instinctively. Another message window popped up immediately.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: You.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: You, with that blank expression. You see what I’m saying, right?
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: Me?
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Yeah, you. What exactly are you?
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: A Constellation, yet you’re walking around like a human.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: And what’s with that cryptic name? What are you?
His blunt questioning left me speechless. I already knew what kind of personality Lee Myung-won’s Constellation had, but I didn’t expect him to come right out and ask without even the slightest bit of subtlety.
Lee Myung-won had an exceptional Constellation, befitting his role as the protagonist’s companion—a god of the sun, prophecy, archery, music, poetry, and so dazzlingly beautiful that he was said to outshine the sun itself.
And also, a colossal petty bastard.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Are you not going to answer?
[The Constellation, ‘One More Dazzling Than the Sun,’ releases an oppressive aura.]
Apollo.
When I asked earlier and got no reply, I figured he didn’t even want to associate with me—but apparently, that wasn’t the case. Either that, or he’d been watching me already.
In the original work, Lee Myung-won’s Constellation was infamous for being prickly and having a nasty temper. So much so that Myung-won used to joke he fought more with his Constellation than he did with monsters.
A Constellation who’d threaten to spread plagues if his mood wasn’t catered to—no wonder Lee Myung-won had it rough.
But right now, I was the one in the hot seat.
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: O mighty one.
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: I am a newly-born Constellation.
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: May I be so bold as to ask something?
I bowed as low as I could in tone. I’d never even used the phrase “Mighty One” while working customer service jobs, and yet here I was, groveling through a message box. The existential dread was real. But the response came immediately.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Ridiculous.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: First, answer my question.
I clicked my tongue at the sudden switch to arrogance but kept it hidden. He was probably watching me right now. Slowly, I walked over to the lake inside the cave and sent another message.
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: As you see, I am both a Constellation and a human.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: You’re trying to fool me with some idiotic trick.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Such a thing doesn’t exist in this world.
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: Then what do you think I am?
As I dipped my fingertips into the water, a bone-chilling cold pierced down to my marrow. I flicked the water off and glanced around at the seemingly empty surroundings.
Yeah, this had to be the place.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Are you mocking me?
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: Not at all, O mighty one.
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: I only wish to bring you amusement.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Amusement?
Time to get to the point.
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: What if you sponsored me?
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: What?
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: How could a Constellation sponsor another Constellation?
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: I’m both a Constellation and a human—a Contracted Awakener.
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: You can do as you please.
I had only 400 Coins on hand. Not enough to buy an item that would let me explore the freezing water.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Hey.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Even if I went along with this—what would I gain?
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: As a fellow Constellation, I understand.
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: You seek entertainment, do you not?
[CH.#643nj5 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: Not the kind that involves watching your Contractor save a bunch of dull humans.
It felt like I was saying every ridiculous line imaginable. To think I’d ever say something like “saving some random human is boring.” It was like my edgy teenage phase was coming back to haunt me, and I wanted to scream from the sheer embarrassment—but I held it in.
To my surprise, he seemed to like the tone I was using.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: A Constellation, begging.
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: It’s almost disgraceful to call you my peer.
Apollo had no qualms about stabbing right through my pride with his words.
Yeah, I get it. I’ve got no Coins, no power. Happy now?
[CH.#643nj5 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Very well. Watching what you do might actually be amusing.
[The Constellation ‘One More Dazzling Than the Sun’ has sponsored you with 2,000 Coins.]
[Current remaining Coins: 2,400]
I bit down hard on my lower lip. Then I spoke with as much pitiful humility as I could muster.
[CH.#643nj5/One Who Knows of Destruction]: …Could you perhaps give me just 100 more Coins?
[The Constellation ‘One More Dazzling Than the Sun’ is dumbfounded by you.]
[The Constellation ‘One More Dazzling Than the Sun’ laughs at you.]
[The Constellation ‘One More Dazzling Than the Sun’ has sponsored you with 111 Coins.]
[Current remaining Coins: 2,511]
Thanks, you bastard.
There wasn’t even a hint of reverence about talking to a god. Maybe it was because I’d become a Constellation myself now. Setting those thoughts aside, I opened the shop page.
[Beginner’s Scuba Diving Pill F X10]
[Swallow this pill and become a scuba-diving genius! You can breathe freely underwater! (Duration: 30 minutes)]
Price: 2,500 Coins
Would you like to purchase this item?
( Yes / No )
[You have purchased Beginner’s Scuba Diving Pill F X10.]
[Current remaining Coins: 11]
I’d officially become a broke-ass Constellation. I couldn’t help but be impressed. To think I could be this poor. I’m sorry, Tae-beom. I really have no money.
I barely had time for sentimentality. I took off my outerwear and shoes and neatly set them aside. The coarse, pebbly ground pricked the soles of my feet, but I didn’t care.
[CH.#643nj5/One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: What do you think you’re doing?
I didn’t respond. I just popped a pill into my mouth and swallowed. Then, without hesitation, I dove into the water.
A cloud of bubbles swept past my vision before the clear underwater world opened up. The cold was so intense it felt like it was gnawing at my entire body. My heart trembled as if it would freeze solid. But I didn’t falter—I swam deeper without pause.
And there it was.
A gaunt skeleton lay there, clutching something shaped like a conch horn in its hand. As if the person had died trying to take it for themselves.
[Magic Conch Shell A]
[It whispers a single prophecy. (Usable once per year)]
Just as I thought.
If things had followed the original story, Lee Myung-won would’ve been the one to come here. No matter how narrow the path, if he even suspected someone might be inside, he would’ve destroyed the wall to get through.
I had deliberately provoked that very compassion in Lee Myung-won.
While swimming, I struggled to pry the conch horn from the skeleton’s hand. It was gripping it tightly, and I had to use considerable force. The biting chill constricted my body, making me push myself even harder.
Faster…
[CH.#643nj5/One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: This is getting rather interesting.
[CH.#643nj5/One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: How did you know that was down there?
A sense of displeasure brushed past me. No surprise—it must’ve been an item he intended for his own Contractor.
Apollo was a god of prophecy; there’s no way he didn’t know this item was here.
I finally pried the horn from the skeleton’s grip and began swimming upward. The water was deeper than I’d anticipated.
[CH.#643nj5/One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: But even if this is entertaining…
[CH.#643nj5/One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Did you really think this alone would satisfy me?
[CH.#643nj5/One Who Knows of Destruction]: Of course not.
I barely made it to shore and let out a ragged breath. This damned Constellation wouldn’t stop talking while I was swimming, giving me no chance to catch my breath. My teeth clattered involuntarily, and my body trembled. I hurriedly put my outerwear back on.
Maybe it was because we were inside a cave, but the cold felt even more severe. I couldn’t even afford to light a small campfire with my measly 11 Coins. What a pitiful life.
[CH.#643nj5/One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: “Of course not”?
A message that dripped with disbelief. I gave a short cough and curled up tightly. Then I gripped the conch horn in my hand.
[Magic Conch Shell A]
[It whispers a single prophecy. (Usable once per year)]
I brought the mouthpiece of the conch to my lips. And said,
“O Great Magic Conch Shell.”
I drew in a deep breath.
“Will the world end within the next five years?”
The most critical question at this point.
The Constellation who’d been furiously messaging me fell completely silent. Then came a response so shocked, it practically radiated disbelief.
[CH.#643nj5/One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: What… what is the meaning of this?
[CH.#643nj5/One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Explain yourself. Make me understand!
But the one who was the most shaken—
Was me.
Even after all this desperate scrambling, nothing was going to change.
The conch’s answer was:
“Yes.”
