Chapter 127
The smile on Agrisen’s face briefly froze, but then the corners of his mouth slowly rose again.
“All done spitting now? Then you can answer me, right? What’s your name, girl?”
“My name is ‘Cat’s Butt.’ You can also call me ‘I’m Trash’ if you prefer — whatever’s easier for you.”
Hmph. Like I’d ever tell a guy like you my real name!
Agrisen tilted his head back and let out a loud, unrestrained laugh.
“Keh… good, Miss Cat’s Butt. You’re definitely no ordinary girl… though, of course, being next to no ordinary man, that’s to be expected.”
“Come here.”
Serzan, now fully alert, pulled me back behind him. Agrisen tilted his head and smirked.
“Hey, friend. What do you think I could possibly do to her in my state? Look at me — I couldn’t even kill an ant right now.”
“Shut up, Agrisen.”
Serzan hid me behind him and grabbed Agrisen by the collar, yanking it up hard so their faces were close.
“Look me in the eyes and tell me — who am I?”
Agrisen’s face flushed quickly from the pressure on his neck.
Even as he gasped for breath, he rolled his eyes to examine Serzan’s face.
Serzan had brown hair, golden eyes, and a vague, ghostlike set of features — completely different from Winter Orsheus’s sharp and noble looks.
Agrisen chuckled.
“Friend, your real face was much better. A beautiful face — perfect for the new race I wanted to create. I still remember the joy of putting your head on display, like a trophy. It was the happiest I’d ever been. I suppose we’ll never go back to those days.”
Serzan let go of his collar with a shove, frowning.
“How is it that you remember timelines that no longer exist?”
“Friend, no need to get aggressive. I’m on your side. Ever since you stopped visiting, I’ve been trapped in this little room… and all I’ve done is desperately wish for your success — whether it’s salvation or destruction, I’m not sure. But I want it to happen.”
“That doesn’t sound like an answer to my question.”
Agrisen’s expression softened, his eyes oddly earnest.
“Friend, it’s been over a hundred years since you left me. Maybe even longer — I stopped counting after a century.”
“It’s been over ten thousand years. Seems you didn’t realize, stuck in here.”
“Ten thousand years…” Agrisen muttered, sounding hollow.
Then his eyes darkened completely, like all light had left them, and he laughed like a madman.
“Keh… keh keh keh… Why do I remember you? Simple. I became a regressor, just like you.”
The fact that he remembered past timelines meant exactly that — he had become a regressor. Shocking, but not entirely unbelievable.
I still had questions.
“How… exactly?”
Agrisen leaned his head back, lost in thought. His voice was hesitant.
“What number was it… the 600th experiment? Around then. Friend, do you remember? The time I succeeded in completely separating your soul from your beautiful body? That’s when I learned the principle behind your regression.”
Experiment.
That damned, insane experiment hadn’t achieved its original goal — but it had an unexpected result.
“If you think about it, who else but me could have figured it out? Have you forgotten already? I’m the one who shattered your body and soul into pieces smaller than dust. I know your body and soul better than you do.”
Serzan clicked his tongue in irritation.
“Fine, let’s say I believe that. Then how do you explain the pathetic state you’re in now?”
Agrisen’s eyes widened, and he spoke like a lunatic, almost shouting.
“Oh, friend, that’s exactly why I prayed so desperately for your success. I succeeded in imitating the touch of God that’s imprinted on your soul. I really did. But an imitation is just an imitation. I can’t return to a time before you were born. It’s the price I pay for stealing a piece of your soul. My regression is incomplete — I can only go back if you regress first.”
His tone, pitch, and even his pronunciation were uneven and unnatural — almost like someone who had just learned to speak.
Even saying a single sentence seemed to leave him short of breath.
“You didn’t tell me because you knew that if I found out, I’d never leave you alone.”
“Of course. But no need to glare like that — I’ve already paid more than enough for it.”
Agrisen twirled his free fingers idly and looked up at the ceiling.
“Every time the clock of the world turns backward, I wake up in this same little room. You said it’s been more than ten thousand years since we met? In all that time, I’ve met fewer people than I have fingers on my hands.”
His thin chest convulsed in spasms, and the tremors spread violently through his whole body like he’d been struck by lightning — then just as suddenly stopped.
“That’s my story. Every word of it is true. If I’d ever escaped this tower in any past timeline, you would have noticed. But I never did, right? Believe me — I’ve rotted here for ten thousand years.”
Agrisen raised his head with a grin, his eyes locking onto me.
“Enough of my awful story. Now, why don’t you tell me about Miss Cat’s Butt? Forgive me if I’m too talkative — it’s been ten thousand years since I’ve had a proper conversation.”
His snake-like gaze slid over me before returning to Serzan.
“Friend, you’ve always been alone. But you brought such a small, cute girl here. You and I both know — the thing that suits you least is a small, cute girl.”
“…”
“Let me guess. Miss Cat’s Butt, you’re a regressor too. Recently, time flowed very strangely, didn’t it? Not far back, but just a short rewind. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I’ve never felt anything like it before. I thought I’d finally gone completely insane — but I hadn’t.”
I couldn’t say a word.
A new regressor… and not just anyone — an insane monster like him.
“So that’s how it is.”
Serzan’s voice was calm again as he stepped between us.
“Then keep doing what you’ve always done — pray for my success. We’re leaving.”
“Hey, you’re really just going to leave like this?”
“What else should I do? I got what I wanted from you, and you’re just a prisoner. With those chains around your neck, all you can do is breathe. Spending more time on you is a waste.”
Serzan turned me around firmly and pulled me into his cloak. The slimy, unpleasant sensation of Agrisen’s gaze disappeared.
He was right — talking to Agrisen any longer was meaningless.
Yes, it was shocking that he was a regressor, but it didn’t change our plans.
In ten thousand years, he’d never escaped — so we could ignore him and move on.
“Then at least grant me one favor.”
Of course, he wasn’t going to let us go that easily.
“Kill me.”
Serzan chuckled as we walked.
“Your heart’s a bomb. If you die, it explodes instantly. Knowing that, do you think I’d kill you? And death? That nonsense about wanting to die? Same answer.”
“You’re a regressor too — you know exactly what I mean. No, you know it better than anyone. That’s why you came here. You know how much of a hell this life is.”
His voice had grown urgent.
And everything he said sounded familiar — the raw misery and despair of a regressor.
“I have no attachment to life. I’ve done every experiment I wanted, using the most beautiful test subject I ever had. I’ll never have another like you, friend. No matter what I do, I’ll never feel that same satisfaction again — so experiments don’t matter anymore. Now, just like you once did, I want to die.”
When his voice rose almost to a scream, it was me — not Serzan — who stopped walking.
“Free me from these chains. Then I’ll restore my bomb-heart to normal. After that, you can kill me.”
