Fwoosh!
Crack! Snap, crack!
The rippling darkness swallowed Dotes. The sound of something snapping and breaking echoed from within the shadows before finally ceasing. Through it all, she remained perfectly still, not moving a single tentacle. She showed no intention of saving her subordinate.
Grrr!
Intruders emerged through the darkness. Dell's gaze brushed past a three-eyed alien carrying several Coffin-like objects, then over a young Dragon staring at her as if on the verge of foaming at the mouth. As though she had no time for such beings, Del fixed her stare solely on the center of the boiling darkness.
He was there.
The real reason she had come to this frontier dimension.
The one who had motivated everything she had done since regaining her memories.
‘This time, you came to me.’
She remembered their reunion in Korea after enduring nearly a century apart. That moment when everything else in the world was cast in a monotonous grayscale, and only he shone in vibrant color.
Now, an even sharper contrast unfolded before her. A man stood in the unfathomable darkness that had swallowed everything. To her eyes, he looked like a ray of dawn tearing through the seams of the dark. A vivid light that refused to permit a single speck of black stain.
Standing at the sharp boundary of light and shadow, her ex-husband possessed a gaze sharp enough to slice flesh on contact. From it, Del teased out conflicting emotions all at once.
“...”
Right before speaking, she agonized over what to call him.
Cain? Minjun?
But he seemed to harbor no such hesitation.
He spoke in a dry voice. The sentence was structured as a question, but its content sounded closer to a declaration of doom.
“You knew everything, didn't you?”
A brief silence followed.
He addressed his ex-wife like this.
“Endelion.”
*
Minjun was looking at the single individual named Dell, while simultaneously looking at her entire species.
He was also looking at the tentacle monster currently crouching here, while simultaneously seeing the monsters of a frontier planet from the distant past.
The memory surfaced vividly.
The monsters continuing their meaningless slaughter had suddenly stopped moving, and the test subjects fighting desperately to survive could barely catch their breath. Without lowering their guard, the mammals glared up at the sky.
Why had the monsters stopped? Was this a brief silence to prepare for the next attack? Or...
Standing at the crossroads of life and death, the minds of the weak test subjects spun frantically. Was it a deception? There was no telling when those accursed tentacles would strike the earth again. Their survival instincts warned them not to relax.
But as if entirely uninterested in the mammals, the monsters' eyes were directed solely upward.
Naturally, the test subjects followed their gaze. But there was nothing there. Just the usual blue sky and the sun radiating its warm light.
“...!”
The test subjects could not have guessed that the monsters could see a world beyond the scope of their perception. The tentacled creatures were staring past the atmosphere, into the vastness of space. Wonder and terror seeped into their pupils.
Those who would later call themselves Endelion had witnessed a massive entity floating out in the vacuum of space. And they were busily exchanging signals to interpret the situation.
=My god. What in the world is that? Are you seeing this too?=
=Yes, I see it. This is ridiculous. What is it? A newly appeared star?=
=No. Stars don't look like that, and they don't move like that either.=
=It's moving? It's alive? My god. It really looks alive. It's even identical. It moves exactly like us!=
=Identical, but so incredibly huge!=
The entity that had appeared outside the atmosphere looked exactly like them.
No, saying it resembled them was an understatement. Its body shape, proportions, color, and even the smallest details appeared entirely identical.
If there was a single difference, it was size.
‘He’ was far too colossal.
The Endelion felt their bastion of natural providence and common sense crumble like a sandcastle. Like any other species, they interpreted the world with themselves at the center. In the world governed by their firm laws, no lifeform was larger than them. It was an undeniable truth and an unbreakable premise.
That collapsed today.
‘He’ looked down upon this planet from space with a gaze that transcended everything. The monsters intuited that they could not escape that stare. ‘His’ tentacles were so thick and long that they seemed capable of wrapping around several planets and rolling them like marbles. And the body tangled with such miraculous structures looked as if it could travel between galaxies in seconds.
Furthermore, despite revealing that massive body, the being—who seemed capable of doing whatever he willed—cast not a single shadow upon this planet. There was no eclipse caused by tentacles blocking the sun. It implied that ‘he’ was an entity unconstrained by the laws of this world. The Endelion felt a thrill pierce their very souls.
The signals flashing back and forth between them gradually decreased until they ceased entirely. Emotions they had never encountered before welled up inside them. In the distant future, they would decorate the feeling with words like awe, reverence, and overwhelming presence.
Or perhaps employ the long phrase, ‘the emotion of worshiping incomprehensible fear.’
“You... who are you?”
The words spilled by a tentacle from the northern continent were closer to a soliloquy. Even it wasn't sure if its voice would reach the being anchored in space.
However, it did reach.
-I came in this form because I love you.
The voice transmitted to their minds was warm and holy. They would later invent the adjective ‘sacred’ for it.
And the tentacles felt a shock akin to being struck by an asteroid while swimming. It was a very pleasant shock. They still didn't know who the other party was or where he came from, but such things no longer mattered.
‘He’ loves us!
He came here because he loves us!
“...Ah!”
The certainty of being noticed and loved by a transcendent being. The tentacles began to express that unfamiliar yet profound emotion in various ways. Watching the molluscan cat's-cradle unfolding in the empty air, ‘he’ pondered.
‘Appearing in this form seems to have worked out well.’
Showing up as an unimaginably massive tentacle in front of giant tentacles had been a good idea.
Physical homogeneity served as an important standard for binding a group together or excluding another. This was even truer the cruder a civilization's level was.
They loved because of appearances, and they hated because of appearances.
In other words, he himself had stooped to their level. The reason he broke the unwritten rule and intervened was because the test subjects looked too much like humans. Meanwhile, the reason the tentacles slaughtered the test subjects was because they looked too different.
Instead of reflecting on it, he contemplated the next step. They were already prepared to worship him. Now it was time to hand down a revelation.
He spoke solemnly.
-That beast is harmful, so do not approach it.
It was the first commandment.
In early civilizations, a taboo was an excellent control mechanism. He could expect it to sever their curiosity and keep them from ever coming near this planet.
When he said so, a tentacle drenched in emotion spoke with radiant zeal.
“Since they are harmful, is it right to kill them all and wipe them out?!”
He felt annoyed.
He emphasized again.
-Do not approach. Thou shalt not stain your bodies with unclean blood.
“Oo... Ooooh?!”
The test subjects watched the monsters halt their attacks and retreat high into the sky. Some wept with the joy of survival, while others gritted their teeth before the corpses of their fallen brothers and sisters. They would pass down the events of today from generation to generation. The story of the tentacled demons descending from the sea of stars.
Leaving the mammals behind, the Endelion escaped the planet's atmosphere. Out in space, they gazed at ‘him’. They struggled to get closer, but the great being receded at the exact speed they approached. That would become the reason why the Endelion word for ‘mirage’ later included the morpheme for ‘god.’ Due to the traits of their species, the idea of building high structures to connect with him was also impossible. Eventually realizing that the distance was the gap between themselves and the great being, they humbly ceased their attempts.
It was only natural that they could not reach him. The god of the tentacles did not actually exist there, and what they saw was closer to a projected shadow.
Looking at the tentacles waiting for the next revelation, he thought.
‘Since I enforced a rule, I suppose I should give a reward too?’
It was a basic training method.
Feed comes after the whip.
Religious discipline could not last forever. He had seen far too many cases of faithful species making excuses and compromising with doctrine. Time was the most outstanding elixir for rusting away ironclad patience.
‘Just enough so they continue obeying my words. So the fear of losing their reward if they disobey takes root.’
But developing new feed for them or sending it all the way out there was too bothersome and exhausting. Furthermore, it did not fit the concept of an ‘unreachable’ existence. The moment he sent them physical matter, a bridge would be built between the transcendent world and the physical world.
In that case, the reward had to be something deliverable by voice, just like now.
‘I can just share a little bit of knowledge.’
Of course, only a tiny amount.
He had already broken the rules simply by intervening. They wouldn't dare rebel against him, but it was better to avoid excessive deviations.
Therefore, he would pass down only a minuscule fragment of knowledge, just enough that it wouldn't become a major problem.
‘Those guys have a terrible grasp of the concept of tools, don't they?’
Their civilization had developed abnormally due to their exceedingly outstanding bodies and abilities. Because they could solve everything they needed with telekinesis, they fell into the trap of focusing solely on their physical forms.
Seeing that blind spot, he made a decision.
I will give you tools. More precisely, I will give you the wisdom to create them.
To use an analogy, it was akin to teaching humanity how to wield fire for the first time. By absolute standards, it was nothing much, but by relative standards, it was a dazzling revolution.
-Since you know me, I shall become your wisdom.
He imparted knowledge to the Endelion, and in return, the Endelion served him.
The Endelion were the first worshipers to serve him.
And at the same time...
*
“There's no way you didn't know. You, of all people, couldn't have been ignorant.”
Shifting his consciousness back to reality, Minjun continued to glare at the tentacle before him, still carrying an ambivalent aura.
Whether toward that single individual or her entire species, he always felt conflicting emotions that could not be simply expressed.
It was, perhaps, love and hate.
“...”
The tentacle remained silent, as if acknowledging the truth. Looking at her, Minjun slowly took a step forward. He repeated internally.
Endelion.
Those monsters were the first alien species to serve him.
And the first betrayers.
“The moment you escaped your status as a prisoner and regained your memories, you must have already known. Who I am. What my true identity is.”
If her status was that of a princess, there was no way she couldn't have known. She was the most precious treasure of the Mother King, the successor who inherited all her wisdom.
Knowledge transcending other species was one of the two great weapons of this race, alongside a robust body capable of navigating space. If they had only overcome one extremely trivial limitation, their war with the Dragons would not have ended in a truce.
“And yet you kept your mouth firmly shut all this time?”
“I...”
The tentacle spoke defensively.
“I simply wished for you to be happy forever.”
She added with difficulty.
“Whether during the days we were together or now, that wish remains the same.”
As an extraordinary conversation flowed between the giant tentacle and the agent, a Dragon behind them began to make sounds like a choking patient receiving the Heimlich maneuver, but neither of the two paid it any mind.
Minjun continued to approach Dell, and Del neither averted her gaze nor backed away.
It was then.
Boom!
A massive explosion occurred once more on the screen displaying the Terminal. Recognizing the scene without turning her eyes, Dell spoke.
“If they wreck the Terminal like that, your escape route vanishes. Everywhere other than New York has had its functions sealed. That place is the only exit.”
She sounded as though she was offering to help even now. But Minjun continued to approach with venom. Del read a violent urge in his expression.
Was it a predicted outcome?
When their ties as a married couple had severed, their fight had ended ambiguously. It was because Dell had turned away from Minjun as he poured out his rebukes. Perhaps it just hadn't ended properly.
For that reason, Del had a premonition in this moment. That she might have to see the end of the fight she had deferred for over a hundred years right now. Regardless of her own will. She couldn't just die by Minjun's hand like this. But she couldn't kill him either. Paradoxically, because of that, she had no choice but to fight.
Perhaps this time, words like battle or war would be more fitting than a fight.
An unexpected sentence was casually thrown at Dell, who had been bracing herself.
“I don't need it. From the beginning, I never planned to take a Jump Ship and run away from there anyway.”
Del couldn't understand those words.
But carrying on the conversation, for the time being, was a good sign.
‘Did he not come to fight? Did he not come to kill me?’
Barely easing her tension a fraction, the tentacle asked her ex-husband.
“Did you give up on escaping? But staying on Earth won't give you any brilliant solutions, you know.”
“I am leaving. But I'll be riding something else.”
“What are you talking about? What are you going to ride?”
Minjun simply looked at her without answering. Del felt anxious. There was no time.
“If it's a way I can help, I will. But as long as I don't know your plan, I don't have any way to use my tentacles either...”
It was then. A single thread of thought brushed past her mind. But she couldn't believe it. It was something she had never once considered possible. She had never attempted it either.
Even in that moment, Minjun merely observed Dell with a silent, heavy stare. A gaze that bore down directly and intensely.
Minjun's silence was not a sign of refusal, of not wanting to give an answer. The gaze pouring out alongside his silence was the answer to the question Dell had posed.
What was he going to ride?
Dell's pupils trembled as if struck by an earthquake. She had realized the intentions of the man she had lived with for decades. Even though it defied common sense, she could not doubt it.
The ex-wife asked.
“...Me?”
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