The Heroine Stole My Regression

28 – Fragment (4)

And then, two days, three days, four days.

Time passed faster than expected.

Our synchronicity, hers and mine, grew with each breath.

We conquered Mount Baekdu’s Heaven Lake a day earlier than anticipated.

Today is December 30th.

Now, all that remained was waiting for January 1st.

“…It’s alright here.”

A sweeping panorama stretched before us.

It felt like conquering nature itself.

Ahrin stretched beside me, arms reaching for the sky, taking a deep, deliberate breath.

Her elongated figure was accented.

‘….’

My gaze wandered, lost.

Lately, I’m increasingly aware.

Ever since that night of lightning, she’s fallen asleep beside me as a matter of course.

There was no room for refusal. She just settled in, naturally. If I moved, she followed.

Of course, it wasn’t like that night, pressed together, but still, a comfortably close distance.

After spending days together, that proximity became increasingly familiar.

It was awkward at first, but now… just natural.

One day, it went like this.

Ahrin went on a solo expedition.

She left alone, claiming she would collect ecosystem data from the past Mount Baekdu.

I didn’t stop her, just let her go.

After all, there were no monsters down below.

While waiting, throwing firewood onto the lodge’s bonfire, her scent rode in on the wind.

That familiar fragrance tickled the tip of my nose.

‘Guess she’s almost back.’

Without needing to see where it was coming from, I knew instinctively that she was approaching.

Thinking that, I looked up.

“Shit?”

I momentarily freaked.

Isn’t this… dangerous?

I could feel us growing more accustomed to her, and to each other, by degrees.

Besides, her attire was becoming increasingly feral.

Feral sounds good, I suppose.

I turned away and said sternly,

“Button up a little, will you?”

She responded, sounding somewhat regretful,

“Okay, okay.”

I turned my head back to look at her.

Kang Arin gave a light shrug, adding,

“Now, all that’s left is to wait.”

I nodded.

“On the 31st, it looks like we should stay put until midnight.”

“Yeah.”

She replied briefly, a small smile gracing her lips.

We left Cheonji behind and made our way back down to the lodge.

That evening, the bonfire at the lodge crackled quietly.

And we sat, gazing into the flames, lost in thought.

It was our only daily ritual. There really wasn’t anything else to do in the evenings.

It was she who broke the silence.

“But, what are you going to do with the Fragment once you get it?”

She propped her chin on her hand, resting her elbow on her knee, and looked my way.

“You don’t even know how to use it anyway.”

Then, her expression shifted.

A mischievous, impish smile played on her face.

“Or do you? Does our soon-to-be Glory guild recruit happen to know? The secret to using the Fragment?”

I hesitated for a moment before answering.

Though the answer was already decided.

“I’ll use it.”

She suddenly shot to her feet.

“Who? You?”

Her gaze flickered sharply.

I watched her for a moment, then replied calmly.

“What would you do with it?”

Her brow furrowed at my response.

*

Complete darkness descended, swallowing the forest and the vast lake.

The night was still, not even the sound of breathing reached our ears.

We didn’t even dare light a fire, waiting quietly at the edge of the world.

To give the fiends no chance of discovering us.

How long had passed?

-ooong…

Breaking the long silence, the earth began to hum a low song.

The tremor grew, and soon the sky was stained a jade hue.

In the darkness, streaks of green light tore downward, plunging toward the heart of the world.

-Kwaaang!

With a deafening roar, a meteorite fallen from the heavens struck the center of the lake.

For a moment, the surroundings were engulfed in jade-green light.

A Fragment.

“It’s here,”

I murmured, short and sharp.

“Woah…”

Kang Arin breathed, awestruck by the spectacle.

The green meteor shower, descended from the sky, held a supernatural mystique.

But I had no time to lose myself in admiration as she did.

The Fragment embedded in the lake radiated intense light, gradually illuminating the surroundings.

The light pulsed with energy, alive, covering the entire mountain.

“Is it over?”

She asked.

“No.”

-Drrrrrrr…

-Drrrrrrrk…

The earth began to tremble again.

The vibrations intensified, as if awakening the land around the lake.

Drawn by the Fragment’s energy, demonic beasts rent the forest and mountain, revealing themselves.

Instinctively, they chased the potent energy, swarming toward the heart of the world.

Aware of each other’s presence, the demonic beasts, before even reaching the Fragment, began to fight, clawing and tearing at each other.

In the midst of that chaos, the energy slowly consumed them.

I took a short breath and launched myself forward.

“Now.”

With that single, strangled word, I dug my heels into the slope and slid down.

Pushing aside snow and earth, I gained speed.

Kang Arin was supposed to open a path of water behind me.

I risked a quick glance back, trying to check her movements.

But then.

“Uh…?”

For a moment, I was speechless.

Kang Arin wasn’t in the agreed-upon position; she was passing *me*, up ahead.

No, to be precise, she was racing down even faster than I was.

And not by sliding down the slope, either.

She leapt, fearlessly, towards the lake.

‘Madwoman….’

I stared at her back, aghast.

It was too late. She was reaching the fragment at an incredible speed.

Without hesitation, I unleashed my mana for her sake.

I discharged it, carving out a watery path, ensuring her route was clear.

The light illuminating the lake abruptly winked out.

Moments later, Kang Arin emerged from the water, dripping.

Then, she extended a hand toward me.

“Here.”

A look of satisfaction on her face, she offered me an ordinary-looking stone.

“You said you’d give it to me, right?”

I knew instantly that it was the fragment.

*

Complete darkness enveloped us, and the space around us was gradually shattering, like shards of glass.

Beginning with the sky and earth, cracks began to spread, slowly at first.

“Just, why did you do that?”

As soon as the fragment – the very time axis that held this worldline together – vanished, the cracks multiplied, completely out of control.

Before long, the lodge would collapse, and we would return to our original era.

“It’s just… fun, isn’t it?”

Her impulsive action had startled me.

Yet, with an innocent smile, she nonchalantly passed me the splinter.

We headed towards the lodge amidst the slowly crumbling world.

Opening the door, we went inside, awaiting our return to the present.

I sat down, gazing at the splinter, which resembled a stone.

The jade-green surface vividly displayed the system’s patterns.

Undoubtedly, it was a splinter.

‘That’s it.’

I nodded.

Yes, in the end, as long as we obtained it, wasn’t that all that mattered?

Kang Arin wandered around the lodge even after entering.

As if something still lingered, she ran her fingertips across the walls and furniture, her eyes darting about.

“I don’t want to go~”

“…Why?”

She turned to me with a playful smile.

“Just~ it was too relaxing and nice.”

I chuckled.

“I suppose it could be.”

After Kang Yuseong died, she had shouldered the majority of the tasks.

It was clear that she had been living a busy life recently.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she approached me.

“But you’re really not going to tell me how to use that, are you?”

I hesitated for a moment.

After all, she would eventually have to use the splinter herself.

Of course, it was currently hidden deep beneath the Pentagon in America, but someday.

Since she might have to use it alone later, it seemed alright to teach her the method in advance.

“Watch closely.”

I said, lifting the splinter and showing it to her.

“Grip the shard tight with your left hand.”

That hand is closer to the heart.

I demonstrated, mirroring the action myself.

“And then, close your eyes and call up the System. You know what I mean?”

Calling up the System, that is, the status window, would make a list of your possessed authorities visible.

I actually summoned the System.

–

[Authority: ]

–

‘Tch.’

A bitter taste rose.

With Death Regression gone, my Authority slot was utterly empty.

“After that, just repeat it in your mind. Accept the System… like this.”

“Then, light will erupt from the shard.”

I finished my explanation, keeping my gaze locked on her.

Her face was alight with joy.

“Wow… like that?”

“That’s right, like this.”

‘…?’

Like this?

I abruptly turned my head.

At that moment, a frenzied vibration surged from the hand gripping the shard.

Jade-green light leaked through the gaps between my fingers, emitting an intense glow.

‘What the hell?’

Instinctively, I tried to drop the shard.

But in that instant, Kang Arin covered my hand with her own.

-Clench-

She gripped my hand tightly, interlocking our fingers as if afraid to let go.

“Mmm~ so that’s how you do it.”

This was no longer a game.

The harbinger of complete absorption. My mind, a swirling chaos.

“Hey, let go… This!”

I cried out, lost in the confusion, but she paid me no mind.

Gathering mana from every fiber of my being, I tried to wrench her off.

But Kang Arin, with equal ferocity, drew upon her own mana, resisting.

And then.

-Thump.

Her legs wrapped around me, her arms and waist locked tight.

The crushing force made escape impossible, no matter how I twisted.

I was immobile.

She lifted her torso, meeting my gaze head-on.

“Didn’t I tell you?”

Her eyes shone, deep and intensely bright.

“The splinter is yours, but…”

A voice like melting honey, smooth and flowing, cut through the air.

“From now on, you belong to me too.”

A quick glance out the window revealed the collapsing world had finally reached the vicinity of the lodge.

Time was dwindling.

She graced me with a captivating smile, slowly bringing her lips to my ear.

“But… did you know?”

A soft, low voice brushed past my ear in a whisper.

“Actually, I’m yours too.”

The instant her whisper ended, the air vibrated.

The prelude to time travel.

Simultaneously, light erupted from the splinter.

And once more, my vision was consumed by white.