Not A Regressor - Chapter 12

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 12
Star Palace (1)
A week had passed since I officially joined the Association.
During that time, I’d been relentlessly entering and exiting Gates to reach 3-star status, yet the stigma lines of the Lyra Constellation had not increased further.
‘Expecting to reach 3-star in just a week would be shameless.’
Since it was something I’d anticipated, I wasn’t particularly disappointed.
“Sigh.”
A breath laden with tension escaped my lips.
I pulled out my smartphone and checked the date.
November 13th.
The day I’d promised to meet Vega.
‘Star Palace.’
The temple of stars.
The world where the Constellations dwell.
I’d heard much about it, but this was my first time going there directly.
“Ugh, my guts are twisting.”
I thought my preparations were thorough enough, but the mere thought of meeting Vega face-to-face and speaking with her made my stomach churn already.
‘Get a grip.’
I drew a deep breath and calmed my mind.
The moment I made a mistake here, all my plans would crumble to dust.
“Let’s go.”
Smack!
I lightly slapped both my cheeks and moved forward.
-Murmur, murmur.
Hongdae, Seoul.
That street, once brimming with youthful passion, now churned with a different kind of fervor.
“Please, I beg you!!!”
“Oh, great Constellation!!!”
“Grant the power of the stars to this wretched creature!”
The moment I emerged from the station after an hour’s journey, prayers rang out with an intensity bordering on madness.
‘Is this what I saw on the news before?’
The crowds gathered before the Gate leading to Star Palace were desperately appealing to the Constellations in hopes of becoming Awakeners.
“…If I saw such a sight, I’d lose all desire to be chosen.”
Tattered clothes and grime caked on in layers.
A horrific stench assaulted my nose—I couldn’t fathom how many days it had been since they’d washed.
This was a world where the value of life had become a cruel joke.
Those without strength, wealth, or power lived lives of endless misery.
‘It’s unfortunate, certainly.’
But that was all.
I had neither the obligation nor the will to concern myself with the lives of others.
-Whoooooosh!
I passed through the crowd gathered before the Gate and approached the Gate leading to the Star Palace.
A colossal Gate that towered well over thirty meters.
The azure rift blazing with cerulean light emanated such overwhelming pressure that merely gazing upon it felt suffocating.
‘They said there are hundreds of these scattered across the world.’
Absurdly massive.
“Well then.”
I advanced toward the azure rift without hesitation.
There was no one guarding the entrance or checking credentials.
‘There’s no reason to guard it.’
It would be like a rabbit standing watch before a tiger’s den.
What madman among the Awakeners would cause a disturbance in a temple where hundreds of Constellations gathered?
‘Besides, I heard that the constraints of law are far less stringent within the Star Palace itself.’
Creating a commotion recklessly would result in literal catastrophe.
-Whoooooosh!
I crossed through the rift blazing with azure light.
Along with a sensation of my body floating━
“…Ah.”
The cosmos unfurled before my eyes.
Countless stars glimmering within an expanse of darkness.
The Milky Way stretching endlessly as if cleaving the universe in two.
A river flowing with starlight.
‘This is the Star Palace.’
Overwhelmed by its transcendent beauty, I turned my head about without even realizing my mouth had fallen agape.
I moved slowly along a path wrought of silver light.
Following the immense silvery path upward, I arrived at a junction where multiple branches diverged.
At the end of each path, temples of varying forms came into view.
‘It feels like observing a massive tree made of the Milky Way.’
The sight resembled fruit hanging from the end of an enormous trunk.
“…But how am I supposed to find Vega here?”
There were dozens of temples visible alone—which among them held Vega?
As I stood frowning, an Awakener passing nearby spoke to me.
“Is this your first time in the Star Palace?”
A young man in his mid-to-late twenties with a gentle demeanor.
“Ah, yes. I’ve come to meet a Constellation, but I’m not sure which way to go.”
“Haha. I got lost quite a bit on my first visit too. Come this way. I’ll show you where the map is.”
So there is a map.
Of course.
Without one, there’s no way to navigate this place.
“It’s here.”
Following the guide, I arrived at a location with a large map that resembled a tourist information board.
‘There were this many Constellations?’
I saw many star constellations I had never witnessed before in my entire life.
‘Let me see. Where is Vega located….’
I scanned the map searching for Lyra Constellation.
Hundreds of constellations were depicted, but finding Lyra Constellation wasn’t difficult.
‘The highest place in the Star Palace.’
If I were to compare it to a tree, it was positioned at the very top.
‘Vega really is an impressive Constellation.’
At the same height as her, there was nothing but other Polaris figures like Polaris and Deneb.
“Have you found it?”
“Yes. I’ll need to go quite far up.”
“…If you’re going quite far up…”
The young man’s eyes widened dramatically.
“Oh, could you possibly be an Awakener of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces?!”
He gazed at me with eyes full of admiration.
I glanced to the side to confirm, and indeed, the constellations of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces were positioned directly below Lyra Constellation.
A soft chuckle escaped me.
I smiled lightly and nodded.
“I was fortunate.”
“Wow… so you really are an apostle of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces.”
His voice was filled with envy.
“The Zodiac Twelve Palaces?”
“Where?”
Did they hear the young man’s voice?
I could hear other Awakeners nearby whispering and looking in my direction.
“Ugh… I’m really jealous.”
“If only I had a constellation from the Zodiac Twelve Palaces….”
Heated gazes mixed with envy and jealousy concentrated on me.
Especially among the Awakeners around the map, many were novice Awakeners entering the Star Palace for the first time, so an unusually large number of eyes were directed at me.
I leisurely observed the gazes concentrating on me, then turned my body away.
“Then I’ll be on my way. Thank you for the guidance.”
“Ah, here’s my business card! If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me!”
As I turned to leave, the kind-faced young man abruptly offered me his business card.
I could sense his determination to establish some connection with an apostle of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces by any means.
I accepted the business card and nodded.
‘The prestige of a constellation’s name really does matter.’
Without needing to take the initiative myself, they came crawling toward me on their own—there was nothing more convenient than this.
“Well then, I’ll contact you later.”
“Yes!”
The young man answered in a rigid stance, like a newly transferred private.
At this point, it was hard to tell who had helped whom and who had been helped.
“Well then.”
Shall we go meet our goddess?
Oh Jin slowly ascended the path made of silver light.
“Sigh.”
“When will I ever get to walk that path?”
“Wake up, man. How could we possibly go to the Zodiac Twelve Palaces?”
The murmurs of the Awakeners reached him faintly.
‘A constellation of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces.’
A smirk.
Oh Jin’s lips curled upward as he continued walking.
Past the Zodiac Twelve Palaces.
Toward the place where Vega’s Temple stood.
* * *
[You’ve come.]
As I entered the silver temple at the peak of the Star Palace, a beautiful voice resonated through my mind.
An empty temple with no religious symbols, no elaborate murals or patterns.
Within it—the radiant Silver-haired Goddess floated, shimmering brilliantly.
“I missed you, Vega!”
I approached her with a bright smile,
“Ah.”
My shoulders trembled slightly as I stopped in my tracks.
“…I apologize.”
I lowered my head with an anguished expression.
I bit my lips firmly and clenched my fists.
[…It seems your heart still hasn’t settled.]
Vega offered a bitter smile and slowly flew through the air toward me.
Memories of a future that did not exist for her.
Seeing the regressor suffering from the discord between those memories and reality, my heart grew heavy.
[I am not the woman you remember.]
“…No.”
I shook my head with a serene smile.
“The Vega in my memories was—always as beautiful as you are now.”
[Hmm. You’re saying embarrassing things again.]
Vega let out a soft cough and turned her head away.
[No amount of flattery will change what I can do for you.]
Her jewel-like golden eyes trembled faintly.
‘At least the start is good.’
My stomach churned as if the calorie bar I’d eaten this morning was rising back up my throat, but it seemed to be settling well enough regardless.
[Anyway.]
She quickly changed the subject, placing her hand over my left chest.
[To think you’ve ascended to 2-Star in just a week… truly, you are the Star of Reversal.]
I shrugged my shoulders and answered calmly.
“I’ve already done it before.”
[Hehe. Now that you mention it, that makes sense.]
Vega nodded with a satisfied smile.
[So, first I’d like to hear in detail about the future you know of. To help you, shouldn’t I also know what will happen going forward?]
“….”
Several.
Here it comes at last.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry, and slowly began to unfold the story I had prepared.
“In the not-too-distant future… a being called the Heavenly Demon will appear.”
[Heavenly Demon?]
“Yes.”
This was a title I had hastily conceived based on Vega’s words that ‘the one who possesses the Black Heaven will destroy the world.’
A demon possessing the Black Heaven—thus, the Heavenly Demon.
It was an absurdly simple title, but the simpler and easier to understand a lie is, the better it tends to work.
‘There’s no way they were actually called the Heavenly Demon.’
Heavenly Demon, really.
This wasn’t some B-grade martial arts novel—there’s no way they’d use such a title.
[So this Heavenly Demon possesses the Black Heaven, you’re saying?]
“That’s correct. However….”
I took a breath.
One deep breath.
“The Heavenly Demon concealed their identity thoroughly, so their face, name, and even whether they were human at all—none of it was ever revealed.”
[You mean even you, a regressor, don’t know?]
“Yes. I tried to uncover the identity of the Black Heaven’s owner until the very moment of regression, but ultimately failed.”
[Hmm?]
Vega tilted her head in confusion.
[If you regressed to the past using the ‘Oath of Stars,’ then surely you must have killed the owner of the Black Heaven… yet you didn’t even confirm their face after they died?]
“Huh?”
What the hell is the Oath of Stars?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————