Not A Regressor - Chapter 393

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 393
Fate-Reversing Star (6)
The Milky Way Spring sparkled with starlight so beautiful it seemed as though a slice of the night sky had been captured and contained within it.
Gurgle, gurrrgle!
Dark clouds swept across the spring’s surface, blanketing the night sky.
The roiling dark clouds churned.
Through Heukcheon, the immense magical power of the constellation marks that had accumulated within the spring began to pour into my body.
“Ugh!”
My magical circuits swelled like a balloon inflated to its breaking point.
The spring’s magical power, condensed over an incomprehensibly vast span of time, far exceeded my imagination.
‘This is… way too much…!’
The torrential flood of magical power surging through my entire body made it difficult to maintain consciousness.
I bit my lips and desperately clung to the thread of reason as the constellation marks’ magical power crashed down like a tidal wave.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
Whether aware of my condition or not, Heukcheon, nestled within my heart, devoured Polaris’s magical power ravenously, as though it had arrived at some luxurious buffet.
[My, my child!]
“Don’t come!”
I cried out urgently toward Vega, who approached with a worried expression.
‘If you come, you’ll be swept up too.’
Having discovered the most exquisite prey, Heukcheon broke free from my control and began raging savagely.
Dark clouds spread in a massive dome formation around the area, absorbing the constellation marks’ magical power indiscriminately.
The spring water that had sparkled with beautiful starlight became shrouded in murky darkness, as though black ink had been poured across it.
The entire surrounding space appeared to be swallowed by the dark clouds.
It was a sight as though the Unconscious World I had faced when confronting the Heavenly Demon had materialized in actual reality.
‘This is…’
The Unconscious World materializing in reality.
Mere fragments of thought, nothing but mental imagery, twisting physical laws and manipulating reality.
It was a power of the unknown that, even if witnessed with one’s own eyes, was impossible to comprehend with the mind.
Yet I could easily understand what was unfolding before my eyes.
‘Sacred Domain deployment.’
And for good reason.
The power now manifesting before me was precisely what I had been focusing my training on most intensely of late.
‘Heukcheon is transforming the surrounding environment into its own domain.’
The Milky Way Spring, which had shone brilliantly moments before, had vanished without a trace, and only ominous dark clouds now filled the surroundings.
Yes.
As though I had entered a black sky devoid of even a single point of light.
“Ah, uh.”
Heukcheon, having dyed the surroundings in its own world, rushed toward Polaris, who waited with eyes gently closed for the end of a long life.
‘Stop.’
I could sense it instinctively.
If Heukcheon, now beyond his control, were to absorb the stigma of Ursa Minor, it would never return under his dominion again.
Grrrrgh! Grrgh!
Heukcheon thrashed before Polaris, straining like a beast on a leash.
Kwon O-jin barely maintained his tenuous grip on Heukcheon’s control, exhaling ragged breaths.
“Stop, you bastard…!”
Grrrrrrgh!
Displeased with the leash tightening around it, Heukcheon’s cloud shifted its target from Polaris and lunged toward Kwon O-jin instead.
“Ugh! Hack!”
Pain as if my entire body were being torn apart by razor-sharp fangs.
My consciousness grew hazy, and my body swayed like rice stalks scattered by an autumn breeze.
“Gasp! Gasp!”
I desperately clung to consciousness within Heukcheon’s savagely mauling cloud.
The sensation of standing alone within a massive rapid current.
The violent cloud of Heukcheon seized and shook my body as if mocking me.
‘It hurts.’
Sharp hooks seemed to traverse my veins—a terrible, exquisite agony.
‘It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts.’
My flesh is being devoured.
My mind is being torn asunder.
My soul is being consumed.
‘I’m going to lose my mind.’
When does this suffering end?
Does it even end at all?
Time itself stops flowing.
An endless, boundless Black Sky surrounding me.
I hear the mocking laughter of the dark clouds encircling me—a phantom sound that echoes in my ears.
-Why not give up now?
-You’ve endured enough, haven’t you?
-Just take one step back, and you can escape this pain.
-Accept me.
Heukcheon probably doesn’t have the will to speak such words.
Because I know better than anyone who is uttering the phantom voice I hear now.
‘It’s… my voice.’
The phantom sound echoing in my ears isn’t Heukcheon—it’s myself whispering to myself.
“Ah… ugh, ah.”
Because it hurts.
Because it’s agonizing.
Because it’s unbearable.
I’m tempted to simply abandon everything and surrender my body to that black cloud.
There’s a part of me that whispers I should accept the temptation.
No matter how accustomed one becomes to enduring pain.
As long as he remained human, there existed limits to what he could withstand.
For instance, imagine placing your hand upon a scorching iron plate.
How many people could keep their palm pressed against that plate while their flesh burned away, utterly indifferent to the agony?
It was not a matter of mental fortitude or its absence.
Unless one were a human devoid of pain sensation itself, there existed a threshold to suffering.
‘After all.’
Ha-eun would be safe even without me.
Since the Heavenly Demon’s true identity was ‘Kwon O-jin’ like myself, there was no reason he would harm her.
If Ha-eun simply spoke truthfully, I might even protect the lives of Isabella and my other beloved.
Yes.
It would be fine.
If I merely retreated one step backward.
If I simply ceased moving forward.
Even this hellish agony would end.
What would happen if I surrendered here?
Suddenly.
Such a question flickered through my mind.
‘I wouldn’t die, would I?’
My consciousness would merely be consumed by Heukcheon, but I wouldn’t perish immediately.
Yet once Heukcheon devoured my consciousness, it would spread like poison, gradually consuming me entirely.
My memories would blur, my recollections fade to gray.
One by one, the precious moments of my past would be swallowed by that black miasma.
In the end, only the primal hunger and endless thirst would remain—the primordial desire to devour every star in existence.
Yes.
Just like.
‘That bastard.’
Kwon O-jin clenched his fists with fierce determination.
“Don’t you dare give in.”
I severed the weakness creeping into my heart.
Biting my lip until blood flowed, I glared savagely at the clouds of Heukcheon that engulfed everything around me.
If I were going to surrender so pathetically, I would never have endured this far in the first place.
‘I said we were different.’
I am not like you.
I swore I would never become like you.
Even if it were foolish greed, even if it were shallow righteousness.
I declared boldly before you that I would save everyone I held in my hands.
I proclaimed it with unwavering conviction.
“So then.”
Kwon O-jin lifted his gaze toward the black miasma that shrouded the sky.
The clouds of Heukcheon writhed savagely, as though they would tear him to shreds.
“Kneel, you wretched thing.”
A deep, rumbling growl echoed across the sky.
The black storm clouds that had blanketed the heavens split in half and came crashing down with a deafening roar.
I stepped forward, trampling the flattened clouds of Heukcheon that spread out like a bowing head.
[As expected… just as I thought.]
Polaris, who had been waiting for death with eyes tightly shut, now gazed at me with both eyes sparkling brightly.
She… or perhaps he… clasped both hands together in prayer, a radiant smile blooming on their lips.
[Fate-Reversing Star… I pray that this humble starlight might illuminate your path, even if only slightly.]
With those final words, Polaris threw themselves toward the clouds of Heukcheon spread wide across the ground.
Polaris’s body vanished beyond the clouds of Heukcheon.
And then.
-Ding!
[You have successfully absorbed the Constellation of Ursa Minor!]
[You have acquired the new trait ‘Future Sight’!]
[You have achieved the twelfth blooming condition for Heukcheon!]
A deep, rumbling sound echoed through the air.
The clouds of Heukcheon spread across the ground trembled and were sucked into my body.
“Ugh…!”
I desperately maintained my consciousness within the intensifying rapids of Heukcheon.
The endless surge of Heukcheon’s clouds came to an abrupt halt, as though caught by a barrier.
[Warning.]
[Insufficient power from the Lyra Constellation stigma is required to fully control Heukcheon.]
[The power of Heukcheon is partially restricted.]
Along with the message that Heukcheon’s power was being limited, another notification appeared.
[Due to the immense magical power of the stigma, the Lyra Constellation stigma is promoted to 11-star!]
The next message that followed announced the elevation of the Lyra Constellation stigma to 11-star.
I furrowed my brow as I recalled the previous message.
‘Even with the Lyra Constellation stigma at 11-star, Heukcheon’s power is being restricted?’
Looking at the numbers alone, since this was Heukcheon’s twelfth blooming, it might be difficult to control with the power of the Lyra Constellation stigma, which was still only at 11-star.
‘But I’ve been controlling it just fine until now.’
When Heukcheon underwent its eleventh blooming, the Lyra Constellation stigma was at 10-star, one stage lower, yet no message about partial power restriction had appeared.
‘So the power obtained through the twelfth blooming must be immense.’
Just as the power of a stigma changes dramatically when ascending from 8-star to 9-star, Heukcheon might have gained power far exceeding its previous bloomings.
‘And because of that power, it went berserk beyond my control earlier.’
Thinking about it that way, everything made sense.
[My, my child! Are you alright?!]
As soon as Polaris’s absorption was complete, Vega flew toward me with an urgent expression.
She continued speaking, her eyes filled with worry as she gazed at me.
[To my eyes, the aura of Heukcheon appeared as though it were consuming you.]
“That’s partly true.”
It was indeed a fact that I’d nearly had my entire consciousness consumed in an instant when Heukcheon’s power surged unexpectedly.
[T-That kind of—!]
“Still, I’m fine now. At least I succeeded in suppressing Heukcheon.”
Though to be honest, it was less about suppressing it and more about forcibly trampling it into submission.
In any case, I managed to avoid the worst-case scenario of having my consciousness consumed by Heukcheon.
‘Though I have no idea how long I can hold out.’
Because I’d managed to suppress the raging Heukcheon, the situation ended with ‘partial power restrictions’—had I failed to control it, I would have been swallowed whole by Heukcheon.
‘I need to tighten the leash further.’
To remove the partial power restrictions and fully control Heukcheon, I needed to strengthen the power of Lyra Constellation’s stigma.
And the only way to strengthen Lyra Constellation’s stigma power right now was….
“Vega, I know this isn’t the right time to ask, but… there’s a favor I’d like to ask of you.”
[If it’s a request from you, I’ll grant anything! Speak freely!]
Vega thumped her chest as if to say I should trust only her.
“Then….”
A scorching gaze turned toward Vega.
[Hm?]
Vega’s shoulders flinched.
[W-Why are you looking at me with those eyes?]
With an expression mixing anticipation and unease, Vega unconsciously took a step back from Kwon O-jin.

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