Chapter : 05
As I opened my eyes, I realized that I couldn’t feel the sensations I usually felt in everyday life. A faint smell of disinfectant hung in the air. I tried to turn my head to figure out where I was, only to find that my body wouldn’t move.
‘Why, why is this happening?’
I had clearly intended to speak, but only my lips trembled. No sound echoed from my throat. I couldn’t move a single finger or toe. All I could see at this moment was the white hospital ceiling and the light pouring from the fluorescent lamps. The light was cold and hard, like the ceiling of another prison covering me.
‘The only things that move are my eyelids.’
Every time I inhaled, a rhythmic mechanical sound buzzed in my ears. It sounded like something breathing for me.
‘If that’s a ventilator… I must be admitted to the intensive care unit.’
The only thing that allowed me to maintain my sanity amidst all this despair was the fact that the place I woke up in wasn’t a prison. That single fact made my heart jump. I had dreamed of this many times in prison. I would wake up in a place so free that it felt like torture, relieved for a moment, only to sob in despair as I realized I hadn’t taken a single step outside the prison walls. As dawn approached, I couldn’t sleep, terrified of when my death sentence would be carried out. But this was not a prison. And it meant I hadn’t died from the execution; I was alive. Suddenly, a quick, intense pain—one I couldn’t even describe—surged through my unresponsive body. It felt as if my whole body had been thrown into a fire. I reflexively grimaced, but a smile formed at the same time. It felt as if my body was proving to me that I was alive, even in this world of numbness.
‘They say it’s better to be alive, even if you’re rolling in a pile of filth.’
Then, I slowly traced back my memories. I needed to know how far, and what exactly, I could remember and think about.
‘Did I buy a lottery ticket…? That’s right, I bought a lottery ticket. And I think I was running…’
Screech! The sound of someone slamming on the brakes echoed like an auditory hallucination. CRASH! At that moment, something struck my body, and I think I screamed. I remembered my body floating up and then falling headfirst onto the cold, hard asphalt.
‘It’s clear that an accident occurred. I should have died in an accident like that…’
―You will be saved.
Suddenly, I remembered the voice I had heard when my death sentence was being carried out.
‘Could it be that I’ve returned to the past?’
When that thought crossed my mind, I tried with all my might to turn my head and look at the calendar on the wall. I put every ounce of strength into moving my neck, even just a centimeter. But all I got in return was stiffness and pain.
‘I returned to the past… and now that I’ve finally managed to live, I’ve become a cripple right after the regression?’
I couldn’t move a single hand.
‘No. Everything depends on your mindset.’
That’s easy to say. But reality was cruel. I had the will, but no means to move. Creak. Just then, the hospital room door opened cautiously. What appeared in my line of sight was Kim Dae-myung, someone I could never forget, and his driver. Behind them, medical staff followed into the room.
“How is the patient’s condition?” “Currently, he is in a state of total paralysis. Simply put, you can consider him a vegetable.” “A vegetable, even though his eyes are open?” “Even if it seems like he has consciousness, in reality, he is in a state where he cannot respond to external stimuli.”
At the doctor’s words, I was more shocked than anyone, and my lips trembled.
‘I’m a vegetable? Even though I have this much consciousness? I’m here! I’m right here!’
No matter how much I shouted, it was useless. My throat couldn’t produce a single sound.
“What are the chances of recovery?” “With modern medicine… it is difficult to guarantee anything.” “Please do your best. Don’t worry about the costs.”
Kim Dae-myung looked at me, my eyes wide open.
“Since he ended up like this after being hit by our car… we have to take responsibility.”
The man who had been driving opened his mouth cautiously.
“Boss, but he was the one who jumped out first…” “Whether he jumped out or not, it’s a fact that he was hit by our car. And now he’s lying there like that.”
I wanted to say something, but my mouth wouldn’t open.
“Please move the patient to a VIP room. The best single room you have.” “Understood.” “And Manager Kim, find this young man’s family and proceed with the maximum compensation procedures. Don’t start arguing about responsibility based on the situation.” “Yes, I understand.” “Has his identity been confirmed?” “Not yet. We couldn’t find any ID among his belongings.” “Find it quickly. His family must be worried.”
This meant they were going to consider the traffic accident that put me in this state to be 100% their fault.
‘Why?’
In my memory, Kim Dae-myung was the man who had mocked me with a blood-soaked smile. But now, he looked like a completely different person.
“We will bear the full medical expenses and provide maximum compensation. Keep this quiet from the media.” “Boss, what about the inauguration ceremony…” “Forget the inauguration. What could be more important than a human life?”
Kim Dae-myung said that and left the room, and I slowly lost consciousness. That is how my life in the hospital room began. In a VIP room, no less.
A vegetable with only consciousness can only do three things in a hospital room: eat through a tube, excrete through a tube, and sleep. When I fell asleep due to medication, I always walked along a forest path in my dreams. My body, which wouldn’t move when I was conscious, moved so freely. So, I waited only to dream.
―Welcome! I have been waiting for you.
I heard the voice again.
‘I’m coming, so don’t rush me!’
For over 30 days, whenever I slept, I had the same dream. After walking for more than 20 hours a day for 30 days, the place I arrived at had only a single, shabby hut.
‘I walked for a month, and this is it?’
I entered the hut. Once I went inside, I saw that it was filled with what were clearly amazing, masterpiece handicrafts.
‘If this were reality, these would be worth a lot of money.’
I marveled at the dagger displayed in a case. Just before my fingertips touched the glass display case, an old man appeared from behind it. His white beard hung down to his chest, and his old robes fluttered, kicking up dust.
“I called for you so many times, and you’ve only just arrived.” “Were you the one who called me, sir?” “Yes. Did I only call you? I even saved you.” “You saved me? In a dream? How?” “You ask too many questions. Then tell me, what can explain the things that have happened to you now?”
I was speechless.
“You’re lucky. If not that, then I’m very unlucky. I ended up having to clean up after you.” “What does that mean?” “What did I look like to you?” “Pardon?”
The old man sighed.
“I’m asking what I looked like when you first saw me. I mean my profession.”
I scanned the old man’s attire again. Robes, a staff, strange objects filling the display case.
“You look like a wizard.” “Yes, a wizard. It’s been 500 years since I started researching communication with other dimensions. And I succeeded.” “500 years?” “Yes. To communicate with you, I blew up a precious Dragon Heart! But the magical coordinates I hit were in a strange place.” “A Dragon Heart?” “The heart of a dragon!” “We don’t have dragons in our world.”
The old man looked shocked.
“Never mind that. Anyway, there you were, wearing a black hood, trembling like a death-row prisoner with a rope around his neck.”
I froze as that moment came back to me.
“Since it was another dimension, I couldn’t zoom in on the magical coordinates. I had no choice but to choose you. I couldn’t just throw away the Dragon Heart I risked my life to get without any results, could I?” “Are you saying I was your only option?” “Yes. But you died immediately. You had a rope around your neck and just dropped.” “…” “You, you will be saved…”
I got goosebumps all over my body at those words.
“That voice… it was you, sir.” “Of course. Since I couldn’t waste the Dragon Heart, I turned back time. I really paid a huge price for that.” “You turned back time?” “Yes. Do you think that’s easy? You are the result of my research. The masterpiece of the Archmage Rein-gert, who studied communication with other dimensions!” “Rein-gert?” “Yes, that’s my name. Remember it. I am unlucky, and you are a very lucky guy.” “Lucky? Do you know what state I’m in right now?” “A vegetable, right? I know, that’s why I called you here so desperately. You can’t move below your neck, right? It would be miserable to live like that until you die.”
I couldn’t say anything.
“How do you know? About my condition?” “Because your consciousness and my consciousness are connected. Although it’s only for a short time.” “Then why did you lead me here?”
The old man set his staff down with a thud.
“I can’t let my masterpiece just lie there like a vegetable without being able to move. Since I saved you, I have to make you live! I am an Archmage. I must take responsibility for my actions.” “Are you saying you will make me live?” “That’s right. You are my disciple now.” “A disciple?” “Yes, a disciple. Thank me later. There is still much to do.”
End Of Chapter : 05
