Pick Me Up, Infinite Gacha

[Aaron Side Story Episode 43]

5. The light of the heart (5)

* * *

The wheel of eternity turns.

Fallen leaves staying in the air did not fall to the ground.

Counting the days is meaningless if time is infinite.

All day long, Aaron stabbed and swung the silver spear.

Nothing changed in the end.

He despairs of his own helplessness and desperately longs for his power.

What did he wish for to become stronger?

He must have been strong enough to help Nina his older brother, colleague and master.

Or was it the strength to get out of a relationship with them?

“A pure dream is not bound by anything.”

A red shadow whispered.

If Aaron accepts the dream, he will not have to suffer.

Being obsessed with human relationships is itself proof of weakness.

True strength is flight.

The reason the beast wants to fly is to not be bound by anything on the ground.

Birds do not have to tremble at predators crawling on the ground.

You don’t have to be tied down to where you stay.

It was enough to fly away.

“You should do the same.”

said the red shadow.

“Fly. higher than anyone else. Do you know what you can see if you climb to the end of the sky like that?”

What I’ve been struggling with so far.

It looks trivial and insignificant.

From the perspective of the universe, mere human life and death was the same as that of worms.

“Pure strength.”

A strength that transcends everything.

It transcends fate, mind, and emotion, and frees you from the agony of eternity.

absolute equilibrium.

“…”

Aaron glared at him.

The red shadow disappeared as if it had never happened.

‘It’s disturbing. Live.’

Haven’t gotten strong enough yet.

‘Absolute equilibrium? Unconstrained strength?’

gibberish.

“It is self-justification.”

Aaron muttered.

“Because you’re weak, you don’t have the confidence to go through hardships, so you’re acting like nothing’s wrong.”

Aaron remembered the boy’s words.

called such a state.

“A trivial spirit wins.”

pretend to be cool

pretend to be okay

He constantly comforts himself by saying that nothing is wrong.

“It is an escape.”

It won’t work anyway, so what are you trying to do?

just laugh

They ridicule that it was impossible from the beginning, just running away without facing adversity.

‘I’m different.’

One escape is enough.

When he left the dying Nina and escaped alone.

That regret made the current Aaron.

From then on, even though Aaron was alive, he was no longer alive.

Look at this.

The red shadow disappeared without a trace.

It was nothing more than an illusion created by a weak mind.

‘I become stronger.’

The current strength cannot reverse the hardships.

At least… as much as that man.

He had to be as strong as the man who crossed his dreams with a single sword.

If not, he had better die and disappear.

Aaron piled up and piled up and piled up karma.

He consumed a lot as he worked on his intermediate skills.

But he built up karma beyond that.

In any case, Aaron had no talent.

He had to compete with absolute power instead of efficient use.

what can he do

Maybe he won’t be able to do much if he becomes as strong as that man.

He judged that the heroes of Niflheim were also difficult.

But he didn’t run away.

He didn’t back down like he used to because he couldn’t see the way.

‘If I believe in you.’

We also have to believe that Han will overcome the current crisis.

But at that time, you may need someone’s help.

For one chance, Aaron spends an eternity.

‘If I believe in Master.’

He will definitely have something to do.

whatever form it is.

* * *

Whoops!

The shadow at the end of the window deepened.

The ink-colored spear carried the weight of eternity.

A blow that can tear apart even the walls of a dimension.

This is the true moon shadow that the master was talking about.

There was nothing that Aaron’s spear could not pierce.

“Fly.”

said the red shadow.

“Escape from the human filth that binds you.”

The shadow keeps getting bigger.

Aaron could not see to the right.

If you look to the right, the whole world is painted red.

* * *

A warning is sent from the heart.

Aaron ignored it and hoarded his karma.

As he learned the different uses of karma with him, he came to realize a few simple facts he didn’t know before.

first.

Master’s lifespan is really short.

It wasn’t until Aaron had built up his karma beyond the limit that he realized how extreme the situation the boy had been.

He came now, and looking back, you can tell.

You can feel it when you look at the wavelength the boy’s shadow cast.

There is already a crack in the pot of the boy’s heart.

No matter how much water you pour and pour, it just leaks incessantly.

Even if he escaped Luanan, the boy’s disappearance would have been predestined.

‘I was called a therapist. You are wrong.’

She said the boy could recover if he got out of here, but that was impossible.

The boy will soon perish.

Regardless of whether the Möbius collapsed or not.

second.

Still, there was no way.

Just one thing.

There was a way to fix the boy’s broken bowl.

“…”

what.

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Combining the two facts leads to a very simple conclusion.

He doesn’t have to be strong himself.

You just have to entrust your future to someone stronger than you.

It was also strong.

Aaron opened his eyes.

Maybe he didn’t even know he came here for this.

“Fly.”

said the red shadow.

No matter where you look now, you can’t avoid it.

The whole world was painted red.

‘Until then…’

You can endure it.

you don’t have to support

* * *

One day Aaron was standing in front of a graveyard.

Numerous tombstones without names were lined up.

“…”

Nothing is written on the tombstone.

It should be natural.

According to the boy’s explanation, the owners of these tombstones have already lost their existence.

I even forgot who it was, so what did you write?

‘The people buried here must have been in a similar situation to me.’

Aaron thought.

All the people who come here suffer from mental illness.

The boy had said it several times.

The sickness of the heart does not go away easily.

It burrows into the person’s mind until it dies, consuming moths.

If Aaron hadn’t been here too, he would have been.

He would have died following a useless horde on the battlefield.

sickness of the mind.

A curse to become stronger even after death.

Each must have had a cause.

‘Did Master try to fix it?’

Even if they are forced to return, they will wander and die.

There was no answer other than to reap.

All were terminally ill.

‘What happened here.’

What did the boy think every time the tombstones increased.

Now nobody knows.

even the boy himself.

‘I wonder if I can do it.’

Wouldn’t it be possible to bring up memories buried in oblivion?

It is possible if it is the power of karma.

there was plenty of time

If there was not enough power, I could pull it up as much as I could.

So Aaron ran.

This is a world that has stopped.

He collected the memories of the forgotten throughout eternity.

The world has eliminated their existence, but it cannot extinguish every trace.

It cannot erase everything related to it.

At best, it erases your memory.

However, the fragments of memory are divided into near infinity.

Aaron didn’t care.

Because time has no meaning here.

* * *

“This person’s name is…”

Headstone in the corner of the cemetery.

Aaron struggles, then he carves a piece in the stone with his spear.

first and last name.

Draw down the owner’s story.

The shadowed blade cut through the marble like tofu.

“after.”

complete.

The tombstone had its first owner.

He was barely able to confirm it.

gender is male.

He was a boy of the same age as his teacher.

The boy also called his teacher this way.

[Master!]

It seems that he had a lively personality.

The two were more like friends than priests.

They seem to get along well even though they bicker with each other.

but.

[…sorry.]

The disciple apologizes.

[Because I couldn’t answer my expectations.]

[…]

[As expected, I wasn’t like Master.]

Master said nothing.

processing has already been completed.

There was a large hole in the disciple’s chest.

Even if there is no blood, the existence escapes through the gap.

[sorry.]

After saying that, the disciple disappeared.

It was a memory embedded in this tombstone here.

“…”

after some time has passed.

Aaron found the memory of the second tombstone.

The hard-eyed young man called the boy like this.

[Master.]

He was the type of person who preferred action over words.

Master and student rarely exchanged conversations.

Silence was their daily routine.

[…]

Still, there was something in common.

[Forgive me…forgive me…]

young people disappear

The master looked at the pupil without saying anything.

‘found.’

what kind of person he was

What memories he exchanged with his master.

Aaron writes their biography with a spear on a tombstone.

[Master.]

[teacher!]

[Master.]

Everyone was calling the boy Master.

At first, they harbored prejudice due to his youthful appearance and unpretentious manner of speaking, but later everyone called the boy his teacher.

These are all patients with mental illness.

However, after meeting the boy, he realized his illness and had time to look back on himself while understanding his mind.

But the disease could not be cured.

It was something I couldn’t fix.

‘If I could fix it myself, I wouldn’t have come here.’

There were no exceptions.

Aaron thought of a man named Thragin.

He is a man who got his own answer and left this place safely.

His presence must have been a joy to the teacher.

‘How was I?’

I don’t know.

He did not know how he would be remembered by his master.

“…”

Aaron diligently engraved his biography on the tombstone.

“Fly.”

The voice continues to be heard.

“Fly.”

Shadows can no longer be avoided.

It’s red everywhere you look.

Even when I closed my eyes, it was still red.

‘are you okay.’

The light of the heart has not yet been extinguished.

“Fly.”

Until then.

“Fly.”

It doesn’t work.

“Fly.”

“…”

Noisy.

‘You’re really amazing, Master.’

How strong must my heart be to not succumb to these whispers?

How many ‘disciples’ had succumbed to the red shadow?

Even so, only the boy was able to maintain reason.

The ability to deal with karma was also a talent.

Kagak.

Kagagak.

The blade of the spear cuts through the marble.

Another story is written here.

one by one.

one by one again.

When the record is finished, a shadow is cast on the tombstone.

To bring back the boy’s forgotten memories.

Aaron passed the time and kept everyone’s diary.

And he got them back.

The master no longer has to wander.

‘Flow.’

The landscape changed again.

The twilight fields I had seen before unfolded.

Leaves that had stopped in the air began to fall.

Time passed again.

“…”

Aaron waited.

He accumulated karma over eons.

Waiting for the boy to come was as easy as closing your eyes.

rattle.

The cabin door opened.

Aaron, who had been sitting quietly at the table, turned his gaze toward the entrance.

“I am here.”

“…”

“How are you, Aaron?”

“yes.”

Aaron replied.

Nearly an eternity had passed here, but little time had passed outside.

“…”

The boy went up to Aaron and waved his hand to his eyes.

“You’re not crazy, are you? Can you see this?”

“Don’t worry, Master. Because it looks right.”

“Then I’m glad.”

“How about outside?”

“Oh that. It’s not as good as you think. I don’t know what to say.”

Aaron laughed.

“it’s okay.”

“What’s okay, dude? Because it was a mess.”

“You have a brother and you don’t have a teacher? it will work somehow I believe.”

“so….”

chin.

The boy sat down on the chair opposite Aaron.

A cold gaze turned to Aaron.

“How many years have you been here?”

“I do not know. I didn’t count.”

“You stopped the flow of time.”

“Because I didn’t say not to do it.”

“Yeah, that’s right. That’s the only way to build up strength in a short period of time. You did well too.”

“Thanks to Master’s teachings.”

Aaron bowed his head to the boy.

The boy’s face turned red from the shadow.

“Master, I have something to show you.”

“Memories of tombstones?”

“…”

“I saw everything before coming here dude.”

“this.”

I wanted to surprise you.

“If you do that, you must have built up a lot of karma.”

“…”

“Yeah, I remembered. When everyone said they would work hard, later on, they died at my hands because they didn’t have the ability.”

Aaron laughed.

“Thank you, Master. He brought back the memories of the disciples.”

“…your eyes.”

“How are my eyes?”

“It is red.”

said the boy.

It was an emotionless conversation.

“Just like those idiots.”

“He said it would be dangerous if left alone. It could be a huge disaster.”

“So I dealt with it.”

“How was it?”

“It was nothing. Because I had no heart.”

“It is a lie.”

Silence follows.

Their gazes crossed each other.

“…why.”

The boy opened his mouth.

“Are you lost to the shadows?”

“I didn’t lose.”

“You said you could win.”

“I didn’t lose.”

“You promised me.”

Not yet.

Still haven’t been eaten by innocence.

There is room left until the dream eats it up.

“Master also promised. If I lose, he will kill me.”

“…”

“But it’s okay. Because I didn’t support it. As you can see, it’s fine.”

“I see.”

“I didn’t give up. I’ll tell you again and again. I chose now with my will. I fought the shadows until the end and protected them.”

“What did you protect?”

“Hope… kept.”

“hope?”

said Aaron.

“As Master said, at first I tried to fight the shadow and win.”

drive away red shadows

Subsequently, the power of karma is made fully one’s own.

Be strong yourself.

The initial plan was this.

But over time, I realized that there is an easier way.

“When I thought about it, it didn’t make much of a difference even if I fought the shadow and won. I am weak as it is. I did not have the power to turn things around.”

Side effects, including delirium, are simply gone.

As long as the human mind is maintained, the power of karma cannot be fully used.

Aaron lacked talent.

“Master is different.”

“different? I?”

“I could tell. How strong Master was.”

There were traces left all over Luanan.

The wave after writing karma.

As Aaron built up his karma, he was able to feel the subtle waves and finally realized the mighty power of his teacher.

“But not now. Because he is dying.”

The exact cause is unknown.

Anyway, due to various reasons, the boy was disappearing.

The power of his heyday disappeared and he became an old man in the back room and spent time in Luanan.

“The bowl of the heart that holds karma has cracked. That’s how I judged Master’s condition. If so, you can change the bowl.”

“…”

“Master, I am not dying.”

It has been prepared for a long time.

Two dreams can be merged into one.

You can be reborn as a bigger and more powerful dream.

It can be liberated from symptoms that are imperfect like now and only eat away at people’s minds.

“I see.”

said the boy.

“You know, you.”

“yes.”

“You will be free.”

“you’re right.”

Get out of the half clumsy power and be reborn as true karma.

It is through union that it becomes complete.

The master who was revived like that protects his older brother and everyone…

“Then you know what I’m going to do now?”

“yes?”

A small question bloomed in Aaron’s head.

That moment.

“…!”

Kang!

Window and window collide.

A slight delay in reaction would have incapacitated Aaron.

“Master!”

“It’s a pity.”

the boy laughed

At the same time, the figure disappeared.

fluttering waves.

Movement can be seen between the reddened worlds.

Aaron swung his spear at it.

“Ouch! It was dangerous.”

The boy jumped back and moved out of range of the spear.

“What are you doing!”

“Why are you blocking me? You asked me to kill you. Do you want to live now?”

“Union is not like this! It’s like…!”

Aaron’s eyes blurred.

no way.

“Aaron, you are such an idiot.”

“Stop it!”

Pod!

Aaron was out of the cabin in an instant.

However, the opponent is also the same up user.

He followed through several teleports.

“Not with me! I have no talent!”

Aaron exclaimed desperately.

“You will be fine.”

“It’s not okay. I am…!”

“Did you keep it until the end? your heart.”

Two shadows intersect in the air.

The darkness that fell on each of the spear blades grew thicker.

Kagagagak!

The blades of spears covered in karma collided.

Black flames flew in all directions and produced smoke.

“Make Master’s dream come true. I am my dream…!”

“What is your dream?”

“I am satisfied. I was able to keep it! It wasn’t helpless this time. I will endure and endure until the end…!”

did not collapse

I didn’t put out the light of my heart.

to keep.

To keep the flames of hope burning.

It’s not like this.

It’s not like this.

“I have achieved my dream. I don’t need this power anymore! It was Master’s strength from the beginning. It was a power that no one but Master could handle!”

Each other’s shadows collided with sparks.

The two have no knowledge of martial arts.

It was just hit with power.

“Besides, doesn’t Master have a dream? A dream to win your heart. Make that dream come true! That… is the only thing left of me…!”

“You stupid child.”

Kang!

The silver spear spins like a pinwheel and bounces off.

I didn’t even know how it got there.

Aaron sat down.

I tried to get up, but my body wouldn’t budge.

An intangible shadow was holding him back.

“Stop… let it go.”

A boy approaches with a spear pointed at him.

Took.

Before I knew it, the ink-colored spear blade touched Aaron’s heart.

“…”

after.

The boy put the spear on his back.

Then he crouched down and met Aaron’s eyes.

“Aaron.”

“Master’s dream… please…”

“You still don’t know? Nothing will change if you entrust your dream to someone else. A dream is something you have to achieve yourself. and….”

The boy smiled.

“My dream has already come true.”

“yes?”

“It’s your turn next.”

The boy’s hand approaches.

“Keep it. your precious things. With your strength, not others.”

“Master, I…!”

“are you okay. Everything is fine.”

The boy’s small palms covered Aaron’s eyes.

The world has changed with him.

* * *

memories are reversed

Perceptions are distorted.

The things I knew and the things I should have known began to be forgotten.