The original author of the game ‘Another World’ and my sister, Jeong Sora.
“I thought you would have come earlier, Oppa.”
There she stood in front of me, dressed in her usual, shabby tracksuit.
“Hey, you…”
“Let’s walk together, just the two of us.”
She beckoned me to follow her. I looked for Bella’s reaction, but soon realized it wasn’t necessary.
“Don’t worry. This is my playground.”
The space around Bella turned gray, as if time had frozen. Everything around her stood still, including Bella herself, frozen in her kneeling pose.
“The flow of time here is different from the outside. Past and future coexist here.”
“Past and future…?”
“Hehehe. It’s all thanks to my great powers. Impressive, right? Cool, huh?”
“……”
“Come on, don’t be so stoic. Follow me.”
Something felt off, but I decided to go along with her for now. It seemed like her words were law in this place.
We walked across the vast grassland, a dreamlike landscape. The sky, spread out like a watercolor painting, was refreshingly clear. Beneath it, basking in the warm sunlight, my sister began to speak.
“I thought my neck would grow longer waiting for you, Oppa.”
“What?”
She clung to my arm, giving me a coquettish look. I cringed at the unusual display of affection from my sister.
“Come
on, you…”
“Oppa, it must have been tough, trapped in that body. So pitiful. But don’t worry, now I’m here.”
A wave of discomfort surged from deep within me. This wasn’t Tristan’s characteristic; it was coming from ‘Ji Hwan Jeong’ – from me.
Then, it dawned on me what was happening.
“Get away from me.”
“What?”
Sora looked at me incredulously. I pushed her away and questioned her intentions.
“What are you planning to do for how long?”
“Uh? What do you mean?”
She looked up at me with a sly grin. Ah, this kid, really?
“Stop pretending. You fake.”
“Fake?”
Her expression hardened at my words, confirming my suspicions.
“Me, a fake? Ha! This is my world. Here, I am the ‘god’.”
The air turned cold as if the temperature had dropped suddenly. Despite the sunny weather, my breath was visible in the air.
Sora didn’t hide her hostility. I couldn’t help but laugh at her threatening demeanor.
“A god? You’re really set on being funny.”
It was ridiculous.
“Listen. In this world, you might be a real god, but to ‘me’, you’re not.”
“A mere human acting like a god…”
She scoffed, but her façade was cracking. Literally. Her face began to split and fall apart like a broken mask.
“I really hate you.”
Shedding her guise, the figure revealed was a dazzling blonde girl, exuding perfect beauty befitting a deity, except for her terrible attitude.
“If you weren’t ‘her’ kin, you would’ve been dead by my hands long ago.”
“‘Her’? You mean my sister? And you dare to impersonate her with such a pathetic imitation?”
“Shut up! I, the omnipotent, can imitate anything!”
She raged on like a spoiled brat. Such a temperament ill-fitted for a so-called absolute deity.
I wondered what Sora was thinking when she created such a character.
“Just be quiet. You’re noisy.”
“Ah, how cruel fate is to make such an abominable creature her kin!”
“What nonsense. I was born before her.”
“Ah, how tragic this reality!”
The god feigned crying dramatically. Arguing with a childlike deity was futile. To get what I wanted, I had to play along.
“Hey. If you’re all-knowing, you know why I’m here, right?”
This being was a god created by Sora, seemingly revering her as ‘Her’. Though I dislike the idea, I need her help for what I plan to do. However, she shook her head.
“Dislike.”
“?”
“I won’t help you, no matter what you ask. Meeeh.”
“Ah… this kid… Is it because you’re incapable?”
“What? Incapable? Me?”
“Yes.”
Suddenly, a flash of lightning struck near me, a bolt from the blue, just a step away.
“Say that again. Who’s what?”
“You’re incapable.”
I looked down at her, unyielding. There was no reason to back down in this battle of wills. After all, she was just a god created by my sister. Despite her threats, I stood firm.
She raised her hand again, preparing to launch a second lightning strike.
“I won’t miss this time.”
“That’s all you can do.”
“What? Just that?”
“You’re omnipotent only because of Eden’s boundaries. Outside Eden, you’re nothing but a powerless human.”
“If you keep spouting nonsense with that big mouth of yours…”
“Which is why you couldn’t prevent ‘the tragedy that will start in a year.’”
“…!”
Her shoulders twitched. I was certain of it.
Like me, she had watched the demise of this other world.
“Hey. You said it yourself earlier.”
I stepped closer to her.
“Time in Eden flows differently. The past and future coexist here. So you must know.”
Another step. And then another.
“How this world met its end.”
I stopped right in front of her, scolding this brazen god.
“How powerless you were.”
“……”
Anger welled up inside me. Initially, I thought it was the influence of Tristan’s characteristic ‘anger,’ but it was not.
The criticism I hurled at her also applied to me. The anger towards myself for having been powerless while watching the destruction of another world.
She looked at me silently, her eyes now hollow.
“……Mikaela.”
“?”
“You’re not her. I have a name given to me by ‘Her,’ Mikaela.”
A hidden character in the original work, only mentioned in Sora’s notes, was the god. It was the first time I heard her real name.
The god of Eden, Mikaela, sighed.
“If you know that much, you understand. I can’t help you.”
“…….”
“I get why you’re here. You don’t like your character, right? Sorry, but I can’t change it.”
Once a character is set, it can’t be changed. That’s a rule of this world. Even if you’re kin to ‘Her,’ there’s nothing I can do.
“I know.”
I spoke calmly.
“I didn’t come to change my character.”
“…Then what?”
Mikaela looked puzzled.
“Give me a ‘trial’.”
“……Ho?”
Surprise flickered across her face.
“Indeed… there’s that method.”
A trial bestowed by a god upon a human.
“Huh, okay. That’s easy enough. But aren’t you afraid of death?”
“No. I’m terrified, of course.”
“What?”
Who wouldn’t fear death? But whether I die by her hand, by NPCs, or by players, the end is the same.
Besides… this seems to be the only way for me to become the protagonist.
“I face death because I’m afraid of it.”
“…You’ve lost your mind picking such a lousy character. Ridiculous.”
“Are you acting tough with ‘Her’ brother?”
“Eek! What kind of language is that to a god!”
She ranted childishly. Arguing with her was futile.
“Hey! Listen up! I’m the owner of Eden and the one who bestowed ‘personalities’ on you all!”
“Good, then start already.”
“Shut up! You arrogant pig! Brace yourself.”
Mikaela raised her hand again, and the sky began to churn.
“I’ll show you what a trial really means!”
Clichéd lines like a third-rate villain. I laughed at the absurdity.
“Yeah. Show me this trial of yours.”
They say you can’t change fate, but you can change destiny.
I will change my ‘personality’.
