Han Doyun, the person who saved me. The person who saved me when I was dying and made me into who I am now. He said he was immortal. That he had been immortal from birth.
“I did a lot of research on immortality. I had to know about what I possessed before I could do anything with it. I investigated it quite a bit. I was able to learn many things.”
“Many things?”
“Yeah. First, immortality can’t be eliminated. To get rid of immortality, you have to pass it on to someone else. Otherwise, there’s no way to remove it. I wanted to get rid of my immortality. The life I gained through immortality wasn’t particularly happy.”
I knew nothing about immortality. I did not know what degree of misery he had experienced because of the immortality he possessed. I could only listen to his story and nod.
“What I discovered wasn’t a way to eliminate immortality, but a way to create it. It wasn’t exactly something I wanted to say, but it was an extremely useful method. Because through that method, I saved you.”
“You made me immortal too?”
“That’s right. There was no other way to save you. To create immortality, at least one life is needed. A life is sacrificed to obtain immortality. Someone beside you asked for that to be done. Even knowing what it meant.”
“…”
I did not know who that was. He did not know who it was either, so he could not tell me any more. Through someone’s sacrifice, I gained a new life. That was what he told me.
“What am I supposed to do now?”
“Do what you want to do. The old you ended up dying, so you’ll need preparations for a new life. And she’ll take care of that.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
That was when I met Yun Seorin. A doctor whose life he had saved, much like mine. She was a woman with a scar on her forehead. According to her, she had originally been a man. Just before she died, he had saved her by transplanting her brain.
“Don’t smoke in here.”
“What does it matter? It’s not like either of you is going to die of lung cancer anyway.”
“I’m talking about basic manners. There’s a child here looking at you right now, isn’t there?”
“Hm, and? We can make a new identity and things like that. The problem is what comes after. Living a new life is all well and good, but how are you going to live it?”
“It would be nice if we could find a way for him to live an ordinary life, but that’ll be a bit difficult.”
I quietly listened to the two of them talk. Watching them speak with me at the center of it all, I looked at myself. Even now, I was looking at myself.
I was walking down a long corridor. A corridor with nothing in it at all. I did not know what lay at the far end. The one who had gone out of their way to invite me here would no doubt be there, but I did not know what they would demand of me.
Creak. The door opened, and as expected, the one who had been waiting for me looked at me. I did not like his expression. I wondered if he knew what kind of face he was making right now, but I did not ask. Nothing would change just because I did.
“You came. Honestly, I thought you wouldn’t.”
“Then why did you call me?”
“I wanted to talk. Ah, and don’t think about using your abilities here. What meaning is there in deliberately making an enemy and acting hostile, right?”
“…”
“Good. That expression isn’t bad. Keep wearing that face. You’ve made far too many enemies. It’s not that I don’t understand, but for someone like you, who has nothing, that kind of behavior is fatal. Even now, you have no one on your side, do you?”
“Did you call me here to mock me?”
“No. I haven’t even gotten to the point yet. Han Doyun is truly an insane man. I know a little about that doctor. To begin with, he was a man who didn’t reveal himself much. An immortal and a doctor—when you consider his value, he’s an important person. Not just to you.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“Yes, I know. I know, but I can’t approach him. There isn’t just one layer of security. To break through all that security, there are too many things that would have to be done, so it’s difficult.”
He knew where he was. Then if I threatened this man now, I might be able to learn the way there. As for that security, in the end, all I had to do was break through it.
He was looking at me. His expression right now was probably because he had read what I was thinking. I saw him let out a slight sigh.
“There’s no point in trying to force your way through with violence. It’s not as though you’re Arma.”
“That Arma must be quite impressive.”
“Impressive? No, they’re a headache. No matter what secrets we have, if Arma wants to obtain them, they can. They’re incredibly good at that sort of thing.”
“So? What are you trying to say to me? Are you telling me to give up because even if I want to do it, I can’t?”
“Whether you give up or try until the end is up to you. What I want to say is this. He is immortal. And you are immortal as well. No method can kill an immortal. That is an obvious fact. But being immortal doesn’t mean being omnipotent. Do you know how to make an immortal suffer?”
“…I don’t.”
“It’s very simple. You cut the body apart and separate the pieces. Then you prevent regeneration, putting them in a state that is effectively the same as being dead. Other than that, there’s practically no way to deal with an immortal. The same goes for you and for Han Doyun.”
I looked at him. I thought about what he was saying now. What he had just told me—I could understand exactly what it meant. And I did not want to understand it.
I did not know what state he was in right now. And the man before me clearly did. He knew what condition he was in, and in a situation where I could not go to him, this man could tell me what was happening. And what he had just explained to me was the worst possible situation.
“They did that to him?”
“You’re going silent. Well, I suppose silence at this point has no meaning, but at least I don’t want to be killed by you here. Not everyone in the government shares the same will. And not everyone acts together. It’s meaningless who caused what’s happening now. Even if you tracked them down, it wouldn’t solve the problem.”
“He…”
“He cannot move. They couldn’t kill him, but they made him effectively dead. Let’s just say he’s bait for you, and since they still haven’t found an answer for how to use that bait, he’s been left as he is. Everyone in the government knows that Han Doyun does not act the way the government wants. That’s why they keep him stored like that. They can also use him as material to threaten you.”
Vines wrapped around my hand. He saw that and shook his head.
“I told you, attacking me here won’t solve anything. I’m not someone with that much power. Ah, but I can at least give you some good news.”
“…What?”
“Soon, they’ll show their faces to you. Honestly, I was surprised too. I didn’t think they would move like that. I can’t even gauge how reckless they are.”
“To kill me?”
“Well, they can’t actually kill you, but they’ll put you in a state equivalent to it. In order to use you somehow. In Han Doyun’s case, that’s difficult, but for you, not particularly. What they want is likely the military power you possess. And for that, they’ll use Arma.”
“Arma.”
“I heard that you spoke with Arma not long ago. I don’t know whether that’s true or not, but if you really did meet and talk with Arma, then there’s a problem that arises from it. Arma doesn’t think about us. They simply prioritize their own work. And they are cruel.”
“Why are you telling me all this? There’s no need to go out of your way to tell me. I must be a headache for you too.”
“That’s true. But if I had to say, everything is a headache. You have no idea how much trouble everyone has to go through because of you alone. Ever since you escaped, there’s been a great deal of talk about what should be done with you. I want this to end quickly. I like peace, you see.”
There was nothing I could gain by continuing this conversation. What I needed to find lay elsewhere. And Arma… I could not tell what exactly they were trying to do.
He was drinking the wine he had been sipping since the beginning.
“Well, I can’t see the outcome, but do your best. I hope I hear good news. Though I don’t know for whom that news will be good.”
“…Fine. Thank you for the information. I don’t know who you are, but I understand very well that you’re a strange person.”
“A strange person? That’s rather harsh.”
On the way back after leaving the room, I thought. About what might happen to him, about what state he was in. And about the man I had met at the café, the one who called himself the founder of Arma.
I did not know why a man who called himself the founder would go out of his way to meet me, but there had to be a reason he had acted like that. And that reason was certainly not a good one. That was the feeling I had.