C 120
I stared fixedly at the giant cogwheel spinning before my eyes.
"What is this?"
It was completely dark all around, with only a massive cogwheel in the center.
I furrowed my brow as I watched the cogwheels moving slowly together.
I could feel the weight of time from the cogwheels, which seemed difficult to turn.
It's strange.
I was with Lucilion just a moment ago.
"Lucy?"
The little voice was completely absorbed by the endless darkness.
The sound that resonated and didn't return showed how vast and endless this space was.
"Dad! Laurent!"
Even if I shouted loudly, there was no response. Silence drowned out the sound and filled me with fear.
At that moment, something ran in front of me and immediately passed by.
I got so startled that I turned my head and saw a little girl running toward me.
That...
"Is it me?"
The moment I softly murmured that, the girl suddenly stopped. The girl who had been running with all her might stood on her tiptoes and bent down to pick something up.
"Sorry, I almost forgot. Phew."
The girl, no, my younger self, laughed heartily.
"The princess in a fairy tale must be happy. I want to be a princess like that too."
What young Cha Miso picked up was a book.
At that moment, I thought that what I liked most was probably Andersen's fairy tales.
A fairy tale that contained the dreams and hopes of children in every household of that time.
These were things I once liked very much.
"Anyway, it's cold. They won't kick me out forever, will they?"
The girl, whose cheeks were slightly red and puffy as if she had been slapped, muttered softly and hugged the book tightly.
"I wish I were born a boy. Then they wouldn't scold me, and my grandma would have loved me, right?"
My young self with a disgruntled expression softly murmured. I just looked at her, not understanding.
"When was this?"
Why can't I remember?
This whole landscape felt so unfamiliar that it was like I was seeing it for the first time.
Before I knew it, I had approached the girl who was sitting on the swing slowly.
It was because I wanted to tell something to my younger self.
"Hello."
However, a shadow fell behind the girl and spoke to my younger self.
Hyuk!
The startled young girl opened her eyes wide and quickly turned her head.
"Who are you?"
"Simply put, a star guardian looking for lost souls? Or should I say a guide?"
"...What?"
"Is it still difficult for our little girl?"
A man with long strides emerged.
The man, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, sat on an empty swing next to the girl.
"Do you know me?"
"I know you very well. You don't know me, but I know you better than anyone."
He spat out an incomprehensible comment and gently touched the brim of his hat. The girl's head tilted.
"Are you alone?"
"...Yes."
The little girl blinked in incomprehension. Then she shook her head, trying to swallow the dark emotions that were immediately evident.
"No! Cha Miso is brave. I have a father, a mother, and younger siblings!"
"Even so, you feel alone."
"...It's not like that."
"It's not good to lie to yourself."
In response to that determined reply, the young me silently kept her mouth shut. She furrowed her brow with a slightly embarrassed expression but didn't respond.
"So, what if you imagine it?"
"If I imagine it?"
"Yes."
The man's face was shadowed by the hat to the point that it was strangely hard to see.
"Don't you want to be the princess in a fairy tale? Don't you want everyone to love you because the hero saves you or to become the main character in that world?"
"I want to!"
In response to the man's words, I nodded timidly, and my eyes sparkled.
"Since ancient times, I've especially liked fairy tales with warriors and princesses."
I thought and shifted my gaze to the man.
The man's crooked smile was visible beneath the shadow cast by his hat. That smile somehow seemed eerie and unsettling to me.
"I don't remember anything like this."
I have never met anyone like this.
If I had encountered such a unique, unusual, and strange person, it's impossible that I wouldn't remember, but I have no clue.
"It's okay, then think about it."
"But it's painful to think about."
"Normally yes, but what you think and imagine will come true."
"Really?"
His expression wrinkled, probably because it was such a strange story that even young me was left speechless.
"Yes, if possible, write it as a novel while drawing a picture in your notebook."
"..."
"You'll become a happy heroine."
Large hands covered my young cheeks.
"Oh!"
I jumped out of my seat with a frightened expression on my face. The man chuckled.
"Then you can be one too."
"...Really? But only God can do that."
"Why do you think it's God who makes the world? He doesn't know what it longs for, wants, and needs."
The man said meaningfully.
"The world is made by those who aspire. So, only if you are lonely and sad will the protagonist of the world you create be happy."
"Is that so?"
The girl's eyes were round. The man got up from his seat as if he had finished what he had to say.
"Alright, this memory will be forgotten anyway. Forgetting what you can't handle is what you do best."
"Oh..."
"The next time we meet..."
The man tapped and carefully examined my young self.
"It seems like it's time to get rid of it. All the gears are broken. This will be the last time."
"What kind of weird things are you saying, sir!"
As if it was strange to hear for young Cha Mi-so, young me jumped up and quickly moved away from the man.
The man didn't chase after me; he simply laughed on the spot.
He took a step.
It was just a small step, but before I knew it, the man was in front of my young self. As the girl cried, the man reached out and stroked my cheek.
Then, the life of young Cha Mi-so disappeared, and soon countless unknown letters crawled up my body like worms.
The man, watching as the letters crawled up my body, made me sit on a swing and handed me a book.
"Don't forget, you're a being that can only survive by having the happiest dreams in the unhappiest world."
He whispered one last time and disappeared.
As soon as he disappeared, my younger self returned to normal.
Life came back into my eyes, and the disgusting letters that had crawled up my body disappeared.
"Oh... Are Mom and Dad still angry?"
Little Cha Mi-so jumped off the swing and ran back to the house as if she had no idea what had just happened.
"...What the hell?"
Who is that person?
I looked around the dark area again with a bewildered expression on my face.
"You can't."
Suddenly, I heard a young and familiar voice next to me.
When I turned my head in surprise, the cogwheel was still there.
But what was a bit different was that I was in front of it. To be exact, young Cha Mi-so was.
"You shouldn't come here. You can't handle it."
"Why am I here...?"
"Someone from outside tried to forcibly change your memories."
Young Cha Mi-so, who was closely watching me in the state of Eirin, smiled faintly.
Now that I have young Cha Mi-so, my vision has become a bit brighter.
Around young Cha Mi-so, there were crayons, smartphones, and strange buttons.
The state of the giant gear behind the girl was also more visible in detail.
The cogwheels were in a miserable state, rusting here and there, corroded and collapsing. It's astonishing that they are still turning.
"Go back to your world, and it's okay to forget about it."
As if I had to forget everything, young Cha Mi-so said. I shook my head, unable to hide my embarrassment.
"I don't remember meeting that man at all."
"Wander through the original dimension, the world. Touch beings like us and make them dream."
"Dream what...?"
"Loneliness is the greatest engine of hope and imagination, you know?"
It was clear that she was young, but somehow it felt like I was having a conversation with a completely different person.
"And this is our last dream."
"Last..."
"When the world is complete, the dream ends. Originally, it should have ended with 'Cha Mi-so'..."
Young me just smiled awkwardly and let the end of her words trail off. The girl didn't respond.
"So go back and forget about it."
"...What if I forget?"
"You can live happily as you are now. That's what you dreamed of. A loved life."
In response to young Cha Mi-so's words, I pursed my lips and clenched my fists.
Perhaps it was because I was still Eirin, and young Cha Mi-so seemed quite fitting.
As I pondered over the story I had just heard, an uncomfortable thought crept into my mind.
Yes, it would be more accurate to say I had a question.
"...Did I do it?"
I closed my eyes tightly.
"Eirin's world, Sharnae... Did I create this?"
"We did."
"Why...?"
"I was alone."
Young Cha Mi-so said calmly.
"Eirin will never grow up."
It was a bitter comment.
When I frowned, Cha Mi-so laughed and picked up the crayons rolling on the floor.
In the scattered sketchbook, a familiar figure was drawn. Lizard, Dragon, Richard, Dad, Sharnae.
"Because our dreams only continue when we're children."
Cha Mi-so, who added that she had to stay as a child while wandering the world forever, lowered her head slowly.
"The world needs people who dream and draw dreams. Only then will a new world be born."
Adding that God creates nothing, young Cha Mi-so looked very tired and exhausted.
"We're already very tired. I escaped. But soon he will find us and turn us into a child with new dreams."
It was a cruel story.
I didn't understand young Cha Mi-so's words at all, but somehow, it seemed like she understood everything.
After a while, I slowly closed my mouth.
"So, this world is our last dream."
It was the moment when young Cha Mi-so declared resolutely.
"Who said that?"
The space that no one thought could be shattered was shattered with pure white light, and a nostalgic voice could be heard.
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