[Rewinding time to twenty-four hours ago.] I felt like the second hand of a clock moved. “So, Mr. Gong-Ja, where should we go next? We have quite a few options. We can storm the Mad Demon Cult headquarters right away, or we could return to the city for a short rest!” I looked around slowly, as if I was savoring this world. —This is the moment for terror to be gone. Moment for death’s end has come. There was one person who didn’t need to be savored: the Guardian was reciting the most meaningless poem in the universe with a sulky expression. He looked clearly annoyed and bored. When our eyes met, the Guardian closed his mouth, and his eyebrows rose slightly. The Guardian chuckled. His annoyance and boredom turned into acceptance and understanding. He shrugged, looking at me as if I were an unavoidable nuisance. There was no need to talk more. Neither the Guardian nor I said anything else. Even though I had peeked into ■■■■ ■■ ■■■’s trauma and went back in time a day, I was still under the Endless Universe’s influence. The Constellation still had power over me. Any words that were considered a possible issue in using the Constellation’s power would be automatically filtered out. Just like before, my memories would be erased and distorted. It’s better to say as little as possible. If possible, I shouldn’t even think. Harboring no hatred toward ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■, I continued to look around. The Constellation smiled cheerfully. “If you want to go to the city, then let’s go! You have defeated countless demons. The citizens who have been tormented by the demonic cultists will surely be happy. They may be weak and cowardly, but they’ll never forget your kindness!” A wall clock ticked away behind the Constellation’s shoulder. Only then did the true nature of this world become clear to me. There were no lush forests here, no Twelve Great Evils. There were no Heavenly Blood Demon, Heavenly Divine Demon, Heavenly White Demon, or Heavenly Madness Demon ruling the world’s light and shadow. There were no cultists following them either. Neither were there secret cult headquarters harboring vast secrets, nor were there any cities, villages, streets, or even a single small clothing store. Only a wall clock existed. “Uh-oh. While you were thinking about which choice to make, an old man approached from the direction of the White Demon Cult’s headquarters, the one you destroyed a while ago. He seems to recognize you. No, he seems to have followed you!” The room was shabby, about thirteen square meters. Every crevice of the old wooden floorboards was dusty. Instead of a lacquer coating, the floor was covered in dust, giving it a dull sheen. There was also a window, but there was nothing outside. Only the constant glow of incandescent light illuminated the room. In the dim light, dust particles danced in the air. Too small and faint to resemble flower petals, they settled on the bookshelves that took up most of the space of the room. A wall clock, a wooden floor, a window, bookshelves, and dust. That was the sixtieth floor, the entirety of this world. “The old man said, ‘Oh, you’re the Death King. I mean no harm. I’m just an ordinary Hunter who was captured by the White Demonic Cult and forced to do hard labor until now.” The Constellation had no face. It wasn’t that they had no head. Where the face should have been, the space was distorted and black, as if a child had scribbled on it with crayons. ■ or ▨. It was either a window with nothing outside to look at, or bars enclosing the outside. “‘There are many others like me, Mr. Death King. I know how shameless it is of me to ask this, but if you have the time, would you please visit our village? We would like to express our gratitude and invite you to stay for a while.” All that remained of the Constellation’s black-painted face was their mouth. Their small lips moved slightly, sometimes smiling and sometimes tightly closed, earnestly imitating the old man’s voice. “‘Please come see our village!’” Even though they had no eyes or a nose, they looked happy. The Constellation was happy right now. “Alright. That’s all. The old man is studying your expression. It seems like he didn’t tell you everything. Mr. Gong-Ja! What will you do—” Just as the Constellation was about to speak up, a flash of light spread out beside the chair I was sitting on. A Hunter emerged from the light. I didn’t know him. The Hunter looked around in confusion. The Constellation frowned, looking like a child who had been interrupted while building a sandcastle at the playground. They quickly said, “Yes, congratulations. You cleared the sixtieth floor.” “What do you mean what? It means there’s no business for you here.” The Constellation waved their hand dismissively. “Get out of here.” [■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■.] The light enveloped the Hunter once more. Before he could say something, he disappeared. “Seriously. People who throw a wet blanket over me when I’m having the most fun are the most annoying.” The Constellation sighed. “Ah, Mr. Gong-Ja. Don’t worry. You’ll forget everything that just happened! Hehe. Anything that interferes with our story will be automatically deleted!” I see. That Hunter just cleared the fifty-ninth floor and came up to this floor. I realized what just happened. After the others and I had destroyed the Magic Tower, the number of challengers aiming for higher floors had increased significantly. Some had probably reached the sixtieth floor already, like the Hunter who briefly showed up in this room. There would be more to come. And ■■■■ ■■ ■■■ is allowing the Hunters to pass immediately. As soon as the Hunters arrive, the Constellation recognizes that the Hunters cleared the floor and kicks them up to the higher floors. That Hunter’s memories would likely be distorted. He would probably think that he had a somewhat thrilling adventure on the sixtieth floor, received a decent quest, and completed it. The Sword Emperor’s memories about the sixtieth floor will probably be warped, too. There was no doubt about it. This cramped room was now a sanctuary for just the two of us. “Well, shall we change the mood?” the Constellation asked brightly. “As the silence dragged on without a response, a sense of unease lingered on the old man’s face. He’s supposed to be a Hunter who’s been on the sixtieth floor for quite some time. It seems like he lost the ability to control his emotions a long time ago. The old man—” The Constellation paused. When I saw them pause, I realized that I had reached out and stroked their head. “It works,” I muttered. “Even if you’ve lost your appearance, I can still touch you. That’s a relief.” The Constellation’s lips parted. “Huh? What?” They sounded like a broken music box. The Constellation tilted their head, first to the left, then to the right, as if they couldn’t understand what was happening. [■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■.] A noise crackled in my head. I now knew that it was the Tower’s message, telling me that the Constellation’s power was used. Even though the Constellation had no name or coordinates in this universe, making it impossible to locate, the Tower was trying to tell me about their existence with a crackling noise. If this had happened before my regression, I would have forgotten about it. However, for some reason, I didn’t forget anything this time. I vividly remembered spending half of Raviel’s and Teacher’s lives. The memories of talking to the Guardian in the white space and the nameless Hunter who had appeared and was chased away without a trace were still vivid in my head. The Constellation was bewildered. “Huh? What? Why? How? This can’t be happening. Hmm.Hmmm?” [■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■.] [■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■.] I said it was useless. [■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■.] No matter how much the Constellation used their power to make me forget, my gaze was fixated on their face. Like before, the Constellation’s face was smeared with ▨ as it was reflected in my eyes. The shabby, small room of thirteen square meters didn’t change its appearance. The wall clock was still a wall clock. Endless Universe didn’t erase or manipulate my memories. My hand, which was resting on the Constellation’s head, wasn’t withdrawn either. “Probably because I’m not feeling any hostility toward you right now,” I said. “I have no intention of harming you, ruining you, or stopping you from feeling joy. I’m harmless to you. You would have used Endless Universe and prayed no one or nothing would interfere with our time together. Thanks to that, even the slightest voice or thought that can interfere with our time together has been erased.” I felt the Constellation’s faceless head. Something had been taken away from them and vanished for eternity. Only a trace remained. Everyone had wrinkles on their face, but this Constellation had none. I wished my touch could prove that something had once existed there. “But your wish can’t affect me—no, let me put this differently. Because it’s affecting me, you can’t manipulate my memories. The Skill will judge that preserving my memories is better for you than erasing them.” “I want you to be happy.” The Constellation froze. “Have I become your hope?” I continued. “For thousands of years, no one has been able to satisfy you. You’ve given up your name and even your face for it, but no one’s voice could ever reach your heart. Is that right? I didn’t come here to become someone meaningful to you. Yes, I won’t lie to you about this. I’ve forgotten most of what you said to me. To me, you’re still someone whose name and origins are unknown to me. But if you want to make me someone meaningful to you today, then I’ll give you my today. I would assume that you aren’t perfect.” [Endless Universe is active.] “When you found your first Skill companion and trusted them, you probably knew that you’d be betrayed. You are also somewhat at fault for what happened.” [You are the companion of the Endless Universe.] “So you’re probably a little hasty,” I speculated. [Endless Universe is active.] “You’re probably the kind of person who starts something, regrets it immediately, and gets discouraged. But you can’t give up on having fun, so you keep challenging humans.” A small crack appeared in the smear on the Constellation’s face. The very same crack widened. “I guess your eyes are a little sharp,” I said in a quiet voice. [The Death King is using the Endless Universe.] The eyes I had imagined and the tips of the eyebrows peeked through the crack. The Endless Universe had perfectly realized my imagination. “Your hair is probably green.” I touched their eyebrows. “Because I think you’re the jealous type.” The smear cracked a little more. Hidden beneath the cracked shell was an emerald luster. Tick. The most update n0vels are published on 𝗻𝗼𝘷𝗲𝗹•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥 “It’s useless,” the Constellation said. “I’ve already lost everything. My name and my face. Mr. Gong-Ja... Mr. Death King, no matter how much you try to find me, you can’t find something that doesn’t exist.” “Then I’ll keep imagining until I find you.” “I’ll give you silver hair and then black. Look at yourself in the mirror and tell me if it’s right or not. I’ll do the same with your ears, nose, and everything.” [The Skill is active.] “If I gather countless colors and forms and carve them one by one, I’ll be able to find what was once yours someday. Your name, too. When I pronounce every letter, the sound of your name will surely ring out eventually.” [The Skill is active.] “I’ll find them for you,” I repeated. Another layer of black smear crumbled away, revealing the Constellation’s eyes. They were gray.