291 – Time Passing
The man who introduced himself as Franken was a young man wearing a top hat and a black suit.
Hayang realized his identity as soon as she saw him at a glance.
This is because they could be distinguished by smell.
Franken smelled the same as the boy sleeping next to him.
“···It can’t be.”
But that makes no sense. This can be said even more clearly because she is a girl who transcends time.
Going back into the future and back to the past is close to impossible. Such a miracle is impossible even for herself, and even the Goddess of Time would have to pay a huge price.
But the man in front of me didn’t just go back in time.
He exists simultaneously and separately from the boy in this time period in the past. In other words, the past and future selves faced each other in one space.
Time paradox. It is a contradiction that threatens to completely collapse the fundamental order that made up the world.
The wheel of fate began to turn back. There is no way it will end without incident.
“How did you do it…?”
Not even the Goddess of Time can do that. Of course, the moment you try, the world will be destroyed, so it’s natural that you can’t even think about doing it.
Franken answered in a relaxed tone, gently putting on his hat.
“Because I have the potential to do anything.”
The girl also heard the explanation about uncertainty from Eterna.
That power certainly had infinite potential, but that did not mean it was omnipotent.
The possibilities are endless.
It’s just not 0%, there is only a probability below the decimal point that is so rare that it can still be described as impossible.
More than anything, a rational basis was needed for the possibility to be realized. Miracles do not happen just by wishing for nothing. In order for Franken to go back in time, he must have the ability to manipulate time.
“Ah…”
The girl realized it too late. What kind of deal is this man going to offer him?
“You need the ability to manipulate time.”
“You’re sharp.”
Strictly speaking, even this was a time paradox.
It is originally impossible for him, who has already gone back in time with the ability to manipulate time, to gain the ability to manipulate time only now.
But he had the ability to turn the impossible into the possible.
So the important thing about him is that he gained the ability to manipulate time. With just that small basis, uncertainty is raised to the extreme and fate is twisted.
Of course, what the girl understood was only part of it. It is a strange ability that cannot be understood by common sense. Perhaps even Franken, the master of uncertainty, did not fully understand it.
“In order to give you power, I have to share my divinity with you. If that happens, I will go back to my old self.”
The days I spent with the boy in the forest without knowing anything. Looking back, it wasn’t that bad back then.
On the contrary, it was a happy and peaceful memory that I miss so much sometimes.
The man in front of me had changed so much that it was unfamiliar, except for the smell that had not changed.
There seemed to be no trace of a simple country boy in his appearance.
It wouldn’t be a bad thing if everyone could be happy like this…
It was a bit bittersweet to think that in the end, he would turn back into a fox and never meet the goddess again.
“I plan to use your power to build a train that can cross timelines. “I need to camouflage it appropriately so that my future self can ride it without any suspicion.”
Affection for the girl was evident in Franken’s eyes as he suddenly explained his plan.
“The train will take me to you. “Obviously, having lost your divinity, you will become a much more innocent child than you are now, but once you meet me, you will slowly regain your divinity and recall forgotten memories.”
The girl quietly closed her eyes and imagined the future as he told her.
“···Someday, Eterna-sama, Bathory-sama, and you too. “Can we meet together?”
Franken smiled as he stroked the girl’s head.
“Definitely. I’ll promise.”
It was only when she saw the man’s eyes saying that that Hayang finally realized.
The fact that he is a boy who has not changed at all from what he remembers.
Hayang smiled brightly and nodded.
Like the goddess, the girl decided to trust and leave everything to her.
A group of pure white lights illuminated the inside of the clock tower, and soon the girl turned back into a small fox and fell into a deep sleep.
The man left alone in the quiet clock tower stared blankly out her window for a moment, then turned his gaze to look down at the sleeping fox and boy.
“Now soon… Is it.”
***
The man with the title of engineer got off the train and made her stretch.
The final station where the train stops is a snowy field illuminated by the Aurora.
The building that stood alone there created a beautiful and dreamy atmosphere.
As I walked naturally into the building, the guide golem bowed its head and greeted me.
‘It’s so amazing every time I see it.’
A sophisticated design that would surprise even those who are transcendent.
It’s surprising that it’s not a living thing, but just a wind-up doll.
Well, in the end, it seems like it’s just a prototype for making two twin dolls.
The art of magic engineering was such a mysterious and great ability that even the engineer who managed the train could not understand the principles at all.
Although it was said to be a combination of science and magic, it seemed much closer to a miracle that reached the realm of God.
Well, in that sense, Dr. Franken, the developer and president of magic engineering, is probably the most enigmatic person. Because even the transcendent himself and the operator could not even dare to guess his identity.
However, the potential of magic engineering technology was so endless that it was okay to work under such a suspicious person. Should we say that it is truly the power that makes everything possible?
While he was lost in thought, the head of the institute realized that he had already arrived at the president’s office and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
As I opened the door and entered, I saw the doctor sitting down and reviewing documents.
On the outside, he just looked like a neatly handsome young man. The white gown and sharp glasses suited his image as a doctor quite well.
But inside, there may be a coiled snake that has lived for such a long time that even the transcendental self cannot guess. It made me want to look inside his head to see what he was planning and how far ahead he was looking.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s a message from the Vice President. “I heard the twins are almost finished.”
After hearing those words, the doctor took his eyes off the document and took a quiet breath.
For some reason, I felt a vague sense of longing in the seemingly peaceful expression.
“Okay. “It’s already that time.”
“What are you going to do?”
“It’s as planned. “I will take care of my younger sister myself, so send her to the designated daycare center.”
“···I still don’t know what you are planning.”
The doctor burst into laughter at the sharp sting contained in the light tone and gave an ambiguous answer.
“I’ll explain everything later when the time comes.”
“Just putting it off like always. “It’s done.”
“I have to take the train right now. “If I sit here anyway, I’ll just get a little sore.”
The head of the organization, watching Franken get up from his seat, intuitively realized that this might be their last meeting.
If you think about what he hinted at in the past, he will live watching the growth of the key from now on. There would be virtually no reason for him to return to the Magic Engineering Society.
“Please stay healthy.”
The doctor responded with a smile to the director’s greeting.
“Thank you for saving my life at that time.”
“···Life?”
My head tilted at the incomprehensible words of gratitude.
When on earth did she save his life? It would not be until the distant future that the director realized that.
Franken boarded the magic engineering train and looked blankly out the window.
It was a very long time. When I look back on my journey from that day until now, it’s hard to believe how far I’ve come.
There really isn’t much left, but that doesn’t mean it’s over.
Probably about 10 years. As the original story begins, he is asleep and may only have that much time left before he wakes up.
I will not let down my guard until the end and finish everything.
Recalling his determination, Franken looked at himself reflected in the window.
“Are you still watching? “Outside that window.”
Please, then, after reading all the stories up to now, you will be able to understand how to act.
Even when I think about it now, the story I saw in the dimensional gap felt like an empty novel.
A mysterious space where the past, present, and even the future are intertwined as one.
If you really look at it, it was a contradictory place whose very existence was not tolerated.
Outside the window where even the ‘future involving uncertainty’, which even the goddess of time cannot fully know, can be perfectly observed.
A dimensional gap that can only be opened by combining Sharon’s observation ability and Juliet’s distortion.
At first, I didn’t understand how that place could exist.
But now, I have fully realized it.
That space is the goal I ultimately pursued in all timelines.
Now I am heading to steal fate as a phantom thief.
finally something about stealing again!