Return of the Shattered Constellation

The planet of Eos had been plunged into lawless chaos. Dozens of churches had crumbled, and cities were engulfed in flames. The Ursa Major Order’s paladins had been sent in to subdue the terrorist, but they had suffered a disaster, losing their apostle to the terrorist in front of many onlookers.

The terrorist could strike again at any time; thus, the citizens remained highly vigilant. Those of them who lived in the cities that contained churches, especially the churches of ‘Ursa Major’, evacuated their homes or held protests petitioning to demolish the churches in their cities.

The Star Order’s reputation was in the gutter, and the government slowly became paralyzed, unable to maintain order on the planet. Violent protests took place all over, their participants causing instability wherever they went. The crime families in the shadows slowly crept out into the light and took over many regions. As such, the imperial family and the Star Order had to decide how they should respond to the changes in Eos.

* * *

“This place is certainly different,” Chang-Sun murmured as he observed Clio City, Eos’ capital. He felt nostalgic about the large city, which he had visited long ago.

When was the last time he had visited this place? One hundred years? Two hundred years? Come to think of it, it seemed that the number was around two hundred thirty years. When he was first summoned to Arcadia, this was the first place he had been dragged to as a slave soldier.

That was why Chang-Sun did not have a good impression of Clio City. There, prisoners of war and slave soldiers had been auctioned off like objects. Slave merchants had called out prices, while nobles’ spittle flew everywhere as they fought to purchase the best slaves. Meanwhile, the ordinary citizens had simply watched idly with interest. The city had been engulfed in a whirlpool of greed where no trace of human rights could be seen, leaving Chang-Sun greatly shocked.

‘The planet wasn’t as developed as Earth, but still seemed to have an advanced civilization, so I thought they would hold human rights in high regard. Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Airships floated in the sky, and steamboats traveled across the sea. Skyscrapers rose high across the city, as well as a structure that resembled the Eiffel Tower. Those sights had influenced Chang-Sun’s first impressions. He could still vividly remember the view he had seen inside the mobile metal cell that transported him.

‘I think it’s because they’re still under heavy influence from their religion.’

Arcadia’s civilization was certainly comparable to—no, better than Earth’s in some ways. It had a lot of habitable planets, and thus had a long history of interplanetary immigration. The problem was that the people’s mindset was still on par with that of the Middle Ages. Chang-Sun believed that they had hit that limit under the Star Order’s rule. Whether it came to their civilization, philosophy, or technology, the people of Arcadia had never needed to bother making an effort to overcome their limits.

Why was that? The Eighty-Eight Star Signs had kept bringing them what they needed even if they sat idly, making them rely on <Horoscope> more and more over time. That was also the reason why their social hierarchy, which centered on the Star Signs, was strict and absolute. Priests served the gods, nobles held the blood of the gods, and the imperial family ruled over humanity on behalf of the gods.

‘It seems nothing has changed much.’

Chang-Sun planned to start by shaking and knocking down their foundation, as that seemed to be the only way to eradicate the influence of <Horoscope> over Worldline #802.

‘And I’ll also infiltrate the Imaginary Plane, their base, through this place.’

Chang-Sun planned to eradicate the Star Signs so thoroughly that they would never appear in the world again. The best way to exterminate vermin was to destroy their nests completely; as the Star Signs were vermin that ate away Worldlines, they had to be eradicated the same way.

“The base of the Star Signs?” Chang-Sun repeated.

“Yes, that’s right. <Horoscope>, <Purple Star Astrology>, and all the other Star Signs who haven’t been detected yet are currently in the outer region of the Great Universe,” Thanatos explained.

“Didn’t you tell me that this outer region of the Great Universe was the land of <Nyx>?” Chang-Sun asked.

“They’re different. <Eros> represents the Great Universe, and <Nyx> shrouds it… Aside from these two distinct regions, there is a false world that was created when the ‘Genesis Egg’ cracked,” Thanatos said.

“…This is complicated,” Chang-Sun muttered.

“You don’t have to understand all this right now. All you need to remember now is that there’s another Great Universe that we can’t observe… or you can think of it as an additional Worldline,” Thanatos said with a chuckle, then explained that it was easier to just remember the Imaginary Plane as the base of the Star Signs.

“In any case, the Imaginary Plane was quiet for a while, but the Star Signs have recently started to influence Worldline #802 little by little,” Thanatos continued.

“That means…” Chang-Sun trailed off.

“It means they’re trying to implant the Imaginary Plane into the Great Universe. Since all the Celestials in Worldline #802 are dead, the Star Signs are trying to merge that Worldline into the Imaginary Plane, and…” Thanatos began.

“Merge Worldline #801 and all the other Worldlines into the Imaginary Plane too?” Chang-Sun guessed.

“That’s right,” Thanatos answered.

“Then I need to stop them from taking over Worldline #802 first,” Chang-Sun said.

Chang-Sun watched an airship traveling slowly between the skyscrapers. An advertisement slogan was emblazoned across the bottom of the airship.

―May the Star Signs’ grace be with you.

It seemed that the Star Order had begun to advertise their organization to be more approachable to the citizens of Eos.

“How much of Worldline #802 have they taken over?” Chang-Sun asked.

“Around forty percent,” Thanatos answered.

“Forty percent… Forty percent, huh?” Chang-Sun mused.

The number was not high enough to say that it was especially dangerous, but it was still high. Regardless, it was certain that the Star Signs’ takeover would speed up over time, and Worldline #802 would eventually be merged with the Imaginary Plane. Then what would happen afterward?

‘<Horoscope> would start their war of conquest then,’ Chang-Sun thought.

He did wonder if the <Society> would be able to defeat <Deus Ex Machina> and the other protectors of the Great Universe. However, <Horoscope> was not a group of idiots, so they had to have some countermeasures for the protectors. That was why Chang-Sun had to free Arcadia from <Horoscope>.

‘Arcadia is their forward operating base,’ Chang-Sun thought.

“And…” Thanatos trailed off.

“…?”

“It’s still unclear, but you may have a very interesting encounter in Worldline #802,” Thanatos said.

“Encounter?” Chang-Sun repeated.

Thanatos’ smile was enigmatic and mischievous, like that of a kid who was preparing a very naughty prank; he seemed to have zero intention to explain what in the world he meant by an ‘interesting encounter’. Chang-Sun was somewhat worried, but Thanatos would no doubt refuse to answer the question even if pressed. Thus, Chang-Sun just let the conversation end, thinking he would find out someday anyway.

In any case, Chang-Sun had tenaciously attacked only Alioth’s churches, so Sadalmelik had to be going mad from frustration. Sirius would also make a move after getting wind of what was going on. No doubt great changes would happen within <Horoscope> once Chiron also took action.

‘That’s when Arcadia will be liberated from them,’ Chang-Sun thought.

* * *

Chang-Sun traveled all around Clio City and recalled his nostalgic memories. It was actually quite fun to compare Clio City from two hundred years ago to the present.

‘It’s good,’ he thought with a grin after taking a bite of a warm bungeo-ppang[1], which he had bought from a street stall. ‘Ithaca likes this too.’

It reminded him of the dates he had with his lover, giving him mixed feelings.

‘Anyway… It’s about time for someone to take the bait,’ Chang-Sun thought as he took a look around.

At that moment, a nearby pedestrian light turned green, and numerous people walked across the four-way crosswalk. Going to see their lovers, getting to work, opening up their shops… They all seemed to be very busy leading their daily lives. Compared to the other regions of the planet, which were now lawless areas, the city ‘looked’ peaceful.

Thump!

A boy who had been looking elsewhere in the crowd bumped into Chang-Sun’s back. He hurriedly said, “I-I’m sorry.”

‘There he is,’ Chang-Sun thought as he answered that it was fine, smiling.

The boy lowered his bucket hat and bowed before disappearing into the crowd.

Tap―!

And just like that, Chang-Sun began to follow the boy quietly.

* * *

“What? He was nobody,” the boy, who was named Ricchi, said as he went into a remote, narrow street, humming quietly. He was holding a wallet that was quite thick; it was Chang-Sun’s. He grumbled, “I was on alert because he was wearing a metal mask… Urgh!”

He had received an order from the higher-ups in his guild this morning. If the guild members found a bizarre-looking man with a metal mask, they were to monitor the man’s whereabouts in secret. The order was clearly meant to refer to the famous ‘Ursa Major’ terrorist.

Ricchi had not given it much thought, because the cities where the terror attacks had taken place were quite far from Clio City. It would take at least a day to arrive here even if the terrorist used an airship, and the Star Order was watching the planet with utmost vigilance. So how could the terrorist get to Clio City in a matter of hours? It was preposterous. Ricchi just assumed that a warrant for the terrorist’s arrest had been issued everywhere in Arcadia.

However, Ricchi had then met a man with a metal mask in the center of the street. The man was wearing a hood over his head, so Ricchi had been unable to get a good look at his face. Regardless, Ricchi was small enough to see that the man’s mask was the same as what he had seen in the warrant. That was why he had blended into the crowd to follow the man in secret…

And yet, the man just seemed too ordinary for a terrorist. He had toured around the city and marveled at the sights; then, he had gobbled up a bungeo-ppang and been touched by the taste. The man was undoubtedly a hick who had just arrived in the city. If he had been a terrorist, he would have looked around the city’s churches or searched for escape routes. He just looked too naive for that.

Thus, Ricchi had pickpocketed the man in the end to make sure… and gained the thick wallet in his hand.

“Well, I’m going to let it slide since his wallet is thick. Hehehe,” Ricchi muttered as he counted the amount of money in his wallet before walking into a pub on a street corner.

Creeeak!

The pub looked as if it could hardly attract a single customer, but it was packed with people. However, the people did not seem to be customers; they were busily walking around, holding objects in hand.

“What’s with all the ruckus?” Ricchi asked.

“Hey,” the guild’s regional manager, who had a ponytail and was smoking a cigarette, replied; she sounded annoyed.

“What’s wrong, Stasha?” Ricchi asked.

“The Metal Mask has been spotted, so everyone is busy contacting the headquarters,” Stasha explained.

Ricchi flinched and quickly hid the wallet in his back pocket. Although he acted as casually as possible, there was no fooling Stasha’s sharp eyes.

“Come to think of it, the place where the Metal Mask was spotted is close to your district. Do you know anything about it?” Stasha asked, suddenly realizing something.

“N-No, I haven’t seen anything,” Ricchi replied.

Ricchi could never say that he had pickpocketed the Metal Mask, as Stasha never tolerated any guild members acting self-indulgently. The problem was that Ricchi could not hide the tremor in his hands…

“Don’t tell me you messed with the Metal Mask,” Stasha said, narrowing her eyes.

“C-Come on! No way! I know what happens if I disobey orders,” Ricchi stuttered.

“…”

“…I-I’m serious!” Ricchi insisted.

After staring at Ricchi for a long time, Stasha sighed and said, “Yeah, I’ll trust you, but remember that our guild is no longer a thieves’ guild. We’re freedom fighters, so we should protect our honor. If we can’t abandon our old habits, we’ll only be petty thieves for the rest of our lives. Do you understand me?”

“Y-Yeah, I understand,” Ricchi said with a nod. Stasha always protected him like a mother and sister, so he never wanted to let her down.contemporary romance

‘…I’ll just toss the wallet in front of the police station later,’ Ricchi thought as he quietly heaved a sigh, feeling the wallet in his pocket.

“I don’t think you’ll have to go very far to find this Metal Mask,” a voice suddenly called out from the doorway.

When Ricchi turned his head, he was stupefied because the hick—no, the Metal Mask from earlier was standing right there!

“Is this the Revolutionary Army’s regional branch?” the Metal Mask asked.

1. A fish-shaped pastry snack popular in Korea, usually filled with red bean paste. The raw is 붕어빵. Image ☜

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