The Main Characters That Only I Know - C.339:

"Bookmark? What's that supposed to mean?"

Kwon Jia couldn't understand Jin Cheong-woon's words. What was Codex, and now this bookmark?

Despite having experienced countless regressions and lives, and seeing more than others, she had no memories related to Codex. While she didn't know everything, it was impossible for Jin Cheong-woon to know something she didn't.

She thought Jin Cheong-woon was playing mind games to shake her resolve.

"Oh, you don't know? From your reaction, it doesn't seem like you're pretending not to know, so you really don't know. Memory confusion? Or did you erase your own memories?"

Jin Cheong-woon looked troubled, as if he hadn't expected Kwon Jia to be entirely unaware. A frown appeared on Kwon Jia's forehead.

"……I don't know what you're talking about, but if you're trying to shake me with nonsense, you're gravely mistaken."

A sinister purple aura began to rise around Kwon Jia, writhing ominously like heat waves.

Soon, a mouth formed in the aura, and it clattered its teeth as if wanting to bite something.

Jin Cheong-woon recognized Kwon Jia's signature aura of predation.

"Just looking at it is terrifying. Where did you learn such a technique?"

"There's no need for chatter between us."

Just as Kwon Jia positioned her sword horizontally and prepared to charge at Jin Cheong-woon.

"Regressor Kwon Jia, aren't you curious why you keep repeating your life?"

Thunk!

Jin Cheong-woon's words made Kwon Jia freeze on the spot.

‘He knows I'm a regressor?'

Her status as a regressor was a secret she hadn't shared with anyone. The only person who knew was Yu-hyun.

But now, unexpectedly, there was a second person who knew.

Jin Cheong-woon. The leader of the global terrorist group Unleashed, Yu-hyun's adversary, and the one seeking to destroy the world—her main enemy.

Kwon Jia's mind was a whirl of confusion.

"Finally in the mood for a conversation? Aren't you curious why you keep going back to the past and living the same life over and over? What the existence of the bookmark that makes this possible is?"

[Don't listen.]

At that moment.

A voice echoed from somewhere within Kwon Jia's mind, telling her not to listen and to cut off Jin Cheong-woon's head quickly.

She didn't know whose voice it was. However, an instinctive feeling told her she shouldn't reject that voice.

But even stronger than that instinct was her rationality wanting to hear what Jin Cheong-woon had to say next.

She was curious. Why she kept regressing every time she died, why she had to repeat this horrific life and burden over and over.

Despite living on through repeated failures with the will to prevent the destruction of Earth, and nearly achieving that goal with Yu-hyun's help, Kwon Jia's consciousness naturally shifted focus to the power of her regression.

What if?

‘What if I prevent Earth's destruction completely, achieve all my goals, live out my natural life, and then die… but regress again?'

What would happen then?

Would she have to start over from the training camp and repeat this tedious process again?

Just imagining the worst-case scenario made cold sweat run down Kwon Jia's back.

A forgotten fear resurfaced.

She had to admit.

More than preventing the end of Earth, she wanted to stop the endless repetition of this life.

"……What is this bookmark?"

A smirk spread across Jin Cheong-woon's face as he confirmed Kwon Jia's aggressive aura had subsided.

He gestured lightly for his subordinates surrounding Kwon Jia to step back. Once they had moved far enough away not to hear their conversation, Jin Cheong-woon began to speak.

"First, let me confirm one thing. Do you know about the Codex?"

"Codex?"

"……Hmm. It seems you really don't know. How about the Book of Genesis?"

"I've never heard of the Book of Genesis… Ugh!"

Kwon Jia clutched her forehead with one hand as a shock pierced through her skull.

The moment she heard the term "Book of Genesis," her mind started to go wild.

Jin Cheong-woon observed her behavior with a calm gaze.

"You sealed your own memories."

"I… sealed my memories?"

"Yes. I don't know how many lives you've repeated, but an ordinary person would go mad living that long and repeating their life. To protect your mind, you either erased or sealed your past memories."

Jin Cheong-woon believed it was the latter.

If she had completely erased her memories, she wouldn't be experiencing such headaches. This was a reaction because the keyword "Book of Genesis" was triggering the sealed memories.

However, despite the headache, Kwon Jia's memories didn't return.

‘The level of the seal is extremely high. Is it such a significant memory?'

Judging by her reaction to the Book of Genesis, Kwon Jia definitely knew something about the truth of this world.

‘Praytion was right.'

There was indeed someone who possessed the bookmark, a fact even he hadn't known. With her power, this situation could be resolved.

With Kang Yu-hyun, who often stuck by Kwon Jia, absent, this was Jin Cheong-woon's only opportunity.

"Since you don't seem to know, let me explain kindly."

"Explain what…?"

"The Book of Genesis. Its original name is Codex. It's the foundation of the world, created by the transcendent being Logos long before this universe even existed."

As Jin Cheong-woon spoke, he displayed a fragment of a story, a text at his fingertip.

"Everything in the world is made of stories. The most basic framework is composed of text, letters. The reason for this is that Logos composed the world in the form of a ‘book.'"

"And that book is Codex?"

"Yes. The first book ever made. A book that contains the world itself. That's Codex. And the power you possess is the bookmark used in that Codex. We call it a bookmark for convenience, but those in the know call it the Mark of Genesis."

"You're saying I have that bookmark?"

"Yes. Don't ask me why. I don't know. But I do know what power that bookmark holds. The curse you're experiencing."

Infinite regression.

Just as a bookmark fixes a page in a book, making one revisit that spot repeatedly, the power of regression Kwon Jia possessed always brought her life back to the same point.

Her life always had a fixed starting point.

Every time she died, she began again at the same time, in the same place, seeing the same people.

This curse of her life was due to the power of the bookmark.

"Is there a way to get rid of this bookmark?"

"You can't get rid of it."

Jin Cheong-woon's voice was firm, with no hint of possibility.

"That bookmark isn't an ordinary one. It was used along with the Book of Genesis. No matter how much you tear it apart, it won't disappear. Not unless you destroy the world itself."

In other words, as long as this world remained, her life would continue forever.

"But, there's not entirely no way. You can transfer ownership of the bookmark to someone else."

"I can transfer it?"

For Kwon Jia, this was a tempting proposition. The idea of a way to stop the terrible regressions seemed more valuable than anything else.

So how could she do it? 𝚏r𝗲ewe𝚋𝐧𝚘vel.𝚌𝚘m

"Oh, by the way, that's all I can tell you."

Jin Cheong-woon preempted her curiosity before she could build up hope.

He wasn't a philanthropist and hadn't come here to reveal the truth to her.

"If you want to know more and how to do it, use this."

Jin Cheong-woon extended his right hand and produced a story. Though Kwon Jia didn't know what the story was, she instinctively knew it wasn't an ordinary one.

But one thing was certain: using it would allow her to recover all her forgotten memories.

"……."

Kwon Jia stared intently at the story Jin Cheong-woon was holding out.

* * *

Galitz, who had become an executive director of Celestial Corporation, distanced himself from his reclusive lifestyle and began his active role in earnest.

"Haha. It's truly a pleasure to meet you. I never thought I'd meet the famous Galitz Teller in person."

In a private room where one could converse alone with the Divine Spirit.

Galitz sat face to face with a Divine Spirit named Gardius.

Gardius belonged to the Dragonica of the Great Star Army. Although Dragonica was exclusive to dragon spirits, Gardius's appearance bore little resemblance to a dragon.

He looked more like a fat, scaled catfish.

"I've heard of your fame too, Gardius. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ah! Enough with the formalities. I'm a busy man! Just get to the point, quickly."

Despite being a Divine Spirit, Galitz was an executive director of Celestial Corporation. Considering that director-level Tellers were similar to second-generation Divine Spirits, Gardius's behavior was extremely rude.

However, Gardius didn't think he was being rude. He was the child of the Green Dragon King, one of Dragonica's pillars, and was famous for his enormous wealth in the mixed realm.

Though he was only a third-generation Divine Spirit, his power exceeded that.

Gardius thought his behavior was justified.

"……Understood. I'll keep it brief."

Galitz also found Gardius's behavior rude, but that wasn't the point, so he decided to overlook it for now.

"I heard you recently had a meeting with the Tellers from the Pentagram department. And that you told them something strange."

"Hmm?"

"The rumor about Kang Yu-hyun, the former deputy chief who recently

resigned. That he received a gift from the one who smiles in the darkest place."

Galitz's gaze pierced through Gardius.

"Who did you hear that from?"

"What……?"

"I already know. That it was you, Gardius, who informed Demialos, the former head of Pentagram. But I'm curious where you heard that."

Gardius's expression twisted in an instant. His face looked like a wide dish filled with the filth of displeasure.

"Do you know who I am?"

"The child of the Green Dragon King, Gardius, isn't it?"

"Exactly! And yet, you're daring to question me with that look in your eyes?! A mere Teller!"

A mere Teller.

For Galitz, who had been inactive for a long time, it was a refreshing phrase he hadn't heard in ages.

"I met you because you were recommended by the White Dragon King, but you're incredibly arrogant! How dare a lowly Teller question a Divine Spirit!"

"Hoo."

Galitz couldn't hold back a sigh. Gardius spat as he screamed.

"Look at this! You sighed?! Did you just sigh in front of me! I'll report this to my father and ensure everything related to Celestial Corporation is utterly……!"

"Gardius."

"What, what? Did you just call me by my name?"

"From now on, I'll stop being polite to you."

The atmosphere in the private room plummeted to the depths. Gardius felt a chill in the air against his skin.

"Y-you, what are you……"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

The overwhelming killing intent emanating from Galitz made Gardius's complexion turn pale.

"Your story is insignificant and weak. Unlike other Divine Spirits, you can't even maintain a mortal form when entering the private room. You were spoiled by being born lucky into privilege, thinking you're something special."

"D-dare to insult the son of the Green Dragon King……!"

"Green Dragon King this, Green Dragon King that. Yes, the Green Dragon King is great. He's one of the pillars of the Dragonica. Who would have thought that little green brat Grasius would become so great?"

"L-little green brat?"

Gardius couldn't comprehend Galitz's reference to his father.

He couldn't understand. He hadn't seen firsthand how long this Teller had been active.

If he had known who raised the current White Dragon King, Sharuriel, and seen it with his own eyes, would he still be this brazen in front of Galitz?

Gardius didn't know. So he couldn't see Galitz in a good light as he openly disrespected and insulted his father.

"You, you! I'll report everything to my father!"

"Tsk. They say a tiger doesn't father a dog, but this seems to fit perfectly. Grasius did a terrible job raising his kid."

"Can't help it when a child is left unchecked."

The voice came from behind Galitz.

When Galitz turned around, a woman with long white hair was approaching with light steps.

Galitz spoke in a dull voice.

"Did you forget this is a private room? Only one Divine Spirit is allowed here."

"Oh my, do we need to make such distinctions between us?"

"……You've become quite sly since I last saw you, Sharuriel."

"Sh-Sharuriel?!"

Gardius's mouth fell open at the name.

How could he not know that name? The White Dragon King of the Great Star Army Dragonica, a living legend who clawed her way up from the bottom to earn the title of king.

Even as the child of the Green Dragon King, Gardius had no choice but to bow his head and hide his tail in front of her, the embodiment of power—Sharuriel.

The White Dragon King, Sharuriel.

She embraced Galitz from behind and gently stroked his cheek with one arm.

"So, is this little brat bothering you?"

Her pupils, directed at Gardius, narrowed vertically.