Chapter 2 – The First Day of Regression

The time was precisely one month ago.

Lee Hanseong became aware that he had returned from the future ten years later to the past.

Although he called it awareness, at first, he thought it was just a dream or a flashback.

But he immediately recognized which moment this was.

“So what if you have a 12-Star Vessel? After over ten years of being a lackey, you only have twelve 1-Stars? Isn’t this just a trash can? A trash can full of nothing but 1-Star trash. Huh?”

It was an unforgettable moment when Kim Jinho, whom he thought was a close friend, had betrayed him.

The day of the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, right after the Spirit Contract.

When it was revealed that all of Lee Hanseong’s contracted spirits were 1-Star, that guy instantly changed his attitude and cut ties.

Back then, he was flustered by the sudden change and just stood there dumbfounded, stupidly listening to all that nonsense.

But whether this was a dream or not, it seemed he wouldn’t be satisfied unless he said what he needed to say.

“Jinho. That’s a bit harsh.”

“Harsh? What’s harsh? You should actually be thanking me. I’m kindly helping you understand your place.”

“Understand my place… Hah.”

The sight of him dressing up betrayal was so absurd that a scoff escaped his lips.

“You’re laughing? Do you still think you’re an Apostle candidate? So what if you have a 12-Star Vessel? You’re just a 1-Star Contractor. Know your place as a commoner. Keep your head down if you don’t want to die.”

His unhesitating threat was also just pathetic.

It was true that Kim Jinho, who had a 4-Star Vessel and became a 4-Star Contractor, was a better prospect than Lee Hanseong, who had a 12-Star Vessel but could only become a 1-Star Contractor.

‘But that was before I Awakened.’

Once he Awakened, everything would change.

The Vessel of the Stars given at birth was literally a vessel.

A vessel that could hold as many stars, i.e., spirits, as the number of Empty Stars.

And the number of Empty Stars typically multiplied with each Awakening.

If Kim Jinho, with his 4-Star Vessel, needed to Awaken three times to obtain twelve Empty Stars,

Lee Hanseong, with his 12-Star Vessel, would have twelve new Empty Stars after just one Awakening.

The difference in innate talent directly led to a difference in reachable limits.

The problem was that the larger the innate Vessel, the greater the Feat required for Awakening.

It meant that with only 1-Star spirits, it was difficult to accumulate enough Feats for a 12-Star Vessel to Awaken.

Kim Jinho was acting like that because he had already calculated all this.

But so what?

“Ha, you really… What are you going to do if I Awaken?”

“You’re the one who needs to understand the situation. How are you going to Awaken without an Awakening Skill? If you were maybe around 6-Star, perhaps. But to fill a 12-Star Vessel… Wow, wouldn’t it be easier to just give up?”

Lee Hanseong was confident he would Awaken.

Because ten years from this day, he had ultimately succeeded in Awakening, no matter what anyone said.

“Well. We’ll have to wait and see about that.”

He didn’t bother saying more, as the rest would be proven by results anyway.

Talking more here wouldn’t make Kim Jinho change his mind.

“Right. Let’s see how well you do with your 1-Star trash.”

Contrary to expectations, the guy, seeing Lee Hanseong’s confident demeanor as the desperate struggle of a loser, left with a sneer.

But beneath his sneer was a trace of unconcealed anxiety.

It seemed he was worried that Lee Hanseong might truly overcome the limits of a 1-Star Contractor and fully bloom his talent.

* * *

After Kim Jinho left, Lee Hanseong waited to wake from the dream.

But even after waiting a long time, he felt no sign of waking from the dream.

‘What’s going on?’

“Alright. Those who have completed their contracts, please come this way.”

Feeling strange, he nonetheless followed the Association guide’s instructions and moved.

“Now, all of you will undergo one month of training at the Training Center to learn how to handle your contracted spirits.”

Just like military training centers before the Great Cataclysm,

after the Great Cataclysm, every Adult, regardless of gender, receives one month of training in an isolated space away from society immediately after their Spirit Contract.

From learning how to Synchronize with spirits and draw out their power,

to the Awakened Qualification Exam held at the end of the training.

Thorough training and education are provided so they can live as Adults in a world where Awakened Monsters and Otherworld Monsters appear.

Vroom.

They boarded a bus and were transported to a Training Center located in a remote mountain valley.

“Trainees, you will live here.”

Only after being assigned a room in the dormitory by the Instructor did Lee Hanseong accept that his Regression was not a dream.

‘Did I really return to the past?’

He tried to recall the moment right before Regression by retracing his memories, but…

Throb—!

Only fragmented, intermittent memories surfaced along with a headache.

But one thing was certain.

‘I definitely… died.’

Ten years later. As the Great Rift of the Otherworld opened, a world-scale total war broke out.

And the final moment when Lee Hanseong met an unavoidable death.

[…The Constellation of ■■ steals the Wheel Constellation’s wheel and turns it backwards.]

[The world’s time reverses.]

Lee Hanseong’s Constellation reversed time.

‘But what was the name of the Constellation I contracted with…?’

The name of the Constellation that had been with him for ten years wouldn’t come to mind, as if tainted in his memory.

He couldn’t ask anyone else either.

Because the Constellation he contracted with was not one of the twelve known Constellations, but the thirteenth.

Since it was a Constellation that had only Lee Hanseong as its Devotee, he was the only one who knew its name.

‘Why? Why can’t I remember?’

Therefore, if Lee Hanseong couldn’t remember the Constellation’s name, it meant no one in this world knew the name of the thirteenth Constellation.

An inexplicable, intense sense of loss surged.

He groped for the presence of the thirteenth Constellation in his pre-Regression memories.

Usually, no matter how much he called, it wouldn’t even answer.

Even when Lee Hanseong was in danger, it only gave useless advice or encouragement.

An existence that offered only minimal help, which made him resent it more.

So, before Regression, Lee Hanseong had often complained, regretting his choice.

He thought if he had chosen one of the popular Twelve Constellations, he could have received much more support. He smiled wryly without realizing it. In truth, he couldn’t even choose one of the Twelve Constellations, which was why he chose the thirteenth.

Until before the Spirit Contract, as an Apostle candidate with a 12-Star Vessel, he had often received messages from the Twelve Constellations. But after all his contracted spirits turned out to be 1-Star, the Constellations’ interest in him abruptly cut off as if it had never happened.

The thirteenth Constellation that came to him was the driving force that allowed him to not give up and aim for Awakening, and Lee Hanseong’s last shred of self-respect.

‘Actually, it didn’t matter if it didn’t help.’

Just knowing there was an existence watching over him gave him the will to keep moving forward without stopping. He believed that even with twelve 1-Star spirits, there must be a way to become strong, and for ten years, he pondered every possible method.

In the process, he also realized the existence of Vocation Awakening Skills, which could only be activated by sacrificing life, unlike ordinary Awakening Skills.

And thanks to the Stigma 《Narrow Escape from Death》 bestowed by the Constellation, which increased his Life Stacks to nine, he was able to barely survive, using Vocation Awakening Skills even during the Great War with the Otherworld.

Looking at it that way, it wasn’t that the Constellation didn’t help at all.

‘But even so, death was unavoidable.’

For a 1-Star Contractor who hadn’t even Awakened, he lasted quite a while.

The only consolation was that he Awakened right before dying.

Suddenly, Lee Hanseong recalled the Feat he had achieved when he Awakened and opened his eyes wide.

“Spirit Promotion!”

It was such an important fact that he couldn’t believe he had forgotten it until now.

Right before dying, Lee Hanseong had figured out how to promote spirits.

He now held in his hands tremendous information that could have reversed the outcome of the Great War if he had just had more time.

And he also realized what sacrifice the Constellation had made to create this situation.

‘Did it consume so much Causality that its name was erased?’

Constellations needed Causality to intervene in the world.

Blessing human Feats,

giving humanity the power of spirits after the Great Cataclysm,

supporting the Devotees who chose them—all of it

was ultimately just an investment to gather more Causality.

Because the greater a Constellation’s influence and power, the more Causality would accumulate beyond what was consumed.

Naturally, the thirteenth Constellation, which was not widely known and had only Lee Hanseong as its Devotee, would always be lacking in Causality.

And yet, a Constellation that had even bestowed a Stigma like 《Narrow Escape from Death》 couldn’t possibly have the resources left to cause a Regression.

But as you can see, Regression had already occurred.

‘That means there was a sacrifice to substitute for the lacking Causality.’

A fall in Grade.

Loss of name.

“Ah…”

Unlike a fall in Grade, the disappearance of a name was a very serious problem.

A name is the subject of Causality.

An existence that has lost its name cannot gather Causality.

Naturally, choosing a nameless Constellation is also impossible…

—Meow.

[The Nameless Constellation gazes at you.]

“What.”

Lee Hanseong looked around, startled by the Constellation’s message that suddenly came through.

—Meow.

As if to say ‘here,’ a black cat on the bed assigned to Lee Hanseong meowed with a languid expression.

A cat that felt somehow nostalgic.

“Lord of the Throne?”

Lee Hanseong sensed the aura of the thirteenth Constellation from the cat.

As if that feeling wasn’t a coincidence.

Hum—

The channel with the thirteenth Constellation that had followed him through Regression was connecting with the cat.

He instinctively realized. The Constellation that had blessed him had, as the price for turning back time for him, fallen to the level of a mere animal.

He couldn’t bring himself to continue speaking.

[You have chosen the Nameless Constellation.]

[The existence of the Nameless Constellation becomes slightly clearer.]

Simultaneously, Lee Hanseong realized that as long as his channel remained, the thirteenth Constellation would not face Annihilation.

‘Then…’

If his own Grade, as its sole Devotee, rose, it should be entirely possible for the Constellation to recover its lost name and restore its Grade.

He parted his tightly closed lips.

“Just as the future you saved me. This time, I will save you. Lord of the Throne.”

—Meow.

In response to Lee Hanseong’s vow, the cat meowed, a question mark appearing above its head.

He quietly approached the cat and embraced it.

The emptiness he had unknowingly felt since right after Regression was being filled.

It was the moment the Regressor and the fallen Constellation reunited.

* * *

While Lee Hanseong wore a subtle smile, moved by the reunion with his Constellation,

the roommate assigned to the same room arrived.

Thud.

“Lee Hanseong?”

The man who entered the room recognized Lee Hanseong.

“Jin Yuseong.”

Lee Hanseong also knew him.

A Promising Candidate born with a 7-Star Vessel, though not as much as himself with a 12-Star Vessel.

He didn’t look too happy, perhaps because he contracted with a 5-Star spirit, not the maximum 7-Star.

But compared to Lee Hanseong, he seemed to think his own situation was much better, as his complexion brightened slightly upon seeing him.

“So you’re my roommate. But… you look happier than I thought. I expected you to be gloomy since your contract results weren’t great.”

Saying that, Jin Yuseong silently began unpacking his belongings on the opposite side.

It seemed Lee Hanseong’s lingering subtle smile was unexpected.

“Yeah. I found something I thought I’d lost.”

Jin Yuseong, perhaps not having asked expecting an answer, simply nodded.

Then, the cat sitting on the bed jumped up and settled on Lee Hanseong’s head.

—Meow.

He worried about how to explain the suddenly intervening cat, but

Jin Yuseong showed no particular reaction.

As if he couldn’t see or hear the cat on his head.

Come to think of it, he could barely feel the weight of the cat draped over his head either.

“By any chance, did you hear something like a cat’s meow just now?”

“No. I didn’t. What cat?”

“Never mind, it’s fine if you didn’t hear it.”

As expected.

The cat form the Constellation had taken was not a physical entity.

It was a spirit visible only to Lee Hanseong.

Just like a spirit.

‘Huh? Could this be…’

A spark flashed in his mind for a moment.

‘Is it possible to Synchronize with the Lord of the Throne too?’

Originally, Synchronization with a Constellation was something only an Apostle of the 12-Star level could do.

But Lee Hanseong’s Constellation had fallen to the level of a spirit, even a beast.

There was a possibility of succeeding in Synchronization using the principles of Heroic Spirit Synchronization.

If this succeeded, he could not only recover the Stigma lost due to Regression,

but also solidify the channel with the weakened Constellation, which had become fragile due to Regression.

His heart raced with the desire to try it immediately.

‘Originally, Heroic Spirit Synchronization is a week later… but I can’t wait at all.’

That evening.

Having kept his upper body rigidly upright all day to keep the Lord of the Throne on his head, Lee Hanseong endured until bedtime after finishing dinner. After confirming Jin Yuseong was asleep, he slipped out of bed.

He positioned himself naked in the bathroom/shower room installed in each room and assumed the Lotus Position.

He planned to attempt his first Heroic Spirit Synchronization tonight.

Originally, the first Synchronization should be done with an observer present in case of accidents, but Lee Hanseong had already completed Synchronization on the day of his Spirit Contract even before Regression.

Thanks to that, he had also realized a new clue about Deep Synchronization, but it wasn’t without regret.

‘Before Regression, because I contracted spirits one by one, Triple Synchronization was my limit.’

Since the Synchronization Rate with the first contracted spirit was slightly higher, even after realizing Multi-Synchronization, there was a limit.

So this time, he planned to attempt the first Synchronization with all spirits simultaneously from the start, to surpass his previous limit.

—Meow.

Just then, the Lord of the Throne’s meow, sounding sleepy as if yawning, felt like encouragement.

“Inhale.”

Drawing a long breath, encouraged by the Constellation, as Lee Hanseong entered his inner self,

Whoosh.

The presences of the spirits sparkled like stars and welcomed him.