Chapter 607

[Translator - Night]

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Chapter 607: A New Path (3)

The black hole is alive.

At this shocking revelation, Yeongwoo couldn’t close his gaping mouth.

“No, if a black hole is alive, does that mean it can talk too, like Mother-in-law…?”

『Not just talk. A black hole is a star that has experienced death. Its presence is overwhelming, and its temperament is… strange as well.』

“Strange temperament?”

At Yeongwoo’s question, the Sun, Moro, stroked her chin.

『Perhaps it’s better to say a star that has gone mad. After all, having gone through death and become a new existence, it would be hard to remain sane.』

“Ah….”

It was vague, but he felt like he understood, and Yeongwoo nodded.

“Then, Mother-in-law, have you ever met a black hole?”

Hadn’t he heard before that celestial bodies also had a kind of society?

That there were gatherings of stars by galaxy, and the like.

But Moro’s answer diverged greatly from his expectations.

『Face a black hole? Did you forget what I just said? Confronting a mad star is madness itself.』

“No… if you’ve never met a black hole, how do you know it’s madness?”

『……?』

Moro was left speechless, eyes widening.

Because, when you thought about it, the argument wasn’t without merit.

『But… it’s hard for a star that has experienced death to stay sane. And its presence is overwhelming as well. In terms of Earth, it would be like confronting the greatest swordsman in the world after he’s gone insane.』

“Ah, as expected of someone from the Solar System—what a perfect analogy. I like how easy it is to talk with you, Mother-in-law.”

Yeongwoo nodded as if he finally understood.

“So basically, you don’t really know either, right?”

『Well…』

Moro searched for a rebuttal, then shook her head and conceded to her son-in-law’s words.

『That’s about right. When it comes to black holes, there are only rumors floating around.』

“Then this will be a great opportunity for you as a celestial body to achieve a major feat. You’ll become a star that survived even after confronting a black hole.”

『But when it comes to confronting a black hole, there’s nothing we can do to help. Even the Earth Ship… won’t be able to exert its power against a black hole.』

“Are black holes really that strong?”

『They aren’t even classified as ordinary celestial bodies. From the perspective of stellar society, black holes aren’t counted as members at all. They exist outside the category.』

That was Moro’s explanation—because of that, no one had ever dared to standardize or quantify the power black holes possessed.

“Then that just makes it even more exciting. I’ve met all kinds of powerful beings, but I’ve never met something that exists outside of standardization.”

Even that incredible Chairman was classified as a “Grade-3 existence” on the cosmic scale.

But black holes—at least within the scope of stellar society—were beings beyond classification.

And considering that even the presence of an ordinary star far surpassed that of most heads of great families, the status of black holes—feared by all celestial bodies—could easily rival Grade-1 or Grade-2 existences, or even exceed them, without exaggeration.

“Of course, I’ve never met a Grade-2 being, so I can’t really say if it’s a fair comparison.”

In any case, the important point was this: a black hole couldn’t be persuaded by force.

And only by going through such an overwhelmingly powerful existence could the “Great Search” truly begin.

“Why is my heart racing?”

Yeongwoo felt the metallic, blade-proof heart embedded in his chest thumping.

His peculiar curiosity and anticipation were boiling over.

Wasn’t he constantly being thrown into ever deeper waters?

“If someone as insignificant as me is experiencing things this bizarre, just what kind of things did the Chairman—who walked the path of a true giant—experience?”

Of course, the Chairman, born as an illegitimate child of royalty, and Yeongwoo, who rose from nothing by shouldering the wonders of the universe, could not have had the same path of growth.

Still, the Chairman must have filled every moment of his youth with domination and conquest.

Whereas Yeongwoo…

“I still can’t forget the moment I tucked my tail and ran before the Salzeo Fleet. But that was nothing more than a step back to advance a hundred steps.”

Crunch.

Unconsciously, Yeongwoo clenched his fist.

“Once I pass through the black hole, I’ll become a new Jeong Yeongwoo.”

As he made that vow, Earth—who had been watching him from the corner of its eye—cleared its throat and looked out the window.

『We’ll be arriving at our destination soon. Get ready. Though, to be honest, I don’t know what you should prepare either.』

“What, already?”

『It wasn’t that far to begin with.』

“Then I really should start preparing.”

Then Yeongwoo asked Earth,

“What’s the name of the black hole we’re about to meet?”

Earth turned its head and looked at Mantero.

『Deputy, does the coordinate have a name listed?』

“Uh… I can’t confirm one. It only has an arbitrary identification number.”

Yeongwoo tilted his head.

“What does that mean…? There’s a coordinate, but no name?”

『You have a black hole map, don’t you? Black holes are still celestial bodies. Which means they’re existences with coordinates.』

“Then how can it not have a name? Every star has one. Even systemically.”

『Black holes are different. Because they’re reborn after dying once, when they’re assigned new coordinates, they’re given the right to reject their former names.』

“What…?”

『If you call it a privilege, it is one. It’s a kind of insubordination—resisting the universal system itself.』

“Then… does that mean there are black holes that keep their old names?”

『That’s right.』

Earth’s answer was brief, but it sparked a flood of imagination in Yeongwoo’s mind.

What difference was there between black holes that accepted their former names and those that rejected them?

A difference in values?

In personality?

Whatever the case, one thing seemed certain: a black hole that rejected its past name and chose to live only with an “arbitrary identification number” had a high probability of being a total hard-case.

In other words—

“Unpredictability.”

Perhaps that was why stars regarded black holes as existences outside of standards.

Fear of the unpredictable was a universal trait across the cosmos, after all.

“Then from the black hole’s perspective, wouldn’t we be pretty interesting?”

『What do you mean by that?』

“People call them existences beyond standards, but isn’t it really more like they’re being ostracized from stellar society? Because they’re too strong and too hard to understand.”

『…That’s not an entirely wrong way to see it.』

“And then suddenly, beings who claim to have surpassed the limits of stars come looking for them on their own. Wouldn’t that be refreshing? Or at least intriguing?”

This was a way of thinking only Jeong Yeongwoo—himself an unpredictable existence—could have.

『Maybe. There are a few especially peculiar black holes that might feel that way. But I’ve heard most of them are completely insane.』

“Hey, if you spend eternal ages alone without a single friend, even I’d go crazy.”

In any case, the Earth Ship—no, the Earth-Ship System—was already approaching a nameless black hole.

Whether they liked it or not, they had to settle matters with that mad celestial body.

All to realize the plan of freely leaping through space using black holes.

“The problem is… we have to deal with two black holes. Like you said, Mother-in-law—one is the entrance, and one is the exit.”

In other words, both black holes had to grant permission in order to use the “passage.”

If even one of them refused to open the route, the entire Earth-Ship System would be trapped inside a black hole forever.

『That’s right. Persuading two black holes? I can’t even imagine it.』

“It certainly won’t be easy.”

As Yeongwoo crossed his arms and let out a long breath, Earth blinked, and Mantero quickly lifted his head.

“Captain, we’ve arrived.”

“At the black hole?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“Yes. What you see there is Black Hole 49793.”

“49793…”

Repeating the number Mantero had spoken, Yeongwoo turned his gaze out the window.

There it was—

Like the sun just before a total solar eclipse, a massive celestial body crouched in the distance.

A ring of light wrapped around a darkness so deep its depth couldn’t be fathomed.

“That’s… a black hole?”

Yeongwoo’s mouth fell open.

If the universe had eyes, would they look like that?

Faced with the bizarre shape of the black hole, a dull ache crept up the back of Yeongwoo’s neck.

“Isn’t that truly a wonder of the universe…?”

『A star that has experienced death—yes, it’s wondrous.』

With Earth’s remark, Mantero switched the Earth Ship to manual control and spoke in a tense voice.

“Should we move a little closer? There’s been no response from the other side yet.”

By “the other side,” Mantero meant Black Hole 49793.

After all, they had to start a conversation with the black hole before they could even discuss using the passage.

“Mother-in-law, how do you communicate with a black hole? Like with you, will it come to us directly?”

At Yeongwoo’s question, Moro answered without taking her eyes off the black hole outside.

『…I told you, I don’t know either.』

“……”

『But a black hole is still a celestial body. So it should be abiding by the mutual non-aggression pact between great houses. It probably won’t reveal itself unless absolutely necessary.』

“Unless absolutely necessary, huh…”

Yeongwoo scratched his chin in thought.

“Then should we fire the ship’s cannons into the middle of it?”

He pointed straight at the heart of the black hole’s darkness.

Mantero grabbed the controls, his expression strained.

“I’ll… move us a little closer.”

He obeyed the Captain’s orders, but even so, firing cannons at a black hole was not something he could easily bring himself to do.

Rumble—!

As the Earth Ship drew closer to the black hole while anchoring nearby planets, celestial bodies from the Solar System began appearing one by one inside the bridge.

Flash, flash!

『W-What are you doing?!』

『Don’t tell me you’re trying to go in there?!』

They had silently followed the Earth Ship wherever it went until now, but this time they couldn’t endure it and rushed to the bridge themselves.

“Hey, everyone, calm down. It’s a dangerous path, sure—but we have our reasons.”

『Reasons?』

『Why would we ever need to approach a black hole?』

『If you were going to do something like this, shouldn’t you have discussed it with us first?』

The bridge erupted into chaos.

And even amidst the uproar, the Earth Ship continued drawing closer to the black hole.

Close enough that it started to feel uncomfortably near.

Then, suddenly—

Boom!

A thunderous sound rang out from somewhere, and in an instant, everything turned pitch black.

The seats installed in the bridge, the windows showing outer space, even the steel frames—all vanished.

Whoosh!

『Huh…?』

『W-What is this?!』

The celestial bodies who had gathered on the bridge looked around in fear, while Mantero and the entire Renaissance crew wore expressions of disbelief.

Mantero, especially, stared in shock—the controls he’d been operating, along with the entire captain’s seat, had vanished completely.

“How is something like this even possible?”

The space the Earth Ship party now stood in was pure darkness itself.

An endless black plain stretched before them, with no distinction between sky and ground.

“Looks like it’s started. The conversation with the black hole.”

Instinctively realizing this was a domain created by the black hole, Yeongwoo narrowed his eyes and scanned the darkness ahead.

Then he saw it.

Far away, barely visible, something rose slightly at a point on the horizon.

Someone was standing in the darkness beyond.

“Sir…?”

As Yeongwoo fearlessly stepped toward the figure, the surrounding darkness trembled, forming a crushing, overwhelming voice.

● Have you lost your way? You have come to the wrong place. Turn back.

Contrary to expectations, the tone carried a clear sense of reason.

It was even telling them to turn back, worried that they had taken a wrong path.

So Yeongwoo slowly spread his arms and spoke in the most friendly voice he could muster.

“Sir, we have not lost our way. We came to see you.”

For a moment, the surrounding darkness trembled faintly.

Then, in a tone filled with unmistakable anticipation—very different from before—the voice rang out.

● You… came to see me?

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]