As I mentioned before, besides Ten Legs, numerous boss-level monsters emerged across the globe.
Like the Meteor Shower, which rained down endless meteors from the night sky when I ran a convenience store.
The term "monster" was mostly used early on. However, just like the Meteor Shower, many monsters were more phenomena than living beings.
As the story progressed, Awakeners began using other terms like "anomaly," "fiend," "yokai," and "lost" in addition to "monster."
In Japan, boss-level monsters were referred to as "angels." Quite odd terminology, considering they were called demons in the West. Later, a Puppeteer, an Awakener who had lived in Japan, explained that the term originated from classic Japanese anime.
Gates faced similar issues. Many gates didn't resemble "doors," so terms like "void," "abyss," "inferno," and "hell" were used more frequently. (In fact, distinguishing between "anomaly" and "void" was difficult.)
“Huh? Hey, what’s that on your head?”
“Is that a leaf growing by your ear?”
That monster wasn't a living creature.
More precisely, opinions were divided on whether it was living or non-living.
“A leaf growing by your ear... a zombie virus?”
Where the virus originated remained unknown for a long time. It was likely North or South Korea. Just as Busan Station’s waiting room had become a wasteland for Awakeners, the Korean Peninsula was also a paradise for monsters. It’s like the world itself was balancing things out.
People panicked and caused an uproar.
After all, zombies are a staple of any apocalypse.
When infected with the virus, leaves or flowers sprouted from the human body. There were even cases of weeds growing on bald heads.
Yet, despite this peculiar occurrence, the initial response to the virus was surprisingly lukewarm. There was a reason for that.
“No! I’m not a zombie!”
“See, I’m talking normally! My memory’s fine, and my head’s clear! Damn, having a maple leaf under my arm does feel weird, but I don’t want to die because of this!”
Simply put, the people infected by the virus were surprisingly functional.
While the human body had suddenly turned into a flowerpot and looked bizarre, there appeared to be no harmful effects from the virus if one could ignore its appearance.
In fact, it even came with significant benefits.
“That damn monster! It killed my mother!”
“I will kill it, no matter what! Even if I die, I will end that monster!”
“Please watch over me from heaven, Mother. Your unfilial son will soon follow.”
“I'm not dead, you fool! How many times do I have to call you?!”
“M-Mother? But your stomach is torn open…”
“Don’t know why, but I’m fine. Maybe because I had a tonic yesterday?”
People infected with the virus were "hard to kill."
As long as the brain wasn’t destroyed, even severed limbs and damaged organs couldn't cause death.
Even if the body’s vital functions shut down, if one soaked up enough sunlight during the day and drank plenty of water, they could survive serious injuries.
In this collapsed medical system, how did ordinary people react?
“God has blessed us!”
“Me too… I want to be infected too!”
People clamored to get infected.
Awakeners with healing abilities were rare, and the skilled healers were busy assisting others on the frontlines.
In this era of uncertainty, where death was always near, gaining an extra "life point" for free was a gift. It was like finding a lifeboat on the sinking Titanic.
“A zombie virus? No, it’s the blessing of life.”
“Become a plant too! You won't need to search for food. With sunlight and water, you can live without worries.”
“This is the greatness of the New Buddha. Believe in the New Buddha, and you will be free from suffering and gain a body that can live in a new world.”
Even cult doctrines sprouted.
The zombie virus became worshipped as the New Buddha. Although not related to Buddhism, its slogan “Freedom from the suffering of needing meat and grain for sustenance” resonated with people.
Followers of the New Buddha shaved their heads. Unlike Buddhists, however, new hair didn’t grow back for these New Buddhists but instead sprouted weeds and flowers.
They claimed that shedding human skin was part of accepting a New Buddha.
“Oh my, Lady Yellow Rose. I hope you slept well?”
“Yes, thanks to your care, Lady White Rose, I slept peacefully.”
The New Buddhists adopted new dharma names, similar to Christian baptismal names. They called each other by the names of trees and flowers that grew from their heads.
They named their group Hwadam [화단], meaning a flowerbed of a million blooms, and called their ideology Huayan [화엄][1]. It was fitting, given their penchant for living with flowers on their heads.
“…These flower-headed people are going to kill us.”
Dang Seo-rin once muttered this, probably in the fifth cycle. As the vice guild leader of the Samcheon Guild, I shrugged.
“Well, in a world this chaotic, it’s no wonder people want to rely on cults. Why else would the Yellow Turban Rebellion have occurred?”
“The vice guild leader keeps using The Three Kingdoms metaphors. It makes you sound old, so please stop.”
What’s wrong with The Three Kingdoms? All the kids love Liu Bei. Filial kids admire Cao Cao. Sun Quan is… well, liked by psychos.
Seeing my expression, Dang Seo-rin chuckled.
“I get why they do it, but these people are poison to us.”
The New Buddha had its drawbacks.
It didn’t negatively impact ordinary people. But after about two weeks of infection, once the flower fully bloomed, Awakeners “couldn’t use their powers.”
“Be careful too, guild leader. Nowadays, any criticism against them is met with accusations of ‘plant hate.’”
“But they hate Awakeners.”
In the early stages of the Gate crisis, Awakeners were highly respected. But backlash against their superiority grew, and the New Buddha systematically incorporated this into their teachings.
“Awakeners are no different from monsters, as shown by how their powers vanish once they receive the New Buddha’s blessing.”
“All Awakeners should join the New Buddha’s faith and quickly free themselves from the sin of killing! Those who don’t oppose Huayan’s will! They shatter the peace of all life!”
“Non-killing eternal life! Eternal Huayan! Billion-mile stability!”
They were truly troublesome cultists.
But Dang Seo-rin was a capable guild leader. It wasn’t for nothing that she formed a multinational guild in Korea.
She coolly solved the issue by donating a large amount of goods to the New Buddhist flowerbed.
“Haha! Although Dang Seo-rin has yet to receive the Buddha’s blessing, how could we flowers mistreat one who devotes herself to the greater good?”
“Amitabha, Amitabha…”
Amitabha my foot. If Siddhartha had seen that fake monk with the tiger lilies growing from his head, he would’ve shaved it clean with clippers.
Korea was still a relatively good place.
On the Korean Peninsula, there was a phenomenon called "Constellation". This phenomenon kept Awakeners relatively grounded, and their superiority couldn’t flourish. Consequently, hatred toward Awakeners among ordinary people was low.
But when the New Buddha spread to other countries, things changed.
The New Buddha, along with the virus, became an intellectual infection exported worldwide, and this cult shook the world.
“Everyone! What is faith?”
“Non-killing eternal life! Eternal Huayan! Billion-mile stability!”
“That’s right! Faith is merely a name for flowers!”
In other countries where constellations didn't exist, Awakeners’ supremacy was rampant. Governments were paralyzed, laws collapsed, and even those keeping an eye on me were absent. Of course, Awakeners with some power caused trouble.
Naturally, the ordinary people who suffered despised the Awakeners, and the New Buddha justified that hatred.
Thus was born a K-cult that swept the world.
There was another cult in North Korea, but its influence was limited to the northern region, so its impact paled compared to the New Buddha.
“…This is difficult. Truly difficult. The number of volunteer soldiers we expected from Japan has plummeted.”
Dang Seo-rin rubbed the frayed edge of her cone hat with her fingers. It was her unconscious habit whenever she was genuinely troubled.
You might’ve forgotten, but in the fifth cycle, we retreated to Busan instead of fighting the Ten Legs directly.
Hundreds of Awakeners from Japan had promised to join us, but the number suddenly dwindled to 20.
“The flower-headed people have expanded their influence in Japan. From Kyushu to Kanto, they’ve taken over nearly half the country. It’s difficult to leave their base. I've heard that even India, Europe, and America are beginning to succumb.”
“Humanity’s future looks bleak.”
The rise of cults and the bleak future were a chicken-and-egg problem.
While the Ten Legs was visible and could be defeated with enough fighting, the New Buddha had no such solution.
How could a virus be eradicated? The virus labs were busy researching life-threatening epidemics, so the New Buddha virus wasn’t a priority.
Each cycle brought different New Buddha victims. Sometimes Dang Seo-rin was infected, and other times, even the Saintess.
Whenever I suspected I was infected, I'd quickly end my life before the leaves bloomed. If my awakening ability stopped working, what if I lost my regression ability too? I had to die quickly.
Well, with Old Man Scho around, it was unlikely I'd have trouble, but better safe than sorry.
Here's what happened to the characters when they got infected and which flowers bloomed:
Saintess: Blue hydrangea, with drops of violet dye.
Dang Seo-rin: Pitch-black violets, like the night sky enveloping a moon halo.
Sim Ah-ryeon: White lily of the valley, trembling amusingly.
Lee Ju-ho: Bright yellow sunflower.
Go Yuri: Unknown, presumed to be daffodil.
Old Man Scho: Unknown, presumed to be clover (not four-leaf).
Oh Dok-seo: Red spider lily, also known as "Lycoris radiata" or "higanbana." She was curious what flower would bloom for her and deliberately got infected to find out. Not normal either.
Like Old Man Scho, I didn't know what flower would bloom for me. If I suspected an infection, I'd kill myself before the flower bloomed. I did this twice.
If I had to guess, maybe a pure white lily? Symbolizing innocence and purity, it seems fitting for me.
Anyway, the New Buddha was more troublesome than Ten Legs.
Letting them be since they didn’t harm civilians was my strategy until the 17th cycle, when it had to be corrected.
“Undertaker! We’re in trouble!”
Old Man Scho burst through the door. I had just fallen asleep and frowned deeply.
“Ah, what is it? Let me sleep. I’m not old like you. I still need a lot of sleep.”
“What? You damn brat… That’s not it! Outside! Look out the window, you fool!”
“What’s the problem that you’re freaking out in the middle of the night…?”
I looked up at the night sky.
I froze, gripping the window frame.
“…What the hell is that?”
A massive red tree covered the entire night sky.
[1] The term "화엄" refers to the "Huayan" school of Buddhism, also known as the Flower Garland School. This tradition is named after the "Avatamsaka Sutra" (Flower Garland Sutra), one of the most influential Mahayana sutras. The Huayan school is known for its intricate and profound philosophy which emphasizes interpenetration and interdependence of all phenomena. In East Asian Buddhism, it has been particularly influential in China, Korea, and Japan.
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