The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health Chapter 347

Cheyen was submerged in darkness.

His true body lay in the deepest abyss of the Reverse Side—a place even immortal beings could not easily sink into. Because of that, no existence could see Cheyen unless Cheyen himself allowed it.

With only one exception.

His origin—his master.

‘No… two, now.’

Cheyen let out a soft chuckle as Arellin crossed his mind, then calmly observed beyond the darkness.

Beyond it, his master must also be aware of Cheyen’s gaze.

The two “stars” were different beings, yet to each other they were an inescapable sin, an inescapable past.

A suppressed sob echoed faintly.

The noble archmage’s soul was being crushed by guilt and responsibility—emotions Cheyen had long since cast aside.

Once, he had dared to step forward and say he would bear that pain in place of the poor soul, who was certain to be unable to endure sorrow after being preserved alive for eternity.

When faced with that paltry hand of salvation, what had that noble soul thought?

‘No… maybe that no longer matters.’

His master had believed that if he passed on his achievements and status to another, he would be able to die. Magic would be inherited by a successor, and he would be freed.

That was the plan they had once devised.

Had it been a proper ascension—one where everything was cleanly inherited—Cheyen likely would not have become such a twisted existence.

‘It was an experiment that could never have succeeded in the first place.’

Looking back, it had been the suppressed optimism of an archmage. A mistake made in a moment of desperation and pressure—so dire that he felt he had to try something, anything.

【Master.】

The gentle incantation resonated on its own, becoming a powerful spell that reached across the darkness to the only being connected to him.

【You knew it too, didn’t you? That there was no rest permitted to you in this world.】

If the archmage had truly wanted to die, he should have made a different choice.

For example—erasing magic from this world.

But he couldn’t.

Because the archmage loved this world.

【That’s why I’m doing it for you.】

【You wanted salvation, didn’t you, Master?】

From beyond came a tidal wave of emotions—rage, resentment, anguish, pain—all crashing down on Cheyen.

But Cheyen, who had already discarded such things, only smiled brightly.

【They still count a half-ascension as an ascension, you know. Do you know what I saw at the moment of ascension?】

A planet that looked as though it could shatter at any moment, crudely stitched together like rags—each piece barely holding on thanks to the authority of different immortals.

A truth his master, the archmage, always faced.

That was when Cheyen broke.

Crushed beneath a truth he never wished to know, suffocated by a desire too great to bear.

In the end, his shallow wish to save his master was fulfilled in another way.

By eroding, destroying, and devouring everything.

【It would be easier if you’d just give up, Master……】

If the archmage’s fragile patience would finally snap—if he would fall into the abyss, just like Cheyen.

As the “Nightmare of the Star” gently shook the frail soul of the “First Star” with that wish—

The will of the archmage, who seemed destined to remain silent forever, rang out.

【Do not make the wrong choice.】

Oh dear. That seemed a bit late.

【Then you fix me, Master. You’re the only one left who can scold me now, aren’t you?】

Coming from someone who had slaughtered those he’d grown up with like siblings, the words were nothing but hypocrisy.

Cheyen laughed as his master trembled.

【Did you know that this world is constantly regressing? Ah, of course—you probably sense it vaguely.】

The world did not allow variables. Any being capable of influencing regression lost all related memories.

But Cheyen was different.

This incomplete immortal remembered every infinite branching worldline created by a world that regressed endlessly, whether he wished to or not.

【This world has never truly met its end. Before that happens, it always regresses.】

It had been far too long to remain silent, clinging to the shallow optimism that everything would end if he just endured a little longer.

【This time, I want to give this world a true ending. A full stop. Will you help me, Master?】

You want the end too, don’t you?

【……】

Through the silence, Cheyen felt hesitation—hesitation that wanted to cross over.

Carefully, Cheyen gnawed away at the archmage’s noble mind. To swallow it all at once would be too risky.

‘Around this time, the dragon of the north usually interferes… but perhaps because the World Tree isn’t burning, it can’t move.’

Just a little more.

That was when it happened.

A faint melody drifted in from beyond.

‘……!’

A sorrowful, heart-clutching melody swept through Cheyen’s soul in an instant.

Before Cheyen could even fully grasp what he was feeling—

Tuk.

For the first time, the path that had always connected him to his master—even when he didn’t want it—was severed.

‘It’s not cut… but…’

From now on, unless Mercedes wished it, this path would not open.

This wasn’t his master’s power.

It was a force capable of rewriting the rules and order imposed upon every living being in this world.

There was only one such power.

“Divinity….”

Left truly alone in the darkness for the first time, Cheyen’s eyes ignited.

It was time to return to the outside world.

 

 

****

 

 

 

After being ejected from my master’s inner world, I couldn’t regain consciousness right away.

Everything was pure white.

In that space, there were only the World Tree and me.

“Is it… over?”

I barely managed to ask, feeling like I would collapse from exhaustion the moment my all-out performance ended.

-Yes. Fortunately.

The World Tree had exhausted itself as well.

Its deep green leaves had all fallen, and various wounds marred the trunk of the ancient tree.

Of course, I didn’t think that was the World Tree’s real body… or was it? Actually—was it real?

-Now, I will sleep.

“Ah.”

I didn’t need an explanation. I’d seen exactly what kind of power the World Tree had borne in my place.

“What exactly have I become?”

At my sudden outburst, I felt the World Tree laugh—again in that three-quarter rhythm.

-I sense your anxiety. Like a flickering candle.

“But after doing something like this, how could I not feel uneasy?”

The only reason I hadn’t gone mad until now was because I still had memories of the past.

A time when this world wasn’t entirely mine.

Memories of my previous life had always steadied me whenever I wavered.

“Did you know? I actually have memories of a past life.”

I finally confessed a truth I had hidden tightly, never telling anyone.

Not even my master.

But the World Tree simply laughed, as if it had known all along.

-I know.

“What?!”

-Souls that belong to this world are inevitably bound by its rules and order.

A warm, gentle presence wrapped around me like an embrace.

-Thus, to possess infinite potential as you do, one must be an existence to whom this world’s rules do not fully apply.

Then does that mean all singularities don’t truly belong to this world?

If so… did my master know this too?

As my thoughts grew tangled, the World Tree’s voice sank deep into my soul.

-Child, seek what you desire. Do what you wish.

What I desire. What I want.

That would probably be living peacefully like this—with Dad, with Pession, with my friends…

-If you desire something, you must seize it.

“Honestly, I don’t feel confident at all.”

-Child, no one is cast into the world fully prepared. There is no perfect timing, no perfect readiness for opportunity.

-Before this world devours you, you must move first.

I really don’t feel confident.

-No one but you can change your world.

-Yes. No one can do it for you.

Having finished its teaching, the World Tree laughed cheerfully.

-But this time, I think I’ll be able to dream a pleasant dream.

The World Tree’s presence faded. At the same time, I faintly felt my mind and soul returning to reality.

-I look forward to the day we meet again.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Arellin finally came out of the Mage Tower!

Upon hearing the news, Pession rushed to the Halbern estate like the wind—but—

Mehen stepped forward to block him before he could reach Arellin.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. You cannot see Arellin.”

“Are you saying you’re blocking me?”

Facing Pession, who made no effort to hide his displeasure, Mehen replied with a tired expression.

“No. I mean it literally—you cannot see her.”

“What?”

“Arell is asleep right now. The healer said she won’t be waking up for at least a few days.”

“…….”

Pession fell silent.

Then that meant the plan he’d come determined to carry out today—to propose no matter what—was…

“Hah. Cancel everything we prepared immediately.”

Grinding his teeth, Pession cursed the mages under his breath.