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Of course, all of this was merely Jinseong’s conjecture.

A guess derived from observing only fragmentary details, akin to a work of fiction.

However, when the perception of a shaman, transcending mere delusion, is interwoven into such a guess, it becomes something infinitely closer to the truth.

Something akin to a prophecy created by an intervening, scientifically inexplicable, inexpressible essence.

Every day, as if to support Jinseong’s speculation, William dreamt.

He dreamt of wandering around the dilapidated church with a girl, and of his childhood self complaining while buying nonsensical fish and chips, alongside the girl suggesting he give it to the birds.

He saw in dreams a girl murmuring dreamily that it would be nice to see people getting married at the church, and other dreams where he coldly stated that if he wished, he could hold a wedding far more lavish than that.

Dreams.

Memories.

The dreams William had were idealized fragments of a past, memories of a childhood spent with the girl.

Yet, at the end of those innocent memories, an image of a nightmare always appeared.

The once cute girl had transformed into a bloated corpse floating in water, whispering sweet words into William’s ears in that horrific guise. At that point, William felt guilt and powerlessness, cursing vehemently, and thus the meeting of the girl and boy in the dream world repeatedly concluded in the worst possible way.

It repeated.

Memories turned into regrets.

Dreams became nightmares.

William was forever shackled to a past steeped in regret, tortured in his dreams, uttering only the words to cast the girl away, without even a single apology.

It was truly ironic.

Despite possessing the ability to avoid the devastating future that prophets experience due to half-baked prophetic skills, and an obsession trapped in a fragmentary time, William found himself following a similar path to other prophets.

Bound by the existence of the ‘girl’ he could not save due to feelings of helplessness regarding his abilities and his half-hearted prophetic powers, he was ensnared in the memories that manifested as nightmares, perpetually repeating his regrets.

Jinseong could only laugh at this irony.

“Tsk, tsk. So immature.”

Because he understood where William’s reckless personality stemmed from.

He could see why William lived his life discarding women like worn-out shoes.

“Even if he wants to escape, the very chains become a hesitation to break free, leaving him a slave to time, just like any other prophet.”

He wanted to escape.

Therefore, he sought to forget by meeting a woman different from the sweet and kind girl.

But he also did not want to escape.

The puppy love that came at a time when he knew nothing of love must have burrowed deep into his unconscious, and along with the shocking incident, it morphed into a scar that dominated his life.

For that reason, even while wanting to distance himself from the girl’s presence, William unconsciously reflected the image of the ‘girl’ onto other women, seeking similar traits. He would have recalled the girl when he found these familiar traits, and similarly when he noticed contrasting features.

It’s human nature that if one tries not to think of the elephant, they must inevitably think of the elephant.

The more William wanted to escape the girl and forget her, the stronger those shackles would tighten around him, indelibly marking his heart deeper and stronger.

Therefore, he could only covet the physicality of women.

If the exchange of emotions began, he would surely project the image of the girl.

Regardless of whether it was conscious or unconscious, that moment invoking the girl’s presence would extinguish the flames of lust and love that surged within him, leaving him with disquiet.

“And that’s not all.”

There exists an instinct in humans to fill their deficiencies.

While the existence of the girl greatly overshadowed William’s preferences in women, that was not everything. William had long held grievances against people and appeared somewhat dissatisfied with parents who treated him dearly yet failed to treat him like other children.

It might be natural.

Generally, it’s only to be expected for children to harbor discontent towards their parents.

However, as a child of the aristocratic family that prioritized etiquette and ceremonial formalities, and even one endowed with a prophetic ability that must be treated like treasure, his treatment had to differ from that of other children.

“Children are far more sensitive than adults might think. He probably realized early on how he was being treated.”

That treatment was likely closer to handling a treasure than loving their own child.

A treasure is an object.

No matter how valuable, expensive, or precious an item is, its essence does not change.

Of course, William’s parents did not realize this.

No matter how precious his talent was, he was still their blood, their own child.

But the moment they began to see him as something that could be quantified and placed in a cost-benefit framework, William became an object.

A very precious object of the clan.

“A woman that is voluptuous and appears to have a good figure, seeming somewhat older.”

Thus, William’s tastes were inevitably infused with an unconscious drive to heal the deficiencies he felt in childhood. He must have sought after women with good figures to feel the motherhood he lacked and desired mature-looking faces to alleviate the dissatisfaction he held from not receiving parental love.

Moreover, the mature appearance was in stark contrast to the presence of the ‘girl’ that had become his trauma, making it an appropriate destination for his unconscious yearning to break away from her.

“Tsk. So that’s why he’s clinging to Agnes.”

Jinseong could understand why William was so fixated on Agnes, why he behaved so recklessly and caused trouble while still extending minimal kindness to those who appear notably younger.

He likely projected his and the girl’s childhood onto the child before him, thus unable to be excessively harsh.

“And Agnes boasts a beautiful figure, a seemingly mature exterior, and a kind personality. Besides, she isn’t particularly young either. However, considering that she’s a witch, she probably doesn’t show signs of aging at all.”

Agnes was the embodiment of William’s ideal type.

He could behold a figure that helped him break free from the girl while still projecting her image, fully satisfying his sexual preferences born from his lack of maternal care, and furthermore, she was indeed a matured woman. And since her mature appearance didn’t come across as old, it was only natural that William would lose his mind.

“Hmmm. If I were to use this…”

Jinseong thought of numerous ways to approach William utilizing these tendencies.

Keeping a woman of the ‘ideal personality’ he sought by his side and gradually opening his heart to her, inducing a trance state followed by psychological therapy to heal his trauma, naturally introducing children to make him project his past onto them and help him overcome ‘a certain incident’.

Using drugs to induce hallucinations of the girl, driving his emotions and senses into a frenzy to entrap him eternally in her grasp; finding a ghost resembling the girl and turning it into an evil spirit to possess him as a puppet; bringing forth incidents that reminded him of the tragedies he experienced to enhance his trauma.

In his mind, numerous methods that could yield positive outcomes for William or that could plunge him into despair and manipulate him like a puppet flickered and faded away, and among them were those that could yield considerable effects with relatively little effort.

Yet despite all these thoughts, Jinseong chose none of them.

“結者解之 其始者 當任其終. The one who ties the knot must untie it; the one who starts a task must see it through to the end.”

William had already become a vessel of predestination.

A bond forcibly established by a shaman presumed to harbor resentment towards him.

An engagement so powerful that it imparted formidable black magic, twisting his fate and clouding his future like fog.

How could such an intense bond ever be taken lightly?

If it were a knot, it’d surely be tightly bound, far from easily unraveling; if it were weight, it’d shatter solid stone floors and embed itself deep within the ground.

Therefore, Jinseong respected the shaman who reached out to William even at the risk of great adversity.

Yet, it would have been best had this event never touched him, but unfortunately, that bond faintly reached Jinseong as well.

The fact that a mature image of Anastasia appeared in William’s prophecy likely indicated that the curse was being executed through dreams, suggesting that Anastasia would be involved in this incident while being at odds with the shaman who opposed William.

If only William bore the costs, it would be one thing, but Anastasia could also find herself in jeopardy.

Hence, Jinseong didn’t completely withdraw from this matter, merely taking a step back.

So that he could intervene whenever unexpected events arose.

 

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