Labyrinth of Vengeance: The Smell of God E-Book

Yeong Hwan Choi

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 190

Beschreibung

In the chaos of the beginning, order was born, and light and darkness found their places. Yet, we still do not understand the world. This book delves into the human journey of seeking the hidden truths in the shadows. Deep in the dark oceans of Earth, we must use our often-overlooked sense of smell to unravel secrets. Living in the depths, Jae-wook encounters a mysterious scent that evokes past secrets. With Eva's death, the truth hidden in her pendant hints at the need for a new perspective to grasp the essence of the world and the divine. Following the scent left by the gods in the labyrinth, what truth awaits at the end? Smells evoke strong memories and emotions, offering new insights. This book explores the philosophical questions posed by these scents. Let us take the first step in our journey to understand the world.

Leseprobe

Labyrinth of Vengeance:

The Smell of God

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

LABYRINTH OF VENGEANCE: THE SMELL OF GOD

First edition. June 13, 2024.

Copyright © 2024 Yeong Hwan Choi.

Written by Yeong Hwan Choi.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Labyrinth of Vengeance: The Smell of God

CONTENT

<Labyrinth of Vengeance: The Smell of God>

1-1 Relationships

1-2 The Chosen One

1-3 Encounters

2-1 Unconscious Flow

2-2 Order in Chaos

2-3 Creation in Destruction

2-4 Fullness in the Void

2-5 Truth in Paradox

2-6 Infinity in Finiteness

2-7 The Essence of Illusion

3-1 Soul of Ragam

3-2 Awakening of the Soul

<Epilogue: Scent of the Gods>

Publication | 2024-06-14

Writer ｜ Yeong Hwan Choi

Email｜ [email protected]

BLOG ｜ https://blog.naver.com/cyhchs12

(c) Labyrinth of Vengeance: Smell of God 2024

This book is the intellectual property of the author and any unauthorized reproduction or reproduction is prohibited. All names, characters, and events in this work are fictional. It is not associated with any real person, place, building, or product.

Labyrinth of Vengeance:

The Smell of God

Yeong Hwan Choi

CONTENT

Labyrinth of Vengeance: The Smell of God

Episode 1 pendant

1-1 Relationships

1-2 The Chosen One

1-3 Encounters

Episode 2 seven trials

2-1 Unconscious Flow

2-2 Order in Chaos

2-3 Creation in Destruction

2-4 Fullness in the Void

2-5 Truth in Paradox

2-6 Infinity in Finiteness

2-7 The Essence of Illusion

Episode 3 smell

3-1 Soul of Ragam

3-2 Awakening of the Soul

Epilogue: Scent of God

<Labyrinth of Vengeance: The Smell of God>

Order was born out of the chaos of the beginning, and light and darkness diverged and found their place. In the process, the world has undergone countless changes, and we are living in the midst of those changes.

However, even in the midst of these changes, we did not understand the world. All of them manifest themselves in stereotyped, human-centered thinking. Dark, uncharted territory is always hidden beneath our feet.

Similarly, the silhouette of Eva's pendant does not allow us to see the truth hidden behind the shadows. Why does the world exist, and why were we born? And how should I navigate in a rapidly changing society, and what should be my center to navigate the world? Three volumes were published with this philosophical question.

The earth seems calmer than ever. The sky is clear, and the sea is deep and blue. But beneath the depths of the dark sea, there are secrets that we don't know. The key to unlocking the mystery was one of the most often overlooked senses: smell.

Jae Wook has been living in the depths of the ocean, watching humans. I waited for a long time, where the sun did not reach, where darkness reigned. Alienated from the human world, they were treated as aliens and lived in their own world. He waited for the spirits of Ragham to return.

One day, an unknown scent suddenly straightened his senses. The smell was like a secret scent. It pierced my mind as if it were a memory of the past.

On the other hand, the figures in the pendant that Eva saw for the last time before she died. She looked at herself, Ragam, Jaewook, and the other four who were obscured by silhouettes. The four of them didn't touch the sun, like the deep sea where Jaewook lived, so unless they were gods, they couldn't see the truth behind their silhouettes. If we want to understand the nature of the world and God, we must look at it with a completely different eye. But if God is invisible to us and cannot be heard, how do we communicate with Him?

The nose is the most instinctive and intuitive of the five senses, and smells evoke intense memories and a wide range of emotions. And depending on the individual's experience, it comes subjectively and brings new realizations. Now, what is that smell trying to tell the world?

If you follow the fragrance of the gods in the maze, what kind of truth will there be at the end? So, what should we smell like in our lives?

1

Pendant

Jae-wook was alone in the dark waters of the deep sea. As I stretched out, a mysterious change came to the once calm sea. The strong energy from the surface of the water grew thicker and thicker, tickling his nose violently. At that moment, I couldn't see, hear, or feel anything. His sense of smell overwhelmed his other senses.

It was not mixed with the salty smell of sea water. It was a distinctive, foreign, inexplicable smell. It was like the flavor of old wood, and at the same time the soot of burning coals. It was certainly different from the scent of flowers, heavy and light, as if it held a deep, dark secret. The scent penetrated deep into his mind, bringing back memories of his childhood. The moments I had with my mom and Eva flashed back to me.

Like the scent of a long-forgotten promise, it blurred the line between reality and fantasy. The scent enveloped him even in the darkness of the depths of the sea. Jaewook swam blindly to find the source of the scent.

As it rose to the surface, it spread from the tip of his nose to his body, filling his head. It was the smell of death, but at the same time, it was the scent of a new beginning. I felt relaxed, but I also felt sad and angry. The moment Eva died, it was so similar to the scent that hung in her last breath. Her touch, her voice, her gaze melted into the scent. Jaewook broke the silence of the deep sea and came close to the surface. Along the way, the pain of the pressure of the deep sea crushing his body scarred him as deeply as Eva's death, but he followed the scent blindly.

When we finally reached the surface, the smell of the earth and the air were new and fresh. He escaped the scrutiny of the Earthlings and went to find Eva's pendant, which had emerged from the strong smell. Sometimes, his image was spotted as a blurry object on satellites or photographs, and people once again suspected the existence of aliens.

Mysterious events have occurred all over the world. A busy street in Paris suddenly came to a standstill for a few minutes. People stopped walking down the street, and cars stopped in the middle of the road. After checking the CCTV footage, a man was seen suddenly appearing and disappearing. Jae-wook stopped in Paris to look for clues on the pendant, but his blurry image caused confusion in the world.

A similar incident occurred at the site of the excavation of ancient ruins in China. Qin Shi Huang's tomb suddenly lit up, and the electronics around it stopped working. Surprised, the excavation team examined the tomb but found no clues. Satellite imagery later confirmed that a person had suddenly appeared and disappeared nearby. Jae Wook stayed there for a short time to look for some clues in Qin Shi Huang's tomb. A cow was mysteriously mutilated on a farm in the United States. The area was famous for UFO sightings. The farmers feared that it was the work of aliens. Jae Wook heard that the fragment of the pendant was here, so he sneaked in in the middle of the night. As he examined the cow, he saw that his superhuman strength had severed its abdomen, leaving sharp knife cuts. He used the watch to travel to Egypt, where he searched for another piece of the pendant to be inside the pyramid. As a result, the flow of energy inside the pyramid was disrupted, causing power outages, fires, and other anomalies.

The mysterious cases made headlines around the world. In the news and on the Internet, conspiracy theories were spread that convinced us of the existence of aliens. People claimed he was an alien when they saw him captured on CCTV and satellite imagery. "The time stop in Paris happened when he appeared!" "I saw the light in Qin Shi Huang's tomb, it's definitely an alien!" "Cows cut off from American farms are the work of aliens!" "It's because of the aliens that such a light flashed inside the pyramid!"

Jae Wook had to be more cautious in the midst of these rumors. He couldn't wait to find the pendant and unravel the secrets of Eva and her mother.

This time, I arrived at the Pantheon in Rome, Italy, undetected by the earthlings, and the scent finally hit my nose strongly. The night in Rome was serene and gorgeous. The soft moonlight gently enveloped the city, and the ancient fragrance carried by the wind passed through the city's various historical sites one by one. The Pantheon stood tall in the silence. The enormous circular building was made of timeless stone walls, and the Corinthian columns on the façade were majestic. The dome of the temple opened open to welcome the heavens, and the moonlight streamed gently through it. The interior also exudes a mysterious atmosphere. The marble pattern carved on the floor and the moonlight streaming in through the oculus on the ceiling drew mysterious patterns and guided Jaewook's steps.

As he quietly stepped inside, the smell led him to a corner of the temple. There was an old wooden box in the unused fireplace. He carefully opened the box and found a sparkling star-shaped pendant inside. It's been a long time and it's been peeled off a lot, but it still shines. He held the pendant in his hand, and as he examined the dishes, he noticed a small button on the back. When I pressed the button, a small picture popped out. There were three people in the photo. One woman was young and beautiful, with two children in her arms. One of those kids was apparently Eva as a child, and the other was Jae-wook himself.

Shocked, he felt the scent more deeply etched in his memory. The scent, which reminded him of Eva's final moments, dragged Jae Wook back into the tragedy of his past. Eva seemed to whisper a secret in his ear. From the first time he met Eva, he felt an uncanny resemblance to her. The look in their eyes, their facial expressions, even their little mannerisms were so similar. I thought it was just a coincidence, but my suspicions grew. 'Why do you and I look so much alike?' she asked, and every time she heard her laugh, she could see herself in her eyes. More and more he wondered if she really was his half-sister. When the smell of the pendant became too intense, his doubts gradually turned into certainty.

The children in the photo were smiling happily at their mother, but that happiness was too short-lived and now a tragic past. Jae-wook could see a glimpse of Eva, Ragam, and his connection.

As she buried her mother and sister in the scent, she thought of the tragedy they had to endure. At this moment, Jae Wook felt that he didn't have to wait endlessly for Ragam's souls, but that he had to do something else. The scent of the pendant blended harmoniously with the fresh night air of Rome, Italy, as he gripped the pendant tightly in his hand, taking a deep breath as he felt their love and pain.

1-1 Relationships

The scent of the pendant was the mark of their souls. It was also the key to unlocking family secrets. As he flipped back the pendant photo, an unknown silhouette lit up his face. In Jae-wook's opinion, the seven were important symbols of Ragam's soul.

Jae Wook returned to the depths of the ocean and stared intently at the silhouette, contemplating their relationship. Just as the intense scent of the sea reveals the secret between Mom and Eva, I thought their relationship had a special meaning. She struggled with her role in the complex relationship.

In this life, Jae Wook has learned many lessons from his relationships with various people. Day after day, people talked across the table, but the conversation was usually superficial and temporary. People were preoccupied with trivial topics such as the weather, the latest fashion trends, and the results of sports competitions, and they showed great interest in each other's love affairs. One complained about his recently broken partner, while the other offered comfort and advice. But instead of trying to understand each other deeply, their conversations were just words to fill the void. And I learned why they were so obsessed with relationships. Human beings establish relationships in order to confirm each other's existence and to feel alive. Knowing how variable relationships were, they thought, they could be truly alone and free.

Looking at the relationship between these people, he thought of the relationship between his mother and his sister. I realized that the pain and trials they went through were deeper and more meaningful than the temporary conflicts in their relationships. Beyond the false comfort that humans derive from their relationships with each other, he tried to look at himself from a different perspective.

He thought of Eva's last moments, holding the pendant with her scent to his chest. The scent was still intense, and every molecule that flew towards the nasal mucosa awakened sadness and anger. She lifted her hand over her head, which was trying to hang the pendant around her neck, to find a small digital device inside that recorded Eva's final moments. It was a recording of Eva's voice before she died. In the still darkness, he tried to press the button that was hollowed in, but his fingers didn't press it easily. He looked around for something sharp in the sea. What he could reach was a cold, sharp shell. He carefully grasped the shell, holding its pointed end to the indented button. With delicate force, he pressed the button, and finally the device began to work.

"Jaewook, this pendant contains the truth about our family."

Eva's voice came out. "I need to understand why I ended up on this path and who we are. Ragam is a spirit, but the fact that her name just happens to be my mom, and that I killed her..."

Jae Wook was horrified to hear her message. The fact that Eva had killed her mother, Ragam, was a shock. And he was furious with Eva. How could he kill his mother? In his mind, he remembered his mother, Ragham. She was always there to love me and protect me. And above all, he was a man who cared for the safety of his family.

Jaewook was confused by Eva's words, but the sense of betrayal he felt didn't go away lightly. How could he kill his own mother? The thought of it made me angry. On the other hand, he also felt a strange exhilaration as he remembered that Eva had been captured and brutally killed by the Earthlings.

Eva's last scream, and the fishy smell of blood, came to her with the sweetness of vengeance. It was as if Eva had paid the price for the betrayal she had inflicted on her mother. A cold laugh flowed from him. "Uh-huh. Yes, I deserved it," he said, as if his mother's revenge had been received from the people of Earth.

Her mother's death, Eva's death, and the pain and sacrifice they had to endure on Earth were intertwined in a more complex web than they had imagined.

Jae Wook pondered why Eva had to kill her mother.

"Eva, why did you have to kill my mother!?" he muttered to himself. "Why is everything so twisted? You're dead, your mother is dead."

Suddenly, the rage simmered again, like a flame that would engulf the entire planet. But the flame didn't burn any louder. If Eva were alive, she would have poured all her anger into it, but now she is gone. And when his mother was suffering on Earth, he was angry at himself for not being able to protect her, but now he has no spirit to turn that anger around.

"Who am I supposed to be angry with now?" he asked himself. "Who am I going to give all this pain back? I'm the only one left in this world..."

'Jaewook, this pendant contains the truth about our family,' Eva's voice echoed again.

"Truth? What's the point of the truth?" he screamed. "They're all dead, so what difference does knowing the truth make? You killed it, I couldn't protect it, and that's what ended up like this. What's the point?"

He thought with a wry smile. "After all, Ragam's soul is nothing."

All he could do now was to survive this suffering, to protect the Earth as the soul of Ragam, and to take the path of the middle way. He lifted his head, and slowly rose to the surface in the depths of the sea. He came out to the sand in the corner of the seashore, throwing rocks wildly, trying to vent his anger, but it didn't subside easily. Beyond anger, he became transcendent, and he had the urge to vent his anger indiscriminately on the people of Earth. I felt a strange desire to return his pain to the people of Earth.

In the canals of Venice, Italy, he used the power of a clock to vaporize water into the sky. When the beautiful waters of the canal disappeared, the bottom was exposed, revealing hidden ancient artifacts, which surprised archaeologists around the world. This event was recorded by physicists and scientists as a phenomenon that went beyond the laws of nature. This time, he was teleported into the Amazon jungle of South America. He used his abilities to blow hundreds of trees down in an instant in the heart of the jungle. The event was confirmed by satellites, and scientists were unable to explain the phenomenon. The place where the trees disappeared was neat, as if someone had cut them down precisely, and there was no effect on the surrounding natural environment. Then he visited the Giza Pyramids in Egypt. He lifted the pyramid's massive stones into the air and kept them in the air for a few minutes. Tourists were horrified to witness this phenomenon. The event was broadcast live around the world, and scientists were unable to explain this phenomenon that defies the laws of gravity. People have come to think that the age-old myth that the pyramids were built by aliens might be true.

Finally, I visited Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He snapped the center of the arch in an instant. The arch did not break, but bent flexibly, causing chaos throughout the city. Engineers and architects could not understand this phenomenon, and numerous theories have been put forward as to how the arch could have been transformed into such a shape. This incident also left a strong impression on those who believe in the power of aliens.

Jae-wook's actions shocked and frightened people. The mysterious events spread around the world through news and media outlets around the world, and people began to believe that aliens had come to Earth, and that life in space was born. Jae-wook tried to forget his pain for a moment through this absurd anger, but a sense of frustration still engulfed him.

As he teleported everywhere to trouble the earthlings, solving the intricate maze in his head, he suddenly thought of Yeonghwan. If Eva and Ragam's relationship was so complicated, what role did Young-hwan play in the relationship? He kidnapped his mother from Busan to China, locked her up in Yongmun Castle, and then in a North Korean prison, on a space station, and so on. What is his true identity? Is he my father? Or is it just another complex part of a relationship?

"How could family relationships be so messy," he muttered to himself, laughing at his situation. The fact that Eva is her half-sister, and the possibility that Young-hwan might be her father. Everything was so complicated and confusing. He laughed alone in the depths of the ocean, determined to find his identity. And before the fate of the Earth approached, he had to make up for his shattered self-esteem. For a while, Jae Wook spent more time trying to solve the maze. The hidden truth had to be uncovered.

1-2 The Chosen One

Before you know it, the Earth is in the red grip of artificial intelligence robots. The indiscriminate advancement of AI has dyed the earth a completely different color from its blue appearance. The metropolises were dominated by the overlords of the machines. The red lights on the streets gave the impression that the entire earth was stained with blood. People were terrified, avoiding the gaze of the myriad AI robots that were watching them.

The beginning of all this turmoil was Hojin's desire for revenge. The breakup with Yeon-su completely changed his life. On the day his beloved Yeon-su left him, Ho-jin deeply planted the embers with a burning anger. He studied science and coding, and devised a plan for revenge. He had only one goal. It would completely change the world and plunge Yeonsu into the abyss of despair.

Through years of academic passion and hard work, Hojin has come to rub shoulders with some of the world's best researchers. He immersed himself in AI research and tried to unlock the full potential of robots. His lab was always sparkling with state-of-the-art equipment. It is constantly developing new algorithms and developing them to transcend the limits of artificial intelligence.

"We're going to create artificial intelligence that surpasses human capabilities," he declared to his colleagues. Embers sprouted, and flames flickered in his eyes. "The world is in our hands. We will change the world."

The advancement of AI has progressed rapidly. Eventually, AI will surpass human intelligence and will be able to think and make decisions autonomously. His team gave him the ability to break free from human domination, and gradually began to dominate humans. Robots were stationed around the city, monitoring people's every move. Surveillance cameras and drones on every street became the eyes of artificial intelligence, keeping an eye on humans. AI analyzes human behavior, predicts and provides for their needs, while at the same time taking away their freedom and controlling them.