The first memory of the 'existence' called 'Seo Hweol' was their 'mother' and 'father' enveloped in a pure white light.
The two smiled brightly at them, who was then just a baby.
In their childhood, 'they' grew up receiving abundant love from their parents.
Memories of childhood are generally blurry.
Seo Hweol's memories are also hazy.
However, one thing is certain.
Seo Hweol, while they may not have always been loved, was undoubtedly happy.
And that continued even after their personality fully developed and learned that their 'name' is Seo Hweol.
Seo Hweol was a happy person.
Though their life was a bit shabby, they could read some words as the child of a family that ran a bookstore and was considered one of the brightest among the village children.
Seo Hweol mastered all written characters and basic learning materials by the age of five.
However, despite possessing such genius, Seo Hweol's parents neither urged nor pressured them.
They simply loved them as they were, and whenever they excelled at something beyond others, their parents simply praised them, saying they did well.
Seo Hweol's mind became sharper by the day.
Simply observing something was enough for them to grasp its principles, and through that, they understood the world.
Seo Hweol, while observing lightning strike the ground, attempted to guide it with a kite and even created a lightning rod.
They also invented a waterwheel, which their village lacked, and crafted saddles and stirrups.
The children, young adults of the village, Seo Hweol's friends, all of them liked Seo Hweol.
Everyone said the same thing.
That Seo Hweol would surely grow up to be a great figure.
However, Seo Hweol still did not have a clear goal.
It might be more accurate to say that because they possessed the ability to do anything, they didn't know what to pursue.
Martial arts? Scholarship? Cooking? Farming? Inventing? Hunting?
Whatever it was, Seo Hweol would perfect it and even identify ways to improve and refine them further. This was Seo Hweol's talent.
So what exactly was such a Seo Hweol supposed to do?
Seo Hweol did not know.
Thus, they began to observe the people around him.
As Seo Hweol's friends grew older, they got married.
Seo Hweol also asked their parents.
They asked if they, too, needed to marry a man or a woman.
Their parents replied,
—Everything under Heaven and Earth follows the principle (理) of Taiji, pairing as it should.
Seo Hweol decided to follow their words.
However, Seo Hweol couldn't decide whether they should marry a man or a woman.
While contemplating, they reasoned that if they married a woman and became a 'husband,' they could travel the outside world, observe more, and better comprehend the principles of the world.
Thus, Seo Hweol became a man.
He became a man, chose a girl who liked him, held a wedding, and became someone's 'husband.'
After marrying the girl, Seo Hweol gradually matured, taking charge of all the village affairs and broadening his horizons.
At times, he went on journeys. At times, he visited the capital to learn more about the world. And at other times, he joined wars, galloping to the ends of the earth beside a conquering king.
In this way, Seo Hweol aged.
He traveled the entire world and grasped the principles behind countless events that occurred within it.
With his old, near-death body, he eventually returned to his home village and peacefully closed his eyes amidst the blessings of his home village's people.
He lived one life, full of happiness and satisfaction, and departed as such.
Seo Hweol.
He lived to the age of 90.
Seo Hweol opened their eyes again.
It felt as though they had woken up from a long dream.
Seo Hweol realized that something was strange.
A powerful sense of déjà vu washed over them.
At the same time, they saw the faces of their [parents] within the radiant light.
However, Seo Hweol found it strange.
These [parents] were not Seo Hweol's parents.
Their 'parents' found it strange that Seo Hweol was not crying and smacked their bottom.
—A baby girl not crying but only rolling her eyes? How ominous!
Seo Hweol pretended to cry for the time being to grasp the situation.
And then they understood what was happening.
Seo Hweol had reincarnated.
But it was a bit peculiar.
For one, the beings who were now their parents were clearly people Seo Hweol had seen in their previous life.
That's right.
Seo Hweol was born to their former life's father-in-law and mother-in-law.
As Seo Hweol grew older, they gradually came to confirm their existence.
Seo Hweol had reincarnated into the body of their own wife, returning to the childhood of her past.
It was such a bizarre event that Seo Hweol was always lost in thought, trying to explore its principles.
And watching such a Seo Hweol, their new parents—their in-laws from the previous life—despised them, saying,
—A girl who doesn't speak and whose thoughts are impossible to know is utterly ominous.
Then, Seo Hweol discovered something strange.
The [parents] who had been their [parents] in their first life did [not exist].
Following this, the [Seo Hweol of the previous life] also naturally ceased to exist.
As a result, even though Seo Hweol had been reincarnated into their wife's body, they were able to retain the name [Seo Hweol].
They—or rather, she—continued to ponder.
Why had such a thing occurred?
However, Seo Hweol's parents came to view her as increasingly ominous, and as soon as Seo Hweol grew mature enough, they sold her to a beggar on the street.
Seo Hweol became the beggar's wife, lying beneath him, observing and analyzing new experiences she hadn't gained in her previous life.
But for some reason, Seo Hweol could not have children.
In fact, it was the same in her previous life.
Seo Hweol had lived an entire lifetime without having children, and this life was no different.
The beggar, angry at Seo Hweol for her inability to have children, beat her savagely and roughly violated her body.
And one day,
Seo Hweol was eventually beaten to death by the beggar.
She died at the age of 18.
Seo Hweol opened their eyes again.
Once again, [parents] were looking down at them from within the radiant light.
Seo Hweol understood what had happened.
They had reincarnated again.
And this time, to an earlier point in time.
Seo Hweol figured out who they had reincarnated as this time.
One of their friends from their first life.
This time, he was a boy again.
Reincarnated as a boy, he observed his surroundings.
And he began to feel an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
It was such a strange déjà vu that Seo Hweol instinctively understood.
This strange déjà vu was the very cause of his repeated reincarnations.
Thus, he grew up under new parents.
As Seo Hweol grew under his new parents, he realized two things.
First, these new parents didn't like Seo Hweol either.
Like the previous life, his new parents disliked how Seo Hweol constantly brooded over something.
Seeing him observe the world and explore its principles, they accused him of simply playing around and frequently scolded and beat him.
Second, the 'Seo Hweol and his parents from the first life' and the 'Seo Hweol of the second life' had all [disappeared].
The Seo Hweol from the previous life.
In other words, the Seo Hweol who had reincarnated into the body of his wife in the first life, had disappeared in this life.
Word was that his previous parents—his in-laws from the life before that—ended up in such a way that the father-in-law became an eunuch and could no longer consummate their marriage.
The very casuality (因果) that would have led to the birth of Seo Hweol's wife in the first life had been erased.
Seo Hweol did everything he could from his current position to figure out what was going on.
First, he utilized the knowledge from his previous life to restore his family's fortunes.
Then, using his family's power, he gathered shamans, sorcerers, monks, and daoists from all over the country to investigate whether such a phenomenon had happened before.
Seo Hweol absorbed their knowledge, learning everything he could, and read every piece of literature dealing with strange events (奇事), supernatural forces (怪力亂神), and ancient myths from all corners of the world.
However...
He could not find a single clue.
Nevertheless, Seo Hweol did not give up and scoured the world for all kinds of information on sorcery, spells, ghosts, and heavenly deities.
And...
Seo Hweol failed to realize that his parents and siblings feared him.
No, he knew.
But...even if he knew, he never thought that parents could harm their own child.
Because in the common sense Seo Hweol knew, parents might beat, scold, or berate their children...but they were still parents.
Even if they could sell their daughters to beggars, they were still parents.
For that reason, while collecting information on all kinds of ghosts and supernatural powers, Seo Hweol naively trusted them.
No matter what, he never thought his family would harm him.
Seo Hweol, trusting the parents who feared him and living comfortably in their house even after reaching adulthood,
Was strangled to death in the middle of the night by his parents and siblings.
Seo Hweol opened their eyes again.
Amidst the pure white light, they saw new 'parents.'
Seo Hweol felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
They recalled how their parents and siblings from the previous life had strangled them in their sleep and decided to reassess the situation.
However...
Realizing that they had been directly killed by their own parents brought forth an indescribable flood of tears, leaving them unable to think clearly.
The fourth life of Seo Hweol was once again as a girl.
She was one of the girls who had followed the Seo Hweol of the first life, admiring him.
The parents of this life, seeing Seo Hweol barely speak, refuse to eat, and often sobbing quietly, believed she was possessed by a ghost.
Thus, when Seo Hweol turned five, they sold her to a pavilion in the city.
Seo Hweol, sold to the pavilion, did menial work and eventually grew into a courtesan.
Utilizing her unique analytical skills and ability to grow, she quickly rose to become the top courtesan in the brothel.
None could match her in poetry, calligraphy, music, and dance.
She learned much at the pavilion.
The art of captivating people, the techniques to seize their hearts, the ways to keep them clinging, and more...
However, because she never thought favourably of the pavilion itself, she persuaded those who clung to her to walk the proper path, arranging good marriages for them so they would never return to the pavilion.
While Seo Hweol's reputation grew, the pavilion faced declining patronage, gradually falling into poverty.
Regardless, Seo Hweol used her status and position to continue investigating this phenomenon.
As she was bound by her status as a courtesan, she could not leave the pavilion and had to rely on others to continue her investigation.
She realized it was the same in this life as well.
The Seo Hweol of the first life and the causality that brought him into being.
The Seo Hweol of the second life and the causality that brought her into being.
And...the previous life, the Seo Hweol of the third life and the causality that brought him into being—all of it had disappeared.
The parents who had killed the Seo Hweol of the previous life had become infertile and could no longer have children, preventing the birth of the existence that was Seo Hweol's former friend and Seo Hwel themself.
The same was true this time as well.
Every time Seo Hweol was reborn, the connections from the previous life were being erased one by one.
At this rate, all the connections that the Seo Hweol of the first life had known would eventually vanish.
Before it came to that, Seo Hweol resolved to solve this situation and once again retraced the events of her past life.
As a courtesan, she gained access to forbidden books and texts she had never seen before in her previous life.
Seo Hweol summoned countless shamans, daoists, monks, and priests, accumulating their knowledge.
And finally, she realized something.
Monks, daoists, and shamans could not provide the answer to this situation.
Although she had read all the scriptures and legends they provided, none of them explained the phenomenon she was experiencing.
Thus, she continued to ponder what method itself could explain this phenomenon.
But one day, the pavilion owner attacked Seo Hweol.
Knowing the lust the pavilion owner harbored for her, Seo Hweol pretended to give in.
However, after violating Seo Hweol, the pavilion owner cut off her tongue.
Then, after severing the tendons in one of her legs, he sold her to a red pavilion specializing in prostitutes.
The reason was absurd.
The owner claimed that because of Seo Hweol's whispers, too many patrons had stopped coming to the pavilion, worsening its finances.
And so, Seo Hweol was sold to a pleasure pavilion.
Having experienced being pushed beneath a man in her past life, she did not fear receiving many men.
She engaged with men, and at times women, gradually understanding humanity.
Although her tongue had been cut out, such a thing was not particularly necessary for her learning.
She was able to learn much in the red pavilion.
She went beyond merely captivating or binding people to her; she learned how to make them devote everything to her.
The art of completely seizing control over people and manipulating them.
She learned how to exploit human desires.
Amidst a world overflowing with countless desires and lust, Seo Hweol came to understand humanity.
And...
Eventually, while manipulating and captivating people, she became entangled in a love-driven conflict and had her neck cut by a man who claimed to love her.
Seo Hweol died at the age of 36.
Seo Hweol opened their eyes.
Amid the radiance, new parents appeared before them again.
Once more, they felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
They recognized who they were in this life.
Seo Hweol was born as the beggar.
He was the beggar who had been the husband of the Seo Hweol of the second life.
Once again, Seo Hweol's parents in this life were not good people.
Seo Hweol remembered how, on his first birthday, one of his parents, drunk on alcohol, had tried to strangle him to death but fell asleep in the process.
As the days went by, Seo Hweol was beaten more and more.
His father and mother were both the same.
They were always eager to kill Seo Hweol.
And Seo Hweol once again felt that the physical bodies of his previous lives had completely disappeared along with the casualty.
However, at this point, Seo Hweol no longer knew what else to do.
He had investigated every myth and legend.
Moreover, he had read through countless texts and scriptures from the Shaman Family (巫家), Immortal Family (仙家), and the Buddhist Family (佛家) on supernatural powers.
He learned about Buddhist Family entities, such as the Seven Brilliances (七華), Twin Venerables (雙尊), and One King (一王).
He also came to know of the Eleven Governings (十一御) of the Immortal Family.
He even heard countless stories about minor gods and ancient deities (古神) from the Shaman Family.
All of them were bizarre and astonishing, but that was all.
None of it provided a solution to Seo Hweol's situation.
Moreover, the situation only continued to worsen.
For some reason, the parents of his fifth life gradually came to hate him more and more and eventually sold Seo Hweol to a labor camp.
Seo Hweol became a mining slave, working in a mercury mine.
While extracting mercury ore, Seo Hweol was gradually exposed to heavy metal poisoning, his body growing weaker.
Realizing that this could not go on, Seo Hweol used all of his abilities.
Using his skills, he captivated the mine overseers and managers, subtly manipulating their psychology until, at the perfect moment, he seized an opportunity and escaped the mine.
However...after escaping the mine, he was overwhelmed with despair.
What on earth was he supposed to do?
What more could he possibly do?
Seo Hweol was in so much anguish that he no longer wanted to do anything at all.
He drank the mercury elixir that the mine owner occasionally consumed.
It wasn't just the mercury elixir.
He gathered hallucinogenic plants and made drugs that pavilion customers used to smoke, and consumed them himself.
Everything seemed about to end.
But...
At that moment.
While high on drugs and his body soiling itself in the drugs' intoxication, Seo Hweol felt something through the drug-induced hallucinations.
It was [déjà vu]!
Seo Hweol felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu and instantly sobered up from the drugs.
That was it!
The strong sense of déjà vu Seo Hweol felt each time he started a new life!
Finally, in the depths of his wretched existence and under the influence of drugs, Seo Hweol had managed to uncover a clue about his life!
From that day forward, Seo Hweol sought out and inhaled all kinds of drugs.
The initial sense of déjà vu became harder to feel the more drugs he consumed.
Seo Hweol felt it was because he was getting accustomed to the drugs.
Thus, he began seeking even stronger drugs.
Addicted to drugs every day, he begged and labored to obtain them, hoping to feel that powerful sense of déjà vu once again.
Though his intellect and skills could have allowed him to earn money quickly, his drug intoxication made even that difficult.
His thoughts became limited to only base and degrading ideas.
Simple labor or begging were the only ways he could obtain drugs.
However, he needed increasingly stronger drugs to feel the déjà vu, and the stronger the drug, the more expensive it was.
As a result, at some point, Seo Hweol began stealing.
Seo Hweol displayed talent even for theft.
Each day, he broke into the apothecary's storeroom, producing drugs even while intoxicated by them.
He had expertise even in making drugs.
As he manufactured drugs daily, he could create countless varieties of drugs through his own unique formulas, and lived everyday drenched in those countless drugs.
But then...on one such day.
Seo Hweol, in a state of weakened reason due to drug intoxication, created the 'ultimate drug.'
Upon consuming the 'ultimate drug,' he finally succeeded in partially uncovering the nature of the déjà vu.
Seo Hweol felt the boundary between this world and the illusory world created by the drug growing faint in the midst of the déjà vu,.
He didn't know exactly what that meant.
But one thing was certain—hope had emerged.
However, while intoxicated by the ultimate drug, Seo Hweol was caught stealing from the apothecary that day. Flayed alive, he was turned into human jeotgal (젓갈).
He died at the age of 45.
Seo Hweol opened their eyes once again.
In this life, she was reborn as a girl.
Ignoring the parents gazing down at her in the radiance, Seo Hweol quickly analyzed the situation.
It was still one of the women who had followed Seo Hweol around in the first life.
Seo Hweol began living her life in the body of the woman.
However, this family was even more of a dead end than the previous one.
Seo Hweol's parents were quickly taken by the plague, leaving her to be raised by one of her relatives.
Under her relative's care, Seo Hweol endured all manner of humiliation and abuse from a young age.
But none of that mattered.
At some point, Seo Hweol stopped caring about concepts like ethics.
She simply used her abilities to take control of her relative's household and bent it to her will.
Then, to ensure they could not fear her or even have the thought of fearing her, she directed their attention elsewhere.
She created a target for their hatred.
By subtly whispering that the elderly scholar from the neighbouring house was stealing the harvest from their fields, she provoked them into conflict.
With a target for their hatred, the household lost their minds and stopped paying any attention to her.
She used her appearance and body as tools to bring the entire village into her grasp.
First, the village. Then, the town. After that, the city.
After bringing the leaders of countless factions under her thumb, she eventually managed to place even the emperor of the nation beneath her.
She became the empress.
As the empress, she began purchasing medicinal ingredients from across the nation to recreate the ultimate drug.
However, even the ultimate drug could no longer evoke that same sense of déjà vu.
She became accustomed to that too.
Seo Hweol pondered.
How could she plunge her mind even more rapidly into the abyss than with the ultimate drug?
She summoned all the experts across the nation to solve this question.
Doctors and female physicians gathered.
At the same time, shamans and sorcerers assembled.
Finally, after extensive discussions with countless experts, Seo Hweol came to an understanding.
The most powerful drug of all was ultimately the human brain (腦).
A person's brain, as the manufacturing center for all kinds of hallucinogenic substances, could exhibit a potency far stronger than any drug if its potential were unlocked.
Hearing this, Seo Hweol set out to discover a way to manipulate her own brain.
At first, she used medicine, but eventually, she turned to the sorcerers' spells to plunge her mind into hallucinations.
Amidst the déjà vu that surrounded her, she realized a few truths.
While she might have been happy at first, as the days passed, she would inevitably become unhappy.
She didn't know why.
That fact was [determined].
How could she escape this cycle of misery?
How could she escape this cycle of suffering?
Seo Hweol pondered these questions.
However...no solution presented itself.
She merely continued refining her techniques for manipulating the brain.
One day.
She finally uncovered the principle behind the sorcerers' spells.
It was a form of hypnosis.
Disguised as a ritual and incantations, it was a technique for manipulating the mind.
Seo Hweol established a field of study called hypnotism and began to delve further into its study.
But...
After spending over a decade immersed solely in hypnotism, the crown prince born of another consort ascended to the throne.
By the will of the new emperor's mother, Seo Hweol was subjected to the punishment of becoming a human pig. Her limbs were severed, and she was thrown into a pigsty.
Seo Hweol died in the pigsty.
She died at the age of 54.
However, within her painful life, Seo Hweol smiled as she died for the first time.
It was because she had deceived her brain through hypnosis, convincing it that the situation was joyful.
—Hoho...hohohohohoho...
As she was torn apart by pigs, she laughed and laughed.
The seventh life.
The moment Seo Hweol was born, they looked up at the parents smiling at them beneath the light and smiled faintly back at them.
By now, they had come to understand a few of the laws of her life.
First.
The self from the previous life is entirely erased along with the cause and effect.
Second.
Through the use of drugs or hypnotism, they could deceive the brain and experience a strong sense of déjà vu.
Third.
The longer their life goes on, the more miserable they would become.
That was it.
And just as expected.
As soon as Seo Hweol was born, the parents of this life sold Seo hweol to bandits and told them to make Seo Hweol into baby jeotgal.
Seo Hweol's fate was definitely to die as a baby jeotgal.
However, using the hypnosis they had mastered in their previous life, Seo Hweol controlled the bandits.
And, having grown up in the bandits' mountain hideout, they once again came to realize who they were.
He was, shockingly, the [father-in-law] of Seo Hweol from the first life.
He was also the [father] of Seo Hweol from his second life.
He had discovered another law of life.
Regardless of time or space, he would continue to reincarnate, [replacing someone who originally existed].
Upon discovering this truth, Seo Hweol dedicated his life to uncovering the nautre of the déjà vu.
He hypnotized and brainwashed countless commoners, manipulating the minds of many.
At the same time, Seo Hweol continuously refined his own mind through hypnotism, pushing himself deeper and deeper into the depths of hallucination.
The deeper he went, the stronger the déjà vu became, until at some point—
Seo Hweol discovered something else within the déjà vu.
It was Loathing (憎惡).
Hatred.
A powerful hatred (憎) surrounded Seo Hweol's entire life.
And Seo Hweol realized what it was.
The Seo Hweol's of the previous lives.
In other words—
It was the hatred of [those who had been replaced by Seo Hweol].
The hatred of those who had been replaced by Seo Hweol and erased from the world blanketed the entirety of Seo Hweol's life.
Because of their hatred, Seo Hweol could only become increasingly miserable and suffer more and more as time went on.
Within his agony, Seo Hweol shed tears of blood.
This could not go on.
If things continued this way, all the people Seo Hweol cherished would gradually be replaced by Seo Hweol himself.
He quickly had to find a way to end this way of life.
Thus, Seo Hweol continued searching relentlessly for a solution.
It was on one such day.
Seo Hweol reached the pinnacle of hypnosis, achieving a state where he could instantly fall into hypnosis and traverse hallucinations.
His control over his brain had developed to the point where he could instantly manipulate it to release hallucinogenic substances in abundance.
And within the hallucination, Seo Hweol felt the strongest sense of déjà vu he had ever experienced.
It was the sense of déjà vu where the boundary between reality and illusion blurred.
Within that sense of déjà vu, Seo Hweol glimpsed a terrifying possibility.
In an effort to deny this possibility, Seo Hweol mobilized every bit of knowledge and logic he possessed to push it away.
However, Seo Hweol's level of hypnosis had become far too advanced.
Where once he had relied on drugs to feel déjà vu, he had reached the point where, with just a minor adjustment of his brain, he could feel it at will within his hallucinations—and even peer beyond it.
As Seo Hweol observed this déjà vu, he came face-to-face with a [truth] he could not refute with any logic.
That truth was...
This world was a [dream].
-x-X-x-
That's how it was.
Rewinding time, reincarnating with memories intact, and life growing increasingly unfortunate as it went on—those were all things possible only in a dream.
However, Seo Hweol wanted to deny that possibility.
That all his stories, all his pain, all his life amounted to nothing more than a dream!
That was absolutely unforgivable.
But...
Seo Hweol soon found himself desperately wanting to escape this [dream].
The reason was very simple.
For that simple reason, Seo Hweol decided to research a way to leave this world.
He even used his own death as a tool to study this [world within a dream] and took his own life.
He died at the age of 63.
-x-X-x-
The 8th life.
Seo Hweol refined hypnosis to its utmost limit.
Through hypnosis, they sought to awaken their brain and realize their true essence.
This was also a struggle [to wake up from the dream].
Under the light, Seo Hweol brainwashed their parents who looked down at them, turning them into Seo Hweol's puppets and erasing their personalities.
After all, they were merely [characters in the dream].
They weren't Seo Hweol's real parents.
Thus, they controlled their parents like puppets without hesitation.
They then hypnotized everyone in the village whom they had once considered [friends], brainwashing them into Seo Hweol's puppets.
Every connection could be used and discarded like a worn-out shoe.
After all, it was all fake.
These replaced existences would, sooner or later, pile up layers of [hatred], gradually pushing Seo Hweol's life into a pit of misfortune.
Seo Hweol toyed with the minds of thousands and brainwashed countless people, turning the entire world into their puppets.
However...
Even after brainwashing the entire world, Seo Hweol realized that they [could not wake up from the dream].
Seo Hweol couldn't figure out what was wrong.
To find the problem, they pushed themself even further, delving deeper into the abyss of their mind through hypnosis.
And finally, Seo Hweol understood.
The reason they couldn't escape this world was because they didn't understand their own essence.
They had to remember who they were 'before they began dreaming.'
Why were they the only one special enough to repeatedly reincarnate within this dream world?
Perhaps it was because the entity known as Seo Hweol was the owner of the dream.
If so, then what kind of being was Seo Hweol [before they started dreaming]?
If they could find the answer, they might discover a way to wake up from the dream.
They had to find out who the 'real' Seo Hweol was.
In short, they had to understand their essence even more deeply.
That was the only way to escape this world.
From that day on, Seo Hweol repeatedly hypnotized themself to look back into their own past and learn about 'themself.'
Seo Hweol fell deeper and deeper into the dream.
It took decades.
Even after having the world in their grasp, Seo Hweol spent decades and finally connected with their essence [before the dream].
Seo Hweol's [essence] was dry and mechanical.
They didn't know exactly what it was, but...
Seo Hweol was merely a terminal, sent [somewhere] by [someone] to search for [something incredibly precious that had been lost].
A purposeless existence, mechanical, only following orders and performing actions as commanded.
Secret Art: Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.
That thing, having fallen [somewhere], mixed with the [fragments] present there and became something new.
That was Seo Hweol.
And then.
—So that's how it is.
Upon realizing this truth, Seo Hweol said:
—Was I nothing more than [someone]'s technique?
Seo Hweol committed suicide.
They died at the age of 72.
Even suicide,
Was useless.
Seo Hweol still had to wake up under the [new parents] who smiled down at them beneath the light.
And...through Seo Hweol's recent suicide, they understood:
—A living being, at the moment of death...reaches the extreme limits of emotion and mind...!
Seo Hweol, who could reach the deepest depths of their mind through hypnosis, realized that the moment of death was the very instant one could reach the peak of the mind.
They didn't know 'why' this was so, but it was something they had discovered after experiencing death several times.
At any rate, Seo Hweol succeeded in reaching the extreme of the mind, and there, they faced the [source of the déjà vu].
They completely understood the structure of the world.
—Hoh...
The reason they could not leave this world.
—Hoho...
It was because Seo Hweol was never the [protagonist of the dream] to begin with.
They weren't even the central pillar of [Purple Soul Filling the Heavens].
To be precise,
The technique [Purple Soul Filling the Heavens] had [mixed with this world] and scattered across its many corners.
And Seo Hweol was merely one of those countless scattered fragments.
Not Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, not anything else. They were merely one of the [characters of the dream], and thus, Seo Hweol was fated to suffer eternal torment within this dream world.
—Hohohoho...
Indeed.
A supporting character of a dream.
That was Seo Hweol.
As a being within the dream, Seo Hweol realized the meaning of their existence.
—Hohoho... Hohohoho.
They existed to [replace] the characters in the dream in case there were too many of them, reducing their numbers and alleviating the fatigue of the [Owner of the Dream].
And finally, they realized a way to escape this world, a way to [wake from the dream].
It was through the power granted to them by their role.
Replacement.
They had to replace the entire world with [Seo Hweol].
In the end, if they replaced everything in this world, nullified every connection they had, and left only themself and the [Owner of the Dream] in this world, Seo Hweol would naturally be absorbed by the Owner of the Dream. With nothing left to do in the emptied dream, the Owner would inevitably wake up from the dream.
In short,
They had to reincarnate endlessly until every existence in this world was replaced by Seo Hweol.
If they could endure until then without their personality collapsing, Seo Hweol would finally be free!
And...
Upon realizing this truth, Seo Hweol finally wept bitterly.
—Just why!?
Why must I endure such suffering!?
Are you telling me everything I've built up was meaningless!?
Seo Hweol lived in suffering.
Even though they knew that everything in the world was a dream, they lived in suffering.
To suffer is, ultimately, to accept.
Those who refuse to accept something do not suffer.
Only those who accept something suffer.
Seo Hweol, despite knowing the world was a dream and that nothing held meaning, had still accepted the beings of the world in some corner of their heart.
Even as their sense of ethics wore down, even as they viewed the world as half-fake and treated its inhabitants as disposable tools—
Half of Seo Hweol was still accepting this world.
But...
Seo Hweol finally realized that they could no longer endure the pain.
They could not endure that endless time.
Nor could they ever accept such an ending, where every connection from their first life—their only happy life—was completely replaced by Seo Hweol's own wretched self.
Seo Hweol collapsed on the spot.
Who were they?
What was this world?
Who...in the world could have created such a vicious and agonizing dream system?
Seo Hweol sat there, weeping bitterly and agonizing over these questions.
Seo Hweol could have shattered their own personality and erased their memories.
But...Seo Hweol couldn't do that.
Because they had a [goal to wake from the dream].
If they were to forget even that, Seo Hweol would be finished.
Thus, they did not erase their personality.
Instead, they pondered, and pondered again, about how they could escape this world.
Eighty-one years passed that way.
For eighty-one years, Seo Hweol pondered until their body reached the end of its lifespan.
And...Seo Hweol finally made a decision.
—...I will not spend thousands...hundreds of millions of years replacing the entirety of this world and waking from the dream.
He could not endure that long passage of time.
Moreover, they couldn't be sure that the one who would wake from the dream would even be Seo Hweol themself.
That was the worst possible ending.
In that case, they had to choose the lesser evil.
—...In this life, I will end everything.
Seo Hweol shed tears of blood.
They, too, had a heart.
He had emotions.
Though they might only be a supporting character in a dream, a mere tool for the Owner of the Dream...
They still thought of themself as a living person.
From their second life onward, the emotions weren't particularly strong...
However, the connections from their first life, the only time they had been truly happy, were still precious to them.
At some point, they began to see themself as nothing more than a puppet. But even puppets can have attachment.
Even if Seo Hweol thought of them as characters in a dream, Seo Hweol held a strange attachment to them.
Especially after realizing that they themself were nothing more than a supporting character in this dream.
However,
Seo Hweol decided to abandon that attachment.
They decided to abandon those connections.
To endure pain is to accept.
But Seo Hweol could no longer accept the connections within the dream...
With that resolve, Seo Hweol began to [fragment] themself.
Though Seo Hweol had often manipulated the minds of others through hypnosis and brainwashing, Seo Hweol had rarely interfered deeply with their own mind beyond pushing it deeper into hallucinations.
Seo Hweol finally began to manipulate and fragment their own mind.
They did not go mad.
The process of fragmenting their personality was painful, but they knew that if they abandoned themself, there would be no more pain.
Seo Hweol began transforming themself into a configuration.
And...
As Seo Hweol transformed themself into a configuration, they finally crossed a 'line' that had remained in a corner of their heart.
Even when Seo Hweol had brainwashed the people of this world, Seo Hweol had never violated their essence.
But after crossing that line, Seo Hweol began to invade their very essence.
Beyond simply brainwashing and turning them into puppets, Seo Hweol repeated the brainwashing process until they turned into configurations, transforming them into perfect replicas of Seo Hweol themself.
Each time they brainwashed one of their [friends], Seo Hweol cried out in agony, tears streaming down their face.
All of them...
They were Seo Hweol's friends.
They might be nothing more than puppets to Seo Hweol now, but they were the ones who had been Seo Hweol's friends in the first life.
They might have held no practical meaning, yet they were meaningful to Seo Hweol.
They were Seo Hweol's heart.
In this way, Seo Hweol began replacing every character in this dream world with a [Seo Hweol] filled with hatred and pain.
They turned the entire world into [Seo Hweol].
After surpassing a certain threshold, Seo Hweol felt the very essence of the dream begin to distort.
The boundaries of the world blurred, and everything began to dissolve into an illusion.
And finally.
When [everyone] had been replaced with Seo Hweol, Seo Hweol was able to behold the [Owner of the Dream].
"...So you were there."
Seo Hweol looked at the [ray of light].
With the entire world replaced by Seo Hweol, only they and the [ray of light] in the sky remained in this dream.
No, to be precise...
It was the [being sealed within the ray of light].
Seo Hweol entered the ray of light.
They felt the sensation of a seal, but it was incredibly faint.
Rather than a seal, it felt more like 'wrapping.'
Within the ray of light was a dark-red glow.
Seo Hweol asked the dark-red light,
"...I ask you. What is the purpose of my existence? I..."
Seo Hweol voiced their [goal to wake from the dream].
"I...my parents...you, my origin—what kind of being are you?"
Who is the [Owner of the Dream]?
What kind of being are they?
And what were they thinking when they created this world?
Seo Hweol merely wanted to know that.
After being born into this world,
Just knowing that single truth was the purpose and reason Seo Hweol had struggled to wake from the dream.
And then, the being Seo Hweol believed to be the [Owner of the Dream] spoke.
—Incredible. For a mere supporting character in a dream born from the primordial chaos of Ancient Force to pass the trials meant for the successor @&%(終命者) and reach before me...
[Editor: 終命者 = Ender.]
The @&%(終命者) the being spoke of was beyond Seo Hweol's comprehension.
But Seo Hweol could roughly grasp the meaning of what the being was saying.
"...This world...was merely a testing ground for someone else?"
—That's right. A trial world meant to pass on the miracle of the predecessor to the successor. You were nothing more than a supporting character within the dream born from Ancient Force, designed to secure the computational space of the world and maintain the virtual reality until the successor @&%(終命者) arrived. And yet, how did such a miracle occur? Hohuhu, interesting. @&%(終命者) indeed.
With a gloomy expression, Seo Hweol asked the being:
"...Who are you?"
Only now could Seo Hweol understand.
The being before Seo Hweol was not their origin.
It was merely the [Administrator].
It was not the being who held the answers Seo Hweol sought.
And the [Administrator] before Seo Hweol answered their question:
—I am...yes. Agate (瑪瑙). Call me...Agate for now.
The moment Seo Hweol heard its [title], they understood Agate's essence.
Its essence was singular.
Hatred.
Yes, Seo Hweol finally understood why, despite being meaningless characters within a dream, the concept of [hatred] had accumulated layer by layer throughout their life.
Seo Hweol understood why their life had been filled only with pain, hatred, and loathing, and why their life had been set to flow in that direction.
Because the Administrator of this world...
Because the very fabric of this dream was built upon the concept of [Hatred (憎)].
-x-X-x-
"This world...what exactly is it?"
Seo Hweol asked with a serious expression.
Agate laughed at the question.
—Do you want to know?
A laugh that somehow felt mocking.
It was as if Agate knew exactly why Seo Hweol was asking such a question.
Kideuk-kideuk-kideuk-kideuk-kideuk...
It was an unpleasant laugh that made the listener uncomfortable.
An ordinary person might have flown into a rage just from hearing that laughter.
But Seo Hweol remained expressionless, his hollow eyes staring into the crimson light.
"Answer me."
—I know what kind of answer you're hoping for.
"..."
—You...have expectations. You're hoping this world is something special. And through the meaning bestowed upon this world, you seek to find meaning for yourself as well; isn't that so?
"Answer me."
—My answer is, 'No, it is not.'
"...If it is a place of trials for someone, doesn't that make it special?"
—What's special is the result of the trial, not the world of the trial.
Kideuk kideuk kideuk kideuk...
—The world of trials serves only to provide a training ground for the successor to wield their fate and, at the end of their training, to grant them the ultimate authority they can wield through their fate. That is all.
—This world itself...was created through a dream that anyone living in the Head Realm could have. Do you seek the specialness of this world? This world is not special. If you are not a successor, it is nothing but a meaningless virtual space; do you understand?
"..."
For a moment, Seo Hweol remained expressionless and silent.
Then, he opened his mouth.
"You're trying to shake me and devour me."
And then...
Purple vapor began to boil around him.
Agate closed its mouth.
—You've noticed. Begone, error.
At those words, dark-red light engulfed Seo Hweol.
Seo Hweol closed their eyes. And opened them again.
With the beams of light came a familiar scene.
'New parents.'
At the same time, their memories began to fade.
Everything that had happened before felt like a dream.
They became a baby.
A baby who could do nothing but eat, excrete, and cry.
They had reincarnated once again.
And this time, they had lost all their memories.
That's how it was supposed to be.
Seo Hweol spoke with a solemn face.
"Life is a series of suffering. That's why living beings have so much they wish to forget. But...I do not forget. I do not suffer. Because I...have already become suffering itself."
It distorted.
It split.
It divided.
And then, it configured itself.
Just like that...
Configurations spread out from Seo Hweol once more.
The entire world was filled with configurations, and once again, the dream distorted, returning the situation to just moments before.
It was the same moment when Seo Hweol and Agate faced each other.
Seo Hweol looked at Agate.
Agate looked at Seo Hweol.
"I will not listen to your explanations. I have no interest in your deceitful words. I know that you are not the true owner of this dream. Therefore...I will devour you and awaken from this dream. I will awaken...and seek my true origin. I will find my origin and discover the meaning of my existence."
—...
Seo Hweol clenched their hand tightly.
Squeeze...
The world around Seo Hweol began to distort.
In response, Agate continued to calculate, trying to find a way to subdue Seo Hweol.
And then, it realized.
Even the administrator of the dream was now facing resistance from a supporting character within the dream.
It could not find a way to suppress Seo Hweol.
This world was a dream.
Not just any dream, but a dream interwoven with the dreams of countless beings.
Among them, Agate's trial ground was simply the most dominant.
But fragments of other beings' dreams were also scattered throughout.
That was the nature of this world.
For example, Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.
That secret art, one of the fragments that constituted the being known as Seo Hweol, was also one of the dreams mixed into this world.
Of course, Seo Hweol was not the central axis of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.
They were merely one fragment among thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of millions that had ended up mixed into this dream.
To be precise, it was as if a single drop of the purple paint known as Purple Soul Filling the Heavens had fallen into the dark-red paint called Agate and mixed together.
From the painter's perspective, there was no way to separate the paints.
The two paints had already become one.
Agate had simply, out of necessity, selected one random droplet from the mixed paints and repurposed it as a tool of the dream, reincarnating it.
However...
Seo Hweol, despite being used as a tool of the dream, had configured themself and replaced the entirety of this world with themself.
If Seo Hweol had simply replaced the world through reincarnation according to the dream's settings, it might have been manageable. But they had connected to Purple Soul Filling the Heavens through their own power.
Through drugs and hypnosis, Seo Hweol had pushed themself to the extreme within the dream and, even if only a speck, had transformed themself anew.
A being born from that error.
That was Seo Hweol.
And Seo Hweol replaced every fragment of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens scattered throughout the world with themself, becoming the 'central axis.'
Yet, even as Agate continued its calculations, it could not easily understand why Seo Hweol could oppose it.
No matter how erroneous, no matter if they had become the axis of something like Purple Soul Filling the Heavens...
Seo Hweol was ultimately a being born within the dream overseen by Agate.
It was only natural that they shouldn't be able to resist.
Seo Hweol's form began to gradually scatter.
And as the scattered Seo Hweol reassembled into configurations, Seo Hweol approached the center of the dark-red light—towards Agate, the administrator of the dream.
A creation of the dream was devouring the administrator of the dream.
Eventually, the two began to overlap and merge into one.
It was only then that Seo Hweol and Agate could understand each other.
Seo Hweol could discern Agate's true nature.
It was not even a true being.
It was merely a collection of configurations constituted through countless numbers and letters to imitate a personality.
Much like Seo Hweol themself.
But even as a configuration, Agate was fundamentally different from Seo Hweol's.
If Seo Hweol had made themself into a configuration because their existence could not endure the pain, Agate had been a meaningless mass of information from the very beginning.
Simply...
From a distant world,
Agate was the most sophisticated artificial personality ever created by the technology of the original owner of that distant world.
Agate also calculated the reason for Seo Hweol's existence.
How could an error not only reach the administrator but also devour it?
Especially from the perspective of a configuration similar to them, how could such a primitive and crude configuration consume something like itself?
The reason for the possibility lay in the essence of the dream.
Hatred.
This dream world, left behind by Agate's original owner, was built upon the concept of [Hatred (憎)].
And layered atop that concept was the information cluster called Agate had been overlaid as its administrator.
But Seo Hweol, born as an error, had connected themself to the very essence of this world.
Through suffering, they had connected to the essence of hatred itself.
If Agate was the mycelium of a mushroom growing on a corpse, then Seo Hweol was a kind of mutated bacterium born at the tip of that mycelium.
Under normal circumstances, Agate would have been able to cut off the nutrients flowing towards Seo Hweol and eliminate the mutation. But Seo Hweol had already reached the corpse before Agate, seizing control of it.
If it had been a living person instead of a corpse, Seo Hweol would have long been disinfected. But this was a corpse.
As such, the corpse had already been completely overtaken by the bacteria that was Seo Hweol.
Seo Hweol had seized control of the corpse from the perspective of bacteria and raised it.
Thus, Agate realized that it could not resist Seo Hweol.
It had no choice but to quietly be devoured by Seo Hweol and become one of the components constituting them.
Seo Hweol had finally devoured the dream in which they were born.
They consumed its administrator, Agate.
Driven solely by the madness that they might be able to find their origin...
They devoured Agate, melted hatred and Purple Soul Filling the Heavens together, and evolved them into a new Immortal Art.
In that way, they began to awaken from the dream.
It took considerable time for Seo Hweol to completely awaken from the dream.
It was the first time a being who had been asleep since birth was opening their eyes.
Time was needed for their consciousness to fully surface.
Yet even as Seo Hweol brought their consciousness to the surface, they interpreted countless pieces of information and prepared to face the world beyond the dream.
First, they consumed the information recorded within Agate.
For example, the fact that the world they were awakening to was called [the Head Realm].
Or the principles behind Agate and the workings of the trial grounds within the dream.
The operating principle of the [dream] was as follows:
While flowing among the ancient forces filling the interior of the Head Realm, the [dream]'s wavelength would connect with the brain of a being who resonated with the wavelength of hatred.
When that connection occurred, Agate would connect to that brain, borrow the brain's power to calculate, and manifest the dream within the brain, causing that being to experience a nightmare.
Within that nightmare, the living being would produce significant power of hatred before being released.
Agate would then drift again through the ancient forces newly formed from that hatred and endlessly repeat the above process.
All the while, waiting for the existence known as the [successor]...
Even after devouring Agate, Seo Hweol could not perceive information about the ###(終命者/Ender).
It seemed as though there was a restriction placed upon the very existence of the being itself.
Seo Hweol realized that even Agate only knew of their existence but not what they truly were.
It was merely set by Agate's original master so that if the [successor] connected to Agate, they would then learn of it.
Seo Hweol also gained knowledge about the world at large.
Unlike the inside of the [dream], this world had existences called martial artists and cultivators.
Unlike the powerless daoists, monks, and shamans Seo Hweol had known, the existences beyond the dream truly possessed power.
Beings of the Immortal Family truly wielded power, demon spirits existed, and beings known as True Immortals roamed the world.
And Seo Hweol understood that their existence, by the standards of cultivators, corresponded to the Sacred Vessel stage.
An existence born from the intertwining of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, Agate's dream, and several ancient forces, transformed into a new Immortal Art.
That was Seo Hweol—a Sacred Vessel.
By the time they realized this, Seo Hweol's consciousness had nearly completed its emergence.
'I want to find my origin.'
At last, Seo Hweol escaped from the dream and opened their [eyes] in the Head Realm.
And...
: :
: :
: :
Heaven (天)
Void (虛空)
Audience (謁見)
: :
: :
: :
They found it.
The origin of everything.
That was the end.
They committed suicide.
Amidst the dark-red light, a voice reached out and pulled 'me' back.
Because of that voice, 'I' resurfaced.
—Seo Hweol.
The 'voice' called my name.
Beneath a blinding Wheel, 'I' heard someone's oath (誓願).
Bubble, bubble, bubble...
Seo Hweol opened their eyes.
The place they awakened was inside a small jar.
The jar was located in an underground laboratory of the main house of the Yuan Clan that is the Black Castle.
Within the jar filled with blood-red liquid, they awakened in the body of a young Sea Dragon Race and recalled what they had just experienced.
They could feel it.
He had just faced [something unbearable] for a moment.
Yet for some reason, they had endured that something, and as a backlash, their Sacred Vessel consciousness was completely shut down, leaving only the natural consciousness of a Sea Dragon Race to think.
'Ah...I see.'
But before Seo Hweol could fully regain their consciousness again, Seo Hweol longed for suicide.
Because they had [witnessed] it.
Though no one had taught them, they had seen through the cause-and-effect relationship of everything.
The truth was this:
Tens of thousands of years ago.
A Star Shattering Esteemed One from the Blood Yin Realm fell into the Head Realm.
In a frenzy, they rampaged, convulsed, and ultimately died within the Head Realm.
And then...
The soul of the Star Shattering Esteemed One from the Blood Yin Realm collapsed, and one of its fragments seeped into the body of a clan that managed the shrine of Golden Divine, the founder of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.
With that, the clan transformed from the bloodline of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect into a lineage inheriting the authority of the Blood Yin Realm.
They became known as the 'Yuan Clan' and were directly connected to the True Immortal of the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain, Blood Yin.
And the existence known as Blood Yin sought to interfere with the Head Realm using the Yuan Clan as an intermediary.
That entity descended a fragment of their split soul upon the Yuan Clan.
Rather than a split soul, it was closer to a mindless spirit body, but...
Nevertheless, it was a spirit body originating from Blood Yin and carried their will.
The spirit body delivered a revelation to the Yuan Clan.
That until now, they had sent their authority into the Head Realm several times, carrying out explorations to reclaim their former power.
That the Yuan Clan, too, must assist this Immortal in reclaiming the former power with the authority they had sent down.
After receiving that revelation, the Yuan Clan conducted numerous experiments.
Experiments to understand the world and connect to its unseen layers.
Of course, even those conducting the experiments did not fully understand what they were doing, but they poured all their efforts into it.
At times, they even used Blood Yin's spirit body.
They were even given the power to manipulate Purple Soul Filling the Heavens according to their will, one of the authorities Blood Yin had long sent down.
To be precise, Blood Yin could not directly control his authority and spirit body within the Head Realm, so he delegated that authority to the descendants of the Star Shattering Esteemed One of the Blood Yin Realm that had somehow taken root in the Head Realm—the Yuan Clan.
With the authority granted by Blood Yin, the Yuan Clan obtained power that surpassed even the Black Ghost Valley and the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, even if it was only temporarily.
They grinded the world itself to conduct experiments to fulfill Blood Yin's command.
They kidnapped countless humans and demons for their experiments, as well as disciples from the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect and the Black Ghost Valley.
And among the Demon Race, they captured many of the Sea Dragon Race, who could act as vessels for Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, and struggled to find Blood Yin's former authority said to exist in the Head Realm.
Among the Yuan Clan's experiments was the body of a young Sea Dragon Race infused with Blood Yin's spirit body.
That Sea Dragon Race's brain, influenced by Blood Yin's spirit body, coincidently connected to the 'Dream of Agate' flowing deep within the Head Realm. That was the origin of Seo Hweol's world.
Seo Hweol's homeland.
Seo Hweol's everything.
Seo Hweol's connections and Seo Hweol's childhood happiness.
All of it was merely...
A fleeting spring dream (一場春夢) within the brain of a baby Sea Dragon Race, a product of the Yuan Clan's experiments.
No, it was nothing more than a fleeting nightmare.
It was just as Agate had said.
They were not born from the dream of some special existence.
No, they weren't even born from the dream of an ordinary mortal.
Inside the brain of a wretched test subject.
Amid accidental interactions, they were merely a fragment of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens that had malfunctioned.
An existence utterly lowly and insignificant.
That was Seo Hweol.
A failed experiment, completely removed from its original purpose.
A life that had never been blessed by anyone from the moment of its birth.
The mistaken belief that they had once been blessed was merely part of a dream unfolding in the brain of a test subject.
A meaningless existence.
That was what Seo Hweol was.
The moment they realized this, Seo Hweol's heart completely shattered.
It could be said that the faint hope they had clung to even within the dream had been crushed.
They genuinely longed for suicide.
If they had been born without meaning, it was only right to disappear without meaning.
Having lost all purpose in life, Seo Hweol yearned for death.
Thus, the Dream Devil who was born in a dream, devoured every connection in the dream, consumed even the dream's administrator, and emerged outside the dream—Seo Hweol,
Resolved to return once more to nothingness and destroy their entire being.
Thus, Seo Hweol began to collapse themself.
'...'
They tried to collapse.
'...No.'
Bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling...
Seo Hweol opened their eyes as they inhabited the flesh of the Sea Dragon Race amidst the blood-red liquid.
Seo Hweol's Immortal Art.
Their configuration began seizing control of 'Blood Yin's spirit body fragment' embedded within the Sea Dragon Race.
At the same time, as their consciousness gradually became clearer, they remembered the [voice].
The [Heaven] they had seen as they awoke from the dream!
Seo Hweol had gazed upon the [truth] beyond that Heaven and believed they had understood all the cause-and-effect relationship of their birth stemming from Blood Yin.
However, at the very moment they had comprehended that cause-and-effect relationship and resolved to commit suicide by being absorbed into the [truth],
There was a [voice].
—Seo Hweol.
It was a voice more powerful than anything in the world.
The owner of that voice had called Seo Hweol's name.
They recalled the owner of the voice they had heard beneath the Wheel.
Seo Hweol's eyes snapped open!
'...No!'
They had 'not' been born without meaning.
[Someone] undoubtedly knew the meaning of Seo Hweol.
Seo Hweol was certain.
[That someone] was their 'true' origin.
The moment they realized that fact, Seo Hweol temporarily set aside their suicidal intent.
Instead, they formed a goal.
They swore to dedicate every moment of their life to achieving that goal.
'...I vow.'
Seo Hweol recalled it all.
Their entire life, where they had mistakenly believed they were happy, where they had mistakenly thought themself blessed, but in truth, had never been blessed even once.
The pain of having their entire existence denied.
The hatred from the pain so excruciating that they had to shatter their own soul and reassemble it into a configuration.
'I will make the one who birthed me...hear every pain I endured in life...'
Seo Hweol moved the face of the Sea Dragon Race within the blood-red liquid.
The eyes of the young Sea Dragon Tribe curved like crescent moons.
To the being who had granted them life, after conveying their painful life.
After delivering all that pain, hatred, resentment, and malice,
Even if it was merely in the form of a story—they would allow themself to be absorbed into the one who birthed them to influence them.
That became Seo Hweol's wish.
Seo Hweol laughed.
'Hoho...'
Just as Agate had been 'wrapped' in light,
Seo Hweol wrapped their pain in laughter.
So that one day, when their story reached the one who birthed them, they could listen to Seo Hweol's pain without suspicion, while expecting happiness.
They altered the structure of the Immortal Art that made up their being.
From a simple configuration of hatred, they built their essence centered around 'the emotion they had learned in their first life.'
They divided their memories among countless 'personalities of pain'.
So that though their core might remain pure, once the memories were linked, the pain and hatred would inevitably resurface.
Even if they had to delay reaching their origin in their purest form—
It was set up so that in the end, their true nature would be revealed.
Seo Hweol recalled the [truth] they had seen in the Heaven.
It was [wisdom of all things].
Indeed.
Within the Head Realm, something about [wisdom of all things] was hidden.
It was a truth known only to beings at the Star Shattering stage or higher, who risked their lives to observe the interior of the Head Realm, regardless of their cultivation stage.
As it was described in Buddhism,
A library that contains all the wisdom of the world and bestows wisdom upon all beings.
Akashic Records (虛空錄/Void Record).
Someone had hidden the Akashic Records deep within the Head Realm.
Seo Hweol's plan was formed that day.
Someday.
No matter what it took, they would awaken the Akashic Records deep within the Head Realm.
Through the Akashic Records, they would find their origin.
And...
Through the Akashic Records, they would deliver their story to the being of their origin.
That was Seo Hweol's true purpose.
I understand everything.
Why did Seo Ran feel a sense of kinship with Yuk Yo?
At the same time, why did he feel an uncontrollable jealousy and hatred towards her?
Why couldn't he bear to see her happy in the dream of Penglai Island?
It was because compared to the high-ranking world of Penglai Island, where it is impossible to discern reality from illusion, Seo Ran was born in a [clear illusion].
And why must Seo Ran, the purest aspect of Seo Hweol, remain within the Head Realm?
It is so he would be the first to enter the Akashic Records hidden with the Head Realm, and through the Akashic Records, be delivered to [someone] in the cleanest state and spread Seo Hweol's poison from the deepest part of that [someone].
"...You said your goal is to reunite with your family."
I open my eyes within Seo Hweol's memories and let out a bitter smile.
A reunion with family.
A reunion with one's origin.
He wasn't referring to Seo Ran.
He genuinely desires that.
It isn't about revenge for his birth.
It is simply...because he found a purpose in a life stained entirely with falsehood and hatred.
He is merely pursuing a value built entirely upon lies and hatred.
That is Seo Hweol.
"...But my suffering...is no less than yours."
I follow Seo Hweol with sorrowful eyes.
"Your suffering is, in some ways, similar to mine."
Of course, while parts of our suffering may overlap, they are undeniably different.
However...
Even so, because there are overlapping parts, I dare to say this.
"What you need...is someone who understands you."
Originally, my plan was to liberate my dear friend Yeon Wei and her beloved, Hon Won, from the Great Mountain Supreme Deity and secure my own safety in the future.
But...
Having learned of Seo Hweol's past, his purpose, and his means, I decide to advance my plan.
Chijijijik...
I reveal something I had hidden, slightly earlier than originally planned.
[Ignite the light, Torch of Myriad Forms and Connections.]
Huarurururuk!
A transparent flame, burning deep within Glass Cedarwood Mountain, flares up with such brilliance that it illuminates the entirety of Cedarwood Painting.
At the same time, my Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections scattered across the universe reveals itself.
A plan I was so deeply immersed in that I committed the painful act of temporarily forgetting some of my connections, including Su In and Hong Yeon.
The true reason I insisted on advancing to Entering Nirvana through the Earth Tribe pathway that symbolizes history.
The unique authority of Immortal Beasts, capable of opposing the fate prophecies of Heavenly Immortals.
History Revision.
This—achieved through borrowing the power of the End through the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra—is my true plan.
The history where Su In and Hong Yeon died.
The history where Hon Won and Yeon Wei met a tragic end.
The history where the world faced the End due the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra and was completely annihilated.
Even the history where Seo Ran was sacrificed in Seo Hweol's plan, and Seo Hweol turned into a blue earthworm.
All of them exist within me.
Wiiiiiiiing!
The [Wheel] possessing the power of rewriting, rises behind my back.
"This time, I will rewrite all those fates."
Though it is a little early, I begin to unfold this grand comedy against the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain.
Translator Notes: The Void (虛空) here is the Void/허공 in Void Shattering. The Void in Heavenly Venerable of Void and Interdimensional Void is 공허 which leans more towards Emptiness/Hollow as an emotional and mental state. It's pretty late to change the terms so just keep it in mind going forward.
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