Seo Ran coughs in the capital of the Hyun Kingdom, Jeongyeong City.
"Achoo!"
It is gradually turning into winter, and as the cold wind blows, some dust gets into her nose.
At that moment, Seo Ran turns and glares sulkily at her father, who suddenly appears behind her.
"Father! Stop following me around. I just sneezed, that's all."
"As expected...should I exterminate all germs?"
"No, stop saying weird things! I'm already fifteen, you know!"
"Your birthday hasn't passed yet, so you're still fourteen."
"Uuugh..."
She grits her teeth in frustration.
She doesn't like it.
Even though she is already fifteen, she is tired of the overprotection from her father and mother.
"Still, for you to chase after me like this just because I sneezed and interrupt my personal time...I don't think that's right. There's nothing dangerous here! In all of Jeongyeong City, there isn't a single person who can beat me in a fight, is there?"
"Emmm..."
At her words, her father, Seo Eun-hyun, seems to ponder for a moment before speaking.
"There's nothing dangerous, but it's not the same for your body. Even if you win a fight against some thug, if your body is strained and you get hurt...how sad would your mother and I be?"
"Oh, enough already. That's not going to happen. With my skills, I wouldn't even need to overexert myself to fight some thug."
"...Are you really sure you're okay?"
"Yes!"
After bickering with her father Seo Eun-hyun for a while, Seo Ran lets out a deep sigh.
"Haaa... He finally left."
Her body has been weak since birth.
It's a Heavenly Penalty called Quaking Heat Body (震熱體).
If her body experiences even the slightest strain, her blood and energy twist, her muscles spasm, and her internal organs begin to rupture.
To block these abnormal symptoms, her body forcibly consumes her life force and Qi, causing her innate true energy to vanish. During this, the one afflicted with this Heavenly Penalty experiences extreme dizziness and panic.
The pain felt in those moments is said to be like being scorched by lightning across the whole body, hence this Heavenly Penalty is known as the Quaking Heat Body across the continent, and information about it is widely spread.
From a young age, Seo Ran has taken all sorts of elixirs prepared by her father, who is a ginseng digger, and learned martial arts from her mother, who is said to be a former martial artist. She uses an energy circulation method called 'Seo Style Grand Method (瑞式大法)' that goes beyond just restoring the depleted innate true energy, but greatly accumulates it, and she built up massive internal energy using another energy circulation method called the 'Eun Style Formation Method (恩式陣法)'.
If she consumes internal energy instead of innate true energy during overexertion, the symptoms that come with the Quaking Heat Body can be nullified by over ninety percent.
Because of this, her father Seo Eun-hyun traveled all over the continent to gather rare spiritual herbs and made them into elixirs for her. Thanks to that, her internal energy is immense, and now, even if she pushes her body, she only needs to expend internal energy to avoid pain.
Of course, if she overuses her internal energy, the aforementioned Heavenly Penalty still flares up. So she can't engage in strenuous exercise, and her body still remains weak.
'Mother and Father just worry too much.'
She lets out a short sigh, thinking of her father, Seo Eun-hyun, and her mother, Kim Yeon.
'Honestly, I don't even need that kind of concern anymore.'
Her body may be weak, but the martial arts she's trained in since childhood are quite formidable.
The Seo Style Grand Method, which allows her to endlessly replenish innate true energy and heal her body at will.
The Eun Style Formation Method, the family heart method that borrows strength from the mountain divine spirit protecting the Seo family to rapidly build internal energy.
And the Hyun Style Fighting Method (現式鬪法), a family martial art systematized from all the fighting techniques her father used in emergencies during his ginseng-gathering days.
On top of these three, she has also learned the Paired Wing Spear from her mother, making it hard to find her equal in the Hyun Kingdom.
Though her martial arts realm may only be mid first-rate, the martial arts she learned are all just too divine and supreme.
'With all these divine arts they themselves taught me, who exactly am I supposed to overexert myself against? Who could even hurt me?'
She looks down at her own hand.
She knows it well herself.
The reason someone like her, who is only mid first-rate, does not fear even the most renowned peak experts of the Hyun Kingdom is because of the overwhelming power of the cheat family martial arts she has learned.
Thanks to Seo Eun-hyun's not-so-subtle encouragement, she had gone around every sect in Jeongyeong City, defeating dojos, and had come to realize the truth.
'I'm basically...the strongest martial artist in the Hyun Kingdom. Aside from Mother and Father...'
And because of that, she cannot suppress her curiosity about her own parents, who possess such monstrous divine supreme techniques.
'Just what kind of people are Mother and Father...?'
She has been endlessly curious about it since she was young and has asked questions about her parents without end.
But whenever her questions go beyond a certain point, Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon would only smile awkwardly and avoid answering.
They would only say vague things like, "You'll understand once you come to know your fate."
Thinking that her parents must be among the hidden masters of the Hyun Kingdom, she sips tea in an inn.
'Hmph, fate or whatever...who even cares about that?'
"Ah, is everyone here?"
She pushes aside thoughts of her parents and smiles brightly at the four girls arriving at the promised meeting place.
Including Seo Ran herself, the group known as the Jeongyeong Five Flowers consists of five girls, each hailing from the orthodox, unorthodox, and devilish factions of Jeongyeong City. They are regarded as the most promising young women in the city.
"Seo Ran, how have you been?"
The eldest of the Jeongyeong Five Flowers, the Black Flower Kang Min-hee, smiles brightly and sits closely beside Seo Ran.
"Hee Unnie! Of course I've been well. By the way, wow, that ring—what is it? It's so pretty..."
"This ring was brought by the Black Merchant Group under our Black Sect. I heard it was crafted personally by the artisan Yu Hwi from the western Seo Kingdom."
"Yu, Yu Hwi...? The one they say is a genius at gemstone crafting?"
"Of course. What do you think? If you like it, I'll bring one back for you next time."
"Th-Thank you, Unnie..."
After a while of lively chatter, Seo Ran slowly reveals her true intent to Kang Min-hee.
"So, Unnie, any new gossip lately?"
"Of course. You know our merchant group roams the entire continent, right? And you know how much info gathers around us Jeongyeong Five Flowers. This month's got plenty of juicy stories."
Kang Min-hee smiles faintly, and starting with her, updates about the state of the continent and various events in Jeongyeong City flow among the girls.
"Guess what? One of Second Flower Unnie's servants was chopping wood next to a pond on Sword Peak Mountain, and guess what? He dropped his axe into the pond!"
"Sword Peak Mountain?"
"Yeah. It was unlucky of him to go all the way to that eerie Ghost Mountain just to chop wood. But then something incredible happened. You know what?"
"What was it?"
"A mountain spirit wearing white robes appeared from the pond, holding a golden axe and a silver axe..."
"Hahaha, did it ask him something like, 'Which of these is your axe?' or something like that?"
"Gasp, how did you know, Seo Ran?"
After chatting cheerfully for a while with the Jeongyeong Five Flowers, Seo Ran sips her tea, unaware of the time, and watches the sun begin to set from the top floor of the inn.
"Ah, it's already this late. It's almost time for my father to call me back..."
"Alright, Ran-ah. Go on home. I know full well how intense your dad can be."
Kang Min-hee waves at Seo Ran with a cheerful smile.
Seo Ran smiles back just as brightly, receiving her farewell.
She leaves the city of Jeongyeong and heads toward the foot of the mountain known as Sword Peak Mountain.
The path leading to Sword Peak Mountain is eerie, and with all the thick bushes and trees, it could practically be called a forest trail.
Just as she is walking through that eerie trail—
'Hm... Just as expected, here they come.'
Pababat!
"Hey, little girl. Want to have a quick chat with us uncles?"
Bandits with blades step out to block her path.
Seo Ran reads the hunger, greed, and lust gleaming in the eyes of the bandits.
"Hmm...I am Seo Ran, one of the Jeongyeong Five Flowers. Would you kindly step aside?"
"Jeongyeong Five Flowers? What kind of punks are they?"
"Isn't that something you put in pancakes or something?"
"Pancakes taste good though..."
Watching the bandits engaged in a foolish conversation, Seo Ran surveys her surroundings with a cold gaze.
'I heard they say all the nearby bandits were exterminated recently... That must mean these guys came from another region and don't know who I am.'
Grasping the cause and effect in an instant, she steadies her stance.
"I need to get home, you see. Would you mind stepping aside?"
"Hm? Home? Ahaha, don't worry, little girl. You'll be coming to our home now, and we'll have a good ti—"
Crunch—
She doesn't bother to listen to the rest.
She simply uses the Hyun Style Fighting Method to crush the shin of the blabbering bandit.
"Hm... This is getting a little bothersome. Every time I go out alone, bandits show up and start spewing filth. I kill them all, and new bandits take their place, doing the same thing and dying by my hand. But if I spare them, they get wiped out by the government forces anyway, then new bandits take over, and the same thing repeats again..."
"W-Wait, miss! No, young lady! Heroine! Please spare us!"
"This has already repeated so many times now. It's strange, really. It's as if there's some law causing beings like you to appear endlessly and repeat this same scenario."
"Y-Young Lady! Please spare me. I have rabbit-like children and a fox-like husband at home."
"But Ahjussi is a man though. Ah...well, alright. But the children part is a lie, right?"
"N-No, that's not..."
While Seo Ran holds one of the bandits and asks questions about this and that, two others silently approach from behind.
"Iyaaaaah!"
"Die, you mo—"
But in the next instant—
They realize their arms have already been twisted before they can even perceive what happened.
Hyun Style Fighting Method.
It is the technique of Twin Fang.
Crunch, crunch!
"...Huh?"
"Uhhht..."
"Ajusshis. I have a few questions. If you give satisfactory answers, I'll let you go."
"Uaaaaaagh!"
"Guaaagh!"
Seo Ran is fundamentally weak in body.
But because she possesses overwhelming internal energy that compensates for her frailty...she has never once lost to anyone.
Tap, tap-tap...
She approaches the three fallen bandits, presses down on acupuncture points that numbs their pain, and continues speaking.
"If everything in this world already has a determined ending...then what should one do to make it fun?"
"K-Kkughh...P-Pardon...?"
"Oh dear, you didn't understand? Let me rephrase... For example, I'm going to massacre you Ajusshis in a little while."
Hyun Style Fighting Method.
Technique of Ghost Fang.
Tukwang!
In an instant, Seo Ran's fingers turn black, and the strike she unleashes strikes a nearby tree from a distance, knocking it down.
The bandits, seeing this, begin to weep with terror-stricken expressions.
"So then, if we assume that Ajusshis are all going to be massacred soon...what could Ajussshis do to escape from the fear of death?"
"H-Hiiiek..."
Seeing Seo Ran's face, they all tremble with terror.
"If you don't answer, you die. Please give a proper answer."
"Th-That's..."
"Please answer while I count to ten. One."
"W-Wait, wait! Please give us a moment!"
"Two."
Seo Ran's counting continues, and before long, the bandits turn pale and break into sobs.
"Nine."
"I don't know! Fuck, how can anyone think about anything else with death right in front of them!? Huh!?"
"...Hm..."
And after counting all the numbers, Seo Ran takes on a briefly contemplative expression.
"So in the end...because there's no time to think, there's no way to escape fear?"
"Th-That's...I mean..."
"...I see. If fear can't be escaped...then the ending can't be escaped either...is what you're saying."
She nods slowly after a moment of contemplation and speaks.
"I'll let you live. It wasn't the answer I was looking for, but maybe the fact that it wasn't what I wanted is exactly the essence. Go on then. If you see me next time, don't even act like you know me and just walk past."
Finishing her words, she leaves the bandits behind and continues walking along the forest path.
Chiiii—
Smoke begins to rise from various parts of her body.
It is the phenomenon that occurs when her Quaking Heat Body contracts the muscles in her limbs, and she tries to suppress it by consuming internal energy.
'My parents are really ridiculous.'
She lets out a chuckle.
In the distance,
Below Sword Peak Mountain,
Her house comes into view.
It is the home of Seo Ran and her parents.
'When their daughter sneezes, they rush in like lightning, but when she comes back after breaking the limbs of some thugs, they don't even react...'
It seems like an utterly absurd way to act.
But she knows herself.
'Well...I guess they didn't show up because it didn't deviate from the flow.'
From the moment she was born—
She could sense the countless 'flows' that exist in this world.
Most humans live and die under this 'flow'.
Perhaps this flow is the vast law that most people refer to by 'fate'.
That's right.
From birth, she possessed the talent to read the fates around her.
Because she already knows the outcome of every event in the world by reading the flow of fate around her, she is unable to find anything interesting unless it's something she's seeing for the first time.
That is why she attends Kang Min-hee's monthly gathering of the Jeongyeong Five Flowers and enjoys the 'new' incidents that gather to Kang Min-hee's merchant group and the Five Flowers.
After all, she can only read the fate around her, while Kang Min-hee and the Five Flowers bring her new information from faraway places.
And because of that, she also understands why her parents show such peculiar reactions.
"Ahhht!"
While lost in thought, she nearly trips over a stone in front of her house, and at that moment, someone appears and catches her.
"Oh my, is it Ran? Go on inside. Your parents are worried."
"Ah, Uncle Hyun-seok! Thank you."
"Be careful not to trip over stones next time. As it is, that Seo Eun-hyun is already pacing around knowing you tripped."
"Kukuk... My parents are so ridiculous. They didn't even react when their daughter was surrounded by bandits."
She mutters with a bit of cynicism.
Seeing this, Oh Hyun-seok looks as if he's about to say something, but instead swallows his words and pats Seo Ran on the head.
"...I know, I know. I mean...just like me, my parents probably feel the 'flow' too, right? And if they don't see a fate where I get hurt in that flow, then they don't particularly care. But for tiny things that aren't shown in the flow...like sneezes or tripping on stones—if they think I might get hurt by those, then they make a fuss."
"..."
"But...I don't know. I feel like I'm going insane from how boring this life is."
All danger can be known even without seeing it.
And for dangers that can't be known even when seeing, for example trivial possibilities like sneezing, her parents block them all before they even reach her.
Absolute safety may be guaranteed,
But to her, her parents feel like nothing more than a suffocating cage.
"And yet, it's not like they tell me everything... It's not like they tell me their true identities either... Everything just feels so frustrating."
"One day, everything will be resolved. What's most important is...that your parents love you."
Oh Hyun-seok pats the complaining Seo Ran's head with a smile.
"Go inside and have dinner. Your mother's already set the table."
-x-X-x-
'It feels like a play.'
Seo Ran returns home, greets her parents, eats dinner, and tells Seo Eun-hyun about what happened today.
Her father, Seo Eun-hyun, already knows everything, but still listens again to what happened from Seo Ran.
Seo Ran finds that kind of thing uncomfortable.
'This world, my parents, these endlessly repeating fates...it all feels like a play.'
She often feels as if she isn't living in the 'real world' but has entered a script where everything is written and orchestrated.
'Of course...'
Of course, every time Kim Yeon and Seo Eun-hyun look at Seo Ran with those affectionate eyes.
The boundless love from her parents—that alone is real, not a play.
But...
Even the parents who give her endless love don't tell her everything.
After finishing the story of the day and eating all her dinner, she suddenly asks her parents a question.
"...Are you not going to answer me again today? About Mother and Father's true identities?"
"Hmm... Hoho, Daoist Seo. I am just fellow Daoist's father."
"Father! Please stop joking and give me a proper answer!"
She lets out a sigh, raising her voice slightly at Seo Eun-hyun, who always teases her with words like "Hoho, Daoist Seo" whenever he's bored.
Seeing her like that, Kim Yeon smiles warmly.
"Ran-ah, don't be so anxious. Someday...when you achieve great completion in the martial arts we've given you, and your strength is enough to truly be considered the best under the heavens..."
"Here we go again, yes yes, I know. When I become the best under the heavens, I'll naturally learn my fate, and then I'll know who Mother and Father really are, right? Got it~ I'm sorry for even bringing this up to parents who hide so many secrets from their own daughter that they can't say a single word."
Seo Ran gets up from her seat with a sulky expression, and Seo Eun-hyun looks at her with an apologetic face and speaks.
"...Right now, even if we told you the truth, the only outcome would be you returning to thee. Especially since you are an innate Sacred Vessel, no matter how much we lower our rank and tell you the truth...even if you don't return to thee, you'll still be gravely hurt. It's something we can't say because we don't want you to get hurt. Please just endure it for a few more years."
"Of all the words that are coming out of Father's mouth, there's not a single...haah. Whatever. I'm going to the mountain to meet the mountain spirit."
"Mountain spirit... Alright. Come back safe."
And so, she begins to climb the mountain, leaving behind her frustrating parents to meet the 'mountain spirit' of Sword Peak Mountain.
Many people avoid Sword Peak Mountain, calling it a Ghost Mountain and saying it feels eerie, but Seo Ran is different.
'There's no other spiritual mountain like this... Why does everyone dislike it?'
There is a legend that Sword Peak Mountain was created by a white round collar noble divine spirit who wields the sword.
Every time she enters this spiritual mountain, she feels her whole body relax.
It feels as if the mountain itself warmly embraces her.
More than anything, what's incredible about the mountain is...
Whenever she climbs the mountain, for some reason, Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon stop paying attention to her.
Inside the mountain, whether she sneezes, trips and bleeds, or burns through vast amounts of innate true energy, they don't care.
It's as if, within this mountain, it's okay no matter what happens.
'And also...inside this mountain, those complicated 'flows' don't bother me...'
That's why, on this mountain where quince trees mainly grow wild, she can always let her heart down and feel at ease.
'Most of all...the thing I look forward to most in this mountain is that.'
The mountain spirit.
The legendary mountain spirit said to reside in this mountain.
While climbing, she suddenly arrives at a spot next to a pond.
"So is this...the place where Second Flower Unnie's servant dropped his axe?"
Psh—
This pond is a place where she and her family often came to play when she was younger.
Especially her father, Seo Eun-hyun, used to bathe in this pond, and Kim Yeon often taught Seo Ran axe throwing techniques here.
'They used to tell me fairy tales like the golden axe and silver axe here.'
Recalling those old memories, she passes the pond and arrives at a small field deeper in the mountain.
Even though it's evening, many flowers are blooming in full glory.
'Will I be able to meet the mountain spirit today...?'
As she looks around at the many flowers, she searches for the 'mountain spirit.'
How long does she wander through the flower field?
At last, Seo Ran spots a single [Black Flower].
The moment she sees the flower, she lights up and runs over, speaking in a small voice in front of it.
"Sir Mountain Spirit~ I'm here."
As Seo Ran's voice rings out, the black flower twitches.
Then, above the black flower, the figure of a tiny old man appears and sits cross-legged atop the flower bud.
[Is that you, Ran-ah? Haw haw, it's been a while.]
"Yes, Sir Mountain Spirit. It's been almost a month. Why did you come so late?"
Sometimes when she climbs Sword Peak Mountain and finds the [Black Flower], she gets to meet the [Mountain Spirit].
This tiny spirit in the form of an old man, who only ever appears through the [flower], always listens well to Seo Ran's words and acknowledges her complaints and stifled frustration.
[Hmm, sorry about that. Recently, the boundary around this stellar system has become more heavily guarded, so it's been a bit difficult to get through.]
"What's a stellar system?"
[I already explained about fixed stars before, didn't I?]
And one more reason.
The reason she enjoys meeting this mountain divine spirit.is because he occasionally shares knowledge that is beyond her imagination.
[...Well, it's something like that.]
"Wow...the world really is vast."
[Indeed.]
"Then what do you mean by breaking through the boundary of the stellar system? Is there someone guarding it?"
[Yes. More or less...you can say that a savage Devil God has the entire stellar system in their grasp and is guarding it tightly.]
"Wow...what kind of Devil God is that...?"
[A terrifying being who compresses the entire starry sky into a single point of light and swallows it whole... There's nothing more you need to know. Knowing too much can rather bring harm. For now, that Devil God isn't going to harm you...and there's nothing you need to know just yet.]
"Yes. Thank you for being considerate. By the way...do you know, mountain spirit? Lately...the frustration has gotten worse."
Seo Ran pours out to the mountain spirit what's been happening to her recently and the suffocating frustration she's felt from it.
"It feels like the world is just a stage play. Of course, watching plays with my father was really fun. When a troupe came and performed...the acrobatics, the memories of watching the play were all enjoyable... But being trapped inside the play itself doesn't feel pleasant at all."
Frustration with the fate of this world.
Frustration with parents who won't tell her a single thing about their identity.
Frustration that the only enjoyable outlets she has are chatting with Kang Min-hee and talking to the mountain spirit.
In the midst of countless frustrations, she chats away with the mountain spirit, who listens and accepts them the best.
And then, at some point—
The mountain spirit, who has been listening well to Seo Ran's story, smiles faintly.
[So, to sum it all up...you're saying you are not interested in becoming the greatest under the heavens, you are tired of this suffocating daily life, and you want to escape your parents' stifling embrace?]
"Yes. That would be nice."
[Haha, don't worry too much. You're a good child. So...don't forget that good children receive gifts.]
"Huh...? A gift?"
Seo Ran looks puzzled at the mountain spirit's words, and the 'mountain spirit' smiles gently and speaks as he gradually gets drawn back into the black flower.
[Because soon...a reality far more enjoyable than this tedious reality of fixed repeated endings will unfold before your eyes. When that happens...the identities of your parents, becoming the best martial artist under the heavens, all of it will become meaningless... You will soon be able to quickly escape from what you so wish to break free from.]
"...Thank you, even just for saying that."
[Hohohoho... Then...let us look forward to the day everything changes...]
Pasusu—
With those final words, the 'mountain spirit' is completely absorbed into the black flower, and the flower that had finished speaking with her scatters into the void and vanishes.
As if it had never existed at all.
"Do you think Ran is feeling suffocated a lot?"
Seo Eun-hyun asks as he sits on the wooden floor with Kim Yeon, watching the evening glow.
"She's practically an innate Sacred Vessel, so she must be particularly sensitive to the flow of fate...I'm thinking maybe I arranged the fate of the Unruly Realm too safely for her."
"That may be true, dear. But...can you handle it? If you let dangerous fates appear near Ran and she ends up getting hurt..."
"I'm pretty confident I'd lose my mind. I think I only realized how shallow my mental discipline was after Ran was born. When I learned about the Quaking Heat Body...just remembering how I nearly split this star apart in anger..."
Quaking Heat Body.
It is the Heavenly Punishment that exists within Seo Ran.
Originally, a Quaking Heat Body is a Heavenly Punishment that can be healed by their own hands.
But why then, do they deliberately choose to not remove the Quaking Heat Body?
The reason is simple.
In any case, for Seo Ran to realize her essence and understand the 'true body' of theirs that she is so curious about, she must awaken to her fate.
She must come to realize the fate of [the fate that overcomes fate].
But what does it mean to overcome fate?
It means liberation from the forces that oppress oneself.
That is why, even as they shed tears of blood, Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon did not eliminate the Quaking Heat Body.
They wait for the day when Seo Ran overcomes the Quaking Heat Body, becomes the number one spear under the heavens, masters Martial Arts to the extreme, and overcomes the curse of the Quaking Heat Body through complete transformation.
To overcome her Heavenly Punishment with her own power.
If that is realized, then surely Seo Ran cannot help but awaken to her fate.
'For now, guiding her fate in that way may be the best course of action...'
Even without the Quaking Heat Body, the fate of 'overcoming fate' is still Seo Ran's fate,
And Seo Ran will continue to try to 'overcome' something.
And among those things...
Perhaps, that might even include Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon.
But recently, Seo Eun-hyun reflects on whether his measures have been too suffocating.
"Maybe...we've been too harsh, Yeon-ah?"
"...I don't know. Really...they say there's no right answer when it comes to raising children, and I think that's true."
"Is that so...?"
Leaning shoulder-to-shoulder with Kim Yeon for a while, Seo Eun-hyun suddenly recalls something and speaks.
"Ran's fifteenth birthday is coming up. What if...as a birthday gift, we gave her something she could be genuinely happy about?"
"What kind of gift?"
"...The advancement of civilization."
At Seo Eun-hyun's words, Kim Yeon's eyes light up.
"We might not be able to advance civilization drastically to Earth's level...but if it's you, Yeon, you could advance it this much with the power of Liberation. Don't you think?"
"...Yes. That's true. If it's just that much...it's a good idea. It'd be nice if that child sees this and becomes happy."
"Alright then...I'll leave the weaving of fate to you."
"Yes! I'll do my best!"
"No, let's do our best together."
Seo Eun-hyun quickly writes a letter to Seo Ran, then takes Kim Yeon's hand and walks out of the house.
And some time later—
Seo Ran, having returned from meeting the 'mountain spirit,' arrives home.
She reads the letter that Seo Eun-hyun has left behind.
"They'll be back in three days...? To think there are times when both Mother and Father are out like this..."
After reading the letter, she looks around the now-empty house for a while.
Somehow, her home feels bigger than usual today.
'My birthday's in three days... Still...I wish they'd stay with me.'
Their presence is suffocating, but their absence makes her feel hollow.
Perhaps, that is what parents are.
Seo Ran looks around the house left behind by Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon, and begins preparing herself to manage things alone.
Just then, familiar faces gather in front of Seo Ran's yard.
"Hey, Seo Ran! Your mom and dad asked us to check on you."
"Hey, Seo Ran! Take this bastard Jeon Myeong-hoon. He got so wasted he can't even stand straight! Kuhaha."
It is Jeon Myeong-hoon, a wealthy man living in the city and said to be Seo Ran's father Seo Eun-hyun's close friend.
And Baek (White), who is said to have been the midwife at Seo Ran's birth.
Both of them reek of alcohol, clearly having come straight from drinking, and Baek's hair, which she normally ties up like a pony tail, is now completely let down.
"This damned...horse-muscled bastard..."
"Seo Ran, this guy is totally not in his right mind...so lay him down for a bit."
"Ah, yes, Miss Baek."
"Seo Ran, you got anything to eat?"
"Uh... There's some horse meat that Father bought..."
"Shit...horse meat... That human bastard Seo Eun-hyun must have bought it on purpose so I wouldn't come over... Forget it, I'm not eating because it's too petty."
Muttering to herself, Baek lays Jeon Myeong-hoon down in the main room, then flops down beside him and calls Seo Ran.
"Seo Ran! Start the fire...and come sleep here with us."
"Yeesss..."
Seo Ran lays out the bedding and, after finishing her bedtime preparations, slowly lies down beside Baek.
But at that moment, Baek pulls Seo Ran into a tight hug and places her between herself and Jeon Myeong-hoon.
"Ohhh, this adorable little baby... How are you so cute every time I see you, Seo Ran...?"
"Uuuuk... Miss Baek..."
Seo Ran coughs as she's smothered by Baek's large chest, and feels herself getting dizzy from the strong smell of alcohol coming off both of them.
"Hmm? Oh, sorry. It's because I just happen to use a human female form when I Transform... Actually, if you're fine with it, it'd be better for us both if I just showed you my regular form...but then you'd probably faint, so I'll stick with this form until you awaken your fate..."
"...Maybe it's because your drunk, but I have no idea what you're saying, Miss Baek."
But before she can finish speaking, Baek falls asleep and offers no reply.
Then suddenly, a voice comes from Jeon Myeong-hoon.
"...Seo Ran. This world feels cramped, and you feel very suffocated, don't you?"
"..."
"Nothing really goes the way you want it to...but don't be too discouraged. Right now, you're...by our standards, like a baby wrapped in swaddling cloth...and for such a baby, you need a bit more protection... That's...why..."
Jeon Myeong-hoon, who mumbles his advice as if half-asleep, soon falls completely asleep.
Seo Ran doesn't know whether she should feel happy or annoyed by the intrusion of these drunkards.
'...Well, I guess it's kind of fun.'
They are the ones who swept away the bitter disappointment that creeped in while her parents are gone.
However...
Even Jeon Myeong-hoon and Baek cannot completely chase away the stifling frustration Seo Ran feels.
'Mother... Father...'
Nestled between Baek and Jeon Myeong-hoon, Seo Ran closes her eyes and begins to fall asleep.
In her closed eyes, a memory comes to life.
It is from when a traveling troupe came to the area they once lived in.
She remembers how delighted she had been while watching their performance.
And among them, she recalls especially the acrobat who walked barefoot across a tightrope, going back and forth across that rope again and again.
'I...don't really want to become the greatest under the heavens or anything...'
Though she has never told her parents, Seo Ran has one dream.
The Quaking Heat Body, the greatest under the heavens, a certain realm of martial arts...
She has no interest in any of it.
What she wants is simply to become independent from her parents...
And someday, relying on nothing but her own strength, she wants to become an acrobat and walk across a tightrope.
While walking on the tightrope, she wants to amaze her parents all with her own strength.
That alone is what she truly wishes for.
Somewhere deep within the chaos of the Outer Sea.
The enormous black floral worm, which had once been flung away by Seo Eun-hyun and settled within a region of chaos, writhes.
The worm's pupils cross distant spacetime and reflect a stellar system where Seo Eun-hyun's group sent incarnations and built a cradle for his child.
The worm, the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, mutters in a voice filled with something like delight.
: : The conditions are nearly fulfilled. All that remains... : :
Kkuduk, kudududuk...
And then—
From within the body of Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, 'transparent seeds'
That is, the ancient forms of ancient force, begin to pour out.
: : Is to imprison the distinguished one, and guide the distinguished one's fate through forgotten possibilities... In this moment, where your guides have become colorless, I shall become your guide... : :
Pasasasasa—
And so, the transparent seeds released from the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable drift across vast spacetime, and head to the Nether Treading Ship that is sailing toward the Heavenly Venerable of Time.
-x-X-x-
Blink—
Seo Ran opens her eyes.
Next to her, Jeon Myeong-hoon and Baek are still sleeping, scratching their bellies.
She lets out a small sigh as she looks at them, then heads outside to prepare breakfast.
It's not bad that Jeon Myeong-hoon and Baek are staying with her at the request of the Seo Eun-hyun couple, but it's not particularly good either.
As she prepares breakfast with an air of finding it bothersome, she exchanges a few simple greetings with Oh Hyun-seok from next door, who is also up at roughly the same time and preparing breakfast.
Once the sun properly rises, she wakes Jeon Myeong-hoon and Baek and eats breakfast with them.
"From today, until Seo Eun-hyun returns, I'm your guardian. So for the next three days, treat me like your father and serve me well!"
"...Yesss."
Seo Ran, with an air of finding it a hassle, brings side dishes to Jeon Myeong-hoon and sighs.
'I feel like I've got a kid I have to look after now.'
But Jeon Myeong-hoon's reactions are always so absurd that she can't help but let out a chuckle, so it also ends up being a little fun.
Still, she doesn't show it openly.
'They're leaving in three days anyway.'
This, too, is a fixed outcome.
She sees the 'flow'.
That's why she doesn't show strong emotions about anything.
Unless it's something entirely new, like chatting with Kang Min-hee and hearing fresh information.
So, once again, she spends her day that's slightly changed but still dull and monotonous.
She wakes up, prepares breakfast, tidies up, and then cleans the house. Afterward, she completes the martial arts training assigned by her father and mother.
Then she eats lunch, and from that point on, it's free time.
During her free time, she always climbs Sword Peak Mountain to take a walk or ties a rope between trees to practice tightrope walking alone.
Then, as evening comes, she returns, prepares dinner, and eats.
After cleaning up, she climbs Sword Peak Mountain again for a bit before coming back down.
That is Seo Ran's daily routine.
One day, two days, three days.
She continues to feel stifled and bored in the endlessly repetitive daily life.
And...
Finally, three days pass, and on the morning of the fourth day—
"...Ah."
As Seo Ran opens her eyes, she notices that instead of Jeon Myeong-hoon and Baek, Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon are sitting on either side of her, looking down at her.
"You're back, Mother, Father?"
"Yes. Have you been well?"
Seo Eun-hyun strokes her hair with a gentle smile, and Seo Ran looks at him with a slight pout as she responds.
"...Well, I guess I've been okay."
"Hoho, Daoist Seo. It seems you're sulking because your father came home too late."
"Ugh... Father, can you please stop with that?"
"Haha, sorry, Ran. But more importantly...I have something for you."
"Huh?"
As Seo Ran expresses confusion, Kim Yeon and Seo Eun-hyun stand up at the same time and pull her along.
"Happy birthday, Seo Ran. This morning, we're having rice cakes."
Out on the wooden porch where Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon take her, Jeon Myeong-hoon, Baek, Oh Hyun-seok, and even Kang Min-hee from the Black Sect are gathered, lighting a thin candle stuck into siru-tteok.
"Back in our homeland, we always celebrated birthdays like this. Well, someday, when you reach the proper realm, I'll project the history and show it to you."
With a bright grin, Jeon Myeong-hoon seats Seo Ran and puts a strange cone-shaped hat on her head.
Then, Seo Eun-hyun and the others all begin singing a birthday song she has never heard before.
Seo Ran is a little startled by this bewildering way of celebrating a birthday, but soon a smile blooms across her face.
Everything is in a style she has never seen before.
None of the things Seo Ran sees belong to the 'flow' she's always sensed.
It's as if these forms came from somewhere outside that 'flow.'
For the first time in a long while...
Seo Ran finds it really fun.
Seo Ran celebrates her birthday with her mother and father, laughing together for the first time in a long while.
And the rest of the day is overall the same.
Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon spend the whole day with her, strolling through the streets of Jeongyeong City, or taking her to see the theater performances or acrobatic shows she enjoys.
Whenever Seo Ran sees the tightrope-walking acrobats, her face flushes slightly red, and Seo Eun-hyun smiles gently as he watches her.
And...
At last, night falls.
"You want to go up Sword Peak Mountain? You always said not to enter the mountain recklessly at night..."
"Tonight is fine."
Seo Ran tilts her head as she looks at Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon, who say they want to climb to the peak of Sword Peak Mountain with her.
"Well, I'm happy to hike with Father and Mother for the first time in a while, but...I don't know why we're going now. Especially since Father always said, as a ginseng-digger, that going into the mountains at night is a bad..."
"Hm, forget that just for tonight."
Seo Eun-hyun smiles as he strokes Seo Ran's head.
"Because tonight, there's a gift for you on Sword Peak Mountain."
"...Huh?"
"Let's head to the summit first."
Seo Ran feels both curious and a bit expectant at the mention of a gift from Seo Eun-hyun.
What kind of gift could he be giving her on this dark night?
And finally, when they reach the summit of Sword Peak Mountain under the dark night sky—
"Alright...it's starting. Watch closely, Ran-ah. What your mother and I have worked hard to weave together..."
Piyuuuung!
Far in the distance, something launches into the sky from within Jeongyeong City.
Peoooong!
Then, it explodes in midair and begins to fill the sky with incredibly beautiful fireworks.
"It's the age of gunpowder. And from that age, we've created...fireworks."
Seo Eun-hyun exchanges a proud smile with Kim Yeon.
In their homeland, fireworks aren't anything rare.
But in this world, fireworks are not so widespread among mortals as the development of gunpowder here isn't smooth.
And so...
The fireworks Seo Ran sees now are the first in her life.
'Ahhh...'
It's beautiful.
At the sight of fireworks she has never seen since birth—
And at the shift in the flow of fate that has allowed such fireworks to exist, she feels an indescribable awe as her mouth falls open.
Each firework explodes in a different shape, and even the way they burst is never the same.
Because of that...
Every firework that Seo Ran beholds feels like a new show, as if she's seeing it for the very first time.
She smiles brightly, feeling the greatest joy she's ever felt in her life.
"...Mother, Father...did you two prepare this? For me...?"
"Well, we had a bit of help from some others too."
"..."
"Hoho, Daoist Seo. Are you moved?"
To the point that she even lets Seo Eun-hyun's teasing joke slide once...
She is unable to take her eyes off the beautiful sight, naturally opening her mouth.
And at the words she utters, Kim Yeon and Seo Eun-hyun wear warm, tender expressions that are rarely seen from them.
"...Thank you. Mother, Father..."
Like so—
Seo Ran's family gathers together and watches the fireworks late into the night.
Seo Ran dreams.
Shwaaaaaa—
For some reason, she finds herself stepping into a garden surrounded by [Black Flowers].
At the center of that garden lies a narrow path, and at the end of that narrow path, something awaits.
Seo Ran, as if entranced, walks along the narrow path and reaches the end.
"Ah, Sir Mountain Spirit?"
And what she sees at the end of that path is...
The same 'Mountain Spirit' who has continued to appear before her until now.
"It's been a while. By the way...you're a lot bigger today? You look different than usual..."
"...That's because there's no longer any need for me to stay cautious."
"Pardon? Cautious about what?"
"In order to entertain you, who grew bored of the already-experienced fate and prepared to overcome it...they wove together the age of gunpowder. Thanks to that, my opportunity came much sooner than expected. Especially with the beginning of that age of gunpowder, when you and they shared happiness and became immersed in fireworks. That was the most decisive. I give you my thanks, Ran-ah."
"Huh? Sir Mountain Spirit?"
Seo Ran trembles at the 'Mountain Spirit's' words, which carry a strangely ominous tone.
"It is thanks to you. Because you were born, their weakness came into being, and because you were born, I gained a medium to progress their beginning, development, twist, and conclusion. Because you were born and received their love...a new era thus began, giving me room to intervene, and thanks to you, they have become trapped in this world."
The 'Mountain Spirit's' grin gradually stretches into a grotesque smile.
Squirm— squirm—
At the same time, black flowers begin to bloom from the body of the 'Mountain Spirit,' and his form shifts into something resembling a grotesque worm.
The creature with the face of an old man atop the body of a wriggling worm laughs.
[Ran-ah, you've always wanted to escape from the suffocating flow of fate...and that is something inevitable. You were born with the [fate that overcomes fate]... How suffocating it must have felt to live in a world where fate repeats endlessly, and how much must you have wanted to overcome it.
[But...there's no need for that anymore. I shall save you. From now on...you no longer need to feel the suffocating fate again.]
Seo Ran takes a step back.
For some reason, this version of the 'Mountain Spirit' feels truly terrifying.
[Unlike the Liberation Law Talent of Bong Myeong, I lack the ability to lead the progress of a new civilization...but I am the First Zero King.]
Kugugugugu!
The presence of that being in her dream begins to gradually grow larger.
[The Enders of much more advanced civilizations manifested their civilizations in Mount Sumeru. However, with their decline, those civilizations fell and became ancient forces embedded deep within the Akashic Records. I am the one who can draw forth those ancient forces...]
Kururung!
Crushed beneath and gradually dying under the presence of that being, Seo Ran begins to gag and choughs as she asks.
"Y-You...who... You're not...Sir Mountain Spirit..."
[From this moment on, I shall become the Guide of Seo Eun-hyun, the only Ender who has yet to awaken to his fate.]
Kugugugugugu—
Thus, Seo Ran is swallowed by the overwhelming presence of the giant worm and loses consciousness within the dream.
"Heok! Heok...heheok..."
Seo Ran jerks upright.
It's the first time she's had a dream.
But even though it's her 'first' experience, it isn't enjoyable.
Rather, an ominous and grimy feeling creeps across her whole body.
'What kind of dream was that?'
Just as Seo Ran is taken aback and looks around—
'Huh...?'
Seo Ran's mother and father, who normally sleep on either side of her, are nowhere to be seen.
Seo Ran tries to read the 'flow' to find Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon.
But at that moment, she flinches in shock.
'Wh-What is this? The 'flow' of the entire world is...'
The massive flow of fate of the entire world is undergoing a mad upheaval.
Seo Ran hurriedly rushes out of the master bedroom and looks up at the sky.
At that moment, something in the sky enters her sight.
Piiing—
Far in the distance, a single streak of light falls from the starry sky beyond the far horizon.
Kugugung!
She suddenly feels as if the ground is slightly trembling beneath her feet.
At this series of celestial phenomena, Seo Ran grows panicked and starts searching for Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon.
And finally, she sees Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon standing as if entranced atop the roof of their home.
And beside them, she also sees Oh Hyun-seok from next door.
"Father! Mother! Uncle Hyun-seok! What are you all doing!?"
Seo Ran shouts at them, taken aback.
But...
All of them remain silent, their faces stiff, not responding easily.
"...Honey..."
Yeon softly grips my shoulder.
I curl the corner of my lips into a bitter smile.
"...It's alright, Yeon-ah. I won't be taken down by something like this."
I've been had.
I have been completely caught in the trap and scheme of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.
I glance at Sword Peak Mountain.
The connection to the main body is severed.
Currently, the only ones who have placed their main body outside the Unruly Realm along with their main consciousness are Oh Hye-seo and Hong Fan.
Everyone else, aside from those two, has placed their main consciousness within this Unruly Realm, leaving their main body outside.
'On top of that, divine powers, Immortal Arts, and mantras—none of them are activating properly. A force suppressing all supernatural abilities to the maximum has spread across the world… Was it because we got too caught up in the fireworks last night...?'
All sorts of hypotheses flash through my mind, but only one conclusion remains.
I look down at Seo Ran, who calls to us from below with a confused expression.
'No matter what happens...I will protect my child.'
A world that resembles Bong Myeong's, yet unlike that one, is a world truly devoid of any miracles or supernatural powers, gradually reveals itself and begins to impose its law upon us.
And so we wait for the next day, having lost all miracles within the trap of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.
The true power of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable was not the Annihilation Flower.
Destruction disguised as the flower of happiness, leading the opponent into decline.
This is...
The Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable's true power.
-x-X-x-
Seo Ran hardens her expression and looks at Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon.
Until now, her parents have never worn such stern expressions.
And immediately after—
Seo Eun-hyun speaks.
"...Go inside, Ran-ah. From now on, you are forbidden from entering the city. If you want to meet with Kang Min-hee or the others like before, they will be called here instead of you going out. Do you understand? Within a month...an enormous disaster will befall the city."
Faced with Seo Eun-hyun's icy warning, she silently nods her head.
And it does not even take a full month for her and the Seo Eun-hyun family to confirm the identity of that 'disaster'.
"So it was drugs."
I mutter as if spitting out the words, gazing at the bandits who've died before me.
They have died from drug overdose, and right now, such drugs are circulating incessantly around Jeongyeong City.
According to what I heard, the inside of the city is supposedly dozens of times more saturated with drugs than the outside.
Step, step—
It's when I 'clean up' the path at the foot of Sword Peak Mountain that heads toward my home.
From a distance, familiar footsteps approach.
"Have you been well, Seo Eun-hyun?"
"As usual. How's the inside, Kang Min-hee?"
The only one among us who chose to disguise herself as someone of Seo Ran's age, not to become an 'adult' who protects her, but to be her 'friend'.
It's Kang Min-hee.
"It's the worst. Drugs being sold dirt cheap all the way from the Seo Kingdom have taken over the market. The emperor of Hyun Kingdom might declare war on the Seo Kingdom any time now. And...right now, Seo Kingdom is..."
"I know."
I recall the meteorite that fell to the west a few days ago.
That meteorite was no ordinary rock.
All of us who were there that day saw it with our own eyes.
'A massive Salt Crystal... In other words, a massive lump of ancient force fell from the sky.'
And that tremendous chunk of history crashed down, shaking the very axis of this planet and revising history at an absurd revel.
Countless histories were incorporated into this planet's own, and from the distant past—
The 'flow of eras' created by past Enders began to emerge atop this world.
She speaks.
"Sal Tree has begun to exert his power. As you already know...he's trying to imprison our egos into this world and crush us beneath the flow of the era until we're ground to death. After drugs spread and war breaks out, the civilization of this country will advance ahead rapidly...and the world will become one where Ran can encounter new fates every day, just like she wanted."
Kang Min-hee's face is stiff.
I, too, nod with a hardened expression.
We had never intended to create something like cultivators in this world.
We only planned to create a modest martial world, stimulate Ran, and make her the strongest under the heavens.
'That plan has become meaningless now.'
"The only ones outside are Oh Hye-seo and Hong Fan. And there are still about 600 years left before we can reach the place where the Heavenly Venerable of Time resides... For those remaining 600 years, we have to endure and survive the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable's attacks no matter what."
Kang Min-hee clenches both fists tightly.
"I'll go around with Jeon Myeong-hoon and the others to try and stop the flow of the era from progressing to buy us time. You two use that time to recover as much power as possible with Seo Ran. I don't know about us...but you two. At least you and Kim Yeon...must never be swept away by the era."
"..."
"You two are that child's mom and dad... Got it? Even if she seems frustrated with you two...she's still just a kid, and she relies on you far more than you imagine."
I nod as I listen to Kang Min-hee's words.
"...I'll take that to heart. Thank you."
"Hmph...whatever. Then move aside. I came today because I've got things to say to Ran."
Kang Min-hee says so and walks past us toward the house.
The only one among us who doesn't act as an adult looking after Seo Ran, but as a friend walking alongside her—Kang Min-hee.
For some reason, I get a powerful feeling that, among all of us, the one who will survive the longest with Seo Ran under Sal Tree's hand...
Will be Kang Min-hee.
"Hee Unnie..."
"Uigo Seo Ran, you brat. What's with the long face?"
Seo Ran throws her arms around Kang Min-hee, who has come to see her despite the situation being dire.
"Let go. I'll explain what's going on first. And I'll tell you what to do if something urgent happens, so listen carefully."
Kang Min-hee slips out of Seo Ran's hug and pulls out a few items she has brought with her.
"First...according to what the merchant group has investigated, Seo Kingdom is currently selling large quantities of drugs into this country. And there's a high probability that the Hyun Kingdom's royal family will declare war on Seo Kingdom. But...we're going to lose to Seo Kingdom."
"Pardon? But the Hyun Kingdom's martial world is the largest and strongest on the continent, and the martial arts of the royal guards are..."
"I know, they're strong. But that's all. We didn't create cultivation sects on this planet so you wouldn't be put in too much danger...no, never mind. There's no point in talking about that now, so I'll skip it... Anyway, what's important is this."
Kang Min-hee rummages through the belongings she brought with her and pulls something out.
And Seo Ran's eyes shine as she sees the silver object Kang Min-hee has taken out.
"What...is this, Unnie?"
"It's called a gun. It operates using the same kind of gunpowder you saw in those fireworks before...a deadly weapon. Come with me."
Kang Min-hee takes Seo Ran outside, loads the gun called a handgun, and points it at a large tree in front of the house.
"If you want to cover your ears, do it. It's pretty loud."
"Huh?"
Taaang!
Immediately after, when Kang Min-hee pulls the trigger, fire and smoke burst from the muzzle, and the bullet lodges into the tree.
"Ugh, my ears hurt."
"Did you see that, Seo Ran?"
"...Yes. It's incredibly fast."
Seo Ran nods, as if she understands what Kang Min-hee is worried about.
"Even I, who've trained in the Hyun Style Fighting Method, found it hard to follow with my eyes. But...if that's what a gun is, using gunpowder to produce that kind of speed and power, then it seems manageable. If they're mass-produced and given to soldiers, it might be a bit troublesome...but I don't think it's to the point that the peak masters of Hyun Kingdom won't be able to stop them."
"...Well, that's the normal reaction if you've only seen this much. But Ran-ah, watch closely. The flow of the era isn't something you can ignore so easily."
Woo-woooong!
Kang Min-hee begins infusing ghostly energy into the gun.
"...!"
Piyook!
Immediately after, when Kang Min-hee pulls the trigger again, the bullet fires this time without making any audible sound, aside from the tiniest trace of a click.
Pukwak!
The bullet pierces clean through the large tree she had aimed at and embeds itself deep into the rock behind it, to the depth of an entire arm.
"Guns have something called rifling. When you infuse internal power into the rifling, it maximizes its function, spinning the bullet to an extreme degree and boosting its penetration power to the peak. Moreover, when you envelop the gun with internal power, it's possible to eliminate sound entirely. And that's not the end."
Wooooooong!
Kang Min-hee infuses internal power into the gun once more and fires again.
Piyuk!
Again, only the faintest sound rings out, and in the next moment—
Tukwaaang!
The massive tree Kang Min-hee shoots explodes, leaving a hole the size of a human head in it.
"If you infuse the bullet, not the gun, with internal power, you can add properties to the bullet upon firing. What I did just now was maximize the explosive power and area of effect. Since the essence of Qi is explosion, it's possible to draw out that fundamental force through gunpowder and guns."
"..."
"And none of this requires a peak master. As long as Seo Kingdom soldiers train their internal energy for about three months, and then go through just a month of regimented training, all of this becomes possible. Can you imagine it, Ran-ah? Seo Kingdom soldiers, all wielding these deadly weapons, will conquer this country.
"No matter how hard Hyun Kingdom's martial artists, who aren't even cultivators, fight...they'll be wiped out. There might even be lunatics who lose their minds and claim the Seo Kingdom bastards are using Fire Arts, and try to counter it with Yin energy by smearing women's excrement on the city walls and throwing it."
Shuk—
Kang Min-hee hands the gun to Seo Ran and speaks.
"It's not as fantastical as the fireworks your parents prepared, but...it's my own practical birthday gift to you. Take it, Seo Ran. When you reach the standard your parents mean by 'number one under the heavens', I'm sure even these powerful weapons won't matter... But until you reach that level, survive this chaotic era with this."
And so, that day, Seo Ran gains a new means of escape from the Martial Arts she never liked.
After Seo Ran received the gun from Kang Min-hee—
Just as Min-hee said, the world began to change rapidly.
Hyun Kingdom and Seo Kingdom went to war, and as she predicted, Hyun Kingdom suffered a crushing defeat.
Even the martial arts that boast countless deep-rooted histories, the various orthodox and devilish internal energy methods that exist in Hyun Kingdom, all proved useless.
Because that simple yet terrifying weapon called a 'gun,' once infused with a little internal energy, displays a horrifying power that tears through even martial arts with long-standing histories.
Even a third-rate martial artist who has just begun cultivating internal energy, with a bit of regimented training and a bit of internal energy infused into the gun, is sufficient to kill a peak master.
The entire nation, including the capital Jeongyeong City, was turned upside down.
The once-esteemed position of peak masters, achieved through powerful martial arts and intense self-discipline, became meaningless.
You can sense the enemy's intention to strike beforehand?
You know the optimal trajectory for attack?
It doesn't matter. If the speed of the bullet is maximized with shooting arts that infuse internal energy into the gun, then whether you know the intention or the direction of the attack, you won't be able to dodge or block anyways, and will just get shot and killed.
So what if you know the optimal trajectory for attack?
It's meaningless if you have no means of long-range response anyway.
At least those who have become peak masters through the bow have a slight chance of resistance, but even then, guns can fire continuously and conduct volleys far more easily than archers, so they are swept away without contest.
In this disparity created not by Martial Arts but by technological gap, Hyun Kingdom is utterly defeated by Seo Kingdom.
Seo Kingdom either occupies various regions of Hyun Kingdom as concession territories or demands reparations, and several of its corporations enter Hyun Kingdom, introducing numerous modern innovations—starting with something called the railroad.
In that era of upheaval, Seo Ran and her parents survive.
And five years have passed since Seo Ran first received the gun.
Seo Ran becomes an adult.
The day before Seo Ran's twentieth birthday.
I, ironically—
No, not ironically. Most likely, just as the Heavenly Venerable of the Sal Tree intended—
Only on this day do I learn the method to regain my main body and leave the Unruly Realm to reach the Nether Treading Ship.
'Death.'
Yes.
If I am liberated from this body and freed from the laws of this world, I can immediately regain my main body.
And...
Worried about the outside world, I begin to weigh whether I should leave or not.
'Should I go...or not?'
In this world where the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable has played his hand and sealed away all forms of authority, I am powerless.
Creating a clone or another incarnation is impossible. The only option is to discard this body I wear.
And that means...
I must leave behind my daughter, who still has not awakened to her fate and cannot withstand our main bodies, and inflict upon her the wound of parental death.
'Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable...'
By this point, I clearly understand what the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable wants.
Sal Tree wants to separate me from the one I love most in the most brutal way possible...
And through that, make me awaken to my fate.
This is the level of scheming that a Heavenly Venerable operates on.
In direct confrontation, he may only be my equal...
But when he begins to shake the entire situation from behind the scenes through prophecy and Immortal Arts,
Then none of us can easily resist the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.
'What am I supposed to do...?'
If I want to protect my daughter and family from the flow of the era as prophesied by Sal Tree,
I must abandon this body and return to my main form to confront Sal Tree's prophecies and Immortal Arts aboard the Nether Treading Ship.
But to confront Sal Tree, I will be leaving my daughter with the cruelest kind of parting,
And that will directly trigger my fate's development that Sal Tree desires.
Forced into this ultimatum by the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, I begin to contemplate what I must choose.
-x-X-x-
"The reason we're all gathered here today...I think it's because everyone has realized it at this point."
Everyone, including myself, nods.
Tang, tang, taaang!
From outside, the sound of Seo Ran practicing shooting can be heard.
Seo Ran seems to enjoy shooting quite a lot, and ever since receiving a gun as a gift from Kang Min-hee, she has been practicing every day.
Because of that, a great amount of bullets and gunpowder are needed...
But since Kim Yeon, who possesses the Liberation Law Talent, makes them all, it doesn't become a big problem.
After listening to the sound of Seo Ran practicing shooting for a while, I slowly begin to speak.
"...To leave this world...we must die. We must sever the karma of this world...and then leave."
Everyone slowly nods at my words.
Then...I continue speaking slowly.
"And by now...you're all probably starting to feel it too. The restrictive force is getting stronger. If we continue like this...if we miss the timing to get out, we might end up trapped in this world forever."
The Immortal Art of Sal Tree, which initially only restricted our authorities, Immortal Arts, and mantras, now begins to suppress even our 'memories', 'knowledge', and 'essence'.
It is a clearly superior version of Bong Myeong's storage scroll.
Just staying inside causes our memories and knowledge to gradually regress, deteriorating to past levels.
'Is this the level of a Heavenly Venerable's Immortal Art...? Truly incredible.'
Although Sal Tree may be weaker than Hyeon Mu in direct combat power, he is manipulating things from behind the scenes, activating his Immortal Art from a distance and toying with us—making him an even trickier opponent to deal with.
'Not being able to discern the true nature of the opponent's Immortal Art is the most frustrating part...'
If only I could identify the nature of the Immortal Art, I'd be able to use something like the Wheel and grind it down from the inside to get out.
But since I can't even grasp the nature of the Immortal Art, I have no idea what to do.
"...This type of Immortal Art is usually easier to understand if you go outside. I know because I've been trapped in Bong Myeong's Immortal Art before."
Everyone nods at Kim Yeon's words.
But Kang Min-hee speaks with a dark expression.
"...But this is a Heavenly Venerable's Immortal Art. We can't compare it to the Immortal Art of Bong Myeong, who has only been a Supreme Deity for a short while. Even if we discover the nature of it from the outside...there may be a restriction that requires being inside to dismantle it."
"Is that your intuition?"
"...Yeah. I feel it instinctively. This Immortal Art of Sal Tree is very similar to my own authority. It's not completely the same so I can't dismantle it myself...but if I were the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable...I'd make it so that you can't understand the nature of the Immortal Art from inside, and even if you learn it from the outside, you can't dismantle it unless you're inside. And if that's the condition, then naturally..."
My face darkens as I continue her sentence.
"...There's a high chance that once someone leaves, there's a condition that they can never enter again..."
If only the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable had been unaware of my regression, it would've been easier to break through.
But now that he perceives regression, even killing myself with my main body to turn back time isn't a solution.
'Not to mention, suicide in a situation where Seo Ran is present is out of the question.'
"Which means...inside this world of Sal Tree's Immortal Art, some of us have to...suicide, leaving Seo Ran behind. Do you think Seo Ran will be able to accept that?"
Kang Min-hee glares at us, especially at Kim Yeon and me.
"You two decide. Who's going to die and confront the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable? Will it be you two, Seo Ran's parents? Or everyone here except for you two?"
"..."
"It would've been easier if you were the weaker ones among us. Then we could just go. But...Seo Eun-hyun. Kim Yeon. You two...are the strongest among us. If we are going to fight Sal Tree...we need you the most..."
"..."
Jeon Myeong-hoon briefly steps in between us.
"...What if we just explained everything to Seo Ran...?"
"Stop saying stupid things! Even if Seo Ran properly understands our explanation, the [human Seo Ran] will melt down on the spot into a puddle of broth, and the person who's been with us all this time will collapse entirely, leaving only that child's original fate behind. It's no different from all our time being reset to zero, so why the hell...!?"
Kang Min-hee shouts angrily, and Jeon Myeong-hoon bites his lip.
"...Sorry. If only...I was as strong as Obsidian or Silver Basket..."
"...It's not your fault."
Silence lingers between us for a moment, and only the sound of Seo Ran's shooting echoes from outside.
Then, breaking the quiet inside, White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus speaks.
Now in the form of a human woman using the name 'Baek,' she opens her mouth.
"...I'm going. I've grown a bit attached to Seo Ran, but...I'm sorry, my loyalty to the Old Man matters more. The Old Man and I...truly spent an unfathomable amount of time together."
They rise from their seat, loosening the hair tied like a pony tail.
Tsuuaaaat!
Gradually, their form begins to shift back into the one we know of.
"So...the Old Man who's gone mad right now, I'll beat some sense into him myself. Just tell Seo Ran that I went off to Seo Kingdom to hit it big or something."
"You think she'll believe that? When it comes to fate, she's the most sensitive among us. Strangely enough, Seo Ran is the only one who hasn't had her sense of fate restricted. Well, that's probably what Sal Tree is aiming for. So...if you disappear, Seo Ran will immediately notice that your fate is gone."
Jeon Myeong-hoon continues speaking with a gloomy expression.
"If she realizes you're dead, that child will..."
"Then just say something like...I died while creating a martial art to counter the gun-using bastards of Seo Kingdom. I like Seo Ran too. She's one of the few children I personally delivered as a midwife. That child...is precious. But..."
Tsuuaaat!
Finally, White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus reveals their familiar form.
A Heavenly Pegasus with a pair of white wings fastens their black martial robe and speaks.
"To me, this is like a predestined fate. Just as the Heavenly Punishment Supreme Deity was to you, Jeon Myeong-hoon..."
Tststststs!
As if intent on leaving right after speaking, White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus takes a step forward.
Then, from the spot where they stood, a human woman's lifeless body appears and collapses.
It's the incarnation of White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus.
What stands before us now is only the soul of White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus. The 'Baek' of this world is dead.
"The mantra [Eastern Heaven Flower Field]. That's...probably the Immortal Art the Old Man is unfolding right now. The reason I hadn't confirmed it until now is because...among the Immortal Arts and dharma treasures he possesses, there are many similar but inferior versions. But after observing for several years, I'm finally certain. What's being used now is the greatest mantra that the Old Man owns."
Kuuung!
White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus's soul distorts space as they begin using the ground-shrinking technique toward where their main body is.
"The shadow of the Eastern Heaven Flower Field... A world that seals the cultivation, Immortal Arts, authorities, and power of origin of all beings in this world, forcing them to use only the power that was 'designated' to them at birth. An anti-Governing Immortal Technique."
"..."
"Once activated, as Kang Min-hee said, you must identify its true nature from outside and dismantle it from within. But it's an ultimate technique with the condition that if you exit once, you can never enter inside again. You seem to have a lot on your mind, but...if I were to give advice, Seo Eun-hyun, it'd be best if you're the one who goes out."
"...What?"
"If it's your [Wheel]...even if you suffer serious injuries, you'll still be able to leave a scratch on the Old Man's Immortal Art and interfere with it to some extent. If you are the first to go and gain the upper hand while confronting the Old Man, then even if you take serious injuries, you can send us a victory signal with the power of the [Wheel], and we can stay behind, take care of Seo Ran, awaken her, and all escape together in the end.
"But if you can't seize that advantage easily...just don't send any signal at all. If more than a year passes with no signal from you, the rest of us will keep following after, one by one."
White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus uses the ground-shrinking technique and leaves one last statement.
"Don't get arrogant just because you've reached a high realm and think you're at the level of a Gandhara Heavenly Venerable based on pure combat strength alone. The opponent is the Old Man. He's a Heavenly Venerable who has lived through time equivalent to the Ganges Sands without being able to die, and has seen dozens of monsters like you. To stand before such a Heavenly Venerable and hesitate here, failing to choose either of the two paths before you...that in itself is immense arrogance!"
White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus looks back at me and speaks.
"Follow me, Seo Eun-hyun. As Ran's midwife, I fully understand your heart. However, there are those who are left. Even if the father is gone, the mother still remains. Above all...you still have Sword Peak Mountain."
"..."
Sword Peak Mountain.
It is a part of my main body, and a mass of enlightenment I have bound together.
As long as it remains in this world...
Ran being with me or not makes little difference.
I know this.
I know this, and yet...
I grit my teeth.
I only now finally believed I've managed to grasp happiness.
But to be forced to release the happiness I held in my hands to the sudden wave of fate—this, I cannot accept.
However...
Tremble, tremble-tremble-tremble...
Even as my body trembles, I rise to my feet.
Drip, drip drip...
"You...are right..."
There is not a single thing that's wrong with what White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus is saying.
The opponent is a Heavenly Venerable.
This isn't someone to be measured by combat power alone.
The schemes accumulated and the experiences gained through surviving time equivalent to the Ganges Sands are truly limitless and inexhaustible.
Combat strength and danger level are not proportional.
To hesitate before such an opponent is arrogance itself.
"Seo Eun-hyun...! You..."
Kang Min-hee glares at me, but I speak with hardened eyes.
"Don't stop me. I'm going."
"Seo Ran, she..."
"I!"
Kwang!
I stomp my foot and speak.
"I...am now the head of a family."
I joined with Yeon.
We gave birth to Ran.
We became a family and lived together.
Therefore...
As the strongest and oldest among the family, I can only be the family head.
"As the head of the family...I must protect them. Even if, in front of Ran...I must be dealt with by death...!"
I tremble with a sorrow beyond words.
"That is why...to make sure Ran won't fall into greater danger, I must go now..."
At my words, Kang Min-hee closes her mouth, and everyone grows solemn.
"...I will go too. And...I leave the rest to all of you."
Resolving to follow White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus, I begin to gradually draw upon the power of my main body.
The more I draw upon the power of my main body, the more Sal Tree's Immortal Art of the 'Eastern Heaven Flower Field' invades, and my body begins to be pushed out from the Unruly Realm, which has become his world.
Kim Yeon watches me, trembling.
"At least...say goodbye to Ran before you go. That child..."
"...I'm sorry, Yeon-ah."
Thud—
My body in the Unruly Realm collapses in place, and I extract my soul, slowly walking toward the spatial passage that White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus opened.
White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus looks at me, nods with a firm expression, and steps ahead.
"If I see Ran now...I might collapse and not be able to do anything. So..."
I can't face that child right now.
If it means collapsing and failing to protect anything, then it's better to leave without showing my face to my child, being declared as dead.
"Just...let Ran know that I loved her very much."
With that, I follow behind White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus and leave the Unruly Realm.
'I will return. No matter what.'
I will subdue the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, send the signal through the Wheel, and...
I will ensure that Seo Ran, even if she receives the love of others, awakens to her fate.
With that oath engraved in me, I head forward to confront Sal Tree.
Taang, taang, taang!
While practicing shooting, Seo Ran, for some reason, feels a strange resonance coming from Sword Peak Mountain.
'Why is it...? My chest hurts.'
She doesn't know why.
Normally, when something like this happens, the fate of the entire world would twist, but no such sign is present.
She only senses that a few currents within the flow of fate have vanished.
'Did someone die or something? Who could have died, for my chest...to hurt this much?'
Tilting her head, she simply continues practicing her shooting.
And that evening.
Seo Ran receives, as a gift for her twentieth birthday...
The death of Baek, her midwife—
And the obituary of her father,
Seo Eun-hyun.