Shape of the Heart

Gemma opened her eyes in pitch-black darkness. The moment Kim Taeyang, under Spirit Descent, swallowed the Soul-Submerging Incense, her consciousness had blacked out too. When she came to, she was here.

<This must be...>

It was exactly as Kim Taeyang had described beforehand. This was the imaginal world revealed when his drugged soul sank into the unconscious. A deeply private space in the human heart that no one could peer into without the incense.

As her eyes adjusted to the dark, Gemma tested the waters with a casual "Ah." Her master thief's sharp senses caught the echo bouncing back from all directions. Much bigger than I imagined.

She walked cautiously, then stretched out her arm. A solid wall met her fingertips. Soon, faint clusters of light began to rise in the distance. The towering wall before her was made of thick, transparent glass-like material, allowing her to glimpse the weak light source beyond it.

<There it is.>

Gemma knew instinctively. That amorphous, glowing mass at the edge of her vision had to be the target Kim Taeyang mentioned. Shape of Heart. S·O·H. The most intense will etched into a Shangju's soul, resonating with the Ancestor Spirit to take physical form. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Right now, it lacked a clear shape, but as the Ancestor Spirit approached the maze's center, it would gradually transform.

...Or so Gemma had heard from Kim Taeyang, at least.

She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sighed, glaring at the glass wall. It wasn't something she could just climb or go around. These were a massive maze. The straight-line distance wasn't far, but the intricate design would prevent any intruder from reaching the goal easily. Worse, the transparent walls refracted the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠S·O·H's light into a dizzying glare that stung her eyes.

<Of course all the annoying crap falls on me.>

-Crack

After stretching, Gemma didn't plunge into the massive structure. Instead, she stuck to the wall. Her full-body suit was packed with gadgets—like the electronic suction cups on her palms.

<Heave-ho.>

This space existed in the depths of the mind, but physics worked normally. A height of nearly 10 meters was nothing to Gemma, heir to the skills of the gentleman thief Xavier Belmont. The suction cups drained their battery in one go, but a full sprint to the goal from here would be fine. The maze walls were thick enough to run on.

<Why suffer when there's a shortcut?>

Gemma smirked smugly as she dashed along the top of the wall.

<All that scare tactics, and it's this? Underestimate a vet at your peril.>

She chuckled, recalling Kim Taeyang's warning to reach the center within 24 hours. Walking on top meant no need to wander inside all day. At this pace, she'd arrive in under an hour.

-Fwaaah!

As Gemma approached, the light spilling from beyond the walls grew brighter. Her Ancestor Spirit drawing near the soul's depths caused the central S.O.H to resonate, starting to take definite form.

<Ugh...!>

Gemma, sprinting smoothly along the maze walls toward the center, suddenly lost her balance.

-Tzzt!

A lightning flash of unfamiliar scenery. A memory from a place she'd never been, of someone she'd never seen, forcibly injected into her mind.

<What the fuck!>

-Beep!

The sudden headache made her foot slip, nearly plummeting from the wall. At the last second, Gemma triggered the hidden mechanism in her wrist guard.

-Shwick!

A hook-shot wire fired out, snagging the wall's edge. Barely avoiding the fall, Gemma dangled from it, panting.

this—>

If it happened again, she wouldn't escape a plunge. She had to extend the wire and descend.

<What the hell was that just now?>

Gemma tried to puzzle out the bizarre phenomenon. The memory replayed in her head started with a TV screen reflecting an East Asian man's face. What seemed to be his experiences flooded in, causing excruciating pain.

<Damn it. At this rate, I won't make it in time...>

No choice—she'd have to navigate the maze honestly. But that was no easy task. Enduring headaches while finding her way, fragmented memory shards played on the glass walls like screens. The once-transparent walls gained color, and the agony left her disoriented. With the S.O.H no longer visible, only her instincts remained.

Worse, the memories tested her patience. A stranger's dull office life. Then, home at last, unleashing vibrant yet static joys and sorrows at the TV. Naturally, Gemma felt nothing watching some random guy's routine. Yet, for some reason, his every expression felt eerily familiar.

'Today I snagged the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blueprints for Velvet Richmain's penthouse. So, what's the best entry route, kiddo?'

Gemma recalled her childhood with her father, Xavier Belmont. Conquering obstacle after obstacle to steal unjust wealth from villains—a righteous thief. That was the father she proudly admired, his blue eyes always gleaming as they planned and executed. Eyes of a challenger trusting in wits, experience, and honed skills to defy the impossible.

For some reason, the man's eyes on the TV screen, just before powering up his game, shone with the same light.

<He looks just like...>

Gemma murmured without realizing it. She didn't want to admit any similarity between her lifelong idol—her father—and this shut-in gamer. But both men, devoted to what they loved, wore the pure expression of boys.

Why a total stranger appeared in Kim Taeyang's unconscious no longer mattered. How could he pour Xavier Belmont-level passion into a mere game? Binary 1s and 0s?

After twenty hours lost in the maze, Gemma found her answer amid the flickering memories. Suddenly, a letter her father left before vanishing surfaced.

'Life is like a puzzle box with a lock.'

'When stuck, find the right key and push forward. That's the greatest joy.'

Gemma realized: Whenever insurmountable barriers arose, her father devised unimaginable solutions, tackling them with pure delight in the process. As his final letter said, the world was one giant puzzle box, a playground. Inevitably, his eyes mirrored those of a hardcore gamer challenging goals.

<The right key... that's what I need.>

She whispered softly. Time remained. Screw the mystery man—the father she knew would never quit here.

And as Gemma reignited her weary resolve—

-Fwaaah!

The wall-screen memories vanished in unison. Not far off, the fully formed shape of the heart gleamed.

A hefty silver key with an ornate handle. Gemma whooped and snatched it up.

<You watching, punk? I did it!>

-Fwaaah!

Her shout triggered an even fiercer burst from the key, bleaching the imaginal darkness white.

* * *

I dreamed. A middle-aged man spread a map on his desk, chatting with a girl on his lap. Shadows from the lamp hid his face, but his voice was endlessly kind and warm. The little girl giggled nonstop. Her smile transmitted happiness even to me, the watcher. How long did I gaze?

-Snap

Something snapped in my head. Vision blacked out, then cold air brushed my face.

"...It's over."

I opened my eyes in the apartment master bedroom.

-Crackle

-Fizzle

Sparks danced on the talisman stuck to the wall. The floor salt had turned black, and the soulstone fueling the barrier had shrunk to pea-size.

<Hiss. Haa.>

A sudden breath drew my gaze. Gemma slept beside me, mouth agape in a grinning face. She'd safely retrieved the S·O·H, ending Spirit Descent and ejecting her from my body. The recoil pulled my consciousness back too. Drooling like that, she'd clearly suffered in the imaginal world. A simple maze mini-game in the game, but walking it for nearly 24 hours would exhaust anyone.

"Close call, huh."

Time check: Exactly 23 hours and 47 minutes since ingestion. Thirteen more minutes, and I'd never have woken. Anyway, Gemma proved her skills. My gamble paid off. If she'd finished with more margin, I wouldn't be sweating now—but this was the best.

-Swish

I grabbed tissues and wiped the drool from her face.

<Mmm, I could eat more... Hic!>

Cheap tissues with high friction? She jolted awake.

"Good work."

I sat cross-legged on the bed, greeting her.

<Uh, uhh...>

Gemma started to beam, then shifted uncomfortably. Like something unpleasant crossed her mind.

"You saw, didn't you?"

I could guess. Weighing the gain of mastering Spirit Lord Transformation against her peeking into my memories—no regrets. Still, time to clear the air.

<Who the hell are you?>

Suspicion and a hint of fear in her blue eyes. The me in those memories had a totally different face from Kim Taeyang's—natural she'd question it.

"Can't say yet."

Not scared of butterflies flapping wings. Gemma had no one to talk to but me and the other Ancestor Spirits anyway.

<That oh-so-precious secret of yours?>

"Yup. The most sensitive one."

Someday, I might have to reveal I'm from outside this world. But not today. To me, Ancestors, Bless Me was just a pastime game—and I poured effort and time into that pastime. No need to confuse Gemma now.

My answer: No.

"I'll tell you when the time comes."

Best I could do now.

<Promise.>

"Promise. Hope I learn your deepest wish then too."

<Cheapskate. No losses for you, huh.>

"Obviously? Secrets cost secrets."

A veteran gamer like me wouldn't take losses willingly. If I seemed to lose, it was a guaranteed win investment.

<Deal. You promised.>

"No Genealogy Oath needed?"

<Nah. Break it, and I'll castrate you.>

She said it deadpan fierce, then grinned, pulling out the hidden item from behind her.

<Easier than you made it sound. No biggie.>

A large silver key gleaming purely. Archaic style for big padlocks on mansion gates.

"For something easy, didn't it take forever?"

<Jealous? Do it yourself.>

She puffed her cheeks sulkily, handing it over. Her facial muscles reacting sharply to emotions—kinda fun.

"Got it. Jot down what you want later. I'll offer it tomorrow."

<Yesss!!>

She fist-pumped and bounced on the bed.

"Now then..."

Time to inspect the key. As the game noted, all S·O·H weighed just 21g—feather-light. But the cold, solid feel was perfectly real.

-Fwaaah!

Infusing spirit power dissolved it into light particles, sucked into my left wrist's Soul Thread Bracelet. In under three seconds, the vanished S·O·H became a thumbnail-sized key tattoo on my wrist.

Notifications visualizing invisible relational progress. Messages revealing our shared strongest desire I'd never known. Achievement alerts adding sweet thrill. Finally, my first true step as a proper Shangju. With Spirit Lord Transformation, I could now spar evenly with other students.

<Uh, that good? Something feels off.>

No time to savor joy—Gemma pointed at the door.

-Tzzt!

The talisman's sparks intensified into flames, burning the paper. Glancing down, the spent soulstone crumbled to dust.

-Creeeak

-Squelch

Temperature plummeted. The door creaked open slowly. A bizarre bipedal creature made of mud-like sludge shuffled in. A vengeful ghost, seizing my body while my soul slept. Blocked by the talisman until the barrier broke.

"Perfect timing. Was itching for a test run."

But to me, fresh with Spirit Lord Transformation, it was just a punching bag.

* * *

"This feeling...!"

Baek Je-in, fretting at home over her lost drugs, frowned at the unfamiliar sensation. Day four of her Spirit Lord Transformation-based surveillance net, fearing misuse by ill-intent. She'd caught a faint but unmistakable wave of vengeful malice.

Vengeful ghosts were rare on the academy fleet. If a newbie without Spirit Lord Transformation was targeted, they'd likely get devoured. Baek Je-in sprang into action. Leaping from the window, she dashed across her invisible medical thread net overhead toward the source.

Not Jang Han-nam's level, but she wielded Spirit Descent and Transformation masterfully—a powerhouse Shangju. She arrived in under 30 seconds.

But her efforts were in vain.

-Kiiiiieeeek!!!

By the time Baek Je-in reached the outer apartment, the ghost's shriek and presence had already vanished.

"...Worried for nothing."

She sighed in relief and headed home, unaware her lost Soul-Submerging Incense had melted away in the gut of the boy who'd just exorcised the ghost.

Shape of the Heart End