The Lost Things (Part 5)
Oh, I see.
I had seen those eyes before.
Deep within the rotting, corpse-like gaze of that figure, I had once found a distant, familiar warmth—a kinship from some long-forgotten past life.
I too had worn those eyes once.
And the moment I recognized that shared soul, everything about my companion’s search for Yeon-jin suddenly clicked into place.
I wanted to confirm my suspicion, so I met his gaze head-on and asked, “Explain the situation. What happened?”
“Everything is gone! You…!”
“Calm down!”
KRRRRRR!
Through the realm of Answer Heaven, I slammed my will into him with overwhelming force, forcibly halting the fit.
“Explain it properly. Why are you looking for Yeon-jin? I will help!”
“…!”
Yeon-wi, who had been hiding inside Yeon-jin’s body, revealed that the entire Geumsincheonroemun had been wiped out and that their lifespan had been forcibly reduced to around twenty years.
I had already guessed as much.
Probably that True Immortal had been the one to annihilate the sect and adjust the lifespans of everyone connected to it in some way.
At my roar, Jeon Myeong-hoon trembled violently, then spoke in a sluggish voice.
“…[That being] has cast Heavenly Tribulation across the ages.”
His face grew dark as night.
“The Heavenly Thunder Banner was snatched the moment [that thing] opened its eyes. Using the banner as a bridge, [that thing] dropped Heavenly Tribulation over the entire Noeryeong-do….”
Despair began to invade his consciousness like a parasite.
“All those who were away on missions inside the sect at the time, or any possible survivors. Every single person who had registered with Geumsincheonroemun. Every living being across the Three Thousand Realms who had formed karmic bonds with the sect in the past… they all now carry the fixed fate of Heavenly Tribulation…”
GRIND.
He gritted his teeth.
“Even twenty years… within that span, every single cultivator across the Three Thousand Realms who had received Yang Su-jin’s guidance as the sect’s founder has been forced to accept the Heavenly Tribulation that will erase them…”
“I see…”
I finally understood why he was searching for Yeon-jin.
“You’re trying to save the survivors of Geumsincheonroemun, aren’t you…?”
“…Yes.”
He gripped my sleeve with those rotting eyes and cried out in desperation.
“You said you would help me find Yeon-jin…! Please, help me, help me… Everyone is dead. Aside from the five disciples I sent far away, even the ones I sent nearby… they all died in the order of their arrival at the sect…! Excluding Yeon-jin, who was sent to the Demon Realm, and the remaining four who went on a reconnaissance mission to the Ghost Realm… there is not a single survivor of Geumsincheonroemun left in this world!”
“…I understand.”
I nodded.
“Yeon-jin left the Heavenly Person puppet I gave him and headed straight for Gwanghan Realm to find you. And even though the puppets are far away, I can still reach them.”
At those words, a spark of life slowly returned to Jeon Myeong-hoon’s rotting pupils.
“Really…? Seo Eun-hyun…? Is that true?!!”
“Yes, it may take a few days for the signal to reach them, but within four days I can deliver a message to Yeon-jin’s side.”
KWAAC!
Jeon Myeong-hoon grabbed my shoulder and trembled with a hollow, tear-streaked face.
“Thank you…! Thank you, Seo Eun-hyun…!”
That was the last thing he said. The next moment he collapsed right there.
‘This…’
It was depletion of the mundane.
The technique I had used to extract the Black Ghost Curse Banner from his body during our fight earlier had already pushed him to his limits. The method that pulled the banner was exhausting enough on its own.
He had clearly reached his limit.
I looked down at the unconscious Jeon Myeong-hoon and sighed.
All of them.
Everyone who had fallen into this world had changed.
‘I have recovered every single memory.’
I closed my eyes and began to observe my Original Spirit.
The good memories, the bad ones…
All the memories that had been sleeping in the darkness of the unconscious surfaced, one by one, and were recorded inside my qi.
Memories I could never forget even if I wanted to.
Inside those memories, Jeon Myeong-hoon had never truly been someone I liked.
But even so…
My life had contained both good and bad moments.
Jeon Myeong-hoon had been one of the people who annoyed me the most, yet he was still the karmic bond I had walked through together.
Ssshhh…
In the Ten Thousand Phenomena Affinity Diagram, Jeon Myeong-hoon’s appearance this time was recorded.
‘Honestly, I don’t like you.’
But no matter how much he irritated me, he was never my enemy.
A bad karmic bond, just an ordinary one.
That was why I had decided to help him.
‘All lost…’
And yet I could still feel that same kinship coming from him.
I knew exactly how it felt—losing the precious people you loved because of overwhelming power and the resulting sense of helplessness.
Perhaps that was why I wanted to help him even more.
I had the puppet transport the unconscious Jeon Myeong-hoon to the Governor’s Residence, then left to search for the demon beasts that still remained outside the barrier.
***
“Gyeon Shin, can you lead these people to safety?”
[What? There was some minor conflict, but nothing serious. The real problem is that barrier made of Gwanghan jade… But if I watch from afar, it seems the Governor can dismantle it.]
“Correct.”
[Hmm…]
Gyeon Shin’s tentacles writhed as he matched my height and continued.
[The Governor seems different from before. Instead of the unstable consciousness waves I remembered, I feel a very firm ripple now.]
I smiled at him.
“I have recovered what was lost. I will no longer waver. Demons, humans, or anyone….”
From behind him, I could hear the uneasy murmurs of the demons.
And between them I caught a glimpse of two young men and a woman who had somehow blended in.
“I will not let my precious people die in front of me.”
[Congratulations. You have relieved your inner torment.]
“I have only regained my standard.”
Twitch, twitch…
Gyeon Shin suddenly crossed two tentacles in a scissor shape.
[We Yuchok are proud to consider ourselves an elegant, intellectual race. Because our species’ nature is parasitic, we have always defined ourselves by essence rather than appearance.]
In his will I felt genuine respect.
[This gesture is how our tribe shows reverence to the most virtuous ancestor who can clearly define themselves. Please accept it.]
Uuuung!
A faint qi light shone from the center of Gyeon Shin’s scissor tentacles.
It was clearly more than a simple bow—it felt like a special divine art.
Because his will was honest, I accepted the qi with gratitude.
Uuuung!
At the same moment, I felt something strange settle inside my Original Spirit.
‘This…’
A special sensation drifted through my Original Spirit.
I was able to observe my Original Spirit with even greater clarity than before.
It seemed Gyeon Shin had given me an entirely new divine art.
[Our species lives by primarily parasitizing the opponent’s mind. The art I gave you is a forbidden technique of the Strange Parasite that lets you transform a part of your soul into something similar to ours, tear away the opponent’s soul, and let it parasitize their Original Spirit. After that you can use the Original Spirit to control them and condense a second soul.]
“This technique…”
I felt a strange familiarity coming from the art Gyeon Shin had given me.
And I knew exactly where that familiarity originated.
‘Won Rip’s Blood Spirit…’
The demonic art that split his own Original Spirit, created Blood Spirits, and hid them inside the meridians of the four limbs.
‘So the Demon Realm really is the birthplace of demonic arts.’
Won Rip’s Blood Spirit was probably derived from the Yuchok or a similar race.
“Thank you. But using this art means I would have to implant my soul inside someone else’s to let it parasitize them. I don’t think I’ll be using that kind of demonic technique.”
[That is entirely up to you, but the true nature of the Strange Parasite is not ruthless soul extraction.]
Gyeon Shin continued.
[In the distant past, when the Demon Realm was still whole, the demonic world was divided into two camps: Demon Beasts and Heavenly Demons. The Heavenly Demons used their bizarre demonic arts to devour the Demon Beasts. In particular, they created forbidden techniques that infiltrated and corrupted the minds of Demon Beasts, turning them into eternal slaves. Those arts were popular among the Heavenly Demons.
Our Yuchok race was once slaves of the Heavenly Demons. But one of our ancestors, in the face of Heavenly Demon mental infiltration, created a forbidden technique that allowed him to parasitize the Heavenly Demon’s mind and fight with his own will. That was the beginning of the Strange Parasite.]
“In short, this divine art is meant to fight against the Heavenly Demons?”
[That is correct. The two worlds are now separated—the Blood Spirit Realm where the Heavenly Demons live and the Demon Realm where we live. The Gwanghan Realm people have never seen a Heavenly Demon… but it is a well-known fact that the Heavenly Demons have been obsessively interested in the Gwanghan Realm since ancient times. Since you have come to the Demon Realm, there may be a chance you will meet one, so I am giving you the technique.]
“…Thank you.”
[It is my duty to give it to you. Thank you for treating our demons kindly.]
We both smiled at each other.
“First of all, I would like to send them away immediately, but when I read the heavenly omen, within a few days disaster will swallow this area.”
I looked at Gyeon Shin.
Since I had entered the realm of Answer Heaven, my eyes for reading omens had grown even sharper.
And what I saw was that within days the occupied territory would be swarmed by the people carrying that disaster. If Gyeon Shin led the demons out of the area, the probability that they would be caught by the disaster-bringers would be extremely high.
‘And judging by the state of the omen, it looks like the disaster-bringers are mostly human.’
If they had been demons like Gyeon Shin, I would have sent them away without hesitation.
But it seemed the Human Alliance had sent people.
“I cannot send them yet. Please hold on just a little longer.”
[Understood. We will wait.]
“However, the danger is something I can handle. After dealing with them, I will send them away.”
After delivering the message to Gyeon Shin, I moved to the densest qi area inside the occupied territory and stabilized my realm of Answer Heaven for a few days.
‘The Human Alliance is coming to capture me.’
It was highly likely.
I was probably already registered as a traitor to the Human Alliance and placed on the wanted list.
‘…Well, I’ll prepare my mind.’
Just because I could read omens did not mean I could read my own destiny.
On the contrary, the more I could read omens, the more ambiguous my future became, and I could not see every possible outcome of the changes that would come from preparing for that future.
I did not know what would happen to my future.
‘Perhaps… I might have to betray humanity!’
I braced myself for the future and faced it head-on!
I made up my mind and waited several days.
***
Four days later.
Jeon Myeong-hoon woke up.
I read the heavenly omen and learned that in two days the humans would arrive.
‘Perhaps I will need Jeon Myeong-hoon’s help.’
Since I had ascended to the realm of Original Spirit, I had gained a dimension beyond vision.
With the ability to freely use the Wansuigungmurok that crossed even the boundaries of cultivation levels, I would be safe as long as Taesan Sangje did not personally come.
The problem was protecting the demons.
‘That should be within Jeon Myeong-hoon’s capability…?’
Now that a message had reached Yeon-jin, a reply was probably already on the way.
‘After delivering Yeon-jin’s message, I will ask for Jeon Myeong-hoon’s help.’
With his power as the one who killed the Sachukqi Inspector, he would be of great help.
Uuuuuung!
I felt the jade token in my pocket vibrating.
‘The reply has already come…?’
It was the message from the Heavenly Person puppet that had accompanied Yeon-jin.
‘Good. He will come here.’
Uuuung!
I poured qi into the jade token. The token trembled and projected a single image into the air.
PAAAAAT!
“…Eh?”
―KRRRRR, KRURUNG!
―FLASH!
Heavenly Thunder.
It was the Heavenly Thunder that had fallen from the sky.
Inside the Heavenly Thunder, Yeon-jin with half-black, half-white hair and Yeon-wi clinging to his body shattered simultaneously.
And a single bolt of lightning shot out from the Heavenly Thunder straight toward the puppet.
PISHIISH…
That was the end of the image.
“…W-what…?”
I swallowed hard, feeling dazed.
‘H-he died in the meantime…?’
Yeon-wi had clearly said he would die within twenty years.
So I had accepted that he would die within ten years at the very least.
But twenty years meant it could happen at any moment.
They had simply died.
I clenched my teeth and clenched my fists.
‘…I’m sorry, Yeon-jin.’
Perhaps it was my fault.
If I had not sent the puppet to look for Jeon Myeong-hoon instead of keeping him here, he might have met Jeon Myeong-hoon.
‘What should I say to Jeon Myeong-hoon…’
Instead of thinking about asking for help, I was more worried about how to explain it to him.
‘Should I tell the truth? Or should I lie?’
Before going to find him, I stood there for a long time and thought.
‘What should I even say!’
“…”
After thinking for a while, I went to find him.
He had finally recovered enough to stand up and was blankly staring out the window of the Governor’s Residence.
“…Jeon Myeong-hoon. You’re awake?”
“How long have I been unconscious?”
“…Four days.”
“I see. Four days should be enough for a message to reach Yeon-jin, right? How long do I have to wait for a reply?”
“…I have one question, Jeon Myeong-hoon.”
I looked at him and asked.
“When you meet Yeon-jin, what are you going to do? I heard that a True Immortal has fixed Heavenly Tribulation onto Yeon-jin’s fate…”
“I will stop it myself.”
He said, eyes shining.
“It is not the Heavenly Tribulation he himself ascended to, but one given artificially by others. It can be blocked. The Heavenly Tribulation Geumsincheonroemun received was a direct bolt from the True Immortal. But the one that fixed his fate is not a direct strike from the True Immortal; it is an indirect one. I can definitely block it!”
“…I see.”
“If you have a question, answer it, Seo Eun-hyun. Has contact been made with Yeon-jin?!!”
I looked at Jeon Myeong-hoon.
I looked into his will and thoughts.
A corpse.
A sea of corpses and blood—Taesan Sangje’s domain, the Mountain of Corpses and Sea of Blood!
That was Jeon Myeong-hoon’s current state of mind.
His spirit was extremely unstable inside that sea of corpses.
If I told him Yeon-jin was dead, he might completely lose his mind.
“…No reply has come from Yeon-jin yet.”
I clenched my teeth and lied.
“The reply will take some time to arrive.”
The time it took for the puppet that had been sent from the Eighth Occupation Zone to connect with Yeon-jin was only the time needed for the connection itself. Once connected, no more time was required. But I lied.
He needed hope.
If I gave him no hope at all, he would collapse and lose his mind.
“…I see. I understand.”
“When the reply comes from Yeon-jin, I will tell you again.”
Because I had lied so cowardly, I could not ask him to help protect the demons.
‘There is no choice. The danger I saw was something I could handle anyway. I had no choice but to deal with it with my own strength.’
I stepped outside the Governor’s Residence and began waiting once more.
And two more days passed.
“…They’re here.”
I was observing my Original Spirit when I opened my eyes and looked up at the sky.
Uung, uung, uung…
Beyond the barrier, a large number of Original Spirit Inspectors and Heavenly Person Inspectors gathered.
The barrier that had been pierced in our previous fight with Jeon Myeong-hoon had already self-repaired and closed again.
KURUNG, KURURUNG…
The sky was filled with yin energy, and dark clouds covered it.
And rain began to fall from the sky.
Swaaaah—
‘Yin-type technique.’
I looked at the Heavenly Person Inspector who seemed to be their leader and assessed the situation.
The demons had been told to hide underground for now.
The only people left on the surface of the occupied territory were me and Jeon Myeong-hoon, who was resting inside the Governor’s Residence.
‘I will deal with them somehow.’
Three Heavenly Person Inspectors.
And eight Original Spirit Inspectors.
With that, I could handle it.
Uuuung!
The sky roared. The Heavenly Person Inspector wearing the black robe of yin energy took out a scroll and began to read it.
[The envoy of the Human Alliance, Xian Shen, comes to convey his message. The human traitor and former temporary Governor, Seo Eun-hyun. And the murderer Jeon Myeong-hoon, come out and surrender to the Alliance’s arrest!]
“Hm?”
Murderer Jeon Myeong-hoon?
[Especially Jeon Myeong-hoon, who mercilessly massacred innocent humans in the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Occupation Zones, caused immense damage to the Alliance, and killed the Sachukqi Inspector sent as a surveillance officer— if you resist, you will be executed on the spot!]
“…”
I opened my mouth and looked at the building where Jeon Myeong-hoon was inside.
‘That crazy bastard… what exactly has he done to reach this point?’
I laughed bitterly and looked at Xian Shen.
“Well… it’s a bit funny in this situation, but if the Fourth Occupation Zone was completely destroyed by Jeon Myeong-hoon… what happens to the original plan?”
Even Xian Shen’s face, and everyone who came with him, twisted into a monstrous expression.
[Thanks to the Human Alliance, things have become a mess. That madman went berserk and turned the operational zone into a wasteland, so all of our total war plans have collapsed! He should be executed and his soul pulled to the Alliance for judgment! Of course, former temporary Governor, you also have treason charges, so get used to it!]
“…Then one more question.”
I looked at Xian Shen with cautious hope and asked.
“If that is the case, has the Plan of Annihilation of Heaven also been canceled?”
If so, there would be no need to rush the demons out.
In that case…
‘I do not have to kill them right now.’
The reason I had wanted to rush them out was that if the Plan of Annihilation of Heaven began, I and all the people connected to me and our lands would be wiped out without a trace.
If the plan was canceled, I was prepared to surrender peacefully.
The demons could escape slowly with the puppet’s help.
However, the answer Xian Shen gave was despairing.
[What are you talking about! I said the plan has collapsed, not canceled. The Black Forest Mountain Sect I belong to has deep ties with the Black Dragon Race among the beast tribes, and fortunately the Black Dragon King of the Black Dragon Race, a Integration Grand Completion, has agreed to help this time because of our relationship with the sect. The Alliance will divide the rights with the Black Dragon Race, but the plan itself will not change much!]
“…I see.”
I sighed.
‘There is no choice.’
If that was the case, there was only one way.
‘Suppress or kill them, then quickly evacuate my karmic bonds.’
I will accept becoming a traitor to the Human Alliance!
It was the moment I had made up my mind.
Xian Shen shouted at me, trying to kill my will and Jeon Myeong-hoon’s.
[In any case, the criminal Seo Eun-hyun and the major criminal Jeon Myeong-hoon must submit to the arrest of the Holy Human Alliance! If you do not obey, the Heaven-Piercing Sect you belong to will suffer accordingly, and depending on what Jeon Myeong-hoon, the last survivor of Geumsincheonroemun, does in the future, Geumsincheonroemun will be recorded in human history as…]
And then.
KURURUNG!
The Governor’s Residence exploded. Inside, the resting Jeon Myeong-hoon growled and issued his decree.
[…Last survivor of Geumsincheonroemun? What do you mean?]
[Simply put! The survivors of Geumsincheonroemun who were sent to the Ghost Realm are too far away to know their lives or deaths, and one of the survivors sent to the Demon Realm this time also had his life sign extinguished in the recent Heavenly Tribulation!]
The Heavenly Tribulation Island was the island that proved the identities of humans, and it had a Record of Life—Life Register.
And inside that Record, a technique was in place so that the life reactions of all registered humans on the island would light the fire of their life or death in the register.
The Life Register that controlled the lives of humans could only be read by the Inspectors of the Human Alliance, and the Alliance used the register to monitor human movements.
At Xian Shen’s words, I clenched my teeth.
‘Damn it…’
In the end, Jeon Myeong-hoon had learned that Yeon-jin was dead.
[I will say it again! The two criminals…]
And the next instant.
PARISH!
[Holy Total…]
PUCK!
Blood vessels burst vertically across Xian Shen’s face.
A moment later.
His body was split exactly in half.
KWARURUNG!
A hand that had suddenly appeared behind Xian Shen now held his Original Spirit.
KWIZIZIZIK!
The moment he clenched his fist, Xian Shen’s Original Spirit exploded.
KURUNG, KURURUNG!
Inside the dark clouds Xian Shen had summoned, scarlet lightning began to writhe.
Red.
Jeon Myeong-hoon’s realm was Original Spirit, but for some reason his consciousness was growing larger and larger, swallowing everything around him.
And I had to feel the illusion that the scarlet lightning was covering the heaven and earth.
I bit my lip.
The once-unstable mind of Jeon Myeong-hoon who had been resting had completely collapsed.
[…To reach my companions in the Ghost Realm, it would take two hundred years because of the distance between dimensions. But the remaining time is only twenty years… That is why I came here to save even just one person from the sect— one disciple, just one…]
Drip, drip…
Jeon Myeong-hoon’s eyes had rolled back, exposing only whites, and blood tears streamed down his cheeks.
[Everyone… has died. All of them… Yes…]
‘Ah…’
I understood.
Jeon Myeong-hoon’s mind had completely shattered at this very moment.
I had seen people with minds like this before.
Seo Hyul and Goe-gun.
And myself after I lost Buk Hyang-hwa to Won Rip.
Those whose minds were engulfed in darkness.
Today.
[You don’t need anything. Just die…]
Jeon Myeong-hoon had completely gone mad.