What Does It Mean to Be Human? (2)
I was stunned and blurted out, “What on earth are you talking about?”
*Is this just the ordinary mind of an ordinary person? No, no way. He’s someone who’s reached the absolute peak of Jinseon…*
Even Cheonin was enough to shatter a mind.
If Yang Su-jin, who had reached the ultimate pinnacle of Jinseon, his logic and common sense might already be so far removed from the average human that no gap remained.
I quickly pulled myself together and asked, “Then… does the phrase ‘human’ mean that only Terminating Ones are free, and all other beings are not?”
“Yes. Everything in this world moves according to the guidance of fate.”
In the darkness, Yang Su-jin smiled and said, “Do you know why the civilization level of this world is stuck at medieval? Despite tens of millions of years of history, why has it always been the same way of life and similar civilizations?”
Somehow, Yang Su-jin’s smile looked like mockery.
“Everything! Everything is a slave of fate. Under the twisting of fate and luck, all existence in the world cannot evolve beyond its current form and simply copies the same foolish civilizations. All beings living in this world seem to think, speak, and feel, but that’s not true. Every action they take, every word they utter, every emotion they display is decided by fate. No one possesses free will!”
“…Then.”
I felt revulsion toward Yang Su-jin’s extreme ideology and asked, “Then how do you explain the Heart Tribe?”
“The Heart Tribe?”
“Yes. They are those who have honed their hearts and minds to the extreme to resist fate. According to what you said, the Heart Tribe should not exist at all.”
“Heart Tribe… Heart Tribe… Hehe… AHAHAHAHA!”
The moment I uttered the word ‘Heart Tribe,’ Yang Su-jin suddenly burst into laughter.
“Huhuhu… HUHAHAHAHA! HUHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Kugugugugu!
The darkness rang with a thunderous sound.
It felt like a madman’s wild laughter.
I somehow found that laughter deeply unpleasant and creepy.
At the same time, I sensed that Yang Su-jin was about to reveal something truly terrible.
“The Heart Tribe are beings who resist fate and are free? Wrong…”
In the darkness, Yang Su-jin stopped laughing and continued speaking.
For some reason, his voice sounded extremely gloomy and raspy.
“On the contrary, the Heart Tribe are the most direct proof that they are nothing but slaves and toys of fate.”
For some reason, a trace of anger laced Yang Su-jin’s voice.
I could not read his emotions or thoughts in the darkness, but from his tone I immediately realized he had experienced something related to the Heart Tribe long ago.
“Do you think the Heart Tribe arose naturally?”
“When the Heavenly Tribe and Earthly Tribe bully weak tribes, of course they arise naturally.”
“Then why didn’t the Heart Tribe arise in the Water Realm?”
“That’s because the rulers of the Water Realm directly treat one tribe as slaves or…”
“That’s impossible. In the Water Realm, the youkai and human tribes frequently capture each other and turn them into livestock.”
“….”
I closed my mouth upon recalling the case of the Sea Dragon Tribe.
It was exactly as he said.
Even in the Water Realm, there should have been at least one Terminating One who reached the tip of his tongue.
But there wasn’t.
Why was that?
Yang Su-jin moved his arm in the darkness.
His hazy outline lifted a finger.
“Then why didn’t the Heart Tribe arise in the Water Realm? Why is there no equivalent to the Heavenly Demon or Youkai Demon in the Demon Realm to match the Heavenly and Earthly Tribes? Why are there only Heart Tribes in the Gwanghan Realm? Why, even after reaching the realm that corresponds to Cheonin and gaining the ability to add a thousand years of tribulation, are they so weak? Why do the Heavenly and Earthly Tribes hate the Heart Tribes like madmen? Why is there not even one law artifact created by freezing them in hatred? Why is there no information about a Jinseon that appears at the peak of the Heart Tribe, and why does no one know it?”
“….”
Truly, there were too many questions.
Yang Su-jin’s explanation continued.
“It’s simple. The Heart Tribe are beings that never existed originally.”
“!”
“And before the Terminating Ones appeared, they suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and when all the Terminating Ones perish, they simultaneously disappear, decline, and vanish from history.”
“!!!”
Yang Su-jin folded the finger he had raised and said.
I had no choice but to be bewildered by the information he provided.
*That… what is…!*
“You understand? The Heart Tribe are nothing but another form of fate’s slave, born by fate the moment a Terminating One sets foot in this world. The Heart Tribe are the very beings who prove that no one in this world has free will.”
I remained silent for a long time.
It was too shocking a fact to accept.
*What on earth…*
Jang Ik, Yu Hwa, and countless Heart Tribes—what were they, exactly?
I asked in a trembling voice, “Then why do we possess free will? We are the ones who have predetermined fates, are we not the ones who follow those fates?”
“We are beings from a world where fate does not exist,” Yang Su-jin said as if it were obvious.
“Beings from a world without fate or gods or miracles, and even the ‘command’ that forces us is ultimately given by another… we will definitely… become beings truly free one day.”
“….”
I could not empathize with Yang Su-jin’s extreme ideology.
Yet his voice somehow carried the feeling that he himself wanted to be free from fate.
*If they can become free beings… does that mean even Yang Su-jin has not yet become free?*
However, I did not speak those words aloud.
“Well, have you asked all your questions? It seems I should convey the message before the master of the Underworld breaks down the barrier here…”
“There are still countless things I want to know…”
“Well, you’ll learn about what you want to know later. What I’m about to convey is more important now.”
“…What exactly are you conveying?”
“*Myeolsin Geopcheon*.”
In the darkness, he extended his hand toward me.
“*Myeolsin Geopcheon*… is the will itself to ‘beat fate.’ In the end, it is a ritual to defeat fate. Although I could not replace my own fate as a Terminating One…”
His tone somehow sounded bitter.
“Other Jinseons can find a way to overcome their fate through rituals. Of course, it won’t work perfectly…”
BOOM!
Yang Su-jin’s hand grabbed the back of my head.
At the same moment, I felt an enormous torrent of knowledge surge through my mind.
“!!!”
The complete procedure for performing the ritual of *Myeolsin Geopcheon*—no, the *Myeolsin Geopcheon*—flooded into my brain.
“Even if you have questions now and I cannot answer them, *Myeolsin Geopcheon* has already given you a portion of luck. One day, you will know everything you wish to know. *Myeolsin Geopcheon* will guide you thus…”
Through the completely attribute-less lightning power, a ritual that slightly twisted fate, giving a slight advantage in the overwhelmingly unreasonable battle against existence.
That was the ritual of *Myeolsin Geopcheon*!
All 9,500 sub-techniques of Geumsincheonroemun were turned by Yang Su-jin into ‘ritual sub-techniques’ and flowed into my brain.
Countless lines and verses centered on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were engraved into my mind.
I clenched my teeth and endured, accepting the ritual sub-techniques without my mind shattering.
“Now the time is almost up.”
Kugugugugugu!
In the space of darkness.
There, an eerie aura hung.
It was cold.
No, it was colder than cold.
This was…
‘Freezing, freezing, freezing, freezing, freezing, dying, dying, dying, dying, dying, dying, dying, dying…’
From beyond the darkness, something vast and deep was watching me, but Yang Su-jin patted my shoulder.
“Since you provided the space, why are you in such a hurry to help us younger brothers converse comfortably.”
Yang Su-jin spoke to the darkness beyond with a tone mixed with mockery.
“Kuhuhu… You want to obtain Terminating Ones so badly? Even you cannot obtain a Terminating One according to the flow of fate. Fate suppresses us, but it also protects us, you see. You must know that better than anyone.”
Uuuuuu—
From the darkness came an eerie howling sound.
That sound contained strange knowledge and truth, and when one listened, one would intuitively feel that countless knowledge and wisdom could be obtained.
‘I want to hear more…’
If I focused on the wisdom mixed in that sound, perhaps I could gain something on par with the Ear-Subduing Heavenly Sound…
“Operate *Myeolsin Geopcheon*.”
CHIIK!
“…”
The moment Yang Su-jin’s hand touched my back, the attribute-less law power within my body suddenly moved.
At the same time, the urge to focus on that howling sound vanished.
“Even though it’s a space provided by the master of the Underworld, this place is where the master himself, at the height of his power, personally negotiated and bound an oath with the Heavenly Lord of the Underworld… even if it’s the Heavenly Lord, it takes time to enter this far.”
Kugugugugugu!
However, contrary to Yang Su-jin’s boasting, the howling sound from far away seemed to grow louder and louder.
“Well then, the person will arrive in about thirty seconds, so I should send you back soon.”
In the darkness, I saw Yang Su-jin’s body gradually dissipating.
“My body… is dissipating…!”
“Yes, under the consideration of the master of the Underworld, I sealed my thoughts into this space… now that the seal is broken, all that remains is dissipation.”
Yang Su-jin dissipated like soap bubbles and continued, “My role is complete. A Terminating One cannot leave behind waste, but I succeeded in leaving behind waste even after death by borrowing the power of the Underworld. What a magnificent feat… Later generations… please do not submit to fate. You Terminating Ones, proclaim to the heavens that you are truly [human]…”
“….”
I looked at the dissipating Yang Su-jin and felt a heavy heart.
His ideology was too extreme and uncomfortable to listen to.
Yet seeing him, from the same homeland, lose to an unknown existence and vanish like this made me unable to feel good.
“Well… I’m going. Later generations, the messages left by Terminating Ones for later generations are not only what I have left, so keep searching. The most universally findable messages of Terminating Ones are…”
SWOOSH!
When he reached out his hand, I felt my body being pushed back.
As I fell toward the warm, light-filled place, I concentrated on Yang Su-jin’s words.
“Find the lovers whose fates are entwined in their names. When you bless them as they become one, you will meet the afterimage of the strongest Terminating One…”
“!!”
“Since the waste of Yu Ho-deok is interested in them… after you grow stronger, meet Hyeol-eum…”
CHUCHUCHUCHUCH!
I was enveloped in brilliant light and escaped from the space of darkness.
What I saw last was Yang Su-jin’s thoughts dissipating in the darkness, while a vast and deep existence watched me calmly in the darkness.
ZIEEING—
In my mind, Yang Su-jin’s words echoed.
—We will all eventually end up in the Underworld. If you go to the Underworld later, never look back and rush into the straight, narrow path as fast as possible. That is the only path you can take next…
With that, I opened my eyes.
“Haaah…!”
Far away, at Noeun-bong, a festive atmosphere hung.
Jeon Myeong-hoon must have reached the seventh stage of Qi Condensation.
Within my body, I felt my cultivation reaching the middle stage of Original Essence.
The cold night air and the familiar moon of the Gwanghan Realm floated high above my head.
“Haa… huh…”
Cold sweat flowed.
‘I have… returned.’
“…I am alive.”
The deep and vast existence I had seen last.
Because of seeing that existence, I felt an overwhelming gratitude just for being alive.
“…First, I should return to the East…”
THUD!
I tried to stand up, but my body collapsed forward.
“Eh…?”
I was momentarily stunned, but I immediately understood.
‘All my strength has left my body. And… it’s wet.’
My entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
And somehow my skin was pale, and my heart was pounding wildly.
‘Because I went to the Underworld? No… because I saw that deep and vast existence…’
The moment I realized that, I understood what Yang Su-jin had done for me.
‘He protected me until the end…’
Being stared at by the owner of Heavenly Tribulation had already brought a curse beyond regression, but even the Heavenly Lord of the Underworld, who was expected to be far more powerful, had personally watched over me.
Yet the only result was that my body could not move at all—that was because Yang Su-jin had kept me safe from that existence’s gaze.
‘Still, I can’t lie here like this…’
I exerted all my strength to move my body and, after much effort, finally managed to rise.
With a body filled with exhaustion, I arrived in the East and collapsed onto the bed I had prepared there, losing consciousness.
After reaching Foundation Establishment, I did not need to sleep much, but the events in the Underworld, which had left me so fatigued that sleep came even after reaching the middle stage of Original Essence, despite Yang Su-jin’s protection, had caused immense exhaustion.
***
The next day dawned.
Blink…
“…Eh.”
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Geum Byeok-ho.
Geum Byeok-ho looked at me with a face full of displeasure and said, “Give me your wrist.”