Chapter 395
The subterranean prison deep beneath Jeongryong Palace. A place that had not welcomed a single living soul for years. Yet the footsteps of the sea demons had finally reached its cold stone floors.
Clang! Boom!
“Get in! And the Princess Yuk Yo goes this way!”
Dragged into the gloom was nothing but a skeleton ghost—Baek Rin. Beside him, the one they called the Seongran Princess: Yuk Yo.
After a brief scuffle, the two were shoved into separate cells.
Yuk Yo clung to the iron bars of her cage, biting her own lips until they bled.
“…So they really meant to lock me in a real prison?”
Her captors, the sea demons who had dragged her and Baek Rin here, clicked their tongues in disapproval.
“The princess running off with that ghost once or twice is one thing. But the Lord is furious. You’d better reflect on yourself!”
With that, they left her alone in the dark.
“Hmph…” Yuk Yo rattled the bars with all her strength, but the heavy chains binding her wrists and ankles prevented any real effort.
The same was true for Baek Rin in the neighboring cell.
After trying—and failing—over and over to break free, she finally gave up and slumped down against the wall.
“…A prison, huh… They aren’t even pretending to treat me like a princess anymore.”
“Well… you tried to escape so many times before. Thanks to your grace, I’ve ended up here too. What a pathetic sight.”
Baek Rin’s words made Yuk Yo give a bitter laugh.
“Who asked you to follow me?”
“I told you before. His Majesty ordered me to protect you.”
“That damn master of his… It’s so tiresome. Being someone’s subordinate. If it were me, I’d have run away the moment I found freedom.”
“You may not understand, but I prefer to be bound to someone.”
“Hah… what a stubborn soul.” Yuk Yo paused, then tilted her head.
“When did you start treating me like a princess? After you learned I was the daughter of my father, you acted as if it meant nothing.”
Baek Rin stayed silent.
Yuk Yo seemed to think for a moment, then clapped her hands.
“Ah! I remember now. It was after you returned from Bongrae-do, wasn’t it? Hehe… A shaman who swore absolute loyalty to the kingdom in the Seongran Kingdom?”
Baek Rin recalled the old days with a faint smile.
“The loyalty of the royal house still burns within me. Truly a magnificent illusion.”
Yuk Yo’s eyes flashed with fury as she hissed, “How many times must I tell you? This world is fake, and the Seongran Kingdom is real!”
After escaping from Bongrae Island, Yuk Rin had never resealed her broken memories.
That was why every detail from the Seongran Kingdom remained crystal clear in her mind.
Baek Rin let out a hearty laugh. “How can a world that is supposed to be real vanish like a mirage just because one palace is gone? Isn’t that just an illusion?”
“An illusion? The formation on Bongrae Island is merely the entrance to enter the Seongran Kingdom from this world—it is not the kingdom itself!”
Bang!
Exhausted from her outburst, Yuk Yo slammed the bars. Blood trickled from her palms.
“Ouch… it hurts…”
“Even as a sea demon, your skin is so weak?” Baek Rin asked.
“The very word ‘sea demon’ is laughable. In the Seongran Kingdom I was half-human, half-dragon. My true nature was human. But when I woke up, I discovered I was a mixed-breed sea demon with the blood of a minnow and a sea dragon mixed in only a mouse dropping’s worth. And here, in this world, human bloodlines have vanished, so I became a sea demon. My father immediately sealed my memories, and I simply lived as if that had always been the case.”
“Half-human, half-dragon… so were you Seo Ran Gong?”
“I didn’t know at the time, but now it makes sense. The identity of a half-human, half-dragon might have been what drew me to him.”
She rubbed her bloody palm, sighing.
“Ugh… every drop of blood I lose makes me cold…”
“Even reaching the Nascent Soul stage and failing to obtain the Seal of One Heartless? If you had acquired the Yin Power, the dragon energy would have been sealed, but at least you would have been fine.”
“Stop calling me a ghost! I know resistance to Yin energy is easily gained!”
Baek Rin chuckled as he stood. With his skeletal hand he began hammering the wall of his cell.
Clang!
The iron bars rang like bells in response.
Clang, clang!
Yuk Yo watched, curious. “What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to break through to the next cell.”
“Why?”
Clang, clang, clang!
Silence fell. Only the hollow echo of metal remained.
Yuk Yo asked again, “Why did you come to my cell?”
She looked into his empty eye sockets. Within their depths she sensed something aimed straight at her—something warm, almost… tender.
“Don’t. You can’t even use techniques. Why not use that effort to pick the locks or unlock the cuffs instead?”
“Do you know why I once thought this world was an illusion?”
“Why?”
Yuk Yo asked with a puzzled expression.
Baek Rin smiled bitterly. “Inside that world I dreamed of losing the person I loved once again. My only goal was to kill the Demon King and marry the princess.”
“Eh…”
A faint blush touched Yuk Yo’s cheeks.
“Even after escaping I spoke with the others for a while. I overheard bits of talks between the Ghost King of the Six Extremes and the Military Lord. I realized there was a common thread among those who had been reincarnated into that world.”
“What?”
“The worst suffering imaginable was exactly what awaited every reincarnated soul.”
“…”
“In that world, everyone was forced to accept their own pain. Whether they wanted to or not. I felt it deeply. This world itself seems to be trying to teach a lesson to the reincarnated. It’s… like a fairy tale from a storybook. A tale meant to impart wisdom to the reader.”
“…”
“Of course, not a hopeful one. A story that deliberately stirs wounds and then pours salt into them. You must feel the pain of being burned. But when the salt burns the wound, painful as it is, it purifies the heart—making those who entered even more resilient.”
Clang!
Baek Rin’s eyes met hers across the narrow gap.
“I knew it too. I wasn’t just obeying His Majesty’s command to protect you. In truth, my loyalty to the master is minimal. I only joined the cult because my friends were doing well. But until now I had been turning away from old love, regret, and despair.”
“…”
“I have come to love you, Yuk Yo Princess.”
Clang!
A hollow sound echoed through the prison.
“That world should be an illusion. Only then can you stay here with me.”
Yuk Yo bit her lip.
“It’s not an illusion. That world… is real.”
“Why?”
“The childhood I lived there and the immense love I received there were never false.”
“People who love you still exist here.”
Clang!
Yuk Yo’s teeth clenched.
“Why are you so obsessed with me? I even deceived you, didn’t I?”
“It doesn’t matter if I was deceived.”
“You’ll probably deceive me again in the future.”
“But you think this world is fake, so you keep repeating the same con artist tricks.”
“Yes. After all, this world is fake.”
“My heart is real, Yuk Yo Princess. I know you’re not that kind of person. Even if only the memories of the Seongran Kingdom Shaman remain, I know you have a kind heart, cherish your people, and are a good soul.”
Yuk Yo’s lips trembled.
“You said you were born in that world? I remember you. Would you lie to someone like me?”
She bit her lip again. Blood dripped from her mouth.
“Thinking that world is an illusion! That world is fake, and I’m just a scam minnow in this one!”
She looked at him with mocking eyes. “If I truly must return to that world, can you follow me there?”
Baek Rin’s jaw cracked open in a smile.
“If you want me to, I will.”
“…”
“I once regretted not catching you in time. I will never make that mistake again.”
The skull that had once been Baek Rin’s face gave her a sudden glimpse of the man he had been in life.
Yuk Yo averted her gaze. “Do as you like. And as I said before, if you keep this up your bones will crack.”
“It’s fine.”
Clang! Clang!
“Do whatever you want.”
She sat down and buried her face in her knees, as if asleep.
But the sound of Baek Rin hammering the bars continued. A drop of something fell onto Yuk Yo’s cheek, then dropped from her chin.
She ignored him. After all, he would eventually give up.
Ten years passed.
Yuk Rin no longer cared about the underground prison, nor did the guards.
In the empty cell, Baek Rin never stopped striking the bars.
Crack!
His right hand had turned to dust long ago.
Yet he kept hammering with his remaining arm and left hand.
Crash!
Finally, one section of the bar gave way—just enough for a hand to slip through.
Yuk Yo clicked her tongue at him. “Stop acting like an idiot.”
Baek Rin simply kept hammering.
Twenty years later, half the cell wall had collapsed.
Because they had been separated by only one wall, Baek Rin still needed to break through the remaining barrier.
Yet his arms were nothing but powder.
Still, he lifted one leg and kicked the bar with his foot, occasionally using his torso like a battering ram.
Yuk Yo simply watched.
Her own cell’s bars were slowly rattling, and his body was crumbling away.
Unaware, Yuk Rin and the palace servants watched the ghost and the sea demon slowly, inch by inch, grow closer.
Thirty years passed.
Baek Rin’s left side was hollowed out; his left leg was dust.
Yet he still struck with one leg.
Crash! Crack!
Finally, one bar between them crumbled just a little.
But Yuk Yo screamed, “Stop! How long are you going to keep this up?!”
Baek Rin only laughed.
“We’re almost there. Can’t you see?”
“See what?! Your body is already smashed to pieces! Your strength is weakening as you crumble—what am I supposed to see? Maybe you’re the one who can’t be seen!”
He stared at her without a word, eyes glowing faintly. Then he leaped and slammed his remaining body into the wall.
Crash! Thud!
One of his ribs crumbled.
“I see it. Very well.”
“But why?! You became a ghost because you didn’t want to die. What are you doing now?!”
She had no more words. He kept striking.
Forty years had passed.
Crack!
Baek Rin’s body was completely destroyed. Only his skull remained—its jawbone crushed to dust.
Yet forty years of effort were meaningless. He could not reach Yuk Yo.
She looked into the empty eye sockets and whispered, “How many times must I say it? You failed.”
“…”
“Your techniques are sealed. You can’t even speak properly.”
“…”
“Idiot. You should have just stayed quiet. Why don’t you say something normal? ‘How well did I sleep last night?’ Or ‘Today I’ll definitely make it.’ Try saying something.”
“…”
“In the end I was right. Staying silent was the best option. A small hole appeared, but this is the end, isn’t it? Why break your body for nothing?”
“…”
“Say something! Anything!”
Uwoong—
The circuit drawn on Baek Rin’s skull trembled. It seemed to be trying to speak to her.
But the sound was too faint.
“Right… I pounded my head against the bars so many times that the circuit must be broken. When I bragged about the gift from His Majesty, it became nothing but a rag. Now I can’t even talk even if I want to. What am I supposed to do? Hah… what a pity…”
Yuk Yo stared at him for a moment, then laughed softly.
“Now it’s finally quiet. I’ve been so loud for so long. Ah… it’s peaceful. No more clanging, no more grinding. I can finally sleep comfortably.”
She lay down on her side, eyes closing.
Baek Rin simply watched her.
Three days later.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Yuk Yo began hammering the bars again, teeth clenched.
“Why?! You did it until now! You broke through everything! Why did you stop right there?!”
“Here! You drilled the hole! Just a little more and I could have done it! Why did you stop?!”
Thud!
Blood spurted from her palm. Her dragon blood had been too weak; her skin was that of a fragile minnow.
Yet she kept striking.
She had been doing it for decades.
Even if she missed for three days, her ears might develop needles.
This was the first time in her life—for the first time since leaving the Seongran Kingdom with Yuk Rin—she screamed with pure sincerity.
“Can you hear me?! Why?! You crushed my jaw so I can’t speak anymore!”
Crash!
Sixty years had passed.
Finally—or perhaps just now—Yuk Yo’s hands were so swollen she could barely move. Yet she had succeeded.
Druuuung…
She reached her foot toward Baek Rin’s cell.
“Are you finally satisfied?”
She pulled his skull close and asked. Then she pressed her forehead to his empty eye sockets.
Uwoong… Uuuwoong…
The skull vibrated. Through the tiny circuits drawn on it, she finally heard his voice.
Uwoong… Uuuwoong…
She listened for a long time, then clenched her teeth. “You only spoke those words?”
Uwoong… Uuuwoong…
She stared at him, then smiled. A single tear slid down her cheek. “Just like old times—a good morning. One sentence would have been enough.”
She wept onto his skull. “If you had shattered the cuffs and the bars and escaped, that would have been better!”
She knew the truth. The seals on their Nascent Souls would never dissolve. The bars were inside the palace, so Yuk Rin would know the moment they were touched. It meant nothing.
Baek Rin had only managed to do what he wanted while trapped.
To be with her.
And Yuk Yo, knowing it all, could only hold the skull and sob.
Four years later.
Kwa-kwakwakuang!
Inside the prison, Yuk Yo, still cradling the skull, woke to the sound of the heavens tearing apart.
Kugugugu!
The entire Jeongryong Palace shook. The underground prison twisted violently. The bars rattled wildly.
Crash! Kang!
In that single violent tremor, Yuk Yo was given her chance to escape.
The sign of Baek Rin’s eyes flared.
She heard his faint whisper. “You’re late. Your master.”
Uwoong… Uuuwoong…
“Let’s escape. I understand.”
She picked up the skull and stepped out into the light.
Squeeeak…
As she climbed out, she frowned. The palace formation was trembling. All the servants were in chaos.
The moment of escape had come.
But Yuk Yo did not flee outward. She slipped deeper into the palace.
Uwoong… Uuuwoong…
“Where are you going?”
Her eyes burned with ruthless hunger. “My nature is a thief. I’m going to steal what Father treasures most.”
Boom! Kuuuwoong!
Amid the bombardment of the Tumhae pirate fleet that had assaulted Jeongryong Island, Yuk Yo and Baek Rin walked toward an unknown destination.