Whispers in the Salt
“…Why do you think that is?”
“I have heard, in passing, that someone once told me your lord passed away.”
It was a remark I had overheard from Seo Hyeol.
Yet upon careful reflection, there was no need to trust anything Seo Hyeol said.
‘No. Even without Seo Hyeol, there were undeniable proofs that the being had died.’
The strongest proof was the ‘will’ I had sensed the moment I first unleashed my Reverse Taesan Yeolje Gong.
‘That will… must have been a final wish.’
The body lay as if lifeless, yet somehow it rose, barely clinging to my arm and whispering its final intention.
Words alone could not describe the depth of that will.
“And I possess my own proofs as well.”
“Hmph…”
She chose her words with care before answering.
“That being does not die. Just as light never dies, he is the concept of reality incarnate. One could say the incarnate concept has scattered and spread throughout the world… but calling it ‘death’ feels wholly inadequate.”
“Is that so…”
Indeed, at the level of Jinseon, such a state of existence became entirely conceivable.
“…If we accept that for the sake of argument, then tell me—how would you go about returning the salt pillar to his original world?”
My question drew a bitter smile from her.
“A tale from the realm of myths. The legend of the one who stole a glimpse of the Deity’s true body and became a salt pillar has been passed down through the ages.”
“Is there a way to save them?”
She regarded me with curiosity.
“Let me ask you one thing. How did you arrive here?”
“I came through the array left behind by the Deity.”
“And when you used that array, your body did not turn to salt?”
“Not at first. But now I have grown accustomed to it. I merely generate a small amount of salt around me, and my own body remains unchanged.”
“Ho… You truly do not change. But that is not the important point. Why do you believe the palace of Bongrae Kingdom stands atop a salt mountain?”
“I do not know.”
And then the queen’s words struck me like lightning.
“The salt mountain supporting the palace is no mere lump of salt. The figures who once stole a glimpse of the Deity’s wisdom are those who—”
“!!! _”
I shot to my feet in shock.
That meant…
‘Even the salt mountain where my true self now resides…’
A chill ran down my spine.
This salt mountain was the same as Cheongmun Ryeong’s case.
I was still reeling when she continued, her expression unchanged.
“Do not fear. Those who witnessed the Deity’s wisdom may have turned their flesh into salt mountains, yet their souls returned to the realm of illusion and became disciples of that being.”
“Eh?”
“And the reverse is true as well. Those who sought the Deity’s wisdom within the illusionary realm had their own flesh become salt pillars and crossed into our world to inherit that wisdom. One of those descendants is none other than myself.”
A groan escaped my lips as I listened to her next words.
“It is not that they become salt pillars. They simply wake from a dream and travel to another world. In our case, it is falling into an illusion. So if you wish to awaken the salt pillar, you too must enter the same world he vanished into and bring him back with you.”
“…Does that mean Cheongmun Ryeong exists within Bongrae Kingdom?”
“I cannot say. Even I do not know how many worlds the Deity created. It could be our own world, or it could be entirely different.”
I recalled something from my own memories.
The journey through the dream-like worlds while I was a salt pillar.
According to the queen, those dream-like worlds were in truth the “true” worlds.
Sizzle, sizzle…
I stared at her and Yuk Yo, then asked,
“Does this world—or the world one passes through via salt pillars—possess proof of being the true reality?”
By my standards, this very world felt unstable.
The salt mountain that supported the palace reminded me of a miniature garden someone had built with the help of other divine beings.
Yet the residents of this world considered our world the mere illusion.
And… the world I had visited from the Water Realm had carried an overwhelming sense of “dream.”
The moment I woke from that “dream” at Hong Beom’s hand had been far too vivid.
That world was indeed a dream.
Yet according to the queen, it was not.
Everything felt confusing and unpleasant.
I took a deep breath and said,
“…May I step outside for a moment?”
“Of course. But when you return, you must enter from the very beginning once more.”
I stopped reciting the array in my mind.
The world before me blurred, and suddenly I stood before the palace of pure white salt crystals.
“…I have returned.”
I looked back at the palace of salt crystals.
The world where my very existence was questioned.
An extremely unpleasant experience.
I stepped out of the space where the palace stood.
Kugugugugu!
The dragon boat carrying the salt-crystal palace was racing across the deep sea.
“Baek Rin.”
At my call, Baek Rin appeared.
“Yes, Lord.”
“How many years has it been?”
“Five years.”
“…”
I could not continue the sentence and fell silent.
Still, that world felt utterly strange.
‘They say one never rots in a bag even in the middle of a feast. Yet here we are.’
After only a few words, so much time had already passed.
A world where both sides insisted the other was a dream.
Which one was correct?
I sighed and tried to organize my thoughts from above the dragon boat.
At that moment, Baek Rin spoke.
“Is Her Highness Yuk Yo faring well?”
“I cannot say. Time may have passed only a shijin here.”
“I see…”
I asked him,
“Why did you refuse to follow me when I wished to go with you?”
He flinched, then gave a wry smile.
“Do you not know how many friends I have here?”
“Perhaps. But something else seems to frighten you more.”
He was startled again before speaking.
“Lord, you have seen it clearly. I… fear confirming the truth.”
“The truth…?”
“Yes. If I were to enter that world and discover it was the true reality, how would I define our original homeland? If that world is only a dream, I would not be able to survive there.”
“…”
While listening to his dilemma, I said,
“What if both worlds are true?”
After all, if the two worlds were merely linked by an extraordinary transmission array?
What then?
Yet Baek Rin shook his head, as if unable to grasp my words.
“Lord. These two worlds can never coexist. One of them must be a dream.”
“Why…?”
“A simple example: if both worlds were real, would not Senior Yeon Wi have shattered her own hopes in both worlds?”
“…”
Hearing Yeon Wi’s story weighed heavily on my heart.
“We all feel the same way, Lord. We have all endured heart-wrenching pain within that world. It seems the very purpose of that world is to bring us suffering. Of course, the same is true of reality, but the realm within Bongrae Island is even more stubborn about it. Thanks to that, almost every disciple here has suffered terribly.”
“…”
“Take Her Highness Yuk Yo, for instance. She was born in that world, traveled to ours, lost all her siblings, suffered abuse at Yuk Rin’s hands, and grew up as she is. If I tell her that every misfortune she experienced here is also reality, she would be utterly overwhelmed.”
I let out a soft exclamation as I listened to his continued words.
“…I see.”
I understood why I felt so uncomfortable and why my sense of identity had been shaken.
It did not matter whether this world was a dream or the other was a dream.
Whether it was a dream or not—did it matter?
‘If I look at it that way, have I not already been dreaming for nineteen lifetimes?’
The pain and scars I had endured in each world were immense?
I understood that feeling all too well.
My life had been nothing but suffering.
During nineteen lifetimes, I had experienced countless things.
I had shouted at the heavens because I could not reach Peak Martial Artist,
sought the sky because I could not break through the Seven Stars of Qi Condensation,
gone mad and seen illusions,
watched the brothers I once trusted fall into despair,
and seen the friends I had barely made take their own lives.
I had watched my first love, who had offered everything upon meeting me, split in two and die right before my eyes.
I remembered loved ones slaughtered and my mind shattering.
I had even considered suicide to avoid transformation by the evil being,
and I had endured an unjust death.
There had been times when I had to watch someone who had spent a thousand years loving me like a doll had gone mad.
I had witnessed my master die in agony,
my friends and benefactors brutally murdered,
my own testicles ripped out by my will,
my loved ones slaughtered by heavenly punishment for giving me their hearts,
and my own hand ending the life of the one who had tried to defy fate.
I had even experienced being devoured by an insidious snake,
and a strangely pleasant memory of dying while confirming that the thing I most desired had been buried in the earth after my clone pitied me.
Countless things had tormented me.
How could the saying “life is suffering” not spring to mind?
Yet… even so, every one of those things had been my reality.
None of them could be dismissed as dreams.
“Baek Rin.”
“Yes.”
“You said one of the two worlds must be a dream?”
“…It is true for me.”
I had seen Yeon Wi, Jeon Myeong-hoon, and the others in Bongrae Kingdom and sensed something was wrong.
If both were simply reality, why not accept that?
Yet the others could not endure two realities.
It was simple then.
“Think both are dreams.”
“Yes…?”
“Do not search for the true reality in this world. No matter the method, it is impossible to prove whether this place is real or not.”
“However…”
“In this world, only one thing remains.”
A being who had once taught me spoke.
The heart never truly vanishes.
Even if it is labeled a lie,
even if it endures mockery from flesh and metal,
the heart never disappears.
Baek Rin looked bewildered, as if unable to fully grasp the meaning.
Of course. Such thoughts were something only someone who had survived nineteen realities could understand.
I chuckled and walked away from Baek Rin, my mind clearing once more as I returned to the palace.
“If your thoughts change, tell me. I can take you to Yuk Yo’s world at any time.”
Baek Rin offered no reply.
* * *
After returning to the palace, I traveled once more through the corridor to the scroll room that the queen had shown me and resumed my original position.
“Has your mind grown a little clearer?”
“I suppose so. Then let me ask my final question.”
“What is it?”
I told her,
“You said becoming a salt pillar means traveling to another world?”
“That is correct.”
“Then I would like to know the precise condition under which one can step into that world, enter a state of meditation, and return. For example, just as the crown allows one to leave this world, does another world possess a similar means?”
She smiled faintly and replied,
“You are slightly mistaken. The way dreamers leave this world is not through such methods. Of course, the part about waking is correct—Yuk Yo explained it to me, and I had taught her earlier. But the true way to leave this world is nothing like seizing the crown. I heard that long ago something became corrupted and this world changed.”
“…”
“I will teach you how to leave our world properly. Once you learn it, you will be able to depart easily.”
I listened intently to her explanation.
When she finished, I nodded.
“Thank you for the explanation.”
“Of course. Is there anything else you wish to know?”
“The most urgent matter is resolved. There are still questions, though…”
For example, about Goryeok.
“Time is passing.”
A sharp pain pierced my consciousness.
Kim Yeon was calling me from outside.
I rose from my seat.
“Thank you for your answers. I will take my leave now.”
It was at that moment that Yuk Yo also stood up.
“…Lord. I have something to say.”
“What is it, Princess Yuk Yo?”
“Please take me with you.”
“What…?”
She looked at me with solemn eyes.
“I wish to deliver a final message to Baek Rin.”
“That would be appropriate. But is it truly all right?”
Yuk Yo nodded, and I met the queen’s gaze.
The queen nodded as well.
“Very well. Then go.”
I grasped Yuk Yo’s shoulder and left Bongrae Kingdom at once.
Uuuuuung!
When I opened my eyes, I saw Bongrae Island directly before us.
The two dragon boats, each enveloped in a bubble-like barrier, faced one another.
“Baek Rin!”
Yuk Yo called to him the moment we emerged into this world, and Baek Rin rushed toward us in a hurry.
I made way for their conversation, then exerted my inner force.
Kugugugugu!
The air bubbles of the dragon boat and Bongrae Island began to merge.
The dragon boat entered the interior of Bongrae Island.
Kwoong!
At the same instant, the salt-crystal palace and the salt mountain began to resonate.
I lifted the palace of salt crystals and slowly carried it onto the mountain.
Pasasat—
Having released the spirit of my Sitting Liberation and Standing Death, I accepted the palace as my main body and lowered the entire structure back to its original place.
The salt-crystal palace and the salt mountain became one.
At the same moment, I felt the power within Bongrae Island grow even stronger.
We were not about to fall into an illusion right then, yet I sensed that the power inside the island was pushing against the laws outside.
‘So this is it.’
I compared the power within Bongrae Island with my Reverse Taesan Yeolje Gong’s chant and tried to mimic it.
Up until now I had been imprisoned within Bongrae Island, continuously controlling the power of the salt mountain and trying to imitate it.
Only by restoring Bongrae Island to its original appearance had I finally obtained that power.
Uuuuuung—
Around me, world-qi swirled like grains of salt.
I extended my hand toward the force enveloping Bongrae Island.
The force vanished.
‘At last…’
I had obtained the power to escape the curse of calamity.
‘Now all I need to do is wait.’
The day I would leave the Goryeok Realm was near.