The First Day of the 999th Cycle
When I came to my senses, the scene before me was nothing like the familiar one I had known.
The raging river of the scene, beneath a black sky, was no longer the ten seats, but an endless, boundless darkness.
The deepest and most vast of existences.
The boundless darkness itself, estimated to be the [Most Ancient One].
‘Ah… so I was finally sealed away.’
It seemed that even facing this existence directly, my regression had become pointless.
From that day onward, my authority over regression had ended.
Until now, it had been a good life.
As I thought that,
Uuuung!
In the boundless darkness, a light burst forth.
It was a pure, snow-white radiance, as pure as salt.
I had seen that light before.
On Bongrae-do as well.
‘The light of the Salt Mountain…?’
The moment I regained my senses, that light formed a wheel before my eyes.
A much more radiant, beautiful, and majestic, sacred white wheel than mine.
And the instant I came to my senses, the wheel began to reverse.
Ki-iiiiing!
‘…!’
At the same time, I felt a deep sigh mixed with endless lamentation echoing from the deepest darkness.
Simultaneously, I felt something within the wheel’s reversal twisting and turning back to normal.
My Ten Thousand Phenomena Affinity Diagram seemed a little easier.
And when the wheel’s reversal stopped and my Ten Thousand Phenomena Affinity Diagram had become quite easy, I suddenly realized I was moving farther away from the [Most Ancient One].
‘This is…!’
Ki-iiiiing!
Once again, the familiar ‘raging river of the scene’ brushed past me, and in the distance, a black sky rose, illuminating the ten seats.
The [Most Ancient One]…
Had released me.
The voice seemed to come from a distant place.
We would meet again.
It sounded like it carried that meaning.
I could not understand the will of the [Most Ancient One] who had released me, but I had no choice but to nod my head.
Whooshing!
Once again, the period of reversing history was quite long.
Twenty thousand years in a single leap was something that naturally required some time.
I used that gap to look up at the [heaven] that had now become somewhat familiar.
Inside it, the [ten] seats.
‘No… seven?’
Of those, only [seven] seats were glowing.
That was when…
Sluuurk…
The light flickered, and three seats brightened once more…
The number of seats became [ten]!
‘Because of my regression… the seats are returning….’
That was when…
Perhaps because my realm had risen.
Or perhaps something strange had occurred with the returning seats.
New things began to appear.
From those [ten] seats, I could read ‘something.’
‘That’s… a symbol?’
They were symbols.
Among the symbols I had seen in the rings of victory, some were glowing from those seats.
However, I could not quite recognize them exactly, and I could only recognize the symbol of the mountain that spat out darkness.
The symbol of that mountain was naturally that of Taesansangje.
Because it was a symbol tied to my connection with my senior brother, I could immediately recognize it…
And having confirmed the symbol of Taesansangje, I sensed the familiar moment of regression approaching.
‘In this regression, where will it be…?’
Previously, when reaching the Water Realm, regression had always been fixed.
Then, would this time also be fixed…?
With that resolve in mind, I confronted the new regression of the 999th cycle.
The light enveloped me.
* * *
Uuuung!
I woke up.
And I immediately recognized the situation.
“…Is this the [here]…?”
Was it fortunate or unfortunate?
*:* Death. *:
I had reached the familiar regression point.
I was on the verge of Hyeol-eum’s power.
I saw Hyeol-eum’s authority surging toward me.
However…
Unlike before, Hyeol-eum no longer seemed to be the despair itself.
‘Because I had endured too many terrifying things for that to be the case.’
Whooshing…
I ignited the aura of death throughout my body and quickly accelerated my mind.
The body I was wearing was at the Integration stage, but I had clearly recovered my original authority from the moment of my death.
And since achieving Void Refinement, my authority had begun to accumulate with every regression.
Therefore… I was currently at Seongban.
*:* Be quiet. *:
The single word I had spoken in haste, reaching Seongban, caused Hyeol-eum to flinch.
*:* I have come on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor. The former chief judge general must show proper courtesy! *:
Ki-iiiiing!
Behind me, the wheel rose.
At the same time, liquefied sword energy swirled around me.
I faced Hyeol-eum with solemn eyes and glared at him.
Even so, since he was a True Immortal, looking him directly in the eye would cause horrifying pain, but… I had already witnessed true death.
Therefore, the fear and pain of facing a True Immortal was something I could endure for a moment.
At my solemn shout, Hyeol-eum shuddered slightly and stopped in place.
And immediately after…
Pa-a-aat!
Hyeol-eum showed a sight he had never once revealed in the nine hundred cycles of the previous 900th regression.
‘…!’
Hyeol-eum’s form shrank.
The massive lump of blood energy that had been him shrank to a size similar to mine and began to change form.
Suu-ruk…
Transforming into a human appearance, Hyeol-eum concealed his presence and faced me with eyes.
The moment I saw his appearance, I could not help but feel a little surprised.
He resembled Seo Hyoel to some extent, but at the same time, the feeling of Yu Ho-deok’s existence lingered.
His eyes appeared somewhat sharp, but if he smiled, his overall impression would be very kind and gentle.
“Do you have proof that you are a messenger of His Majesty the Emperor?”
He asked sharply.
However, I answered without hesitation.
“I have been sent by His Majesty the Emperor. Let you confirm for yourselves—do you have eyes that judge all wickedness?”
“….”
This was not a joke; it was the truth.
The Heavenly Lord of the Underworld had permitted my regression and sent me back to this time period.
Uung!
For a moment, red light flashed in Hyeol-eum’s eyes.
And he let out a groan, kneeling on one knee before me.
Kwa-jing!
At the same time, the surrounding space began to change.
Simultaneously with Hyeol-eum’s will, a small mini-dimension was created in the void space, and the two of us and my companions fell into a guest room decorated entirely with blood-red gemstones.
“To the one sent by His Majesty the Emperor, this… Blood Yin… offers her respects. I apologize for not being able to meet the name of Yu Ho-deok properly.”
Hyeol-eum, who had always referred to himself as Yu Ho-deok, now introduced himself properly as Blood Yin when he thought of me as a companion spirit.
I looked around.
‘He created a mini-dimension on the spot. It could be called a guest room, but… it is a kind of barrier that prevents me from escaping in an emergency.’
I must not be careless.
“His Majesty the Emperor’s words: The former chief judge general must immediately abolish the clone known as Hyeon-eum.”
“May I ask the reason…?”
“His Majesty has decreed it! Do you not believe?”
For a moment, Hyeol-eum looked up at me.
His red gaze would have chilled one’s bones.
There was no fear. This was a kind of instinct.
The instinct born from the difference in realms between Seongban and True Immortal.
“…Understood.”
Tadak!
At that spot, Hyeol-eum snapped his fingers.
At the same time, a vision arose before my eyes.
It was not a simple vision but almost a dimension corridor connecting to the Star Realm.
Of the 2,401 stars, 2,400 stars simultaneously lost their light and crumbled at that spot.
The star constellation of Hyeon-eum had now disappeared.
Only one planet remained.
“Why did you leave one behind?”
“Because I believe in His Majesty the Emperor.”
“If you truly believe, cut it without hesitation!”
And Hyeol-eum glared at me.
“…As expected… this filthy fellow deceived the main body….”
Without any hesitation, I tended to my companions while simultaneously exploding my Integration-stage body.
Kwa-aaang!
I performed the Star Shattering / Void Refinement promotion ceremony on the spot!
Kwa-chi-jijik!
Due to the self-destruction of the Integration-stage comrades, the mini-dimension was torn apart.
Kuu-rung!
Blood clouds spread outward, and Hyeol-eum, his true body revealed again, glared at me.
*:* One cannot expect to die gracefully… How dare you, calling yourself the messenger of His Majesty the Emperor in front of the main body of the Star Realm and harming its clone. Light spy!!! *:
Kuu-gu-gu-gu-gu!
An intense pressure crushed me.
It seemed I had made some mistake in front of Hyeol-eum.
‘Leaving one star behind… would that have been something His Majesty the Heavenly Lord of the Underworld would have allowed…? Or did I show a gap during that short conversation.’
I quickly gathered my original form.
‘In my past life, I had reached Heavenly Race Seongban, and I had also conducted the promotion ceremony for the Earth Race Seongban.’
What remained was to perfectly conduct the Earth Race promotion ceremony with this original form and receive the blessing of Star Shattering and Seongban in one go!
Then I could truly reach the Triple Taiji Seongban.
[Calling me a light spy is strange talk.]
*:* You called the Gwangmyeong-palseon and dare speak lies! Immediately… *:
Hyeol-eum used some transcendent authority.
However, I silently rotated the wheel. __[I will reverse your authority.]
That one strike Hyeol-eum had used to kill me had been hit many times before.
I understood that much.
Pasa-sasa-sa!
Hyeol-eum’s attack became a real wave and simply swept past me.
I felt Hyeol-eum’s surprise.
However, I still felt the powerful disbelief from deep within his consciousness.
Because I had made a mistake in our conversation, he would not trust any tricks I might attempt.
‘Then… I must proceed as planned from the beginning.’
It was rather better this way.
Originally, I had only bluffed in front of Hyeol-eum with ‘I wonder if this will convince you.’
‘Rather, it was an advantage that I knelt before him and shattered Hyeon-eum to that extent.’
I used the moment Hyeol-eum was taken aback to rapidly enter the Star Realm from the void space.
From behind, the sound of Hyeol-eum raging reached me.
However, I began to control the attraction of the Ilwol Cheonyeok.
Who-iiiiing!
The laws of the surroundings circulated around me.
At the same time, the dimension thickened, and the barrier became firm, preventing Hyeol-eum from entering.
Kuu-gu-gu-gu-gu!
*:* -------! *:
From beyond, I felt Hyeol-eum trembling with anger as he tried to break through the Ilwol Cheonyeok.
And finally…
Kwa-jing!
A part of the Ilwol Cheonyeok collapsed, and an enormously huge red arm entered.
At the same time, the universe changed.
Under Hyeol-eum’s will, the universe transformed in various places.
However…
I saw it.
How Hyeol-eum manipulated this world and how the universe obeyed his words.
‘I can escape. Enough!’
I sent my will to the place where Hyeol-eum was forming a barrier with his will and shattered it.
When he sent authority, I reversed it. When he sent a curse, I reflected it as is. When he used attraction, I used repulsion.
Hyeol-eum’s one arm and I were close to equal in number.
However…
It was insufficient.
‘If I prolong the battle, I will definitely lose.’
Even now, Hyeol-eum was exchanging blows without composure due to his anger.
This was not enough.
‘More… even stronger…!’
Danak Sword Art
Thirty-third Slice
Sumi!
The thirty-third slice of the Sumi Sword Art drew a circle around me, beginning to borrow the power of the Ilwol Cheonyeok.
‘Even this time, Gyeong-eun will cling to me.’
Therefore, this time I will block that possibility at the source!
Danak Sword Art
Thirty-fourth Slice
Gollun!
The thirty-fourth slice of the Sumi Sword Art and the slice of Gollun merged.
The final slice of Sumi was transformed into a thrust, spreading my dense power of death across the entire world.
And…
I crossed even the Underworld and unleashed a single thrust reaching true death!
Ki-iiiiing!
For an instant, my body transcended the Ilwol Cheonyeok.
And I confronted the true body of Hyeol-eum.
Pa-aat!
A ‘thrust’ faster and more accurate than anything!
Puu-quak!
Immediately after…
The world came to a standstill.
It was as if all vibrations of the world had ceased.
At the same time…
I heard the scream of Hyeol-eum with a small hole in one hand.
*:* ------! *:
After turning around immediately, I used the Axes of Heaven to cross tens of light-years at once.
The single method to trample Hyeol-eum’s destiny, which I had not been able to use in my past life thanks to the help of Gyeong-eun!
I would use it in this life!