Chapter 600: From the Character for Smoke to the Character for Fate
Chapter 600: From the Character for Smoke to the Character for Fate
As the Divine Maiden departed with her retinue of women in white, only Wi Mu-cheon—the Palace Master of the Heavenly Will Palace—the Guardian Palace Master, and Geom Mu-geuk remained in the tent. Geom Mu-geuk, however, remained invisible, shrouded within the folds of the Space-Time Displacement Technique.
Geom Mu-geuk was trapped; he couldn't leave until the others did. It was impossible to evade the senses of a master of Wi Mu-cheon’s caliber with only a few years' worth of internal energy to mask his presence.
“What is she plotting?” Wi Mu-cheon muttered.
When he questioned the Divine Maiden’s intent to remain at the camp, the Guardian Palace Master spoke up cautiously.
“Is she not trying to persuade you, Palace Master, to put an end to this war?”
Wi Mu-cheon recalled the Divine Maiden’s expression. Even when she claimed she was merely delivering a prophecy, he hadn't sensed any intent to sway his resolve.
‘She definitely changed her mind at the very last second. Why?’
Wi Mu-cheon walked toward the map spread across the table. At that final moment, the Divine Maiden had looked at that map before her demeanor shifted.
The reason for that change stood directly in front of him.
Though Wi Mu-cheon could not see him, he and Geom Mu-geuk stood face-to-face, gazing at one another. Both men carried a Secret Casket.
Perhaps that was the reason. Wi Mu-cheon felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of emotion. He was looking at a map he saw every day, yet today, his heart raced with a strange rhythm.
Just as he was about to take another step toward the map, the Guardian Palace Master spoke tentatively from behind him.
“I heard what you said earlier. That once you achieve the Unification of the Murim…”
He could not bring himself to finish the sentence. He, too, had overheard Wi Mu-cheon’s whisper—the threat to kill the Divine Maiden and raze the Divine Maiden Palace.
“Even if this prophecy is nonsense, you must not do that.”
The Guardian Palace Master had already resolved to give his life to this war. Ever since the Secret Casket had awakened, he believed that Heaven’s Will resided with Wi Mu-cheon. However, the Guardian Palace was inherently designed to protect the Heavenly Will Palace as an institution, not merely its master.
As the Guardian Palace Master, he could not stand by and watch the Palace Master murder the Divine Maiden. Such an act would signify the collapse of the very foundations of the Heavenly Will Palace.
“For your own sake, Palace Master, you must not.”
Wi Mu-cheon turned toward him. Despite the Guardian Palace Master speaking against his wishes, Wi Mu-cheon’s expression remained soft.
“I understand. I shall not do it.”
“Thank you for your mercy.”
“You have staked your everything on me; the least I can do is grant such a request.”
Just then, a report came from a subordinate outside.
“A missive has arrived from the Murim Alliance!”
At the mention of the Murim Alliance, the two men exchanged sharp looks. A missive from the enemy at the very climax of the war?
A subordinate entered, respectfully delivered the letter to Wi Mu-cheon, and exited. As Wi Mu-cheon read the contents, his expression grew grave.
“What does it say?”
Wi Mu-cheon raised his head, his eyes flashing with an intense, cold light.
“It is a personal letter from the Martial Emperor Divine Sword.”
It was the first missive sent directly by the Murim Alliance Leader, and its contents spoke of the end.
“He says he can no longer bear to watch the sacrifice of his subordinates. He proposes a duel, just the two of us, at the summit of White Yang Peak in three days.”
The Guardian Palace Master was shocked. He had never expected the Murim Alliance Leader to propose a one-on-one life-or-death duel.
“This could be a trap. You must refuse!”
The Guardian Palace Master was firm, but Wi Mu-cheon slowly shook his head.
“As you know, the Martial Emperor Divine Sword is not a man who resorts to schemes in such matters.”
Both men knew well that the Martial Emperor Divine Sword valued honor above all else.
“If I refuse, the world will deem me a coward.”
The Guardian Palace Master also desperately wished for this war to end as soon as possible. However, a strange sense of unease surged within him. It wasn't the simple worry that the opponent was confident of victory; it was an instinctive fear rising from the depths of his soul.
Driven by this dread, the Guardian Palace Master voiced his opposition with uncharacteristic bluntness.
“The Murim will not remember cowards or heroes; it will only remember the victors and the losers!”
It was a desperate plea for Wi Mu-cheon to win even if it meant being called a coward, but he wanted to stop him by any means necessary.
Wi Mu-cheon wasn't without his own misgivings. Accepting meant being dragged along by the opponent’s proposal.
It was at that moment—as if wanting to join the conversation—the Secret Casket hidden in Wi Mu-cheon’s robes began to vibrate.
Hummm.
Both men startled at the sudden vibration. Of all times, the Secret Casket chose now to cry out?
Wi Mu-cheon accepted this as Heaven’s Will. There was no longer any reason to hesitate. Surely this reaction meant to fight, not to flee.
“If this fight is the end, then yes, I could perhaps endure a small disgrace. But this fight is only the beginning.”
He was a man who dreamed of the Unification of the Murim, intending to wipe out even the Unorthodox Path Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. It was a grand ambition that could never be achieved if he were branded a coward.
“I shall accept this duel.”
Wi Mu-cheon began to write a reply on the spot, accepting the challenge.
“Send this to the Martial Emperor Divine Sword.”
Having witnessed the vibration of the Secret Casket, the Guardian Palace Master could no longer protest.
“I shall follow your command, Palace Master.”
Taking the letter, the Guardian Palace Master left the tent.
Geom Mu-geuk had watched the entire process. He knew the outcome of this battle. Just as the Divine Maiden prophesied, Wi Mu-cheon would die at the hands of the Martial Emperor Divine Sword. However, because no records of that final battle remained, future generations never knew exactly how he died.
‘So that battle takes place in three days.’
Left alone, Wi Mu-cheon pulled the Secret Casket from his robes. From everything he had observed and the way Wi Mu-cheon looked at the casket now, Geom Mu-geuk could tell.
‘He hasn't obtained the power within the Secret Casket yet.’
If he had, Wi Mu-cheon would have been the one to send the challenge first. That was why he understood why Wi Mu-cheon had been so angry with the Divine Maiden. It was because a part of him feared her prophecy might actually be true.
Several questions occurred to Geom Mu-geuk. Was that Secret Casket empty? If it contained energy, what kind of power was inside? If it was there, why wasn't it granting that power to Wi Mu-cheon? And why did it vibrate just now?
Geom Mu-geuk pulled out the Secret Casket he carried. He looked down at the casket, which was smiling brightly as always.
‘Three hundred years ago, in this place… just what did you do?’
*
Geom Mu-geuk slipped out of the tent the moment Wi Mu-cheon briefly stepped away.
He wanted to go straight to the Divine Maiden, but he couldn't. The tent where she stayed was guarded iron-tight by the women in white, and a crowd of Heavenly Will Palace warriors had gathered just to catch a glimpse of her face. To the people of the Heavenly Will Palace, she was a truly sacred being.
It seemed he would have to visit her quietly at dawn.
Geom Mu-geuk headed straight back to the Murim Alliance camp. After the large Secret Casket in the basement of the Yellow Dragon Martial Arts Hall had absorbed him, it had sent him to the Murim Alliance camp first. There had to be a reason why it started here.
“You! You’re alive!”
Jeong Dae, the team leader, and the other members welcomed Geom Mu-geuk warmly. Had it not been for him during their encounter with the enemy while scouting, they all would have lost their lives.
“I tried to catch the one who fled, but I lost him in the end,” Geom Mu-geuk lied.
“It’s enough that you’re back alive. That’s all that matters.”
Just then, a cold voice came from behind.
“What do you mean, ‘that’s all that matters’?”
The man who entered the tent with a menacing aura was Jo Ung. When Geom Mu-geuk had previously asked if there was a way to win against the Martial Emperor Divine Sword, Jo Ung was the one who had stepped forward to berate him for speaking out of turn. In the end, it was also Jo Ung who had sent them on the late-night scout.
“You killed three enemies?” Jo Ung asked. He had already heard the report from the others who had returned earlier. His expression was far from pleasant; he had sent them out hoping they would suffer, yet they had returned with merit instead.
“I was lucky.”
“One cannot kill three enemies at once with mere luck. So, what happened to the one who fled?”
“I lost him.”
“And you’re only returning now because you were pursuing him?”
“Yes.”
Jo Ung tried to find any fault he could. “What is your family background?”
“I grew up as an orphan.”
Father, I’m sorry. I can’t even pretend to be from the West Blade Sect of Gansu here.
“Then from whom did you learn your martial arts?”
“I happened to treat a heavily injured master, and I learned a few moves from him in return.”
Suspicion flickered across Jo Ung’s face. This eyesore of a man was only giving answers that couldn't be verified.
At that moment, Jeong Dae stepped in. “If it weren't for this friend, we would all be dead.”
The other team members chimed in.
“It’s unheard of for a scouting party to kill three enemies lately.”
“The newcomer has achieved a great feat.”
Ultimately, Jo Ung glared at Geom Mu-geuk with a dissatisfied face before turning on his heel and leaving.
If anyone was suspicious, it was Geom Mu-geuk. At first, he thought Jo Ung was just the type of narrow-minded person found in any group, but seeing him come all this way to check made it definitely strange.
‘Why is he going this far?’
The answer was revealed around midnight.
In the depths of a forest where no one else was present, two people were meeting. One was a masked figure, and the other was Jo Ung.
“It is White Yang Peak, three days from now.”
Information known only to the high command was being passed to the masked man.
Geom Mu-geuk watched this scene from the shadows of the brush. He had been monitoring Jo Ung and had followed him when he secretly slipped out at night.
Geom Mu-geuk now understood why Jo Ung had been so sensitive. Because he was a traitor, he was suspicious of everything around him. Is someone investigating me? Is someone else also a traitor?
But there was a fact even more shocking than his betrayal. Geom Mu-geuk felt a familiar aura from the masked man. The aura he exuded was Demonic Energy.
‘A demonic cultist!’
Surprisingly, Jo Ung was feeding information to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. He finally understood why this final battle had never been recorded in detail in the history of the Murim Alliance.
‘The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was involved in this fight!’
*
Late at night, the Divine Maiden sat in her tent. Since the Heavenly Will Palace Master had not given her any special treatment, the tent provided to her was a standard one used by common warriors. Yet, her mere presence caused a sacred energy to drift through the cramped, worn space.
Hwa-seon, the head of the women in white, spoke to her.
“Let us return to the Palace at daybreak, Palace Master.”
Hwa-seon was worried. The current Divine Maiden was born with the most sacred energy of any in history, and every prophecy she had made had been accurate. Yet the Heavenly Will Palace Master had treated her with utter disrespect, making her stand before him and even offering her wine. He intended to deny her prophecy.
In such a situation, if a battle broke out, the Divine Maiden could be in danger. The Heavenly Will Palace Master might not bother to save her. Though the women in white practiced martial arts, the Divine Maiden Palace was fundamentally a place for disciplining the mind and accepting the will of heaven, not a place that prioritized combat.
“There is someone I must meet before we return,” the Divine Maiden said.
“Who do you mean?”
“A guest will arrive before dawn.”
Hwa-seon was inwardly surprised. Who could she possibly be meeting on this battlefield?
“If someone visits in the early hours, ask no questions and let them in. And make sure no one else enters.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Before dawn, just as she had said, someone arrived. The person who stepped inside with a calm face, as if they had an appointment, was Geom Mu-geuk.
The women guarding the entrance let him in without even asking who he was. This meant the Divine Maiden had been waiting for him.
‘She really did see me inside the Space-Time Displacement Technique.’
The Divine Maiden felt different now than she had back in the main tent. She spoke first, her voice incredibly enchanting yet carrying a heavy sense of dignity.
“Who are you?”
She had seen him within the technique, but did she not know he was someone who had crossed three hundred years? Or was she asking despite knowing everything? It was no easy task to glean anything from this mysterious woman whose eyes were veiled.
“I am Geom Yeon. I use the character for ‘smoke,’ not the character for ‘fate.’ I am a man who will vanish like smoke forever once this meeting ends.”
Since he could never be found in this world again, it was the most fitting introduction he had used since arriving.
“Why have you come here?” she asked again.
Geom Mu-geuk answered cautiously, thinking his fate might change depending on his response. “It is not that I wished to come.”
Unless the opponent was someone who would use it as a weakness, the truth was always what held the greatest power.
“Fate led me here. I do not know why or for what purpose I have come.” Geom Mu-geuk gazed at the Divine Maiden and added a respectful question. “So, please tell me. Why have I come?”
He did not say where he was from, and she did not ask. Geom Mu-geuk could feel it. Though her eyes were covered, she was gazing at him. She was seeing him with the eye of her mind.
After some time had passed, startling words flowed from her lips.
“This time, not one prophecy was handed down, but two.”
Geom Mu-geuk was stunned.
“The prophecy was to deliver these words to the man standing in the darkness, in the heart of the battlefield.”
Standing in the darkness?
Because his internal energy was lacking, the small space he had created with the Space-Time Displacement Technique had been dark. If she had truly seen him, he would have appeared to be standing in darkness.
The second prophecy, which she had not shared with Wi Mu-cheon, was delivered.
“The darkness shall lead thee to Heaven’s Will.”
Geom Mu-geuk whispered the words she had spoken once more.
Darkness? What does it mean? Does it literally mean the night? Or does it refer to a certain being?
As if she were merely a messenger of the prophecy, the Divine Maiden said nothing more. Sensing a silent dismissal, Geom Mu-geuk bid her farewell.
“I sincerely thank you for delivering the prophecy.”
As he bowed politely and prepared to leave, the Divine Maiden spoke from behind him.
“To me, you feel like the character for ‘fate,’ not the character for ‘smoke.’”
Geom Mu-geuk turned back toward her with a questioning look.
“I mean to say, there is no need to thank me.”
Beneath the white cloth covering her eyes, that same inscrutable, faint smile appeared.
“For you have already repaid me in full.”