Chapter 14: Nightmare (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 14: Nightmare (1)
Absolute darkness.
It wasn't merely night; this was a void that swallowed all light. I looked up, searching for the moon, but there was nothing. No sky, no clouds—only an oppressive, starless black.
Where am I?
The trees around me were pillars of fire. The houses that should have stood here were reduced to smoldering ash. My body moved forward, step by step, but it wasn't by my will. I fought for control, straining against an invisible force, but it was useless.
As I took another involuntary step, a hand seized my ankle.
I looked down. A man, drenched in blood, clung to me. His once-white robes were stained crimson, but the embroidered symbol of a plum blossom was still visible. The insignia of a renowned clan.
The Mount Hua Sect.
So, this was Mount Hua.
The legendary plum blossoms, which should have been in full bloom, were being devoured by an inferno. This venerable sect, which had stood for centuries, was being erased from history, its legacy turning to ash.
And then, I understood.
This was a dream.
A horrific nightmare.
[How could you…!] the man rasped, his face a mask of pure hatred.
His left hand gripped my ankle; his right lay severed nearby. His eyes were so bloodshot they seemed to weep tears of blood.
[For what reason…!! Why are you doing this to us!!]
His wail echoed across the mountain. All around us, bodies clad in the same white robes littered the ground. Men, women, children, elders—all lay dead, torn apart as if by wild beasts.
[Are you even human…? How can you wear a human face and commit such atrocities!]
My own voice spoke, cold and detached, still beyond my control.
[It has become quiet.]
[What…?] the man gasped.
[The Celestial Plum Blossom of Hua, whom you worshipped, has fallen by our leader's hand.]
[Lies! Our leader would never fall to a demon like you…!]
[The Mount Hua you adored is ash. Can you not see?]
[Shut up… Please, shut your mouth.]
[You are all so pathetic. You cling to the name of a venerable clan, yet you can do nothing.]
I knelt, bringing my face level with his. In his eyes, I saw only one emotion: sheer, unadulterated terror.
[Look. I have slaughtered everyone you cherished. Everyone who cared for you is dead by my hand.]
I reached out and stroked his cheek with a sticky, blood-soaked hand—the blood of his sworn brothers.
Craaack.
The sound of grinding teeth came from his mouth. He was clenching his jaw so hard his teeth were shattering.
[The reason Mount Hua has fallen, the reason you are like this, is your own weakness. You, your sect, and your Celestial Plum Blossom—all of you are powerless.]
[Shut your mouth, demon! Do not utter that name with your filthy mouth, you who betrayed the Orthodox Faction… You backstabbing snake…!]
I twisted his neck, ending the conversation. The last disciple of Mount Hua died without another sound.
-Splash.
A presence manifested within the sea of blood that was Mount Hua. I dropped to my knees, bowing my head in respect. I didn't dare look up.
The very aura of this being distorted the space around us. Mount Hua, like the great Mount Tai, had tried to hide its presence when this blood-curdling horror appeared on the horizon. Just being near it made every instinct scream in panic.
Heavenly Demon.
That was what they called themselves.
[Not bad.]
Their voice was impossible to place—as deep as a man's, yet with a faint, echoing quality akin to a woman's.
The Heavenly Demon tossed something toward me. It was the severed head of an old man.
Mount Hua’s Lord, the Celestial Plum Blossom himself.
[He was hardly a satisfying opponent, but he provided a moment's diversion.]
He wasn't one of the legendary Three Venerables, but his strength was on par with theirs. Yet, he had been slaughtered with effortless ease.
The Heavenly Demon, who looked as though they hadn't even exerted themselves, glanced around and approached me.
[It looks as if a beast went on a rampage.]
Now they stood directly before me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move.
[I think I need to give you a name.]
I wanted to wake up. I needed to escape this nightmare. Why was my mind tormenting me with this carnage?
[You are…]
The Heavenly Demon was speaking, but their words became indistinct, fading into the void.
“-oung Master…!”
[—from now on.]
“Young Master!”
Wi Seol-Ah’s voice shattered the dream.
* * *
I was in a carriage, returning to the Gu residence after the events of the Nine Dragons Day.
“Bleurgghhhh!”
I jolted awake, yelled for the carriage to stop, and stumbled outside. I hunched over and vomited onto the ground, heaving uncontrollably even though I had eaten nothing.
Urghh… Damn it!
My body trembled violently. Why did I have that nightmare now? It was a memory I had tried to force myself to forget, something I wanted to tear from my mind and discard forever.
A hand touched my back. I spun around and seized it. The hand belonged to Wi Seol-Ah, her eyes wide with shock. The fear trembling in her eyes reminded me of the terror in that man's gaze just before he died.
What kind of expression am I making right now?
I didn't need a mirror to know it was a wretched sight. I couldn't control my own face.
I slowly released her hand. Wi Seol-Ah masked her fear and began calmly patting my back.
Muyeon rushed out of the carriage after her.
“Young Master! Are you alright…? I’ll find a medic—”
“I’m fine, calm down. How would you find a medic in the middle of these mountains?”
We were deep in a mountain range. Finding a doctor was impossible.
I tried to steady my breathing, but it was a struggle. The memory of the Mount Hua Sect's destruction at the hands of the Demonic Cult—the fall of one of the Ten Sect Alliance in a single day—was a wound I desperately wanted to forget. And yet, a simple dream had reduced me to this.
…It never happened. It will never happen.
I repeated this mantra to myself hundreds of times a day, while walking, eating, even breathing.
“…God damn it.”
They say humans are creatures who forget easily. So why couldn't I forget these sins, even after dying once?
Since I wasn't calming down, I forcefully circulated my Qi to stabilize my body. It wasn't a healthy practice, but I needed to compose myself quickly so we could continue our journey.
My Flame Qi warmed my body. I had very little Qi to begin with, and now I was wasting it to recover from a nightmare. It was a frustration beyond words.
“I’m so pathetic…”
I stood up once I had settled a little. Wi Seol-Ah moved to support me, but I gently waved her off.
Why did I dream of that? Was it the fear that, even after returning to the past, the future remains unchanged?
It's just a nightmare. Don't dwell on it.
Vomiting had left me feeling somewhat clearer. Nausea could be alleviated with Qi or rest; it wasn't a major concern.
Then, my Qi-enhanced senses picked up on something, and I could only let out a hollow, bitter laugh.
What crap luck.
As if the nightmare wasn't bad enough, now this.
I walked over to Muyeon, who was still flustered by my sudden illness.
“Muyeon.”
“Yes, Young Master…! Should I look for a medic after all?”
“Stop talking nonsense and check the demonic charm.”
Sensing my seriousness, Muyeon immediately pulled a charm from his pocket. The demonic charm was a essential tool that detected nearby Gates of Demons; it only required a trickle of Qi to activate.
When he took it out, it showed no reaction. Muyeon sighed in relief as he put it away.
“Whew… Young Master, you scared me for a second. Thankfully, nothing—”
Before he could finish, the charm flared with a bright red light and burned to ashes in his hand.
There was no hesitation. Muyeon immediately shouted to the other escorts. “A Gate has appeared! Everyone, prepare for battle!”
The escorts drew their swords in unison, the tension instantly skyrocketing.
Of course this would happen on our way home. The speed at which the charm disintegrated meant the Gate was dangerously close. If it had been farther away, we might have escaped without a fight.
We were only stuck here because I'd made the carriage stop.
Muyeon grabbed my shoulder urgently. “Young Master, get back inside the carriage. It's too dangerous out here.”
At his words, I hurried Wi Seol-Ah and the other servants back into the carriage and shut the door. But I remained outside, standing beside Muyeon.
“Young Master, you need to get inside too! It's really dangerous…”
On any other day, I would have waited safely inside. But today was different; this was my fault. I had resolved in this life to clean up my own messes. I had to ensure the tragedies of my past life would not repeat.
“Young Mas—!”
“Save your words, Muyeon. Look.”
Muyeon turned. The empty space in front of us twisted and distorted. A Gate, emanating a sinister green light, materialized from the void.
“Green…” Muyeon whispered.
Gates were categorized by the color of their light: green, blue, red, black, in order of increasing threat. Thankfully, green was the lowest.
- Grrrr…
The guttural growl of a beast emerged from the Gate. The monster that stepped out was a massive dog—or more precisely, a demon in the form of a dog. A single horn protruded from the center of its head.
“This one's a bit of a hassle to deal with,” Muyeon muttered.
A Green-Horned Hound. A demon known for its speed and fangs strong enough to crush rock. The Murim Alliance had once tried to domesticate them, an experiment that ended in spectacular failure.
About a dozen or so.
The number of demons emerging was average for a green Gate—not too many, but not too few either.
Demons possessed little intelligence and no hesitation. The hounds sensed us and charged immediately.
Muyeon met them head-on, deftly dodging attacks and using his sword to sever their horns. The aura enveloping his blade confirmed his status as a first-rate martial artist. A hound whose horn was cut collapsed instantly; the horn was their specific weakness.
The other escorts engaged the remaining demons.
While they fought, I scooped up a handful of dirt from the ground.
- Grrr…
While Muyeon was occupied, one hound broke away and charged straight at me. It drooled, clearly seeing me as easy prey—younger and weaker-looking than the armed escorts.
- Rooaarrr!
It howled and lunged. I circulated my Flame Qi faster than ever before, feeling my body heat up and my speed increase. I dodged its lunge and quickly threw the dirt into its eyes.
- Roaarr!
Blinded, the beast thrashed at empty air. Even blinded, its size made it dangerous. I picked up a rock and threw it to the side. The hound's head snapped toward the sound of the impact.
I concentrated all my Flame Qi into my right arm.
Hesitation means death.
While the hound was distracted, I drove my Qi-reinforced arm deep into its ribs.
- Squelch!
While the horn was their species-specific weakness, all demons shared a common vital point: the demonic stone that served as their heart. I wasn't strong enough to break its horn, so I went for the stone instead. My Qi-enhanced arm met resistance from its tough hide, but I pushed through, my fingers closing around a solid, pulsating core.
- Shlorp!
I ripped my arm back out, and blue demon blood gushed from the wound.
- Grrrghh…!
The hound collapsed, just as it would have if its horn had been severed.
I turned, the demonic stone clutched in my bloody hand, just as another hound charged me.
- Roaaar!
“Uh, this one might be trouble…!”
I tried to refocus my Qi, but I was out of time. Just as the beast's fangs were about to tear into me, a blade flashed, severing its horn. It was Muyeon's sword.
“Young Master! Are you alr—” He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening as he saw the first hound lying dead beside me, a gaping hole in its side.
“Thanks. I thought I was done for.”
“Right… Thank goodness.” He was looking at me with that strange expression again—the same look he'd given me on the first day I regressed.
What is with that look…
The extermination ended quickly. The Gu family escorts were seasoned; they didn't struggle against the lowest grade of Gates, having encountered many during their travels. In a world accustomed to demonic incursions, this was a minor event.
The Gate vanished once all the demons were slain, leaving only their corpses behind.
“Now we just need to report this to the Gu—” I cut myself off.
A familiar static sensation shot through the palm holding the demonic stone. I'd felt this countless times in my previous life. There was no mistake.
“What's wrong, Young Master?” Muyeon asked.
I looked down at the demonic stone in my hand. The stone, which had been glowing with a faint green light, slowly lost its color and shine, turning transparent. It was a subtle change, but I felt a tiny surge of Qi enter my body.
My lips trembled. I had experienced this too many times before.
This method of absorbing Qi from demonic stones.
“Damn it, what kind of sorcery is this…!”
This was an art that belonged to only one being.
The Heavenly Demon.