Chapter 314: The Dragon's Diary (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 314: The Dragon's Diary (5)
You’re not Shincheol.
It was a name I hadn't heard in a long time.
The name of the old man residing within me. The name of the Divine Sword of Mount Hua.
But…
"Why would you…"
Why was the man before me speaking that name?
Just who is this man?
His golden hair and eyes were the first thing I noticed. They reminded me of the Celestial Sword from my past life, but his half-transparent form was even more peculiar.
He said Shincheol, right?
In this era, it was safe to say that no one uttered Elder Shin’s name so casually. Only a select few could—Cheonyoung, whom I had met at Shaolin, Namgung Myung from the secret vault of the Namgung Clan, and the other heroes who had left their souls behind.
That meant…
This person…
He didn’t resemble Namgung Myung, and he certainly wasn’t Cheolyoung.
That left only one possibility…
It has to be either the Heavenly Poison, or…
The name surfaced in my mind almost unbidden.
"...Yeon Il-Cheon."
The Iron Fist, Yeon Il-Cheon.
One of the five heroes who halted the Blood Demon's Blood Disaster. The Zenith himself.
And, like me, a regressor.
"…"
Was the man before me truly Yeon Il-Cheon?
When I spoke his name, his expression shifted minutely.
Seeing his reaction, I pressed him. "Are you the Iron Fist?"
The man responded.
Yes. I am Yeon Il-Cheon.
He confirmed it. He was indeed Yeon Il-Cheon.
I struggled to mask my shock. His golden hair, his eyes, his steel-like physique—it all matched the records. There was no doubt this was the Iron Fist. Yet, one question burned in my mind.
"The Light of Might told me you didn't leave your soul behind in this world."
When I had last met Cheolyoung, he had told Elder Shin that Yeon Il-Cheon hadn't remained.
So, was the man claiming to be Yeon Il-Cheon truly him?
My words caused a flicker of shock to cross the man's face.
You met Cheolyoung?
"Yes."
But not Shincheol?
We had met him together, of course, but I wasn't sure I should reveal that yet. I knew too little about the man in front of me.
As I answered, the man fixed his gaze on me. Why was he staring like that?
…What year is it now?
"Centuries have passed since the Blood Demon vanished."
Centuries, you say…?
The man's eyes dimmed for a moment, lost in thought. I didn't lower my guard.
Can I burn my way out? Where are the possible escape routes?
Could I retreat back through the entrance I'd used? It was possible it had been sealed.
What if I broke through a wall with my flames? That was risky; I had no idea where in the basement I was. Altering the layout of this place wasn't the safest option.
Just as I was lost in these thoughts,
You have good eyes.
The man abruptly complimented me.
You seem to have many thoughts. That's not a bad habit. To always expect the worst.
"…What do you mean by that?"
At my question, he glanced toward the entrance I had used.
You are not Shincheol.
He repeated the same words.
Yes, I knew I wasn't Elder Shin. Did he think I was unaware? It only made him seem stranger.
"Well," I began.
But you passed through that door. And now you stand before me. How is that possible?
I frowned slightly. Was he saying that only Elder Shin could enter this place?
…What's going on?
I had noticed this before, when I met the Light of Might. Was there something uniquely special about Elder Shin? It felt like everyone was searching for him.
"…What are you implying?"
Furthermore, you mentioned meeting Cheolyoung. What exactly are you?
His words gave me pause.
The fact that Elder Shin's soul resided within me.
If this room was indeed meant only for Elder Shin, had I gained entry precisely because his soul was inside me?
"Uh, about that…" I started to explain, but the man cut me off.
I know that Shincheol's soul is within you.
"…!"
He already knew.
"How do you…?"
I knew the moment I met you. That Shincheol was inside you.
His firm tone triggered a dull ache deep within me. It wasn't quite pain, but a strange sensation of vibration and twisting.
This is—
It was different from the usual, hunger-driven whining of the beast.
Elder Shin?
I reached out to him in my thoughts, wondering if it was him, but the sensation vanished as quickly as it had come. I hoped he would wake up soon; he had been asleep for far too long. Only then could I begin to understand everything clearly.
But there was still no response.
That is why I ask. Who are you?
"If the Divine Sword of Mount Hua is within me, then why is it a problem that I've done all the things you mentioned?"
When I met the Light of Might. When I heard Namgung Myung's voice. Even now. If all of this was intended for Elder Shin, didn't it happen precisely because his soul was inside me? Why was that so problematic?
The man shook his head at my question.
Because it shouldn't be only his soul that is here. The one I should be meeting is Shincheol himself.
"What nonsense is that? How could you possibly expect the Divine Sword of Mount Hua to be here?"
Elder Shin was already dead. The same went for the man who called himself Yeon Il-Cheon. The Light of Might, the Thunderous Sword, the Heavenly Poison—all of them. Centuries had passed. They had either perished in the Blood Disaster or succumbed to old age.
Yet, everyone was searching for Elder Shin. Even when I first met the Light of Might, he fell into despair upon realizing I wasn't Elder Shin, as if everything had gone wrong.
What is happening?
Who exactly was Elder Shin that everyone sought him? It felt as though they needed him to return to life.
"Are you saying the Divine Sword of Mount Hua was supposed to be resurrected?"
If not, how else could I interpret his words? For him to say that Shincheol was meant to enter this secret vault… I couldn't understand. When I asked with a frown,
Yes.
The man responded.
"…What?"
His calm answer stunned me. What had I just heard? My eyes widened in disbelief, but the man continued.
Shincheol should have found this place after being resurrected.
"What are you—"
It was the decision we made. To change the fate of this world. To break the curses and burdens piled upon this land.
Because of that, we remained on this land, even if it meant leaving only our souls behind.
If he was telling the truth, it meant Elder Shin was supposed to have been resurrected.
To change the world's fate?
The fate of the world, along with the curses and burdens accumulated over time. Just hearing it made my head throb.
"What is this 'fate' that compelled you all to stay?"
The man's gaze shifted as he heard my question, turning more serious.
Child of this era, do you know of the Blood Demon?
"…Yes."
Of course I did. How could I not? That damned bastard was the source of so many of my problems.
As I frowned in frustration, the man continued.
What do you believe the Blood Demon to be?
"Pardon?"
What did he mean by that?
He studied my expression for a moment before speaking in a cold, deliberate tone.
The Blood Demon is calamity itself.
Calamity. It was a familiar word.
It is the curse that befell the peaceful Central Plains. A calamity.
I needed to grasp the true meaning behind his words. Was he calling it a calamity simply because the Blood Demon had wreaked havoc? I could tell he meant something more. The word 'calamity' surely held a different meaning for him.
You said centuries have passed since the Blood Demon vanished?
"Yes."
The fact that you, who are not Shincheol, have found this place… means the Blood Demon has returned.
He was correct.
"…"
What a pitiful story. It seems we failed to alter the world's fate after all…
If the creature that tried to borrow Jang Seonyeon's body was truly the Blood Demon, then it still existed in this world. Yet, I couldn't see how this connected to my presence here.
"What does that have to do with what is happening now?"
This world was destined to end by the Blood Demon's hand. That was its fate.
"What?"
The world was destined to end? Was he referring to the Blood Disaster? That didn't make sense; they had stopped it. What kind of nonsense was this?
"Even if that were true, you guys—"
If we had truly stopped the calamity, the Blood Demon would not have resurfaced in this era.
"…"
We failed. That is why we resorted to sealing it.
That was exactly what the Light of Might had told me. He said the five heroes had only managed to seal the Blood Demon away.
But what did he mean by the world's fate? I still didn't understand. Why did he claim the world was meant to end?
Because of that failure, we had to make a decision. We had to find a way to stop the Blood Demon even after our deaths.
"…So you chose to resurrect the Divine Sword of Mount Hua?"
That is correct.
"But how could you hope to…?" How could they, mere humans, hope to change fate itself?
I considered asking, but the sight of the man triggered a memory. He, like me, was a regressor. Did that mean he knew how such a thing was possible?
Judging by your expression, you seem to know something of me. Who was it, I wonder? Did you hear it from Cheolyoung?
"…No. I heard it from the Divine Sword of Mount Hua."
That bastard still has a loose tongue. Strange that you would believe such a ridiculous tale…
Well, that was because I was a regressor, too.
"I want to ask you something." I had countless questions, but organizing everything he'd said was overwhelming. "What exactly is fate?"
To change the world's fate, they decided to resurrect Elder Shin. I was curious. Not about how they decided, but why they had to.
"You said the world was destined to end. I want to hear more."
It is exactly as it sounds. The fate of this world… was to fall into the Blood Demon's grasp.
"And who decided that?"
I cannot say.
What kind of bullshit was that?
"Why not? Because I'm not the Divine Sword of Mount Hua?"
Yes. Precisely because you are not Shincheol.
"You admit you know his soul is within me. Doesn't that mean you can tell me?"
That is precisely why I cannot.
"…Pardon?"
What kind of nonsense was this? My scowl deepened with anger, but his face only grew colder.
It was not only the Blood Demon we sealed.
"It wasn't?"
The most important task was to destroy the calamity the Blood Demon carried.
"The calamity…" So they had to destroy the calamity that would have drenched the Central Plains in blood and brought doom to the world. That meant…
"…Does that mean the calamity will return if the Blood Demon is resurrected?"
No. It will not return. It was not sealed—it was burned to ashes.
"Then what does it matter?" If the calamity was destroyed, what was left to worry about? What was the problem?
Hearing my question, the man spoke in a regretful tone.
That was our mistake.
His words seized my full attention. A mistake, he said.
"A mistake?"
The calamity was not truly ended. It was merely postponed. The Blood Demon's disappearance did not take the calamity with it—its arrival was delayed, waiting for another time.
"But a calamity isn't a tangible thing… You speak as if it returns endlessly—" I cut myself off.
Calamities do not vanish. They are only delayed. The world's fate cannot be changed.
As his words sank in, a name flashed in my mind.
The Heavenly Demon…?
Elder Shin had once said something to me. The Heavenly Demon, whom I feared most, seemed eerily similar to the Blood Demon from his timeline. The man said calamity is only delayed.
Does that mean the next calamity is the Heavenly Demon? If the world's end was supposed to follow the Blood Demon, did that mean it was now the Heavenly Demon?
If that's the case…
In my past life, the Celestial Sword had slain the Heavenly Demon. Didn't that mean the calamity was prevented? I didn't fully grasp the concept of fate, but didn't that mean Wi Seol-Ah had stopped it? Didn't everything turn out fine?
Just as I had that thought,
Shincheol was our final hope to stop the calamity.
The man continued. He was saying that Elder Shin's role was to return at the time of the next calamity and stop it himself.
…But that's not possible.
Where had it all gone wrong? There were far too many issues to process.
First, I had met no one in my past life who resembled a reincarnation of Elder Shin. There were too many problems to call Wi Seol-Ah his reincarnation. I wondered if it might have been Yung Pung, but his abilities and circumstances in my past life didn't add up.
…Did he die without my knowledge?
It was possible. But then there was the matter of the treasure that contained Shincheol's soul. In the end, it seemed Elder Shin had failed to resurrect, and his soul had become trapped. I didn't understand it fully, but after sacrificing so much and waiting centuries, they had ultimately failed.
That's why Cheolyoung fell into despair.
I thought I understood. Having reached that conclusion, I asked the man, "Why Elder Shin, of all people?"
The Zenith of that time, the heart of the five heroes, was Yeon Il-Cheon. Given how Elder Shin often spoke of Yeon Il-Cheon's immense strength, shouldn't he have been the one resurrected?
You heard from Cheolyoung, correct? That I was not able to remain in this world.
"Yes."
He was correct. Unlike them, I could not remain.
"…Then what are you now?" He claimed to be Yeon Il-Cheon. So what was he?
I am merely a memory of the past. A memory left behind to inform Shincheol of everything, should he come to this place.
A memory of the past? I had heard of such a thing. But was it really possible? A memory left in a secret vault, protected by a formation, set to activate only for Elder Shin? That seemed far beyond human capability.
This meant that Cheolyoung at Shaolin, Namgung Myung, and even this Yeon Il-Cheon were all destined encounters meant for Elder Shin.
It is a sin to travel through time, as it defies the fate decreed by a higher power.
That is why I could not remain in this land. And why Shincheol was the most suitable choice among us.
A sin to regress. That phrase concerned me deeply, but I set it aside for now.
"You say it should have been Elder Shin."
Yes. Shincheol… he is our hope.
The old man who cursed, drooled over women, and yelled at me whenever girls were around… carried such a heavy burden? No matter how I thought about it, it didn't fit.
If the man's words were true…
"…Then what should I do?" What did I need to do? I had absorbed Elder Shin's soul and qi, and now I was receiving these revelations when all I wanted were some treasures. What was my role now?
I ventured a question. "Uh… Should I just leave now?"
I was asking if I could go, since I could always ask Elder Shin later when he woke up. What else could I do? There wasn't much I could accomplish in my current state. Sure, I'd heard shocking things, but none of it meant I could act immediately.
But what about the treasures in the vault? If they were meant for Elder Shin, didn't it make sense for me to take them?
As I glanced around awkwardly,
Even if one tries to change fate, it will return to its original path.
No matter how much one struggles, they learn this truth in the end.
He suddenly spoke again, his tone heavy.
That you managed to come here.
That you possess Shincheol's soul within you.
What do you think that means?
"…Pardon?" Why was he suddenly like this? A strange feeling began to creep over me. Why this shift in demeanor?
The twisted fate that we poured all our strength to achieve…
Was undone. Restored to its original path by someone's interference.
Rumble.
As he spoke, the secret vault began to tremble.
"What are you…!"
You may not leave this place.
"What did you say?" His words left me speechless. I can't leave?
"What kind of nonsense is this? Are you taking your anger out on me because things didn't go your way?" What did he expect me to do? He was turning violent out of nowhere.
Rumble!
"Are you fucking serious…?" The room shook more violently. Something was happening. I bolted for the entrance—
Zaaap!
An invisible barrier repelled me, throwing me back.
"Agh! Ugh, why are you doing this!" I yelled, but his expression only grew colder.
"Goddamn it, it's not my fault you failed! Why this? Whatever the Blood Demon is, I'll stop it!" I'd been busting my ass to stop the Heavenly Demon, and now the Blood Demon was added to the mix. "You can't do this to me!"
I didn't know why he wanted to erase me. Did he have anger issues?
The space around me began to crumble. My instincts screamed that I was doomed if I stayed.
Should I blow this place up? I didn't know if I was strong enough, but I had no time to think. I opened my palm, gathering my qi. I hadn't expected to do this right after recovering from my injuries. Using the Flaming Sphere again would definitely hurt me.
But I can't worry about that now. Survival came first.
Swoosh—!
Flaming—
You are the calamity.
"…What?" Just as I was about to unleash my Secret Art with full force, his words caused my qi to dissipate. I was stunned into silence.
"You bastard, what the hell did you just say?"
I do not know what kind of life you have led.
"I asked what the fuck you just said!"
How Shincheol's soul ended up within you. How you reached such a level at your age.
Moreover…
How you were able to regress, like me. I do not know any of it.
"…!" He knew about my regression, too. How?
Unfortunately, this wasn't the time for debate.
"…What does that have to do with calling me a calamity? Shouldn't you be keeping me alive, then?" If he knew how I'd been cleaning up everyone's mess since my regression, shouldn't he be helping me? "Why the hell are you trying to kill me, you crazy bastard?"
One who has let something slip from their grasp once will not be foolish enough to let it happen again.
"You're talking nonsense aga—"
Have you never thought your regression was odd?
"…What?"
That is fate.
Rumble—!
A violent vibration rang in my head. I felt my end approaching. My body refused to move, ensnared by his words.
My regression…?
His words struck me like a knife to the chest. It felt as if my mind emptied, then filled with heavy, suffocating thoughts.
You are the calamity.
The man's words echoed, making it hard to breathe.
Craaack…!
As the space around me collapsed, I felt my body breaking apart with it. I struggled to pull myself from my spiraling thoughts, but I was completely paralyzed.
Then,
Swish—!
My hand moved, but not by my will.
"…Huh?" My limbs began to move on their own.
…What…!
The man's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected this either. I was just as confused. It felt as if someone else was controlling my body—
[ You have no trust in yourself. How about you pull that stick out of your ass. You dumb idiot. ]
"…Ah?"
The moment I heard that voice, my foggy mind cleared instantly. The coarse voice of an old man—the voice I had longed to hear.
"Elder Shin?"
As soon as I spoke his name, I heard a soft chuckle in my head. Hehe.
…Shincheol. The man muttered in disbelief, but Elder Shin didn't greet him. Unlike with the Light of Might, he offered no courtesy.
Instead, he guided my hand through the distorted space, pulling cloth away from the treasures, searching for something.
"Elder? This isn't the time for that…!" I tried to rush him, but he kept moving my hand. Finally, he seized something from the pile of objects.
…You will regret this, Shincheol, the man warned.
[ Regret? ]
Elder Shin's voice was clear and sharp.
[ This is my decision, as always. I will have no regrets. ]
That playful, confident tone—it was unmistakably him.
Shincheol…
[ You've gotten worse over the years, Il-Cheon. ]
…
[ But it was still good to see you. ]
As Elder Shin spoke,
Swoosh—!
The object in my hand released a scent, flooding the room with the overwhelming fragrance of plum blossoms. The Taoist qi was powerful and grand, a deluge far beyond anything I had ever experienced.
[ Hold your breath, kid. ]
Elder Shin's voice echoed as my vision was swallowed by a tempest of plum blossoms.