The Passage of Time (Part 1 - Complete)
I stared at the figure before me. ‘So this bastard is the “me” who was left behind in the original world.’
If I had never read that godforsaken Mount Hua trash wuxia novel, my end would most likely have played out exactly as the Heart Demon described. Fighting desperately against the monsters invading our world, only to be doubted and rejected by everyone in the end.
‘In that sense, I can even guess why the Heart Demon resents me.’
I slowly nodded. When I remained completely silent, the Heart Demon smirked and spoke again.
“Cat got your tongue? You’re really going to stand there without a single word against the version of yourself that appeared before you?”
“······.”
“A life where you couldn’t even die properly, a piece of trash abandoned in a world with no family, not even a single acquaintance. And now you’re rationalizing it all, refusing to look back at the past and claiming a brand new life for yourself?”
The Heart Demon continued, as if digging straight into my heart.
“Are you just going to turn your back on all the people you killed? Your friends, your family? Even if you had no choice, do you really think your sins from the original world have been conveniently reset? Don’t make me laugh…!”
His accusations carried real power. The entire mental world seemed to vibrate and shake with every word he roared.
Even as the Heart Demon growled at me, I stayed silent for a long moment before finally opening my mouth.
“…Is that not allowed?”
“…What?”
“I remember every single evil deed I committed in the original world. Every friend, lover, and family member I killed with my own hands… they’re all burned into my mind.”
“Hah! The fact that you even acknowledge it makes this even more ridiculous. You slaughtered them all without a shred of remorse, then reincarnated and decided none of it has anything to do with you anymore?”
“······.”
“Don’t make me laugh. Because of a bastard like you, I lived my entire life in frustration, pointed at and ridiculed by everyone, and died a miserable, lonely death…!”
At his words, I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.
“Huu.”
The Heart Demon who had appeared in my mental world to torment me—his words were tearing me apart. Yet ultimately, I remained calm. Because there was one fatal flaw in everything he said.
While he continued glaring at me, I murmured quietly.
“No. That’s not true.”
“…Huh?”
“I do not despair.”
Slowly, I opened my eyes. The mental world, still full of cracks, came into view. A desolate space that seemed painted entirely in black and white.
Standing at the center of that mental world, I continued speaking.
“You’re assuming from the start that I’ve lived my whole life in despair.”
“Hah! Of course I am. I am the ‘you’ left behind in the original world. I am the mirror of the pathetic end you would have met if you had never fallen into this godforsaken Mount Hua trash novel world…!”
“…No. You are not my mirror.”
“······?!”
I denied his words. My jaw clenched tight. There was nothing wrong with what he said. If I had continued living in the original world, it was undeniable that I would have died alone without family, friends, or acquaintances. But there was one claim I could completely dismantle.
‘The idea that I would be disappointed in myself, constantly recalling the past and living the rest of my life in despair… that is something I cannot even imagine.’
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, the Heart Demon—who had been staring directly at me—twisted the corner of his mouth into a mocking sneer, as if he had read my thoughts.
“Even after going through all that, you still believe you will never change? After being abandoned like that, having your arm torn off by a monster, suffering through every kind of crisis?”
“······.”
I slowly examined him. His face and neck were covered in deep scars and wounds, evidence of the countless hardships he must have endured even after I fell into this wuxia world. And on the left side where I had once lost my arm in a battle against a giant monster, he wore a rusted steel prosthetic.
Even so, I kept my gaze steady and spoke in a low voice.
“If I do not believe in myself, who in the world could possibly trust me?”
“······!”
“Discussing a future you have never experienced is meaningless. Even if you truly are another version of me from a different world, I will never acknowledge it.”
“…You crazy bastard.”
“I’ve been thinking about who exactly is the one spouting nonsense right now.”
“…What?”
“You are not my Heart Demon.”
The moment those words left my mouth, the other party’s eyes widened. Even though he looked exactly like the ‘me’ from the original world, I refused to recognize him as such.
At my declaration, the one who called himself the Heart Demon let out a low, mocking chuckle.
“If I’m not another you, then who the hell am I? Some impossible fake?”
“…I’ve felt a sense of dissonance since earlier.”
“······?”
“To begin with, the probability that a mental world that was never supposed to manifest would suddenly appear, and that an entity claiming to be my Heart Demon would show up in this incomplete space… how likely do you think that is?”
“What are you talking about?”
He asked as if playing innocent. But I continued without hesitation.
“A fragment of something far greater… a being who has reached a realm that the ‘me’ from the original world could never possibly attain.”
“······!”
“You are not ‘me.’ You are… nothing more than a fragment of some entity disguising itself as my Heart Demon.”
“······.”
I swallowed hard. Fear. True terror washed over me. The instant I uttered the word ‘fragment,’ the other party’s face twisted into something demonic and murderous.
Even as I maintained my composure in the face of that reaction, the entity that had been pretending to be the me from the original world gave a faint smile. A horribly distorted one.
He opened his mouth.
“Indeed… it seems pretending to be a mere mortal was still too much for me.”
“······.”
“I saw a useful specimen after so long and only wanted to test his intentions a little… I didn’t expect to be found out this quickly.”
“Then let me ask again.”
I posed the question.
“Who the hell are you?”
“······.”
The other party fell silent. The overwhelming presence and aura of a colossal being that I had felt from the beginning pressed down on me. Yet I barely held onto my sanity and continued pressing him.
He did not answer immediately. Instead, he muttered something meaningful.
“…If you ever reach this point one day, I will give you an answer.”
“What…?”
At that moment, just as I was about to ask again, the figure wearing my appearance vanished. It crumbled away like dust scattering in the wind. Before I could even process what I was seeing—
“…Ugh.”
A sharp pain exploded in my head. My vision flickered several times, and then I lost consciousness completely.
After the incident in the mental world, time flowed like running water.
Despite the lingering sense of unease, I pulled myself together and continued my training. I devoted myself day and night to mastering the Zha Hua Heart Technique and Zha Hua Sword Technique to their highest levels.
‘Anyway, the point where the original story truly begins is almost here.’
One day, when snow was falling.
After the long, grueling training, I felt as though I was gradually losing my emotions. Yet I could still vaguely sense the passage of time, and I knew the moment was nearly upon me.
‘If things continue like this, I’ll be stuck in Mount Hua for the next few years doing nothing but closed-door training, essentially a form of self-imposed suffering.’
It was obviously going to be incredibly difficult. But I had no intention of giving up. On the contrary, my fighting spirit burned hotter than ever.
I could do it. I would finish it. Those convictions kept flashing through my mind.
“······.”
Whoosh— I swung my sword. I had already lost count of how many times I had repeated this motion. But whenever doubt crept in, I could always remind myself that none of this time had been wasted.
“…Do not fear evil. Do not rule with light. What matters is one’s own will, so do not cling to the result.”
If that heart could flow freely and eventually overflow, if I could always carve that single thought into my soul and recite it when facing threats—
Then I would finally leave the earth behind and stand tall above the world.
“With an upright heart, I shall reach transcendence.”
Murmuring the secret principles of Cheon Dun, I let a faint smile touch my lips.
And I continued swinging my sword.
Time passed like that—slowly, but steadily.
‘Even this stretch of time will one day be nothing more than a fleeting instant.’
I renewed my resolve. With the determination to stand tall above the world, I gripped my sword in silence.
And so, two years flew by in the blink of an eye.