Eun Seolhwa's Foundation Banquet (2)
A brief digression into the past.
The Age of the Final Curtain. A history mankind had lost. In that era lived a single cultivator.
A Sacred Hero who walked two paths at once—the Fist Path and the Sword Path. An unyielding champion whose very name had been erased. A knight who carved down the tens of millions of monsters pouring out of Asia and Africa, cutting them down again and again to defend Europe.
A tale that has long since slipped beyond the reach of hard fact, surviving only as legend.
It was an age of chaos. The sky itself had been torn open by Gates until its original shape was gone. Winged demons fell like rain alongside the monsters, cascading onto the earth below.
Their numbers were beyond counting. The heavens blackened with demonic energy, and there was not a stretch of ground left unsoaked in red blood. To bring that invasion of Earth to its end, a Demon King descended from the Demon Realm.
Demon King Valfozacus. Known also as the One Who Crushes in Silence. A monster on par with a Golden Core Stage cultivator.
At the time, Earth had no Golden Core Stage cultivators of its own. And so the tens of millions of people who stood in the Demon King's path of advance were simply crushed out of existence. Every cultivator on Earth gathered to stand against him.
At the very tip of that spearhead, sword in hand, stood the nameless hero. But even with thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators present, a true battle against a single Demon King could not even form. The gulf between their ranks was absolute.
Among the despairing cultivators, the hero made his choice. Following the ancient method of advancement, he attempted a breakthrough into the Golden Core Stage—an uncharted realm in that era. At this rate, mankind would go extinct.
That method was battle against an opponent vastly stronger than oneself. Put simply: pick a fight with the Demon King and use that clash as the driving force for advancement. Sharpen yourself against a superior enemy as if he were a whetstone. It was the act of a madman. But there was no other way.
For seven days the skies of Earth ran red as blood. The howls of an asura and the screams of a Demon King rode the air across the entire planet. The remaining billions of humanity fell to their knees and prayed.
Perhaps those prayers had done some good. The hero succeeded in breaking through to the Golden Core Stage and, in a single stroke of his sword, cut down the Demon King. But it was power that came at a price.
When a new dawn broke, the surviving Foundation Establishment cultivators flocked to the source of the battle. What they witnessed was both Demon King and hero dissolving into light and vanishing. Mutual annihilation.
Only the evaporated Mediterranean Sea remained as proof of how ferocious the fight had been.
Humanity was too exhausted to share in festivals, banquets, joy, and rapture. And so the thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators raised a stone monument there and prayed.
In honor of the True Immortal who first challenged the realm of the Golden Core.
Long ages passed. The rites meant to honor the hero gradually transformed into celebratory banquets for those who had advanced in rank. Such was the simple history of the advancement banquet.
"…."
Nain chattered away with gusto about the documentary she had watched the day before for research. The two of them were walking the path toward the banquet hall now.
Decia, who had been listening quietly at her side, spoke in a low voice.
"Unnie…. That's all a lie."
"What."
"Well—there's some truth mixed in, but there's no way a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator could go toe-to-toe with a Demon King."
Decia explained it patiently, in a soft, measured tone. To a Golden Core-level being, any creature of a lower grade was no better than a gnat…. You might hold out for a while, but fighting for seven days and nights was absurd….
"So basically, they exaggerated the story for the sake of making him look heroic."
Nain's world collapsed on the spot. The emotional shock her master had just taken made Geumhae—who had been walking along just fine—stagger. Borrowing her clone's mouth, Nain mumbled, eyes wet.
"Th-then every documentary I've ever watched is…?"
"Mm. Most of them are probably exaggerated."
"……!!!"
The strength drained clean out of Geumhae's legs, and she nearly went down. Decia hurriedly caught her by the waist and took her weight. Falling and getting dust on the dress she was wearing right now would have been an absolute disaster.
When Nain almost toppled again, Decia let out a sigh. She couldn't very well send her into the banquet hall like this.
"Haa…. Just sit back and watch for now, Unnie. I'll release you once we arrive."
Decia flicked a light knuckle against Geumhae's forehead. Static sank into the pale skin and gently paralyzed only the spiritual organs of the brain. The real Geumhae, consciousness restored, walked on toward the banquet hall with Decia.
Back on the sofa, where she had been sprawled and rolling about, Nain let out a weak yelp.
"Ah!"
The radiant golden light shining in her left pupil went dark. Further remote control was impossible. From here on she could only look at the world through Geumhae's right eye.
But that wasn't what mattered to Nain right now.
"It was all…. fake?"
She pulled the blanket over her head in hollow defeat.
She was truly sad. So sad that, for the first time in a long while, she shed tears of her own free will. She wailed at full volume, sobbing her heart out.
Tears fell, drop by drop, from her white right eye alone.
There was a reason Nain was reacting this strongly. She may have had no talent for cultivation, but her ambition towered over anyone else's—and it was fair to say that half the driving force behind it came from the documentaries she had grown up watching since she was little.
"Awaaang……."
It looked ridiculous, but it was a dangerous situation that, mishandled even slightly, could crack the foundations of her will. That was when it happened.
Walking the mountain path toward the banquet hall, Decia met the gaze of Geumhae's right pupil. Naturally, Decia's figure was reflected in Nain's left eye as well.
"Unnie. I've been thinking a little."
Decia knew perfectly well how unusually devoted her sister was to documentaries. And just now, she felt she had denied it all far too casually, without a second thought. So she forcibly dredged up a very old memory.
"You know that series you love the most."
Sniff. Nain blew her clogged nose.
The Ten Saviors Who Protected Earth……?
The documentary that aired every dawn. Exactly the program Nain cherished and adored most of all. A full series—one compilation episode and then installments one through ten.
She had watched it yesterday, and again at dawn today. Yesterday she had even watched it specially with Decia.
"…I used to watch that with you a long time ago too. So I asked Master about it, and he said that documentary, at least, is the real thing."
Information about her little sister's master surfaced in Nain's mind.
Neohae Sangin. Sect Master of the Nine Heavens Thunder Sword Sect, a Golden Core lineage, and a powerhouse ranked within the top hundred of the Golden Core rankings. A familiar name—one she had actually seen more often in gallery versus-matchup threads than in real life.
Nain shook her head and scattered the post that had floated up so naturally in her mind. Beside her, Pou patted her shoulder in a steady little rhythm. Nain buried her face in a scroll and wiped away her tears.
Pou recoiled in open disgust and pulled away. In exchange, Nain's face brightened completely. Truth be told, most of the programs didn't matter much to her.
The only ones she truly revered were those ten. If their life stories were true, Nain was satisfied. Someday, that would be the path she herself would walk.
"So don't take it so hard. Today's supposed to be a happy day, right?"
Decia said it as she came to a stop. Geumhae's body stopped with her, and her gaze lifted toward the high sky. Naturally, Nain's vision followed her clone's.
Whoosh!
The white clouds wrapping the peak peeled away. The air above was so clear it felt as if the sky had no ceiling, and small snowflakes drifted down in quiet silence. Beautiful pavilions stood nestled among them.
Buildings that seemed like Eun Seolhwa's aesthetic sense made real—graceful, yet steeped in a cold elegance. The path was not the only one; people were climbing up from other directions as well. From the sky, Foundation Establishment cultivators flew in and walked down with lofty composure.
Since ancient times, treading upon empty air had been the exclusive privilege of Foundation Establishment. Even as the age advanced and every kind of method developed, that remained true. Geumhae looked up at the Foundation Establishment cultivators as well.
"A happy day, yeah."
Even a rough estimate put the crowd in the thousands. The broad peak was packed and swarming. Every last one of them was someone connected to her mother by fate.
The Foundation Establishment cultivators who descended straight into the banquet grounds alone numbered well over several dozen. Decia took the hand of Geumhae, who had been staring blankly up at the sky, and pulled her along.
"Come on. We should greet Mom first."
The two of them walked boldly down the center of the main avenue leading to the banquet hall. The crowded road parted like the Red Sea. It was because of their striking looks and the pressure of their auras.
Murmurs rose from every direction.
"That young, and already Peak Qi Refinement Stage? Who are they? Both of them are beautiful, too."
"An aura sharp as a blade…. Must be the youngest, the one who entered a sword sect."
"The youngest? Isn't the youngest the child next to her? She looks exactly like Her when she was young…."
Nain hummed under her breath as she soaked in their interest and stares. There weren't many of them, but it was thrilling—the absolute best. She wondered what it would feel like to stand in that place herself.
Her craving for Foundation Establishment burned even hotter. In that moment she resented this body of hers, a severe shut-in's body.
If I could fly through the sky, just passing by would make so many people look, wouldn't it?
The thought alone made her happy. Her gloom blew away completely.
At the end of the avenue, right before the banquet hall, Decia entered a passage reserved for special guests only. And there, almost at once, she encountered a young man leaning against the corridor wall with his eyes closed. An unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"Decia? It's been a while. Twelve years and four months. And you are…."
"It is an honor to see you, Senior."
Decia bowed her head calmly. He accepted the greeting with a rough nod of the chin, and when he opened his eyes, his pupils were spinning in blue spirals. Taking Geumhae into that field of vision, the young man laughed.
"Bold of you. Doing something even I wouldn't dare out of fear…. Well. Family, so I suppose it doesn't matter."
He jerked his chin toward the inner passage.
"Go on ahead. Family comes before outsiders."
"Thank you for your consideration."
"Don't mention it. Let's cross swords sometime. Climb up here soon."
The young man leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes again. Nain broke out in a cold sweat inwardly.
He saw through the clone in a single glance…. So this is what Foundation Establishment cultivators are like…?
Even Decia, a genius, had never seen through Geumhae. And he had known just from a casual sweep of his eyes.
"Don't worry too much, Unnie."
As if she had caught that agitation, Decia spoke evenly.
"That man has honed the Path of Observation—he's a special case, so he could tell. Normally even a Peak Foundation Establishment cultivator wouldn't notice."
"…Really?"
Borrowing Geumhae's body, Nain swept her hair back. The paralysis had already worn off. Those strange, spinning pupils refused to leave her mind.
Foundation Establishment isn't the realm of ordinary people…. The outside world really is scary.
Tak.
Before she knew it they had reached the end of the corridor. In front of the door, Nain awkwardly smoothed her blue dress. The bare shoulders and the open line of the chest still felt strange.
Decia looked at her and bent slightly. Then her cool hand brushed lightly across Nain's forehead, tidying her mussed hair and the set of her clothes.
"…Don't be nervous. If it gets too hard, just tell me. I'll take care of everything."
"Heh, you don't have to worry. Look at our little sister, all grown up."
Nain put on a confident smile.
Knock, knock—
She rapped on the door. A voice answered from within.
"Come in."