The One Who Serves the Moon
The Left Emissary of Light. The one who stood above ten thousand, serving no one but the Divine Maiden, never the Cult Leader. Seo-ah knew of the position of the Left Emissary. Yet, even when No-ya mentioned him, she hadn't immediately thought of the title for a simple reason.
“The Left Emissary... is still alive?”
She hadn't known he was still among the living. It had been about a year since Seo-ah became a member of the Demonic Cult. By the time she arrived, the positions of Cult Leader and Divine Maiden had been vacant for ten years for some unknown reason, and news of the Right Emissary’s sudden death five years prior had spread far and wide. In the present day, the cult was governed by the Ten Great Sages, the elderly elders of the Dowonhyang, and the heads of each department. In short, there was no sign of the Left Emissary anywhere.
‘Come to think of it, no one ever said the Left Emissary was dead.’
If that were the case, why hadn't he appeared in any official capacity until now? And why, of all people, was he looking for her? Even after realizing the identity of the one who sought her, Seo-ah’s questions only deepened.
No-ya answered my question. “Why would you kill someone who is still alive? Though... he isn’t exactly in the best of health.”
“But why is the Left Emissary looking for me?”
“As I said before, it would be better to hear it from him directly. Honestly, even if I told you, you’d just think it was absurd. Well... it would probably be the same even if he told you himself. Anyway, try not to be too shocked when you hear his story.”
Absurd? Since none of her questions had been answered, Seo-ah started to say something more to No-ya, but she clamped her mouth shut. It felt like it would just lead to the same circular conversation. In the past, she hadn't had many chances to ask No-ya such questions, so she hadn't realized it, but No-ya was more stubborn than he looked. It meant that if it wasn't a question related to martial arts, he wouldn't bother answering troublesome inquiries.
‘How annoying.’
Seo-ah glared at No-ya, who kept his lips tightly sealed. No-ya turned his head toward the window, acting as if he knew nothing. Time passed, and the carriage came to a halt.
“Let’s get off.”
Seo-ah and No-ya disembarked in a secluded forest. No-ya didn't take the well-trodden path but instead pushed through the thicket for quite some time without a word, and Seo-ah followed him closely. Eventually, we arrived in front of a cave.
“Let’s go in.”
“Wait, are we really allowed to go in there? It’s a bit... how should I put this.”
Scary? Gloomy? Ominous? Seo-ah felt an indescribable sense of discomfort. No-ya ruffled Seo-ah’s hair once without a word and stepped into the cave. Seo-ah, suppressing her ominous premonitions, followed him inside.
The walls of the cave were packed with unknown characters. Seeing them, Seo-ah found it truly bizarre. She stuck close to No-ya’s back and reached out toward the cave wall.
Hummm...
“Ah, damn it... No-ya. Did you see that? The characters...”
They moved. Surprisingly, when Seo-ah touched the characters densely covering the wall, they emitted a bright light and began to shift as if they were alive. Seo-ah took her eyes off the wall and looked at No-ya. Fortunately, No-ya didn't seem particularly flustered, as if he were used to such things... or so she thought. No-ya was looking at Seo-ah with eyes widened in clear shock.
“No, what in the world is that?”
“How should I know if you don’t, No-ya!”
“I am a martial artist, not a sorcerer!”
“Is this... sorcery?”
At the mention of sorcery, Seo-ah stared at the wall with a mix of wariness and wonder. It had been the same when she first saw a martial artist, but it was now certain that this place was not the Earth she had known.
As Seo-ah couldn't take her eyes off the fantastical elements, No-ya, perhaps thinking she was worried, spoke in a soothing tone.
“Hmm... it should be fine. Probably... the last time a bear crawled in here, it turned red. Anyway, don’t stare at the wall and just follow me closely.”
Because he had used the word “probably” twice, it wasn't very reassuring, but Seo-ah pulled her attention away from the wall and followed No-ya. At the end of this strange cave, what appeared was a humble and small room. Of course, that was putting it kindly. It looked like the house she had lived in back in her village... a rather poor and destitute-looking room.
In the center of that room, a withered old man who looked like he might collapse at any moment was lying in a chair with his eyes closed.
‘Is that... is he alive?’
Seo-ah barely managed to swallow her words, fearing it might be rude. Fortunately, he wasn't dead, as No-ya approached the withered old man and asked respectfully.
“Left Emissary. Are you sleeping?”
So that precarious old man really was the Left Emissary.
‘So that’s why he couldn't show his face in public.’
At No-ya’s words, the Left Emissary slowly opened his eyes. His gaze shifted to me. The Left Emissary left No-ya behind and stood up from his chair, approaching me directly. Then, suddenly, the Left Emissary burst into tears and bowed his head to me.
“Divine Maiden... I have been waiting for you.”
Excuse me?
Seo-ah, flustered by the Left Emissary’s sudden behavior, looked at No-ya.
‘What is going on here?’
Seo-ah’s eyes were asking exactly that. Perhaps he understood that look, for No-ya immediately sent a telepathic message to Seo-ah.
— Do you remember what I said? That the decision is yours to make.
Seo-ah felt as if her head were spinning at those words. Did No-ya know this situation would arise all along? No, if that were the case, he could have at least given her a hint beforehand.
‘And he said I’d find it absurd...’
Good grief. Knowing she would be this troubled, he kept his mouth shut and told her to hear it for herself? Seo-ah swallowed her resentment toward No-ya and helped the Left Emissary, who was still bowing on the floor, to stand up.
“I greet the Left Emissary. There seems to be a misunderstanding... I am not the Divine Maiden.”
The Left Emissary replied in a voice laced with a metallic rasp.
“I apologize... this must be bewildering for you. You must be thinking this old man has suddenly gone senile. I understand.”
Seo-ah kept her mouth shut. Not only was the Left Emissary’s remark more blunt than she expected, but it was also not much different from what she had actually been thinking. The Left Emissary grabbed my hand tightly and continued.
“However... you are indeed the one who will become the Divine Maiden. You are the one pointed out by the previous... the Divine Maiden herself!”
Seo-ah caught a glimpse of madness in the Left Emissary’s eyes. The kind she had seen in cultists in her past life. No, it was deeper than that. Madness. The Left Emissary served only the Divine Maiden. He was a fanatic of the Divine Maiden. Seo-ah was momentarily intimidated by that crazed gaze, then spoke softly, as if soothing a child.
“I apologize, but... I find it difficult to follow this conversation. I was undeservedly taken in by the Sword Saint yesterday, and I am acting as his disciple, but until recently, I was just a maid swinging a laundry bat in the inner quarters.”
“What you did before is of no importance.”
“...”
“The Divine Maiden would want to say this, wouldn't she? ‘I am just an ordinary person. You crazy old man.’”
Seo-ah slowly nodded.
“The Divine Maiden is already special. Don’t you already know that fact well yourself?”
Seo-ah stared into the Left Emissary’s crazed eyes without a word. His eyes seemed to be looking at her, yet paradoxically, they seemed not to be looking at her at all. Where did this strange sense of dissonance come from? Seo-ah kept her mouth shut and waited for the Left Emissary to continue.
“The Divine Maiden glimpses the heavenly secrets. You know this, don’t you? The ominous premonitions. The nightmares at the Gyomaguan. How can someone who glimpses the heavenly secrets and sees the future be ordinary?”
“How do you know about that?”
“To uphold the will of the previous Divine Maiden, I simply paid a small price.”
Seo-ah ignored the Left Emissary’s cryptic words and continued.
“That was a coincidence. Above all, when it actually mattered, I saw nothing.”
The Left Emissary was wrong. She could not see the future. Because when it truly mattered, she had seen nothing at all. Seo-ah had thought of those moments as simple déjà vu. Déjà vu exists in everyone’s life. Hasn't everyone felt that sense of déjà vu, like, ‘I think I saw this in a dream?’ But no one knows for sure. Whether they really saw that scene in a dream, or if it was just a simple illusion. Seo-ah was the same. The nightmare she had seen in her dream had already faded, and she didn't even know if she had seen the future in her dream or if it was just a simple misunderstanding. The important thing was that everyone experiences déjà vu at least once. Therefore, it was not right to say she could see the future based on that fact alone.
As if the Left Emissary were reading her thoughts, he continued as soon as her thought finished.
“Is that all? You have an exceptional understanding of qi, and you never forget a sword technique once you’ve seen it.”
“That is not a reason for me to be the Divine Maiden. It is true that I have a talent for martial arts. But I cannot guarantee that there isn't another person like me if one were to search the world right now.”
Then, is he also a Divine Maiden? Seo-ah swallowed the rest of her words. She didn't know what would happen if the stubborn Left Emissary started acting out, claiming she was blaspheming the doctrine.
The Left Emissary swallowed his groans. He seemed to know, at least, that he was being unreasonable.
“Divine Maiden, by any chance... are you reluctant because I am asking you to become the Divine Maiden?”
“That is... yes. I am reluctant.”
Anyone would be. It wasn't that she was special. If, all of a sudden, a madman with crazed eyes asked you to become the president of this country, you would refuse first. At least, if you were in your right mind. Burdened? Not sure if she could do it well? This wasn't that kind of problem. In the first place, as far as Seo-ah knew, the Divine Maiden was a position that was selected, not one decided by the designation of the previous Left Emissary.
The Left Emissary didn't show a hint of disappointment. ‘Did he know I would refuse?’
The Left Emissary said,
“I understand. Then... Seo-ah, would you grant this old man one request?”
“...I will listen and then decide.”
“Actually, even if you say you will not become the Divine Maiden, it does not matter.”
It was truly strange. The person who had been insisting until now that she was the Divine Maiden was suddenly saying it didn't matter?
As doubt clouded Seo-ah’s face, the Left Emissary quickly provided the answer.
“The previous Divine Maiden prophesied that you were the Divine Maiden. And I, upholding the will of the Divine Maiden, had to find you and inform you of the fact that you are the Divine Maiden.”
“...”
“The anniversary of the previous Divine Maiden’s passing is soon. The time has come to offer a memorial service. I must show the previous one that I have faithfully fulfilled your will.”
Only then could Seo-ah realize the identity of this strange dissonance.
“So... would you not come with me to offer a memorial service to the Divine Maiden?”
The Left Emissary did not revere or serve the ‘Divine Maiden.’ To be precise, he was serving the ‘previous’ Divine Maiden. He was still serving the moon that had already set.