The Weight of a Hand
There are many people with hands to spare. But.
We all move forward, using the memories of a certain time as fertilizer. Some, however, use those same memories as the driving force for their entire lives. Seo-ah didn't think that was wrong. She wasn't much different herself. But... even so, she couldn't understand the Left Minister's actions. She couldn't understand a man who would let himself be consumed by a memory of the past to the point of throwing his own life away.
To protect the will of someone who had already departed, to deliver a single word—just one—to a child whose face he didn't even know. To be able to cast aside wealth, power, and life itself. Seo-ah couldn't fathom it. She had reached out with an empty hand to those in desperation, but when she had been desperate, she had never received such a hand in return. Of course, No-ya had bestowed much upon her, but those were things she could have eventually achieved on her own. It was hard to say that No-ya’s help had come when she was truly desperate.
Truly. Earnestly. Desperately.
She didn't know much about the kind of "salvation" one feels when it seems the whole world has turned its back on you. She didn't know. She just didn't know.
She had merely extended a hand that happened to be free. She couldn't understand the Left Minister, who was willing to throw everything away just to cherish that single moment.
Nevertheless, Seo-ah watched him in silence. If that was what he had decided, then so be it. This was the path of life he had chosen. His life. Seo-ah decided to witness the final moments of a supreme master of the Transcendent Realm.
Snap. Snap. The sound of something burning lingered in her ears. Was this the sound of the Left Minister’s life burning away? Or was it the sound of her own distracting thoughts?
Seo-ah looked at the Left Minister, who wore an expression of relief.
The Left Minister, with a brighter expression than ever before, lit incense and began to hold a memorial service in front of the tombstone. There were no grand procedures. It was so humble that it was hard to believe it was a service for the Divine Maiden who had once ruled the greatest power in the Murim. The Left Minister simply bowed to the tombstone several times in silence, then knelt before it and closed his eyes.
Seo-ah watched him quietly. After a long while, the Left Minister looked at her.
“Divine Maiden. Please, come here.”
Seo-ah nodded without a word. Under normal circumstances, she would have denied it, saying, “I told you, I’m not the Divine Maiden.” But this time, she silently followed his lead. She felt it would be cruel to deny him in front of the previous Divine Maiden’s tombstone, in front of a man who wanted to show that he had faithfully followed her will.
The Left Minister seemed to understand her heart. He gave a subtle nod of gratitude and smiled. It seemed he believed the previous Divine Maiden was watching this scene.
Looking at the tombstone, the Left Minister spoke. “Divine Maiden. As you wished. I have served the Divine Maiden of this generation. Lady Seo-ah, please pay your respects.”
Seo-ah nodded and bowed. In her heart, she threw questions at the previous Divine Maiden with every bow. ‘Just what did you see to point at me, a stranger, and call me the Divine Maiden?’ ‘Do you know that the Left Minister even used a forbidden art to tell me I would become the Divine Maiden?’ ‘If you know, is this what you wanted?’
Of course, no answer came. When she finished bowing and lifted her head, she saw the incense burning down before the tombstone. The Left Minister approached her and said, “Thank you for your trouble. The previous Divine Maiden will be pleased as well.”
“Left Minister... are you truly satisfied with this?”
“Of course.”
Seo-ah studied his expression. The Left Minister, with death right before his eyes, truly seemed to have no regrets. “I have fulfilled my role completely. What could I possibly regret?”
“But... you could have found me without resorting to a forbidden art, couldn't you?”
“That would not have been a certain method.”
“...”
Seeing the confusion in Seo-ah’s eyes, the Left Minister suddenly spoke. “People of the Central Plains say that the grace of Heaven is as deep and wide as the sea, reaching all people, but in truth, that is not the case.”
Seo-ah listened intently, not flustered by his sudden remark. “Look at the origin story of our Cult. It is far from the grace of Heaven... for people like us, it is a dreamlike tale.”
Seo-ah knew that story, too. The origin of the Demonic Cult—no, the Sun Moon Demonic Cult—was widely known among the common folk, even if it was a bit extreme. They were the ones who had rebelled against the Emperor, declaring they would create a world where no one among the masses was neglected. Many in the Central Plains had a great interest in the Cult, though they didn't show it outwardly. Of course, because it was a demonic faction, countless horror stories followed, so no one actually took action. ‘It’s also too far away.’
The Left Minister continued. “One day, two immortals of Mount Kunlun said: ‘Since the corrupt Emperor cannot bestow grace upon the masses, we must create a Heaven where no one is neglected. I am their Sun, and I am their Moon. Stars that share our will, submit to the Cult.’”
“It is an old story from when the Cult was called the Sun Moon Star Cult, before we joined hands with the demonic factions... but the important thing is that those immortals reached out to people like me who needed salvation.”
The Left Minister closed his eyes as if recalling the past. “To me, the previous Divine Maiden was a Heaven beyond the Moon, and the Cult itself. Because she was the only one who reached out to me, a lowly person neglected by the masses.”
The Left Minister looked at her again. His eyes seemed to pierce through her. His words pierced her as well. “Divine Maiden. It was only possible because your hands were empty. I am no different from you. That is what the previous Divine Maiden always told me, always urged upon me.”
The Left Minister’s voice rose. “So what if it is?”
He poured out his passion. “There are many in the world who have the luxury to spare. There are many who could reach out to lowly people like me. But they have no interest in me.”
Seo-ah nodded. Most people were like that.
“Divine Maiden. You only reached out because your hands were empty. There are many in the world who have the luxury and hands to spare. But there are few who can extend those hands without hesitation.”
The Left Minister continued, excited. “Do you know what they call those people?”
“Martial heroes? ...” Seo-ah answered cautiously, as if bewitched.
The Left Minister nodded. “In the Righteous Faction, they call them martial heroes, and in the Evil Faction, they call them bosses or brothers. In our Cult, we simply call them the Cult Leader and the Divine Maiden.”
He was speaking as if it were nothing, things that would make the members of the Cult faint if they heard them. “Do not think too deeply. ‘Am I qualified?’ Throw such thoughts away. The fact that you are qualified is evident just by looking at the children around you.”
Seo-ah nodded blankly. For a moment, the faces of So-yul and the twins flashed through her mind. The Left Minister took a deep breath, calming his excitement. “I have become a bit excited. You do not need to take it too much to heart. I said it didn't matter if you weren't the Divine Maiden... but it seems I had... a very, very small regret left.”
His address returned from ‘Divine Maiden’ to ‘Lady Seo-ah.’ The Left Minister took her two hands. They were cold. He forced his closing eyes to stay open and said to her, “Lastly... may I ask one favor?”
“Let me hear it... if it is something I can do.”
“When I close my eyes... I would like you to bury me beside my Heaven.”
“...”
Something seemed to catch in Seo-ah’s throat. She couldn't bring herself to say she would. Seo-ah had no choice but to nod. The Left Minister, as if he had been waiting, took out a book from his robes with a warm smile. “Thank you. Truly... in my opinion, this is definitely yours, Lady Seo-ah. Please... do not refuse... and...”
...The Left Minister tried to keep his closing eyes open as he spoke, but he could not finish his sentence. In his hand, he held a book he had failed to pass on to her. Seo-ah picked up the book. On it was written:
[Sun Moon Divine Art - Moon]
Just then, the sun rising over the horizon was driving away the darkness. Seo-ah tossed the book aside for a moment and began to dig a hole next to the previous Divine Maiden’s tombstone. At that moment, a familiar voice echoed in her head.
— No matter what that person says. No matter what sweet words he uses to coax you. The decision is yours. Whether you refuse or accept that request, no one can blame you. Do you understand?
— Do you remember what I said? That the decision is yours.
It was the words No-ya had urged upon her before she met the Left Minister. She had to admit it. Honestly, she had been convinced that no matter what the Left Minister said, she wouldn't be persuaded. Her constant insistence that she wasn't the Divine Maiden was part of that. But as she spent the Left Minister’s final moments with him, Seo-ah had to admit that her heart had wavered slightly.
It was truly a funny thing. Didn't it mean that for a moment, she had thought of herself as a martial hero?
After burying him as he had requested, Seo-ah descended Mount Kunlun immediately. She still couldn't understand the Left Minister’s decision. However, she felt it was complicated to simply conclude that the hand she had extended was ‘just because she could’ and take it lightly. Perhaps she understood a little. Maybe So-yul regarded her the way the Left Minister regarded the previous Divine Maiden.
‘The twins... I don't think it’s quite to that extent.’
Seo-ah approached the carriage, worrying about how to treat So-yul in the future.
— Crack!
A sound of something breaking came from her robes. The catalyst of the necklace was cracked. ‘I won't be able to meet the Left Minister for a while.’
She wouldn't be able to enter Mount Kunlun carelessly. Seo-ah carefully placed the book and the necklace in her robes. The coachman, who had spotted her approaching from afar, came up to her and asked, “Where did the Left Minister go?”
“He said he finished what he had to do, so he’s going to rest for a while.”
The coachman tilted his head and said, “Hmm... is that so? When will he be back?”
“He said not to wait.”
“Understood. Then, where shall I take you?”
“Let’s return... to the Sword Family.”
Inside the comfortable carriage, Seo-ah worried about where to start when talking to No-ya. How to handle the secret manual she had carefully tucked away was another matter entirely.