Chapter 276
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 276.
Going to the spirit world isn’t too difficult if you borrow the power of the World Tree.
Conversely, without the World Tree, the difficulty increases significantly.
—Whaaat, more work? I’m tired. I wanna rest now…….
“Your friend is going to meet its parent right now, and you’re saying you’re tired?”
—Uh, uhh?
The fairy, who had been making a reluctant face, widened her eyes in surprise.
Yoo Baek-jun lifted Seol-yeong up.
“I was trying to take this one to meet its parent in the spirit world, and you’re being so unreasonable. Hey, how can you call yourself its friend when you’re like this…….”
—Gwaaah?
—W-what kind of nonsense are you saying……?.
Seol-yeong and the fairy locked eyes.
Truthfully, Seol-yeong had no thoughts at all. It just stared at the fairy with round eyes.
But to the fairy, that gaze seemed to carry a different meaning.
—Agh, fine! I got it! Stop looking at me like that. You’re making me feel like a bad guy!
—Awoo? Grrr…?
“Good.”
Yoo Baek-jun put Seol-yeong away, and the fairy grumbled as she prepared.
Preparing to open the gate to the spirit realm.
—Hyah… cha!
The fairy let out a strange battle cry.
Then, the World Tree shimmered brightly, and a small gate appeared before them.
A gate glowing in a bluish hue.
“Looks creepily ominous.”
—Uhh… For you, it probably is? Since it’s the spirit realm, if a human stays too long, they won’t last and will probably die.
“Thanks for the kind words, huh?”
—Owowowow…….
Yoo Baek-jun pinched the fairy’s cheek and stretched it like rice cake dough.
Well, she wasn’t wrong. Staying too long in the spirit realm would affect him too.
Seol-yeong, being a spirit beast, would be fine, but he was just an ordinary human.
‘I’ve survived this far—I can’t die meaninglessly like this.’
Besides, he had no intention of staying long anyway.
“Let’s go.”
Yoo Baek-jun stepped through the gate to the spirit realm with Seol-yeong.
The sensation of his surroundings swaying.
When he closed and opened his eyes again, the scenery before him had completely changed.
‘No matter how many times I come here…….’
It’s endlessly eerie.
Thick fog filled the air, and right before him stretched an endless, wide river.
The river, glowing a murky green, was ominous just to look at.
—Wahooo! Karururung…….
Literally, the River of Three Crossings.
Unlike Yoo Baek-jun, Seol-yeong seemed to like the scenery.
As a spirit beast that manipulated souls, this might feel like returning home.
“Hmm, to cross this……”
Yoo Baek-jun glanced around.
The river was as vast as an ocean, with island-like areas scattered throughout.
Among them was one island ruled by Seol-yeong’s parent.
“Beep, beep. Seol-yeong radar.”
—Grr?
“If you sense something, lift your front paw. Got it?”
Yoo Baek-jun held Seol-yeong up and pointed in different directions.
After blankly staring around, the creature suddenly lifted its paw toward the west.
—Human!
“Ohho, that way.”
Yoo Baek-jun stood at the western edge of the river.
Doing this didn’t magically create a path. Seol-yeong, still in his arms, looked up at him as if asking what he was doing.
And shortly after—
Splash, splash.
The sound of water parting echoed as a small ferryboat approached from afar.
A ferryboat with no one aboard.
Watching it move on its own was slightly chilling.
“Let’s board.”
Yoo Baek-jun stepped onto the boat.
As soon as he and Seol-yeong boarded, the boat began moving on its own.
The oars on either side moved, propelling the boat forward.
“Feels like we’re in a haunted mansion.”
Yoo Baek-jun sat absentmindedly, gazing at the scenery around him.
The river flowed.
The boat Yoo Baek-jun was on also moved slowly, following the river’s current.
—Waoooh… Kyaong!
“Whoa, careful.”
Seol-yeong seemed fascinated by the river.
Though Yoo Baek-jun couldn’t see it, Seol-yeong was likely seeing souls.
Souls drifting along the river’s surface.
‘Damn… creepy.’
Then, a sudden doubt crossed his mind.
‘Is Yoo Baek-jun’s soul here too?’
It was something he’d always wondered.
When ‘he’ entered this body, what happened to the original owner’s soul?
Did it disappear? Did it go to the spirit realm? Or was it still lingering somewhere?
“Hmm……”
Yoo Baek-jun lifted Seol-yeong up.
“Hey, how many souls are inside me?”
—Grr…?
“One? Two?”
—Uuung…?
Seol-yeong tilted its head in confusion.
“No issues?”
Yoo Baek-jun looked down at his chest.
If Yoo Baek-jun’s soul wasn’t here, what would happen to this body after he cleared the game?
He shook his head.
‘No need to worry about that now.’
Yoo Baek-jun looked ahead.
The ferryboat, which had been moving steadily, gradually slowed down.
And beyond, an island shrouded in fog came into view.
“…….”
It was an island where snow fell.
Somehow, it felt familiar. Digging through his memories, it resembled Seoraksan Mountain, where his family resided.
Seol-yeong’s mouth fell open.
—Wahoooh!
“Yeah, it does look similar.”
—Grr, garurur!
As soon as the boat reached the island, Seol-yeong leapt out of Yoo Baek-jun’s arms.
The creature hopped around excitedly on the thick snow covering the ground.
‘A mystical sight.’
The murky green energy flowing into the island mixed with the snow, creating an otherworldly glow.
The ground was densely covered in snow, with flower buds scattered atop it.
Lots of them.
—Siiiii…….
The greenish energy swirling around seeped into the flower buds.
Then, moments later, the buds slowly began to bloom.
—They are preparing for reincarnation. Casting away past regrets and embracing new lives.
A voice spoke.
A kind, wise voice. Yoo Baek-jun looked up.
“Long time no see, Seol-ho.”
A massive beast stood majestically atop a pile of snow ahead.
A gigantic tiger glowing mystically—Seol-ho.
—You spoke casually when we first met, but now you’re being formal? I can’t figure you out.
“That was then, this is now.”
Yoo Baek-jun shrugged.
Patter.
Seol-yeong, who had been playing in the snow, stood beside him.
The creature stared blankly ahead.
—…….
—…….
Seol-yeong and Seol-ho’s eyes met.
A parent who had to leave its child behind, and a child who had to bid farewell without understanding why.
Now, the two were reunited at last.
Whoosh!
As if echoing their emotions, the gently falling snow intensified.
A raging blizzard.
Without hesitation, the two spirit beasts rushed toward each other.
—My child. I’ve… always been watching over you.
They celebrated their reunion beyond life and death.
Yoo Baek-jun smiled and turned away. There was no need for an outsider like him to intrude on their moment.
He stepped back to give them space.
“Huh? Wait.”
Then, a particular phrase suddenly bothered him.
“You’ve always been watching?”
Yoo Baek-jun frowned.
“…….”
Now he was worried if he’d ever done anything bad in front of Seol-yeong.
* * *
After the reunion between parent and child, Seol-ho guided them to its dwelling.
It resembled the cave where it once lived in Seoraksan Mountain.
The only difference was—
‘The walls are transparent?’
The walls were transparent, offering a clear view of the outside.
The vast, ocean-like river and the rising green energy.
—This is where I reside.
“Feels familiar.”
—Having lived in a cave for so long, this suits me better.
The cave was spacious and well-suited for Seol-ho.
It focused for a moment and conjured a table and chairs.
—I don’t have drinks or food to offer. Well, technically I do, but…….
“But you can’t give them to me?”
—Right. For a living being to come to the spirit realm is already irregular. Who knows what would happen if you ate here?
Some myths say eating food from the underworld traps you there.
Better safe than sorry.
—You gave my child a name.
“Yes, I couldn’t just keep calling it nothing. Did it have another name before?”
—We had one between us, but it’s fine. Yours is probably better.
Seol-yeong, overjoyed to see Seol-ho after so long, rolled around playfully at Seol-ho’s feet.
Seol-ho watched with a tender smile.
—It grew up without any worries. Just seeing this tells me how well you’ve cherished it.
“Cherished?”
—Yes.
“Me?”
Yoo Baek-jun tilted his head.
Right then, he pinched Seol-yeong’s cheek as it approached. The creature flailed its paws and smacked him.
—You two seem close.
—Kyaooong!
“This?”
He didn’t get how this looked ‘close,’ but that’s how Seol-ho saw it.
Yoo Baek-jun pushed Seol-yeong away.
“How’s life here?”
—As expected. Seol-ho was destined from birth to oversee the spirit realm.
“Nothing special, then.”
—It’s no different from what I did in the human world. Welcoming souls, understanding them, guiding them to where they must go.
Yoo Baek-jun recalled the ferryboat he’d taken here.
Seol-ho nuzzled Seol-yeong’s cheek and looked at Yoo Baek-jun with a strange gaze.
—You came here for a reason beyond reuniting us. Why did you come?
“Well……”
No need to hide it. Yoo Baek-jun nodded.
“There’s something I want to ask.”
—What is it?
Yoo Baek-jun looked outside.
The greenish energy rising from the river—it wasn’t ordinary energy.
They were souls.
Countless souls flowed along the river, waiting for their time to board the ferry and move on.
‘To reincarnate, or…….’
To descend into hell.
Perhaps the souls of those he’d met were here too.
People like Song Dae-san or Yoo Tae-rang.
“…….”
Yoo Baek-jun exhaled deeply.
Then, slowly, he spoke.
“Is the soul of the Martial God here?”
—…….
Seol-ho’s perpetually calm expression shifted.
A frown.
—That’s a difficult question.
Seol-ho gazed into the distance.
The endlessly flowing river carried countless drifting souls.
It lightly tapped its paw. The transparent walls turned opaque, blocking the outside view.
—The Martial God was a transcendent being. Beyond human. Even if such beings come here after death, we cannot guide them.
“They move on their own?”
—Yes. Beings like that are revered, ascending to higher planes beyond this realm. However,
Seol-ho stared straight at Yoo Baek-jun.
—Even they briefly pass through this spirit realm. Traces of them remain forever.
“So……”
—The Martial God has never been here.
Having said that, Seol-ho firmly turned its head away.
—That’s all I can say. Anything more, and the watchers won’t allow it.
The opaque walls turned transparent again. Yoo Baek-jun nodded.
He’d already gotten the answer he wanted.
“Thank you. I’ll step outside first.”
Yoo Baek-jun exited the cave.
Seol-ho watched his retreating back with concern.