Awakening from the 108th Loop
Nobleman attempt number 108. The number oddly lined up in a creepy way, but anyway, on my 108th try, I finally broke free from that damned infinite regression. I returned to the original world with Hong Yeonhwa and Paeng Soso... but...
"Geudaeyeo! You've finally opened your eyes!"
"Jin gaga! Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"
When I came to, Hong Yeonhwa and Paeng Soso were clinging to my front and back like baby platypuses licking at their mother's milk. Yeah, that much I could understand. The problem was that the surrounding scenery was completely different from what lay beyond the dimensional gate.
...What had it looked like again? For some reason, I couldn't remember clearly, but I was pretty sure it had been indoors. Yet here we were outside. And what really caught my attention was...
"Opened your eyes? What do you mean by that?"
This... no way, was it that?
I felt around my mouth, but thankfully, there was no smile frozen there. The real issue was that there were no wounds or crusted blood either. Even the phantom pains that had tormented me until now were completely gone.
My god... was a body supposed to feel this light? My head even felt clearer. I swung my shoulders experimentally, and the pressure from front and back intensified.
"Geudaeyeo. You've suffered greatly. This lady... this lady couldn't do anything, but she watched over everything."
"Uh? Uh..."
Maybe because she had her face buried in my chest. Her voice was a soft mumble, but it brimmed with guilt, pride, and overwhelming affection.
I reflexively stroked Hong Yeonhwa's round head, and then something wet touched my shoulder.
"Hng... Jin gaga... you're really okay, right? I was so scared something had happened to you... hng... I was fine, but you had to go through it over and over... even if I couldn't hear your screams, your expressions... hngaa..."
"Why, why are you crying? Huh? Don't cry..."
Like most men, I'm weak to my woman's tears. I rubbed my face against Paeng Soso's head on my shoulder, trying to soothe her, but instead of calming down, her sobs only grew worse. What the hell happened? I wanted to ask, but there was no opening for it.
As I desperately comforted Hong Yeonhwa and Paeng Soso, an unfamiliar voice came from a short distance away.
"You must be confused."
"Yeah, you could say that. Everything suddenly flipped around, and I'm wondering if what I just went through was all a dream... But who are you?"
An old woman in a daoist robe blending white and yellow elegantly. Yet she exuded a mystical aura that marked her as no ordinary person. If I had to describe it, she was a daoist—like the ones from old tales who hurled talismans and shrank the earth to steps, not some shaman or Hwasan warrior.
I asked with a hint of wariness, and she noticed, smiling gently.
"This poor daoist is Myeongwol Jin-in, the sect leader of Mosanpa."
"Myeongwol Jin-in..?"
Was that the daoist title of Mosanpa's leader? It felt like it should be something else, but I couldn't recall. It was like someone had half-erased my memory with an eraser.
Myeongwol Jin-in nodded understandingly at my expression and continued.
"No need to worry too much. Your experiences were so intense that it just takes time to sort them out. Don't strain to remember. This poor daoist will explain everything, so for now, come inside for a cup of warm tea..."
"No need for that."
Hong Yeonhwa cut her off, shooting Myeongwol Jin-in a sharp glance.
"Guide us to where the Spirit Fire is. We'll talk there."
"Ah, understood."
The mystical air from moments ago vanished, replaced by a flinching, cowering old lady. Seeing a hoary grandma like that felt kinda off...
We followed behind the overly deferential Myeongwol Jin-in—me waddling awkwardly with Hong Yeonhwa and Paeng Soso stuck to my front and back.
A cave renovated into a room-like space. At its center burned a massive purple flame without a single log of firewood. That must be the Spirit Fire.
As per Hong Yeonhwa's demand, Myeongwol Jin-in led us here and revealed the truth of what I'd endured.
"So... it was all a dream?"
"More precisely, an illusion from the Spirit Fire so close to reality it's indistinguishable..."
Zzap.
"...But you can think of it as a dream, roughly."
Myeongwol Jin-in hastily changed her words under Hong Yeonhwa's glare, her face buried in my right side. I transmitted to Paeng Soso, who had my left arm in a vice grip.
-Why's Myeongwol Jin-in acting so weird? Did... Yeonhwa-unnie hit her or something?
-Nothing like that. But when you and I suddenly passed out, surprised Hong unnie threatened her a bit...
According to Paeng Soso, Hong Yeonhwa had knocked out all of Mosanpa's disciples with her Heavenly Demon Ruling Aura and given Myeongwol Jin-in light internal injuries. Of course, she'd calmed down after Myeongwol Jin-in's explanations and seeing Paeng Soso wake up unharmed. Knowing it wasn't Mosanpa's fault, she'd even helped carry the fallen disciples indoors.
Now, Myeongwol Jin-in was just awed by Hong Yeonhwa's prowess and wary on her own.
-Even I'd be careful around her now. With just a flick of her hand, everyone around floated into the air in a line and went into the room...
Paeng Soso shuddered, recalling the scene. Fair enough. She'd single-handedly overwhelmed a massive sect like Mosanpa. I knew Hong Yeonhwa wouldn't swing that power recklessly, but Myeongwol Jin-in didn't. In a world where mid-sized sects got crushed by single masters all the time, caution made sense.
"Ahem. May I continue?"
"Ah, yes. You said what I went through was like a dream, not reality?"
"Indeed. By now, most of your trial memories should feel like phantoms."
Just as Myeongwol Jin-in said. Despite how vivid they'd been, they didn't feel real at all. Especially the painful ones—the phantom pains or the sensation of death—refused to surface no matter how I tried. They'd been seared into my mind just after waking, impossible to forget.
"The Spirit Fire's trial is purely for testing resolve, not to torment anyone."
She was speaking to me, but her eyes flicked to Hong Yeonhwa. Who, ignoring her entirely, was glaring at the Spirit Fire like she wanted to devour it. Was she debating whether to snuff it out right there? Myeongwol Jin-in appealing harmless to stop her? Plausible.
I needed to hear the rest, so I tickled Hong Yeonhwa's nape.
"Hiiit..."
"I see. I have a few questions, if that's alright?"
Myeongwol Jin-in glanced between us with an odd look, then smiled softly, as if grasping our relationship, and nodded.
"Ask freely."
"First, you said the Spirit Fire's trial is for daoists of exceptional talent. Why did Soso and I receive it?"
"I have a guess. Have you perhaps mastered an advanced dual cultivation technique?"
"Yes, but what's that got to do with it?"
"Plenty. Creating pure sun and moon essences within two bodies perfectly mirrors yin-yang principles. More than enough to qualify for the Spirit Fire's trial."
"Yeonhwa here mastered it too—why wasn't she targeted?"
"Two possibilities. One, as a completed master, the trial holds no meaning for her. Two... she repelled the Spirit Fire's interference on her own."
I glanced down at Hong Yeonhwa.
"Ngheongheong..."
Ticklish from my fingers, yet pursing her lips to nibble them.
"......"
"......"
Even looking like this, she's a great warrior half-step into the Present Realm...
Myeongwol Jin-in snapped out of it first and cleared her throat.
"Ahem. So? Is that all?"
"No, there's more. Where did what I saw come from? I don't know the Dang family's arts, let alone Shaolin or Hwasan's. If it's as you say, does the Spirit Fire hold such memories? Or..."
"Everything you experienced in the trial comes not from the Spirit Fire, but from within you, young hero. Given the current era, the Alliance Leader's invitation, your age and skill... you didn't participate in this Yongbong Tournament, did you?"
"Correct."
That was when it happened. Hong Yeonhwa, who'd been playing with my fingers until then, snapped her head up, pink eyes sparkling.
"Ahem. This lady's husband and little sister earned new Yongbong titles this time: Three Talents Sword Dragon and Bright Lotus Saber Peak. For my husband, if the bracket hadn't screwed him, he could've taken the championship outright! And then..."