Yeouiju's Allure and the Primordial Revolution
Baek Hye-seo froze stiff upon arriving at the cave entrance in the Primordial Village. It was because she felt the presence of that colossal monster from the day she first met Haneul emanating from inside the cave. And the Constellation's message played its part too.
The Constellation King of Wisdom Who Commands the 72 Demons warns you to be careful, saying that from inside this cave, my eyes cannot reach.
"H-Haneul... Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I made a promise, remember?"
"Still...!"
"I'm really fine. I'll win."
Baek Hye-seo chewed on her lip for a long while before finally following Haneul into the cave. It was a choice she could make only because Haneul had so confidently promised victory.
"...So you're learning language from that monster here...? Or was it an Imoogi?"
"It's more like realizing it than learning, but it might take a bit longer."
"Yeah, time's no problem."
If she could learn the monster's language and summon the remaining two demons, who cared about a little time? Baek Hye-seo steeled her resolve and gazed into the depths of the cave. And there, she locked eyes directly with the murky yellow gaze of the predator.
"Huh...?"
Cold sweat trickled down Baek Hye-seo's spine. She'd been confident of victory from outside the cave, but now that she saw it up close, her own sense of self was fading bit by bit. She'd thought it was A-rank at most. No way it could be S-rank or higher, right? So why did it feel like it leaped far beyond S-rank now? Was there some power in the cave blocking presences? Could it be an apostle of a Constellation? Could monsters even become apostles? As a whirlwind of thoughts swirled in Baek Hye-seo's head...
The Imoogi rose with a loud rumble and spoke.
It wasn't a voice reaching her ears—it pierced straight into her mind, perhaps even her soul. Baek Hye-seo shuddered at the chilling sensation. Part of it was the unfamiliarity of the feeling, but it was even stranger that a monster spoke human language so fluently. And that voice carried a subtle hint of amusement and even fondness, making it worse.
Do monsters have emotions too? she wondered. If so, aren't the hunters who enter gates and kill monsters invaders to them?
Chuuup—
The Imoogi, eyeing Baek Hye-seo, flicked out its tongue and bared its teeth.
"Eek!"
Baek Hye-seo yelped in fright and hid behind Haneul. Meanwhile, Haneul replied nonchalantly.
"Not tribute—my friend. Baek Hye-seo. Say hi."
"Yup."
"I told you tons of fun stories back then."
"Huh?"
"I can protect her."
Haneul's lips puffed out like a duck's.
"You're really gonna do this?"
"Fine. I didn't wanna put conditions on friends, but no choice." Haneul's finger sliced through the empty air. Following its motion, space tore open, and Haneul rummaged around inside for a good while. Baek Hye-seo's eyes widened to the point of tearing at the casual way Haneul opened a sub-space. The immense energy emanating from that space made even the Imoogi's body stiffen.
"I was gonna just give you this originally? But you're being so rigid, so now it's a condition. Got it? I'm not stingy by nature."
But Haneul ignored it and kept digging. A moment later, she pulled out a bead the size of her head with the smuggest grin.
"Open the way there and back nice and smooth, and I'll give you this when I return."
Time seemed to freeze—the Imoogi's body came to a complete halt.
"See? Pure, unadulterated original—no other energies mixed in. Just bite down on this? You'd black out and poof right to ascension. Whaddya think? Wanna give it a nibble? Even a lick would be heaven, right? Huh? Wanna lick it? Yeah?"
She chattered on like a cheap jade salesman hawking fakes, but the Imoogi couldn't deny her words. Biting that would surely send it straight to ascension without a chance to regain senses.
What Haneul held was a completed Yeouiju. Normally, a dragon couldn't use another's Yeouiju. For whatever reason Haneul had decreed it, dragons preparing for ascension in the mortal realm had to nurture and grow only their own Yeouiju to ascend. Lose or break it, and without heavenly luck, ascension was impossible.
Knowing that full well, the Imoogi had once sacrificed its Yeouiju to save the forest. After 500 years as a serpent and 200 as an Imoogi, it buried the orb it had cultivated deep in the forest. The wilted forest, drained of vitality, revived, now teeming with life. It couldn't bear watching its homeland collapse helplessly. Because the forest existed, so did it—and it wanted to make the forest exist through its own being.
Afterward, it regretted it countless times. Beasts coveting the forest lord's seat invaded the cave, ripping scales; sometimes they tore chunks of flesh. Each time, it shook off regret by basking in the peaceful full-moon forest views. But that was a prettied-up excuse. More bluntly, it was no different from becoming a lowly creature forever denied ascension.
And now, a Yeouiju appeared before such an Imoogi—one nurtured for even lowly beings to use. This was heavenly luck incarnate. How had she made such a thing? Was the creator a Dragon God? As it agonized, the Imoogi cried out desperately.
"Whoa, you scared me."
Haneul, who had been licking the Yeouiju, blinked her eyes wide.
"What? It's mine—why can't I lick it?"
"Mmm, so tasty. So sweet."
"What's wrong? Why act like it's yours?"
"Gasp, oopsie." It really was tasty and sweet, so she'd snuck a bit. Haneul wiped her saliva from the Yeouiju and re-infused the spiritual energy she'd eaten. The Imoogi's eyes bulged at the sight. The energy from Haneul's body blended seamlessly into the Yeouiju.
Impossible. Unless she was the creator or the master commanding the creator, it couldn't be that natural... Heavenly luck? The creator? Dragon God? Master? Dragon God's master? Who could that be? Who could become a Dragon God's master...?
Suddenly, a past conversation with Haneul flashed in the Imoogi's mind.
—Your name's Haneul, huh?
—Yup. I'm Haneul.
Heavenly luck (cheonun) meant fate decreed by the heavens or fortunate luck bestowed from above. The Imoogi had always believed heavenly luck was needed for ascension. And now, a Yeouiju like heavenly luck itself appeared before it... Meaning Haneul was...
The Imoogi's trembling gaze turned to Haneul. She smiled with crinkled eyes, staring silently. Though the meaning in her eyes was unknowable, the Imoogi felt a voice warning not to pry into her identity.
No way, but...
After 1,000 years of life, wisdom came naturally. Even holed up in this cave, solitary reflection brought enlightenment. So the Imoogi didn't act foolishly. It trusted the instincts that had let it survive 1,000 years.
Cautiously, the Imoogi opened its mouth.
"We're friends, right?"
"What, no? Was I serious again while you weren't?"
The Imoogi fell into confusion. Serious? What was serious? Did she really want to be friends? Was she truly "That One"...?
"Huh? Why the formal speech all of a sudden? Are we breaking up for real? Is that it? Ugh! I'm gonna turn all black!"
Watching the Imoogi stammer, Baek Hye-seo tilted her head. The menacing aura from moments ago had vanished completely, replaced by the docility of the monsters they'd seen outside.
"We're friends, right?"
"Then you'll open the path, right?"
The Imoogi, about to add something, squeezed its eyes shut and shifted its massive body. Opening the path out of regard for those eyes above? No need anymore. If the being before it was who it suspected, then those above would be the ones watching their step.
With Haneul holding the Yeouiju, there was no need to watch eyes at all. Ascension would put it on equal footing with those above.
"Yup! Knock from inside when I return—you open it then too! And I'll definitely give you the Yeouiju!"
Did my past life save the world or something? Or accumulate merits even transcendent beings couldn't price? No other explanation for such heavenly luck. The Imoogi pushed aside complex thoughts and just nodded. It could think after Haneul left.
"Great. Ready, Hye-seo?"
Haneul grabbed Baek Hye-seo's hand and stepped into the passage beyond the cave.
"Huh? Y-yeah?! Not yet, Ha-Haneul...! Wait! What's that orb? What's a sub-space? And where are we even going...?"
"Orb's a Yeouiju, sub-space is my ability. And the destination? Uh? Yeah, where to call it?"
After a brief ponder, Haneul quickened her pace and said,
"My second hometown?"
That's where everything for Haneul began. She was here now because of what happened in that city. More precisely, thanks to the Imoogi preparing ascension in the city's outer forest.
"The world I first dropped into after pressing the 500-Million-Year Button."
The Imoogi preparing ascension back then had confronted that world's divinities to protect Haneul. At the end of a half-year battle, on the brink of death, it passed everything to Haneul, hoping she'd live.
"It's my Primordial Village, basically."
Thus, the monster that devoured countless divinities was born.
"It'll be fun."
Haneul dashed toward the end of the distant passage. The closer she got, the wider her smile bloomed.
"Whoa... it's been forever."
Exiting the long cave tunnel, it wasn't a snowy land but a medieval-style city. To Haneul, ancient history yet nostalgically familiar, unchanged.
As she took in the city anew, a question arose. If the exterior was identical, were the people inside the same? The Imoogi was here, so surely the folks she'd befriended back then existed too? Was this a divine realm with rewound time? Or a model garden built from memories lingering in divinities? Creator or not, both were possible for Haneul, so hard to pick.
She decided to check directly. Just do what she'd done before.
As Haneul moved abruptly, Baek Hye-seo frantically gestured to stop her.
"H-Haneul... what is this place?"
"Told ya. Primordial Village."
"No, but... why's there a city and people inside a gate? Foreign...? Is it foreign? Europe?"
"Dunno? Don't know the details myself. Not foreign, but there are rules to follow in that city and a few essential words—I'll teach you on the way."
"Huh? We're going into the city? Language different too? Huh? Wh-what? What're we doing there?"
Pulling Baek Hye-seo's hand with a beaming smile, Haneul said,
"First off, we're leading slaves and commoners to drag down the nobles."
"Eh...? W-we? Drag down...? That's totally..."
"Hey, when we do it, it's a revolution."
Baek Hye-seo's face drained white.