Eyes Opened
Earth energy. An element that embodies transformation and harmony, and bears the inevitable fate of all living things—people included—to mature and grow old.
The four energies of wood, fire, metal, and water are each overseen by the Blue Dragon, Vermillion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise. But no one has been entrusted with the energy of earth.
This is because on the day when the heavens parted, on the day of the ancient conflict between heaven and earth—
Upon the primordial sacred earth, most pure and harmonious, the Divine Sandalwood Tree grows tall.
Whoever bears the duty of guarding that tree, the great Root Guardian, takes their place upon that sacred earth and harmonizes the four divine beasts.
—
In the principal's office, Geum Yeoryeong was rummaging through dusty old books.
For some reason, this was all for the boy who had somehow absorbed the four energies.
—BANG BANG BANG!
"Who's there? Impudent rascal, who dares—"
—BLORP!
"Hrrk, hrrk..."
Stepping through the office door was the White Tiger Hall's girl who carried Hwanhyeon.
"What has happened!"
"Master collapsed spitting blood without owing anyone a single won. Before losing consciousness, he told me to bring him here rather than the treatment room, since Principal Chunho isn't available."
Yu Cheonghwa explained the situation with a calm expression.
"Perhaps he used one or more of the five elements?"
"Yes. During the practical exercise, he activated the Water Constellation to block the South Yang Direction."
"Tch... I told him not to use them."
"Auntie! What's going to happen to our Hwanhyeon? Do you know anything about it?"
—BZZT!
"Don't call me that. Even if he's useless, you must call me Principal. In any case, those Vermillion Bird brats are all shameless through and through."
At Yu Ryun's words, a reaction flared immediately. For the woman who had lived as a virgin for thousands of years, "auntie" was the most grating word she could hear.
She didn't even like her own epithet, Gold Miss, all that much.
"So... Master, what is Hwanhyeon's condition?"
"The four unmerged energies have thrown his blood into chaos. One energy suddenly surged to dominance, throwing the usual balance into disorder, and the chaos keeps spiraling."
"...Could you explain it in simpler terms?"
Baek Seolhye was an utter dunce when it came to anything other than combat. But Geum Yeoryeong, who didn't know that, stared at her with pitying eyes.
"It means if we leave him alone, he'll explode."
"...?!"
"We need to go to the Spirit World. If we fill in the last piece there, he should be fine."
The investigation into earth energy hadn't been completed perfectly. But there was no more time to delay.
"The Spirit World?"
A voice she had never heard before circled her ear, and Geum Yeoryeong looked around again.
Among those who had come with the collapsed Hwanhyeon, there was also an outsider who had nothing to do with the conversation so far.
"...Saintess?"
The Saintess guaranteed by the Vatican, who bloomed in the age of turmoil. Currently a first-year student at the Academy, and on the other hand, the head of the world's largest religious organization.
The Revelation Saint, Il Lena Cartesia, was that outsider.
"Hello, Principal? I'm Il Lena, Hwanhyeon's girlfriend."
She had greeted them with an impeccably composed bow. But the content was hard to accept so easily.
"...Girlfriend? The Saintess speaks most absurd things. What does our Hwanhyeon have that—"
"His dick is huge."
"?"
Must have misheard. There was no way such a crude word could come from the mouth of a saint.
"Hwanhyeon may have fine qualities, but that alone is hardly reason enough for the Saintess to associate with this boy."
"No, seriously, if that massive cock just shoves in all the way you can't even move—"
Ah.
Did "saint" not mean a holy woman, but rather a woman whose brain had been fucked stupid by sex?
"...Hmph. Let us pretend I didn't hear that just now."
There was no time to answer each and every one of her remarks. The situation was urgent.
"Go tend to Hwanhyeon. We need to go to my residence immediately."
"Can I come too?"
The Saintess asked with childish innocence.
"It would be problematic. It's a place that must not be revealed to the outside."
"It's fine. You're talking about the world with that big tree, right?"
...
How did this woman know that? It should have been properly managed so that her existence wouldn't be exposed to the outside.
"Did Hwanhyeon perhaps speak about it?"
"No, I have my own ways of finding out."
"Just how much do you know..."
"I know about the Western Lord's birth secret too."
"...You have impressive intelligence gathering."
It was suspicious how much she knew. And she even knew about Hwanhyeon's birth.
'...The Saintess went out of her way to come all the way to this backwards Korea and attend the Academy.'
And she had only been hovering around Hwanhyeon for a mere few days.
If it were pure romantic feelings, fine—but now every word and action she made seemed to be the product of thorough calculation, and he couldn't shake that thought.
"Enough with the pleasantries. I'll ask directly. What scheme are you plotting?"
"Ah, I'm the type whose schemes never work out, so I can't really plot anything. Would you like to see once?"
...
The girl before her showed no intention of continuing the conversation. Geum Yeoryeong's mind was filled with the thought that talking more would only make her mouth sore.
"Sigh... In any case, it seems difficult for you to come along."
"Okay then. I'll come by when I get the chance."
The Saintess retreated quite readily, maintaining her innocent demeanor.
Her light footsteps carried her out of the office. Geum Yeoryeong wanted to grab her and interrogate her further, but it was truly time to go now.
"Let's go."
—
"Place him here."
Geum Yeoryeong's voice echoed beneath the Divine Sandalwood Tree.
"Ugh...!"
Baek Seolhye set down the boy she had been carrying on her back.
She gently laid the unconscious Hwanhyeon flat and, worrying even about taking a single step lest something go wrong, walked out with careful movements. The sight of her was etched into Yeoryeong's eyes.
"You don't have to wait. I don't know how long it'll take."
"Yes."
—Click, thud.
All the children who had come together were sent outside the gate.
In the room, only Hwanhyeon and Geum Yeoryeong remained, and the quiet air enveloped the two of them.
Geum Yeoryeong narrowed her eyes and drew a deep breath. To unleash the power she had been holding back for so long, her body itself had to become the vessel for earth energy.
Soon, two fingers met, and as the palms were slowly turned downward, a low vibration seemed to ripple through the air.
'Wood, fire, metal, water—each is devouring the others. Without earth's intervention, balance will never return.'
Yeoryeong's consciousness sank deep into the floor. As she settled her mind like submerging herself into that earth, condensed golden energy spread out from somewhere like threads.
The energy flowed through Yeoryeong's spine and emerged in a form suited for her to wield.
"Receive it. Flow through me as the medium."
A sharp vitality surged into her body, and fierce heat swept through her lungs. Cold energy pierced into her bones, and deep darkness seeped into her marrow.
The energy—each with its own nature, chaotically intertwined—were fragments of the confusion that had flowed from Hwanhyeon's body.
Yeoryeong received all of those fragments into herself. Her blood surged, her skin alternated between freezing and burning, and the intersecting agony was immense—but she did not furrow her brow.
She simply continued her breathing, using the endless stream of earth energy rising within herself to envelop the four elemental energies.
Earth did not flow separately. It did not gather in one direction. Like a vessel that embraced all contradictions, it became a fence that prevented the four energies from colliding with each other.
Sweat streamed thickly down Yeoryeong's cheeks. But her gaze did not blur.
"...It's done."
With the earth energy barrier firmly in place, the four scattered fragments of wood, fire, metal, and water no longer collided back and forth. Now, like four rivers flowing into a single lake, they settled quietly into harmony and steadied their breath.
Geum Yeoryeong finally withdrew her hands, exhaled, and sat on the floor. Her insides were still twisted by the mixed energies, but the earth energy barrier was slowly suppressing that as well.
She lifted her head and looked down at Hwanhyeon, who lay there. The bluish-gray pallor of his face was slowly returning. As his breath, which had been spreading evenly, stabilized even slightly, Yeoryeong whispered quietly.
"Now it's your turn, Hwanhyeon. Open your eyes."
In that moment, Hwanhyeon's chest surged violently. The suppressed energy escaped as he exhaled a long breath, and his tightly closed eyelids trembled and slowly opened.
"..."
Eyes unable to bear the light, unfocused pupils wandered through the void. But soon his gaze settled and caught hold of Yeoryeong's face.
"Yeoryeong... Auntie...?"
His voice was cracked. Still lacking strength, but it was proof that he was alive. Yeoryeong nodded.
"You've opened your eyes. Don't get up. The energy inside you hasn't fully settled yet."
Hwanhyeon blinked his eyes with effort. A faint relief passed through his gaze.
"...Thank you."
"Thank you my ass. Didn't I tell you not to use it?"
When she had checked him earlier, the balance inside his body hadn't been ruined beyond repair. Still, she couldn't help scolding that reckless act.
"..."
"Sigh... It's done. In any case, that sort of thing won't happen again."
Yeoryeong extended her hand. She intended to replenish the temporary earth energy she had blocked off, so that all five energies would settle at equal proportions within his body.
"Receive it. Just like the other energies, stabilize and accept it within your body."
But there was something she didn't know.
"...The energy just gets devoured, though?"
"What did you say?"
Integrating the five elemental energies into the body at a fundamental level was not something that could be achieved by simply releasing one's spiritual energy. It required another, special method.