Chapter 14
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: An Era of Great Peace
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A distant past that could only be described as an era of great peace.
The gods watched over humanity with benevolence.
But the demons of hell always coveted the surface world, and humans lived in fear of them.
The gods, pitying humanity, lent their power to a select few.
Those chosen by the gods were called sorcerers, and unlike other humans, they possessed immense strength.
The sorcerers obeyed the gods' will and used their power to seal the Ghost Gates.
Thus, peace endured for quite some time.
But that peace, maintained by the sorcerers, was short-lived.
Envy grew among those who lacked such special powers.
At first, it was dismissed as trivial, but the seeds of misfortune took deep root in the hearts of ordinary humans.
Whispers spread uncontrollably: it was unfair that some were chosen while others were not.
The seeds, fed by humanity's unease, finally sprouted.
People became consumed by desire.
It was around then that rumors spread: kill a sorcerer, and you could gain their power.
Like dandelion seeds scattering uncontrollably on the wind, the tale spread far and wide in an instant.
The scapegoat was Yohee, Cheonmyeong's fiancée.
She was a sorceress too, but her abilities were insignificant compared to others.
The weak Yohee became the perfect target for people's greed.
Deceiving her—kind, righteous, and lovable as she was—proved all too easy.
What Cheonmyeong saw upon returning from sealing a Ghost Gate was fresh crimson blood staining the high altar... and Yohee slumped atop it.
Warm blood dripped from her limp fingertips.
With Cheonmyeong's agonized scream, as if vomiting blood, calamity descended upon a world that had seemed eternally peaceful.
Abandoning the god who chose him, Cheonmyeong turned to evil and welcomed a malevolent deity into his body.
Cheonhui and Cheonmyeong—the greatest sorcerers of their age.
With his betrayal, thick darkness blanketed the once-peaceful world.
To slaughter all humanity, he summoned hell itself. Demons poured forth from Ghost Gates that opened simultaneously everywhere.
Faced with screaming humans and her brother—now irredeemably consumed by evil—Cheonhui had to make a choice.
She pitied Yohee, who had become a victim like so many others.
But she could not let the world perish.
Especially not by the hand of her twin brother, born of the same womb on the same day.
The war between Cheonhui, who led all sorcerers, and Cheonmyeong, who summoned the demons, raged on for ages.
[The screams of that day still echo piercingly in my ears, even after tens of thousands of years.]
Countless gods and sorcerers sacrificed their lives, yet they could only seal Cheonmyeong away.
Cheonhui bound her own soul to reinforce the seal. After she fell into a deep slumber, the Seven Stars Gods remained to suppress his power.
But an eternal seal was impossible.
[We always knew the seal would break someday.]
The gods, who had foreseen the future, vowed once more to lend their strength to Cheonhui.
And so, the Breaking Army Star appeared before Sejin, Cheonhui's reincarnation.
[What deep thoughts occupy you so?]
Sejin, usually so talkative, had fallen silent, prompting the Breaking Army Star to ask.
"No... just. If I'm really Cheonhui's reincarnation, then I have to live up to her too..."
Sejin scratched her head as she walked toward the mist.
"I need to do well... But every time you talk about Cheonhui, I wonder if I'm really her reincarnation."
Her voice grew small and timid, her spirit utterly deflated.
"The me now... I'm just so pathetic."
Catch by the unexpected words, the Breaking Army Star fell silent for a moment before whispering softly.
[Even if you are Cheonhui's reincarnation, you are not Cheonhui. It's natural to be different. Souls may be the same, but people are never identical.]
His gentle, soothing tone brought Sejin an odd comfort.
'So, I'm not the same person as the past Cheonhui... No need to obsess over it.'
The Breaking Army Star seemed to sense her impatience.
Truth be told, she was trying to act composed, but she was always afraid deep down.
What if she failed to stop Cheonmyeong and the world ended? Even the mighty Cheonhui had only managed to seal him.
The weight of responsibility bore down on her shoulders, choking her.
Countless lives hung in the balance on her hands.
She couldn't look away because her own family was among those who would vanish.
Why me, of all people?
That thought shadowed her every step.
Seeing people blissfully unaware, carrying on with daily life, stabbed at her heart.
What if she messed up and ruined everything?
She wasn't as powerful as Cheonhui, nor as selfless and sacrificial as the saints.
What if the Breaking Army Star was wrong? The unspoken doubt swirled endlessly.
[Why torment yourself with such useless worries? It's not like you.]
Should she hit back with the classic 'What even is "like me"'? Sejin forced a smile.
[You have Cheonhui's soul, but she is not you. In fact... you might even be stronger. Humans with something to protect always grow more powerful.]
"But..."
As Sejin tried to argue, the Breaking Army Star cut her off.
[Cheonhui... expended much of her power until the very end trying to turn Cheonmyeong back.]
"Ah..."
To kill her own family? That was...
[Cheonmyeong was among those she had to protect.]
Sejin bowed her head in sorrow.
She probably would have done the same.
That final hesitation was something she could empathize with, even without experiencing it herself.
That's what family was.
As her trembling lashes lowered, images of Mom and Sea flashed across her vision.
[So have confidence, Sejin.]
"Yeah."
[We're almost there already.]
Sejin caressed the red mark embedded in the back of her hand and looked ahead.
Lost in thought, sharing her worries with the Breaking Army Star, she had arrived amid the thick fog before she knew it.
The mist hung so densely that even objects right in front were indistinguishable—it was unmistakably artificial.
Clumped like cotton candy, the fog clung stubbornly to the area.
Sejin took a deep breath, swelling her chest as if shaking off fear.
Strength entered her forward steps.
The deeper she ventured inside, the thicker the fog had been—impossible to discern directions—but it gradually thinned.
"What is this?"
A chill ran through her; Sejin rubbed her arms.
The temperature felt like it had plummeted ten degrees.
With the Seven Stars Artifact already summoned in one hand, she gripped a talisman in the other, ready to call a Spirit Beast at any moment.
"Why's it so creepy?"
The atmosphere was so eerie, ghosts wouldn't seem out of place. Sejin glanced around warily as she advanced slowly.
"Ah... I'm weak to ghosts."
She muttered uncertainly, and the Breaking Army Star tsked in disdain.
The encouragement from moments ago felt like a lie as familiar nagging began.
[So many things you're weak to.]
"Me?"
[Bugs, ghosts, mysteries, horror, deep sea...]
"Stop!"
[Yet you skip studying and binge horror and mystery flicks on that Flix site or whatever.]
His words hit too close to home; Sejin pursed her lips.
Ha, she'd been around the Breaking Army Star too long. He knew her tastes inside out. She pouted.
"No... Why bring up studying here? And it's not that I didn't study—I couldn't."
[Sure you couldn't.]
As she rattled off excuses about studying, the expected sarcastic retort came.
Desperate to change the subject, Sejin racked her brain—then her eyes widened.
"Huh? A lake?"
[Be careful.]
Beyond the cleared fog lay a lake.
A ridiculously huge one.
Rubbing her scrunched nose, Sejin gauged its size.
The massive lake, big enough for two sports fields, was eerily still.
A thin layer of mist draped the surface, like the calm before a storm.
Not obstructing vision like before, but the creeping dread made Sejin's shoulders shudder.
The serene lake evoked the quiet horror of a scary movie, stirring primal fear just by looking.
Its edges stretched beyond sight.
If not for the calm surface, she might have mistaken it for the sea.
"This feels exactly like it."
[I sense it too.]
The Breaking Army Star lowered his voice, confirming he felt it too.
Peering at the lake with narrowed eyes, she could see unstable power churning within.
Sejin's face crumpled instantly—she hated water.
No matter how hard she tried, her body sank like a stone. Water was her kryptonite.
Was the Creature holding the Gate key inside?
Her Spirit Beasts wouldn't handle a water-type demon well.
Then she'd have to lure it out.
She drew a deep breath of the damp air.