Chapter 334
Chapter 334
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 335
Chapter Title: The Trembling Soul
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After Lee Seo-jun's group arrived at Aporia.
Choi Il-hyeon and Kim Deok-hyeon had stepped outside for a discreet conversation.
"Did Jin Cheon-woo's soul really show signs of fear?"
Kim Deok-hyeon asked, sounding baffled. Choi Il-hyeon exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke and nodded slightly.
"I wouldn't exactly call it 'fear,'
but the thing was definitely shaken up. Changes in a soul's color happen when emotions shift."
"...So Jin Cheon-woo got rattled just from mentioning Kim Chang-hyeon."
Kim Deok-hyeon stroked his chin, lost in thought.
As expected, there was some hidden secret between Jin Cheon-woo and Kim Chang-hyeon that hadn't come to light.
For even that 'Jin Cheon-woo' to feel fear...
What could it be?
Jin Cheon-woo's hidden plan...
Was it connected to 'immortality'?
As Kim Deok-hyeon pondered alone, he suddenly sensed something off.
"Wait a minute. Kim Chang-hyeon is Jin Cheon-woo's test subject, right? Then shouldn't he have felt joy when we brought him up? Wouldn't that be normal?"
"That's what's weird to me too."
Choi Il-hyeon agreed, blowing out more smoke.
From everything they'd pieced together so far, Kim Chang-hyeon's existence was very likely part of Jin Cheon-woo's plan.
So it should have been natural for him to feel joy at news of Kim Chang-hyeon.
Why fear instead?
"...Is the plan veering off course from the original?"
"We'll have to investigate that slowly. Once we find this Kim Chang-hyeon guy, it'll become clear what his goal is. Anyway, if you uncover anything, share it with me."
"Yes. Understood."
Choi Il-hyeon extinguished his cigarette with magic and turned his gaze elsewhere.
At the end of his line of sight were Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra admiring the surroundings, along with Kim Sun-woo.
"And I'll take those kids under my wing for a bit."
"...That's fine, but are you planning to show them souls?"
At Kim Deok-hyeon's question, Choi Il-hyeon paused, deep in thought, then nodded.
"Yeah, they're the ones who'll shoulder the future. It'll motivate them. Plus... I'm curious how the guy they met will react."
"...You're giving me the chills. By the way, is Jin Cheon-woo's soul really sealed on this island?"
"Probably. I don't know exactly where, though."
While Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra took in Aporia's scenery and shared their impressions.
I was eavesdropping on Kim Deok-hyeon and Choi Il-hyeon's conversation using my Third Eye.
—Jin Cheon-woo felt fear when Kim Chang-hyeon was mentioned.
Choi Il-hyeon's words kept echoing in my head.
Jin Cheon-woo afraid of Kim Chang-hyeon?
From my investigations, Kim Chang-hyeon was Jin Cheon-woo's test subject and apostle.
There was no reason for Jin Cheon-woo to fear him.
What was going on...?
Come to think of it, the Kim Chang-hyeon I'd encountered on that full moon night had said something like that to me.
That he wasn't in league with Jaun.
Did that mean Kim Chang-hyeon and Jin Cheon-woo were enemies?
As I sank deep into thought, Choi Il-hyeon finished his conversation and approached us.
"Hey, you three musketeers. Even in a hellhole like this, you're overflowing with leisure."
Everyone turned to him at his words. Choi Il-hyeon flashed a mischievous grin.
"By the way, Magic Academy's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Why do you three always stick together like this?"
"...Coincidence."
Yoo Ah-ra replied curtly, and Choi Il-hyeon narrowed his eyes.
"Still prickly. Same personality as Ji-ho."
Yoo Ah-ra clamped her mouth shut at the mention of her father's name.
Choi Il-hyeon chuckled and continued.
"Well, it's nice to see. Back in my day, around your age, I had friends I ran around with like the three musketeers."
He said it casually, but I could sense the bitterness beneath.
Knowing Choi Il-hyeon's backstory made it a bit heartbreaking.
At that moment, our eyes met.
"Why are your eyes like that?"
"...What's wrong with my eyes?"
"Don't look at your master with that pitying gaze."
"Oh... yes, sir."
Choi Il-hyeon glanced over us once more and said.
"Anyway. I'll give you a tour of Aporia and show you something I want you to see. Follow me."
"...Something you want to show us?"
And so we followed Choi Il-hyeon's lead, touring Aporia's surroundings.
Massive stone buildings. Wide fields and a small forest nearby.
"You know the basics about Aporia, right?"
Choi Il-hyeon asked as he led the way.
"We know it's a prison and that Jin Cheon-woo's soul is sealed here."
Lee Seo-jun answered.
"Right. As you said, Jin Cheon-woo's soul is sealed on this island. Do you know why it was confined to Aporia?"
"I heard it's because of Aporia's unique phenomenon..."
"Correct. Aporia has a special magical property: it binds the souls of the dead."
"...A power that binds souls?"
Yoo Ah-ra murmured quietly.
"Those who die in Aporia have their souls tethered here. That's why it used to be called the 'Island of Ghosts.' Of course, when this island's name changed to Aporia, that moniker went to another island."
Island of Ghosts.
The island from the event during Emperor Taehwi's time.
"Well, for that reason, after 7 p.m., you might encounter some startling stuff, so steel yourselves."
"What kind of stuff?"
At Yoo Ah-ra's question, Choi Il-hyeon turned and chuckled lowly.
"Ghosts show up. Heh."
We followed Choi Il-hyeon into the stone building. A long corridor like a maze stretched out.
And on either side, prisons barred with iron cells lined up endlessly.
Kill me. Kill me. Kill me. Kill me.
The voices of prisoners echoed from somewhere, and Lee Seo-jun hardened his expression.
"Ignore the voices. They've gone mad from long-term solitary confinement with their magic sealed."
I scanned the inmates around us.
Every one of them was skin and bones, their flesh devoid of any vitality.
Then I happened to catch sight of Yoo Ah-ra looking at the inmates.
Her eyes were lost in complicated thoughts. Not pity, though.
She turned her head, sensing my gaze.
"How about it?"
Her sudden question made me tilt my head the other way.
"How about what?"
"I'm curious what you're feeling seeing those people."
"No particular thoughts. They're all heinous criminals here."
Aporia wasn't just for magical offenders.
It held only the worst of the worst, those who'd committed unspeakable atrocities.
"...Yeah."
Yoo Ah-ra nodded in agreement, then added.
"It just hit me. Maybe for them, being locked in Aporia, living like this, is a worse punishment than death."
"Hmm. Could be."
There were plenty here begging to die, after all.
Yoo Ah-ra nodded at my brief reply and murmured softly.
"Someday, Jaun will end up imprisoned in Aporia too, right?"
I wasn't sure if Jaun would get thrown in Aporia in the story's future.
But punishment was certain.
"Mm."
Just then, Lee Seo-jun, who'd been eavesdropping on our talk, piped up as if remembering something.
"But with Jaun possibly attacking anytime, is it okay for us to wander around like this?"
Choi Il-hyeon nodded at Lee Seo-jun's question.
"If intruders hit Aporia, the alert system reacts first. We can move then."
"Hmm."
We walked down the corridor until we reached a new area.
It looked like the previous cells, but the atmosphere was different here. Relatively quiet.
—...Choi Il-hyeon.
A voice came from the side.
A man bound head to toe in chains was muttering toward us.
I instantly recognized him.
Blood Ghost, Baek Woo-cheol.
One of the key wildcard characters in the Aporia raid episode.
I stroked my chin, observing him closely. Then the Blood Ghost's head turned my way.
His eyes were covered by a blindfold, but it felt like our gazes met.
—...He radiates strange magic.
Right then, another voice came from somewhere else.
—...Could it be Lee Seo-jun?
Lee Seo-jun's face turned icy at that moment.
A woman bound entirely in restraints wore a grotesque smile.
"Teresa..."
A Jaun member captured last year.
Naturally, she was imprisoned in Aporia too.
"What? You know her?"
"Yeah, she was from Jaun. I was there when she got arrested."
—Kehhehe, Lee Seo-jun... Is that so? Has so much time already passed...?
Teresa muttered, laughing madly.
Choi Il-hyeon ignored her and continued down the corridor.
Before long, we'd reached the underground.
A door etched with intricate runes.
I immediately realized where we were.
In the end, things were proceeding along the original story's path to this place.
Choi Il-hyeon stopped gravely in front of it and said to us.
"Jin Cheon-woo is sealed beyond this door."
"Pardon?"
Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra looked shocked.
Choi Il-hyeon placed his hand on the runes right away.
Wooooong.
Creeeeak.
The firmly shut door swung open.
At the same time, a mystical energy brushed past my body through the gap.
[You have entered 'Aporia's Deepest Sanctum, the Soul Altar.']
[You acquire 10,000 points as a reward.]
Opening the door netted me 10,000 points instantly.
Aporia's Deepest Sanctum, the Soul Altar.
The place where the original story's final boss, 'Jin Cheon-woo's' soul, was sealed.
No ordinary spot, so the points were huge.
Lee Seo-jun stepped inside with a tense expression.
Swooooosh—
Mystical energy brushed over us again.
I stared straight ahead.
A vast chamber filled with intricate runes surrounded us.
Mystical wards and magical formations guarded it.
In the center, a pale, flickering mist hovered.
"...Jin Cheon-woo."
Yoo Ah-ra's hands trembled.
Lee Seo-jun's reaction was much the same.
He stared at the soul before him with shaking eyes.
Then the mist—no, the soul—coalesced into a faint human shape and turned its gaze toward us.
The same energy I'd felt upon entry brushed past my body again.
But the soul's form didn't change much.
It didn't show agitation, just as Choi Il-hyeon had said earlier.
This matched the original story's flow.
The Jin Cheon-woo from the original didn't hold any special feelings or affection for Lee Seo-jun.
Though he was blood kin, Jin Cheon-woo saw Lee Seo-jun purely as material for his immortality.
And per the original depiction, Lee Seo-jun had already grasped Jin Cheon-woo's feelings toward him.
His 'emotion detection' ability worked on souls too.
Watching the scene, Choi Il-hyeon crossed his arms, a bitter look on his face.
"Jin Cheon-woo, you..."
I slowly regarded Jin Cheon-woo's soul.
I had so many questions I wanted to ask him right then.
But communication with a soul like this was impossible.
However, through 'Jin Cheon-woo's Journal,' I knew a way to communicate.
By using necromancy.
For that, I'd prepared the [Mantra Staff] and [Soul Dust] from when I summoned Lee Yun-kyeong's soul, stashed in my subspace.
That's why I planned to sneak back here at night when everyone was asleep and perform the necromancy.
That's when it happened.
Jin Cheon-woo's soul gaze passed over Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra and fixed on me.
We locked eyes for about three seconds?
Swooooosh!
Jin Cheon-woo's soul turned crimson and began trembling violently.
An energy incomparable to before swept over us.
[A massive shift in the world has been detected.]
[Causality increases by 2.0.]
[Causality has reached 30.]
[One Authority is unlocked.]
I was momentarily flustered by the sudden events and messages. Regaining my composure, I scanned around.
Choi Il-hyeon, Lee Seo-jun, and Yoo Ah-ra stared at me in shock.
"...Kim Sun-woo?"