Chapter 276
Chapter 276
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 276
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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“Ughhh….”
The overwhelming pressure, like slamming into Buddha’s palm, made Chiwu’s heart feel like it would burst. Veins bulged across his body before he collapsed.
“What the hell is… ugh….”
Kang Seol felt the memories shift within him too.
- Kang… Seol?
- Kang… Seol?
“Ughhh….”
It was Seolhong and Chiwu’s reaction when they first learned Kang Seol’s name.
It wasn’t a huge change, but it created a strange sense of dissonance.
‘I was bracing for a shock, but not like this….’
Chiwu and Seolhong, who had met Hye-myeong in person, must have taken an even harder hit.
A moment later, once Chiwu and Seolhong woke up, they recounted all the altered memories.
“Hye-myeong… was looking for me?”
Kang Seol stared off into the distance.
‘Hye-myeong, where are you right now?’
The Legendary Ten had all vanished after their ascension attempts. There was no way to know what lives they were leading.
‘No, wait….’
Kang Seol recalled the promise he’d made with Mia before leaving.
- Can you… hold onto this for me?
- Yeah. I’ll come pick it up on the promised day at the promised place.
- Got it….
“Promise….”
“R-right! We were supposed to meet Mia, remember?”
“Isn’t… this the place?”
Kang Seol furrowed his brow and scanned the surroundings.
“The terrain’s similar to back then, but….”
“The house is gone….”
“No way, did something happen to Mia…?”
Either she’d broken the promise, forgotten it, or run into trouble.
Harboring those thoughts, they descended into the village and began asking around.
‘Today’s the last day of our deadline.’
Unsure how time would flow, he’d made the promise to definitely show up and set a generous timeframe, yet something had gone wrong as the promised day approached.
‘No way… did it get messed up…?’
That was when it happened.
“Kang Seol! This is it!”
Chiwu came sprinting up to him.
“There’s a famous painter living on this mountain!”
“A painter?”
“Yeah! She set up a painting studio and takes in disciples. Apparently, she’s pretty well-known around here.”
“But… last time we were here….”
“Right, no one like that. Maybe we just never heard because we weren’t interested… Anyway, something feels off.”
“Yeah….”
“I think it’s her.”
Kang Seol’s group headed straight to the painting studio without rest.
They couldn’t afford to miss the promised date—who knew what might happen.
Honestly, Kang Seol felt half excited, half afraid.
- Haha, I’ll be waiting there too. See you!
Hye-myeong had said he’d come looking for Kang Seol as well. If he’d kept his word, he’d be staying with Mia.
‘If Hye-myeong… came back….’
That would be the truly frightening part.
What had happened with their ascensions? Why was the present all jumbled up…?
Just as the villagers had said, the painting studio was there.
But since it was late at night, they approached cautiously.
A peculiar door.
Gulp…
He grabbed the handle and knocked.
Thud… Thud…
A moment later, there was movement inside.
Creak…
“Who…?”
A woman peered through the peephole, her eyes covered by the door chain.
“…….”
“Sob… sob….”
“M-Mia?”
Mia spoke to Kang Seol’s group.
“…I’ve been waiting for you all this whole time.”
Then she called out their names one by one.
“Kang Seol, Seolhong, Chiwu… I’m around the same age as you now.”
Mia stopped crying and led them inside.
“…Come in.”
Kang Seol asked the question burning in his mind.
“Mia, what about Hye-myeong…?”
“He….”
Mia halted abruptly and answered.
“…He left.”
“…….”
Was it still the same bitter end? Was Mia’s world still one of devastation? As Kang Seol’s expression soured, Mia continued.
“I asked you for one favor back then.”
- Help me not give up on painting. Tell me my art… isn’t bad. Help me pick up the brush again.
As they ventured deeper into the studio, various paintings came into view. Kang Seol could tell they’d all come from Mia’s hand.
Every painting featured Hye-myeong’s likeness. Back then, scarcely any had depicted him, but now, finding one without him seemed harder.
“…My power is gone, but… just looking at these paintings takes me back to those days. Memories gain value just by recalling them—precious ones I wouldn’t change for a single moment.”
That had been Mia’s only wish from the start. She’d never wanted to cling to Hye-myeong or keep him by her side.
“Thank you. You kept my promise.”
“Ugh….”
Chiwu trembled, overcome with emotion.
For such a short experience, this event had delivered a profound shock.
It was the same for everyone.
Kang Seol asked Mia,
“After we parted, have you seen Hye-myeong at all?”
Unlike the past when he’d used formal speech with her, speaking casually now felt far more natural.
Mia shook her head at his question.
“I see… so this is the end.”
His encounter with Hye-myeong was over.
Just a fleeting brush with fate.
“He… left something behind.”
Kang Seol’s face lit up at Mia’s words.
“Really?”
“Yes, follow me.”
A secret space hidden within the studio.
Traces of her touch were everywhere.
She opened the door to one room and beckoned Kang Seol’s group inside.
“This is… what Hye-myeong left.”
Rustle…
Kang Seol read the letter from Hye-myeong.
- I don’t know what to say, Kang Seol. No clue if this letter will even reach you. But since I know you made a promise with Mia, I hope it gets delivered then.
He was referring to the seed of the integrated clone that Kang Seol had entrusted to Mia.
- You’ll surely show up that day to retrieve it. If I’m right… I’ll be there too. If I’m not… then I probably can’t go to that place anymore.
“I see….”
No matter what future he’d dreamed of, he’d challenged ascension and failed.
Kang Seol knew nothing of Hye-myeong’s life after that.
- I’m leaving Mia now. She doesn’t need me by her side anymore. Now that it’s come to this, one desire has blossomed. …I want to talk with you again. Meet the changed me with the unchanged you and talk.
Kang Seol’s grip tightened on the letter.
- I regretted not asking you back then… Now I finally do.
At the letter’s end, these words were written.
- Am I your friend?
Kang Seol stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the final line.
Then, Mia pulled the cloth off something hanging on the wall.
Swish…
“Huh?”
“That’s….”
Chiwu and Seolhong gasped in surprise.
There was a painting.
One that captured Kang Seol, Chiwu, Seolhong, Hye-myeong, and Mia all together.
Their faces on a massive sheet of paper.
This painting likely held the world Kang Seol’s group had just returned from. It had preserved their memories there.
Kang Seol touched the plaque bearing the painting’s title.
A painting named “Friend.”
Lost in sentiment, Kang Seol examined it for a moment.
“…Huh?”
Then he noticed something off.
It wasn’t just him—Chiwu and Seolhong were shocked too.
“The painting….”
“Why is Mia…?”
It was Mia’s presence within the painting.
‘Come to think of it….’
Back on the plateau, standing side by side, no one had noticed. As if perception had been restricted.
‘Why didn’t anyone realize this wasn’t painted by Mia?’
A chill ran down his spine.
Mia spoke.
“Who… on earth painted this?”
“Was there anyone… at the spot where it was painted…?”
“No one. Just the painting tools left behind. Hye-myeong left a message about this.”
Hye-myeong’s message was a tiny note.
Small enough for just one sentence.
‘Hye-myeong left me a message?’
“What….”
Kang Seol quickly opened the note.
It read:
- Kang Seol, someone is watching you. Be careful.
“…….”
“Who… could have existed there back then?”
He couldn’t guess.
‘Who… no, who could fool us all and be present there?’
Recalling that the space where Hye-myeong and Kang Seol coexisted was quite special made it clear this was no small matter.
“Haha… no idea….”
“We might not know right away. Hye-myeong said as much.”
“…I see.”
Rumble…
A voice echoed from the void.
- This is interesting.
‘Ur?’
- Don’t worry about it. I’ll analyze this separately.
With Ur stepping in, it was reassuring, but it also meant this wouldn’t be easy, which worried him.
Seeing Kang Seol’s darkened expression, Mia offered words he’d welcome.
“You kept my promise, so now it’s time to fulfill yours.”
“My… promise.”
“Yes, this way.”
A door covered in all sorts of locks.
One they’d passed earlier.
Dust had gathered, suggesting Mia was the only one who came here.
Clank…
Clank…
The door opened.
Creaaak…
“I’m finally handing over what I’ve kept safe for so long.”
“You went to all this trouble for a space like this….”
“You’ll understand why when you see it.”
“What?”
The seed of the integrated clone was small enough to hold in both hands. To prepare such a space for it…
But upon seeing the massive object filling the room, Kang Seol’s jaw dropped.
“…That’s it?”
“Yes, the seed you entrusted to me.”
“No way….”
The seed had truly grown enormous.
Larger than a person, it filled the entire room.
Yet the golden glow hadn’t dimmed.
If anything, even more light poured from it.
Thump…
Thump…
Whoooosh…
The golden energy that had briefly resided in Kang Seol’s chest reacted upon meeting the seed.
And then.
Crack…
Craaaack…
Cracks began spreading across the massive seed.
[The seed of the Integrated Clone has endured through long ages.]
[The seed of the Integrated Clone blooms.]