Chapter 388
Chapter 388
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 388
>Chapter Title: Parting Ways
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“Has it really been a year already?”
“Hmm… Has it been that long already?”
Shin Nip and Shin Hyun had seen Kang Seol and Shin Yu off to the second gateway. That had been a full year ago.
“One year… That’s quite a long time in there.”
“Heh heh heh, at this point, you’d think they’ve taken a liking to the place and decided to settle down.”
Shin Nip nodded slowly for a moment.
“I see.”
“Huh?”
“Maybe something’s gone wrong…”
Shin Hyun frowned, backing up the notion.
“Well, true… They’re sharp kids, so they probably realized it was a dream long ago. But no word from them…”
He looked at Shin Nip with uneasy eyes.
“Should we intervene?”
“Hmm…”
“What if something happened and they’re stuck in there, waiting for us?”
“Let’s wait a bit longer. Tampering recklessly could make things worse. We might commit a grave mistake that haunts us to the bone.”
“Fair enough. I hate being resented anyway. You too, brother.”
“Kh… Resented… Are you afraid of resentment now, after all this time?”
Shin Nip let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“After death, my desires became clearer. I’ve achieved almost everything I set out to do. Now, only one thing remains.”
“One thing… Ah, that guy.”
They had a brother.
A brother with talent so immense it eclipsed all others around him.
“Come to think of it, I wonder if Shin Yu’s doing well…”
“Who knows. He might have become an unprecedented swordsman by now.”
“He’s got that bear-like side to him—clueless enough that he might’ve messed up big time…”
“Still, I hope he messes up spectacularly.”
“Messes up?”
Shin Nip laughed at Shin Hyun’s question.
“He lost his body at such a young age. He acted like it was no big deal. But deep down, it wasn’t…”
“…You’re right.”
Shin Yu had lost his life far too young.
Because of that, he skipped what he should have experienced.
Pain and realization.
He couldn’t accept death as death, always thinking there’d be a next time.
Just like them.
But not everyone gets that chance.
“Still, isn’t it amazing?”
“What is?”
“That guy’s change. The one who swore he’d never leave our side walked into the gateway on his own two feet.”
“He’s probably agonizing over it, because of the one who went in with him.”
“Heh heh heh… Kang Seol, huh.”
“It truly is miraculous… So much has changed because of that guy. Shin Yu too.”
“There’s a saying that seasons change because of people… Change starts with people.”
“What if this time too, that guy…”
That was when it happened.
Rumble…
The ground trembled beneath them, and Shin Nip and Shin Hyun exchanged glances.
“…It’s over.”
“That took a while.”
“Let’s go.”
* * *
Kang Seol wasn’t the only one who escaped the dream.
Belian and Belldre.
“Huff… Haa… Haaa…”
“Urk… Uweeeck!”
Lucia.
“Aaaah! I… I… Uuugh…”
A severed arm lying sprawled.
“…….”
Even Shin Yu.
Everyone except Shin Yu was suffering from dream aftereffects, unlike Kang Seol.
Rumble…
A door opened from within.
Shin Nip and Shin Hyun appeared.
“Long time no see! So… how did it…”
Vomiting on one side, eerie silence on the other.
Sensing something off, Shin Hyun asked Shin Nip.
“Heh heh heh… Brother… Were you like this too? My memory’s fuzzy…”
“No, not all dreams are the same. Let’s ask the one standing there unscathed.”
“But he’s got this aura that’s hard to approach again…”
Kang Seol’s presence had changed.
Before, his expressions were just subtle. Now, they were utterly unreadable.
Before the brothers arrived, Kang Seol had released his Yaksha state.
Shin Nip and Shin Hyun approached him and asked.
“You seem to be the only one fine. So, did you get what you wanted from the dream?”
Kang Seol nodded naturally.
“Yes.”
“…Then no need for more words. Now… Shin Yu!”
Shin Yu remained sprawled.
As Shin Hyun approached to fetch him, Shin Yu scribbled on the ground.
- Leave me alone for a bit.
“Hmm? Puberty? Whatever, he’ll handle it.”
Shin Hyun left Shin Yu be and returned to Kang Seol.
“So, can you tell us what happened in there?”
“Well…”
Kang Seol recounted his experiences from his perspective, as plainly as possible.
Shin Nip’s expression darkened throughout the tale.
“That vile bastard ended up using Shin Yu after all.”
“Seems that way.”
“He’ll shake it off and get up. Dreams are like that… They feel like the whole world, but once you wake, you forget them quick… A fleeting realm.”
“…….”
“Of course, not always… You’ll be brooding on it for a while.”
Kang Seol flashed a grin.
A sign he didn’t need worrying.
Shin Nip grabbed Kang Seol’s wrist.
“Let your energy flow.”
Without resistance, Kang Seol spread his energy through his body. A torrent-like surge was felt.
“…Good.”
Shin Hyun nodded at Shin Nip’s words.
His face was grave too.
“Heh heh… Time to go.”
“The final lesson… doesn’t seem meant for you.”
For some reason, they postponed the teaching meant for Kang Seol. He didn’t press them.
He already had plenty.
Digesting it all was the priority now. He needed to clear his head.
“You’ve gained fortunes beyond imagination here. Now… this is all we have left to share.”
Shin Nip asked.
“Will you stop here?”
Kang Seol answered calmly.
“I plan to press on.”
“Heh heh heh! Of course! That’s the spirit! See it through! We’ll be watching!”
“Good…”
Kang Seol bowed deeply to Shin Nip and Shin Hyun.
“Truly, thank you. Without you two, I…”
“Kid, it’s not like that.”
“You walked here on your own two feet. We just taught you how to take steady steps.”
“So… um…”
Shin Nip hesitated uncharacteristically, then whispered to Kang Seol.
“What about Shin Yu? What did he say?”
“…We haven’t talked yet.”
“Right! Of course. Um… Seol.”
Shin Nip and Shin Hyun patted his shoulders in unison.
“You must succeed, no matter what you aim for.”
Nod…
Shin Nip and Shin Hyun stepped back.
Whoosh…
As they retreated, a black hand approached.
It was Shin Yu.
Scribble…
He wrote on the ground.
- What about Yurin?
Kang Seol shook his head slightly.
Flinch!
Shin Yu trembled violently.
Scribble…
- I don’t know what to say to you.
Kang Seol smiled brightly.
“Nothing at all. It’s fine, Shin Yu…”
Scribble…
- Will you forgive me?
“I’ve never hated you.”
They had clashed, but it was a fight for what each believed right. Though Kang Seol proved correct, he didn’t think Shin Yu’s heart was wrong.
Justice shifts with position.
- Are you leaving?
Nod…
Only the final gateway remained.
Shin Yu recalled the final gateway—even divine steel had faced peril there—and awaited Kang Seol’s answer.
“I won’t stop. Yurin would want that too.”
Kang Seol stared piercingly at Shin Yu.
“Shin Yu, come with me.”
- …Me?
“It’s time for you to choose too.”
A choice that had to come someday.
The moment had arrived.
Shin Yu had already rejected Kang Seol’s offer once.
- I…
The sentence hung unfinished for a long time.
Shin Yu’s inner conflict deepened.
Then, like inertia, he decided.
- …I can’t go.
Kang Seol turned away.
“Then, our paths end here.”
Kang Seol turned decisively.
Over his shoulder came his words.
“Meeting you was truly fun, Shin Yu.”
Scribble…
- You too.
The door to the final gateway.
It seemed a while before it would open. Kang Seol stood blankly staring at it.
He’d leave as soon as it did.
Thud…
Shin Yu watched Kang Seol briefly, then departed.
Alone, Kang Seol murmured.
“Still… I’ll wait a little.”
* * *
Shin Nip and Shin Hyun returned to the first gateway.
The night beasts were all gone now.
It was like a quiet mountain valley.
They stopped at their old dwelling.
They began packing the belongings they hadn’t sorted before.
“Time to really leave this place, brother.”
“…Regrets?”
“No, just returning to our rightful spot.”
“…You’re right.”
“But Shin Yu leaving without a word…”
“Holding close lasts long, but letting go is instant.”
Clatter…
“This still here?”
“What is it?”
“The ritual pot. The one from Shin Yu’s memorial.”
“Father was really into superstitions.”
“Heh heh heh! Yesterday, it feels, he said if we cooked rice in this pot and shared it, the four brothers would never part—even crying about it…”
“Ahem… You remember that too?”
“Man, who knew he still had this.”
Shin Hyun opened the pot lid.
“…….”
“What? Rotten rice left?”
“Rotten rice? That’d be lucky.”
Peering in, Shin Hyun said.
“What’re you doing in there?”
A black hand emerged from the pot.
Shin Nip looked baffled too.
“Didn’t you leave?”
Scribble…
- I decided to stay here.
“…Why?”
Shin Hyun set down the pot, face turning serious.
Shin Nip lost his smile.
- How could I, with my brothers still here…
Then, veins bulging on Shin Hyun’s face, he bellowed.
“Yaaahhh—!”
Wham—!
Shin Hyun kicked Shin Yu flying with all his might.
Shin Yu, indignant at the hit, prioritized his question.
Scribble…
- …Why?
“You stupid fuck!”