Black Wave Breathing
Breathing. The first act everyone learns upon birth, an instinct that never stops until the moment of death.
But if you think it's merely the simple process of inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide, you're missing the essence. Breathing is the rhythm of the body, the foundation of consciousness. A single deep inhale calms the mind; a slow breath steadies the body's core. Swordsmen regulate their breath before swinging their blades, monks align it before entering meditation. I, too, clung to my breathing amid battle and terror.
'The moment you lose your breath, your movements falter, and your will wavers.'
Thus, those who master breathing master their body and mind.
'In the end, the decisive difference was in the breathing.'
I realized it the instant I heard Big Hand Floater's voice from the Resonance Mirror. More precisely, the moment she drawled out, "It's so comfy and nice being able to see you connected like this~."
'The difference in breathing.'
The breathing difference between thrusting and slashing. I'd unified thrusting into Iseom as one, but couldn't unify slashing because of that gap.
So, what exactly was the difference?
I replayed the processes of thrusting and slashing. Point and line. Alignment and connection. Center and flow. Penetration and severance.
Thrusting plants the body's center with one slow breath before piercing like a spear, exploding that penetrating power in a single burst atop that foundation. But slashing is different.
Slashing doesn't stop the breath.
'Slashing carries the breath unbroken.'
Inhale and exhale flow seamlessly with the sword's trajectory. Even as the blade tip slices through empty air, the breath doesn't break—in fact, the breath's flow leads the blade's path.
If thrusting is a technique that explodes from a 'halted, established breath,' then slashing is a technique that flows within a 'connected breath.'
'If the breath breaks, the slash's power dulls.'
A slash swung by the arm alone scatters its force and shakes the body. But a slash with unbroken breath becomes a river unto itself—one flow merges back, creating the next wave.
'That's why slashing isn't mere cutting; it's the process where breath, body, and sword connect into one flowing stream.'
I recalled Geomseong's lecture. Ultimately, the breath of slashing is an unending flow, severance within continuity.
'Severing while connecting.'
To unify slashing into one, then, not only the breath but everything else must connect ceaselessly. Just as my breath lengthens, so must Haste extend longer, Insight linger deeper and longer, mana flow deeper and more abundantly.
'Abilities must expand to match the extending breath.'
So, if Iseom was a cost-1 technique, this is cost-2. More abilities, more resources. As much as the breath lengthens, that much fuel.
"Hoo."
I gathered the sudden epiphany.
"Why're you spacing out?"
Big Hand Floater's voice rang out. Staring at the Resonance Mirror floating around me, a thought crossed my mind.
'Is it okay to show her this much info?'
I've survived this long thanks to caution. Breaking that policy would be unwise.
"Hang on... my stomach... gotta hit the bathroom."
"Ah."
"Gonna cut it off for a bit."
"Alright, then talk la—."
I poured mana into the mirror as she'd instructed. It plummeted like a bird without wings. Easy enough to catch mid-fall.
I stored the mirror in my subspace pouch, then pondered briefly.
'What if I sold this thing?'
A woman who spends gold like water called it expensive. Probably worth a fortune.
The thought flickered, but no need to gut the golden goose.
"Alright, then."
I stood before the mirror and acted immediately. Threads of mana unfurled via Haste, coiling around my sword from my fingertips, vibrating.
'Connection, flow...'
Insight pierced the mirror's weakness; Haste drove the sword forward.
'Sever.'
My breath flowed with the blade. Unbroken inhale and exhale. Natural, ceaseless flow.
'Abilities flow unbroken like the breath.'
Mana, Haste, Insight chaining as the sword traced its arc.
Whoosh.
That instant—a sensation utterly unlike the 'flash' explosion of thrusting surged through my mind.
This time, a rending cleavage tore through my entire body, as if splitting spirit itself. Breath and pulse, vision and awareness, even the space I stood in—all slashed away in one go.
Crack!
The mirror-disguised replica burst with a tearing sound, split clean in half. Not a single trajectory, but a single grain cleaving space. Everything sundered in one 'cham'.
"Ilcham."
The name surfaced amid the overwhelming rupture. No— it stabbed into my head of its own accord.
One breath, one sword stroke, one space—all culminating in a single 'cham'.
Ilcham. Thus, one absolute slash.
"Fuck. I suffered for days over something this simple."
If Iseom was a point exploding from a halted breath, Ilcham was a line gathering flow from connected breath to sever.
"How much did I struggle just to get this?"
Guess I truly have no talent. At least not Geomseong-level.
"Haa."
I opened the Gallery for a proof shot, snapping the shattered mirror.
Right before posting to the gal, I pulled out the Resonance Mirror from my pouch. The moment I tried infusing mana into the hand mirror—
Crack.
A bizarre sound emanated from the shattered mirror.
"...?"
Suddenly, a pitch-black hand protruded from between the fragments.
Slash.
I severed it with my sword; then a crow-like face lunged out, followed by a black body.
Whoa, fuck, look at that thing.
The replica from the mirror had a crow's head on a black humanoid frame.
'Geomseong killed a replica with one slash...'
Looks like my Ilcham falls short in raw power compared to hers.
"Kieeeek!"
As it screeched, countless more shrieks echoed from beyond the corridor.
Elisicia held the Resonance Mirror in her palm. Its surface was still as pitch black.
"Hoo. Wonder when he'll show up again."
She waited patiently for Kim Hogu to reconnect. A short wait like this was no issue for her.
'I've waited silently for 20 days before.'
A few more minutes or hours were trivial now. That brief void only made the next scene more meaningful.
"...It's here."
Then the mirror glowed red and vibrated. Elisicia's eyes sparkled.
Infusing mana revealed a dark corridor within.
—Fuck. Why the hell are these things popping out all of a sudden?
Kim Hogu was there, cursing as he swung his sword. Crow-headed black figures swarmed, flooding the hall.
Endless shrieks, endless footsteps.
Elisicia held her breath, glaring at the screen—then realized.
'Replica Lord... He hit the Layer Parallel.'
All mirrors on 88F were living replicas. Normally, self-harm tricks or total severance made them vanish safely.
But during periodic 'Layer Parallels,' the central mirror monitored its clones. Touch any, and the Lord awakens, unleashing replicas from every room.
'Influence from the phase collapse on 100F?'
Not Kim Hogu's fault. The strategy was right; just the worst timing.
Geomseong passed quietly, but now the Lord was awakening.
'Really... even coincidences like this get drawn to him... Kim Hogu, you bastard.'
Elisicia exhaled sharply. Crisis and terror flooded in, pounding her heart.
But worry trembled her fingertips too.
'He can't die...'
He mustn't crumble here. His survival was her entertainment—and the reason she watched.
Elisicia spoke into the mirror at once.
"Ordinary replicas multiply infinitely. Don't fight them! Find the central mirror. Destroy it to end this!"
Kim Hogu nodded in the mirror. Then the connection cut.
Elisicia stroked the blackened surface, sighing deeply.
"...Not an ordinary guy after all. Making me this tense."
A faint smile touched her lips, but her heart soon grew heavy.
An instinctive urge surged.
—I just want to help. One reach, and she could send gold and gear right now. She'd done so until now—generously, without hesitation when needed.
But that was no mere favor; it was a safety net. The bare minimum to prevent pointless death at rock bottom. A 'stepping stone' to reach the next floor alive.
'But stepping stones alone can't scale walls. Walls fall only when you smash them yourself.'
If he overcame even the Azure Annihilation Gaze, he could surpass the Replica Lord too. Failing here meant no place higher up.
'If I reach out again now... he'll never learn to endure with his own strength. From here, support only as rewards—and only as much as absolutely needed.'
True power comes from bearing the weight yourself, staggering forward. From falling, rising, walking on your own feet, carving your path.
'Otherwise, my favors become shackles blocking growth.'
Elisicia had seen it countless times. The brightest talents breaking in dependency. Glorious gifts rusting away pointlessly.
Those afterimages lingered vividly in her mind.
'Kim Hogu must never join them. No—he's not the type to walk that path. That's why I'm watching this closely.'
Still, her fingers trembled. She wasn't without worry.
But if he couldn't overcome this alone, he'd crumble higher up anyway. So she didn't intervene.
"Kim Hogu. Prove it yourself."
I figured Big Hand Floater knew more than the Gallery. My judgment proved right.
I instantly learned how to handle the sudden variable.
—Find the ■■■■! Destroy it to end!
Whatever it was, smashing it ends this.
'Anything else is pointless.'
Replicas multiply infinitely. The corridor expands endlessly. Only solution: find and destroy the ■■■■.
I widened my eyes.
'—Insight.'
Consciousness sharpened like lightning, piercing the surroundings.
Shadows beyond vision peeled away layer by layer; phantom mirrors revealed themselves.
And amid them—
A massive axis where all replica phantoms converged. Thick lines extended everywhere, linking other mirrors—like a giant heart.
'That's what needs destroying.'
Strictly speaking, it was too vast and grotesque for a heart. Hundreds of eyeballs and thousands of tangled veins throbbed within.
'Fuck. What the hell is that...'
Seeing it prop the entire corridor confirmed it. Destroying that ends everything.
"Kieeeek!"
"Agh."
As I released Insight, crow-headed replicas surged.
Black waves crashing endlessly from all sides.
"What is this, infinite refills?"
I slashed them with Ilcham.
Slash.
Slash.
But for every one I cut down, the gap filled instantly. Overwhelming numbers slowly engulfed me.
'...This won't work.'
I can't reach the target like this. Gotta part the infinite waves.
'—Fear.'
I gritted my teeth and activated Azure Annihilation Gaze. Instantly, lightning-like pain stabbed both eyes.
Crunch.
Capillaries burst in my pupils; vision warped like submerged in water. Crushing headache split my mind.
'Fuck... can't use this long, as expected.'
As vision twisted, the replicas I gazed at froze like statues.
Fear. The azure annihilation's abyssal remnant smothered their minds.
"Hoo."
Moments later, dozens, hundreds clutched heads and recoiled. Some shoulders shuddered, others clawed air or stumbled in place.
"...Going."
The black tide filling the corridor parted to the sides.
I endured the headache and stepped toward the heart.