Chapter 1089
In the primordial era, before even a handful of time's seeds had been sown.
In that distant age when all things groped for form amidst chaos, there was a man.
He was the first darkness, soon becoming the very essence of demon.
Where there is light, darkness arises; yang cannot flourish alone without yin.
Simultaneously, a woman was also born.
The man loved this woman—the only being who had shared the primordial breath with him.
She was a pure flower blossoming from chaos, a lantern illuminating solitude.
His love was as absolute as the laws of the world, as infinite as the depths of the cosmos.
Yet even in what seemed like an eternity, parting was inevitable.
Like morning mist dissolving in sunlight, she vanished beyond the horizon of time.
And before the man stretched an endless eon of solitude.
—I will find you again.
Reincarnating repeatedly, the man wandered in search of his lost beloved, his other half.
The river of time flowed indifferently, yet his will remained unbroken.
Traversing countless lives, he doggedly pursued traces of her.
Sometimes they met as men, other times with mismatched years—as a child and an old man.
Yet even when they met with such difficulty, becoming lovers again proved nearly impossible.
For the man retained memories of all his lives, while the woman could not.
What the man loved was the her of the past, who had shared those primordial memories.
The woman fate brought before him now was merely another bond forged by a new life.
She was not the primordial woman he had yearned for throughout eternity.
—I shall create a Great Art to restore the memories of past lives.
The man began crafting a formidable Great Art.
It was both a token of love and a desperate wish to reclaim lost time.
An endeavor whose completion lay beyond sight, yet he never abandoned it.
But all his Great Arts failed.
—Without the Chain of Reincarnation, memories of past lives cannot be awakened.
One of reincarnation's most vital purposes is:
To cleanse the karma of previous lives through new existence and grow.
If the Spirit and Mind remain unpurified,
Carrying forward painful memories or misguided obsessions from past lives?
That can hardly be called a new life.
—Is there truly no way to restore her memories?
In despair, the man recalled one truth.
—But I can give her the memories I possess.
What if I impart the days we loved in the primordial era?
If I convey this purest love that remained unchanged through countless reincarnations?
If I transmit these memories...
Then I could reclaim my beloved, just as we truly loved in our primordial meeting.
Ultimately, the man completed a Great Art capable of implanting his own memories.
After innumerable cycles of reincarnation, he found his beloved woman again.
Her appearance always differed, yet...
Her gaze and smile told him everything.
His silent heart shattered its stillness, pounding violently.
—Will you remember me now?
As he unleashed the Great Art,
The man's memories became shafts of light piercing deep into her soul.
Having found her after long cycles of reincarnation, they stood together.
All those memories flowed into her consciousness like a mighty torrent.
He longed for her to recognize him again, to awaken to their enduring love.
—You are a Demon.
But instead, the woman drowned in terror and despair.
Human life resembles a pavilion built upon forgetting.
Only by lightening the weight of the past, through oblivion, can one live the present and dream of tomorrow.
The man's forced revival of memories... was no blessing, but a curse.
—Why must I suffer so because of you?
The memories the man carried
Were too vast for a human Spirit and Mind meant for brief existence.
Not just moments of happiness across repeated lives, but memories of heartrending partings.
The agony of betrayal and loss, the pain of unfulfilled love.
Uncontrollable, colossal emotions tangled together, collapsing her soul.
—And to conduct such horrific experiments on countless people just to perfect this Great Art...
How could you commit such cruelty without hesitation?
Since this was a Great Art of memory transference, the woman unwillingly witnessed the man's atrocities too.
To devise a Great Art capable of memory implantation,
He had committed acts unforgivable for any human.
—Please let me go.
A single lifetime's worth of memories is enough to fill a human life with regret, pain, and suffering.
And yet, he had promised to implant the memories of love from that time.
But when hundreds—no, thousands—of lifetimes' worth of memories were poured into her... her heart began to shatter like a fractured mirror.
Lost amidst the layered fragments of memory, she no longer knew who she was or what she was meant to live for.
Even when facing the face of the one she loved, the very memories of that love forced her to writhe in agony.
And so, countless eons passed.
"I have a request."
The woman, having finished her recollection, spoke in an earnest voice.
"After enduring your endless madness for so long... could you not grant the martial world even a brief respite?"
The man answered indifferently.
"That has nothing to do with me."
In truth, it didn't matter to him whether the martial artists progressed or not.
Even if he left them alone for thousands of years...
They would never reach a level where they could pose even the slightest threat to him.
"Besides, I've already tried it."
He let out a sigh.
"Long ago."
Over the vast stretch of time, there was nothing he hadn't attempted.
Just as the woman wished, he had forcibly advanced the martial artists, even raising them to a level where they could oppose him.
But the result was the same.
Only the power of the Baekri Clan had ever been a threat—the martial artists couldn't even hope to reach his toes.
"That was because you forced their progress in too short a time."
The woman countered.
"If you gave them a long, slow period to develop on their own... the outcome would have been different."
"There is no torment greater than idly standing by and watching."
That endless solitude and tedium.
The agony of having to stand still, devoid of any stimulation.
"You needn't worry."
The woman spoke calmly.
"I will raise specialized masters capable of stopping you."
"Using the future sight granted by the Star God's Power?"
"You shouldn't underestimate it."
Her expression grew solemn.
"They will find you the moment you are born—whether as a newborn or a child—and eliminate you without hesitation."
Then, with confidence, she added:
"And they will destroy the Chain of Reincarnation."
For a moment, the man bared his white teeth.
"Find me... you say?"
He seemed almost delighted.
In this world, only she could say such things to him—only she could provide him with this kind of stimulation.
This was far too enjoyable.
"Very well."
He agreed readily.
"I accept."
The man had his own plans, and he needed a little more time.
The woman's proposal would, in fact, greatly aid his own designs.
All of the man's followers and bloodline ceased their activities.
Even when outstanding individuals emerged, they were not eliminated.
And so, the martial world flourished brilliantly.
Philosophers appeared, establishing order in the once-chaotic martial arts.
Over centuries, unshakable factions took root, creating a stable power structure.
And the woman created the Ancient Sword Forest.
The True Demon.
Instead of the man's name, she crafted the legend of the "True Demon."
Under the guise of twin stars rather than lovers, she entrusted the task of dealing with him to the successors of the Ancient Sword Forest.
But that time was but a fleeting moment.
Generation after generation, the successors ultimately fell as mere playthings in the True Demon's grasp.
Yet still, they never stopped pursuing him.
The True Demon.
A name given to an existence beyond description.
The woman ensured that, no matter how many generations passed, the martial world would never forget that name—she forged the legend of the True Demon.
Because only that relentless pursuit...
Was the sole path that could save the True Demon from his infinite solitude.
The martial artists would chase the legend endlessly, hunting him without end.
And as long as that memory endured, the True Demon could continue to exist, enduring his loneliness.
"Let the one with the greatest potential of this era inherit the power of the Ancient Sword Forest."
The woman, wielding the Star God's Power,
Arranged for the most promising individual of each generation to become the successor of the Ancient Sword Forest.
So that they might track down the True Demon in his childhood—
Before he could regain his full memories or wield his power—
And slay him.
"And we must forge a Black Divine Artifact, one that transcends even the laws of nature."
To break the Chain of Reincarnation,
They needed a Divine Weapon surpassing mortal limits—one wielding transcendent power.
Having glimpsed the future through the Star God's Power, she finally found a way to shatter the Chain of Reincarnation.
"Though it will take many long years to achieve..."
Creating a Divine Weapon capable of defying the laws of nature itself would require an unfathomable span of time.
"Let us create a Fountain of Life to endure the passage of time."
She established a Fountain of Life so that the people of the Ancient Sword Forest could maintain their long lifespans.
And so, time passed.
The Martial World stabilized, freeing itself from the True Demon's grasp and finally able to breathe.
The True Demon found satisfaction in the successors of the Ancient Sword Forest who came to kill him, testing them endlessly as he grew ever stronger.
Before long, the successors of the Ancient Sword Forest became mere playthings to him—
Yet even that was enough to endure the long, tedious solitude.
Because the True Demon had another plan of his own.
And so, more time flowed by.
At last, the man called the True Demon broke his long silence—
And finally revealed himself once more in the Martial World.
"The time has come at last."
He had waited so long.
In the distant future, after the endless wheel of reincarnation had turned and turned again—
For the day his beloved would be reborn in her primordial form.
So that they might meet again, just as they had at the very beginning—with the same faces, the same youth.
"Finally, I have found you."
At last, in perfect form—
He had come to claim his eternal companion.
His beloved had not only been reborn with the same visage as in the beginning but had also regained her terrifying gift of foresight.
Thus, even without forcibly implanting memories through the Great Art, she could uncover all that had transpired in the past through that power alone.
"To think you would be born among the bloodline I sowed."
The man laughed as he spoke.
"Should I call you Saintess?"
The woman the True Demon had loved so dearly—
The one born with the primordial gift of foresight—
Was none other than the Saintess of the True Demon Family, Sa Ah.
"This is no coincidence."
Sa Ah spoke.
"You manipulated the workings of fate and prepared everything."
Throughout his long life, the True Demon had sired countless children, bestowing upon them fragments of his power and setting them to various tasks.
His bloodline.
They had replaced countless leaders in the Martial World with impostors, just as he willed.
Not to dominate the Martial World—
But because only by arranging them so could the workings of fate be altered.
From Heaven's perspective, humans were like pieces on a Go board—shift their positions, and the entire flow of destiny would change.
"Your obsession has even rewritten the laws of Heaven."
Saintess Sa Ah let out a sigh.
She understood all too well—
The loneliness the True Demon had endured.
The agony of living an interminable life among mortals.
Why he clung to her so desperately.
"You struggled to break free from the shackles placed upon you..."
Sa Ah continued.
"But in the end, you could not. Instead, you yearned for love—using that obsession as the driving force to endure."
The True Demon smiled in satisfaction.
There was no joy greater than knowing that at least one person in this world truly understood him.
"Now, let us begin our wager."
"Did we not do so once before?"
"We made the promise—but we never truly began."
The True Demon sighed.
"Are you still intent on something as tedious as the Ancient Sword Forest?"
"Far from it."
Sa Ah shook her head.
"While you researched the Great Art of implanting memories, I studied the Great Art of erasing them."
"Erasing memories..."
"Yes. I can wipe away every memory you've accumulated until now."
The True Demon's eyes gleamed.
"Truly, an irresistible technique."
He had lived countless lives, carrying with him an endless weight of memories.
And now, to think they could be erased?
How could he resist such a temptation?
"If that happens, the Chain of Reincarnation will belong to you."
"Naturally."
"Ah, I see."
Only now, meeting Sa Ah's clear gaze, did the man finally understand.
"A wager I cannot refuse."
From the moment she created the Ancient Sword Forest—
She had already foreseen everything.
"You waited until you gained the power to claim the Chain of Reincarnation."
The True Demon laughed.
Countless beings had coveted the Chain of Reincarnation, striving to seize or steal it.
Yet even if he had wished to give it away, he could not—
For the Chain was bound to him, as immutable as the laws of nature.
But Sa Ah—the woman reborn in her primordial form after countless cycles of reincarnation—
Now possessed the same ability to wield the Chain as he did.
"You were a splendid pawn."
The True Demon marveled.
Just as she always had—
She had meticulously advanced her Grand Design over the long centuries.
And now, at last, she had completed it.
He nodded without hesitation.
"Take it."
Did life mean nothing more than a game to the True Demon?
Even after setting this impossible condition, he was still smiling.
"Erase my memories," the man said.
"I will surely regain them and come back to you."
Saintess Sa Ah placed both hands on the True Demon's head.
And then, she unleashed the Great Art of Memory Erasure, perfected after long years of research by the descendants of the Ancient Sword Forest.
With a light that enveloped the entire world, the True Demon vanished into thin air.
Stripped of his memories, severed from the Chain of Reincarnation, he disappeared to who-knows-where.
"No matter how long it takes..."
Sa Ah gazed down at the chain coiled around her own body.
"I will break this chain."
The True Demon had willingly surrendered the Chain of Reincarnation because he had already transcended the Laws.
Moreover, no one could wield the Chain of Reincarnation, and no force in existence could shatter it.
But she was confident.
That she would break the Chain of Reincarnation—
Before the True Demon could ever reclaim his memories.
"Soon, I will gather all the Divine Power, and the Black Divine Artifact will be complete."
The Future Sight she had accumulated—
It had shown her the Divine Power capable of breaking the Chain of Reincarnation, and the completed Black Divine Artifact.
"Now, I must leave."
For the sake of training her Divine Power,
Sa Ah entered the depths of a secluded mountain, a place her past self had prepared long ago.
Behind the cascading curtain of a colossal waterfall, hidden as if crafted by nature itself, lay a secret door.
Carefully parting the water's flow, she stepped inside. The thunderous roar of the waterfall faded, replaced by a deep, profound silence, as though the world beyond had been severed.
The place she finally arrived at was a Secluded Valley, brimming with a mystical energy so dense it seemed to breathe with condensed life.
The ground was carpeted with luminous moss and nameless grasses that emitted a faint glow beneath her feet.
The towering cliffs, stretching toward the sky, were half-concealed by ancient trees—massive, gnarled things that looked centuries, perhaps even millennia old.
Between those trees bloomed small, radiant flowers, their delicate light scattering like stars in the night sky, illuminating the valley's darkness.
Most astonishing of all were the golden and silver particles floating in the air.
They moved slowly, as if alive, exuding a sacred aura—
Resonating with the Divine Power within her, as though acknowledging her presence.
"How long I searched for this place..."
This valley bore an energy eerily similar to—
The gorge of Tibet, where the Ancient Sword Forest once stood.
"Here, I can fully restore my Divine Power."
She walked deeper into the valley.
There, crystal-clear water welled up, forming a small lake.
Above its surface, strange rings of light hovered in midair, slowly rotating.
The reason the people of the Ancient Sword Forest had been able to survive for so long was because of this spring, brimming with the energy of life.
Step. Step.
She entered a stone structure on the opposite shore of the lake, its entrance naturally carved into the cliff face.
Inside, intricate and mysterious patterns were engraved into the walls.
Even without touching them, she could feel the intense waves of Divine Power radiating from those symbols.
"This is the sacred place where one can awaken mighty spiritual power—a power that transcends the world's principles, capable of shaking even the Laws of Heaven."
The former master of the Ancient Sword Forest had foreseen everything—
And thus, created another Ancient Sword Forest in the Central Plains.
* * *
Flicker!
Bu Eun-seol opened his eyes in the endless Abyss.
Though surrounded by thick darkness, a faint light seeped from his body.
Harmonization.
Realizing that he couldn't stop Naria's Spirit and Mind from collapsing, he had immediately wrapped himself in Harmonization.
Thanks to that, even as Naria died, his own Spirit and Mind remained intact.
'How does she have these memories?'
Bu Eun-seol couldn't comprehend it.
How did this vile woman possess the True Demon's memories—
No, his mother's memories?
Zzzzing—
Suddenly, his head throbbed as if splitting apart.
Man-wol had inherited most of Saintess Sa Ah's abilities.
Within those abilities lay fragments of Saintess Sa Ah's memories.
And the reason Naria had been able to steal Man-wol's power wasn't solely because of the Creation Sun and Moon.
She had also used the martial world's greatest treasure—the Nine Heavens Radiant Cloud.
With that power—one that allowed the inheritance of memories and abilities through blood—
She had even taken the memories of Saintess Sa Ah that Man-wol had acquired.
Afterward, Naria deliberately dragged Bu Eun-seol into her own Spirit and Mind, intending to kill him.
And then, without hesitation, she took her own life.
At that moment, a portion of the memories she had stolen from Man-wol—
Through the medium of Naria's Spirit and Mind—
Flowed into Bu Eun-seol's consciousness.