To Rise One Step Higher - 7

I pulled open the door of the underground prison then and there. Whether because my cell had never been locked to begin with, the iron door parted its jaws with barely a whisper.

Clank! Clank!

Following the cry of those chains was no great task — the frigid underground dungeon had never possessed many cells to begin with.

So I made for the innermost cell, from where the sound was coming, and there, behind a firmly sealed door, I found her.

Chae Jin, bound in dozens of chains.

Her face looked utterly spent.

Hanging limp from the chains with her head bowed deep, unable even to stir, she looked nothing like the bright, confident woman I knew.

And yet she was, without question, the one I had come looking for.

A glance at the floor showed quite a few severed chains scattered about.

If this prison was her mindscape, then were those chains her inner demon?

I pushed open the iron door.

Creeeeak...

Even at the skin-crawling shriek of the rusted hinges, Chae Jin did not lift her bowed head.

I approached her and asked,

"Young Mistress Chae. Are you alright?"

But there was no answer. She hung slack, motionless as though she had fainted, and I laid my hand atop one of the chains binding her body.

A voice rang out that very instant.

It was a voice I had never heard before. Perhaps one that lingered in Chae Jin's memory?

Before my eyes appeared a young Chae Jin. The black-haired girl hung her head, cowed and small, while adults flung coarse words at her.

Resentment. Jealousy. Contempt.

The words spat by those who refused to acknowledge Chae Jin's efforts, who refused to look upon anything she achieved, became chains of bitter cold that held her body fast.

A somewhat older Chae Jin appeared. Before her lay a woman, struck down to the ground — a sword-wielding senior, older than Chae Jin, who snarled with a venomous face:

She had been weak at everything else. In the martial arts alone, though, she had confidence — so she honed the one thing she was good at, aching to display it and prove herself.

But all that came back was contempt, abuse, and envy.

Yet even at all those cold words, Chae Jin only laughed and moved on.

Alone, though, she wept.

She cried without a sound, unwilling to let a single soul see her weakness.

Even so, she could not give up.

That, I supposed, was why she had endured like this.

I leaned my face toward Chae Jin's bowed head and whispered at her ear.

"Young Mistress Chae."

A flinch — her slumped shoulders shuddered.

Her head rose slowly, and through the curtain of black hair that spilled down, hazy eyes met mine — and light seeped back into those dark depths.

"Ahaha... it's the Innkeeper this time... what a relief. You're not here to curse me out like the others, are you? Then... did you come to save me?"

Her playfulness was a thin act, and the joke rose naturally to my lips — No, I was captured too — but her eyes were far too desperate, far too sorrowful for that.

Meeting her gaze — a gaze begging for salvation, begging to be untied — I shook my head.

"Truth be told, the Heart Soul Mirror allows one to enter another person's Mirror Secret Realm. Anyway, that's not the important part."

I crouched down and met the eyes of Chae Jin, who gazed up at me with forlorn eyes.

"I didn't come to save you. There's a saying, after all — that the only one who can save you is yourself."

"Ahaha..."

"All I can do is cheer you on until you rise by your own strength. If it truly comes to that, I'll help you, but... this place is your mindscape, and those chains are..."

She fell silent for a moment at my words, then answered as though spitting them up.

"...They must be my inner demon, then. Pathetic, isn't it? Me, like this."

"I have never once thought of you that way."

"...That's because you always think so highly of people, Innkeeper. Someone who can't even shake off a few miserable chains like these..."

I pointed at the floor. Quite a few broken chain fragments already lay strewn across it — proof that she had struggled hard, and that she had succeeded.

"But no matter how much I've grown... I'm still the Chae Jin who can't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be trusted..."

"I trust you."

Ting!

The instant my words fell, a chain whipped loose and snapped. She stared blankly at the severed link, then turned her eyes to me.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again — I trust you. And this talk of an 'untrustworthy Chae Jin'... in the end, it's nothing but the clamor of people who don't know you. Were any of them ever people who mattered to you?"

Chae Jin, who had held her tongue for a moment, gave a small shake of her head.

"No one can satisfy every soul in this world. Not me, not the Blade Emperor, and not you. What matters, I believe, is how much of your own will you can drive through — or fail to."

Yes.

Us Sayun Dan folks were always getting flamed in one corner and torn apart in another, but we never gave up — we fought on, every time.

And in the end, hadn't I crossed into this world and given Sayun her laughter back?

"The slander of others amounts to nothing at all. And I believe that one day, you'll come to know that yourself."

"...Do you really think so?"

Ting!! Ting!!

Two more chains snapped away. I watched them fly, then reached my hand out to Chae Jin.

"See? Nothing to it."

"...Heh. That's only because you were beside me, Innkeeper."

"I'm grateful you see it that way. Now then — let's get out of here."

Chae Jin stared at my outstretched hand and lowered her head. Then, after one burst of laughter, she flung her face up high.

The face that, mere moments before, had been warped by despair and agony had returned to the ever-confident Chae Jin I knew.

"You're right. I'm such a fool... I'd gone and forgotten all over again. You've always trusted me and cheered me on, haven't you?!"

Ting!! Ting!! Ting!!

The chains began snapping one after another. Strength surged into her sleek arms, and I could see the straining chains failing to withstand it.

"Hyaah!!"

With that fierce battle cry, every chain binding Chae Jin's body burst apart.

All that remained was the single chain around her neck.

But it anchored to nothing anywhere, and so it simply hung there, slack.

"Whew."

Letting out a long breath, Chae Jin began casually peeling away the restraints still fastened to her body. When she took a step on that freed, unburdened body, I pointed at her neck.

"You're not taking that one off?"

"Ah... mm. This one can wait a little longer."

Chae Jin stroked the chain as though it were something precious, and smiled softly.

Unlike Hong Ryeon's mindscape, this place was not spacious. A dungeon it may have been, but no keepers stood watch within it.

Up the stone steps we climbed, and at the top awaited a door marking the end of the secret realm.

"It's smaller than I expected, my mindscape. Could it be because my heart is small?"

"I doubt that."

"Fufu. Even so, just knowing you were inside my heart is enough to make me content. Ah — and, um. Innkeeper? Could I ask one favor of you?"

"Anything."

With that, Chae Jin drew slowly toward me. Cheeks flushed red, lips curled in a sly smile — somehow, the mood felt anything but ordinary.

"Hold on. Like I said before, I'm not a phantom — I'm real. I came in through the Heart Soul Mir..."

"That's what every phantom so far has claimed, you know? Just now, Father said he'd come to berate me wielding Moon Gate, the final form of the Moonlight Blade Technique. Ryeon came sneering at me with the key of the Moon Palace in hand. And Uncle..."

Hold on — she'd already stolen a march on me?

I faltered, and she slipped softly into my arms. Then, taking the chain she had laid across my hand, she tied it gently into my grip.

And at that, a vision took shape, just as it had before.

My own words — and there, within the vision, was Chae Jin, rejoicing, happy beyond measure.

She gazed at the scene with a fond, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lingering look, then turned her eyes away.

"...Someday. I'll ask this of the real you as well, but... take hold of me. Lead me."

.........

"Let me become yours and yours alone — someone whose heart has room for no one but you."

Chae Jin looked up at me with eyes brimming even with tears, waiting, hoping, for me to close my hand around the chain.

"The other chains pulled taut and tormented me — but never that one. My memories with you, the hope you built for me — they're what taught me who I am, and what drove back the despair that rose before me. They are precious to me. So please..."

Setting all that aside, though — wasn't this literally her handing me her leash?

With a shake of her body, she proudly showed off the chain still hanging at her neck, and laughed.

"The day it becomes only natural for me to stand at your side, Innkeeper — that's when I'll commit the 'impertinence' I couldn't back then. Back then, in Yangwi Fortress, and after we struck down Chae Jeok-yo and her gang. And when that day comes... the real you, who has always said yes to me... will surely allow it. Won't you?"

...What 'impertinence,' exactly, and how?

Winking one eye, she spoke cheerfully — and walked on out, not the least bit inclined to remove the chain from her neck. In that instant, everything around me flooded white.

.........

When I came back to myself, I rose from where I sat.

Just as when I had entered Hong Ryeon's mindscape, hardly more than an instant had passed.

I slipped the Heart Soul Mirror — two of its jewels now shattered — into my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pocket and looked over the two of them. Unlike before, they slept with tranquil faces, and as I watched them, the Blade Emperor came up to me.

"Nothing went wrong?"

I weighed it a moment, then said,

"Ah — yes. I confirmed that the two of them have both left their secret realms."

"I see. That's a relief..."

Just then, Hyeon Hwi, Sa Yun, and Chae Ryeon emerged from the next room — apparently drawn out by the groans from earlier.

By their own reckoning, ages must have passed; in truth, hardly any time had gone by at all, which was why they were only coming out now.

"Innkeeper..."

"Are they alright?"

"I'm certain I heard screaming just before..."

When they pressed with worried curiosity, I waved a hand and smiled, and at length they withdrew back inside.

"Um. About all this..."

"I know. Let's keep it between us for now."

"Thank you. Well then, I'm rather tired, so if you'll excuse me..."

And with that, the Blade Emperor and I headed out. He proposed a cup of medicinal liquor, seeing as we were both tired; I begged off, returned to my room, and found myself thinking:

The two of them had been noticeably warmer toward me ever since our sparring match, so no, I couldn't say I'd never entertained ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a small hope of my own.

But to think it was actually true.

What on earth was I supposed to do about this?

No — beyond even that, both of them surely believed that everything within their mindscapes had been mere phantoms.

And both of them were hiding their feelings for me, vowing to speak only when they were ready.

So what would happen, exactly, if they learned that I already knew?

Would they simply be embarrassed for a while and leave it at that?

Or...

I hastily scrubbed the thought from my head and set my mind back to scheming.