The Believer of God (1)
The Poison Dragon remained silent for a moment before leaning his body toward Namgung Hyeok. With a deliberately grave expression, he finally revealed the hidden intention he had been keeping to himself.
"...The truth is, something strange is happening in the Western Regions."
The Western Regions. A territory bordering Sichuan, treated as little more than foreign land by the Murim world—an untamed wilderness. Its scorching deserts and blazing sun made it a place where ordinary martial artists dared not set foot. While there were forces active there, they held no influence over the Murim or the Central Plains, so no one paid them much attention.
That was precisely why Namgung Hyeok found it odd to hear the words "Western Regions" come from the Poison Dragon's mouth.
"Do you know of the Baehwagyo?"
Baehwagyo. Also known in the secular world as Zoroastrianism, they were a heretical sect that worshipped fire and revered the god of justice, Ahura Mazda. In the previous generation, they had been a dominant power whose influence stretched from Xinjiang through the Western Regions all the way to Qinghai and Sichuan. At their peak, it was said they could have faced every force in the world alone.
But for some unknown reason, they had split in two. The faction that left the main church absorbed the esoteric sects of the outer regions—the Milgyo, Manichaeism, and the Ming Cult—before rebranding themselves as the Heavenly Demon Cult and driving the Baehwagyo out of the Central Plains. In the present day, the Baehwagyo had been completely pushed out of their holy land in Xinjiang and barely maintained their lineage in the Western Regions.
Namgung Hyeok tilted his head at the sudden mention of the Baehwagyo, but since it was a group he already knew of, he simply nodded and filed the name away in his mind.
"I do. Isn't that the fallen heretical cult?"
The Poison Dragon gave a small nod of confirmation and continued.
"They are rapidly expanding their forces."
"...Rapidly expanding?"
It wasn't particularly surprising. People might call the Baehwagyo a heretical cult or whatever else, but in the end, they were still a religion. For a religious organization to proselytize or wage war against rival faiths to grow their power was neither remarkable nor strange—especially for a group that had once tasted true hegemony. They would naturally be eager to regain their former glory.
However, the phrase "rapidly expanding" implied something far beyond their usual pace. If someone else was saying it, it meant their growth had reached an entirely different dimension.
The Poison Dragon nodded in response to Namgung Hyeok's question.
"Yes. At some point, they seemed to have lost the will to simply restore their former influence and drastically reduced their external activities. Then, not long ago, they suddenly attacked Potala Palace and began rapidly expanding their sphere of power."
Potala Palace. It was the sect of the Lama monks who followed Tibetan Buddhism. According to rumors, they were a formidable force in the Western Regions, centered around their sage, the Banseon Lama, who had reached the Transcendent Realm. They were by no means an easy opponent, yet the Baehwagyo had struck them.
"To move so suddenly and urgently... I can't even begin to guess the reason."
Did the Baehwagyo possess an absolute master? No. While the shrine maiden who led them might have reached the Transcendent Realm, she was not at the absolute level. Then was there a reason they needed to expand their influence so drastically? Again, no. Everything had been proceeding as usual. They should have simply continued as they always had.
Seeing Namgung Hyeok deep in thought, the Poison Dragon nodded and spoke.
"Yes. There is something. Something we do not know."
It was a dark space.
No sound could be heard, and nothing could be felt. For that reason, the space could only be called darkness itself.
But every world has both light and shadow, and so a single golden spark burned alone.
- Whoosh.
In an instant, the spark flared violently, swelling to the size of a house. It was the Holy Fire. The most sacred symbol of the Baehwagyo, their greatest history, and their one and only proof of existence.
The golden light of the blazing Holy Fire spread outward, illuminating the dark space just a little.
Murals were carved into both walls. Though their exotic style made their meaning impossible to discern, their sheer scale was majestic enough to awe even a child.
And beneath the glow of the Holy Fire, the figure of a woman dancing was revealed.
"O God. O God."
The woman stopped dancing and stood before the Holy Fire. Though her face was not clearly visible, her expression was one of ecstasy as she slowly approached the flames.
"O my great God."
She dropped to her knees before the altar of the Holy Fire and bowed her head deeply. Both hands were raised toward the heavens, proving her devotion.
How long had she been prostrating herself like that?
From the edge of the darkness, an old man slowly walked forward. Like the woman, he wore pure white robes with long sleeves. He quietly called out to her.
"Shrine Maiden."
Though she had clearly heard the man's voice, the woman did not stir in the slightest and continued her worship. The man opened his mouth to call her once more, then closed it again.
Only after a long time had passed did the woman finally rise. She turned to face him, her voice icy as she snapped.
"Archbishop. I told you not to interrupt my prayers."
"...My apologies, Shrine Maiden."
The man bowed his head deeply, showing his remorse. The shrine maiden let out a heavy sigh, her face twisting into a frown as she asked.
"Then tell me why you have come."
At her words, the old man bowed his head with utmost respect. There was no hesitation in lowering his head to someone so much younger. It was only natural. The old man was merely an aged, albeit powerful, believer. The shrine maiden, on the other hand, was the chosen woman—the incarnation of Ahura Mazda, the god he worshipped.
With deep faith burning in his heart, he revealed the purpose of his visit.
"As you commanded, we launched a full-scale assault on Potala Palace. We achieved complete victory. In the subsequent battles, we have driven them all the way to the southeastern region. Now, the only one left is the Banseon Lama—that old sage."
At those words, the shrine maiden's lips curved into a smile. As the corners of her mouth rose, the Holy Fire surged upward as if rejoicing, blazing even brighter.
"Ooh."
The man known as the archbishop trembled as he watched the Holy Fire soar.
"The Banseon Lama is old and cunning, but unfortunately, he is slightly stronger than the rest of you. Please focus on sweeping away the remnants."
"I will personally kill the Banseon Lama in the name of God."
Upon hearing this, the man bowed once toward the Holy Fire and withdrew. The shrine maiden glanced at him briefly before losing interest. She knelt once more before the Holy Fire and resumed her worship.
"With this, the flame of Baehwa has grown greater than ever before."
The Banseon Lama of Potala Palace was clearly several levels beneath her. She had already clashed with him twice, and his level was so mediocre that calling it the Transcendent Realm felt almost embarrassing. His death and the fall of Potala Palace were all but inevitable. It was only right to say that the Western Regions now belonged entirely to the Baehwagyo.
And the Baehwagyo belonged to her.
Just as the saying went that even a fallen noble house could sustain itself for three generations, so too did the Baehwagyo. Though they had been greatly diminished after being pushed back by the Heavenly Demon Cult, their latent power was still comparable to two or three of the Nine Great Schools of the Central Plains combined.
All followers of Baehwa obeyed her.
She was the strongest and wisest shrine maiden in the history of the Baehwagyo. She was the one destined to bring about its revival.
All the power of Baehwa rested in her hands.
"I can do it. This time."
With this kind of power, even if she had to offer everything she possessed, she could prepare a perfect world for the god she worshipped without reservation.
"I believe in God. I believe in God."
The shrine maiden began to dance once more. It was a slow, gentle, and beautiful dance. Slowly, her arms moved. The dark space gradually filled with the white hem of her robes.
"Even in the Frashokereti—the end of the world—that you will bring about, I shall be happy."
The world dyed pure white looked as if a blizzard had swept through. The white hem of her robes approached the Holy Fire, as if to swallow the last remaining color.
"O God. O God."
- Whoosh.
The Holy Fire did not permit her white encroachment. The golden flames endlessly burned the hem of her robes. Because she approached without end, the flames of the Holy Fire burned without end.
"Because I, more than anyone, believe in God."
But little by little, the white hem began to share space with the Holy Fire. When the shrine maiden's dance finally came to a stop, there was not a single trace of color left in the world. It was a world where everything had become one—a world where only one thing existed.
"Because I, more than anyone, wish for God's happiness."
When her dance stopped, color returned to the world. The golden Holy Fire, the majestic murals it illuminated, and even the dark ground that the Holy Fire could not reach—all reclaimed their hues.
The shrine maiden gazed upon that world for a moment before standing once more before the Holy Fire. She placed a hand over her heart and spoke to the flames as if making a shy confession to a man she loved.
"I will gladly create God with my own hands."
She gazed at the Holy Fire with rapture once again. Slowly, she smiled, then bowed her head in reverence.
"Please, God, look forward only to the day you meet God."
When she left that place, the spark of the Holy Fire slowly dimmed once more. And in that instant, the heavens moved.