Ten Days, The Sixth Day (1)
"I have safely delivered the message and returned."
"Well done. It is late, so you may withdraw."
After finishing his report, Janghwa hurriedly left the Vice Leader's quarters. What could be so urgent? I had no way of knowing, and since it did not interest me much, I quickly brushed the thought aside.
"Three or four days at most in Sichuan."
Four days at the longest. It was not a long time. If I simply stayed like this a little longer, it would pass like the wind. Come to think of it, the woman in that room had only four days left to live. That meant—
"Even this time."
It would pass like the wind. A corner of my heart began to ache. I had lived through countless moments. Every single one of them had been fleeting, and dozens had already faded into distant memory. Then could I also let this time slip away as just another fleeting moment? I did not know. I did not know. …Really?
"Jin Sowoon, do you not know? Truly?"
No. I already knew the answer. I had secluded myself in the main base under the pretext of focusing on treating my injuries after leaving the battlefield. A full year passed that way. Though I had escaped all physical pain, my heart remained empty. Yet the following week—less than half a season—had been enough to fill that emptiness. When that time eventually left, I could not say what would become of me. But I knew with certainty that it would not pass as a mere fleeting moment.
"I have walked the wrong path until now. I have already regretted enough—"
I had resolve, yet the path to act on it remained unclear. One wrong step and I would regret it again, so I had been afraid to begin. Even now the fear lingered, but because of it, my determination only grew stronger. If saving one person could also save a hundred, then that too would be right.
I clenched my fist until blood welled up. The red liquid flowed freely and soaked my hand. It had been a long time since I last saw blood. Turning my head slightly, I spotted poisonous weeds in the distance. Though their toxicity was weak, the surrounding soil had already rotted from it. I swung my arm and let the pooled blood fall onto the ground. Though only a little, the earth there regained its original color.
"So this is the extent of it outside."
With this, it should be possible. No—it had to be possible.
"—On the path I intend to walk from now on."
A wind blew past.
"I hope there will not be even a shred of regret."
It was a cold winter wind.
. . .
"You are awake?"
"Yes. I slept well."
She certainly showed no signs of fatigue. Ever since being confined to the room, her complexion had been improving. For a brief, foolish moment I wondered if there existed a peculiar constitution that thrived on imprisonment, but that was nonsense. I quickly composed myself and handed her the light snacks I had prepared earlier.
"Is it rice cake today? Thank you."
She spoke while taking a small bite, then took a larger one. Because her mouth was not particularly large, it looked quite full. Sensing that it would be difficult for her to respond in that state, I quickly spoke first.
"Last night, I made contact with the Beggars' Union."
"Mmph?"
"I sent them all away. The message will reach the Alliance as well."
She still could not speak because her mouth was full, but her eyes conveyed ample gratitude. So this was the feeling that drove people to act as righteous heroes. Warmth filled my chest. I fully empathized with them and closed my eyes in silence to let her eat comfortably. Before long, she rose from her seat faster than usual.
"Well then, what shall we do today?"
When I deliberately leaned in close with a playful tone, the Heavenly Sword Empress did not avoid my gaze as she usually did. Instead, she looked straight at me and spoke.
Wait, why was she suddenly acting like this?
"Rather than something to do… there is one thing I am curious about. May I ask…?"
"Probably."
What kind of question was it? Curious, I tilted my head. She suddenly looked burdened and pulled back.
"You are… Ugh. Never mind."
What? Now she had made me curious. Though I could sense her small sigh and hesitation, she clearly had no intention of speaking again.
"I am no longer curious. It would be nice if we could simply talk about various things instead."
She tried to change the subject naturally. Since there was no reason to refuse, I simply answered.
"Sure. Let us do that."
Without anyone saying a word, we both sat down at the same time. It seemed I had already grown accustomed to this kind of life without realizing it. The Heavenly Sword Empress turned her gaze toward me. Since I had always been the one to start the conversation, I had been trying to think of a suitable topic. But I had nothing to say. Should I badmouth the Heavenly Demon Cult? Just as I was about to craft a self-deprecating joke that might stir new winds in the martial world, she opened her mouth.
"If you have nothing to say, may I tell you a little about my life today?"
The life of the Heavenly Sword Empress? This was rare. Now that I thought about it, I was somewhat curious. How different was the life of the orthodox faction's most cherished daughter from mine? It would surely be vastly different. Moreover, her words carried a clear will to share her story, so I readily agreed.
"Go ahead."
She closed her eyes as if recalling the past and moved her lips soundlessly. Then she slowly opened her eyes again and began to speak.
"On a hot summer day, Hye and I were born. That day was, yes, three days after the start of the hottest period of summer."
"The heat of that sweltering day took my mother away from me."
The story began on such a somber note that I momentarily lost my words. Though the tale was somewhat well-known, hearing it directly from the person involved felt different.
"Ah… I am sorry."
"It is all right. I am used to it."
When I offered my sincere condolences, she responded calmly and continued.
"Thanks to the abundant love my father gave me, I never felt the absence of my mother."
"Since our dreams were different, there was no conflict between my sibling and me."
"Thanks to that, I was able to focus on my martial arts training and glimpsed the realm of ascension at a young age."
A genius who reached the Phoenix rank at only fourteen. She had been widely discussed under that name back then. It was only natural, for it was an unprecedented event in the martial world. Even within the Demonic Cult, there had been several major debates about her as a sprout that would one day grow. And while we were still dawdling, she had already grown up in the blink of an eye.
"I earned the rather embarrassing title of Thunder Sword Phoenix and stepped into the martial world."
"It is shameful to admit, but at the time I was nothing more than a thoughtless child. I simply carried a vague sentence in my heart—that as a righteous martial artist, I must uphold justice—and wandered from place to place."
"While traveling the world like that, my mind and body grew weary, so I rested for a few days in a village. I still remember it clearly. The taste of the food at the tavern that appeared after leaving the inn I was staying at and walking right for about half an hour."
She absentmindedly ran her hand over the table in front of her and fell silent for a moment. Though the emotion that flashed across her face was fleeting, what I saw in her eyes was sorrow.
"I had to deliver something to a nearby Alliance branch, so I left for about five days. By chance, I heard rumors that a demonic practitioner had appeared. Coincidentally, it was near the village where I had been staying."
"Feeling uneasy, I hurried back. What greeted me then was not that village."
"It was something that had once been a village."
"The stench of burning corpses mixed with the smell of blood created a nauseating odor. Though the land remained, the inn and everything else was unrecognizable. The screams of those who had burned to death in the flames of war echoed from all directions."
"…Demonic practitioner."
At my short response, she nodded silently in affirmation. Her clenched fist trembled with unquenchable rage.
"Yes. It was a demonic practitioner. It was demonic arts. They saw me and laughed."
"For the first time in my life, I swung my sword with killing intent. For the first time, I took a life. Yet I did not feel as though I had cut down a human being."
"Amidst the unquenchable killing intent, I engraved my conviction upon my heart."
Though she clearly possessed no internal energy, it seemed as though white lightning flashed within her blue eyes.
"Demonic practitioners are the evil of the martial world and must be eradicated. Kill them and save the people."
She slowly turned to look at me. Her blue eyes followed mine.
"So rejoice."
"Huh?"
"You are the first and last demonic practitioner to face me and survive. So live long and boast about it for years to come."
She smiled with her eyes and turned her head. It seemed she had made a joke to lighten the mood and was glancing sideways to gauge my reaction. I had to admit—it was pretty sharp. But what about the Heavenly Demon? That question would only ruin the atmosphere unnecessarily, so I quietly held up my palm and shrugged.
"I will go boast about it at the Wulin Alliance later."
"That would be delightful. We will meet again soon in the afterlife."
I burst into laughter and nodded repeatedly. It was a perfectly reasonable statement.
"…. Well, anyway, after living like that, I came to be called Sword Empress and reached the Ten Venerables, and now I am captured here."
As if that marked the end of her story, she straightened her posture and closed her mouth.
"You skipped a lot at the end, did you not?"
"I will omit any further detailed explanations. Please understand."
Since I fully understood her feelings, I asked no more.
. . .
"Extinguish."
- Whoosh
I sat in the chair while the Heavenly Sword Empress lay on the bed as night fell. When I snapped my fingers, a breeze rose and the lantern went out. In the darkness, even I could not see well. I could only feel that the woman before me was still awake.
At that moment, a calm voice reached me.
"Pacheon Singun. Are you listening?"
"I am always listening."
"Now, ten hours remain."