Chapter 45
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 45
“How curious. Since you were the one to rouse me, I naturally assumed you would be a tiger of the West. To think a baby bird of the South would be the one to wake me.”
The White Tiger murmured, sounding genuinely intrigued as he saw through So-ya’s identity as a bird beastkin.
Though suppressed by the overwhelming pressure emanating from the ancient divine beast, So-ya summoned her courage and spoke.
“You are… the White Tiger, aren’t you?”
“Indeed, little bird. I am the Guardian of the Western Lands. The Divine Beast, the White Tiger. For what reason have you awakened me?”
So-ya couldn’t understand why the ancient divine beast was standing before her, nor what he meant by her having awakened him.
However, she knew one thing for certain: this ancient beast was the only hope left to protect Ga-hyeon.
“Please help me, Great White Tiger! I have to protect Brother Hyeon! As for who he is, he’s Sa-eon’s…”
“Oho.”
A short exclamation escaped the White Tiger at the desperation in So-ya’s voice.
“Now that I look closer, you possess the Heart of a Divine Beast.”
“The Heart of a Divine Beast…?”
“You need not cry anymore, little bird. You already possess the power to protect what is precious to you.”
“…?”
So-ya blinked, unable to grasp the meaning of his words.
But the White Tiger offered no further explanation. Instead, he lowered his head and gently pressed his forehead against hers.
From the point where their foreheads met, a warm white light enveloped So-ya’s body.
“Ah…”
A soft gasp escaped her at the comforting warmth.
The White Tiger’s snow-white spiritual body began to shrink, eventually transforming into a white sword that settled on the ground before her.
Clatter.
The moment So-ya carefully picked it up, the frozen world shattered, and time began to flow once more. The stagnant air stirred again, brushing past her cheeks.
For a moment, So-ya wondered if she had seen a hallucination, but the glowing white sword in her hand proved it was no illusion.
She had never swung a sword in her life. Yet, the moment she gripped the hilt, she instinctively knew how to move.
“What? What just happened…?”
Hondon muttered in a panicked voice. He seemed completely unaware of what had transpired during the temporal lull.
So-ya slowly raised the sword.
Swish—!
With the sound of cutting wind, the blade carved a snow-white arc through the air. A brilliant white light erupted from the sword’s trajectory and surged toward Hondon.
“Aaaaagh!”
With a single piercing scream, Hondon was swallowed by the white light.
I really… I did it…
So-ya panted, dazed and unable to believe she had actually defeated him.
“So-ya…”
Ga-hyeon’s strained voice reached her from behind.
Oh, this isn’t the time for this! I have to help Brother Hyeon!
Snapping back to her senses, So-ya rushed toward him.
“Brother, are you alri—”
It happened then.
Whoosh!
A serpentine vine writhing on the ground suddenly coiled around So-ya and Ga-hyeon, dragging them both over the edge of the precipice.
“Ahhh!”
“So-ya!”
Even as they fell, Ga-hyeon pulled So-ya into his arms.
Thud!
The two of them crashed into the bottom of the deep ravine.
“Ugh…”
“Brother!”
As they plummeted down the cliff, Ga-hyeon’s beast transformation came undone. Unlike So-ya, who was completely unharmed thanks to him shielding her, Ga-hyeon was in poor condition from the repeated impacts.
“Brother, you’re bleeding…”
So-ya’s voice trembled as she looked at the long gash on his arm.
“There’s so much blood. What do I do?”
“I’m just glad… you aren’t hurt, So-ya.”
“How can you say that? You’re hurt so badly…”
“As long as you’re okay, I… cough.”
Ga-hyeon managed a faint smile before coughing up blood.
“Brother!” So-ya shrieked.
“It’s okay. I’m fine, So-ya.”
“You’re not fine at all! You’re bleeding so much!”
Finally, So-ya burst into heaving sobs.
“It’s because of me… because you tried to protect me… if it weren’t for me… hic, waaaah!”
Ga-hyeon reached out and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
“Don’t cry. It makes me too sad to see you cry, So-ya.”
“Sniff, hic…”
She had heard words like these somewhere before. They were similar to what Brother Hwa-yu had said to Lady Ri-ri when she cried.
Three years ago, he had turned away coldly from her own tears, yet he had shared in Lady Ri-ri’s sorrow. Perhaps she had been secretly envious of that. To feel such overwhelming sorrow now, hearing similar words from Brother Hyeon, confirmed it.
“I wanted to protect you this time, but I ended up being protected by you again. You were really cool just now, So-ya…”
Ga-hyeon’s voice grew faint, and the hand that had been stroking her face dropped limply to the ground.
“Brother!”
So-ya shook his body, but he didn’t open his eyes.
I can’t just sit here and cry. I have to find a way.
So-ya scrambled to her feet.
I can’t help Brother Hyeon on my own. I have to bring the others…
However, they were isolated at the bottom of a ravine with no clear exit. There was no way to call for help.
There was only one path.
So-ya looked up. The cliff they had fallen from was the only way out. But it was far too high.
Even so, if that’s the only way, I have to climb it somehow.
Without hesitation, So-ya ran to the cliff and began to climb. But scaling the rock face was much harder than she had imagined. Her palms were scraped, her fingernails cracked, and her hands bled.
She gritted her teeth against the pain and moved her hands and feet, but she repeatedly lost her footing and tumbled back to the ground.
“Ow…”
Her knees were skinned and bruised, but like a tumble-doll, So-ya stood up again and again, repeating the cycle of climbing and falling.
After several attempts, she stopped.
“…”
So-ya panted, staring up at the distant top of the cliff with a hollow expression. She had realized the impossible. She could never climb this cliff—not in this form.
But…
There was one other way to get up there.
If I transform…
It was a method she had known from the start. It was also the one she had been avoiding out of pure terror.
Maybe I could fly up.
So-ya clasped her hands together and swallowed hard. She had only performed a beast transformation of her own will once before. But because of that one time, she had lost everything.
She still remembered the look of horror on her father’s face when he saw her transformed state.
The people of the White Tiger Palace are all kind, but that’s because they don’t know… they don’t know how pathetic and hideous I look when I transform…
It wasn’t that she didn't believe Ga-hyeon when he said her appearance didn't matter. It was simply that the deep-seated fear and trauma branded into her at such a young age had ruled her heart for a long time.
But…
So-ya thought of Ga-hyeon, who had just saved her.
I promised to protect him. I was even prepared to die. Being abandoned is scarier than death, but…
Perhaps they would be horrified when they saw her. They might call her a pathetic, hideous baby bird and abandon her again, just like three years ago.
Even if I’m abandoned again, it’s okay. As long as I can save him.
It was alright. She still hated the idea of being abandoned more than death, but now, So-ya had found something even more terrifying: failing to protect the people precious to her.
That was now the greatest fear in her world.
And so, So-ya became a baby bird who would do anything to protect her loved ones.
Yes, I can do anything.
Even if the pain of being discarded by those she loved repeated itself.
Because we’re family, I will protect him.
The moment that thought took hold, the heavy locks that had been wound around So-ya’s heart for so long slid open. With a soft poof, her body transformed.
“Peep!”
Her field of vision dropped instantly, and the cry of a baby bird escaped her tiny beak. Feeling how small and light she had become, So-ya tentatively lifted her wings.
She stared at her wings for a moment, then squeezed her eyes shut and flapped them hard. Her tiny body lifted slightly into the air before she tumbled back down with a thud.
“Peep-pyah…”
So-ya tried to rub her sore bottom, but realizing her wings were too short to reach, she gave up. Instead, she stood up and faced the cliff again.
A baby bird usually learns to fly from its parents. Since So-ya never had that, her movements were bound to be clumsy.
But she didn’t give up.
I can fly too. I’m a winged creature.
She spread her small wings and flapped them with all her might. Her wing joints grew sore and numb, but she didn't stop. She poured every ounce of strength she possessed into the motion.
“Peeeeep!”
Finally, So-ya’s body caught the wind and soared upward.