"You're not Shin Cheol."

It was a name I hadn’t heard in a long time. Shin Cheol was the name of Shin Noya’s soul, residing within me, a title once borne by the great Sword Sage of Mount Hwasan.

Why was the figure before me uttering that name?
Who was this man with golden hair and eyes, possessing a translucent, almost ethereal body?

'Shin Cheol,' he said, as if it was still a name relevant in this era.
In truth, no one of this age should even know that name.
Aside from those like Cheol Young, whom I met at Shaolin, and the mysterious figure I encountered in Namgung’s vault,
the only ones who might remember are those long past, whose souls remain in this world.

But this man—
‘Could it be…?’

The name that surfaced in my mind slipped out before I even realized it.

"Yeon Ilcheon…?"

The King of Iron Fists, Yeon Ilcheon.
One of the five heroes who had defeated the Blood Demon, a man known as the world's greatest martial artist, and like me, a regressor.

Could it really be him?

The man’s expression shifted ever so slightly as I said the name.

"Are you truly Yeon Ilcheon, the King of Iron Fists?"
The man met my question with a firm reply.

"Yes. I am Yeon Ilcheon."

The shock hit me, though I tried to conceal it.
The golden hair, the golden eyes, and a body that seemed as hard as iron—he looked exactly as the legends had described him.

But there was something I couldn’t reconcile.

"Hwang A-bu-ryeong said you wouldn’t still be in this world."

When I met Cheol Young, he had told Shin Noya that Yeon Ilcheon hadn’t left behind a spirit like the others.
If that were true, then who was this person claiming to be Yeon Ilcheon now?

Hearing my question, the man’s face showed mild surprise.

"You met Cheol Young?"
"Yes."
"And you, not Shin Cheol, spoke with him?"

Although I had indeed encountered Cheol Young, I wasn’t sure whether I should share that detail just yet.
I didn’t know enough about this person standing before me.
As my hesitation lingered, the man shot me a sharp look.

"…What year is it?"
"The Blood Demon vanished centuries ago."
"Centuries… I see."

The man’s eyes softened, as if lost in thought.
But I remained on guard.

Could I incinerate him? And what’s my escape route?
If things went south, could I break through the entrance and retreat? Or would I be trapped?

Just as I considered my options, the man spoke again, catching me off guard.

"You have a sharp gaze."

His words seemed almost like a compliment.

"Always thinking ahead, preparing for the worst. It’s a good habit."
"…What are you talking about?"

Ignoring my confusion, the man glanced toward the entrance I had come through.

"You’re not Shin Cheol."

There it was again. The same statement as before.
Of course, I wasn’t Shin Cheol.
Why did he keep repeating it?

"That's obvious."

The man continued, as if speaking to himself.

"But you crossed that threshold and made it all the way here, even standing before me. How is that possible?"

His question made me frown.

Was this doorway only meant for Shin Cheol to pass through?

What is this?

Ever since I met Hwang A-bu-ryeong, I’d felt like I was caught up in something tied to Shin Noya.
Everyone seemed to be searching for him, not me.

"…What do you mean by that?"
"You’ve even met Cheol Young. So I ask again—what are you?"

His gaze bore into me, and the pieces began to fall into place.
If everything so far had been designed for Shin Noya, could it be that I was only able to pass these trials because his soul resided within me?

"I…"

Just as I was about to offer an explanation, the man interrupted.

"I know you carry Shin Cheol’s soul."

"…!"
He already knew.

"How did you…?"
"I could tell from the moment I first saw you. Shin Cheol is inside you."

His certainty shook me.
Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation in my chest, not quite pain but more like a dull vibration.

'Is this…?'
It wasn’t the usual rumbling of that beast, but—

'Noya?'

Could it be that Noya was stirring? I called out to him mentally, but as soon as I did, the sensation faded.

Still, it felt like Noya was close to waking up.

"I ask again, who are you?"
"If I carry Shin Cheol’s soul, isn’t that enough? Why does it matter?"

The man shook his head.

"It’s not enough. Merely possessing his soul isn’t the same. The one I’m meant to face—was always supposed to be Shin Cheol."

"Are you saying Shin Noya was supposed to be here? Alive?"

I knew Shin Noya had died, along with many others from that era—
including this man, Cheol Young, Hwang A-bu-ryeong, and so on.
They had fought against the Blood Demon centuries ago and perished.

But now, everyone I encountered seemed to be searching for Shin Noya,
as if he were supposed to have returned.

"Are you telling me the Sword Sage of Hwasan was meant to be reborn?"

The man nodded solemnly.

"Yes."

"…What?"

His calm response caught me off guard. Had I heard that right?

The man explained further.

"Shin Cheol was supposed to be reborn and return to this land. That was our plan, to twist fate and undo the curse placed upon this world.
That’s why we remained here, even after death—our souls left behind."

If what he said was true, then Shin Noya was supposed to be reincarnated, to twist the fate of the world?

"A twisted fate…?"

The man nodded.

"Yes, the fate set by this land’s accumulated karma and curse."

I didn’t fully understand, but the pieces were slowly coming together.

"What was this fate? Why did you remain here?"

The man’s eyes sharpened as he spoke.

"You, child of the future—do you know the Blood Demon?"

"Of course."

How could I not? That cursed monster had caused no end of problems for me.

"Then, tell me—what do you think the Blood Demon is?"

"…What?"

The man’s expression remained cold as he continued.

"The Blood Demon is a calamity. A curse upon this land."

A calamity? That was… unexpected.

"The curse cast upon a once-bright Central Plains. The Blood Demon is not merely a person, but a plague upon the world itself."

The weight of his words was clear, but the implications were still difficult to grasp.

"You said it’s been centuries since the Blood Demon vanished, didn’t you?"

"Yes."

"Then, even though you aren’t Shin Cheol, the fact that you’ve come here means one thing—the Blood Demon has returned."

I bit my lip.

"…"

"It is an ancient tale, but one thing remains unchanged: fate cannot be easily twisted."

If the creature I had faced, inhabiting the body of Jang Seon-yeon, was truly the Blood Demon,
then it made sense.
Somehow, the Blood Demon had returned to this era, but what did that have to do with this place?

"What does that have to do with the current situation?"

"This land was always destined to end at the hands of the Blood Demon.
That was its fate."

"What…?"

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Was he saying the Blood Demon was always supposed to destroy the world?

But hadn’t they already defeated it centuries ago? What nonsense was this?

"Even if that’s true, didn’t you and your allies—"

"If we had truly stopped it, there would be no Blood Demon now, would there?
The best we could do was seal it away."

I remembered what Hwang A-bu-ryeong had said.
The five heroes had only been able to seal the Blood Demon, not destroy it.

"But… to say the world was fated to end…?"

The man’s words didn’t sit well with me. Why would the world be destined for destruction?

"That is why we had to make a choice. Even after death, we had to prevent the Blood Demon’s revival.
Shin Cheol was meant to be reborn for that purpose."

"…You mean you planned for him to reincarnate?"

The man’s grim nod confirmed my suspicion.

"Yes."

"How can a human soul be manipulated like that…?"

It was a question that lingered on my mind, but then I remembered who this man was—
Yeon Ilcheon, another regressor like me.

If anyone could understand the manipulation of time and fate, it would be him.

"You know what I am, don’t you?"
"Yes. You are like me, one who has walked back through time."

Yeon Ilcheon chuckled bitterly.

"It seems Cheol Young was right to speak of me. I never would have guessed you would believe such a thing."

I believed because I had gone through the same thing myself.

"I have a question."

I had countless questions, but this one felt the most pressing.

"What is fate?"

He had spoken of fate, of twisting it to prevent calamity,
but I still didn’t understand what fate really was.

"What do you mean when you speak of fate?"

The man’s gaze turned somber, his voice growing heavy.

"Fate, as it was set upon this land, was to end with the Blood Demon.
That was the destiny of this world."

"Who set that destiny?"

"I cannot say."

Typical. Another evasive answer.

"Why not? Is it because I’m not Shin Cheol?"

"Yes. You are not Shin Cheol, and therefore, I cannot tell you."

"Didn’t you say you know Shin Cheol’s soul resides within me? Doesn’t that count for something?"

"If anything, that is why I cannot tell you."

"…What?"

I was starting to get irritated.

"Why the hell not?"

The man’s face hardened.

"The Blood Demon wasn’t the only thing we sealed away. We also purged this land of the curse—the karma of destruction."

"The curse of destruction…"

That explained it. The Blood Demon’s rampage was not just about killing people, but about bringing an end to the world itself.

"And with the Blood Demon’s revival, does that curse return as well?"

"No. That curse was burned away, not merely sealed."

"So if the curse is gone, what’s the problem?"

If the source of the curse was destroyed, why did it matter if the Blood Demon came back?

The man let out a sigh.

"That was our mistake."

I listened closely.

"What mistake?"

"Calamities do not simply disappear. They are delayed, passed on.
Just because we burned away the Blood Demon’s karma doesn’t mean we removed the calamity.
It has only been postponed."

"Postponed? What is this, a hand-me-down curse?"

I scoffed, but as the man spoke, a chill ran down my spine.

"A calamity does not disappear. It is inherited."

And at that moment, a name surfaced in my mind.

The Heavenly Demon.

Shin Noya had once told me about the Heavenly Demon,
how the mere thought of it left him trembling, because it reminded him too much of the Blood Demon.

Was this man suggesting that the next calamity was the Heavenly Demon?

If that were true—
In my past life, the Heavenly Demon was defeated by the Sword Saint.

That meant…
The calamity had been stopped once again, hadn’t it?

Does that mean Seol-ah was the one to stop it?

I didn’t know about fate or destiny or any of that,
but hadn’t Wi Seol-ah already thwarted the calamity?

Just as I was thinking that—

"Shin Cheol was our hope to prevent that calamity."

The man continued, his tone heavy with regret.

Shin Noya was supposed to be reborn to face not only the Blood Demon but also the next calamity that would arise.

"…That can’t be true."

If what he said was true, where had things gone wrong?
Had Shin Noya failed to reincarnate?

Had his soul been trapped in the artifact all this time, waiting for centuries to no avail?

Was that why Cheol Young had been so devastated when he realized I wasn’t Shin Noya?

It was starting to make sense.

Finally, I asked the question that had been on my mind.

"Why did it have to be Shin Noya?"

Yeon Ilcheon was a peerless martial artist in his time, one of the greatest heroes.
Surely, if anyone was going to be reincarnated to stop the calamity, it should have been him.

"Cheol Young told me you couldn’t remain in this world."

"That’s right. I was unable to linger here, unlike the others."

"Then… what are you now?"

The man who stood before me was Yeon Ilcheon, or at least, he claimed to be.
But now he was saying he wasn’t truly here.

"I am merely a fragment of thought, a sliver of consciousness left behind to guide Shin Cheol."

A fragment of thought?
I’d heard of such things before, but to actually see it in practice…?

This man, this fragment of Yeon Ilcheon, had been left here, tied to this hidden vault,
waiting for Shin Noya to arrive.

"To twist time is to burden one’s soul with sin.
Those who defy the fate laid out by the heavens pay the price."

His words grated on my ears, but I chose to ignore them for now.

"So it was always meant to be Shin Noya."

"Yes, Shin Cheol was… our hope."

I could hardly believe what I was hearing.
The foul-mouthed old man who constantly chased after women and swore at every inconvenience…
He was supposed to be the world's last hope?

This was too much.

"…So what now?"

What was I supposed to do with this information?
Shin Noya’s soul and power had been absorbed into me, but that wasn’t part of anyone’s plan.

So now what?

"Can I just leave?"

I wasn’t sure what else to do.
Maybe once Shin Noya woke up, he’d have more answers.
But for now, it seemed like there was little else to be done here.

Plus, there was still the matter of looting the hidden vault.

The man’s voice cut through my thoughts.

"Fate, even if twisted, will always return to its original course.
No matter how much you struggle, you will eventually learn this truth."

His voice was cold, heavy.

"You managed to come here.
You carry Shin Cheol’s soul.
What do you think that means?"

"…What?"

Why was he suddenly talking like this?

"Despite everything we did to twist fate—
someone returned it to its rightful place."

The vault began to rumble, the walls shaking violently.

"What the…!"
"You cannot leave."

"What?"

A cold dread settled over me as the realization sank in.

"I can’t leave?"

"Why are you doing this? Are you taking out your frustrations on me because things didn’t go as planned?
I told you, I’ll stop the Blood Demon—"

Before I could finish, the vault trembled even harder, the walls closing in.

"Shit…?"

I ran toward the entrance, but—

Crackle!

I was thrown back as an invisible barrier blocked my path.

"Ugh! What the hell is this?"

I turned back to the man, shouting.

"This isn’t my fault! You can’t pin your failures on me!
I’ll stop the Heavenly Demon, I’ll even stop the Blood Demon—
but you can’t do this to me!"

The room’s shaking grew worse, the space around us warping and distorting.

"Fuck this…"

I didn’t have time to waste.
If I didn’t act fast, I’d be crushed by this collapsing vault.

Should I just blow it up?

I started to gather my energy, preparing to unleash the fire technique.

I hadn’t fully recovered from my previous injuries, and using this technique again would surely cause internal damage,
but I didn’t have a choice.

"Surviving comes first."

The flames began to gather in my hands, but—

"…You are the calamity."

"What?"

I froze.

The energy I had been building dissipated, the sheer absurdity of the statement hitting me like a ton of bricks.

"What the fuck did you just say?"

"You are the calamity."

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

"Did you just call me a calamity?"

"You may not understand how you came to carry Shin Cheol’s soul.
You may not know how you reached such heights at your age.
And you may not know…
why you, too, have walked through time, as I have."

The man’s voice was calm, but every word sent a chill down my spine.

He knew I was a regressor.

"…"

For a moment, I was speechless.
How could he know?

"And yet, you are the calamity."

"How can I be the calamity?
If anything, you should be helping me!"

I was trying to save the world from the same calamity he had fought against.

"Why are you trying to kill me?"

"The one who sends calamities does not repeat their mistakes.
You, too, have walked the path of fate."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"That is your fate."

The vault’s walls creaked and groaned, the pressure building,
but I could hardly focus on that.

My regression…?

His words struck deep, like a dagger to my heart.
A weight settled over me, dragging me down.

I… am the calamity?

My mind spiraled, and I felt like I was drowning.

Just then, the space around me began to collapse, the pressure crushing my body.
But I couldn’t move, trapped in my own thoughts.

Suddenly—

Whoosh!

My body moved on its own.

"…Huh?"

My hand shot forward, and then my feet followed, moving without my command.

-…What?

The man in front of me looked just as shocked as I was.

Was someone controlling me?
This felt like—

[Have you no faith in yourself? If you doubt so much, you might as well cut off your manhood, you fool.]

"…What?"

That voice—
The sharp, raspy tone of an old man I had dearly missed.

"Noya?"

I called out, my voice trembling.

A laugh echoed in my mind.

-You idiot. It’s about time.

Even the man before me looked stunned.

-…Shin Cheol?

But Noya didn’t respond. He didn’t bother to acknowledge the man.

My body continued to move on its own, my hand reaching into the piles of treasures in the vault,
as if searching for something specific.

"Noya? This isn’t the time—!"

I tried to protest, but my hand ignored me, rummaging through the ancient relics.

Finally, I grabbed hold of something.

-…You’ll regret this, Shin Cheol.

The man’s voice was heavy with resignation, but Noya chuckled.

[Regret? That’s for me to decide. And I’ve no regrets, you fool.]

It was a confident, playful tone—the Shin Noya I knew so well.

-…Shin Cheol.

[You’ve grown pitiful, Ilcheon. But it was nice seeing you again.]

As Noya’s words faded, a powerful wave of energy filled the room.
The scent of plum blossoms flooded my senses, as if the very air was saturated with it.

It was an energy unlike anything I’d ever felt before—overwhelming, intoxicating.

[Hold your breath, kid.]

Noya’s voice rang in my head as my vision was consumed by a sea of plum petals.