The scene was thick with mist.

The vision, filled with crimson-red leaves, seemed somewhat stifling, yet strangely comforting at the same time.

"Ah..."

It felt distant. The once cluttered thoughts suddenly became clear, if only for a moment.

"Cluttered thoughts?"

What had I been thinking about?

I had felt incredibly afraid of something... but I couldn't quite remember. However, the thought that I mustn’t forget clawed at me, even through the haze. I strained my mind, fighting against the headache.

"...!"

For a moment, I had almost succumbed to the comfort, feeling drowsy. But soon enough, it all came back to me.

• You are a calamity.

 

The words that Yeon Ilcheon had spoken to me.

• Have you never found your regression odd?

 

They pierced deeply into my heart.

• That is fate itself.

 

The once calm, if only briefly, mind began to darken again, like being painted over with black ink.

"Calamity..."

The Blood Sect had referred to itself as calamity. If calamity was something inherited through karma, then...

Unlike how Yeon Ilcheon had assumed the next calamity would be the Heavenly Demon, he had referred to me as a calamity.

"Am I... a calamity?"

It was something I had never considered before. I had regressed after dying, and in this new life, I had tried to live differently.

Had I sought a peaceful life for myself?

Or perhaps a safe life? Or maybe...

"...Did I hope for her to live a happy life?"

Had I, instead of thinking of myself, wished for her happiness?

Regardless of what it was, if there was indeed a hidden secret behind my regression, and if that secret led to calamity...

What should I do?

These thoughts flooded my mind, spurred by a conversation that had only lasted a fleeting moment.

Even though I wondered how my mental state could unravel so much from such a brief exchange, I couldn’t help but feel that the grip I had on my sanity had been precarious all along, propped up only by fragile hope.

"Am I really so afraid of guilt now?"

Had I truly hoped to forget that I had been a villain and a monster?

Was my hope to erase all the things I had done, and would still do, so inflated?

And now, after living like that, to be told that I was the cause of all the problems... Was that why I felt so unjustly accused?

"Goddamn idiot."

A hollow laugh escaped me.

Since when had I ever been a good person?

I had never even intended to play the hero after my regression.

"Screw that."

I have always lived how I wanted, and the only reason I ever put up with things I didn’t want to do was because they were worth it.

But if someone had marked me as a calamity, and if my regression was tied to someone’s greater purpose...

"Fuck no."

Whoever it was, I would stubbornly refuse. I would find them, and I would beat the hell out of them.

If that was fate, and if they said it was unavoidable, then I would find a way.

If I were the type to give up just because something was impossible, I would have run off and hidden in the mountains, living a quiet life as a farmer as soon as I regressed.

I wouldn’t be going through all this hardship.

Even if I had to smash everything to pieces, I would break free from it.

Just like I always had.

"Besides, there's no concrete proof I'm a calamity."

I only had suspicions, no evidence.

It was undoubtedly the Heavenly Demon who had brought about the bloodshed in the previous life, not me.

As I mulled over these thoughts, I felt something brush through my hair.

"...Hm?"

It was a rough and calloused hand.

The sensation of the hand patting my head reminded me of the way Iljangro used to ruffle my hair—gruff, and almost violent.

It had been a long time since I’d felt such dizziness.

Wondering what was going on, I shifted my gaze.

The red plum blossom leaves that had filled my surroundings had taken on the form of a person, gently stroking my hair. What the hell is this? This is creepy.

Could this be...?

"...Noya?"

[I considered smacking you for acting so pathetic, but since you’ve wrapped things up well, I’ll let it slide.]

"...Where have you been all this time? And what the hell is this situation?"

It had been over a year since Noya disappeared.

The last time I had seen him was when I had been punished by my father and shut in seclusion for nearly three months. Noya had said he would be gone for about a year.

The problem was that his absence had stretched well beyond that year.

"Were you hibernating or something?"

[Hah, you still talk back even though I’ve worked my old body to save your sorry self.]

"...Consider it a sign of affection."

[If I felt affection twice, I’d snap you in half.]

A dry, rasping voice, as sharp as ever. Though it was too gruff to be considered the voice of a sage, I found it oddly comforting to hear after so long.

That aside...

"...Can I ask what the hell is going on?"

[What are you talking about?]

"The situation we’re in right now."

I asked him about everything, from our current predicament to my recent encounter with the entity that had claimed to be Yeon Ilcheon.

And Noya responded.

[How should I know?]

"What?"

[Why ask someone who just woke up? If I knew all that, I’d be a shaman, not a sage.]

"..."

Well, aren’t shamans technically sages too? That pointless thought crossed my mind.

"When did you wake up, anyway?"

[Since the moment you set foot in Bigo.]

If that were true, then it hadn’t been long at all. Suddenly, I recalled a fleeting sensation from earlier.

In Bigo, I had felt another presence inside me, aside from the beast. That must have been Noya’s presence.

"...Then why didn’t you react?"

[...]

Noya paused before answering my question. It seemed like he was choosing his words carefully.

Then he spoke.

[Because he was watching you.]

He? Surely, he meant that blonde man.

Yeon Ilcheon.

"...Is he really your comrade?"

[If you’re going to insult someone, do it properly.]

"No matter how annoyed I am, it feels wrong to curse him to his face..."

As much as I wanted to lash out, I couldn’t exactly badmouth Yeon Ilcheon in front of Noya, who considered him a friend.

"So... is he really the Golden Iron King?"

[I don’t know.]

"...What?"

I flinched at his response. What did he mean he didn’t know?

"But you acted like you knew him."

Noya had definitely said it was good to see him one last time.

[I said it was nice to see his face, nothing more.]

"What does that even mean?"

[What else would it mean?]

Unbelievable.

[One thing is certain: that was indeed a fragment of Yeon Ilcheon's power.]

"But you’re saying you’re not sure if it was really him?"

[That fragment and the room were his, but a fragment is just a fragment.]

"...I’m not sure I follow. Is this power surrounding me yours, then?"

I gestured to the plum blossom leaves enveloping me and the overwhelming energy I could sense around us.

Was this Noya’s power?

Noya answered my question.

[The man said this place was arranged for me.]

"...Yes."

Not only Bigo but perhaps even the mysterious encounters I had experienced...

All of it could have been prepared for Noya.

[This is that arrangement.]

"This?"

The plum blossom leaves surrounding me, as well as the qi manifesting in the form of a person... it was clear at a glance.

The pure strength contained here was immense.

"...Is this your original power...?"

[You’re talking nonsense.]

"It isn’t?"

Noya laughed heartily at my words, as if I’d said something absurd.

[Do you think this is all I’ve got?]

"..."

[I am not some weakling.]

For a moment, I was stunned.

The power I was sensing right now was enormous. If this qi turned into a blade and attacked me, I wouldn’t last a few seconds before being torn to pieces.

And yet Noya called this "just a small amount of power"?

"...Just how strong were you?"

I couldn’t even imagine what Noya had been like in his prime. Even the greatest masters in history didn’t leave behind records this overwhelming.

I had always assumed he had been on par with the current Three Sovereigns.

"Could he have been stronger than them?"

If this was what he considered a small amount of power, there was no telling how powerful he had truly been.

Maybe he was even on the level of the legendary Sword Saint, Wi Seol-ah...

"No, that can’t be right."

I quickly dismissed the thought from my mind. There couldn’t have been five people of that level all at once.

"And if they had all fought the Blood Sect, what does that make the Heavenly Demon?"

Yeon Ilcheon, who had suppressed someone as powerful as Noya and risen to become the strongest in the world, had only been able to seal the Heavenly Demon rather than kill him.

If the Heavenly Demon wasn’t a god, then that feat would have been nearly impossible.

[You’re thinking too much again.]

"...I’ve just heard some unbelievable things."

Noya chuckled at my bewildered expression.

"Do you find this amusing?"

[How can I not laugh? The look on your face is priceless.]

Just when I was feeling overwhelmed, Noya found it funny... Well, I guess it was funny to him too, since he seemed to be involved in this mess as well.

[Don’t waver.]

The rough hand that had been tousling my hair grew even rougher.

[There’s nothing more dangerous than losing yourself.]

"...I know."

[Of course you know. But knowing doesn’t make it easier—that’s what makes us human.]

"...Did you know about all this?"

[Know what?]

"What he said, about calamity and fate."

The world was destined to fall to the Blood Sect. Even if they had sealed the Blood Sect, eventually another calamity would arise. His comrades had known that, just as Yeon Ilcheon had hinted.

Had Noya known as well?

[No, I didn’t.]

"...What?"

[The reason I was sleeping inside your body was to recover my memory.]

"Your memory?"

From the first moment I met Noya, he had told me his memory was fractured, like a shattered puzzle. I had even teased him about it, calling him a fake.

[It took longer than I expected.]

"Have you... recovered all of it?"

I asked, hoping to glean some useful information, but Noya’s figure shook his head.

[I’ve recovered most of it, but I still can’t remember the last moment.]

"The last moment?"

[The last thing I remember is fighting the Blood Sect.]

It had been a monumental battle between five martial artists and the Blood Sect. That was the last memory Noya had.

"...So that means..."

[Yes. I know that wasn’t the end for me.]

Noya hadn’t died during the battle with the Blood Sect.

According to the records, the Sword of Hwasan had returned to Hwasan as its head after the bloodshed and lived out his remaining years there.

[Apparently, I was supposed to reincarnate and find the secret techniques of the Hwasan Sect.]

Even the voices of his comrades, like Huangabulyeong and the Golden Iron King, had told Noya to seek out the secrets of the sect.

All of them had spoken of Noya’s reincarnation as a pivotal event.

[I don’t know any grand secrets of the world.]

A world that should have been destroyed by the Blood Sect, but was still hanging on. The Blood Sect, the Heavenly Demon, and whatever calamities might follow...

[That’s probably why those bastards wanted me to reincarnate.]

[Yeon Ilcheon always had his secrets. That damn monk was as clever as he was kind. Ming’s a cocky bastard, and that lunatic Je-mun was just as mad.]

Hearing Noya talk about the so-called heroes of the past like they were a bunch of misfits gave me an odd feeling.

There was a sense of faint nostalgia hidden in his words, which made it hard to argue.

[I may have a cranky personality and a sharp tongue, but…]

He knew, didn’t he? He knew all along.

[If I had asked them, I wouldn’t have let it go. Maybe that’s why they threw me into this mess.]

"So, they just dumped this mess on you?"

[When you put it that way, they really do sound like assholes.]

That wasn’t quite what I meant...

[But in the end, their plan didn’t succeed.]

"...How can you be so sure?"

Noya hadn’t fully recovered his memory, and there was still so much information he didn’t know.

It was entirely possible that Noya had reincarnated and then been killed before he could grow into his power. After all, right now he was just a fragment of a soul, much like Yeon Ilcheon had been.

[Hah!]

Noya burst out laughing at my suspicion.

[If I had reincarnated successfully, the world would already know.]

"Why is that?"

[Look at the current martial artists. They’re all idiots. If someone as brilliant as me had been born, do you think things would be quiet?]

"..."

Where did that ridiculous confidence come from?

[If I had reincarnated, they’d already be calling me the Plum Blossom Swordmaster.]

"Even in reincarnation, you’d be a Hwasan sage?"

[Of course.]

Sarak.

One of the plum blossom leaves gently fell and landed on my nose.

[I was born in Hwasan, and my soul belongs there. I’d still be a child of Hwasan, no matter how many times I was born.]

His reasoning was shaky, but there was an unshakable conviction in his words.

[I am Shin Cheol of Hwasan. Even if my memory is fragmented and my life has ended, that fact hasn’t changed.]

[So don’t lose yourself. If you can’t trust yourself, who will?]

"...!"

His final words hit me like a soft but steady thud in my chest.

He had said it to steady me, to help me regain my composure.

[Despite all the time that has passed, you haven’t grown much. You’re still acting like a child at your age. Tsk tsk.]

"...If only you hadn’t said that at the end, you would’ve sounded pretty cool."

Bang!

"Oof!"

As soon as I finished speaking, I felt a sharp blow to my head.

The hand that had been patting my hair turned into a fist and struck me.

[I’ve been wanting to hit you for a while. Feels good.]

"...Ugh..."

[Instead of worrying about calamities and fate, focus on what you need to do.]

"..."

[If you don’t know where to go, keep moving. You already know this—you’ve known it for a long time.]

"...Yes."

Sarak.

As I answered, the plum blossom leaves that had filled my vision slowly began to disperse.

The rough hand that had been tousling my hair stopped.

[Time to get up. You’ve got work to do, including mine. Thanks to you, I’m going to be quite busy. Hahaha.]

His words sounded strange.

"...Why do I have to do your work as well?"

[Since I’m stuck like this and can’t do it myself, you’ll have to handle it. Someone has to, right?]

"What? That doesn’t make any sense—"

[Hey, an old man went out of his way to save you. Might as well take care of both jobs while you’re at it. You’re already going to be doing something similar, so stop whining like a brat.]

He was basically telling me to take care of both the Heavenly Demon and the Blood Sect while I was at it.

The nerve of him. This old man didn’t even pay rent, and now he wanted me to do his job too?

"I was going to do it anyway, but this feels wrong."

Still, thanks to him, my head felt clearer.

Whether I was a calamity or not, I was still me.

And if I didn’t want to become a calamity, then I had to believe I could stop it from happening.

Noya’s nonsensical words and laid-back demeanor were his way of telling me that.

How old am I, and yet I still need lessons like this?

Seems like I still have a long way to go before I truly grow up.

Saaaa....

[Take care.]

As Noya’s voice echoed one last time, the plum blossom leaves gradually faded, revealing the sky.

The night sky was still there, with the moon shining directly overhead, casting its light on me.

"...Ah."

I quickly sat up. Since the last place I remembered being was inside Bigo, I had to check my surroundings.

But for some reason, I was lying in the middle of a grassy field.

To be precise, I was at the entrance of Bigo, where I had entered.

"Oh, you’re up."

Just as I tried to assess the situation, a voice called out. It was Jamryong.

It seemed we had safely escaped from Bigo...

But why had I been sleeping here?

"Now that you’re awake, can you help me out?"

"...Huh? With what?"

Jamryong’s voice sounded a bit strained.

When I turned toward the direction of the voice—

"Oh."

There he was, grinning awkwardly.

And in front of him...

Geomhu and Cheonghae Ilgeom were staring at me with strange expressions.

"...."

Oh no, this looks bad.

"Sigh..."

I quickly racked my brain.

I had to figure out how to get out of this situation.

"...!"

An idea popped into my head.

Without hesitation, I pointed at Jamryong and shouted toward Cheonghae Ilgeom.

"It was his idea! I just went along with it!"

The ultimate technique: Throw your friend under the bus.

A skill I had honed throughout my life.

"...Do you really think that’s an excuse?"

Unfortunately, since I didn’t have many friends to practice on, its effectiveness was limited.

Yeah, it didn’t work.

Damn it.