"If it's a nightmare, you should wake up."

Wi Seol-ah’s words kept circling in my mind.

‘Wake up from a nightmare…’

It wasn’t as if a sudden epiphany struck me, but something about that idea felt significant. I could tell, instinctively, that there was something to be gained from her words.

Noticing my unusual expression, Wi Seol-ah tilted her head, clearly curious.

As I mulled over her statement, a thought flickered through my mind.

‘Ah?’

A possible solution crossed my mind, not revolutionary by any means, but it was something I had inexplicably failed to attempt over the past month.

Somehow, Wi Seol-ah’s comment had unlocked this approach.

“…Why didn’t I think of that earlier?”

“Huh?” Wi Seol-ah responded, confused, but I didn’t answer her. Instead, I began to gently stroke her hair.

“Master…?”

“Thanks. You’ve helped me come up with a new idea.”

“Is… that a compliment?”

“Of course, it’s a compliment.”

Life favors those who can think outside the box. In that sense, Wi Seol-ah’s words were definitely helpful.

However…

‘Will it work?’

The only question was whether the method I’d just thought of would work against the Dark King.

There was only one way to find out.

‘If it doesn’t work, so be it.’

I’d try it, and if it didn’t work, I’d think of something else. That was the simple approach.

 

_________

Night had fallen.

Underneath the slender crescent moon, deep in the darkened forest, a man stood with his hands behind his back.

There was something eerie about him, almost as if the very atmosphere around him had quieted down.

The man had striking white hair, beautiful to the eye. Yet, paradoxically, he seemed to belong to the shadows more than light.

He stood as still as a statue, not a single movement in his body. Then, a subtle change began to occur.

Starting from his feet, shadows spread outward, widening.

Shh—

A mysterious, ominous energy began to flow. It spread over the field, surrounding the trees, darkening the entire area.

In a matter of moments, even the faint light from the crescent moon was swallowed up by this dense darkness.

Standing in the midst of this created darkness was the man—Amwang (暗王)—the Dark King, his signature pale eyes glowing as he gazed ahead.

Sabak—

A heavy footstep sounded from the direction he was looking.

It was the footsteps of the one the Dark King had been waiting for.

For over a month now, this individual was the one the Dark King had seen most frequently.

The Dark King slightly raised his eyebrows as he watched a young man approach from a distance.

‘You came again today.’

Over a month had passed. To the Dark King, this time held a certain significance.

At first, he had thought the young man would only be able to endure for seven days or so before breaking.

‘It seems I’ll have to admit I was wrong.’

He nodded to himself.

Every night, this young man suffered countless deaths at the hands of the Dark King.

The average number of deaths was over twenty. If he had been an ordinary person, his mind would have shattered within three days.

Yet, despite the countless deaths, the young man's expression showed only slight fatigue. It was almost the same as when he had first started.

Even the Dark King had to acknowledge this.

Even if there was no pain, no torture, just death—it was clear this young man was far beyond his limits.

And so, the Dark King found himself wondering.

How could a human, after experiencing so many deaths, remain so calm, so composed?

The Dark King could only think of two possibilities.

One was...

‘His mind has already shattered.’

Perhaps something inside him had already broken, twisting him beyond the realm of an ordinary mind.

It was possible, but the Dark King didn’t think the young man had reached that point.

Then, there was the second option.

‘He isn’t human at all.’

The Dark King nodded at the thought, believing this to be the more likely case.

From the very first time they met, the Dark King's heart had begun to race wildly whenever he looked at the young man.

Thump— Thump—

Even now, the same sensation coursed through him.

It was the Dark King’s curse—bound to his blood and heart—resonating uncontrollably.

The curse seemed to say that the young man was just like him.

And so...

It urged the Dark King to kill him.

Kill him now.

The dark king's murderous intent flared up, and he had to suppress his instincts, pushing them back down.

He had no intention of killing the young man.

The young man might hold the key to breaking the curse that bound them both. He was someone in a state similar to the Dark King’s, so he couldn’t be killed.

The Dark King, hidden in the shadows, continued to watch the young man.

Whether he was human or not didn’t matter now.

What mattered was...

‘This is pointless.’

This entire exercise was meaningless.

‘Does he not realize that?’

The Dark King’s thoughts flickered to Paejon, the man who had asked him to put the youth through this training.

The young man had been dying repeatedly in the Dark King’s "domain," but to the Dark King, it was nothing but futile deaths.

The young man hadn’t even managed to touch the Dark King’s robes.

And how could he?

This darkness was the Dark King's realm—within it, the senses dulled, and it became difficult to draw upon any strength.

The only thing that heightened was the sense of pain.

This power had been developed specifically for torture. Which made it even more absurd that Paejon had entrusted his disciple to such circumstances.

And yet, that strange young man kept showing up, day after day, for over a month.

Even the Dark King, who had never taken on a disciple, could tell that this master-disciple relationship was strange beyond words.

But that was all there was to it.

The Dark King didn’t dwell any further on the relationship between Paejon and his disciple. He simply intended to carry out what had been asked of him.

In return, he would receive what he’d requested from Paejon.

Besides, the Dark King had never expected Gu Yangcheon to survive this ordeal.

After a month, his conclusion remained unchanged from the start.

And the Dark King wasn’t the only one aware of this. If anyone knew best, it would be...

‘That boy.’

Gu Yangcheon himself, the one who was experiencing it all firsthand.

His spirit might not have broken, but the tired expression on his face was proof of his exhaustion.

The Dark King gripped his dagger as he studied Gu Yangcheon’s face.

How much longer could he hold out?

The fact that he had lasted this long was already beyond the Dark King’s expectations, but now, he could see that Gu Yangcheon’s mental endurance wouldn’t last much longer.

At most, he had seven days left.

If nothing changed within that time, something would break. Then Paejon would have to rethink this approach.

No matter how obsessed Paejon was with martial arts, he wouldn’t stand by and watch his disciple be ruined.

As the Dark King was considering this, preparing to move, something caught his attention.

‘Hmm.’

He sensed a subtle change in Gu Yangcheon.

It looked like any other day, with Gu Yangcheon arriving as usual, but this time, he was holding something.

The Dark King squinted.

‘A dagger?’

It was a dagger, and by the look of it, it was a piece from the Tang Clan.

Most likely borrowed from that Poison King’s daughter.

‘A dagger, huh.’

What did he intend to do with that?

The Dark King’s curiosity was piqued.

Gu Yangcheon had already tried a variety of methods to reach him.

When brute force failed, he’d tried illuminating the surroundings with incomplete techniques.

He’d even attempted to incinerate the Dark King by summoning flames.

The most impressive attempt had been when Gu Yangcheon had stabbed himself in the throat, trying to grab the Dark King in the split second before dying.

The Dark King had realized then how truly bizarre Gu Yangcheon was.

Even when death seemed inevitable, he’d delayed it with sheer willpower, trying to catch the Dark King in his final moments.

At that point, the Dark King had understood.

Paejon, that weirdo, had chosen a disciple just as strange as he was.

Master and student, both twisted beyond reason.

The Dark King cast a curious glance at Gu Yangcheon.

‘Even after everything, he’s planning something again?’

It seemed that the dagger was meant for something specific.

‘I have to hand it to him—he’s persistent.’

The Dark King couldn’t help but be impressed by the young man’s persistence.

Of course, persistence didn’t mean the outcome would change.

Unless Gu Yangcheon unlocked the secret of the Dark King’s domain, he would never escape.

As the Dark King watched, Gu Yangcheon suddenly flipped the dagger toward himself.

What was he doing?

And then...

"...!"

Gu Yangcheon thrust the dagger toward his own throat.

The Dark King’s body shot forward.

There was no time to hesitate.

In an instant, the Dark King closed the distance, grabbing Gu Yangcheon’s wrist just as the dagger’s tip was about to pierce his throat.

At the same time...

Grab!

Gu Yangcheon’s free hand clamped down on the Dark King’s wrist.

In that brief moment, the Dark King’s eyes widened in shock as Gu Yangcheon smiled up at him.

“Got you.”

“Hah…”

The amusement in his voice was unmistakable.

The Dark King let out a breath of disbelief.

This was absurd.

“…How did you know?”

The Dark King’s voice was low as he stared at Gu Yangcheon.

Gu Yangcheon tilted his head, as if confused.

“Know what?”

“How did you know this would work?”

The Dark King truly wanted to know.

In this domain, if one died by any means other than the Dark King’s hand, there was no coming back.

Gu Yangcheon would have died for real.

The Dark King had intervened only because he knew Gu Yangcheon couldn’t be allowed to die here.

That meant Gu Yangcheon had orchestrated this, knowing the Dark King would stop him.

But how could he have known?

The Dark King couldn’t understand it.

Gu Yangcheon, as casually as ever, gave his answer.

“I didn’t.”

“What?”

The Dark King frowned. He didn’t know?

“How could I know? It’s not like I can read minds.”

“Then why?”

The Dark King asked again, incredulously.

Gu Yangcheon shrugged, looking as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“I just tried it out, that’s all.”

“What…?”

He just tried it?

Still not comprehending, the Dark King watched as Gu Yangcheon continued.

“I was thinking about how to wake up from a nightmare.”

Nightmare? The Dark King’s attention was piqued.

“And the first thing to do is to try waking up, right?”

“What does that have to do with this?”

"I don’t know. I realized I hadn’t really tried to wake up. So, I thought I’d give it a shot. When you’re in a nightmare, isn’t the first thing you do to try to wake up?”

“…”

The Dark King was left speechless. Was he saying that he had attempted to kill himself, not knowing what would happen, just to try it?

He didn’t know the situation. He didn’t know what would happen if he really died here. And yet, he still decided to act on that reasoning?

The Dark King was sure of one thing now.

“You’re insane.”

It was the only logical conclusion.

“If I hadn’t stopped you, you would have actually died.”

“I thought you’d stop me.”

“What makes you so sure I would? What gave you that idea?”

Sure, some assumptions could be made. But knowing with certainty that the Dark King would intervene in time was a completely different matter.

There had to be a reason for such confidence.

Yet, Gu Yangcheon, rather than giving any profound answer, responded with an almost admiring tone.

“Oh, I didn’t think of that.”

“What…?”

“I just had a feeling you would stop me.”

“…What?”

“Just a gut feeling.”

At this point, the Dark King gave up trying to understand.

He thought there would never be another like Bijoo, the strange one. But now he realized that this disciple was even more of a lunatic than his master.

To think he’d come up with such a solution.

Sigh…

For the first time in more than a decade, the Dark King had to wipe his face, completely exasperated.

Whatever the case, Gu Yangcheon had succeeded in reaching him. The Dark King could already picture Paejon’s smug grin when he heard of this.

The thought made him feel nothing but irritation.

At that moment…

Fwoosh.

The Dark King suddenly felt a surge of heat. He didn’t need to look around to know where it was coming from.

There were only two people in this space, after all—him and Gu Yangcheon.

With a slight chill in his gaze, the Dark King asked, “What are you doing?”

“This is something I was personally curious about. Since we’ve come this far, I figured I’d give it a try,” Gu Yangcheon replied, as he continued to draw upon the heat, his red eyes glowing and a subtle flame radiating from him.

“What could he possibly want now?” the Dark King thought, watching Gu Yangcheon closely. He didn’t think the young man would be foolish enough to challenge him to a direct fight, so he stood back and observed.

“There were some things I couldn’t try because I kept dying,” Gu Yangcheon said.

“In this situation?” the Dark King asked.

“Yes.”

Just the previous night, Gu Yangcheon had died countless times, yet his expression was noticeably brighter now. He seemed almost excited, even.

“What is he thinking now?”

It seemed incomprehensible. Could just succeeding once really restore someone’s morale this much?

The Dark King couldn’t figure it out.

“I wondered if this truly was an unbreakable barrier,” Gu Yangcheon mused.

“…”

“It’s just a little curiosity.”

The Dark King didn’t respond to that.

It wasn’t exactly a “barrier” that could be broken.

This was not a formation that could be dismantled through martial arts or techniques.

It was a domain created through the power of a curse.

In a way, if the Dark King was correct about Gu Yangcheon being of the same kind as him, then perhaps one day Gu Yangcheon could wield a similar power.

But the Dark King didn’t feel the need to explain this.

It was a power that wouldn’t bring much benefit to anyone who learned it.

And so, the Dark King kept silent.

He didn’t stop Gu Yangcheon from doing what he wanted.

Whatever the young man intended, it wouldn’t change anything.

 

Seeing this, Gu Yangcheon muttered softly, “Jeokcheon.”

And in that instant, a scorching heat erupted from his body, expanding in all directions.

 

__________

 

TL Notes: Hi. I decided to try to diversify the text and in this chapter you can see the first art. I hope you don't mind? Let me know if you need it.