Time flowed endlessly like a river. In the case of Bi Wol, I helped her learn the Three Talented Sword Method by buying her a new sword.
It’s just a matter of horizontal slash, vertical slash, and thrusting, but that’s precisely why it can be applied in countless ways.
No matter how low-tier the martial arts may be, the one who learns it is not low-tier.
“This is the sword bestowed upon me by my master… I will cherish it more than my own body.”
Bi Wol said, hugging a black sword, the same color as her hair.
The reason it was chosen to be as similar as possible to the sword she uses in the original story was that I hoped to help her break free from her destiny.
I felt I shouldn’t act alone or try to bind her anymore.
If I had let Bi Wol be more free, the seed of the heart demon wouldn’t have grown in her heart.
“Master! Don’t I get a gift?”
Next to Bi Wol, Verdandi cheerfully spoke up. I taught her the Six Harmonies Sword Technique – a low-tier martial art that incorporates the three strikes of the Volcano Sect: Swift, Change, and Illusion.
At first, it was tough, practicing in the mystical realm, but it couldn’t be helped if I wanted to teach her while taking care of my own body.
Moreover, Verdandi’s rival, Zikhart, is a swordsman who can turn everything in this world into a weapon. When he grows stronger, he can slash through time and space itself—what a monster!
“Unfortunately, it turned out this way. But how about this comb?”
I showed Verdandi a comb. Since she usually keeps one side of her hair braided, it had a hidden implication that she cherished her hair.
“I really like it! Master, you understand women’s hearts well!”
She smiled brightly and quickly took the comb from my hand. The shopkeeper looked at me with a strange expression, but it must have just been my imagination.
“Master, do you know that giving a comb as a gift to a woman holds significance?”
Was there such a thing? Seeing Bi Wol tugging on my sleeve, I could tell I had made another mistake.
“I’m not too sure. I’ve had no experience with women.”
I shook my head and played dumb. The way to deal with situations like this is to act as if I’m completely oblivious.
“…Since you didn’t know, I’ll let it slide this time.”
Bi Wol sighed, making a face like she expected that, and soon showed a consenting attitude.
What does it all mean? Since I’ve been living a life with a terminal condition, I never really thought about having a partner.
Ever since I lost Seolhwa, I’ve never even considered wanting to meet another woman.
“Hey, do I not get a gift either?”
At that moment, I sensed a presence behind me. Azazel puffed her cheeks, asking if she had a share as well. I was relieved to see her gradually opening her heart.
“How about something to eat? I even have sweet snacks as sweet as magic candy.”
I gently offered Azazel a piece of sugar-coated pastry resembling a twisted doughnut.
Since Azazel still treasures the rosary given to her by Kang Si Woo, I felt that giving her a tangible gift might backfire instead.
“Hmm, not bad. Thank you.”
She nodded slightly and thanked me. Seeing her like that, I instinctively felt that she would need more time.
“I hope you will keep striving as well.”
Without rewards, people can get worn out from repeating the same tasks.
Writing against a wall before launching a web novel (a solitary act of piling up the stock without reader feedback) is a lonely and isolating experience.
The reason I had chosen to pause my serialization in my past life was due to the lack of reader engagement.
Even if it’s just one person reading, that’s what makes someone a writer; however, ever since I lost Seolhwa, I wished for more people to read it.
“Isn’t that a given?”
“Yep! Understood!”
“If I could meet Si Woo….”
My disciples each declared their promises as they treasured their gifts, pouring even more effort into their training.
*
After finishing their training, the three disciples washed up and gathered in one room. Originally, Bi Wol was meant to be alone in the room, but now there were two more.
“This place is spacious. Still, we won’t be cramped.”
In the sunlit area, Bi Wol generously offered the best lodging in Ice Dragon Blossom Heart. She was accumulating debts to get something later from her master.
“So, why have you gathered us here?”
Bi Wol, with a suspicious glance at the other two, was the first to speak up. She thought there must be something special about the three of them being here.
“What? Was there something to talk about?”
Azazel said nonchalantly, but it had been a long time since she had been among people.
“…I’ll just listen for now.”
She didn’t seem to dislike this kind of life. After all, it’s better than endlessly waiting for someone who might not even come and being trapped in a cold place.
“Don’t we seem to have some common denominator?”
Bi Wol presented a hypothesis to them. Unlike the children that Bing Yeon usually takes in, they were individuals capable of toppling a country.
According to Bing Yeon, who claimed to see the future, it didn’t seem like it was fate for them to gather here.
“First, we all have dark pasts.”
Bi Wol raised a finger and began her account. Her own past involved being raised by the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, tasting slaughter and blood from a young age.
Verdandi, through The Eye that Sees the Truth, could see through others’ lies and had endured the torment of the villagers as she grew up.
Azazel, having lost her parents, lived with her twin sister while even enduring the humiliation of having her crush taken away.
“Hmm! That certainly seems right!”
Verdandi nodded along, understanding Bi Wol’s reasoning. The fact that their master Bing Yeon understood and embraced their pasts made them feel even more connected.
“…Is that so?”
Azazel tilted her head slightly in confusion.
Everyone’s past could seemingly be seen as unfortunate depending on how one rated it, and she believed she had been saved by Kang Si Woo.
“The second point is we all have the power to overthrow at least one nation. That sets us apart from the children who typically join our sect.”
The people taken by Ice Dragon Blossom Heart were mainly children of parents who had run away from murderous taxes, suffered accidents that caused them to lose limbs, or were left homeless due to famines.
In short, these inherently strong women didn’t need to be taken in as disciples. If they truly sought to change the future, it would be better to support them without disrupting their paths.
“We might be related to our master’s death!”
Then, Verdandi raised her hand and expressed her opinion to Bi Wol.
The vision Bi Wol had while fighting the heart demon in the mystical realm showed a future where someone familiar was being executed.
“No way. If she wanted to preserve her own life, she wouldn’t have saved us. She would have chosen to kill us instead, because that leaves fewer problems in the future.”
Bi Wol shook her head, expressing her disagreement with Verdandi. It was something she learned during their training.
Even at the same peak level, Bing Yeon had been stuck at that wall for much longer, making it difficult for the three of them to defeat her all at once.
“That sounds a bit odd.”
Azazel pondered while resting her chin in her hand. If they were indeed connected to the negative future Bing Yeon had seen, wouldn’t it be easier to just take them out?
– That guy is definitely weird. There’s no way someone who remains sane has been influenced by the Outer God.
Tentacles behind her wiggled as Morgidian chimed in.
This wasn’t just an Outer God; he was Shub-Niggurath, known as the black goat of the forest with a thousand young, and the wife of Yog-Sothoth, a being also referred to as a local sleeper.
– The daughter-in-law of the ‘Foolish Father’. Do you really think someone touched by her could still be an ordinary human?
Azathoth, the being above them, is often depicted as beyond logic, making it reasonable to describe him as the head of the Outer Gods.
“Third, our master refers to us as daughters and seems to feel some guilt about it.”
The last common denominator made the three of them feel something uncanny as they exchanged glances. Their hair, eye colors, and everything else were different, but there was an inexplicable resemblance.
An inexplicable similarity—they couldn’t bring themselves to say that phrase. While they were each apart, they didn’t notice it, but they had a lot of small common traits.
“We all have different parents, don’t we?!”
Verdandi expressed her confusion, her eyes wide with surprise. Bi Wol sighed long, as if to agree with that sentiment.
“That’s right, our master has no partner. Occasionally in winter, she takes flowers and goes to some place.”
I had imagined it might be an illusion of a lost child, but no matter how I thought about it, it didn’t fit her age.
“But we do have some resemblance in our appearances.”
“R-resemblance, you say…?”
Bi Wol said as she fixed her hair. Looking at her disciples, the length of their hair was similarly flowing down.
“Long straight hair, unique eyes, and we’re all taller and bigger than kids our age.”
All three of them had long, flowing hair and unique eyes, and they were somewhat taller and better-built than other children their age.
It was like someone had modeled them after someone else.
“…”
“Looking at it this way, we do seem to resemble each other quite a bit!”
Could there really be such a coincidence? They were all born hundreds of miles away from each other, on different continents.
In fact, the final bosses that appear in fiction often resemble Seolhwa, creating such results.
“…What if we are actually lost sisters?”
With Azazel’s blunder, their misunderstanding deepened.
*
Tonight, sleep evaded me. Could it be because of the possibility that Seolhwa is truly alive?
It might be an attempt by the Outer God Shub-Niggurath to confound me by mimicking her handwriting or memories.
“Even after all these years, you haven’t faded away.”
I covered my face with my hands, furrowing my brow. The feeling of love can be as poisonous as a venom, causing agony no matter how much time passes.
Even before and after being reincarnated, Seolhwa remained a prominent presence in my heart.
“…If you really are alive, why haven’t you shown yourself to me?”
I was wandering alone on a hillside after leaving the sect. Just sitting still felt like madness creeping in, my breathing turned ragged, and my body soaked in sweat, yet I didn’t mind.
Wanting to stir her attention, wanting to pay homage to her, I wrote. My admiration turned into love, and now only the grotesque regrets lingered as I took in the final bosses as my disciples.
What else was left for me to be robbed of? Were they trying to destroy my last remaining memories?
“The reason, you probably know better, right?”
At that moment, a familiar voice brushed against my ears, sending chills down my spine.
This couldn’t be happening.
It was absolutely impossible.
The owner of this cute, slightly high-pitched voice was exactly the voice I yearned for all my life.
“…Do Hyeon, it’s been a long time.”
