Chương 705: Annihilation and Flower (6)

'It feels like a play.'

Seo Ran returns home, greets her parents, eats dinner, and tells Seo Eun-hyun about what happened today.

Her father, Seo Eun-hyun, already knows everything, but still listens again to what happened from Seo Ran.

Seo Ran finds that kind of thing uncomfortable.

'This world, my parents, these endlessly repeating fates... it all feels like a play.'

She often feels as if she isn't living in the 'real world' but has entered a script where everything is written and orchestrated.

'Of course...'

Of course, every time Kim Yeon and Seo Eun-hyun look at Seo Ran with those affectionate eyes.

The boundless love from her parents—that alone is real, not a play.

But...

Even the parents who give her endless love don't tell her everything.

After finishing the story of the day and eating all her dinner, she suddenly asks her parents a question.

"... Are you not going to answer me again today? About Mother and Father's true identities?"

"Hmm... Hoho, Daoist Seo. I am just fellow Daoist's father."

"Father! Please stop joking and give me a proper answer!"

She lets out a sigh, raising her voice slightly at Seo Eun-hyun, who always teases her with words like "Hoho, Daoist Seo" whenever he's bored.

Seeing her like that, Kim Yeon smiles warmly.

"Ran-ah, don't be so anxious. Someday... when you achieve great completion in the martial arts we've given you, and your strength is enough to truly be considered the best under the heavens..."

"Here we go again, yes yes, I know. When I become the best under the heavens, I'll naturally learn my fate, and then I'll know who Mother and Father really are, right? Got it~ I'm sorry for even bringing this up to parents who hide so many secrets from their own daughter that they can't say a single word."

Seo Ran gets up from her seat with a sulky expression, and Seo Eun-hyun looks at her with an apologetic face and speaks.

"... Right now, even if we told you the truth, the only outcome would be you returning to thee. Especially since you are an innate Sacred Vessel, no matter how much we lower our rank and tell you the truth... even if you don't return to thee, you'll still be gravely hurt. It's something we can't say because we don't want you to get hurt. Please just endure it for a few more years."

"Of all the words that are coming out of Father's mouth, there's not a single... haah. Whatever. I'm going to the mountain to meet the mountain spirit."

"Mountain spirit... Alright. Come back safe."

And so, she begins to climb the mountain, leaving behind her frustrating parents to meet the 'mountain spirit' of Sword Peak Mountain.

Many people avoid Sword Peak Mountain, calling it a Ghost Mountain and saying it feels eerie, but Seo Ran is different.

'There's no other spiritual mountain like this... Why does everyone dislike it?'

There is a legend that Sword Peak Mountain was created by a white round collar noble divine spirit who wields the sword.

Every time she enters this spiritual mountain, she feels her whole body relax.

It feels as if the mountain itself warmly embraces her.

More than anything, what's incredible about the mountain is...

Whenever she climbs the mountain, for some reason, Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon stop paying attention to her.

Inside the mountain, whether she sneezes, trips and bleeds, or burns through vast amounts of innate true energy, they don't care.

It's as if, within this mountain, it's okay no matter what happens.

'And also... inside this mountain, those complicated 'flows' don't bother me...'

That's why, on this mountain where quince trees mainly grow wild, she can always let her heart down and feel at ease.

'Most of all... the thing I look forward to most in this mountain is that.'

The mountain spirit.

The legendary mountain spirit said to reside in this mountain.

While climbing, she suddenly arrives at a spot next to a pond.

"So is this... the place where Second Flower Unnie's servant dropped his axe?"

Psh— This pond is a place where she and her family often came to play when she was younger.

Especially her father, Seo Eun-hyun, used to bathe in this pond, and Kim Yeon often taught Seo Ran axe throwing techniques here.

'They used to tell me fairy tales like the golden axe and silver axe here.'

Recalling those old memories, she passes the pond and arrives at a small field deeper in the mountain.

Even though it's evening, many flowers are blooming in full glory.

'Will I be able to meet the mountain spirit today...?'

As she looks around at the many flowers, she searches for the 'mountain spirit.'

How long does she wander through the flower field?

At last, Seo Ran spots a single [Black Flower].

The moment she sees the flower, she lights up and runs over, speaking in a small voice in front of it.

"Sir Mountain Spirit~ I'm here."

As Seo Ran's voice rings out, the black flower twitches.

Then, above the black flower, the figure of a tiny old man appears and sits cross-legged atop the flower bud.

[Is that you, Ran-ah? Haw haw, it's been a while.]

"Yes, Sir Mountain Spirit. It's been almost a month. Why did you come so late?"

Sometimes when she climbs Sword Peak Mountain and finds the [Black Flower], she gets to meet the [Mountain Spirit].

This tiny spirit in the form of an old man, who only ever appears through the [flower], always listens well to Seo Ran's words and acknowledges her complaints and stifled frustration.

[Hmm, sorry about that. Recently, the boundary around this stellar system has become more heavily guarded, so it's been a bit difficult to get through.]

"What's a stellar system?"

[I already explained about fixed stars before, didn't I?] And one more reason.

The reason she enjoys meeting this mountain divine spirit is because he occasionally shares knowledge that is beyond her imagination.

[... Well, it's something like that.]

"Wow... the world really is vast."

[Indeed.]

"Then what do you mean by breaking through the boundary of the stellar system? Is there someone guarding it?"

[Yes. More or less... you can say that a savage Devil God has the entire stellar system in their grasp and is guarding it tightly.]

"Wow... what kind of Devil God is that...?"

[A terrifying being who compresses the entire starry sky into a single point of light and swallows it whole... There's nothing more you need to know. Knowing too much can rather bring harm. For now, that Devil God isn't going to harm you... and there's nothing you need to know just yet.]

"Yes. Thank you for being considerate. By the way... do you know, mountain spirit? Lately... the frustration has gotten worse."

Seo Ran pours out to the mountain spirit what's been happening to her recently and the suffocating frustration she's felt from it.

"It feels like the world is just a stage play. Of course, watching plays with my father was really fun. When a troupe came and performed... the acrobatics, the memories of watching the play were all enjoyable... But being trapped inside the play itself doesn't feel pleasant at all."

Frustration with the fate of this world.

Frustration with parents who won't tell her a single thing about their identity.

Frustration that the only enjoyable outlets she has are chatting with Kang Min-hee and talking to the mountain spirit.

In the midst of countless frustrations, she chats away with the mountain spirit, who listens and accepts them the best.

And then, at some point— The mountain spirit, who has been listening well to Seo Ran's story, smiles faintly.

[So, to sum it all up... you're saying you are not interested in becoming the greatest under the heavens, you are tired of this suffocating daily life, and you want to escape your parents' stifling embrace?]

"Yes. That would be nice."

[Haha, don't worry too much. You're a good child. So... don't forget that good children receive gifts.]

"Huh...? A gift?"

Seo Ran looks puzzled at the mountain spirit's words, and the 'mountain spirit' smiles gently and speaks as he gradually gets drawn back into the black flower.

[Because soon... a reality far more enjoyable than this tedious reality of fixed repeated endings will unfold before your eyes. When that happens... the identities of your parents, becoming the best martial artist under the heavens, all of it will become meaningless... You will soon be able to quickly escape from what you so wish to break free from.]

"... Thank you, even just for saying that."

[Hohohoho... Then... let us look forward to the day everything changes...] Pasusu— With those final words, the 'mountain spirit' is completely absorbed into the black flower, and the flower that had finished speaking with her scatters into the void and vanishes.

As if it had never existed at all.

"Do you think Ran is feeling suffocated a lot?"

Seo Eun-hyun asks as he sits on the wooden floor with Kim Yeon, watching the evening glow.

"She's practically an innate Sacred Vessel, so she must be particularly sensitive to the flow of fate... I'm thinking maybe I arranged the fate of the Unruly Realm too safely for her."

"That may be true, dear. But... can you handle it? If you let dangerous fates appear near Ran and she ends up getting hurt..."

"I'm pretty confident I'd lose my mind. I think I only realized how shallow my mental discipline was after Ran was born. When I learned about the Quaking Heat Body... just remembering how I nearly split this star apart in anger..."

Quaking Heat Body.

It is the Heavenly Punishment that exists within Seo Ran.

Originally, a Quaking Heat Body is a Heavenly Punishment that can be healed by their own hands.

But why then, do they deliberately choose to not remove the Quaking Heat Body?

The reason is simple.

In any case, for Seo Ran to realize her essence and understand the 'true body' of theirs that she is so curious about, she must awaken to her fate.

She must come to realize the fate of [the fate that overcomes fate].

But what does it mean to overcome fate?

It means liberation from the forces that oppress oneself.

That is why, even as they shed tears of blood, Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon did not eliminate the Quaking Heat Body.

They wait for the day when Seo Ran overcomes the Quaking Heat Body, becomes the number one spear under the heavens, masters Martial Arts to the extreme, and overcomes the curse of the Quaking Heat Body through complete transformation.

To overcome her Heavenly Punishment with her own power.

If that is realized, then surely Seo Ran cannot help but awaken to her fate.

'For now, guiding her fate in that way may be the best course of action...'

Even without the Quaking Heat Body, the fate of 'overcoming fate' is still Seo Ran's fate, And Seo Ran will continue to try to 'overcome' something.

And among those things...

Perhaps, that might even include Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon.

But recently, Seo Eun-hyun reflects on whether his measures have been too suffocating.

"Maybe... we've been too harsh, Yeon-ah?"

"... I don't know. Really... they say there's no right answer when it comes to raising children, and I think that's true."

"Is that so...?"

Leaning shoulder-to-shoulder with Kim Yeon for a while, Seo Eun-hyun suddenly recalls something and speaks.

"Ran's fifteenth birthday is coming up. What if... as a birthday gift, we gave her something she could be genuinely happy about?"

"What kind of gift?"

"... The advancement of civilization."

At Seo Eun-hyun's words, Kim Yeon's eyes light up.

"We might not be able to advance civilization drastically to Earth's level... but if it's you, Yeon, you could advance it this much with the power of Liberation. Don't you think?"

"... Yes. That's true. If it's just that much... it's a good idea. It'd be nice if that child sees this and becomes happy."

"Alright then... I'll leave the weaving of fate to you."

"Yes! I'll do my best!"

"No, let's do our best together."

Seo Eun-hyun quickly writes a letter to Seo Ran, then takes Kim Yeon's hand and walks out of the house.

And some time later— Seo Ran, having returned from meeting the 'mountain spirit,' arrives home.

She reads the letter that Seo Eun-hyun has left behind.

"They'll be back in three days...? To think there are times when both Mother and Father are out like this..."

After reading the letter, she looks around the now-empty house for a while.

Somehow, her home feels bigger than usual today.

'My birthday's in three days... Still... I wish they'd stay with me.'

Their presence is suffocating, but their absence makes her feel hollow.

Perhaps, that is what parents are.

Seo Ran looks around the house left behind by Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon, and begins preparing herself to manage things alone.

Just then, familiar faces gather in front of Seo Ran's yard.

"Hey, Seo Ran! Your mom and dad asked us to check on you."

"Hey, Seo Ran! Take this bastard Jeon Myeong-hoon. He got so wasted he can't even stand straight! Kuhaha."

It is Jeon Myeong-hoon, a wealthy man living in the city and said to be Seo Ran's father Seo Eun-hyun's close friend.

And Baek (White), who is said to have been the midwife at Seo Ran's birth.

Both of them reek of alcohol, clearly having come straight from drinking, and Baek's hair, which she normally ties up like a pony tail, is now completely let down.

"This damned... horse-muscled bastard..."

"Seo Ran, this guy is totally not in his right mind... so lay him down for a bit."

"Ah, yes, Miss Baek."

"Seo Ran, you got anything to eat?"

"Uh... There's some horse meat that Father bought..."

"Shit... horse meat... That human bastard Seo Eun-hyun must have bought it on purpose so I wouldn't come over... Forget it, I'm not eating because it's too petty."

Muttering to herself, Baek lays Jeon Myeong-hoon down in the main room, then flops down beside him and calls Seo Ran.

"Seo Ran! Start the fire... and come sleep here with us."

"Yeesss..."

Seo Ran lays out the bedding and, after finishing her bedtime preparations, slowly lies down beside Baek.

But at that moment, Baek pulls Seo Ran into a tight hug and places her between herself and Jeon Myeong-hoon.

"Ohhh, this adorable little baby... How are you so cute every time I see you, Seo Ran...?"

"Uuuuk... Miss Baek..."

Seo Ran coughs as she's smothered by Baek's large chest, and feels herself getting dizzy from the strong smell of alcohol coming off both of them.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. It's because I just happen to use a human female form when I Transform... Actually, if you're fine with it, it'd be better for us both if I just showed you my regular form... but then you'd probably faint, so I'll stick with this form until you awaken your fate..."

"... Maybe it's because your drunk, but I have no idea what you're saying, Miss Baek."

But before she can finish speaking, Baek falls asleep and offers no reply.

Then suddenly, a voice comes from Jeon Myeong-hoon.

"... Seo Ran. This world feels cramped, and you feel very suffocated, don't you?"

"..."

"Nothing really goes the way you want it to... but don't be too discouraged. Right now, you're... by our standards, like a baby wrapped in swaddling cloth... and for such a baby, you need a bit more protection... That's... why..."

Jeon Myeong-hoon, who mumbles his advice as if half-asleep, soon falls completely asleep.

Seo Ran doesn't know whether she should feel happy or annoyed by the intrusion of these drunkards.

'... Well, I guess it's kind of fun.'

They are the ones who swept away the bitter disappointment that creeped in while her parents are gone.

However...

Even Jeon Myeong-hoon and Baek cannot completely chase away the stifling frustration Seo Ran feels.

'Mother... Father...'

Nestled between Baek and Jeon Myeong-hoon, Seo Ran closes her eyes and begins to fall asleep.

In her closed eyes, a memory comes to life.

It is from when a traveling troupe came to the area they once lived in.

She remembers how delighted she had been while watching their performance.

And among them, she recalls especially the acrobat who walked barefoot across a tightrope, going back and forth across that rope again and again.

'I... don't really want to become the greatest under the heavens or anything...'

Though she has never told her parents, Seo Ran has one dream.

The Quaking Heat Body, the greatest under the heavens, a certain realm of martial arts...

She has no interest in any of it.

What she wants is simply to become independent from her parents...

And someday, relying on nothing but her own strength, she wants to become an acrobat and walk across a tightrope.

While walking on the tightrope, she wants to amaze her parents all with her own strength.

That alone is what she truly wishes for.

Somewhere deep within the chaos of the Outer Sea.

The enormous black floral worm, which had once been flung away by Seo Eun-hyun and settled within a region of chaos, writhes.

The worm's pupils cross distant spacetime and reflect a stellar system where Seo Eun-hyun's group sent incarnations and built a cradle for his child.

The worm, the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, mutters in a voice filled with something like delight.

:: The conditions are nearly fulfilled. All that remains...:: Kkuduk, kudududuk...

And then— From within the body of Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, 'transparent seeds' That is, the ancient forms of ancient force, begin to pour out.

:: Is to imprison the distinguished one, and guide the distinguished one's fate through forgotten possibilities... In this moment, where your guides have become colorless, I shall become your guide...:: Pasasasasa— And so, the transparent seeds released from the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable drift across vast spacetime, and head to the Nether Treading Ship that is sailing toward the Heavenly Venerable of Time.