Chapter 88

“Anart…?”

Unconsciously, a strange word escaped my lips as I gazed at the woman.

It was an alien sound that didn’t resemble any regional dialect used in the Central Plains.

‘…What is Anart?’

Before I could analyze what the word I uttered meant, I found myself meeting the eyes of the woman looking at me.

They were deep.

That was the immediate thought that crossed my mind as our eyes met.

Her green eyes, tinged with blue, resembled a deep and clear lake.

They contained an unfathomable amount of time, along with a look of compassion.

Under the moonlit night, filled with beams of light, the woman exuded a dreamlike atmosphere as she gazed at me, causing me to feel overwhelmed; my body merely swayed up and down at my throat.

It was as if the formation of her presence was unfolding like a ritual centered around her face, and I could not break away from the gravitational pull her face exerted.

Only when she shifted her gaze to survey the sky did I finally find a moment of respite.

‘…Who is she?’

This place was the private residence of the Gongsun clan.

Built hidden on the Gongsun’s land, it was a place ordinary people found difficult to approach.

Without a certain purpose or determination, it was hard to even reach it by chance.

While I was captivated by her beautiful appearance and aura, it would be foolish to judge someone’s essence merely by their exterior in the martial world.

“You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”

However, the thought that the woman before me might have come to kidnap or kill me vanished the moment I looked at her face.

The woman, who was calmly observing the celestial bodies in the courtyard of a noble clan’s private residence, turned back to me and regarded me with an expression filled with a mix of affection and sorrow that was hard to understand.

As fragments of an intense emotion that I had never received, even from my own blood relatives, were conveyed through the Baihui point, any sense of confusion I felt was momentary, as the mysterious woman gestured for me to come closer without a word.

While my rational mind insisted that following an unknown intruder was akin to a suicidal act, my body seemed entranced as I approached her.

I was shorter than most men, while she was taller than most women.

The woman placed her hand on my head and gently stroked me.

Was this what a mother’s embrace felt like, something I had never truly experienced since childhood?

Though it was merely my head being petted, somehow, warmth began to spread throughout my body, even reaching the meridians that had long been stiff from not having flowed properly.

“My child is in a crisis and standing at a very important crossroads.”

Her clear and melodious voice enveloped my ears.

I looked up at her, puzzled by the abruptness of her words.

“Most matters of the world flow according to fate, even if they are not originally desired. Even if my child does not wish it, all beings must eventually break their shells and emerge when the time comes. No one else can assist with this. What one becomes after breaking free is a matter known only to oneself.”

I still could not comprehend her words.

“However, I am concerned that this beginning stemmed from a wicked intention. The only thing I can do as a presence that merely lingers in the child’s consciousness is to ensure that the vile does not disturb this moment.”

The hand that had been stroking my head caressed my bangs.

“But do not forget: Even if the vile clouds your eyes and thoughts, your body and spirit are already prepared to transcend it. Do you not already possess what you desire?”

Her hand fell away.

I expressed my disappointment with a faint sigh at the warmth that was fading.

Perhaps my feelings were evident on my face, as the woman chuckled softly.

Feeling my cheeks flush, I averted my eyes and finally opened my mouth.

“…Are you… a ghost?”

Even as I said it, I thought it was a foolish question.

But I had something to say as well.

Though my body was pitiful compared to ordinary mortals due to its inherent limitations, my Baihui point and the upper dantian, which had developed abnormally as a counterbalance, were sensitive to spiritual energy and resilient against mental perturbations.

Yet, ever since encountering the woman, my mind had been tossed around chaotically.

Furthermore, her jade-like green eyes and snow-white skin were rare even in the Central Plains.

Most of all, the elongated ears she possessed made her appear more like a supernatural being than a human.

“I was your origin, but also one of the things you must part with in order to stand as a single world.”

With that, she faded away along with her enigmatic words, suggesting a sudden departure.

“…Ah. Wait a moment.”

The hand I had extended toward her merely sliced through the air.

I stared blankly at the vanishing woman, who was dissolving into sparkling particles, as if she were a star.

She extended her finger towards my forehead, pressing down while smiling.

“Do not forget, child born from my roots. If you are determined, you now have the strength to break free from the shell that bound you.”

-Crack.

With the sound of something shattering, the woman’s image disappeared without a trace.

◈ ◈ ◈

I never saw the mysterious woman again after that full moon night.

Even while carrying out Gongsun Tianjun’s request, I waited for the next full moon, hoping to see her, but she never revealed herself.

However, for some reason, ever since that event, I felt a persistent tingling sensation inside me.

As if something soft, like feathers, was trying to emerge from within.

Simultaneously, a sense of suffocation grew stronger as days passed.

I was familiar with suffocating feelings.

Since the moment my rational mind awakened, I had been trapped in this place.

My body, always damp like wet cotton, was uncomfortable and had never been able to run properly like my peers.

That was why I was accustomed to feelings of suffocation.

But now I felt a peculiar sensation.

With every step I took, it felt as though I could ripple through the ground and instantly run a thousand miles.

If I swung my sword with all my might, I felt I could cleave the mountains visible outside.

Unlike my pitiful body, my spirit surged with a sense of omnipotence, creating a dissonance.

This dissonance only added to the suffocation I felt.

What had that woman done to me?

Despite her seemingly auspicious appearance, what manipulations had she enacted upon me?

While my mind reminisced the omnipotence I had never experienced before, my body still felt pitifully weak.

I began to understand why a warrior, who had lost their martial arts due to a shattered dantian, would choose to take their own life.

If the gap between mind and body were this great, one could not fully feel the pulse of being alive.

As I endured this strange sensation, my brush paused mid-stroke.

Stopping the transcription of the cultivated martial arts, I suddenly stood up and headed toward a nearby location.

The space I arrived at was a broad area, slightly over twenty pyeong, filled with weapons displayed along the edges.

This place was created to correctly recognize the forms and characteristics of weaponry, as understanding martial arts required proper knowledge of these.

Entering a place that seemed to have been left untouched for a long time, my body throbbed with pain.

Yet the sudden impulse drove me to ignore the pain and step towards where the weapons were displayed.

As if entranced, I reached out for one, a sword with a blade about two shaku (60cm) long.

It had a cord hung from the hilt, making it look more like a ceremonial sword than one meant for battle.

Nevertheless, I didn’t switch to another sword; I stood at the center of the training hall holding this one.

My right hand gripped the sword slowly, as if preparing for a martial arts format rather than beginning a dance.

“What are you doing, Young Master Hee?”

At that moment, an icy voice filled with propriety pierced through the air.

I froze for an instant.

But through my Baihui, an instinct hit me like a lightning bolt.

If I stopped now, I realized that the next opportunity might never come again.

Without turning my head in response to the voice filled with anger and anxiety, the sword began to move slowly.

“Your body does not seem well, Young Master. Please put down the sword and return to your room.”

As she spoke, the cursed pain I had felt receded momentarily.

In that instant, as the pain shot up to my shoulder, the line drawn by the sword became erratic.

But strangely, amidst the pain that seemed to tear my body apart, there was an odd, floating sensation, almost like a dream.

The erratic point of the sword returned to a straight position, rising until it was level with my shoulder.

As the sword tip moved, it began to describe a slow and graceful curve.

My waist and knees bent smoothly.

A slow dance began.

As my consciousness focused on the sword tip, it started to erase everything unnecessary from the world for the sake of the sword dance.

“Young Master, it is not your place to act on your own in martial arts. You lack the inner strength, right? What you are doing is of no use at all. It will only harm you. Please return.”

Even as pain pierced through my body and intrusive thoughts invaded, the trajectory of the sword moved gracefully through the air without a hint of hesitation.

Though it was a dance devoid of inner strength, the sword’s movements remained free and dignified.

As if reflecting the heart of its master, the sword advanced wherever it willed.

Swoosh.

While the sword tip merely traced the air, a sound like that of a knot being untied echoed in my ears.

In that instant, I felt as if the sky and earth shook, and in my swirling gaze, I saw Ye’s figure dissolve like a shadow.

The world shimmered unsteadily, but suddenly, a tree shot up, propping up the swaying sky.

“Young Hee, have you completed the task I entrusted to you? It was an important mission. If you do well, both I and the clan will be grateful to you.”

As my consciousness sank deeper into the dance, Gongsun Tianjun’s voice resonated.

In that moment, tension surged around the sword tip, which had felt as if it would freely soar through the sky indefinitely.

“The martial arts you leave behind will be forever remembered by our clan and the people who support us. Every warrior wishes to leave their mark on the world through their martial arts. Do not waste the little time you have left here. Now, let us return. Everyone in the clan is waiting for you.”

The sun rose.

Not one, but nine suns.

Amidst the dazzling light, faces emerged.

The largest sun bore the visage of Gongsun Tianjun.

Behind it were brothers who would come to me only when necessary.

Even though they had come to entrust their martial arts to me, they shared boastful tales of their exploits, subtly either sympathizing with or mockingly looking down on me.

All faces rose above the sun.

Once, they had been the objects of my yearning.

Yet the closer I reached for their warmth, the more it blinded me, burning my very flesh.

As the sword’s deadly tension was released nine times, its radiant flair caused the suns to fall.

The suns plummeted, losing their light and melting into shadows.

As they fell, the world lost its illumination and grew dark.

But soon, six golden rays of vibrant light arose, illuminating the world.

As nine suns had burned everything, the towering tree supported the heavens above the desolate land, while six rays of light began to brighten things anew.

As if attempting to draw new things across a burnt and vacant world, the sword dance continued, intertwined with the radiant lights.

Slowly, even more slowly. The sword moved as if tracing eternity.

The world in contact with the sword tip began to bloom.

As the light deepened, the growing shadows began to rise, as if they could no longer bear it.

Deception and illusion crumbled.

A young world, long suffering and wounded, yet incomplete, emerged from the tomb of shadows.

At some point, the young dancer transformed from a boy to a girl, as shadows converged upon her.

Yet even amidst the approaching shadows, the dancer simply continued her sword dance.

Just as a massive wave of shadow sought to engulf the dancer, an enormous golden dragon materialized from beneath her feet, unleashing a fierce roar.

With the shadows deterred from approaching, the dragon soared toward the sky, carrying the dancer along.

On the back of the dragon, the dancer executed one final graceful movement as she gazed below.

It was a clumsy world.

Countless remnants, now rendered unnecessary, had turned into shackles, allowing such muddled shadows to invade.

The division of heaven and earth felt absent, as if trapped within an egg.

But it no longer felt stifling.

I could now comprehend.

‘Everything I need is already here.’

My chest swelled with an overwhelming sense of omnipotence.

The sword’s tip aligned horizontally.

The axis of the world.

The trajectory of the sword.

It traced a vast circular line around this place.

Along the drawn horizon, heaven and earth separated.

In that moment, the young world, which had lacked distinction between heaven and earth, trembled.

Crack-crack—

The world shatters.

And the world is being born.

**Gongsun Dragon Sword Dance**

**Heaven and Earth Opening**

As the dancer’s dance concluded, a sun that rose through the collapsing gaps around the horizon began to shine upon the newly born world as if blessing it.

◈ ◈ ◈

Algul felt the spell he had cast shatter, causing a surge of consciousness to reemerge.

Along with that, he broke out in a cold sweat and gazed at a particular spot.

There stood a girl, pondering with her eyes half-open.

The shadows that had enveloped her melted away, revealing an absolute presence that emitted an unspoken aura.

“…Is this possible?”

Though she was still young and not fully formed, Algul could not help but be astonished as he recognized such a presence that could emanate from nature.

“…Thank you. Because of you, I have crossed the wall.”

Araya, who had even tidied up the echoes of enlightenment, looked at Algul as she spoke.

Algul groaned inwardly while watching Araya, who had naturally attained a level of omnipotence akin to Elder Roa through her own abilities.

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