Chapter 103

A person who defies fate is usually one of two types.

The first is someone who embarks on a perilous journey, resisting an unreasonable destiny.

The second is someone who, unable to accept their fate, chooses the easier path out of fear to resist.

In the first case, there will be heroes written about in history books, while in the latter, there will be cowards like a PaGyeSeung.

Hero.

When we speak of a hero, it doesn’t solely refer to those on the front lines of battle.

Just like a mischievous boy next door could be a hero to a girl living in some remote mountain village, it doesn’t necessarily have to be grand.

So, which category does Carami fall into?

It seemed at least not to be the second type. By process of elimination, Carami was closer to the first.

It wasn’t surprising. After all, Hekbi wasn’t an ordinary fox and had lived for a long time, occasionally witnessing individuals called heroes.

Even so, Hekbi couldn’t help but be surprised.

It wasn’t that Hekbi was astonished that Carami was treading the path of defying fate.

“Were you the guest? The one who awakened Gumiho.”

“Should I say awakened? When I arrived, she sought me out first.”

With a faint smile, Carami nodded, not as though it was something to hide.

The one who awakened Gumiho and even raised the eight-tailed fox was none other than Carami. This was the reason why Hekbi was astonished.

“You didn’t come to see me to read my fortune, I assume.”

“It wasn’t the main purpose, but it qualifies as a side task. Think of it as conducting business while also pursuing hobbies.”

Hekbi’s archaic way of referring to herself as a “young lady” was something rarely seen in modern Earth.

If Carami’s feelings during their conversation had to be likened to something, it would be like conversing with a voice actor who has meticulously stuck to their character’s concept. Plus, there was a cosplay bonus.

Ever since encountering Hekbi, Carami had been in a palpably nervous state.

Of course, from Hekbi’s perspective, Carami had transformed from an inconsequential man to someone on par with Gumiho, possibly even more dangerous.

Had there been a scouter to measure threat levels, it would have likely exploded.

“Fate is not something easily flipped like the back of a hand. The same goes for divinations.”

Carami’s divination was not merely their own; it encompassed everyone tied to them. Naturally, Gumiho was included within it.

“But didn’t I change the divination?”

“It’s a mere pretense.”

“If that were true, then natural calamities shouldn’t have changed it either. Why spark excitement if you’re going to deny it now?”

“That kind of sophistry…”

“Anyway, I’ve made my decision, so consider it as it is.”

What kind of stubborn person even exists? This was truly someone who had pulled the ox card: either obstinate or like a three-year-old child’s stubbornness.

Someone who gets angry demanding a reversal of fate would have been preferable. At least then, Hekbi could have driven them away by force.

Since Carami was attempting to alter their own divination with their hands, Hekbi had nothing to say in response.

Being around Carami mentally exhausting.

I must send him away soon.

“You seem to have followed after Gumiho, but alas, she is not here.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Hekbi said this with a calm tone and expression. Despite Carami’s intense stare, there was not the slightest waver from Hekbi.

“In that case, there’s nothing I can do.”

Carami rose willingly from their seat and gathered the three cards they had drawn, showing them to Hekbi.

“Can I take these as a souvenir?”

“Do as you wish. Why don’t you take all of them?”

“Oh, is that alright? Yay~”

Carami didn’t refuse.

Humming a tune, they gathered all twelve cards.

“Then, I shall take my leave now.”

“Yes, please leave as soon as possible.”

Hekbi escorted Carami out, somewhat resembling chasing away an animal from the Moon Shadow Temple.

Upon stepping outside the Moon Shadow Temple, Carami looked around.

A gesture as though searching for something.

“Is it about here?”

Carami reached into their large pouch to retrieve a red bead, but just as they were about to toss it—

Snap!

Hekbi, who had followed quietly, suddenly accelerated and roughly grabbed Carami’s wrist. The bead clattered onto the ground.

Yipe.

“Ow.”

Hekbi applied pressure as her iron grip, superior to that of a human, made Carami squint their eyes in discomfort. Yet, they forced out a smile as if they were fine.

“What? Did you suddenly develop feelings for me? Are you lonely now that I’m leaving? Should I stay with you?”

“Nonsense. What were you planning to do?”

“To take back my slave.”

“Slave…?”

“Did you not know? Gumiho is my slave.”

Confused by the statement, Hekbi narrowed her eyes and glared at Carami, who maintained a smile while fixing their gaze on nothingness.

“You said Gumiho wasn’t here, right? Yes, it’s technically not a lie, but she’s nearby.”

“…How did you figure it out?”

“One can feel even if someone or something is in a different space but close enough.”

Poof!

The bead that fell to the ground exploded, releasing a red smoke.

Hekbi had no time to analyze what it was.

Another magical bead from the thousand foxes.

Its capabilities were unknown.

Hekbi negated the very existence of the bead.

The bead along with the smoke disappeared with a pop, all in an instant.

“Kya~ That was an awfully quick response.”

“I’ve already seen what it could do once. What works once doesn’t work twice.”

“That was a reversal, wasn’t it? Made possible by the power of the Yin Eye.”

“Heavenly Fox must have told you that much, didn’t she?”

“Heck no, I actually knew this beforehand.”

“A blatant lie is worse than not telling the truth.”

“It’s the truth…”

Chungho would have felt wronged upon hearing that. She hadn’t shared anything—Carami had already known before she mentioned anything.

Of course, it was something Hekbi would never come to realize, even if told.

“Even if you claim to know my capabilities, that doesn’t change anything.”

“Hmm, are you sure about that? There’s an obvious flaw in those abilities.”

“Flaw…you speak of?”

Carami continued to chatter glibly.

“The power of the Yin Eye is to reverse something that exists in reality. It doesn’t extinguish it. So where does the reversed item go?”

“That’s…”

“For instance, maybe the mirror world?”

At that moment, the drooping eyes of the usually lethargic Hekbi widened.

That’s what Carami expected. Scaring a lady like Hekbi, who resembled a proper young aristocratic daughter, was highly entertaining. Unable to contain themselves, Carami let out a sinister chuckle.

“The vulnerability of such a parallel space is that it cannot withstand shocks from both inside and out. Like this.”

Swoosh!

An object flew at a bullet-like speed from somewhere, grazing past Hekbi’s side. Her black hair whipped wildly.

It was a blue bead.

‘Where?’

Hekbi turned her head sharply and locked eyes on the direction the bead came from.

It was quite distant from the Moon Shadow Temple. A slight, barely noticeable noise was detected unless one focused all their senses.

“Shit, why do I have to do this meaningless task?”

There stood Hilde in the distance, waiting for Carami’s signal to execute her command from afar.

At the moment the signal flare Carami sent off exploded, she threw the bead Carami had given her from Yu Hwa.

At the location where the boundary existed, the blue bead detonated with a loud *Poof*.

The last bit of strength Yu Hwa exerted went into embedding a power that restored the flow of fate. To beings like Gumiho and Hekbi, it was akin to their bane.

Crackling.

The sound of something breaking was heard, and fissures appeared in the air.

It seemed as if the space was collapsing, but the cracks stopped without a complete collapse, a result of Yu Hwa’s weakened condition.

Hekbi let out a small sigh of relief, then narrowed her sharp eyes, glaring at Carami.

“Young lady, I was complacent. Sending you away as you are would surely bring calamity upon the world.”

“Didn’t you just say to leave quickly earlier? How’s it that you’re changing the story now?”

“It’s fine. It’s Hekbi’s nature. A fox that can reverse even fate can surely retract one line of speech.”

“All that high and mighty act, and yet so despicable… ow.”

As Hekbi gripped Carami’s wrist as if about to snap it, Carami couldn’t hold up against it and collapsed.

Hekbi, kneeling on the ground, looked down coldly at Carami, who had fallen.

Though human by all counts, this man possessed an extraordinary ability to defy fate. It was crucial to eliminate this potential before it could bloom.

The surest method to remove this potential.

Hekbi’s Yin Eye captured Carami’s image.

The thing to reverse: the life he clung to.

“Die.”

It was a single, concise word.

***

“…Get up!”

“Mmm…”

“Get up, I said!”

Awoken forcibly by the harsh alarm in their ears, Gumiho clutched their throbbing head and rose.

Gumiho was still in the world of mirrors, the reversed realm. Hekbi was seemingly gone, nowhere to be seen.

Gumiho, standing alone in the space.

Yet, a different voice reached their ears.

Looking down at their feet, Gumiho saw that the mirror beneath them was looking back, slightly different in their movements.

As if it were a different person.

The posture was different, the aura different.

“You…”

“Linn called you multiple times, why did you just wake up now?”

The reflection was that of Linn.

The other personality residing within the same body had appeared on the opposite side of the mirror.

“What? Did you really think I was crying hysterically and then fell asleep?”

That was Linn, who had been caught stealing her master Carami’s essence, hurt by harsh words, and fled. Yet now, she appeared perfectly fine.

“What are you talking about? It’s because of you that Linn woke up by force.”

“What?”

Gumiho reassured themselves of their own condition.

Is the body currently occupied by me?

Reversed while sleeping, did Linn awaken, and my essence slipped inside instead?

It didn’t feel right. It was a vivid sensation. It was as if they both coexisted on each side of the mirror.

Gumiho blankly stood there, unsure of what to do.

Growing impatient, Linn sharply called out, “This isn’t the time to be spacing out! The master is here outside!”

“The brat is?”

Gumiho lifted their head, gazing into the void.

Indeed…

A reaction occurred from the shackles linked to her soul outside the boundary, despite trying to warn him not to come.

Why had he come?

No matter how much Gumiho thought about it, they couldn’t comprehend the reason.

“Hurry, we need to leave! The master is in danger!”

That’s true.

Hekbi wouldn’t let Carami remain untouched.

Moreover, Gumiho had no intention of staying trapped here forever.

“It’s not like I want to be here. It’s just impossible to leave because I can’t.”

The issue was still the lack of a way to leave.

The space of reversed fate was created by Hekbi’s power, making it difficult to fully utilize their own abilities or break the boundary.

Even if they managed to step outside, Hekbi could easily establish control again, making it all for nothing.

“Why so useless! You, who claims to be powerful, an incredible Gumiho! And yet, you’re captured helplessly by something like this?”

“If it were you, you’d be dead long ago thanks to me saving you!”

“Shut up after losing!”

“…”

Ultimately, the truth stung. Gumiho stayed silent. Continuing the argument would be to their own detriment.

Rather, they needed to find a way out of here…

‘If only I had my strength.’

With the power of the Moonlit Eye, the counterpart to the Sunlit Eye, shattering a space like this would’ve been as effortless as eating rice cakes in bed.

Just as Gumiho bit their lips in frustration,

Plop.

A bead suddenly fell out of the void, rolling across the floor.

Puffff…

Though releasing red smoke, the bead seemed to have lost its strength, its potency decreasing.

However, Gumiho could detect the faint energy within the smoke. This was indeed a bead from the thousand foxes.

What’s it doing here?

Is Carami doing something outside?

It remains unclear exactly what it is.

“Huh, what’s this green bead?”

It seemed that a bead had also appeared on Linn’s side.

How does she keep saying stuff that irritates me so much?

Such typical behavior for Gumiho.

“What nonsense is this? That’s clearly red—anyone can see it.”

“You’re blind, aren’t you? It’s green, alright? Stop messing with Linn’s body like that—that bead belongs to the master.”

“If this is yours…”

Linn had been about to yell at Gumiho when they noticed the red bead found beneath.

Without a doubt, it was red.

And in the mirror on the other side—

A cloud of smoke was spreading similarly, but its color was green, the bead likewise green.

Though clearly the same bead, the color was opposite.

“Reversal…”

Gumiho repeated the word unconsciously.

The Reversed World.

In this realm of Aeho, where even personalities are reversed.

A light bulb went off in Gumiho’s mind.

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