Chapter 104

**Hekbi’s Reverse Celestial Sphere.**

Nothing happens if there are no opposing concepts, but if there is a clear symmetry point, it gets reversed.

Both the attack and the persona.

By a densely packed mirror.

The same applies to the properties of mystical mediators like magic power. When divine power is used, it converts to magic.

The evidence is the magic orb. The red orb made by Yu Hwa through special processing appeared green on the opposite side of the mirror.

It was a hint subtly conveyed to the Gumiho.

She could handle the opposing nature. If she succeeded, escaping from here would be a piece of cake.

There was enough worth to try.

“Hey, I said let’s go save the master, right? Then let’s coordinate.”

For that, Lin’s help was indispensable.

The side of the mirror where Lin existed seemed to be recognized as a world unlike other mirrors. Surely, Hekbi did not expect that two personas would exist.

However, the Gumiho couldn’t interfere in the world beyond the mirror, so another person was needed to adjust the power.

Lin was not in favor of cooperating with the Gumiho, but there was no choice. She nodded.

“What are we going to do?”

“First, we have to raise the sun.”

Whoosh!

As the Gumiho formed a pact, the sun began to rise.

“Okay, it’s your turn. You can do it, right?”

With a serious expression, Lin clasped her hands and began to concentrate.

Lin had never made a sun before. She had hidden away by the time she started to handle the Illusion Eye.

As Gumiho’s power grew stronger, Lin gradually diminished. She lost her sense of self to the point where she couldn’t remember who she was.

It felt as though she had become the Gumiho herself, and she almost merged into one as her persona threatened to melt away. She endured only because she had lingering attachments.

In a way, this was fortunate. While inside the Gumiho, she was in sync with her, allowing her to observe and learn.

The flow of spirit power.

The usage of one’s eyes.

To such minute details that could never be understood unless they became one.

That’s why Lin, despite it being her first time, understood how to handle her power completely.

Whoosh.

A brilliant sun rose above Lin’s head.

The Gumiho smiled in satisfaction.

“Yes, that’s how it should be, Gumiho.”

Two suns rose in a décalcomanie around the two Gumiho.

“Now, coordinate with me and transfer it over.”

Lin nodded and controlled the sun.

The suns that had been high in the sky slowly began to descend. Finally, the two suns touched the mirror. The sun began to be swallowed beyond the mirror.

Crack!

The sun, filled with an enormous amount of power, could not be easily absorbed by the mirror. It trembled as if it would break with a mere touch.

Yet, the mirror completely swallowed the sun. Then it reversed the absorbed sun and sent it into the opposing world.

What began to emerge was…

Saa…

Not a sun emitting hot heat, but rather the moon, softly shining with a cool light.

The sun that was changing into the moon came to a halt.

The sun was fixed in place to keep it from moving.

The amount was precisely half.

A sphere shaped like ◐ was interlocked with the mirror, made up of half sun and half moon.

It was the same on either side.

In Lin’s world, there was the half moon sent by the Gumiho.

In the Gumiho’s world, there was the half moon sent by Lin.

And even the half suns each had created.

With the sun and the moon overlapping beautifully, the thoughts of the two Gumiho unified without needing to be divided.

The Illusion Eye and the Moonlight Eye sparkled simultaneously.

“Solar Eclipse.”

Thud.

The light went out.

The moon completely covered the sun, engulfing the world in darkness in a solar eclipse.

Not even sunlight nor moonlight reached this shadow space.

Not even the sky could be looked into, and the Gumiho’s absolute domain even covered clairvoyance.

The Reverse Celestial Sphere ceased operation. In a space of darkness where light did not exist, the only thing the mirror could reflect was darkness.

Even if the darkness were reversed and light were emitted, it would merely be a candlelight level in the face of infinite darkness.

“Let’s go. To save the master.”

It was unclear who made that statement.

The two Gumiho merely smiled.

Boom!

Boom!

Countless sounds of rupture echoed through the darkness.

In the moment when the infinitely echoing sound stopped…

Crack!

The space shattered and collapsed.

The outside world appeared.

“Ugh?!”

As soon as the domain vanished, Hekbi, startled, turned her head, her hair fluttering. Deep in the void, she locked eyes with the Gumiho submerged in shadows.

The interior of the domain was a simulated space.

Upon colliding with reality, it quickly lost power and vanished.

The moon created by the characteristics of the Reverse Celestial Sphere was the same.

However, she did not miss this opportunity.

In the fleeting moment close to 0.000001 seconds, where the virtual and reality coexist, where even the ticking of a second hand could not reach.

The Reverse Celestial Sphere enveloped in a solar eclipse.

‘Now.’

The Gumiho expanded its domain.

The virtual darkness spread and took over reality.

The area around the Moonlight Temple was cloaked in shadows.

It was a fleeting moment with no gaps for escape.

“How on earth?!”

Hekbi turned in panic to look at the darkness.

But it felt like she was blindfolded, as she could see nothing.

She knew this was the solar eclipse set in motion by the Gumiho. Yet, she still possessed the power of the Moonlight Eye, making it incomprehensible.

“You’re surprised, right? Frankly, I was surprised too. I guess I was lucky.”

It was fortunate that Lin was there.

And that Carami had come too.

If he hadn’t come, Lin wouldn’t have regained her composure to wake the Gumiho. Then, the beads of the Thousand Fox would have exhausted their power and not been discovered.

Though she didn’t want to admit it, she felt she should at least give some praise.

Leaving Hekbi, who floundered in the darkness, the Gumiho searched for Carami. She was the master of the space, so finding her in the darkness was not difficult.

She was beside Hekbi.

But her posture was strange.

She lay face down on the ground.

Not even the slightest movement.

“Master…?”

Lin also felt something strange.

Feeling uncomfortable, Lin took tentative steps toward Carami.

The ears perked up, but there was no sound that should be heard.

Gently flipping Carami’s body over, it slumped over lifelessly.

Thud.

But her head tilted awkwardly as it fell.

The eyes half-opened were overshadowed by dense dark clouds.

“Master…?”

Lin called out in an uneasy voice, but there was no response.

When she touched her face, there was only an eerily cold sensation.

Even the scent was faint.

“Master? Master! Master!!”

Lin roughly shook Carami, but she just swayed without any resistance, like a doll being shaken.

The Gumiho also sensed that something was wrong.

“Cipher, what did that guy do to her?”

Hekbi had no time to answer.

If one falls into complete darkness, one’s senses become ambiguous.

Is it right that they are here?

Or have they become the darkness itself?

As the connection to reality slowly faded, insanity set in.

“Tsk.”

The Gumiho clicked her tongue.

It was a state where normal conversation was impossible.

With no other choice, she shone a bit of light onto Hekbi.

Since they were already within the domain, that level of mercy was permissible.

Hekbi, discovering a ray of light in the darkness, hurriedly moved toward it. She embraced it like a nurturing light with her arms.

“Quickly, tell me straight. What did you do to her?”

Finally regaining her senses, Hekbi looked at Carami with dazed eyes.

“Her? Ah… You mean the Reverse Celestial Being.”

Even a fox skilled at emotional control and hiding its inner workings could not easily manage such adjustments in a dazed state. Unable to suppress her base emotions, she let out a faint laugh.

“Reverse Celestial Being?”

“Did you not know? He is one who defies the will of the heavens, does not yield to the fox’s tricks, and carves out his own destiny.”

“Did he have that much power?”

While she knew he was extraordinary, she never dreamed he would be that great.

“Furthermore, he has changed the destinies of countless others, and his future path will be the same. The girl took steps to ensure that did not happen.”

“No way…”

“Yes, Gumiho, you think correctly. The girl turned his fate upside down. Thus, he has come to accept my destiny.”

The opposite of life is death.

She killed Carami to let her flow according to destiny.

That’s all there is to it.

“You…!”

The Gumiho was speechless.

Lin, leaping forward, tackled Hekbi down.

Lin’s eyes glimmered fiercely.

“Indeed. Something felt odd, and another personality was hidden within. Despite not trusting anyone, are the Gumiho cooperating like this?”

“Enough with the nonsense. Revive the master right now!”

“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible. While life can be turned upside down to result in death, death cannot be turned upside down to yield life. Life does not merely imply existence.”

There are billions of lives.

These lives carry threads of their own.

Regardless of the path taken or the fate faced, death is the common endpoint allotted to everyone.

Even if trillions of threads spread in various directions, leaving their own unique traces, ultimately all these tracks converge into a single point.

However, in the opposite case.

If one extends out from death, where will it lead?

No one knows.

There are billions of branches, making it impossible to trace back.

This is why reincarnation resets all memories and connections. It is an inevitable process of returning death to a fair beginning.

Only then can there be a reversal of life starting from death.

There must be a clear symmetry point defined by the world, without exceptions for anyone.

In other words, reviving Carami with a reversal is impossible.

If it were before her death, the Gumiho could twist it with her ability, but once dead, it becomes impossible. The fate of the deceased can no longer be changed.

However, such a truth seemed like mere wordplay to Lin.

“I don’t care about such complications! Just save the master!”

“Hmm, if you wish, the girl can assist with reincarnation. Should I do that? However, it will be entirely different from the man you know.”

“That means… that means nothing.”

The Gumiho, who lived for eternity, could wait.

But she didn’t want the master to cease being the master.

If Carami did not recognize herself, she wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

Tears streamed down Lin’s face, splattering onto Hekbi’s face. In the heat of the droplets, shock filled Hekbi’s eyes as they widened.

‘Is she… crying?’

The Gumiho… is crying?

Over the death of a single human?

How could the selfish and arrogant Gumiho shed tears for another? It was a sight that was hard to believe even with her own eyes.

“Haa…”

The Gumiho, watching from a distance, sighed.

“In short, all we need is that clear symmetry point, right?”

“…In theory, yes, but it’s nearly impossible. For the deceased—”

“Oh, that’s enough. The necessary thing is here.”

“Yes?”

Ignoring the surprised response from Hekbi, the Gumiho patted Lin’s shoulder.

Lin turned back to the Gumiho with bloodshot eyes.

“Why…”

“Are you not going to save the master?”

“Can… can we really save her?”

“It seems so. I didn’t expect it to come to this.”

This wasn’t the plan for seducing Lin.

Well, she should consider it repayment for the debt.

“Now, it’s time to regurgitate what was eaten.”

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