As time passed, the esoteric knowledge of magic and divine objects that Jinsung had gathered began to reveal their depths.
Magic was something he stored in his mind akin to photographs, while divine objects were analyzed through their forms, the energy he sensed from them, and their reactions when brought close to living creatures. This allowed him to deduce their functions and potential uses.
However, simply observing them did not mean that one had reached the end of understanding.
Knowledge was not just about storage—it had to be deconstructed and recombined to be truly valuable.
Jinsung constantly explored the magic obtained from the warehouse, figuring out how to use it, where to apply it, and ways to mitigate potential costs. He also wondered if the divine objects could achieve similar effects using the magic he knew, and whether they could be disassembled and used in different ways.
Immersed in this world of magic and divine objects like a Taoist refining his practices, Jinsung lost track of the flow of day and night as he delved into the spiritual realm.
And so, how much time had passed?
“All healed.”
The cost that had befallen his body had finally run its course. His restless muscles had returned to normal, the cramps during sleep had disappeared, and his facial muscles, which used to contort into monstrous expressions at times, now functioned properly again.
With the cost lifted, Jinsung began to honor his word and moved into action. He first sent a message to Yang-hoon Lee, Iserin, Iarin, Ella, and Anastasia.
‘Leaving now.’
Without waiting for a reply, he turned off his smartphone and approached Rise, who was praying alone in a vast chamber.
“I’m off.”
A statement as calm as ever.
Yet, Rise showed no signs of regret in her expression, merely bowing her head while kneeling.
“Understood. Please return safely.”
She nodded in agreement yet didn’t inquire about where he was going, instead offering words of farewell, wishing him a safe return. But just as Jinsung turned to exit the main hall, she softly added,
“Please return whenever you want. I will always be waiting.”
Though it seemed like a simple farewell, her words held weight.
Her invitation for his return implied this was his true home, and her promise to wait conveyed a desire for his swift return and the time they would share together.
With these words, Rise closed her lips and bade him farewell, watching his retreating figure until he disappeared from sight, kneeling as she could still sense his presence through divine power.
When Jinsung left the shrine grounds, she let out a small sigh filled with faint nostalgia.
Drip.
Drip-drip.
Approaching her was something. That something cracked its joints in all directions, its long tongue dragging on the floor, and its contorted body slithering toward her like a snake, its joints moving bizarrely. Arriving at her side, it twisted its body around and dared to press its face close to hers while posing a question.
“Why aren’t you asking anything?”
A question that carried a frigid air.
But Rise didn’t show fear—she merely wrinkled her brow in slight irritation.
“Seitani, move your face away, please.”
She summoned divine power and shaped it into a fan, threatening to swing it at Seitani. However, as if playing a game, Seitani collapsed onto the ground in submission, moving away enough to be out of reach.
“Haha, you’re not scared anymore?”
“You know how often I’ve been fooled by your tricks while living with you.”
“Awful, awful.”
When Seitani believed he was far enough that the fan wouldn’t reach, he tilted his head and asked again.
“Don’t you have any curiosity?”
“Why aren’t you asking anything?”
“You were curious about that person’s identity, right? Huh?”
“Is he a foreigner or Japanese?”
“Half-blood or pure?”
“And even his surname and name—”
“He barely reveals anything.”
“Why does he only let you call him ‘Deity’?”
“When going out, he only introduces himself as ‘Next Shinto Priest’ or ‘Master Saigo.’”
“Don’t you want to know?”
Seitani barraged her with questions, relentless, his words overlapping. Yet each word hit her mind directly, embedding itself firmly.
“A magic user with strange abilities.”
“Someone who uses forms of magic uncommon in Japan.”
“Someone far too knowledgeable about terrifying magic for his age.”
“That doesn’t seem Japanese.”
“But it’s hard to believe he could infiltrate Japan’s stringent surveillance of magic from another country.”
“Yet, there was mention of Korea.”
“He spoke of warriors. He spoke of his connection to a warrior who fled to Korea.”
“So, what is this Deity person?”
Seitani tore his mouth wide open in a laugh.
“Just what is his real identity?”
Despite his grotesquely wide grin, Rise maintained a calm demeanor.
“He seems strange. He knows Japanese well, seems familiar with its culture.”
“But something feels off, or doesn’t it?”
“Is he Korean? But their magic tradition has decayed. So Japanese, then? Yes?”
“Curious, aren’t you? Why didn’t you ask?”
“What country is he from? What is his surname? What is his name? His vocation? Why does he wander? Does his wandering include other countries? Why?”
“You were so curious, right?”
Seitani’s words dripped with an intent to plant seeds of doubt in her heart.
Rise exhaled lightly.
“That curiosity belongs to you.”
Seitani’s mouth clamped shut as if struck at a vulnerable point.
“You, the spirit of a child’s corpse, buried for the sake of bringing happiness and luck to the construction of a new building. You, once merely an incense, gained a faint semblance of self through the grace of Deity.”
Rise smiled gently at Seitani, who had shut his oversized and grotesque mouth as if it were stitched shut.
“It makes sense that your self-awareness grew to that of a child. It makes sense that you developed a childlike curiosity. But I ask you not to burden others with your curiosity or manipulate them to achieve your goals.”
Her smile faded, replaced by an expressionless face, as she morphed the divine fan into a long whip with a flick of her wrist.
Zip!
“Kyaah?!”
Struck unprotected by the divine whip, Seitani cried out in shock. Seizing the moment, Rise swung the whip like a rope around Seitani and dragged him closer.
“Blasphemous.”
Rise glared at Seitani, her gaze unfocused.
“How dare a mere creation, who would otherwise remain but a part of the dirt, question a deity so boldly?”
“Hi—?”
Seitani visibly recoiled under the cold light of madness in Rise’s eyes.
“…I’ll let this go just this once. Don’t do it again.”
She issued a decree of forgiveness laced with suppressed rage, then retracted the divine energy from his body and reshaped it back into a fan, striking his head forcefully.
Slap!
“Kyaah! You said you would let it go!”
“I said I would let it go after doing this.”
Seeing Seitani’s surprised reaction at an unexpected second attack, Rise finally smiled.
“Ow! Ah! That hurts!”
“Don’t lie. It’s just loud.”
“Ow!”
“…Hmm. Since it was created with divine power, it might have caused some harm to your spiritual form.”
Rise dissipated the divine fan and approached Seitani thrashing on the floor.
“And thus, you should refrain from asking such questions moving forward, do you understand?”
“But I’m curious…”
“Curiosity is unnecessary. Those are merely trivial details. They are far from the essence.”
“Eh?”
“What his nationality or name may be doesn’t change who he is: a Deity who brings me happiness. Therefore, don’t dwell on such things and just believe.”
Her words resembled those of a practitioner exploring the spiritual realm, digging deep into profound truths.
Of course, they weren’t entirely like those of a pure seeker of spiritual truth.
The blind devotion of a shamaness who serves and believes in her deity was evident, and her religious mind rejected doubts, instead accepting truths in their entirety.
Yet her words carried considerable depth.
“That’s too difficult to understand.”
“For someone with a childlike sense of self like you.”
“In that case, just remember this: Never provoke me again, and don’t entertain such questions. Do you understand?”
*
As soon as Jinsung returned to Korea via a foreign country, Iarin immediately confronted him.
“Big brother, where have you been roaming around? I can smell the airport on you.”
Her voice brimmed with unanswered questions.
