Chapter 59

It was a great sight.

The being called the God of Cataclysm had been advancing higher than them until now. But it was the first time they overpowered it.

A strange and strong power was pushing it back.

The two strong beings collided, and there was a powerful explosion.

With a roar causing pain to their ears, the scene in front of their eyes turned white.

The next moment…

Everything was gone.

The light, the heat, and the echoing sounds—all of them vanished at once as if they had gone to another world.

It was the same with the energy of darkness, which continued to stretch out all this time. It disappeared like a lie.

“…?”

Seol Young looked around with shocked eyes, and the twisted space was back to its original state. It was the world of consciousness that was left behind by Miss Dohwa.

It was now an empty pavilion.

Seol Young blankly mumbled.

“Has it disappeared?”

“Well. That easily?”

Zaha raised his hand and quietly raised his energy. His darkness rose back like before.

“Surely it couldn’t have been.”

He shrugged.

“But… it is the first time it was kicked out instead of choosing to walk out. It is the first time it has been stopped.”

He looked down at the ground with a face full of complicated emotions.

The broken mask was scattered everywhere.

“But that is the Tree God. Can you believe that?”

“It wasn’t the Tree God.”

Seol Young corrected him.

“The wooden goblin that was told in folklore wasn’t just some Tree Spirit God. But it was a very old God. The Tree God is an Ancient God who is related to higher Gods.”

“Ancient, huh…”

Zaha mumbled.

“I didn’t think there was such a thing…”

“I guess so. Even among the spirits, it is now a story that is vague.”

Seol Young replied.

“I understand now. According to the monk, the monster hated the sound of prayers. No wonder. When Buddhism took over, all the Tree Spirit Gods were pushed back.”

“But they had the mighty power to protect the land…”

Zaha mumbled again.

“To think there were beings called the Ancient Gods that no one remembers. If only I had known that eight years ago…”

Again, he seemed shocked.

Seol Young looked at him without speaking. The emotions in his eyes were so intense…

He thought that maybe he would disappear, just like the spirits do when they finish their missions.

In a way, this man was like a ghost too.

But…

“How do I get out of here?”

He asked right then, as if nothing had happened. It couldn’t be like this.

Instead of answering him, Seol Young took out the plaques. The spirits of the courtesans floated up and went in one direction.

“Over there.”

The two hurriedly moved.

Following the guidance of the spirits, they passed through the doorway. With a tingling sensation, their feet touched the ground.

They were by the river.

Time had passed, and it was late at night. There were no villagers, just the altar they had built.

Beyond that, an old pavilion could be seen.

Seol Young was surprised when he saw it.

“It is still there…”

But before he could end those words, the pavilion disappeared by sinking into the water.

The red peach blossoms exploded on the spot.

“…”

Seol Young was speechless.

The entire river was full of peach blossoms, and all the trees along the river bloomed at once. In a world where everyone was asleep, a miracle was happening.

Were they the flowers from which Miss Dohwa’s resentment bloomed?

Even after the worst evil spirit had stepped down, there were still traces of the resentment she held. It was as if she was asking them to look at her.

‘And she won’t forgive me.’

Seol Young stood there, thinking about her. If the evil spirit hadn’t forced her to wake up, she would have just stayed in there…

And now it was impossible to even pray for a soul’s rebirth that had been exorcised with a grudge. Maybe in the future, but not now.

Seol Young picked up some stones and built a small stone tower.

And he asked,

“Was it the same eight years ago? Did the ghost story happen in reality, and the evil spirit appeared in its place?”

“No.”

Zaha shook his head.

“That time, it appeared on its own. This is the first time it is using these ghost stories.”

“Why, though?”

Seol Young was in deep thought.

“It is like they are possessed. It is strange to say this, but an evil spirit possessing a ghost story and…”

“It is something similar.”

Zaha nodded his head.

“Probably because I took away its power, and it doesn’t have the perfect body yet. In order to become stronger, it needs to cause greater fear, and the ghost stories work best to scare people.”

A mask that turns one into a monster when worn, a painting that eats people, a sword possessed by an evil spirit, a ghost that kills people by throwing dice…

The God of Cataclysm awakened all those tales with its power and then caused fear.

“Using ghost stories…”

Seol Young thought for a moment.

“If it gains strength from it, it seems like it will appear again like before.”

“For now, it is just a theory, and we have to figure out the details later.”

Zaha mumbled.

“Eight years ago, I knew nothing and continued to suffer. I have been through this twice, so I feel better.”

And he turned to Seol Young.

“Like déjà vu.”

“Uh?”

“Even eight years ago, it eliminated its biggest threats first. Among the Hwarang troops too, the ones who were in charge of the mysterious incidents were the ones who were taken down first.”

Zaha continued.

“And didn’t the Great Heavenly Pavilion reveal that prophecy too?”

For a moment, Seol Young felt like he had been hit.

“Then the Great Heavenly Pavilion fell into the hands of that spirit?”

“That isn’t what I am saying.”

Zaha shook his head.

“I couldn’t feel the energy of the evil spirit in the pavilion, so I’m sure it didn’t get in contact with them. But wouldn’t it be possible to manipulate them without having to touch them?”

“How?”

“Because that evil spirit can use mediums. It isn’t impossible to make a revelation by using the medium that the pavilion uses to make it believe that it was a revelation from heaven. If it is the biggest obstacle, all the malice it holds will be directed at you.”

Really?

It would have been good if they had cornered him and executed him. But throwing him out of the Hwarangs was also good enough.

Even if they revealed it, it was only dangerous to Seol Young. Either way, it made sense.

Just one thing, it didn’t think that Seol Young would come back with the person who stole its power.

Seol Young mumbled.

“What is it actually? When, where, and how did such a powerful spirit get born?”

“If we can figure that out, we can get rid of it.”

Zaha said.

“Whatever it is, be careful of the Great Heavenly Pavilion.”

When he heard that, he said,

“Sure.”

Seol Young took out the red pouch he had tucked into his sleeve and showed it to Zaha.

“The head of the Great Heavenly Pavilion gave this to me. She said that if I opened it, I could find out your secret.”

“And you didn’t open it?”

“I wasn’t going to fall for the tricks of others. But I was curious. What is inside this?”

Seol Young asked, curious about it.

“She probably doesn’t even know the truth about what happened eight years ago, so why is she questioning your identity?”

“She must have read the stars.”

Zaha said.

“If she looked at them with her heavenly qi, she could find out the fate of some important people in the nation. And she must have realized that I am dead. But it must have been shocking that I appeared to her after eight long years. Maybe she thought an evil power revived me.”

“That is why she asked you to pull out your sword.”

Seol Young finally understood.

“The High Governor was already dead, but then he was brought back to life with evil powers. She approached me to get evidence for it and support her claims.”

“She alone is enough.”

“Then there has to be something in the pouch that will tell me you are dead.”

He touched it, and he could feel it was some sort of paper.

And he understood what it was.

“I can handle this.”

Seol Young put the pouch back in.

“I will make sure that I never bring this up.”

“…”

Zaha looked at Seol Young.

After thinking, he said,

“I am sorry for lying to you and pushing you to the edge. I could have almost vanished without a trace…”

He had a bitter smile the moment he remembered the summoning.

“Still… is it true that where there is light, there is shadow, and where there is shadow, there is light?”

He spoke as if mumbling.

“I really didn’t want to die. No matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find a way, so I was forced to make that decision. But thanks to you, I got this…”

A thin veil of darkness rose on his fingertips and vanished.

“And we didn’t have an expert in sorcery in the past, eight years ago. So maybe it would be fine this time?”

Seol Young stared blankly at Zaha without saying a word, then shrugged.

“I know what you are thinking, but didn’t I tell you that the only thing I care about is that evil spirit? To catch it, I need to stay in the palace. I will never cause trouble, and so I will do my best in acting too.”

“…”

“If we succeed in catching it, I will head into a deep mountain and never come back to this world. I barely came back to life, and I don’t want to waste time on something like this either.”

“…”

“If you had seen it before, you would have known. That day at the tomb, I actually looked after you a lot.”

“I know.”

“Then help me with your mouth. In front of everyone and Baek Eon-rang…”

Zaha added.

“It would be best not to tell anyone about the appearance of that evil spirit again. It’s to protect everyone.”

Seol Young nodded, and silence fell.

The peach blossoms on each tree fell. The riverside was covered in red petals, and a certain thing washed up.

The dice.

It had disappeared once from this world, and it would soon disappear again.

He looked at it, lost in thought, but despite looking at it for a long time, the dice didn’t disappear.

Seol Young walked closer to it, put his hand in the river, and pulled the dice.

Then he looked up at Zaha, but he was already gone.

‘Keep hiding it until the end.’

The reason why Seol Young had an unsure face earlier was not because he was afraid that Zaha would clash with the evil spirit again.

‘He thought I didn’t…’

There was something he was still not saying.

But he will soon get it out of his mouth.

Seol Young wiped the water from the dice and placed it in his pocket as he left.

Peach blossoms fell like rain.