Chapter 78

Seol Young stretched out his hand toward the powerful being.

The moment the body of the Tree Spirit God touched his fingertips, the light that spread everywhere began to swirl and rose up like a pillar in a gigantic form.

Tree.

The figure of a giant tree appeared in front of his eyes.

Seol Young was shocked.

“Do you see that?”

“I do.”

Zaha said. His gaze was on the giant tree, too.

The old tree…

It seemed to reach the sky. Deep green leaves grew thick from its distant top and cast a huge roof over the ground.

The sunlight spread brilliantly through the green leaves. And there were children playing at the roots of the tree that rose above the ground. The adults were leaning against the trunk and resting in the shade.

Some were praying, and some were singing.

Seol Young looked at the scene as if he were possessed.

“That is the Tree Spirit God. The ancient Tree God who lived in harmony with the people and protected all of them…”

The light that had been spreading brilliantly suddenly changed. And then it turned into a sharp spear and surrounded Zaha.

“What is it?”

“Stay still.”

The Tree God in front of them, like the others, hated evil things. She had a strong will to punish those who touched the land.

That was why, when she felt an unknown energy from Zaha, she must have reacted. But soon, the light changed again. The pointy part of the spear became round and softer.

“I guess she knows what happened.”

Seol Young conveyed the will of the God.

It wasn’t a God with a heart that hated evil, but one that knew gratitude. She had a strong will to protect the people.

So the light touched Zaha.

“I think she likes you.”

Seol Young said.

The power of the birch tree could crush evil spirits.

Yet she also had the warmth that gently caresses people with the shade created by its lush leaves.

She was a God with two powers.

A God who had a brave figure like that of a mother and who protected the various races of the land.

[Prosperity of Family]

Ancient people called the God that way.

“Nuri.”

Seol Young called out the name of the God. At that moment, the world shook violently.

“It seems like the Great Mother has made up her mind after the long search.”

“How?”

“By trying to cross this world.”

She was trying to get out of the world of the dead and step into the world of the living to save and help people.

Seol Young extended his hand.

“Here.”

The mighty power of the ancient God passed through his hand. But at that moment, a shock as if his bones were being broken passed through his body.

Zaha asked,

“What? What is the problem now?”

“It seems we are a bit out of sync.”

Seol Young frowned.

Too many years have passed since the God stepped foot in the world of the living. She tried to cross over, and Seol Young willingly accepted her, but they didn’t match.

The giant tree in front of them was blurring, and the two worlds slowly began to drift apart.

‘I cannot let this chance go.’

All the hard work they put in might have been in vain.

Seol Young impatiently stretched out his hand again.

But then the small lights that were around them gathered toward the tree.

The blurry figure of the giant tree became clear in an instant. Both worlds came together once again.

Zaha saw it too, and his eyes shone.

“The people of the village?”

“It seems like it.”

Their souls had remained in the lake, and they were giving Seol Young one more chance.

‘Thank you.’

Seol Young thanked them from the heart.

Thanks to their help, the God managed to cross their world properly, and Seol Young succeeded in accepting her into his hands.

Done.

Seol Young gripped it tightly.

The moment he accepted the power in his hands, the two worlds, which seemed fine until then, went out of sync.

The figure of the giant tree that reached the sky vanished. The people also vanished, and so did the light.

Everything vanished in an instant.

And…

A violent whirlpool rose beneath their feet, and their bodies were being sucked again.

“No…”

A voice could be heard from across the water.

“It won’t be the same once we open our eyes, right?”

“No.”

Seol Young felt anxious, though.

“Then I will destroy every…”

“Calm down.”

At that moment, he opened his eyes, and the sunlight was shining down on his head.

‘Really?’

Seol Young was taken aback for a moment, but…

It was cold below his knees. It wasn’t that damned forest. He was standing on the shore of a lake. The sky was reflected upside down on the water as clearly as a mirror.

Only then did he feel relieved.

“I got out. This time.”

Seol Young looked at his hands. He clenched the necklace tightly.

It was the same one that Jung Myung, the shaman, wore around her neck.

Phew…

A long sigh escaped from his lips, and the tension in his body until then was released as he sat down in the water.

“We barely made it.”

“Right.”

Zaha also sat down.

Days had passed under the lake, but not outside. The clouds were in the same position as before, and seeing that the sky was turning red, it must have only been a couple of hours.

“…”

They just wanted to rest like that, but they had important things to do.

Seol Young got up.

“I need to test it out first.”

When he got up, the necklace in his hand spun in the air. Zaha straightened up and stepped back.

“Put that thing away.”

It was an expected reaction since the mask he had once hated Zaha’s energy and tried to attack him.

But…

“Wait. Doesn’t something seem odd?”

“What?”

“You can see it from the outside.”

Zaha realized it just then.

“Right.”

The last time, the mask was invisible to the eye. But this time, it was different. Even though they were out in the real world, they could still see it, as if the God was trying to show them.

“It must be fine this time.”

Seol Young pressed on the necklace.

It was true.

The strong power of the divine item surpassed that of the mask. Even so, it didn’t seem to show any aggression toward Zaha.

“As expected…”

Zaha tried to wear it around his neck, took his sword out, and swung it. Then a golden light shone brightly. It was taller than before.

If two different energies were present and one rose, the other would also rise, resulting in a collision. But this time, such a thing didn’t seem to happen.

The Tree Spirit God’s body was in perfect sync with the aura of the God of Cataclysm.

“Enough now.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Our hard work was worth it then.”

His face was full of emotion.

It was as if he was thinking about the hardships he had gone through. Coming all the way here and arriving at the lake….

As soon as he began to think, he frowned. He had an arrogant look on his face.

“Let’s go.”

“Wait….”

“Let’s do the ritual and go.”

“… Yes.”

Even after all of the things were over, he had to do the ritual to soothe the souls.

And it seemed that Zaha knew what ritual Seol Young was about to perform.

Seol Young took out a piece of talisman paper.

And he drew something with red water. Several houses were drawn on it.

Zaha looked up and asked,

“Village?”

“Yes. They said they were looking for a new village. Maybe they couldn’t find it and wandered around.”

So he drew a nice village with big trees and a well. And he also made a palace as big as the village.

After overlapping the two sheets over one another, he picked up a stone. Then he tied it tightly with a string and carried it into the lake. He went in as deep as he could and then threw it.

There wasn’t even a sound. Not even a drop of water splashing.

It just vanished quietly.

Seol Young stood for a while and prayed.

‘May all of you be reborn.’

The stone, with the talisman and the picture, began to sink into the deep blue water.

Eventually, it reached the dark ground below. He could somehow see it from above.

Seol Young turned around and came out of the lake.

“Now, this place will also drain and turn back to normal. Then we can collect their remains and bury them.”

“This needs to be brought up with the Governor.”

Zaha said that while looking at the lake.

“But it looks to be pretty deep. Are you fine with the water now?”

Seol Young thought for a moment.

“No. Not at all.”

“Not at all?”

“I hate it even more now. For the time being, I don’t even want to look at this place.”

“… honestly, me too.”

The two turned around. And they quickly walked over the hill and stopped.

Across the street, the child was returning to his village with the donkey by his side.

It was the child who guided the way.

“….”

The child froze as soon as he saw the two.

Would he run away? Or was it too late to run?

Those two thoughts were evident on his face.

“I will do it.”

Seol Young approached the child this time.

“What is your name?”

“Se-Seobi. You look…”

The child tried to look at them with a straight face and not be frightened.

“Yes, Seobi.”

Seol Young looked down at the child.

“Did you think we were ghosts?”

“Uh? What do…”

“We are not ghosts. You shouldn’t suddenly suspect that anyone is a ghost. Didn’t the adults teach you? There is a way to tell a ghost from a human.”

“What way is that?”

“Shadow. If there is a shadow, it is human, and if there is no shadow, it is a ghost. When in doubt if it is a human or ghost, check the shadow.”

“Aha.”

The child nodded and looked at Seol Young’s shadow.

But there was no shadow.

And he looked back up in surprise to see the terrifying face of a goblin in front of him.

“ACK!”

The child was so scared that he fell down on his butt, and Seol Young was back to himself.

“I surprised you now so you wouldn’t forget the lesson I taught you. Be aware that doing it wrong can put your life in danger.”

He said that to the child.

“You talked to me even though you thought I was a ghost. You shouldn’t have done that. When a ghost talks to you, never listen to it. No matter how curious you are, you should never listen. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“You are brave for your age, but bravery brings problems too. If you stick to what I said, you can live a long life.”

Seol Young said that in a cold tone.

“Still, you have the qualities to be a beginner warrior. If you do become one, the leader of your troop will have an easy time.”

And he took out his own plaque to prove his identity. He smeared some of the leftover ink from earlier onto the plaque and pressed it onto a piece of paper.

“We are Hwarangs from the capital. If you are interested in what I said, bring this to the capital.”

He handed the paper to the child, who was now getting up.

Zaha asked,

“Why did it take you so long to tell him you were not a ghost?”

“Stories normally take a long time.”

“And the plaque?”

“If a talented Hwarang appears later, make sure to thank me for it.”

Now it felt like he had done everything he needed to do in this place.

Seol Young walked lightly.

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