bookpower Chapter 501: Kang Min-hee
Chapter 501: Kang Min-hee
Chapter 501: Kang Min-hee
Kururung!
The sky seems to roar.
From the hole within Kang Min-hee's heart essence, a terrifying rumble echoes forth.
At that moment, I catch a glimpse of [something] beyond.
Flicker, ficker, flicker...
It is fire.
A crimson flame blazing fiercely!
And at the center of that flame burns a towering crimson flame giant!
The Flame God (炎神) clad in the tribunal robes glares directly at me.
: : Do you dare stand in the way of the workings of the Imperial Venerable? : :
Dududududu!
For some reason, despite recognizing the existence of that being, my soul does not become corrupted.
No substantial wisdom flows into me.
The little wisdom I do receive is limited to the title and name of that being.
Beyond that, no further knowledge invades to corrupt or erode me.
It feels as if that being is intentionally showing me mercy.
: : To close the door of that child is to obstruct not only this Lord, but the workings of the Imperial Venerable. I will consider it an act of defiance. Step back. : :
Chijijijik!
My eyes begin to feel increasingly dry.
Even with this act of consideration, I feel that if I continue to gaze directly at Them, my eyes will be scorched.
Before me is the Tribunal Chief of Flames.
The foremost among the Underworld Ten Kings.
The current Chief Judge, Yama True Lord Yama, speaks, and in that instant, a future flashes before my eyes.
It is a vision of myself being dragged into the depths of the deep Underworld and endlessly tortured under Yama's authority.
This is no mere illusion.
The celestial energy shifts, fixing my future into that outcome.
If I reject Yama True Lord's words here and continue trying to close the gate to save Kang Min-hee, that future will inevitably become my fate.
However...
The searing pain of my body burning away is not particularly frightening.
What I fear more is the pain of failing to save Kang Min-hee now and later living with the self-reproach that will follow.
It is the torment I would inflict upon myself.
'Can I do it?'
No.
Doubt is unnecessary.
I must do it.
'I will!'
Kiiiiing!
Behind my head, a wheel rises like a halo.
Yama True Lord, as if enraged, erupts into a furious blaze that engulfs Their entire body.
Closing my eyes momentarily, I recall the scene I witnessed just moments ago.
The white wheel I had seen from the [Oldest One].
I bring to mind that wheel.
How that wheel reversed.
How that wheel operated.
What sort of attraction force operated within it, and what authority surged through it...
Wiiiiing!
The wheel begins to reverse.
Yama True Lord invokes Their authority.
Before I know it, the surroundings have shifted entirely.
It seems that Yama True Lord momentarily distorted reality with Their authority, creating a new dimension.
From the distant sky, something massive resembling a jade seal (imperial seal) begins to fall.
Kwaaang!
I am instantly crushed to death beneath the jade seal.
Kiiiiiing!
However, even though I die, the wheel continues to reverse.
Paaatt!
With that, I raise myself up and glance to the side.
There is a blazing stamp of fire, and beneath it lies what appears to be the remnants of 'me.'
But 'I' am not dead.
: : Audacious thing. You dare face this Judge while performing the advancement ritual for Earth? : :
Kwadudududuk!
The next moment, a flaming hand thrusts into my mouth.
The fiery hand grips my tongue from within and pulls it out entirely.
Starting with my tongue, the nebula within my body, my inner core, my outer core, my attraction force, and even the explosions—all of it is ripped out, leaving me dead on the spot.
[TL: Core as in planetary core.]
The wheel reverses.
I find myself standing once more, staring at the figure of my own corpse lying beside me, lifeless, with everything within me ripped out.
Immediately after, I am sliced to death by a saw.
The wheel reverses.
I am frozen within ice, my soul itself freezing solid, and I die.
The wheel reverses.
I am...
The wheel...
...
...
How many times have I died, and died, and died, and died over again?
Kwa-jijijik!
I find myself in a Blade Mountain Hell (刀山地獄), my entire body impaled, fully aware of my impending death.
[TL: Blade Mountain Hell is the seventh layer of the 18 levels of hell in Chinese myth.]
Yet, I remain indifferent to the pain, steadying myself in place.
Slowly, I kneel.
Though my entire body is pierced through, it is bearable.
Slowly, in that state.
I bow towards the Yama True Lord.
"I thank the great Yama True Lord for their mercy."
I know.
They are killing me with consideration.
If They truly used the full authority of Their original body, crushing me completely along with the wheel and taxidermizing me would be a trivial feat. Yet, They spare the wheel, granting me permission to resurrect and repeat the meaningless deaths.
I glance behind me.
Already, hundreds of my corpses lie in view.
I suspected it from the start.
According to the words of Blood Yin, I must have stolen something that is called the Immortal Art of the Wheel.
However, the Yama True Lord, rather than unleashing fury against me, shows consideration, merely allowing me to know Their name without inflicting unbearable torment.
Therefore, the countless deaths They inflict on me here and now are...
Nothing more than a kind of trial.
Woo-woong—
I am forcibly lifted to my feet by an overwhelming force.
Yama True Lord, Their towering body blazing with flames, briefly looks down at me.
: : Do not kneel. One who bears the Wheel does not kneel recklessly. : :
The Wheel.
The Immortal Art that combines the Flawless Mantra and the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra.
The recent trial, it seems, was entirely Their way of teaching me how to properly wield this Wheel.
Following the simple 'resets,' I grasped the abilities of this Wheel a little more clearly.
The ability of the Wheel is to rearrange causality (因果/cause and effect).
To be precise, it is more accurate to say it organizes causality.
At present, I do not die easily.
My main body itself has become a kind of Immortal Art, and I have transcended life halfway, becoming a being too immense to be considered merely a living creature.
Such a being as I cannot simply die from trivialities like having a stamp pressed onto my body, being frozen, having my tongue and entrails torn out, or being burned alive.
What Yama True Lord did is 'overlay' death upon me through the form of death.
By reversing the Wheel, I returned myself to the state before the 'overlaid' death, restoring it as it was.
It is the act of restoring to my original state before any history or prophecy overlaid on me by True Immortal and above entities through organizing casualty!
In other words, this is a means suitable for resisting the power of True Immortals, similar to the Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens Technique.
: : ...Impressive. : :
Yama True Lord lets out a small exclamation of admiration as They watch me firmly maintain the Wheel.
: : Do you truly intend to save that child, who has received the support of the Underworld? Do you truly seek to save the child who will become the vessel for the Imperial Venerable's descent? : :
"Yes."
: : Even if your path becomes a thorny road fraught with hardship? : :
"...Compared to the thorny road before me,"
I speak as I stare resolutely at Yama True Lord.
"The Sword Mountain within me is far more agonizing!"
Paaaatt!
At that moment.
The world became clear in an instant.
The inner depths of the dimension created by the Yama True Lord, filled with only darkness and flames, is rewritten.
It transforms into a Glass Sword Mountain.
The flawless and clear Glass Sword Mountain is piercing me.
At the same time, the Yama True Lord's body is pierced all over by my glass swords within this Sword Mountain.
It is clear.
Flawlessly clear.
And...it hurts!
"I have witnessed the ultimate extreme of pain. The extreme of pain surpasses even the Karmic Fire of the former Chief Judge. That pain is none other than...oneself."
The Wuji Religious Order evaporated, and my Karmic Fire was extinguished.
Though I learned of this only later, the condition for extinguishing the Karmic Fire is for one's own pain and remorse to surpass the pain of the Karmic Fire itself. When that happens, the fire naturally goes out.
From that, I came to understand one fact.
No matter how painful and terrifying external pain may be,
It cannot compare to what lies within oneself.
Enduring one hundred lashings is not as effective as repenting to oneself even once.
Therefore...
"I do not want to do anything that I will regret."
I do not wish to suffer.
Having reached the pinnacle of pain, I dislike pain even more.
And because I have realized that the greatest pain is my own regret...
I seek to live a life free of regret.
"If I were to die tonight, I would commit nothing in the morning that I would regret! Please, return her to me!"
Yama True Lord gazes at me for a moment, then looks around at the colorless Sword Mountain.
: : Good. : :
Even though They are pierced through by the Sword Mountain, They show no sign of pain and, instead, seem to be in a good mood.
: : I permit it. : :
"...!"
At those words, I feel a tingling sensation coursing through my entire body.
The Chief Judge has granted permission to save Kang Min-hee.
: : However, as for what is binding that child...judge it for yourself. : :
Having finished speaking, Chief Judge Yama True Lord raises one hand.
: : O Karmic Mirror (業鏡), close your eyes. Return the distinguished one to his place. : :
Simultaneously, the small dimension transformed by my will begins to tremble and distort.
Soon after, I find myself facing the Yama True Lord sitting in a lotus position, along with a massive, mirror-like object behind Them reflecting the both of us.
Wo-woong!
In an instant, I return to my main body with them.
'This place is...'
Just before.
It is the very moment when I was holding Kang Min-hee's arm and peering into the hole within her heart essence.
'I see. Was that small dimension something created by Yama True Lord's Immortal Treasure...?'
It seems to be something that reflects a person's essence, history, or similar concepts.
Tingle, tingle...
I feel a tingling sensation as something flows into my mind.
It is wisdom bestowed by the Yama True Lord.
The method to fill the hole in Kang Min-hee's heart essence.
Wo-woong!
As I enter the depths of her heart essence, I raise both hands and begin chanting the Flawless Mantra.
Wo-woong!
Between my hands, a black circle formed by attraction force rises.
Wiiiiiing!
I feel the circle rotating.
Along with it, the black hole in front of me begins to resonate.
Sssssss—
Using the wisdom granted by the Yama True Lord, I reduce the size of the Flawless Mantra.
Although it is wisdom received from Them, it feels like something I might have eventually discovered through further study of the Flawless Mantra.
As the circle of the Flawless Mantra shrinks, the black hole simultaneously begins to decrease in size.
Tstststststs!
Then, at a certain moment—
Paaatt!
The circle condenses to a single point and vanishes, and the black hole likewise becomes a tiny dot before scattering away entirely.
'It's done...'
At last, I am able to save Kang Min-hee.
Paaaatt!
I roam through Kang Min-hee's heart essence, searching for her main consciousness.
How much time has passed?
"I know a little about pain."
Step.
I take another step forward, approaching the collective mass of resentment.
"Therefore...I can empathize with you."
Come.
Paaaatt!
The ghosts enter into my embrace.
I use the vision of the Earth Tribe to read their pasts and the vision of the Heart Tribe to perceive the intent and heart essence they experienced in their pasts, embodying their pain and fear within myself.
Sssssss!
What is it that ghosts desire most?
Because I myself am a great ghost, merely living because I cannot die...I know.
To have their stories heard.
It is to have their circumstances 'acknowledged' by someone.
I quietly listen to their suffering and empathize with them.
Even without using any formulas or spells...
The ghosts I empathize with turn pure white and fly off into the void.
"Come again. Keep coming. Come more...!"
I call for the ghosts binding Kang Min-hee.
At least tens of trillions.
At most, tens of quadrillions of ghosts.
Yet, I am not afraid.
I take another step forward.
One step, then another.
In this way, I empathize with the suffering of the ghosts, embodying and acknowledging it within myself, all the while moving forward slowly.
Kang Min-hee, being led by Seo Eun-hyun's hand, gazes at him.
'How can you do that?'
Just from accepting the resentment of a single ghost, it felt like she'd lose her mind from the pain.
How can a human being possibly understand death?
Can one truly comprehend the loss of their entire life being taken away by death?
For that reason, it's impossible for Kang Min-hee to understand the ghosts who have experienced 'death'.
'How can you acknowledge them...and empathize with them?'
She cannot understand Seo Eun-hyun.
Suddenly, something appears before her eyes.
It is a series of scenes.
'This is...'
It was the day she and Seo Eun-hyun first met.
The days when they dated, spent time together, and eventually parted ways.
The awkward days that followed.
This is...
Seo Eun-hyun's memories.
The ones involving her among Seo Eun-hyun's memories are naturally surfacing.
Seo Eun-hyun is splitting apart.
To accept even more of the vengeful spirits before him and to empathize with them, he is breaking apart.
At least ten thousand fragments.
Fragmented into ten thousand pieces, he is holding Kang Min-hee's hand and moving forward.
From the cracks in Seo Eun-hyun's fractured self, his memories are seeping into her.
Within his memories, Kang Min-hee realizes for the first time that she is considered 'strong.'
And so, she gives a bitter smile.
'...Do you know, Seo Eun-hyun?'
She looks at Seo Eun-hyun's back.
It’s a back as big as a great mountain.
'The one who's truly strong...is you.'
Seo Eun-hyun, on her behalf, is empathizing with and comforting the vengeful spirits she harbored.
But suddenly, a thought comes to her.
'If you're the one stepping forward to embrace everyone's sorrow...who will embrace yours?'
Then, from the state of merely being pulled along by Seo Eun-hyun's hand, she takes steps on her own.
Step—
One step.
Forgotten memories return.
Two steps.
They are memories from back then.
The moment she lost Seo Eun-hyun, and in her resolve to save him, when she felt sorrow.
Three steps.
She remembers that within her own memories, she had sensed her essence.
Within that essence, she saw [something].
It was something that resembled the Buddha statues she used to occasionally see near a temple when she was a child.
Draped in a blue kasaya, seated on a blue lotus, and forming the hand seal known as the Abhayamudra (施無畏印), a Buddhist taenghwa appeared before her.
Four steps.
Kang Min-hee reached out toward the taenghwa and cried.
She doesn't know why she was crying.
But one thing she is certain of is...
She understood the meaning of 'sorrow.'
Five steps.
Wo-woong!
Light enters Kang Min-hee's eyes.
'When I think about it...you've led me in so much.'
Her first love, her first relationship, her first heartbreak...
All of it, Seo Eun-hyun led her through.
Even now, he is leading her.
'I can't lead you.'
She is not strong enough to move forward without hesitation.
Seo Eun-hyun may think Kang Min-hee is fragile yet has strong responsibility, but Kang Min-hee believes Seo Eun-hyun is much stronger than herself.
Six steps.
Kang Min-hee stands almost side by side with Seo Eun-hyun.
She looks directly at the ghosts before her.
'But...I can protect you.'
The next moment.
Kang Min-hee finally steps forward, moving just slightly ahead of Seo Eun-hyun.
Seven steps.
'I will protect you. Even if comforting you is left to that girl...just as you have led me, I will, with all my strength...protect you and everyone else.'
She cannot comfort Seo Eun-hyun.
She has known this ever since that day she touched the taenghwa of the bodhisattva in the blue kasaya.
She has already become someone who consoles others.
Someone who provides solace for sorrow.
Sorrow is about 'what is left behind.'
It is the longing for what has been left behind, the yearning and regret that arise in one's heart.
Because what is left behind is usually something that can never be reached again.
The ghosts left behind life.
And even though Kang Min-hee broke up with Seo Eun-hyun, she always left a place for him in her heart.
But...
Seo Eun-hyun will never return to that place.
To console sorrow means to understand what has been left behind and to let it go.
'I see...'
Kang Min-hee finally understands what the [call] did to her.
The [call] turned Kang Min-hee into a Nether Crossing Ship.
The Nether Crossing Ship stores ghosts, and during the End, escapes the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain to allow the ghosts to peacefully cross over to the Underworld.
The role to 'send off' ghosts so that they can find solace in the Underworld.
That is the hidden role of Black Ghost Valley and the true purpose of the Nether Crossing Ship.
Kang Min-hee looks at Seo Eun-hyun.
'If I want to become more free...I'll have to let you go too, won't I?'
She now understands her own sorrow.
The sorrow of leaving a place for Seo Eun-hyun where Seo Eun-hyun has left.
That is 'her' sorrow.
To console that sorrow, she will have to let Seo Eun-hyun go completely from her heart.
'But...I don't think I can let you go just yet.'
Therefore, Kang Min-hee decides to accept her sorrow for a little longer.
However, this sorrow is different from the sorrow she has experienced so far.
She completely accepts her sorrow.
Letting it go from her heart entirely is a foregone conclusion.
And letting go means building a wall between people.
Kang Min-hee wants to protect Seo Eun-hyun through that wall.
Puhwak!
At that moment.
Her hair completely transforms into blue.
From Kang Min-hee at the center, a blue light spreads outward, purifying the darkness.
The lingering resentment of the ghosts is washed away all at once.
Pasasak!
At the same time, the charcoal mask on Seo Eun-hyun shatters into pieces, fully revealing his face.
Seo Eun-hyun smiles faintly at Kang Min-hee.
"See? I told you I wouldn't die."
Pasasasasa!
Simultaneously, Seo Eun-hyun's form, which had been shattered into ten thousand pieces, restores itself completely.
Kugugugugu!
Along with that, the Three Great Ultimates begins to rise behind Seo Eun-hyun.
He empathised and read the histories of the ghosts within Kang Min-hee, acknowledging them.
Through the advancement ritual of reading countless histories, Seo Eun-hyun fulfilled the final condition for the advancement ritual of the Earth Tribe Sacred Vessel stage.
Seo Eun-hyun releases Kang Min-hee, who has escaped from the darkness, and steps forward.
He walks towards the Entering Nirvana True Person flying in from the distance.
Kang Min-hee slightly reaches out her hand towards that Seo Eun-hyun and recalls the past.
After the day Seo Eun-hyun brought Kang Min-hee home and suggested they try dating again for a while,
The two dated again for about three days. Then, on the final day, they broke up.
On the outdoor terrace smoking area of the company.
There, Kang Min-hee smoked a cigarette while gazing at the sunset.
Seo Eun-hyun silently came to her side and stood there for a moment.
After a brief silence,
Kang Min-hee once again suggested breaking up with Seo Eun-hyun.
—That's enough. Let's break up again. I've been consoled enough...
—Will you be okay?
—Yeah. More than me...
It was because...
There was someone who could comfort Seo Eun-hyun better than herself.
— ...Never mind. Even if I explain, you won't understand.
Of course, Seo Eun-hyun, who treats tact as if it's something to gulp down when hungry, didn't notice, but...Kang Min-hee already realized.
Kim Yeon would someday end up with Seo Eun-hyun.
And...she would comfort and heal Seo Eun-hyun far better than she could.
—Let me have one too, Kang Min-hee.
—You said you quit?
—I really feel like having one.
—...It's the last one.
—...? Didn't you just buy a pack?
— Shut up. I'm giving you one only because it's today.
—Give me a light too...
She lit a flame.
However, for some reason, the lighter didn't ignite.
It hadn't been long since she bought it, but it seemed to be broken.
Kang Min-hee removed the cigarette from her mouth and handed it to Seo Eun-hyun.
Seo Eun-hyun brought the tip of the cigarette to the flame in Kang Min-hee's cigarette.
Chiiiii—
Passing the flame she had been holding in her mouth, Kang Min-hee delivers her final words of goodbye.
— Farewell, ex-boyfriend.
Seo Eun-hyun, likewise, receives the flame for the last time and responds.
—Stay well, ex-girlfriend.
"Farewell..."
Kang Min-hee watches Seo Eun-hyun, who is no longer within her reach, and gently clenches her fist.
"Seo Eun-hyun."
Seo Eun-hyun has left Kang Min-hee.
She knows he will not return.
She lets him go.
And now, she decides to watch over him from behind.
From behind, or perhaps from ahead.
She will not approach him again, but will simply watch over him.
She will become Seo Eun-hyun's wall.
She will become a wall and silently protect him.
Because that...
Is her way of letting Seo Eun-hyun go.
That day.
Kang Min-hee fully accepts the meaning of what she had realized before—that 'life is sorrow.'