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Chapter 473 – Ten Thousand (萬).

There exists a nameless woman.

No, there were times when she had a name, but she never attached any feelings or meanings to it.

After all, a name would fade away with time.

It would be troublesome to form any ties to it.

For this would linger uncomfortably in her heart during the next cycle.

The woman must continue to repeat her life.

That was the task bestowed upon her until she reached the desired outcome.

How many times has it been?

It’s far too many to count, and the number escapes her mind.

If she were to remember, the ‘first’ comes to mind approximately after over a thousand times.

Numbers no longer hold significance now.

Let’s just label it as ten thousand.

It’s likely that the true count is several times more, but she decided to think of it as ten thousand.

A plethora of lives.

For what purpose must they be repeated? The original meaning lost by now.

As she continued the loop, she somehow made it this far, advancing along a somewhat better path.

Despite that, she strained to recall memories.

She had to remember the times when she had a name.

To document the moments when she could smile, even if just for a while.

That was the motivation that allowed her to endure.

-■■Ah.

She recalls the name that was called out with a blunt yet affectionate tone.

A name she would never hear again.

When she returns to the start, everything will become as if it never happened.

Important memories twisted into illusions.

The woman had done many things throughout her long life.

She had become the master of the greatest upper house in the Central Plains.

At one point, she was the leader of the largest postal service in history.

There were times when she was the leader of the Martial Alliance.

She had memories of being the head of a clan.

Having lived so many lives.

Having done so much.

Yet the woman’s ending was always the same.

A collapsing world.

Or a world she herself was bringing to ruin.

As the world crumbled, despair engulfed her.

Regardless of the life she lived, the end was always thus.

Nothing changes.

She attempted countless deeds to do something differently, yet the conclusion was invariably the same.

What meaning lies in such repetition?

Is there truly a better method?

Why did such events happen to her?

These ponderings have haunted her through the years.

Of course, even those thoughts dulled and faded before the unending flow of time.

But she never stopped.

In truth, pondering such things didn’t change a single thing.

She merely continued to live.

Thus, the woman.

Loathed her counterpart who looked just like her.

And at the same time, envied her.

In this life of repetition, unlike her, the other could forget.

Because she could forget, she could maintain the same beliefs.

The woman recalls the hundreds of lives where she held onto her beliefs.

There was a time when she attempted to save the world.

She thought that was her belief, her given mission.

How foolish.

Such a steadfast belief must rot and dull with the passage of countless years.

And so it was for her.

What remained for her now were neither beliefs nor a sense of mission.

Those had long rusted and crumbled away.

What was left was only faint, lingering memories.

-Spicy food really isn’t my thing. It doesn’t taste good.

When her voice of grumbling came forth after she had put together such a feast.

-It’s cold, isn’t it?

The awkwardness of wanting to hold hands but mumbling nonsense.

-… I’m leaving first. Sorry.

Her resolve to sacrifice her life to save the woman was painfully etched in her mind.

She merely lived on.

As time passed, she relinquished so much.

Every time she let go of something, her heart felt like it was tearing apart.

Yet ultimately, she had to let go, bit by bit.

Only then could she survive.

Did the woman cherish her own life? No.

To die means she would just start all over again from the beginning.

What she cherished wasn’t that.

She started small and eventually let go of precious things.

She let go of a name that someone had called out.

She released the hand that had held hers lovingly.

She stopped her steps, which had always sought to reach out first.

Amidst the days spent counting, she finally realized something.

She wanted to protect, yet in doing so, she couldn’t protect at all.

She kept discarding and discarding.

Each time, feeling the sensation of her heart being ripped apart.

This could not dull over time.

One must be discarded.

Only then could she live.

Not ‘I’, but ‘he’.

In the end, the world crumbled and continued to break.

The woman desired only one thing.

Not her own forgetting.

But for him to live in a world without predetermined endings.

Beliefs and pride.

Rather than those useless things dulled by time.

For the nameless woman, that was far more crucial.

Thus, she resolved to give up walking by his side.

Unlike his nature, he was someone who could easily throw away his own life for others.

As he lived for himself, he burned through all his life.

How ironic.

He survived much longer in a world without her.

Until the world crumbled and decayed.

Denying it, she had to live through it several more times.

Finally, she could stop denying herself.

His survival depended on her absence.

Despite being sure of that, the filthy obsession and greed were hard to relinquish.

Even now.

In the end, unable to give up being next to him, she clung on.

While basking in vicarious satisfaction from giving her attention to the woman who looked like her, she couldn’t shake off her ugly jealousy.

She knew she had to give up everything yet somehow couldn’t bring herself to the end.

That’s precisely why she was so shocked.

“Someone once told me.”

Initially, it was an enemy she had resented to death.

“That person sent my time back to the past.”

In time, he became a precious friend.

Later on, he became the husband who gave her a name and called out to her.

“What they say is your name, right?”

It meant that she hadn’t been able to discard even that which she should have.

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened in surprise at my question, a sight I had never witnessed before.

Those eyes, so wide open, radiated a mix of arrogance and something chilling.

It resembled the expression of the current Wi Seol-Ah, yet…

‘What’s going on here?’

I promptly cleared my thoughts.

Since we share a face, it must be an illusion.

How could such a terrifying being be akin to that bland character?

‘It’s just an illusion because the face looks the same.’

Upon closer inspection, comparing the fallen So Sword Sect member’s face with the Heavenly Demon’s, aside from hair color and eye color, they could easily be mistaken for the same person.

Why could that be?

At the same time.

‘Why is this arm so unnaturally twitching?’

The feeling of hostility lingering in my left arm felt off.

This sensation had been felt from the Blood Demon.

So why do I feel the same from the Heavenly Demon?

Conversely, why don’t I feel it from Wi Seol-Ah?

‘What is this?’

Who are these two?

At the very least… it seems accurate to say the Heavenly Demon is related to the Blood Demon.

If that’s true, it implies that the Heavenly Demon and Wi Seol-Ah are connected too.

And thus, it stands to reason that the Blood Demon and Wi Seol-Ah are linked.

‘The Blood Demon and Wi Seol-Ah?’

How can that be?

Thinking about that complicates matters drastically.

I would have to circle back and ask how the Sword Sovereign could raise such a forgettable character as his granddaughter.

But that’s not a question for now.

‘Right now.’

What’s crucial is the Heavenly Demon in front of me.

With her presence, I could not afford to think of other matters.

No sane person would be able to, gazing upon such a formidable presence.

Moreover, the Heavenly Demon’s body had stiffened in a rare manner.

‘… If I ambush now, could I win?’

That trivial thought flickered in my mind, but I knew it was futile.

I had just witnessed how So Sword Sect fell.

No, it wasn’t just witnessing; it was so fast I couldn’t even see it happen.

‘The road ahead is incredibly long.’

Seeing that makes me acutely aware of how high the bar was.

I know for a fact that mere transformation realm martial artist is inadequate.

Recalling such discomforting truths was immensely unsettling.

“… Hmm.”

After hearing my question, the Heavenly Demon paused for a moment, then swiftly relaxed her body and propped her chin.

She seemed to be lost in thought.

A moment later.

Drip-drip-drip-!

Her hands, which had been gripping the crack tightly, loosened their hold.

Swoosh-!

With the pressure that had forcibly closed the crack released, she unveiled her true form as if shedding a restraint.

Then.

Whoooosh-!

“…!”

I felt that sensation again, as if my body was being drawn towards the crack.

In a panic, I began to gather energy in my body.

“Is that so? In the end, it seems there’s no way out besides that.”

The Heavenly Demon murmured while looking at me.

“The excitement has faded.”

As she said this, I perceived her eyes dimming slightly.

“What suddenly are you talking about….”

“If you step through this door, you will be able to return to the original world.”

“…What?”

My gaze fell on the fissure she pointed at.

So that crack leads to the world I came from?

‘Why is that suddenly popping up?’

It was absurd.

What had I done here?

‘What does this have to do with my regrets?’

This seemed entirely unrelated to what Tang Je-mun had said.

Pointing at the open door, the Heavenly Demon spoke.

“Now go.”

“…I still haven’t gotten an answer to my question.”

With great effort, I managed to voice my protest, but the Heavenly Demon merely scoffed.

“From the beginning, you knew I wasn’t asking to hear the answer.”

“….”

“Did you really think I wouldn’t know?”

I swallowed hard at her words. I thought we were on the same wavelength, but the Heavenly Demon seemed to grasp my intentions fully.

To be precise, it would be lovely to hear a response, but as she mentioned, that wasn’t the crux of the matter.

It was merely to buy time and divert her attention.

However.

‘That answer implies….’

Could I understand it as her being the one who turned back my time?

“…Why?”

The question slipped out before I could contain it.

Why? Why on earth did she send me back in time, and how?

“Why are you…”

“I wouldn’t know. I’m not someone from the world you came from.”

“Stop lying, you know….”

“Lying?”

The corner of the Heavenly Demon’s brow furrowed at my words.

Along with that, an immense pressure erupted from her body.

“Do not presumptuously judge when you know nothing about me. It infuriates me.”

“…”

Her choppy words, laden with frustration, sent a chill down my spine.

Just a burst of pressure felt like the air was warping around me.

I couldn’t utter a word, gasping from the weight of her presence.

“You are not originally of this world, so just vanish.”

“…I am… still not done.”

“You have accomplished what this world desired. This door is proof of that.”

The Heavenly Demon spoke that way, yet.

I had done nothing.

No matter what choice I made, the result wouldn’t change.

That’s what Tang Je-mun had said to me.

Reflecting on that, it dawned on me that since arriving in this world, I hadn’t accomplished a single thing.

Did she read my expression, or was it merely a coincidence? The Heavenly Demon maintained her icy gaze and continued to speak.

“You seem to be under a misunderstanding.”

“…What do you mean?”

“No matter what you did from the start, nothing would change.”

“What do you mean by that….”

-Do you fear that the Demon Sword Queen will perish defending you? That you want to save her?

“…!”

-Or perhaps, are you afraid that the scum behind you will get hurt?

As the Heavenly Demon spoke casually, my body froze solid.

How could she possibly know this?

Ignoring my shock, she continued her speech.

“Whatever dreams you may have had, it seems you don’t know much about the one who sent you here.”

“…You….”

“As long as I exist, there’s nothing you can change.”

“What in the world… what is your identity?”

How could she know all this?

“Such a trivial question. You already know the answer, don’t you?”

The Heavenly Demon smiled as she gazed at me.

“I am the Heavenly Demon. Other than that, I have no name. Even if I did, it wouldn’t matter.”

As she said this, the Heavenly Demon gently caressed my cheek with a calm hand.

Whether she had done something, my rigid body couldn’t escape her touch.

My arm trembles.

Feeling the Heavenly Demon’s touch was unsettling, as my left arm began to shake like crazy.

The Heavenly Demon glanced at my arm, her eyes narrowing as she spoke.

“You’ve already forgotten.”

With her words, the Demonic Gate rapidly expanded until.

“Do as you wish.”

It swallowed the fissure whole.

 

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