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Absorbing the Ancestor Brings Calamity

I froze at the sound.

Calamity. That dreadful and annoying word. Am I really hearing it again now? I turned my gaze wide-eyed towards the direction of Shin Noya. What does this mean? I looked at the elder, as if asking for an answer.

Seeing his expression hit me hard.

Shin Noya was staring at me with a gaunt and dark gaze.

Did he know? About this matter?

Thud.

‘Ha.’

My heartbeat raced like thunder, and suppressing that sensation, I asked the ancestor before me.

“…So absorbing you would bring calamity?”

“Correct.”

“That doesn’t make sense! How could that be…?”

“You already know that it could be, don’t you?”

“…”

I hesitated at his words.

“You must have sensed it the moment you heard it. That it could happen. At the very least, you should have. Right?”

“…”

I had no retort. As much as I wanted to argue, he was right. The instant I heard it, I vaguely understood—or maybe, I was certain.

‘It must have been since the moment the vessel collapsed.’

From the moment I realized my inner world was shaken this much.

Since the time I met this freak claiming to be an ancestor.

And.

‘Since I heard that I was destined to become calamity.’

Perhaps I knew it could turn out this way.

I just wanted to deny it.

As always.

Flap, flap.

After glancing fleetingly at the splitting sky, I asked the ancestor.

“Anyway, that aside.”

There was something I didn’t understand.

“Then why did you hit me?”

Why did you slap me out of nowhere? Instead of answering, the ancestor immediately responded to my inquiry.

“I had to confirm.”

“…Confirm? What about?”

“Whether you are a suitable vessel. And to see the state of the flame.”

“…You hit me for that?”

Like seriously? Outrageous!

“Now I see clearly. If I delay any longer, you will die. No…”

The ancestor paused for a moment, then continued.

“You will be annihilated.”

“…What’s the difference between dying and annihilating? Aren’t they the same thing?”

“The obliteration of the soul and death are different. Of course, it may seem the same from your perspective… but that’s not what’s important right now.”

Fwoosh!

As the ancestor spoke, a change occurred. The form reminiscent of my previous life slowly caught fire and faded away, becoming a figure entirely of flames.

I widened my eyes witnessing this. It looked familiar. Where had I seen that? As I racked my brain, I fortunately recalled it soon enough.

‘Grandfather.’

That shabby old man who had appeared claiming to be my grandfather.

He had rendered me unable to use my flames in an instant, then shamelessly told me to come to Shin Gang.

‘Human? Can you even call that a human?’

Though it looked human on the outside, I could not feel anything human about it.

An atmosphere and feeling that was indescribable.

I still remembered that unsettling sense that had terrified my Gu Family’s Flame Wheel Technique upon facing him.

‘That looks similar.’

As I grimaced at the blazing flames, the ancestor spoke to me.

“How much do you know about the Gu Family’s Secret?”

“…Well, you’ve certainly been causing a lot of trouble for me.”

“You are well aware.”

“Wow, how shameless.”

He brushed aside my jab like it was nothing. It was evident; he too was of the Gu family.

“The sins borne from my blood are many, but fundamentally, they are tied to the karma I carry.”

“Karma…?”

“Indeed, the Central Plains have been distorted. Carrying the sins I have brought upon myself is the Gu family’s karma.”

Is he talking about the sin of opening the Demonic Gate and messing up the Central Plains?

One of the truths I could hear as a Lesser Clan Leader was that.

If there’s more to it, what other karma is there to bear?

Just as questions started to arise, it was as if the ancestor anticipated this.

“Descendant.”

“What is it?”

“In this world, there must always be a master. Do you understand that this is an absolute law set by the world?”

I do understand.

It was a truth I’d heard multiple times before.

“What I’m referring to here is the ‘absolute.’ Meaning an unchanging law. Then you need to consider this.”

Swish.

The ancestor raised one finger, and a flicker of flame blossomed from the tip.

“There is currently no master in the Central Plains. Do you know how the world has endured this?”

“…What?”

Suddenly, the talk shifted to the Central Plains.

There is currently no master in the Central Plains. That’s true. After all, a master is calamity, and calamity annihilates and restructures all living beings to become a master.

To prevent this, heroes like Shin Noya had fought against the Blood Demon in the past.

It’s true that hundreds of years have passed since then.

“That is correct. The Dragon Emperor has failed. Whether he failed because he couldn’t or didn’t wish to is debatable. But the outcome is clear.”

“…What’s the conclusion? So, what now?”

The Blood Demon has failed.

My mother took the lead.

And now, the next calamity should have been me, yet what does that mean?

As I grew increasingly frustrated with the confusion, the ancestor continued.

“Descendant, do you believe the world is so compassionate as to let a masterless world remain for hundreds of years? No, the world is not that merciful. It absolutely despises distortion.”

“But the Central Plains remained intact all this while. Whether there was a master or not, it didn’t matter. So, isn’t everything just fine?”

I know that while my mother came and went, I’m not the master yet.

Even without a master, we had managed to get by.

But to say the world was not merciful…

Then what on earth was the problem?

“It’s incorrect. It’s not that it’s fine. We’ve made it so.”

I nodded at the ancestor’s words. It’s not that it was fine; instead, we made it that way?

“The Gu Family’s karmic sins. That’s precisely this.”

“What do you mean…?”

“A world without a master. Therefore, to keep a world on the brink of collapse from distorting is the current karma of the Gu Family.”

“…!”

My eyes widened to saucers upon hearing this. What on earth is this about?

“…You mean, we carry the burden of distortion?”

“The world has delivered a harsh punishment. The Central Plains martial artists cannot elevate their rank. Especially.”

The ancestor’s gaze turned towards Shin Noya.

“That one. Or that bunch, lowering the standard so that they have no hope of breaking through.”

“…”

I knew that too. It was something I heard from Noya.

“The Gu Family is the only one that has escaped from that standard.”

“Huh…?”

That was an unfamiliar statement.

Escaping the standards? Wasn’t it just my father who did?

“Do you know why? It is also to bear this burden.”

Fwoosh!

The flame glowing from the tips of the ancestor’s feet gradually expanded.

“With a meager standard, one cannot withstand the punishment set by the world. And one cannot even temporarily hold the empty master position in the Central Plains. Thus, the Gu Family must be strong.”

“…That makes no sense.”

I grimaced and spoke to the ancestor.

“If that’s the case, then what about me?”

If the Gu Family was excluded from the punishment laid down by the world,

And due to that, I became an entity easy to raise in rank…

“What exactly am I?”

What was I? In my previous life, I couldn’t have grown strong without the help of the Heavenly Demon.

If I were to describe this, the ancestor reacted as if he understood.

“True. You are different.”

The ancestor acknowledged that. But.

“That’s why you are an anomaly.”

“…What?”

“Even born of the Gu Family’s blood, you are not included in their karma. Yet you are deeply entangled in the flow of various fates. That’s the reason you are labeled as calamity.”

Fwoosh.

The ancestor approached me with every step, leaving a fiery imprint on the ground.

“From the moment your mother gave birth to you. Or, the moment the world sent your mother to the Central Plains to intertwine her fate with the Gu Family.”

Perhaps.

No, clearly from that time.

“You were meant to be this way. The world is not merciful, thus it was certain.”

“…Certain?”

“It means the conclusion must be brought about by you. If a crack is made, it must be maintained by you and ultimately your blood will clean the world to restore normalcy.”

The harsh punishment laid down upon the goblin who desperately wanted to return home.

Since the beginning was the Gu Family;

Therefore, the end must also be the Gu Family.

That’s what it was.

“…Crap.”

A curse slipped out. What kind of nonsense is this?

“So it’s all because of you that this mess happened?”

“…I won’t deny that.”

“It’s not that you can’t; it’s that you don’t want to, you son of a bitch.”

I gripped his collar.

Since only flames remained, could I even hold on? Yet surprisingly, I could.

And it was not even hot. Did he intentionally let me hold him?

“…Why is everything being thrown at me?”

I bit my teeth and said.

“I just wanted to live a normal life. Not even comfortably. I just wanted to live a bit ordinarily! Why does it always have to be me…!”

In a fit of resentment, flames spoke to me in a low voice.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Apologies, you bastard……… are you actually sorry? The being who tells me to become calamity?”

I did not want to be that.

What? To become calamity?

“Better to just die. Just kill me.”

Whether it’s annihilation or death.

Please, just make it so. That would be better.

As I was on the verge of giving up everything…

“If you don’t accept this, the ones you wished to hold will die at your hands.”

The ancestor’s words ignited a murderous intent in my eyes.

Is this a threat now?

“You bastard.”

Whether or not it gives me power doesn’t matter. I will kill him even if I die.

Together with that thought, I tried to move my fist.

“Then I will help you so it won’t come to that.”

Suddenly.

The ancestor’s words halted my body for a moment.

“Even if you become calamity, there is a way not to reconstruct the Central Plains.”

“…”

I glared at him without answering.

Let’s hear what you have to say. I looked at him with that intent.

After a brief silence, the ancestor finally spoke.

“…The arrangement your mother has prepared for you. There lies the answer.”

What’s coming from there. Surprisingly, it was the story about my mother.

 

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