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I could not become the leader of the Gu Clan.

From the moment I became the Lesser Clan Leader, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to be the Clan Leader.

This was ultimately someone else’s doing; that much is undeniable.

Isn’t that right?

Whether I made up my mind or not, in the end, I should have become the Clan Leader. That’s the life I’ve lived. No matter how much I wished otherwise, it was something I had to do.

I couldn’t help but feel that my life has unfolded in such a way.

Even if it’s a hellish existence, I might have to accept it.

Even if I rebel and indulge in escapism, I would still end up unchanged and climb to that place.

That way, I would ascend to the position of the father I resent. Such was the life I lived, nevertheless.

But everything twisted with the emergence of the Demonic Sect and the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon attempted to kill the Divine Sword, no—at the time, it was the So Sword Sect.

I ended up joining the Demonic Sect in her stead.

As I distanced myself from the Gu Clan and, along with that, the position of Clan Leader.

In the end, I regrettably lived a wretched life.

That was the story of my previous life.

“The Heavenly Demon… twisted my destiny?”

Did that mean I didn’t become a calamity in the first place?

“What nonsense is that?”

I said, my face contorted. How could that possibly make sense?

I couldn’t comprehend it. My mind couldn’t accept it.

That means the Heavenly Demon knew everything and twisted the fate, doesn’t it?

“What is the Heavenly Demon doing?”

What on earth was her purpose? I’d heard that even bringing me back was the Heavenly Demon’s doing, but why did she reincarnate me?

I couldn’t understand that, let alone now that I was told the Heavenly Demon twisted my fate!

“…Why?”

Why me?

What was the Heavenly Demon’s purpose?

‘…What is her true identity?’

What could the Heavenly Demon’s true identity and intentions be? I couldn’t grasp what she was thinking at that time.

Even if I asked the current Heavenly Demon, I wouldn’t be able to understand.

She could very well be a different existence from who she was at that time.

Then…

‘Is there any meaning in that?’

Does the current state of the Heavenly Demon have some significance?

‘Damn it, why do I always have to…’

Live in this sea of doubts?

I couldn’t know anything, and frustration only boiled within me.

Clearly, all of this was happening to me. Yet, I couldn’t understand anything. Learning one thing after another was just the way it was.

Crack.

I clenched my fist.

Should I just dismiss this as my incompetence? Just when those thoughts about myself began to swirl.

Tap.

Something landed on my head. It was a hand. Shin Noya approached and affectionately stroked my hair.

That coarse touch oddly calmed me down a bit.

“Descendant.”

The ancestor took this opportunity to speak to me.

“Forgetting, in some ways, can be seen as a blessing.”

“What sudden nonsense is this?”

“It means that what you don’t know can sometimes become your path.”

“What a ridiculous excuse. Why do you have to beat around the bush instead of just saying you don’t want to tell me? Useless.”

“That’s true. It is an excuse. However, it does not solely exist because of my will.”

“Speak plainly. If it’s not your will, then what is it?”

Whatever the Heavenly Demon did.

Whatever my destiny was.

In the end, it was clear that I did not understand the intentions behind the Gu Clan.

The truth that now resonates within me is this: my life was not entirely my own.

“…What’s the conclusion?”

So what is the conclusion?

“The conclusion of this hellish story is that in the end, I’m told to become a calamity.”

The collapse of the vessel.

To prevent death, I was told to absorb the ancestor.

What absorbing the ancestor implied, I had an idea.

‘To carry on the will.’

The ancestor bound by the Technique of the Flame Wheel.

What he meant by absorption was ultimately that.

Absorb yourself and carry on the will of the Gu Clan. However, if I were to carry it on, I would become a calamity, he said.

Wouldn’t it be better to die instead?

“Do you think I would do something like that? I told you, just kill me instead.”

Dying this way feels preferable.

I’m serious. Instead of burning everything with my own hands, it’s better to let it collapse as is.

While I was mulling this over.

“I told you. There’s a provision.”

The ancestor added to the conversation he had earlier.

Provision. Yes, I had heard it. My mother had left behind a provision.

‘That was said to be the Divine Status obtained from the Divine Tree.’

While I didn’t know exactly what Divine Status was, I know that something began to dwell within me.

Because of that, the vessel had almost shattered.

The issue is.

“What does that provision mean?”

So what changes with that provision? There’s only one conclusion to that as well.

‘I become the master.’

If the vessel breaks and I absorb the ancestor, I will inherit the will of the Gu Clan.

In that case, it was certain I would become a calamity.

Now, what does it change to hear about that provision? Heated with anger, I asked.

“There’s no change. If you wish to live, you must become the master.”

“…So, what’s the point of that nonsense? If it’s going to be the same, I won’t do it—.”

“However, if you were not the master of the Central Plains, things would differ.”

“…Huh?”

I paused for a moment at the ancestor’s words.

Does it mean it’s fine if I’m not the master of the Central Plains?

“The thing that dwells within you is your mother’s Divine Status. In other words, it would be correct to view it as the Divine Status of Mankye. The fact that the world set you as the end of the Central Plains also owes much to your mother’s existence.”

“…That means.”

“The reason your mother was greedy enough to inject Divine Status into you. Understand that intention.”

Understand? What of it?

What did my mother say about the provision?

‘It’s fine not to be the master of the Central Plains.’

Ultimately, my calamity was just to act as a substitute master of the Central Plains. In other words, I was told that if I fully inherited the will of the Gu Clan, it would activate.

Then.

‘…Even if I become the master.’

Does that mean I can be the master of somewhere else?

Then the provision that my mother and the ancestor spoke of means…

‘Do they want me to inherit Mankye?’

Do they really expect me to rule over this vast, treacherous land? If that’s the case…

‘What about the living beings of this land?’

If I become the master, I would have to annihilate all living beings of that world. I didn’t want to do that; hence, I didn’t want to become the master of the Central Plains.

If I become the master of Mankye, does that mean I would have to undergo that again?

‘…If I must, I could do it.’

I wouldn’t mind.

Honestly, I had already thrown away concepts like justice a long time ago. If it meant protecting my important people, I could kill and dispose of other beings without hesitation.

It’s just that it felt a bit uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry.”

At that moment, the ancestor spoke, as if he understood my thoughts.

“Unlike other places, Mankye is different.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Mankye is special unlike other worlds. Don’t you know? Mankye has two masters.”

Oh.

Hearing that, I realized it was true.

Unike other places, Mankye had two masters.

There is a rule that only one master should exist, but Mankye was divided into underground and surface with two masters.

The surface was my mother.

The underground was.

‘The Abyss.’

The source of all death and demonic beasts, known as the Abyss.

They said he was in charge of that dark and murky place.

“Mankye doesn’t lose its living beings when the masters change. For that to happen, both masters would need to disappear at once.”

“…Does that mean if I become the master of Mankye, there will be no further problems?”

Even if I absorbed the ancestor, if I become the master of this place with the Divine Status of Mankye.

Could I defy the fate the world has decided?

Wondering if that was the case, I asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

The ancestor gave a ridiculous answer.

He doesn’t know?

Has he lost his mind? What kind of answer is that?

I looked at him in disbelief.

“I don’t know. It simply means that when I saw the provision your mother prepared, it could be possible.”

“…No, are you telling me to trust that and make a choice?”

“Yes, that’s why I left the choice to you.”

Because he himself doesn’t know what will happen.

He just wanted me to choose in this situation where the vessel was collapsing. That’s all the ancestor was trying to tell me.

“Absorb me and restore the vessel.”

Hearing the coaxing words, I let out a hollow laugh.

“…How can I trust you?”

How could I trust this being called the ancestor?

That’s the fundamental issue.

In the end, the entity in front of me is a remnant of the Gu Clan.

He exists to have me inherit the will of the Gu Clan. But to absorb him and trust him?

I wouldn’t even know if the things he uttered were the truth.

Yet, I was being told to stake everything on this gamble and make a choice.

That was far too difficult for me.

As I heard those words, the ancestor’s form changed.

Tatata.

The body made of flames began to transform.

Crack.

The flames that constituted his body fell to the ground.

Eventually, the form that appeared again was something entirely different from before.

It wasn’t the form that resembled mine from my previous life…

‘Who is this?’

It was a figure I had never seen before. A man with somewhat frail build and sharp eyes.

He seemed to resemble my father and me at the same time.

Seeing that made me realize.

That this is the ancestor’s original form.

“This is both karma and punishment. My bloodline mustn’t suffer the consequences because of me.”

He slowly knelt down.

“I hope the end is not despair. Therefore, if this event allows fate to truly change, I couldn’t wish for more.”

In his pitiful voice was the emotion he was feeling.

Whether it was desperation or longing, I could see that it was earnest.

“Whatever the result of the choice may be, I cannot be sure. But if there’s even a slight possibility… I sincerely hope you will fulfill that task.”

“…Haha.”

I chuckled after hearing his words.

“…In the end, you just want me to clean up the mess you made.”

The things that happened due to his own greed—he wanted no further fallout.

He wished for this to end with me. That emotion was nothing short of resentment for me, but it was straightforward and simple.

“…”

I quietly stared at the ancestor.

If I absorb him, whatever happens, I become a calamity.

I had transformed into something not human, but a dragon.

All the remnants of it that weighed me down were also cast away.

The Technique of the Flame Wheel achieved immense success and finally touched the realm of transcendence.

The forms that were drastically different from my previous life.

Even so, my destination remained a calamity.

‘You are the calamity.’

The words of Yeon Ilcheon came to mind.

I had desperately lived wanting to deny that statement.

‘…Was he right?’

In the end, was Yeon Ilcheon right?

That thought entered my mind.

Should I just collapse like this?

Or even if it’s full of risks, should I choose to accept it?

I thought about this.

The choice of thought I could make came upon me faster than I expected.

 

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