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And this pain continued until his ears, bones, kidneys, and bladder froze solid.

The cold was pushing itself into places possessing the nature of water, moving in a way that resembled its winter form.

However, whenever the cold attempted to freeze his kidneys and bladder, the flames of samādhi igniting within him swiftly neutralized the cold, turning the liquid inside his bladder and kidneys into sharp shapes that would rip apart. The liquid transformed into a form that was neither solid nor liquid, floating instead. His ears repeatedly froze and thawed, becoming softer and gradually shifting into a shape suitable for hearing, which was nothing short of a transformation.

Yet only the bones.

The marrow of his bones accepted the cold as it was.

The cold froze his bones again and again, hardening them to a strength even greater than metal.

‘Water changes its nature. Cold and hard, hot and formless. This resembles the human body too. Hardness is like bones, and formlessness is akin to sounds heard through the ears. However, the cold and heat depend solely on my heart. This is indeed a way to resemble nature.’

Jinseong endured the pain and pricked up his ears.

And finally, when a small sound reached his ears—

He opened his eyes wide and pierced through the darkness.

The sound made by ice freezing.

When flowing things stopped moving, when heated elements lost their warmth, and when the living forgot how to breathe; that was the sound.

It was the sound that equally froze everything, a sign announcing the dreadful accumulation of the cold held by Baikal Lake.

‘The ice crystals of Lake Baikal.’

A treasure shaped over long ages while bearing the cold, the object that led to the conflict between Russia and China before the return.

And it was also the reason why Jinseong insisted Viktor demand this bunker in the first place.

‘Ice crystals bearing the pure nature of water and immense cold. Truly, it could make for a superb divine object.’

Aware of the existence of these ice crystals before his return, China seized Baikal Lake without any declaration of war. Afterward, the special forces of the Communist Party of China, the Patriotic Warriors Division, moved to kill everyone living within a 50 km radius of Baikal Lake before heading towards the border with the ice crystals in tow. Upon witnessing this, a furious Viktor dropped nuclear weapons on their heads and mobilized troops.

Unheeding of the actions they had taken, China shouted, ‘Russia attacked our precious soldiers!’ and ‘The 2 billion Chinese people will never stand for this!’ while similarly mobilizing their military.

And the ice crystals that ignited the flames of war were secretly collected by a British spy dispatched to Russia and sent back to Britain.

Naturally, caught in a mess of chasing chickens, Russia and China protested to Britain even while fighting each other, and Britain, bolstered in power amid World War III, wholly ignored their complaints. Instead, they provocatively replied, ‘So what if I took it? What can you do about it?’

However, one thing that Britain did not consider was that both Russia and China during World War III would not sit idly by after being struck once.

Had the situation been peaceful, they may have held their tongues for profit.

But both nations were swelled with ego from continuous victories, detesting anything that marred their authority above all else. Thus, even while in the throes of war, Russia and China separately dispatched special forces to Britain to wreak havoc.

They blew up research facilities.

They infiltrated aircraft carriers and sank them.

They used nuclear bags to obliterate military bases.

They tormented power holders with curses.

They masqueraded as pirates to hijack trade vessels.

Of course, Britain was not one to quietly endure such attacks and retaliated against the two countries.

However, perhaps wanting to minimize casualties while dispatching special forces, they hired a plethora of mercenaries, and Jinseong was also hired by Britain for their operations.

At that time, Jinseong gleaned a lesson.

British folks were not to be trusted.

Understanding that they might push one into danger to save a few bucks was one thing, but plotting to stab them in the back with special forces after the operation ended, even going so far as to manipulate documents to avoid paying proper amounts was…

It had ignited immense rage within Jinseong from before his return.

‘Thus, obtaining those ice crystals is a righteous and good act.’

He had exacted sufficient revenge before his return, so he had no intention of dragging it back for further vengeance.

It was a matter of cause and effect.

From roots, fruits are borne, and those fruits become seeds.

Seeds take root, grow, and bear fruit again.

It speaks of the inevitable relationship between cause and outcome.

In other words, it means nothing can blossom from a seed without a cause.

As he had traveled back in time, no incitement for him to be angry occurred, thus any act of revenge on his part would be as if he were trying to reap fruit from a rootless tree.

If he were to seek revenge, that revenge would become his root, and in return, Britain would wield the fruit of rightful retribution against him.

This was not a right thing to do.

However, a nation does not easily alter its nature.

Without special intervention, it is bound to repeat past mistakes.

Greed arises from seeing what is precious!

When one sees something valuable, desire is born, and when desire is born, one seeks it. When one seeks, they succumb to desire and commit sins.

Thus, if it did not exist from the start, there would be no reason for any desire to arise.

He took the ice crystals to stop the war between Russia and China, prevent Britain’s involvement from inciting anger in both, and avoid mercenaries igniting fury with their villainous actions. He would ensure that mercenaries would not spread throughout Britain to commit acts of terror, and in doing so—

What else could this be but a virtuous deed?

‘Yet the ice crystals cannot easily be held by the human body.’

Even having only absorbed the cold of the lake, it was still excruciatingly painful.

Even so, thanks to the special substance within the syringe, the effects of the rituals performed in Japan, and the magic adapting his body to the cold, he was able to endure this extent. Without any preparation, his heart would freeze at once, or his body would become solidly frozen, serving as fish food while his soul would become a water ghost wandering Baikal Lake.

But how much worse would the ice crystals be?

‘For today, I must content myself with having absorbed the nature of water into my body.’

Promising to the future, Jinseong stood up.

Then he loosened his stiff body, bent his knees slightly, and jumped as if taking flight upwards.

Like being pushed by someone, Jinseong leapt swiftly to the water’s surface where he emitted splashes, finally getting a taste of the air.

Having surfaced, Jinseong’s body floated on the water like ice.

It was a similar appearance to a person floating in the Dead Sea.

He moved using a backstroke, swimming toward an old concrete structure nestled in the woods along Baikal Lake. There, he approached an outdated iron door matching poorly with the smart door lock and input the code to enter.

Upon entering, he was greeted by the pungent stench of mold, littered refuse in the passageway, and walls thick with moss. He carefully walked while examining the walls when he inadvertently found a section that bore signs of human touch.

He placed his hand against the wall, feeling it as he maneuvered a hidden device.

Then, with a heavy sound of *ku-gu-gung*, the wall opened, revealing a hidden space.

The hidden space was far from dirty and decrepit; it instead possessed a dazzling appearance entirely unlike the suffocating passage that could make one fall ill merely by breathing.

A space far too expansive to be aptly called a bunker.

Chandeliers dangling from a high ceiling.

Opulent and vibrant decor that seemed from the 17th or 18th century.

Luxurious wine lining one wall.

Everything within the room was slightly worn from the passage of time, but paradoxically, it lent an antique charm enhancing its grandeur.

This space was the “luxury bunker” created by Soviet party officials, filled with luxury goods that others failed to recover after the Soviet Union collapsed.

Jinseong operated the device to close the wall and snapped his fingers.

As a result, lights turned on in the chandelier, and the heating system in the room activated, transforming the humid, cold air of the bunker into a warm embrace.

He casually tossed his clothes near the heating unit and lay down naked on the sofa, incinerating the dust with samādhi fire.

‘What a splendid stronghold this is.’

It is indeed said that one feels secure within a cave.

If so, the place Jinseong reclined now was an extraordinarily luxurious cave.

One that was so lavish and marvelous he could hardly help but feel satisfaction.

Yet a human cannot survive solely in a cave.

One lives in wooden houses, in stone houses.

One visits villas for relaxation.

Isn’t that what a truly extravagant life is?

He sent a text via his smartphone.

“There must be plenty of villas in Japan that can be bought for 0 or 100 yen. Please procure one of those. While having evil spirits or evil ghosts infesting the villa is no problem, it’s best to avoid areas prone to natural disasters. Since this will be a place for you as well as me, safety should be a concern.”

After a brief moment, a response came from Rise.

“Don’t worry. Since it’s a home for Lord God and me, I will be sure to look after things and gather them properly.”

 

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